Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Lightguns => Topic started by: AndyWarne on September 17, 2009, 11:35:09 am
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OK the wait is over...
We looked at all the requirements of users on here, amd listed them out, then started designing from there.
I think we got them all:
- Can be installed in existing guns
- Easy to calibrate and use
- Inexpensive
- Can be used with any monitor
- Usable at a distance of 2 feet (19in monitor) or 3 feet (28in monitor) or greater.
Also a few others which were not mentioned:
- No drivers required
- PC sees it as a mouse and moves the mouse pointer
- No software required for calibration
- 7 inputs configurable as mouse buttons or gamepad buttons
- Flash ROM storage of all settings
(http://www.ultimarc.com/images/aimtrak_pcb.jpg)
Full details: http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.php (http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.php)
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Excellent!!!
Looking forward to testing this in the near future.
How does it deal with Glass covered screens? I believe I have a work around for that, but had to ask.
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I am impressed!
I wasn't going to add a light gun to my cabinet, but this will probably force me to integrate it into my current design.
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It's early, but this is likely to be the best news I hear all day! Thanks again for all you contribute, Andy!
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Excellent!!!
Looking forward to testing this in the near future.
How does it deal with Glass covered screens?
No problem at all with glass cover.
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Once Again... EXCELLENT!
Is there a way to implement two guns? If so, what needs to be purchased?
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wonderful news!
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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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What's the price? Didn't see it available in the store yet.
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What's the price? Didn't see it available in the store yet.
$44.00
http://www.ultimarc.com/JShopServer/section.php?xSec=2
Wow, and here I was wondering what to buy with my birthday money in a few days....
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I was JUST talking about how sad I am to not have light gun support in my current MAME build to a coworker.. then I see this. My visa shot out faster than a gun in a wild west movie... ordered 2!
THANK YOU!!!!!
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Is there a way to implement two guns? If so, what needs to be purchased?
Yes, just buy 2 kits.
Actually we will need to add a second kit without the LED board as this is not needed for the second one. I will get that done later.
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Is there a way to implement two guns? If so, what needs to be purchased?
Yes, just buy 2 kits.
Actually we will need to add a second kit without the LED board as this is not needed for the second one. I will get that done later.
Shoot, did I order too quick? Possible to still get a price adjustment to remove one led board? I just ordered 2 like 3 minutes ago.
Thanks.
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A little cheaper without, I hope? (Not that the LED board probably cost much at all...)
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Now someone just has to throw some old arcade lightguns up on the Buy/Sell forum!
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Awesome!
What is the maximum distance one can reliably expect to use?
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Awesome!
What is the maximum distance one can reliably expect to use?
1,800 ft.
Obvious joke. If you think I'm serious, you're a moron.
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I hope someone will post a review. I don't mean to sound negative, but I guess I'm not understanding how these are different from the LCD TopGuns (except that the gun housing is not included).
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Well, it's Ultimarc, so it's instantly better just because of that. ;D
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Will there be an option (eventually) for a pre-assembled gun with your parts? or would that be breaking some laws?
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Will there be an option (eventually) for a pre-assembled gun with your parts? or would that be breaking some laws?
There's no tellin' in the UK....
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Can anyone recommend a good gun to buy? I was leaning towards some of these red and blue.
http://www.act-labs.com/products/gun1.htm
Having a hard time really locating many more options.
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All you need is the shell, so find some cheap Justifiers or Guncons or arcade Lethal Enforcer guns on eBay.
If you have a used games store local that carries older stuff, the Saturn, Genesis, and Sega CD had Justifiers, or you can get an old NES Zapper.
$19.99 is a lot for a gun you'll just yank the guts out of.
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Can anyone recommend a good gun to buy? I was leaning towards some of these red and blue.
http://www.act-labs.com/products/gun1.htm
Having a hard time really locating many more options.
I think you'd be better off with a real arcade gun, or even a decent console gun.
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Very nice! FINALLY...
...I can't wait to see some reviews... and I can't wait to hear about cheap gun options that will work with little/no fuss.
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Oh, I'm getting 2 of these! They're going in a couple of steampunked nerf guns I did a while back.
My wife +loves+ shooting games, so this is a huge score. Never could get my Wiimote to work right for this feature.
Any chance there'll ever be a battery powered bluetooth/wireless USB version?
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Awesome!
What is the maximum distance one can reliably expect to use?
The length of the USB cable which would be approx 9 feet.
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Holy crap...fantastic Andy!
Wow this design will lend itself well to DIY options...hmm shouldn't be too difficult to create a resin mold of an actual fiream or build one! ah...the possibilities! /wifewillhatethis!
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I hope someone will post a review. I don't mean to sound negative, but I guess I'm not understanding how these are different from the LCD TopGuns (except that the gun housing is not included).
The design was specifically geared at removing the comments about that gun on here, ie driver issues and needing to be too far from the screen. Also is designed specifically for mounting in a "host" gun body.
We are working on a complete gun. The CAD is being done at the moment for the gun body, which will be similar in size and shape to the original PS1 Guncon. Actually the older Guncons are great for this and we did all testing using these gun bodies which are very inexpensive on Ebay.
But the purists will prefer a real arcade gun whiuch will be fine.
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...just a matter of time until someone mounts one of these to a REAL gun to provide accurate weight.
:D
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I'm wondering if I could pair it up with something like this and a battery for a wireless solution...
http://www.wisair.com/products/reference-designs/embedded-module/ (http://www.wisair.com/products/reference-designs/embedded-module/)
Will be doing further research on this, definitely!
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or you can get an old NES Zapper.
This. Or get a cheap airsoft pistol/rifle and convert it.
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Fantastic Andy. Just ordered one. :applaud: :applaud:
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Ordered mine ;D
Time will tell if I'll buy new gun shells, gut a Guncon 2, or maybe even build my own.
(Imagine, a Build Your Own Arcade Gun Controls sub-forum.)
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I assume then this should work with any PC game that has mouse input support? Anyone know if the PC versions of House of the dead 1,2,3 support mouse input?
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Yes, House of the Dead PC versions support Mouse INPUT. Left button is fire, right button is reload. Not quite sure how you will get it to reload by shooting off of the screen though (unless that's built into the interface somehow).
Question for Andy. Will this interface work with Area 51 guns? I have a couple sitting in my garage.
Thanks!
DeLuSioNaL29
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I was also wondering about the off-screen reload and how it's handled...
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Ordered mine ;D
Time will tell if I'll buy new gun shells, gut a Guncon 2, or maybe even build my own.
(Imagine, a Build Your Own Arcade Gun Controls sub-forum.)
My DIY imagination skills are very limited, but if you guys can get this working and post step by step instructions on the how to's I'd be all over this.
I have a couple of questions before I get to excited about this.
If it's just mimicking the mouse input, how can you have 4 guns on the same computer?
Will you be able to use the guns sights to aim, or is it like the Wii-mote where a cursor moves on screen when you move the gun?
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Thanks Andy,
Will be ordering mine shortly. Was waiting for this!!!!!!!!!!
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How fast is the response on this board? I think the big complaint about the Wii solution was lag in the aim (and pairing with the PC of course). I have a pair of GunCon2's that are working fine now, but this is a very interesting option!
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Question for Andy. Will this interface work with Area 51 guns? I have a couple sitting in my garage.
From my understanding...he is providing the guts and you provide the frame (until Ulti's proto is ready) so just take the area 51 guts out and replace with this.
Picture on his site shows this in detail.
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I would like to see a video presentation. Do you have anything like this Andy?
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this is too sweet! I do a lot of Nerf Gun modding as well, my head is reeling with possibilities!!
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@konkey
You have any pics up? I thought I had posted a few a while back but I can't find them, so I'm probably just dreaming it.
But if I could make this gizmo wireless, I'd definitely be looking into a Maverick mod (or two :)
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sorry, no pics yet, but I've got a couple Recon shells practically begging for this module. Nightfinders might also be great, especially at only 7 bucks a pop.
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Andy. You are my hero.
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Question for Andy. Will this interface work with Area 51 guns? I have a couple sitting in my garage.
Thanks!
DeLuSioNaL29
Umm well its not actually an interface. Its a complete module. As to whether it will fit inside the gun, I think all arcade guns should have a large enough barrel.
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Basically with what Andy is providing you could palm an arcade button (triggered with your thumb) that is wired to the gun portion of the interface and tape it around your hand for a gun on the cheap :laugh2:
Or build/use a shell that looks decent... ;)
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I was also wondering about the off-screen reload and how it's handled...
Good question. Actually its not physically possible to move a mouse pointer outside the screen co-ordinates so I have no idea how this works. I can only assume it really means reload is "very near the edge of the screen".
Basically it should work if a mouse works. But if there is any special change needed the firmware is upgradeable so I can make changes if required. In fact to be honest I would expect tweaks will be needed as it the case with all new products.
I agree a video would be a great idea. I will look at this possibility.
On the subject of multiple guns, all guns will control the same mouse pointer, but software which reads the devices using DirectInput is able to read each device independently. Mame can do this.
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Finally took the time to read the whole page for this new product and I'm flipping out wanting one (or two!). Sounds like you might have a winner, Andy. :cheers:
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Ok. So it works behind glass. Does it work behind smoked glass?
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Just for reference in this thread...
How many mice will Xp or MAME support? I've already got 2 U360's and a USB trackball. Will I be able to add 2 AimTraks?
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Ok. So it works behind glass. Does it work behind smoked glass?
From the Ultimarc site:
IR Gain
This setting controls the "brightness" of the internal IR sensor. Normally this can be left alone because the gain is automatically set, but you can disable automatic gain control by checking the Disable checkbox.
When automatic gain control is disabled, you can set the gain to one of 5 values with the slider. There are very few situations where you may need to do this, but one such configuration might be where the LED PCB is located behind a tinted glass screen. In this case the gain might need to be increased.
If the Disable checkbox is checked, the slider still functions but will be over-ridden during use. In auto mode the slider moves on its own.
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@KonkeyKong
You seen this?
http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/2007/09/how_to_make_a_kick_ass_steampu.php
I like the look of this and shouldn't be too difficult to convert for lightgun requirements. I could see this on the No#18 Arqadium project :)
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So this will work with a terminator style game?
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@KonkeyKong
You seen this?
http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/2007/09/how_to_make_a_kick_ass_steampu.php
I like the look of this and shouldn't be too difficult to convert for lightgun requirements. I could see this on the No#18 Arqadium project :)
That is pretty sweet!
Encryptor
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-----oops---wrong thread------
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Ahh, so cool :cheers: :cheers:
So many possibilities!
damn, one more project to add to the list! ;D
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ah sheesh i just got a DHL package form you yesterday! Gotta put in another order!
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Absolutely ---smurfing--- sweet, that's all there is to it. Just the other day I was trawling your thread which was putting the feelers out about what the community wanted from a light gun. Being Ultimarc, we knew we would be listened to and I suspected you would not have asked if you weren't already working on something...
I've personally been waiting on this since my LCD TopGuns proved a bit pants and I think this couldbe the light gun grail everyone has been hoping for. Assuming everything works as stated, a bit of DIY demand is the least to expect for some working technology at last, plus opens the product up to so many light gun game fans as they can pick their own shells for the technology.
Personally this bit was the icing on the cake for me:
We are working on a complete gun. The CAD is being done at the moment for the gun body, which will be similar in size and shape to the original PS1 Guncon. Actually the older Guncons are great for this and we did all testing using these gun bodies
This is fantastic newsas I personally believe the original GunCon's were simply the best gun design ever and were coupled with some of the best light gun games ever (Time Crisis and Point Blank) so this is exactly what I will be doing. My GunCons have been sat doing nothing since my first TV-based arcade cabinet was sold, where I ran them with a PS1. Now they'll be stripped down and re-fitted with these beauties so I can at last play all the sequels like Zero Point etc. in MAME.
I'm hoping eventually you could run a few 'complete gun' options to replicate the most popular arcade gun designs, so most people have an'off the shelf' solution. I'd love to see a proper arcade G-Con replica with a working integrated recoil. (Hint Hint)
I get the feeling in the coming weeks you'll see a load of actlabs, topguns and other stuff flood ebay as community members sell up to replace them with these! This is great news for me as I have been waiting for an excuse to build a dedicated light gun cab. Watch this space!
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Awesome. Simply awesome.
Was about to place another order anyway so this is perfect timing. Wish I waited a couple of months before I plunked down the cash for two Topgun IIs. I just hope Andy has stocked up on these. I'm anxious to see the kind of mods the community comes up with.
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@epyx
Here's a quick pic of the two guns I put together about a year back. My intent was to put a wiimote into something like them, but I went ahead and built these just because I wanted to try my hand at it.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=131890)
When I do a real mame gun conversion, I don't think I'd be using real glass test tubes as part of the kit bashing :)
And this ultimarc board would be a LOT easier to integrate.
I am SO on this!
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Dude your cab looks straight outta a theme park install -it's pretty funky, if a little garish. :laugh:
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@Turnarcades
Thanks! That pic doesn't really do it justice. It looks a lot more subdued in real life. And it folds down into a completely normal looking antique buffet, so the garishness is limited to only when I open it up.
You oughta see it with the AudioMetric Projection System lit up ;D
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Yep gonna order one of these kits from Ultimarc next payday what a nice piece of Tech from Andy.
@drventure
Nice! You gotta document that part in your project when you get to it :)
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this is awesome news. i dont have the money to order them now, which kinda sucks, but at least by the time i do, i'm assuming that a few of you will have already bought them and will have hopefully written up a nice review on how awesome they are.
i guess it gives me plenty of time to find some good gun shells to use...but now i'm torn on what to buy first, these gun kits, or the stuff i need for my DK cabinet....
at least i dont have to worry about trying to find room for a dedicated gun cabinet now, i can add these to my existing LCD mame cab.
thank you andy, you rock.
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(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=131890)
When I do a real mame gun conversion, I don't think I'd be using real glass test tubes as part of the kit bashing :)
And this ultimarc board would be a LOT easier to integrate.
I am SO on this!
you've been hiding those cause you knew I'd beg you for a pair ;D
Seriously with this news it feels like Xmas!!! already!!!
Garish..... are you kidding me that thing is BAD ASSED! plain and simple!
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Just wanted to post and say Thanks. You can definitely expect an order of 2 from me very soon.
Out of curiosity. It looks as though the button connects by a quick disconnect. I havnt opened many light guns, or guns of any kind, so this may be a dumb question... do most gun triggers work off of a microswitch type connection? How could you connect this to say an airsoft gun? connect the QD to a microswitch and aim the button of the switch to where the trigger taps it?
Sorry I know thats probably a stupid question, but ive never really cracked open any guns.. arcade or otherwise.
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I''ve opened a Naomi gun, and they use microswitches. Smaller than what is used in most standard pushbuttons, but still a microswitch. In fact, the Confidential Mission manual (http://www.sauservice.com/manuals/Confidential%20Mission/CMFDX/CMFDXManual.pdf) states that a spare microswitch is included and how to replace it, so it must have quick disconnects of some sort.
I also realized earlier today that this may allow for portable light-gun fun. Just find some way to safely mount the board on top of my laptop screen (some sort of clip-on housing), plug in the two USB cables, and instant Area 51 or Duck Hunt, anytime, anywhere.
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SWEET!
I'm down and out for a couple months due to bypass surgery and come back to see this! Someone pinch me!!!!
Anyone know of any USB Wireless dongles??! :)
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Sweet!!
Please! Whoever gets this up and running first please post a thread with pics and a video!
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The off-screen reload function:
When the camera is tracking, it sends normal (fire) button when pulling the trigger.
When the camera see no IR light (not tracking), send another button (assigned as reload) when pulling the trigger.
In mame:
-[no]offscreen_reload / -[no]reload
Controls whether or not MAME treats a second button input from a
lightgun as a reload signal. In this case, MAME will report the gun's
position as (0,MAX) with the trigger held, which is equivalent to an
offscreen reload. This is only needed for games that required you to
shoot offscreen to reload, and then only if your gun does not support
off screen reloads. The default is OFF (-nooffscreen_reload).
About two players in HOD etc.:
I would guess that "troubleshooter" would work with this, but I do not know (can´t remember) if it requires more than two mouse buttons.
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The off-screen reload function:
When the camera is tracking, it sends normal (fire) button when pulling the trigger.
When the camera see no IR light (not tracking), send another button (assigned as reload) when pulling the trigger.
I will need to think about this. At the moment when the gun is pointed off-screen it sends no mouse data at all. Relistically it cant send data when off screen, otherwise the PC would be impossible to use because the gun would control the mouse at all times so the normal mouse would not work, it would be locked in position.
When off-screen it would still send the button signal if the trigger is defined as a gamepad button as opposed to mouse button.
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I implemented a change which should work for off-screen reload. When off screen, the gun sends co-ords of (0,max) but only sends when the trigger is pulled, so that it does not interfere with the PC mouse when off-screen.
This will go in the first version as we wont be sending out any until Monday.
Andy
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Andy,
This is fantastic - thank you so much for developing this!
One question. I have 2 Namco recoil guns I'm willing to convert. Any ideas on how the recoil function could be supported with something like this?
Jim
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Fantastic news! I never bothered with a light gun after reading so many threads that made it just seem like a headache to set up.
Off topic I know, but after reading the product description on the web I had to mention how much I love some of the different terms used 'over the pond'.
UK: foam draught excluder
US: beer seal
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Andy,
This is fantastic - thank you so much for developing this!
One question. I have 2 Namco recoil guns I'm willing to convert. Any ideas on how the recoil function could be supported with something like this?
Jim
I thought about this as well. I guess you could feed a second USB cable twined with the other one to power the recoil function, and link it into the trigger so the trigger pulse makes the recoil kick back. I would say splice into the USB cable and power the recoil function from there, but I imagine the camera would not get sufficient power this way.
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Many current light guns (I'm primarily thinking GunCon and WiiMote) have 2 or more buttons. I see that there's only 4 contacts that connect this board to the PC, so I'm curious if multiple buttons could be implemented? I'm thinking it might be nice to have a button for second trigger and maybe manual reload. Some games let you shoot a grenade with a secondary trigger for instance. Anyway, awesome product as is!
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This has support for 6 buttons...not sure what you mean?
Trigger plus 6 other buttons can be defined as gamepad or mouse buttons
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This has support for 6 buttons...not sure what you mean?
Trigger plus 6 other buttons can be defined as gamepad or mouse buttons
P1 - P5, so maybe that's supposed to be six total.
(http://www.ultimarc.com/images/button_conns.jpg)
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I know ;)
I was answering bkenobi...not sure what he meant by only two buttons...
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I know, I was adding to your answer, plus questioning the additional six buttons.
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Lol...gotcha...sorry haven't finished my morning coffee yet...im slow ok?!
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I implemented a change which should work for off-screen reload. When off screen, the gun sends co-ords of (0,max) but only sends when the trigger is pulled, so that it does not interfere with the PC mouse when off-screen.
This will go in the first version as we wont be sending out any until Monday.
Andy
Excellent.
The good thing is that there would be no need for setting "offscreen reload" in mame using a second button (that doesn´t really work in some games).
The bad thing about this is that not all games uses offscreen reload. What about games that doesn´t support this ? Games that needs a second button for reload and you still want to shoot offscreen (to reload)!?
I suggest a few seconds timeout before releasing the mouse making it possible to offscreen reload in games like HOD if you f.ex. select mouse button 2 in "TRIG" input in "Button Assignment Offscreen".
There should also be possible to turn "offscreen reload" on and off and to select x and y offscreen coordinates (where the mouse pointer moves for offscreen reload):
With "offscreen reload" ON, the "TRIG" button (in "Button Assignment Offscreen") and offscreen coordinates are reported anytime regardless of the timeout when shooting offscreen. Setting the same button in "Button Assignment" and "Button Assignment Offscreen" for this for simplicity and the possibility to select another button for "offscreen reload" together with offscreen coordinates.
With "offscreen reload" OFF, no offscreen coordinates are sent, mouse buttons are reported within the timeout period, gamepad buttons can be reported anytime. Very useful together with "troubleshooter".
What I mean with "Button Assignment Offscreen":
Each button have two functions. One while tracking is active "Button Assignment" and another pointing offscreen "Button Assignment Offscreen". That would give 14 user selectable inputs. 7 onscreen and 7 offscreen. The "Offscreen" function could be mouse buttons (within the timeout period) or gamepad buttons and full throw axis (hopefully) for navigation and other stuff. The "TRIG" input in "Button Assignment Offscreen" selects what button is pressed together with offscreen coordinates when "offscreen reload" is ON.
Another thing: What about selecting if the gun should move the mouse pointer or analog gamepad axis. The old xbox lightgun works like this. My ThrustMaster Beretta uses 65536 analog positions in each axis. I have tested this gun in Terminator 2 in mame and it works very well. The calibration procedure can be the same (in mouse mode). When leaving calibration mode it could switch back to either Gamepad or Mouse mode. Pointing at screen center = gamepad in center.
I hope this is understandable. A little hard to explain. :dizzy:
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I agree with this part:
:dizzy:
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I ended up impulse buying the act lab guns yesterday. I guess it's one day shipping since they just showed up. I thought they'd feel like junk since they were 20 bucks a piece, but they feel pretty decent. Good trigger and there is a clickable button on the back for a reload and a slider switch on the side though I'm not sure what it's original intended for. The front barrel opening also looks plenty big enough. Will be hacking Andy's new gadgets into these as soon as they get here!
Cheers!
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I read the specs yesterday, but missed where it said 6 buttons. I did see where they could be defined in software which is why I was confused. :dunno
Anyway, cool beans!
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Syph007,
Can you measure the diameter of that barrel hole by chance? Just curious as I am contemplating the Nerf ones as well.
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I implemented a change which should work for off-screen reload. When off screen, the gun sends co-ords of (0,max) but only sends when the trigger is pulled, so that it does not interfere with the PC mouse when off-screen.
This will go in the first version as we wont be sending out any until Monday.
Andy
Excellent.
The good thing is that there would be no need for setting "offscreen reload" in mame using a second button (that doesn´t really work in some games).
The bad thing about this is that not all games uses offscreen reload. What about games that doesn´t support this ? Games that needs a second button for reload and you still want to shoot offscreen (to reload)!?
I suggest a few seconds timeout before releasing the mouse making it possible to offscreen reload in games like HOD if you f.ex. select mouse button 2 in "TRIG" input in "Button Assignment Offscreen".
There should also be possible to turn "offscreen reload" on and off and to select x and y offscreen coordinates (where the mouse pointer moves for offscreen reload):
With "offscreen reload" ON, the "TRIG" button (in "Button Assignment Offscreen") and offscreen coordinates are reported anytime regardless of the timeout when shooting offscreen. Setting the same button in "Button Assignment" and "Button Assignment Offscreen" for this for simplicity and the possibility to select another button for "offscreen reload" together with offscreen coordinates.
With "offscreen reload" OFF, no offscreen coordinates are sent, mouse buttons are reported within the timeout period, gamepad buttons can be reported anytime. Very useful together with "troubleshooter".
There is no need to go so far.
Andy, you could implement an option like shoot offscreen asign to... similar to the existing in the LCDTopGun driver, with two options:
A) shoot (trigger) at 0,max
B) push other selected button
With option A selected, mame can reload shooting offscreen without -offscreen reload enabled .
With option B selected and button 2 mapped to it, you could reload shooting offscreen in games supported by Troubleshooter. BUT, it will work also in MAME using the option -offscreen reload. (remember that this option of MAME remap a mouse button 2 to => set coord (0,max) + push mouse button 1 (trigger) -yes, like option A-. This is for compatibility with the actlabs guns.
So option A is only usefull to be safety. Maybe one day the mameteam delete the -offscreen reload option.
In fact, actually, the best option for the LCDTopGun users is the option B. They can play all troubleshooter's supported games (HOD, HOD2, HOD3, VCOP, VCOP2,...) and mame with -offscreen reload enabled.
About games that uses a button to remap, this is no problem for option B
And Terminator 2, Operation thunderbolt works perfectly in mame with correctly mapped configuration (no need to track like an analog joystick.
One last question. I assume that the AimTrak Light gun module will be Vista, Win7 64 compatible...
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Syph007,
Can you measure the diameter of that barrel hole by chance? Just curious as I am contemplating the Nerf ones as well.
Inner diameter is 3/4"
Edit: You'd think I would have checked the pcb width before I ordered these but I forgot to. Just checked on the site and they are 0.6" wide, so should have no issues fitting... I hope. :D
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A) shoot (trigger) at 0,max
B) push other selected button
+1
A) is perfect for mame. The -reloadoffscreen option sometimes (often?) is broken, and the arcade games expect this input anyway.
B) is for all the PC games.
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How could you connect this to say an airsoft gun? connect the QD to a microswitch and aim the button of the switch to where the trigger taps it?
Sorry I know thats probably a stupid question, but ive never really cracked open any guns.. arcade or otherwise.
There are no dumb questions, just dumb people.
;)
This is something I want to know too. It doesn't seem possible to put this in an air soft or other non electronic toy gun.
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Inner diameter is 3/4"
Edit: You'd think I would have checked the pcb width before I ordered these but I forgot to. Just checked on the site and they are 0.6" wide, so should have no issues fitting... I hope.
Perfect, thanks! :cheers:
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Andy, this is awesome news. I have never given serious consideration to light guns because of all the trouble people have had. Looks like my collection of ultimarc products is about to grow. I'll be buying 2, though perhaps not immediately. I have a lot going on currently, and I'm waiting to see what you come up with in terms of shell options. :)
Ultimarc comes to the rescue again!
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@DartfulDodger
Sure you can. It'll take a little more engineering, because yes, you'd have to adda switch to the trigger, but that's one of the easiest bits to accomplish.
I'd really want it wireless, and doing THAT might take a lot more research.
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There is no need to go so far.
It is really simple:
Assigning secondary buttons for offscreen use for all 7 buttons. (So the user can select another or the same for that matter). This may be useful for PC games that require more buttons for menu navigation etc. other than in-game controls.
The timeout suggestion is because Andy says the mouse must be released and therefor will not be able to send mouse button presses without sending coordinates anyway. A timeout is just inside the mcu and transparent to the user and just to prevent f.ex. right clicking at a certain coordinate after timeout. Pointing at the screen (IR) resets the timer and activates the mouse. A three to five second timeout should be more than enough time to reload. Within this time the last coordinates (offscreen reload off) or offscreen coordinates (offscreen reload on) are used together with the mouse button or no coordinates if a gamepad assigned button is pressed. The user will not notice this. The timeout is only for mouse functions and the gamepad function can still be used.
Tracking like an analog joystick is not really needed, but I can assure you it is really fun. Not specifically in mame, but any joystick game actually. The LCD TopGun 2 can do this. Just use an xbox to pc joystick adapter an try it. Unfortunately the TopGun2 uses 256 steps. My ThrustMaster Beretta is for CRT only and need special circuitry to work on a PC.
Not all games work with offscreen reload in mame. There have been some issues on this lately. It´s great that Andy implements this and hopefully this "B" mode also.
One last question. I assume that the AimTrak Light gun module will be Vista, Win7 64 compatible...
You´ll never know with Microsoft, :banghead: , but unless they remove mouse and gamepad support it should work on any system I guess.
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In case anyone is interested, I cracked one open. There is 2 inches of space in the barrel, plenty of room without having to hack anything out. Trigger and back of gun switch each activate a small micorswitch. I'll just solder on to those points and this should work no problems.
Cheers!
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Nice, and it looks like the existing cable is just plugged in and can be removed easily so you could always revert it back. Cool.
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If everything works out, this is really AWESOME news!
It sucks that I had already spent money on EMS's product well before I finished my cab.
Looks like I might have to bite the bullet on that one, lol.
In case anyone is interested, I cracked one open. There is 2 inches of space in the barrel, plenty of room without having to hack anything out. Trigger and back of gun switch each activate a small micorswitch. I'll just solder on to those points and this should work no problems.
Cheers!
So from your pics, am I to understand that the chip in that gun provides no purpose but to transmit the electrical impulse of the switches? That we can use both that chip and the AimTrak together in the same gun?
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@DartfulDodger
Sure you can. It'll take a little more engineering, because yes, you'd have to adda switch to the trigger, but that's one of the easiest bits to accomplish.
I'd really want it wireless, and doing THAT might take a lot more research.
The wireless option sounds perfect, but this all sounds too good to be true.
I was very disappointed when Foley got tagged. I was looking forward to is sonic idea, but this new option sounds better all around.
My cab should be ready for a gun in a month or two(although, I've said that before), I'm hoping by then you guys will have blazed a trail by then.
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I'm thinking I might pick up a cheap NES Zapper this weekend, because I don't want to alter any of my current guns. I'll definitely do something about that "KA-PING!" trigger switch.
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Has anyone considered using one of those Wii gun things that you stick the Wiimote into? They are really cheap and already have an opening that would work for this. I don't know if they would look like crap though since I haven't looked at them in person (just interweb pictures).
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I know what you're talking about, and without a Wiimote in them, they'd look kinda dumb. Plus, the AimTrak would be exposed without adding more material.
Also, a Nyko Perfect Shot is about $15, so for that much you can get a decent looking arcade-style gun, instead. I'd spend an extra $5 on an Act Labs gun.
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About the reload:
What is wrong with this (probably something):
If the trigger is set to button 1, it always presses button 2 in addition to button1 when clicked off-screen. (or it could be button 8).
Also, when clicked off-screen, it always sends (0,max) when the trigger is pulled.
Its not really desirable to need to reconfigure the gun for PC v Mame, but maybe this would cater for both.
The option of having it control the analog axes would be really easy to do. But I wont add this just now.
Yes it works in Vista / Windows 7.
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About the reload:
What is wrong with this (probably something):
If the trigger is set to button 1, it always presses button 2 in addition to button1 when clicked off-screen. (or it could be button 8).
Also, when clicked off-screen, it always sends (0,max) when the trigger is pulled.
Its not really desirable to need to reconfigure the gun for PC v Mame, but maybe this would cater for both.
Only problem I see is that you would need -offscreen_reload enabled in MAME to avoid problems in games that use the second button to launch missiles, grenades, etc. With this option enabled, mame remaps button2 to button3. But MAME would reload twice.
EDIT: Well, you could avoid this: with -offscreen_reload disabled and remapping those games manually.
One more thing. Aaron changed the behavior of offscreen_reload. If the mouse(lightgun) works in relative mode, this option will not work. The lightgun must work in absolute mode. This is why you can not reload pressing button2 (with -offscreen_reload enabled) with a tipical mouse.
Apart from that, -offscreen_reload works perfectly in all games that needs shoot offscreen to reload except one clone of Lethal Enforcers II, that needs set the pointer to (0,0).
If you want my experience: I have the "shootoffscreen to" option of LCDTopGun assigned to button2. With this, and with offscreen_reload enabled in MAME, we don't need reconfigure nothing. But it would be good the posibility to reonfigure, by the way.
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not trolling....
but I was checking out hobbytron.com and a ton of their airsoft pistols are on sale for like 5 bucks or less. Lots of sweet guns to gut.
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Only problem I see is that you would need -offscreen_reload enabled in MAME to avoid problems in games that use the second button to launch missiles, grenades, etc. With this option enabled, mame remaps button2 to button3. But MAME would reload twice.
EDIT: Well, you could avoid this: with -offscreen_reload disabled and remapping those games manually.
One more thing. Aaron changed the behavior of offscreen_reload. If the mouse(lightgun) works in relative mode, this option will not work. The lightgun must work in absolute mode. This is why you can not reload pressing button2 (with -offscreen_reload enabled) with a tipical mouse.
It works in absolute mode.
If the reload button were set to button 8, then it would never interfere with buttons used for other functions. But it would require manual reconfiguration of the reload button in these games. Or does the reload button have to be button 2?
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Has anyone considered using one of those Wii gun things that you stick the Wiimote into? They are really cheap and already have an opening that would work for this. I don't know if they would look like crap though since I haven't looked at them in person (just interweb pictures).
Actually, I just checked this out on my lunch break and they don't look bad at all...they could easily be disassembled and re-painted with better colours etc. You might just want to build a cover for where the Wii slips in which shouldn't be hard to do with some ABS plastic etc.
The nerf gun section in the toystore had tons of options as well and most were cheap like Borscht.
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It works in absolute mode.
If the reload button were set to button 8, then it would never interfere with buttons used for other functions. But it would require manual reconfiguration of the reload button in these games. Or does the reload button have to be button 2?
Yep. The reload button must be the button 2 (well, exactly must be the second button of the mouse -in MAME, the trigger button is mapped like button 0, so reload is Button 1-) for lightgun PC games and MAME with -offscreen_reload option enabled. Just call it: PC Lightgun games compatibility mode. If think all future lighgun pc games will have the same conf: First button=trigger, Second one=reload.
But who knows how will be those games in the future, so as I said before, it would be great the posibility to remap the shootoffscreen option...
Andy. Any test in 64 bits OS (winxp/vista,Win7)? It's clear that the future is MAME64. It would be a great feature that makes this gun definitely better than LCDTopGun...
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About the reload:
What is wrong with this (probably something):
If the trigger is set to button 1, it always presses button 2 in addition to button1 when clicked off-screen. (or it could be button 8).
Also, when clicked off-screen, it always sends (0,max) when the trigger is pulled.
A few problems.
- Some PC games hardcode translating a button two press to reload, so youll need to send button 2. Others don't need reload and use button two to launch grenade, etc instead.
- For these PC games, you'll also shoot. So you might reload and shot once immediately, meaning you'll need to reload sooner, and your shot will go to 0,max, which is a miss and will decrease your score if accuracy counts.
(Only mame translates button 2 to button 1 + 0,max, since that's how the arcades saw off screen shots, and only if -offscreen_reload is enabled and isn't broken.)
- In mame, you might have the opposite problem. Besides reloading, you might shoot the grenade/etc (assuming -offscreen_reload is left disabled, and you wired the gun's second button to mouse button 2, and didn't remap mame). At 0,max. And grenades are more "costly"/limited than bullets. To get around this, you'd need to wire the gun's second button to something besides mouse button 2, and remap all the games in mame to use that other button. But with it wired to not B2, you can't use it to reload in the above hardcoded PC games.
- In mame, if you enable -offscreen reload, you might reload twice, or reload & also shoot once.
This reload headache is an issue due to the differences between how arcade games and PC games were coded. (the respective games were coded for their respective guns, and the respective guns designed for their respective games.) The whole reason -offscreen_reload was added to mame was because PC lightguns did not act like arcade lightguns.
Andy, AFAI can see you have four choices:
1. have the AimTrak act like all (other,cheap) PC lightguns and hope -offscreen_reload and all its headaches are good enough for mame users (aka screw mame).
2. set the aimTrak up like an arcade gun for mame, and screw the PC games.
3. try to find a middle ground, screwing both sides in some way(s)
4. let the user decide which way the AimTrack should lean. Hopefully this can be changed easily, like the u360 mapping. One worst case, the user has to choose which firmware to use, and is advised not to chande it too much do to multiwrite limits. (The absolute worst would be having to buy a different model.)
I like ZeroPoint's option (a #4 variant): give all buttons a separate "offscreen" button output. The user can set it to be the same as onscreen (aka arcade), or different. The most used would be sending button 2 for trigger for "PC reload", but it could be anything, such as admin buttons, pause, ect.
Or are we just spoiled with your ipac, U-HID, and especially u360 to expect a remap script to handle everything for us? :cheers:
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First of all: :cheers:
A quickie question that pertain if I hack these into an EMS TopGun II.
If I keep enough of the EMS TopGun II circuitry & guts in the guns to keep the recoil & laser functions intact, will that draw too much current away from your board & cause it to not work nominally?
Thanks,
-Jason
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This sounds like a very cool product.
Has anyone gotten 2 of them to work at the same time in a game so that two players can play co-op?
What games support that?
If all attached guns control the one mouse pointer, I am not sure how you could play more than one player at a time.
??? ??? ???
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This sounds like a very cool product.
Has anyone gotten 2 of them to work at the same time in a game so that two players can play co-op?
What games support that?
If all attached guns control the one mouse pointer, I am not sure how you could play more than one player at a time.
??? ??? ???
Quoting Andy from earlier in this thread:
On the subject of multiple guns, all guns will control the same mouse pointer, but software which reads the devices using DirectInput is able to read each device independently. Mame can do this.
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I like ZeroPoint's option (a #4 variant): give all buttons a separate "offscreen" button output. The user can set it to be the same as onscreen (aka arcade), or different. The most used would be sending button 2 for trigger for "PC reload", but it could be anything, such as admin buttons, pause, ect.
Or are we just spoiled with your ipac, U-HID, and especially u360 to expect a remap script to handle everything for us? :cheers:
Ok I will add separate settings for off-screen for all buttons. Not sure if I can fit all that into the one window in the app...
I will also make a change so that a button config can be downloaded separately from other settings, to allow for a future addition for downloading button configs. I could release the source and data format for this as well.
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First of all: :cheers:
A quickie question that pertain if I hack these into an EMS TopGun II.
If I keep enough of the EMS TopGun II circuitry & guts in the guns to keep the recoil & laser functions intact, will that draw too much current away from your board & cause it to not work nominally?
Thanks,
-Jason
It should be OK but a decent recoil solenoid really needs 12 volts or higher. The way it should work is the supply charges up a large capacitor and this is discharged through the solenoid when the trigger is pulled.
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The option of having it control the analog axes would be really easy to do. But I wont add this just now.
Does this mean that those of us who want to use this for Terminator 2 are out of luck?
Maybe I missed something about this providing a solution for analog and switch style shooters?
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Wouldn't the T2 stick/gun be too close to the display for this to work? It claims 2'+ in the specs, but last time I looked, I thought the T2 guns were like 1' or less from the glass.
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No, no, let me rephrase -- I don't want to retrofit this into a T2 gun, I just want this to be an easy solution for me (and my wife -- who loves T2) to be able to play T2 on our cab with light guns.
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First of all: :cheers:
A quickie question that pertain if I hack these into an EMS TopGun II.
If I keep enough of the EMS TopGun II circuitry & guts in the guns to keep the recoil & laser functions intact, will that draw too much current away from your board & cause it to not work nominally?
Thanks,
-Jason
It should be OK but a decent recoil solenoid really needs 12 volts or higher. The way it should work is the supply charges up a large capacitor and this is discharged through the solenoid when the trigger is pulled.
Hi Andy-
You're probably thinking of a "real" arcade gun. :]
Actually, the EMS TopGun II runs just off of the USB 5V supply. The recoil is accomplished by spinning a rotary motor that drives a sprung rack & pinion. When the pinion gets to the portion without teeth, the rack slams back for recoil. There's (I assume) minimal circuitry controlling this, as all it has to do is run the motor for an instant each time the trigger is pulled.
On the bright side (pun intended), the laser pointer has a switch, so if using the laser sight on the TopGun II draws too much current, it can be turned off. And, the recoil is also disableable, either by unplugging a portion of the cord or by installing a switch (shameless plug: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=93642.0).
Thanks!
-Jason
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It doesn't seem possible to put this in an air soft or other non electronic toy gun.
It really wouldn't take much to gut either a spring or electric airsoft pistol and add the AimTrak and a microswitch. They also make electric blowback models that are already rigged to move the slide when the trigger is pulled.
Wish I hadn't given away all my airsoft guns earlier this year. My MP5-SD3 would have made a pretty sweet lightgun :banghead:
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Is there any delay before the cursor catches up to the guns actual target coordinates? Your gun seems to work on the same principal as the Wii and the TopGun II, both of which have a slight (but very noticeable/distracting) delay.
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Is there any delay before the cursor catches up to the guns actual target coordinates? Your gun seems to work on the same principal as the Wii and the TopGun II, both of which have a slight (but very noticeable/distracting) delay.
This is definitely a worry of mine, as well, and the reason why I avoided those other options. Hopefully Andy will get a video together soon, or at least answer that question. (It's 5:00 am in the UK right now, though, so don't expect an answer for a little while)
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Is there any delay before the cursor catches up to the guns actual target coordinates? Your gun seems to work on the same principal as the Wii and the TopGun II, both of which have a slight (but very noticeable/distracting) delay.
I think that this is infact standard on all light guns. Even using the offical Namco Guncon and Guncon 2 there is a minor lag if you have a cursor. It's not huge but you can notice that the cursor is draging slightly behind the motion of the gun. I'm pretty sure that such lag is also featured in arcade light guns, it's just the nature of the technology.
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Is there any delay before the cursor catches up to the guns actual target coordinates? Your gun seems to work on the same principal as the Wii and the TopGun II, both of which have a slight (but very noticeable/distracting) delay.
No delay at all
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Is there any delay before the cursor catches up to the guns actual target coordinates? Your gun seems to work on the same principal as the Wii and the TopGun II, both of which have a slight (but very noticeable/distracting) delay.
No delay at all
which brings us back to...
A video of it in action would be nice!!!
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I have no time to come up with my own gun solution...so I can't wait for a plug-n-play version to be ready. I'll buy a 2 gun set.
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I have implemented the "off-screen" button setting. The website page and screenshot of the app have been updated.
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I have doubts to the accuracy of a system which has all the sensor leds
located in one central spot.
Most LED solutions have LEDs spaced out on all sides of the display, so can
provide more accurate positional data.
How is the accuracy maintained without multiple points spread out?
I tell you... Ive bought poor accuracy guns before (act labs), and it made
the games unplayable. I wont be doing that again.
The LCD Topguns are good... but as said.. the distance thing is a bit of
a problem.
I also agree, that the ability to use the guns for T2, as a realtime analog
joystick will be something desired. Along with a Kit we can install which comes
with a 30+ volt recoil coil that actually interfaces with mames force feedback
system.
Unlike Most games which recoil whenever there is a trigger press,
T2 has the game control the pulse frequency / speeds. If a player gets a higher
powered gun.... the Pulses will be stronger and more rapid. If the player
runs low on Ammo... the recoil force will be reduced, and the time between
recoil's is increased. The game syncs the recoil with the onscreen action.
I would say T2 is Very popular, even though its not a true lightgun game...
and so supporting it with true mame force feedback software hooks will
be Huge. People will drop all other solutions in a heartbeat.
(The LCD Topguns realtime has lag... and their idea of using a motor for
recoil is horrible. Needs to be a true arcade quality FFB system. The
topguns also did not use a "mame-hook" to interface with T2 properly)
There are also other games which use coils in the guns, such as the Point Blanc
series, and more importantly, Time Crisis.
Some of those input buttons you had made, could be used for changing the
guns modes:
1) Cycle From 'precise absolute' to 'realtime mouse' to 'realtime analog joystick'
2) Cycle modes from 'Dumb' recoil... to Mame-Hook... to complete off.
I suppose a recoil system could have its own controls, separate from the gun itself.
And could be expanded to support other types and games and devices which
use force feedback.
Qbert and Pinball knockers, Outrun shaker motor (single directional motor which
moves a wheel assembly on a sliding track using a crank arm), cabinet lighting
systems (Spyhunter, Discs of Tron enviornmental), and even dual motor
systems for motion cabinets like afterburner.
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I have doubts to the accuracy of a system which has all the sensor leds
located in one central spot.
Most LED solutions have LEDs spaced out on all sides of the display, so can
provide more accurate positional data.
How is the accuracy maintained without multiple points spread out?
I tell you... Ive bought poor accuracy guns before (act labs), and it made
the games unplayable. I wont be doing that again.
The LCD Topguns are good... but as said.. the distance thing is a bit of
a problem.
I also agree, that the ability to use the guns for T2, as a realtime analog
joystick will be something desired. Along with a Kit we can install which comes
with a 30+ volt recoil coil that actually interfaces with mames force feedback
system.
Unlike Most games which recoil whenever there is a trigger press,
T2 has the game control the pulse frequency / speeds. If a player gets a higher
powered gun.... the Pulses will be stronger and more rapid. If the player
runs low on Ammo... the recoil force will be reduced, and the time between
recoil's is increased. The game syncs the recoil with the onscreen action.
I would say T2 is Very popular, even though its not a true lightgun game...
and so supporting it with true mame force feedback software hooks will
be Huge. People will drop all other solutions in a heartbeat.
(The LCD Topguns realtime has lag... and their idea of using a motor for
recoil is horrible. Needs to be a true arcade quality FFB system. The
topguns also did not use a "mame-hook" to interface with T2 properly)
There are also other games which use coils in the guns, such as the Point Blanc
series, and more importantly, Time Crisis.
Some of those input buttons you had made, could be used for changing the
guns modes:
1) Cycle From 'precise absolute' to 'realtime mouse' to 'realtime analog joystick'
2) Cycle modes from 'Dumb' recoil... to Mame-Hook... to complete off.
I suppose a recoil system could have its own controls, separate from the gun itself.
And could be expanded to support other types and games and devices which
use force feedback.
Qbert and Pinball knockers, Outrun shaker motor (single directional motor which
moves a wheel assembly on a sliding track using a crank arm), cabinet lighting
systems (Spyhunter, Discs of Tron enviornmental), and even dual motor
systems for motion cabinets like afterburner.
Think about this... I have a 65" TV and the small little Wii bar across the top is TINY compared to the TV and guess what, that Wiimote is pretty accurate.
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I was also wondering about the off-screen reload and how it's handled...
Good question. Actually its not physically possible to move a mouse pointer outside the screen co-ordinates so I have no idea how this works. I can only assume it really means reload is "very near the edge of the screen".
Basically it should work if a mouse works. But if there is any special change needed the firmware is upgradeable so I can make changes if required. In fact to be honest I would expect tweaks will be needed as it the case with all new products.
I agree a video would be a great idea. I will look at this possibility.
On the subject of multiple guns, all guns will control the same mouse pointer, but software which reads the devices using DirectInput is able to read each device independently. Mame can do this.
one question about the guns acting like mice. How does that fare for mame 32? will anybody be able to close mame32 and do weird things with the interface like what i was getting with my trackball panel until i remapped some things?
or is their a way to limit gun mouse function to mame only?
thanks.
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pretty accurate and actually accurate are hugely different.
IE:
Someone is about to shoot you. Yet, because the gun made your aim
go off by +3mm or more.. you get shot.
Im sure there are those people who have terrible aim anyways, and
so wouldnt notice accuracy issues as much. However, to those of us who are
skilled and have good aim... we cant stand when the equipment is what
caused the lost shots. And when it happens about every 6 shots... that gets
old real quick.
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Bought a blue Lethal Enforcers SNES gun today, and now I just placed my order for an AimTrak! I can't wait! :cheers:
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I've been waiting for this. Fantastic news and well done Andy. I think the price is spot on. Once this gets going I think its time lightguns had their own thread. There is already a ton of information in the main forum but with all the forseeable modded guns about to be built it makes sense to have a new thread on this topic. Maybe split it into child threads for act, Ems and Aimtrak? Bring all the old threads in so we have a one shop spot?
I'm now looking for an old upright cab with a big monitor. I plan to build a pump action shotgun, two pistols and two automatic machine guns with the idea I can swap weapons to suit the game being played. Probably just use a usb hub built onto the fron of the cab for easy changeover.
Off screen reload will be tricky as the last cab I did has PC games, mame and the sega emulator. But at last we have a proper solution. I'll be ordering 5 units in the near future once I've tracked down my donor guns.
This is going to solve so many compromises I made in the last cab
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This thread seems to be getting too technical too quickly - if there are teething troubles, I'm sure they'll be addressed. As for mapping issues and reference to specific games, as long as the thing aims and tracks properly, and the programming ability of the device is fully flexible to allow for the difference between PC and MAME games, I'm happy to set my gun up in software for each game manually. I'm sure if the gun can be programmed to do both ways, you could always write a quick batch file to switch the reload method when launching a PC game instead of a MAME game.
Like I say, as long as the accuracy is good and calibration isn't a pain in the ass, that's good enough for me. I'm only really bothered about a handful of games anyway so as long as it shoots what I'm aiming at, I'm good.
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This thread seems to be getting too technical too quickly - if there are teething troubles, I'm sure they'll be addressed. As for mapping issues and reference to specific games, as long as the thing aims and tracks properly, and the programming ability of the device is fully flexible to allow for the difference between PC and MAME games, I'm happy to set my gun up in software for each game manually. I'm sure if the gun can be programmed to do both ways, you could always write a quick batch file to switch the reload method when launching a PC game instead of a MAME game.
Like I say, as long as the accuracy is good and calibration isn't a pain in the ass, that's good enough for me. I'm only really bothered about a handful of games anyway so as long as it shoots what I'm aiming at, I'm good.
It was also a matter of time before the Topgun fanboys chimed in!
The price is the selling feature! At this price I definitely will give it a try. Afterall... I gave the Topgun a try and it was twice the price and sounds like half the performance and my Topgun showed up broken. If this at least works when it arrives it is already ahead of the game! ;)
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Well, Im no "Fanboy". Im just a customer who wants something functionally
usable... and with the most options available.
Everyone was all up for joy over the actlabs guns... However, they were so
horrifically imprecise, as to be unusable. A huge waste of money. Stupid me,
I went and ordered the 2nd revision thinking they would have improved
accuracy. Wrong. Never again will I buy anything ActLabs... and never again
will I buy anything without a solid video review and or actually testing it myself.
Im done with "Burning Money" on dysfunctional crap.
Already it appears Andy has not even tested these things in mame... as he
didnt even know about the reload issues.
I appreciate new options... However, Im not going to start doing cartwheels
and patting someone on the back for something that hasnt even been tested
fully, reviewed, and or did a video demonstration.
The Topguns may not be the perfect gun, but at least they are accurate...
have made adjustments to deal with mame better, have video demos,
and have a known track record. They also have force feedback which
could be hacked with relays to drive full power coils.. a comfortable gun shell,
and a laser for precise calibration.
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TopGuns have good accuracy? Rubbish. Even after repeat calibration, bar adjustment, and minor tweaks, I always got average accuracy at most, with frequent 'misfires' going way off where I aimed, screen edge detection unforgivably poor and tracking was awful as you could see if you had crosshairs on screen.
I got some (brand new) on the cheap and still think they were a waste of money. The sensor bars are ungainly, the recoil is temperemental and misses every few shots, the laser is cool but inaccurate, the cabling arrangement is comical for two players and the potential for infra-red interference was just ridiculous. The only redeeming points were the gun design, the number of convenient buttons (like the second 'trigger' on the handle, buttons where the safey catch would be on a real gun, and the 'mini-stick' on the rear) and the fact it was better than any other offering at the time, but that isn't saying much.
As for over-praising Andy, I think the real praise will only come once the units have been tested. Most of us (including me) have said "great, if it does what it claims", and will take this with a pinch of salt. What we are praising right now is the new approach, the flexibility of choosing your own gun and the fact this product was borne out of direct community opinion and feedback via this forum.
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i think alot of the praise is due to Ultimarc's reputation. They make awesome products that are tailored to the home arcade crowd...which is a market that usually has to adapt and modifiy products that are designed for other purposes. Sure, we havent actually had a real review of this product yet, but here are the reasons i think it is being praised so much:
1. THis product has been built from the ground up to be a cost effective light gun solution for the home arcade/mame use, trying to resolve alot of the problems that other current options have. Instead of making a product and saying "this is it", Andy asked for input about what our community wanted from a light gun, and designed this product to those specs.
2. Andy is a regular active member on these forums, and has already adjusted the functionality of these units, based on input from the forums. He actually cares about our community and wants to make products that work the way we want them to, and to provide more functionality that other companies are offering.
3. Ultimarc makes awesome products...look at the ipac, the utrak, the u360...all of these products work beautifully, and are aimed towards the home arcade market. They deliver functionality that other products just do not have.
4. Customer service - Ultimarc has a proven track record of standing behind their products, and going above and beyond the call of duty to make sure their customers are happy. Search the forums, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who has anything bad to say about Ultimarc, or their products. They constantly raise the bar when it comes products and support. Why would this unit be any different?
Like any new product, i'm sure there will be a few little issues here and there, but i have complete faith in Andy and Ultimarc, that if there is a problem, it will be addressed and resolved.
If I had the cash, i would have already ordered a set of these, but i just dont have it right now. I'm really looking forward to the reveiws of these units, and also to the full gun kit that they are workign on. I'm really not sure what kind of gun shell i would use on my cabinet, so please, anyone who uses these, post a thorough review with pics of your guns.
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That's the reason I ordered this sight unseen -- Andy's product support. If this doesn't do what it should, he will do what is needed to correct it. I have 100% faith in Ultimarc's commitment to their products and their customers.
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I wouldn't even spend much time trying to figure out how well this solution performs or speculate based on previous experiences with different products. This thing has just hit the streets for pete sake! Give it some time, there will be plenty of real world use cases with this thing in action soon enough!
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I ordered mine because of my faith in Andy and the quality of his products. I don't know how some people can start criticize it sight unseen but there are always those with a negative attitude. If it is even half as good as it sounds it will be a welcome addition to my cab.
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It doesn't seem possible to put this in an air soft or other non electronic toy gun.
[/quote]
I wonder if anybodys thought of trying to keep the airsoft gun functional. Add your microswitch, etc and leave it functional.
it would definately add some sort of realism to it, lol. Just make sure that your glass on top of the monitor is unbreakable.
sorry i just had to get a laugh out of that.
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The Topgun accuracy is about 500x more accurate than the ActLabs guns. Every shot I placed
went where I wanted it to go.
If yours had problems, it may have been due to nearby light sources which caused interference.
I merely fail to see how a system which has only 1 bank of leds, which are all centeralized in
one location can be more accurate than a system which places the leds at all 4 corners of the
screen.
The arcades usually did things for good reason... and that is exactly how they did construct
their sensors.
The Wii aproach to sensor bar is a poor replication. Its meant for easy setup and nicer
looks... however, Wii accuracy is Not very good. Especially when it comes to lightgun games.
Sorry... but I dont have much faith in someone who has not even tested these units with actual
mame gun games. That is irresponsible.
And, Im being a realist... not being Negative.
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It's tested to control a mouse cursor. Try the same with Topguns and it's clear how much they suck
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this is pretty cool, i can see some of the more creative people on here offering shells..
one thing thats kinda a turn off though here is that it must be held at the same height..
this would make it a pain to use with friends..
also i can't speak for everyone but i sometimes change up during game play.. so it would lose accuracy just by adjusting your stance and such..
perhaps that weakness is overstated on the product page but anyway looks interesting in any event.
slightly off subject is anyone still selling positional guns? namely the T2 recoil guns?
i know they're not light guns, ebay keeps turning up empty.
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When I first read about the AimTrak, I immediately thought "NES Zapper". So I got a few off craigslist to look inside and start planning. Turns out, the trigger mech uses a standard microswitch with an arm. The barrel is plenty big enough for the AimTrack module. Also, the barrel and handle of the zapper are weighted which gives it a nice feel. Someone already mentioned about the "KA-CHING" sound, but it looks easy enough to modify for quietness. Here's a pic for anyone that's interested.
I'll be using the grey one for Player 1 and the orange one for Player 2.
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I was back and forth between buying the NES Zapper and the Justifier (both were only $10 ea). I have yet to look inside the Justifier...
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i am really torn on which gun shell to use. i dont have any lying around that i want to destroy, so i will have to buy some. the first thing i though of was also the NES zapper, however the trigger would have to be modified to reduce the throw and that loud noise. some gun games require alot of quick shots, which could be difficult with the zapper.
the justifiers would be a great choice, i have a pair of them for my SNES, but i dont want to gut those, and i wish the pink one was red. i think if i go this route, i'll get two blue ones, since i'm going with a blue/yellow theme on the cabinet.
the original guncon would also be a great choice..although the grey color is a little boring. they at least have nicely placed buttons that could be used for reloading. the justifier does have an extra button as well, it has been a while since i have held one though, i dont remember if the placement would be good or not.
the nes zapper is pretty slick looking, and would definitely give you an old school feel, but the lack of an extra button could be limiting..and i cant help but think that trying to add another button somewhere would just end up looking like crap.
i really am looking forward to you guys posting pics of your's in action when you get them, maybe that would help me decide.
i think for now i'll just keep an eye open when i go to the flea markets and things to see if i find any guns cheap, which could influence my decision.
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The Justifier has a start button that, for me, isn't easy to push one handed. I'm going to add a button and hope it doesn't look too crappy (which I don't care about as long as it serves its purpose).
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the first thing i though of was also the NES zapper, however the trigger would have to be modified to reduce the throw and that loud noise.
Actually, when I had it open, I pulled the trigger a few times to see how it worked, and the switch engages very early in the pull. The rest of the pull is what gives the loud noise. You could probably put something in there to stop the trigger right after the switch engages.
I was thinking of how to add a second button as well, but there are few options. You might be able to squeeze in a tiny radio shack pushbutton on the back. I'll probably just try to make do with a single button.
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Andy, about the possible gun design for your upcoming AimTrak-based gun.... will you be having extra buttons besides the trigger? Such as the grip button or D-pad like the EMS Topgun?
I think if not the D-pad, I think a grip button and a button on the side of the gun would be good additions.
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Thanks Beretta. I'd missed the height thing. That is a problem. Question is - is this a trade off for shooting distance (ie Topguns)?
Its easier to get people to stand a certain distance back- they get used to it. But height is a different story. The last cab I made went to a father and son- and they play Big Buck Hunter. So they share the player 1 gun. The son is a lot shorter than his dad. So in this scenario Aimtrack may not be suitable
The 2nd question is- just how much accuracy do you lose with varying height?
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It's tested to control a mouse cursor. Try the same with Topguns and it's clear how much they suck
Actually, that is not a correct comparison at all. It shows your lack of technological
understandings.
Controlling the mouse in realtime is no indication of good accuracy.
The Topguns were not really designed to do that. THough, they do allow it.
They have a low 'refresh' time for realtime tracking. However, when the trigger is
pulled... the system immediately refreshes that instant. And anyone with a properly
configured topgun can attest that whatever Icon they aimed at... they were able to hit
accurately.
The Wii allows realtime tracking. However... if you move your position a little...
or go beyond its range... it flips out. It loses its accuracy. Ive also seen it jump
the cursor erratically at times. (I dont own one.. I tried a friends machine)
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Andy, REALLY Important question. I didn't see this anywhere in your posts.
What are the physical dimensions (width, length, and height) of the board you are using? I have two ol Act-Labs GS guns (image below) and the barrel is rounded so the dimensions are super important. It probably can handle just a hair of 3/4", but it depends on how tall it is.
Judging by the photo, and the standard size of a USB plug, it looks to be 3/4-1" wide? Can you confirm the exact dimensions please?
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It's tested to control a mouse cursor. Try the same with Topguns and it's clear how much they suck
Actually, that is not a correct comparison at all. It shows your lack of technological
understandings.
Controlling the mouse in realtime is no indication of good accuracy.
Yeah and that shows your lack of reading and comprehension skills. Did I say accuracy? Nope, I didn't. I replied to your suggestion that it must be bad because it wasn't tested in Mame. Still, he could have tested accuracy with a mouse cursor also.
Besides, it's utter nonsense that the Topguns track fast if you press the trigger and just lag when you don't. Like always, you are just making stuff up again.
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Andy, REALLY Important question. I didn't see this anywhere in your posts.
What are the physical dimensions (width, length, and height) of the board you are using? I have two ol Act-Labs GS guns (image below) and the barrel is rounded so the dimensions are super important. It probably can handle just a hair of 3/4", but it depends on how tall it is.
Judging by the photo, and the standard size of a USB plug, it looks to be 3/4-1" wide? Can you confirm the exact dimensions please?
Surprisingly the dimensions are on the product page which Andy linked to ;)
(http://www.ultimarc.com/images/button_conns.jpg)
I think the 10mm height is to the center of the tracking camera so I would imagine the total height is about 18mm so I think you should be ok.
This looks like another great project from Ultimarc. I wish people wouldn't hate on it and wait until it has been tested. Knowing Andy the product will be great and he wouldn't release anything that wasn't 110%. I look forward to seeing some reviews. :applaud:
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When I first read about the AimTrak, I immediately thought "NES Zapper". So I got a few off craigslist to look inside and start planning. Turns out, the trigger mech uses a standard microswitch with an arm. The barrel is plenty big enough for the AimTrack module.
Are you sure the barrel is big enough? I don't have one but the end of the barrel doesn't look very big to me...
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I was going to ask the same question... why only do it on one side? I was wondering if Andy had tried it when working on it?
I thought the Wii did it just because it was the only way to have something mountable... But we (as diy'rs) could put the them where ever we want, and from there you only need one extra light to specify a side.
It seems like if you had the 4 corners, and again, one extra to show the top side... You would be able to rotate the gun, shoot from different sides / angles without configuration ect. Heck, if each corner had 3 leds in a L shape around the edge. And they where all lets say a set distance from each other. Couldn't the gun then get a lot closer? (now as long as you can see any of the edges, your fine?)
Just curious what the rational was for making a 'bar'.
Also, can you just use a wii bar? (that would be cool, so I could bring it out to my projector system with the wii and just use it on the big screen.
But for everyone who thinks the wii is accurate... realize they don't know how big your tv is. It can't be that accurate.
The Topgun accuracy is about 500x more accurate than the ActLabs guns. Every shot I placed
went where I wanted it to go.
If yours had problems, it may have been due to nearby light sources which caused interference.
I merely fail to see how a system which has only 1 bank of leds, which are all centeralized in
one location can be more accurate than a system which places the leds at all 4 corners of the
screen.
The arcades usually did things for good reason... and that is exactly how they did construct
their sensors.
The Wii aproach to sensor bar is a poor replication. Its meant for easy setup and nicer
looks... however, Wii accuracy is Not very good. Especially when it comes to lightgun games.
Sorry... but I dont have much faith in someone who has not even tested these units with actual
mame gun games. That is irresponsible.
And, Im being a realist... not being Negative.
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oh, and is the firmware upgradeable?
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Is there going to be some sort of cover for the sensor bar available (I am thinking to make it look like a wii sensor bar)? If I were going to put this on a cabinet it would be the one I have already put together and I would hate to have to try and completely redesign the front glass and bezel in an attempt to hide the bright green pcb and leds sticking off the top of the TV. If there were some sort of cover for it all I would have to do is cut a notch out of my bezel and stick it on instead of trying to get smoked glass or something like that.
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i know it isnt exactly on topic, but since the bar is similiar to the wii, i just wanted to ask why people are saying the wii is so inaccurate? i fired up Ghost squad last night on my wii, calibrated the gun and turned the crosshairs off, it was very accurate. i played through the first training mode where you shoot various moving targets...i played it 6 times and missed a total of1 shot, which i blame on poor aim.
this was played on a 102" screen, from about 16ft away...surely not the same circumstances as an arcade cabinet, but it was very accurate. now, to get it to work from that distance, i did mod my wii sensor bar so that it is roughly 16" long, but it is still a small bar in the top center of the screen..i see no reason why a similar setup on a smaller scale would not be equally as accurate.
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When I first read about the AimTrak, I immediately thought "NES Zapper". So I got a few off craigslist to look inside and start planning. Turns out, the trigger mech uses a standard microswitch with an arm. The barrel is plenty big enough for the AimTrack module.
Are you sure the barrel is big enough? I don't have one but the end of the barrel doesn't look very big to me...
I'm positive. The AimTrak is 10mm x 16mm x 40mm. That's pretty tiny, but I did measure the barrel to be sure.
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Is there going to be some sort of cover for the sensor bar available (I am thinking to make it look like a wii sensor bar)? If I were going to put this on a cabinet it would be the one I have already put together and I would hate to have to try and completely redesign the front glass and bezel in an attempt to hide the bright green pcb and leds sticking off the top of the TV. If there were some sort of cover for it all I would have to do is cut a notch out of my bezel and stick it on instead of trying to get smoked glass or something like that.
Yes the ready-made version of the gun will have an enclosed LED bar.
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I merely fail to see how a system which has only 1 bank of leds, which are all centeralized in
one location can be more accurate than a system which places the leds at all 4 corners of the
screen.
Its very strange stating that I should have designed this in a different way, along the lines of another product which has documented limitations.
Using a LED on each corner was dismissed at the outset because thats the reason the Topgun needs to be so far from the screen.
If the camera needs to be able to see all 4 corners it means that when the gun is pointed for example at the top left corner, it needs to be able to see the bottom right as well. Its just not feasible, the angle of view would be too great.
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And, Im being a realist... not being Negative.
No... you're being an ---uvula---... and on purpose. How about letting people get their hands on the units before being critical? Oh, because that would run counter with your douchetastic personality...
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Andy, REALLY Important question. I didn't see this anywhere in your posts.
What are the physical dimensions (width, length, and height) of the board you are using? I have two ol Act-Labs GS guns (image below) and the barrel is rounded so the dimensions are super important. It probably can handle just a hair of 3/4", but it depends on how tall it is.
Judging by the photo, and the standard size of a USB plug, it looks to be 3/4-1" wide? Can you confirm the exact dimensions please?
Surprisingly the dimensions are on the product page which Andy linked to ;)
(http://www.ultimarc.com/images/button_conns.jpg)
I think the 10mm height is to the center of the tracking camera so I would imagine the total height is about 18mm so I think you should be ok.
This looks like another great project from Ultimarc. I wish people wouldn't hate on it and wait until it has been tested. Knowing Andy the product will be great and he wouldn't release anything that wasn't 110%. I look forward to seeing some reviews. :applaud:
DOH! Don't know how I missed that :dizzy: Thanks! Looks like it should fit (with modifications of course). Time to bust out the dremel tool.
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Is there going to be some sort of cover for the sensor bar available (I am thinking to make it look like a wii sensor bar)? If I were going to put this on a cabinet it would be the one I have already put together and I would hate to have to try and completely redesign the front glass and bezel in an attempt to hide the bright green pcb and leds sticking off the top of the TV. If there were some sort of cover for it all I would have to do is cut a notch out of my bezel and stick it on instead of trying to get smoked glass or something like that.
i dont see why you could'nt drill holes in the bezel for the led's and then hide the PCB behind the bezel boarder.
seems like the best solution imo.
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Ok, I re-read, and didn't see the answer to this so perhaps someone can enlighten me. Currently I am "seting-up" my cab, and I have not disabled the mouse cursor. But I'm assuming that once I do so we won't be able to visibly calibrate the gun?
To further explain what I mean, when the computer boots up, if you are trying to "hide" windows, one of the things people do is run some regedit to hide the cursor icon.
If the calibration requires seeing the mouse icon, won't that be a problem? (please someone correct me if I am wrong).
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(http://www.ultimarc.com/images/button_conns.jpg)
I think the 10mm height is to the center of the tracking camera so I would imagine the total height is about 18mm so I think you should be ok.
I took the 10mm figure to mean the height of the entire unit. If you look at it, the arrows cover the distance between the bottom PCB and the entire light green side of the vertical PCB. Maybe Andy can confirm?
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Order placed. I picked up a zapper today for a couple of bucks so I'll be anxious to see how it works after the mod.
If X is against this (as he always hates new products), then I'm sure it'll be outstanding as usual. Gotta go wait by the mailbox now.... :)
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Andy, about the possible gun design for your upcoming AimTrak-based gun.... will you be having extra buttons besides the trigger?
I was wondering the same thing, since Andy mentioned earlier that the complete gun he's working on is based off of the PS1 Guncon, which had another button on the side.
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I'm all over this. As soon as there's a complete gun kit, its mine. All of the Ultimarc products I've used are quality.
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Andy, about the possible gun design for your upcoming AimTrak-based gun.... will you be having extra buttons besides the trigger?
I was wondering the same thing, since Andy mentioned earlier that the complete gun he's working on is based off of the PS1 Guncon, which had another button on the side.
I asked Andy a similar question about the extra button inputs available on the unit. A pin header would make it a little easier to use. Here's his response:
Hi,
We can add the header. I was not sure how much demand there would be for this and it was intended for OEM applications but if DIYers are going to use it, we will add this.
Andy
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I was also wondering about the off-screen reload and how it's handled...
I know house of the dead 1 and 2 support off screen shooting to re-load
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Question for Andy:
I know that up to 4 AimTraks can be used at once, so how is input handled when more that on is connected? For example, if I had two AimTracks connected, one of them is the mouse, but what would the other one be? Are they both mouse inputs? The reason I ask is because some 2 player games (House of the Dead) can only have one player use the mouse, the other has to use buttons or a gamepad.
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in windows GUI all 4 would control the same mouse pointer.
however in mame it can be setup to recognize multiple mouse and keyboards.
windows knows they are difference devices.. but since there is only one mouse pointer they all control it.
mame however does'nt have a GUI, and it'll see them all as individual devices.
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Baretta's right. Mame really surprised me in this area.
I thought I was surely going to have hell to pay to get 2 trackballs and a spinner working at the same time, but I had literally no trouble at all.
There's 6 mice registered as active on my cab. Still not sure where all there others are coming from ???
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Besides, it's utter nonsense that the Topguns track fast if you press the trigger and just lag when you don't. Like always, you are just making stuff up again.
I think you need to cut X a little slack (did I just write that?) I don't know whether he's correct, but he certainly could be. The reason you get lag is usually due to averaging routines used to reduce jitter, which in order to work, require oversampling of the mouse position, which means updating the cursor 1/Samples the time, instead of every time the read position is reported. It may be beneficial to smooth out the jitter more when the user isn't pulling the trigger, and then focus on where the gun is actually pointing when the trigger is pulled. Otherwise, fast movements might lag and cause the wrong icon to be clicked, etc.
As for LEDs arrangements, this is only of real importance to extrapolate the position when the gun is turned from perfectly vertical. Since the LED's on this product are arranged in a straight, albeit small, line and the bar is expected to be in a fairly specific position in relation to the screen, one can still calculate angle offset. While it may not be as easy to do as it is when the LED's form endpoints of a larger line (Wii) or a specific known pattern (TopGun), ease of computation is not an indicator of accuracy. Accuracy is purely a function of the viability of the hardware and software combination in coming up with the correct answer, and that is unknown to anyone but Andy currently.
Personally, I have no idea how well this will work, or whether a mostly fixed shooting position will be a problem (for most, I suspect it won't be, but again, best to wait for some reviews). But one thing I do know is that the community has been in need of a good solution to this problem for a long time, and as one who also really enjoys a good shooting game, I too am cautiously hopeful that this will fit the bill.
RandyT
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Andy,
This is awesome! Just the other day my son asked me if I could get a shooting game for the arcade cabinet... My answer was, "There just isn't anything that really works..."
Is there any chance you'll have the two-gun one bar option in the store soon?
Thanks!
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As soon as a complete LED module w/ gun and sensor is released I will be purchasing. My gun games are getting lonely :P.
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I opened up my SNES Justifier and was happy to find I can easily solder into the existing trigger switch and the start button will be easy to reuse as a second button. There is plenty of room in the barrel for the unit, I just need to figure out how I'm going to mount it since the inside is round. I'll probably get my AimTrak tomorrow and then the real fun begins! I love having a new project! ;D
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There is plenty of room in the barrel for the unit, I just need to figure out how I'm going to mount it since the inside is round.
I was thinking about this too. My inner diameter is 3/4 inch. I was going to pick up some 3/4 inch dowel and take a slice of that to use to make a flat mounting spot. Then for mounting the actual pcb, I like to use double sided foam mounting tape. I'm anxiously awaiting the package, shipped out yesterday, now I just am waiting for it to arrive in Canada!
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Ok, so no one disables their mouse icon? No one has any thoughts on this? I really want to place an order here, just waiting for someone to chime in (hint hint).
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Here's a thought:
Re-enable it.
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well, technically I haven't disabled it yet, as I am currently still setting things up. I'd really like to though. I wonder if Andy (hint) can find a way to use some other icon for people that disable theirs.
Anyway ... getting back on track.
Let's assume I don't disable it, haven't you noticed that the mouse doesn't appear at all when Mala, Hyperspin, etc... is loaded full screen? So, what now, do I have to do all my calibration on the main windows screen? Or do I have this wrong? I would say most people boot their PC into a front end program (at least that's the way it seams). Will the mouse appear in a front end program somehow? (assuming you do not disable the mouse icons).
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what i did is just make a custom mouse cursor..right now i have an inimated pacman ghost as my mouse cursor. i boot my PC up and MALA is loaded as the shell, so you rarely ever see the mouse pointer at all, but when you do see it, it is just a little red ghost sitting there, which essentially hides the fact that it is a mouse cursor, but still allows you to see if if you need to use the mouse
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Will this work with my AK47
http://cloggie.org/proggold/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ak47.jpg
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what i did is just make a custom mouse cursor..right now i have an inimated pacman ghost as my mouse cursor. i boot my PC up and MALA is loaded as the shell, so you rarely ever see the mouse pointer at all, but when you do see it, it is just a little red ghost sitting there, which essentially hides the fact that it is a mouse cursor, but still allows you to see if if you need to use the mouse
hmm, ok I'll probably try that. But (using hyperspin as I am now, this may be different) will you be able to see the mouse (even your pacman icon) while in Mala? If you need the cursor to calibrate, I thought it wouldn't be possible to see at all within Mala. (I'm assuming you replaced Mala to load in place of Windows Explorer).
Will this work with my AK47
http://cloggie.org/proggold/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ak47.jpg
Only if it's loaded. ;)
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what i did is just make a custom mouse cursor..right now i have an inimated pacman ghost as my mouse cursor. i boot my PC up and MALA is loaded as the shell, so you rarely ever see the mouse pointer at all, but when you do see it, it is just a little red ghost sitting there, which essentially hides the fact that it is a mouse cursor, but still allows you to see if if you need to use the mouse
hmm, ok I'll probably try that. But (using hyperspin as I am now, this may be different) will you be able to see the mouse (even your pacman icon) while in Mala? If you need the cursor to calibrate, I thought it wouldn't be possible to see at all within Mala. (I'm assuming you replaced Mala to load in place of Windows Explorer).
when in mala, i see no mouse cursor, unless i right-click to bring up the menu, then it pops up. under normal use, i dont see the cursor at all.
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[But (using hyperspin as I am now, this may be different) will you be able to see the mouse (even your pacman icon) while in Mala? If you need the cursor to calibrate, I thought it wouldn't be possible to see at all within Mala.
We won't know until we get to try the AimTrak or if Andy answers. I know in Mamewah and Mame, my mouse cursor gets hidden, but I don't know if the AimTrak will bring it to the foreground for calibration.
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I'm curious about the practical implication of the requirement for the guns to be calibrated at the height they are used. My kids won't want to deal with calibration - they just want it to work (which is the biggest reason I love the U360's). So it seems that it will necessarily be poorly calibrated for somebody. But then again, I imagine they will be far less inclined to aim by looking down the barrel of the gun than I would be, so perhaps perfect calibration for them is unnecessary?
I wonder how quickly the accuracy diminishes as the gun moves away from the calibrated height?
I will be very interested to hear what some of the early adopters (or Andy for that matter) have to say about this.
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I'm curious about the practical implication of the requirement for the guns to be calibrated at the height they are used. My kids won't want to deal with calibration - they just want it to work (which is the biggest reason I love the U360's). So it seems that it will necessarily be poorly calibrated for somebody. But then again, I imagine they will be far less inclined to aim by looking down the barrel of the gun than I would be, so perhaps perfect calibration for them is unnecessary?
I wonder how quickly the accuracy diminishes as the gun moves away from the calibrated height?
I will be very interested to hear what some of the early adopters (or Andy for that matter) have to say about this.
+1 ... but if that doesn't work, buy a stool ;)
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[But (using hyperspin as I am now, this may be different) will you be able to see the mouse (even your pacman icon) while in Mala? If you need the cursor to calibrate, I thought it wouldn't be possible to see at all within Mala.
We won't know until we get to try the AimTrak or if Andy answers. I know in Mamewah and Mame, my mouse cursor gets hidden, but I don't know if the AimTrak will bring it to the foreground for calibration.
The module has no way to control the visibility or not, of the mouse cursor. So it would need to be calibrated before any application is started which hides the cursor.
Andy
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I'll jump in the speculation arena for a moment here, since everyone seems to be throwing their two cents in.
Regarding calibration and the mouse pointer it seems to be pretty straight forward. I am guessing that you would launch the game you want to play, turn on the crosshair, initiate the calibration (15 seconds) and calibrate the gun. Then play your game. If you switch between a tall person and a short person between every game, you may need to calibrate every time you switch players. I am thinking that 15 seconds plus a few calibration shots is not too much to enjoy a well calibrated experience. You could add a button on your gun that toggles the crosshairs so it is easier to enable/disable. Bonus points to make the button a macro that first pauses MAME and then turns on the crosshairs. Triple bonus to have this button actually initiate the calibrate sequence also. And automatic win if you label the button "calibrate" on your gun(s).
I know I am trying to free up some cash to buy a couple of these. I know Andy's products speak for themselves, and I'm sure this wont be a letdown to me.
Side note: I saw this wireless USB adapter (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11486359&search=wireless%20usb&Mo=5&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=wireless%20usb&Ntt=wireless%20usb&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1) for sale at costco.com ($30). It looks a bit bulky, but I wonder if it can be tucked away inside a gun?
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So it would need to be calibrated before any application is started which hides the cursor.
Or after you launch a MAME game by turning on the crosshair.
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Guess I'll add a crosshair button to my gun, then.
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[But (using hyperspin as I am now, this may be different) will you be able to see the mouse (even your pacman icon) while in Mala? If you need the cursor to calibrate, I thought it wouldn't be possible to see at all within Mala.
We won't know until we get to try the AimTrak or if Andy answers. I know in Mamewah and Mame, my mouse cursor gets hidden, but I don't know if the AimTrak will bring it to the foreground for calibration.
The module has no way to control the visibility or not, of the mouse cursor. So it would need to be calibrated before any application is started which hides the cursor.
Andy
umm ... This sentence sure makes it seem like you will not be able to calibrate the guns in Mame (as it hides the cursor). Perhaps this won't be a problem if you only really need to calibrate once ... but if continual calibration is required this is a pretty severe problem. In my mind (not trying to be a pessimist here) it will make the usability quite impractical if you need to exit mame (or your frontend) and load windows explorer every time.
Andy, perhaps I am reading your statement wrong. Can you confirm that this will or will not be able to calibrate within MAME itself? (or is there some way to make the mouse cursor visible in mame that I am unaware of??)
Neverending Project: are you reffering to the F1 key? I've been having problems with that ...
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Bringing up the crosshairs in MAME (F1) will show the cursor, so there's no need to exit MAME to calibrate.
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i think it'll be purdent to let some people try it out first.
perhaps the degree that height effects accuracy during use is over stated on the product page.
thats the one thing i see really pulling the product down.. people say it wont bother them to recalibrate every time the gun switches hands, i totally dont believe those statements and is probably simply excitement talking..
wait till you're in a heated game or have a few friends over..
for a single player in which calibration is'nt needed very often if at all then this probably is'nt a issue.
the rule in my house is you loose you pass the controller.. having to recalibrate every 3-5 mins is not my idea of a good time.
i guess we'll just have to wait and see how much accuracy is effected, it might be small and he just wants to put on paper so there are'nt any nasty surprises.
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My kids won't want to deal with calibration - they just want it to work (which is the biggest reason I love the U360's). So it seems that it will necessarily be poorly calibrated for somebody. But then again, I imagine they will be far less inclined to aim by looking down the barrel of the gun than I would be, so perhaps perfect calibration for them is unnecessary?
+1 ... but if that doesn't work, buy a stool ;)
Or, ban the kids...they usually have orrible sticky fingers anyway :P
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Buy a second AimTrak (or set) for the kids. Set it up to be the same as the first set. Then, if some short person comes over, give them the sticky one :laugh2:
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And what do you do when this guy wants to play?
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000051Y2U.jpg)
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I can't believe this thread is over 5 pages long and no one has even physically SEEN the AimTrak yet. :dizzy:
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Mine is on the way. Left Heathrow a few hours ago.
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Mine is on the way. Left Heathrow a few hours ago.
Ditto. I'm pretty anxious....
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Same here.. I keep checking the tracking page hoping it will magically say its here.
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I can't believe this thread is over 5 pages long and no one has even physically SEEN the AimTrak yet. :dizzy:
People are also selling off their TopGuns before this thing has been field tested.
A lot of people are excited over this, including me.
Speaking of TopGuns, this reminds me of the TopGuns thread that turned into a book with all its pages that only had one or two useful posts in it.
When someone gets one of these working they should start a new no nonsense thread about it, so we don't have to skip through a dozen pages just to figure out how to use it.
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I'll definitely post a new thread in the review section once I've had a chance to really dig in, but until then, I'll post first impressions in here.
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And what do you do when this guy wants to play?
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000051Y2U.jpg)
set out some 40's, hide the valuables.
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Come on...the suspense is killing me. did any of you get your aimtrak yet?
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Mine aready made it to a nearby city and is listed as "with delivery courier". I should have it today. ;D
I imagine many people will have it today or tommorow.
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I got mine about an hour ago. Won't be able to set it up today though. :badmood:
Great service as usual from Andy. :applaud:
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Mine is "with delivery courier"
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WOW, how did I miss this thread for 7 days??
Good job Andy. No... GREAT job. Above and beyond what people wanted. (They wanted a light gun, you gave them 200% more than that!).
PS, I didnt read more than page 1 and 2. Did anyone mention the idea of making your own "Power Glove" with this? ;D
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Did anyone mention the idea of making your own "Power Glove" with this? ;D
It's so bad.....
(http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/nes/wizard-lucas.jpg)
..this idea of yours. :lol
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I want to go to there....
:)
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I want to go to there....
:)
Yours would look like this, though:
(http://fc07.deviantart.com/fs28/f/2008/054/8/e/mens_steampunk_gloves_by_missmonster.jpg)
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:laugh2:
And I'd have to use these for my head tracking gear
(http://www.gearfuse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/il_430xn62215445.jpg)
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It's here!
I'll play around with it tonight.
(Man....I'll have to read up on this thing. Not sure how all this hooks up...)
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Very cool
Keep us updated. I'm REALLY wanting to put a couple of those into some steampunked nerf guns or blunderbusses.
Still looking for a good battery powered wireless USB sender. Got several emails out anyway, just waiting to hear back.
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I have questions for the lightgun fans here.
What are the best 2 player co-op light gun games available that will work with this?
Are there any that support 3 or 4 players at the same time?
Would they work well using a projector and playing on a 6 foot diagnal screen?
Thanks for any suggestions! :applaud:
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Seeing as how this was just released, it's likely no one will have any definitive answers for at least a few weeks (though it sounds like several people already have the units, so maybe we'll hear feedback sooner).
I'm guessing that at larger screen sizes, you might need to play with the IR light bar a bit to get the extra size covered, but the tech is very much like the WIImote, and that works fine with large screens.
From this thread though, there are LOTS of people here about to seriously play around with these devices!
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I just don't quite understand the wire harness it comes with. There are two connectors for the trigger and it says it supports a second button on the harness, but if one is trigger, then the other has to be ground. Can anyone enlighten me?
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Mine just arrived. Gonna try it out now!
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When it rains, it pours!
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I had sent Andy a email early this week asking about if this would work with my 100inch projector set up and if there would be a problem with the power being sent to the leds. this is what he said:
This should work. If necessary you could power the LED PCB from an
alternative 5 volt source. It does not have to be USB. I will add the
instructions on how to do that to the website info in the next few days.
Andy
So until someone tests this out its looking pretty promising!!!
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I just don't quite understand the wire harness it comes with. There are two connectors for the trigger and it says it supports a second button on the harness, but if one is trigger, then the other has to be ground. Can anyone enlighten me?
From looking at the diagram on Andy's site, you should take one of the connectors and attach it to the trigger/com pins. Here's the info from the page:
The gun trigger should be wired to the trigger connector harness. This harness has another connection for any other button (eg Reload).The pinout is shown below. The trigger switch is connected to the TRIGGER and COM pins. Note both the COM pins are connected together and interchangeable.
A connecting harness is supplied, which has 0.25in quick-disconnects but your gun trigger switch may have different connectors and might require the wires to be soldered.
The trigger connector can be conected to a second button, if required. All buttons can be configured as left or right mouse, or any gamepad button.
Did you think that you connect one QD to the trigger and the other to the ground?
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I'm trying to understand what AUX and COM are, and how I need to go about running ground for all the connections (P1-P5). Also wondering which direction this harness goes on.
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I'm trying to understand what AUX and COM are, and how I need to go about running ground for all the connections (P1-P5). Also wondering which direction this harness goes on.
Com is short for common so that's ground. The Aux is the second button and it has it's one ground pin also. So looking at the unit with the USB connector facing you, the two pins on the right are for the trigger/ground and the pins on the left are for the second button and it's ground.
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I just don't quite understand the wire harness it comes with. There are two connectors for the trigger and it says it supports a second button on the harness, but if one is trigger, then the other has to be ground. Can anyone enlighten me?
by looking at the site it seem the bottom two pins are shared com / ground
the top two pins are seperate.
you get one harness with 2 lead and a female molex with 2 hole's
is that correct?
I am not sure without actual pics of the harness up close.
if that were the case then the harness is only for the trigger itself and the other pin is there to be used as another button wich makes the 6th pin that others were lost on perhap's.
I am guessing a 2nd harness would be needed for the aux pin though :dunno
if that is the case though find a old pc case and take the case's power or reset harness out of it :cheers:
EDIT: I tried to post this a few time's but others were posting already so it may have been answered already :lol
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Messed around with it for a little bit, then made a review. Here (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=96606.msg1017678) Things seem good so far.
Also, Andy, when does the Configuration software come out? I don't see the link on the product page.
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Okay, so the harness is setup only for the trigger and it blocks the other pins if you install it on all the pins. I'll have to shift it off the right side, then use a connector from an old PC case I have for the other. That or insert wires with the crimps on them (I have a few here) into the harness and install as usual.
Thanks for clearing up the AUX/COM issue. I thought COM meant ground, I just wasn't 100% sure.
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Messed around with it for a little bit, then made a review. Here (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=96606.msg1017678) Things seem good so far.
Also, Andy, when does the Configuration software come out? I don't see the link on the product page.
Forgot about the app! I have uploaded it to www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.zip (http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.zip)
I was not sure how many people would be using the AUX pin for a second button, but we will get this connection added to the harnesses.
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Thanks Andy. Hopefully that'll squash any future confusion.
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I have another idea!! Head-mounted aiming! ;D
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Headmounting might not be so crazy. At this price-point you might want to advertise on some disability sites/forums. You can't hardly purchase an "computer accessability device" for less than $200-$300.
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Yes there are probably plenty of other applications for this including non-game related. There are a couple of the "assistive technology" people looking at it.
There are other possibilities using the device in reverse too, as only one single LED is needed to operate in a non-calibrated application, the LED could be the moving part and the sensor static. The mouse would react to the XY movement of the LED.
Any ideas welcome...
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yeah some head mounted bobble headed centipede action please upload the video :laugh2:
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Well that sucks....
The Justifier's barrel (which is round) is 1.9mm and the AimTrak won't fit because of the upper corners of the sensor. I hope a small amount of dremel work will make enough room without accidentally going all the way through.
Works (tight fit)
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Well that sucks....
The Justifier's barrel (which is round) is 1.9mm and the AimTrak won't fit because of the upper corners of the sensor. I hope a small amount of dremel work will make enough room without accidentally going all the way through.
That's too bad. We need a list of guns that it works in and those that it doesn't. This helps others though it doesn't help you feel better.
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That's the reason I said something. I didn't want people to buy this particular gun (Konami Justifier) unless they are prepared to make a few alterations.
It will work, it's just a tight fit.
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Weird....I just got it to fit without any changes, but I'm not sure how I'm gonna mount this, due to the round barrel.
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what about taking andy's suggestion and using that blu-tack putty stuff you use to hang posters. it is apparently non conductive and since it is putty, you should be able to mold it into the proper shape and have it hold the PCB in place. best of all, it is cheap, and easy to undo if you need to.
i hope you can get this to work, since i am leaning towards Justifiers for my cabinet.
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I used the double-sided adhesive foam. Seems like it's going to work. It's actually in the barrel not sticking to the unit, but making a shape that holds it in place.
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Mount it with hot glue. It's what many manufacturers use to secure electronic parts and you can always pry the PCB off again later, should you wish to.
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I want it to be easy to remove if needed, yet firmly seated when assembled. What I've done seems to work fine.
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Mount it with hot glue. It's what many manufacturers use to secure electronic parts and you can always pry the PCB off again later, should you wish to.
I want it to be easy to remove if needed, yet firmly seated when assembled. What I've done seems to work fine.
Hot glue is a bit more solid so a warm gun won't turn it soft like blu-tack. A spot of glue on each corner for a firm, solid fit during use should do the trick, but it will be loose enough grip to just pull loose if you take the gun apart.
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Because of the round shape of the barrel and the split on the top and bottom, it makes hot gluing it (then putting it back together) difficult. It's a good option for someone else, but not for how I'm doing it.
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Well I can't able to work witj P1...P5. I have connected a simple microswitch to P1 and to the trigger comm. Joystick is enabled in mame. Nothing at all. Seems with P2, P3, P4 and P5.
Trigger and Aux are left mouse button and rigth mouse button. Correct in desktop.
Any thoughs?
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I think the aux pins are unassigned by default. Use the software (http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.zip) to set them. Or at least, see what they are.
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In case anyone missed it, there is an option on the Ultimarc site now to add only the AimTrak without the LED bar as a second gun. It appears when you add to your cart, and will save you $8 on the one you buy without the LED bar.
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$80 for 2 - not bad! Now we just need some gun options added. :applaud:
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I haven't bought from them, and I've never worked with Airsoft guns before, but these sure look like reasonable possibilities.
(http://images.hobbytron.com/AM-K-77-lg.jpg)
http://www.hobbytron.com/SpringCustomGrip45StylePistolAirsoftGun.html (http://www.hobbytron.com/SpringCustomGrip45StylePistolAirsoftGun.html)
it's a full 10inch gun, so it's bound to be big enough. The trigger obviously won't have a switch in it, but surely it wouldn't be too tough to get a cherry switch in there.
And it's 6.95$
Heck, this one's 4$
(http://images.hobbytron.com/AW-M177R-lg.jpg)
I'm thinking I might pick up a few different one's to crack open and take a look at.
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Definitely, i'm missing something or P...P4 don't work.
I verified the buttons conecting to the trigger to test them and they are ok. If I enable some P? buttton in the software, I need to unplug the gun to changes take effect (I think this is normal for those gamepad buttons).
I also assigned to the aux button , the gamepad button 1 (it works).
After plug in the gun again , I go to the panel control->blah,blah... to see if the gamepad buttons are working. If I assigned one P? button to any gamepad button, I see there is always on=> When I push the aux button, the gamepad button 1 light, but also the gamepad button 2 assigned to the P?. When I release the aux button, the GP button 1 is off, but the GP button2 is always on.
If I enabled more P? buttons, happens the same. They don't work and are always ON. Repeat again, the buttons, wires and connections are OK.
About high and distance, it seems it is very, very, distance dependent. A little bit closer and the gun must be recalibrate. A little bit far, the gun miss accuraty.
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I haven't bought from them, and I've never worked with Airsoft guns before, but these sure look like reasonable possibilities.
(http://images.hobbytron.com/AM-K-77-lg.jpg)
http://www.hobbytron.com/SpringCustomGrip45StylePistolAirsoftGun.html (http://www.hobbytron.com/SpringCustomGrip45StylePistolAirsoftGun.html)
it's a full 10inch gun, so it's bound to be big enough. The trigger obviously won't have a switch in it, but surely it wouldn't be too tough to get a cherry switch in there.
And it's 6.95$
Heck, this one's 4$
(http://images.hobbytron.com/AW-M177R-lg.jpg)
I'm thinking I might pick up a few different one's to crack open and take a look at.
I have quite a few airsoft guns and even talked about using them for my cab when a good light gun solution came out.
The problem with the pistols is space. I think you'll find there isn't much room inside the spring guns, especially the pistols. There should be plenty of room in the rifles though, especially the shotguns!
For pistols I'm looking at other light guns to gut. There are some really nice looking guns out there for the XBox and PS2. You can get a Walther PPK style (old Bond), a Walther P99 (new Bond), Colt 1911 (classic military .45), Desert Eagle and many other styles. The advantage of this is these will already have buttons in place and the barrel is big already for the existing sensor. In an airsoft gun the barrel is really small. The best way to retrofit the sensor in an airsoft pistol would be to put the sensor in a silencer.
Rifles... now we're talking airsoft! And Nerf... and even some toy guns I have seen!
One thing that intriges me about airsoft is the AEGs... You can select single fire or automatic. If the trigger/switch assembly sends an open/close signal, which I am sure it does... this could also provide a single/auto fire for our light guns!
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Good info. I might check one of those others out first.
Jeez, I did not realize that that Colt 1911 style pistol dates back literally to 1911!
Not quite steam punk era stuff, but dang that's close.
I thought about a pirate style pistol but the weird grip looks like it'd be way too painful to play with. Looks are important, but I want things playable too ;)
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Good info. I might check one of those others out first.
Jeez, I did not realize that that Colt 1911 style pistol dates back literally to 1911!
Not quite steam punk era stuff, but dang that's close.
I thought about a pirate style pistol but the weird grip looks like it'd be way too painful to play with. Looks are important, but I want things playable too ;)
Maybe, but a quick google for 'pirate pistol' came up with this rustic-effect gun:
(http://images.hobbytron.com/ZX-337306-380-381-lg.jpg) (http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://images.hobbytron.com/ZX-337306-380-381-lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hobbytron.com/SpringPistolZX337306380381.html&usg=__cwVG68RjXS9mECCjmzyvkMYfAO0=&h=250&w=450&sz=71&hl=en&start=13&um=1&tbnid=b0V1dsZ4C3PWOM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpirate%2Bpistol%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26um%3D1)
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Gentlemen,
A word about hobbytron/com:
I just received my order from them and I wish I could say "you get what you pay for" but that wasn't even the case. I ordered all black with a laser on front, I got black with a silver slide and no laser. The other guns I ordered were all black, ABS plastic. I got silver painted and if it is ABS, it's the thinnest cheapest version they can make. I'm only out $23 bucks, but it would have been nice to spend that money with Ultimarc where you know you're gonna get exactly what you order.
Andy--
If we purchase AimTrak modules now, and are unsuccessful at integrating them into our shells, will we be able to purchase your shells separately and pop our previously purchased, unaltered AimTrak into them? Any rough date as to when shells might be available? I'm jonesin' for these really bad, but I want to make wise decisions.
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Try AirSplat... I've bought from them before.
I'm sitting here thinking of all the possibilities! Star Trek Phasers... PlayMates made everything from the classic phaser to a klingon disruptor! Then there are a ton of Star Wars blasters out there... and right now there is a $29 'Build Your Own Blaster' kit along the same lines as their 'Build Your Own Light Saber' kit... talk about potential right there!
Hell, I've seen resin kits for the Blade Runner gun, the blaster from the original Battlestar Galactica... anyone up for the marine corps machinegun from Aliens? That's out there too!
The AimTrak is a very exciting addition to arcade gaming!
This is an airsoft gun and very cool potential as a light gun with this kit!
(http://img.redwolfairsoft.com/upload/product/img/rwc-p90-l.jpg)
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Yup, I've purchased from airsplast as well, good quality, but a bit more expensive. I was hoping to get lucky on the cheap. It was a gamble that didn't pay-off.
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A friend has this gun for the wii:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21aAtFIRTSL.jpg)
It's got a nice feel to it, but after 20 minutes or so it starts to feel heavy.
I can image how painful some of these options for a light gun shell are going to feel.
Of course if this is as easily as I hope it will be, I'll be getting a full size airsoft shot gun.
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I hear ya... some things would be too big and heavy for playing for long periods of time. Even the TopGun started getting 'heavy' after playing Police Trainer for and hour and a half!
That's a big difference between now and actually playing at an arcade. When you have to pump quarters in for real you don't tend to play as long as when you can just load up with credits at home!
Now that it looks like we have a viable gun option and we'll have some reviews very soon, I have LOTS of plans!
One of the things I am going to do is to mount the sensor in a mock silencer. What this will do is to allow me to put the silencer on a wide variety of guns (pistols and rifles) so I can quickly change guns based on the game.
I'm even looking at a way to make this wireless and have some ideas. This is another area where those airsoft AEG batteries will start coming in handy!
I have a P90 like in the picture from the redwolf site and I think that will be my first one I attempt to mount the AimTrak in. If this works... the AEG gear box actually works as a pretty good 'thumper'. In fact it may be too good! I was playing around with mine again and my wife said there was no way in hell she is going to put up with that racket! Which just means I now HAVE to do this! ;)
Seriously though, for CQB you only fire short bursts... for an arcade game you'd go deaf pretty quick so there would have to be a switch to turn the 'thumper' (gearbox) on and off. All this is definitely doable... we were just waiting for someone like Andy to step up and make this happen! :)
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It's got a nice feel to it, but after 20 minutes or so it starts to feel heavy.
Maybe I'm just a wuss but after 20mins of holding a Guncon out it feels heavy and my lower arms feel sore.
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anyone up for the marine corps machinegun from Aliens?
Yep :)
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Having problems with the software. I can't get it to SEND the changes to the gun, which means I can't configure the buttons. Also, I can't change the Device ID without it giving me an error. Off to read up and make sure I'm doing everything right (I don't see what I could be doing wrong, though...)
EDIT: Hmmmm.....everything I read sounds fine, but the software is giving me trouble. Dammit! SEND, damn you, SEND!
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Having problems with the software. I can't get it to SEND the changes to the gun, which means I can't configure the buttons. Also, I can't change the Device ID without it giving me an error. Off to read up and make sure I'm doing everything right (I don't see what I could be doing wrong, though...)
EDIT: Hmmmm.....everything I read sounds fine, but the software is giving me trouble. Dammit! SEND, damn you, SEND!
USB keyboard & mouse enabled in bios?
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USB keyboard & mouse enabled in bios?
Yeah. I was finally able to change the Device ID, but I still can't get it to SEND data. It is always grayed out.
I did test out the gun with the default config and so far it seems pretty good.
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one thing to remember guys putting this sensor in a long gun like a rifle, shotgun etc you'll need to stand further back.
the 2 feet min distance is from the sensors eye so just keep that in mind.
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USB keyboard & mouse enabled in bios?
Yeah. I was finally able to change the Device ID, but I still can't get it to SEND data. It is always grayed out.
Be surethatyou are not reading the data. When you are reading the data, you can't send changes. Also after that, reselect something (a button conf, for example). The Send Data button should be active now.
Remember one thing. If you enable, disable or changed a button with GamePad button assigned (like you, P? buttons don't work for me; Trigger and Aux work OK) or assign a GamePad button to a button, after Send Data you must unplug/replug the gun to this changes take effect. This not happens with the mouse buttons.
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USB keyboard & mouse enabled in bios?
Yeah. I was finally able to change the Device ID, but I still can't get it to SEND data. It is always grayed out.
Be surethatyou are not reading the data. When you are reading the data, you can't send changes. Also after that, reselect something (a button conf, for example). The Send Data button should be active now.
Remember one thing. If you enable, disable or changed a button with GamePad button assigned (like you, P? buttons don't work for me; Trigger and Aux work OK) or assign a GamePad button to a button, after Send Data you must unplug/replug the gun to this changes take effect. This not happens with the mouse buttons.
It's not in read mode. It never gives me the SEND option, no matter what changes I make. Andy is looking into this.
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Ginsu Victim:
Do you by any chance have a LCD TopGun plugged in at the same time !? There have been some conflict with this and cyusb.dll. If you do, try unplugging it or any other device than may have similar conflict.
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No, I've never owned an LCD topgun.
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OK... I think it goes like this:
1. Point the gun away
2. Start the AimTrak Config
3. Press "READ DATA"
4. Point the gun at the screen (IR) until something shows up in the button config
5. Point the gun away
6. Press "STOPP"
7. Make some changes and the "SEND" should be available
Hope this isn´t old info... :-\
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OK... I think it goes like this:
1. Point the gun away
2. Start the AimTrak Config
3. Press "READ DATA"
4. Point the gun at the screen (IR) until something shows up in the button config
5. Point the gun away
6. Press "STOPP"
7. Make some changes and the "SEND" should be available
Hope this isn´t old info... :-\
Old info? It's news to me. (I can't find where this was posted)
By the way, it works.
That's kind of ass-backwards, but it did the trick.
THANKS!
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I'm wondering if something like this might work to make these wireless
(https://www.mycablemart.com/store/images/products/1513_large.jpg)
http://www.mycablemart.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1513 (http://www.mycablemart.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1513)
It's 5vdc powered so theoretically, a battery would do it. It looks to be reasonably small, but I'm not sure it could all go in a pistol sized shell.
And it's a tad $$, but no more so than the Aimtrak itself.
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Keep in mind that wireless is pretty power hungry since it has to transmit stuff all the time. I think you might be better off trying to find something blue tooth than 802.11 since it's meant for low power devices (headsets, phones, etc.).
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Now that I have this gun working for the most part, I'm going to confirm the same problems others are having:
I have a button wired to P1 and it will not work.
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dumb question here but does the gun still need to be hooked up to the display?
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I don't understand your question.
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The gun hooks up thru USB only there is no requirement for a video connection.
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I can't figure out how to get offscreen reloading to work in MAME. I've read everything in this thread, but nothing I try makes it work. Anyone have it working? How are you doing it?
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One option(tried; the best option if you plan to use troubleshooting) is:
- Configure pressing trigger offscreen to right mouse button in the Aim-Trak software.
- Enable in mame the -shotoffscreen_reload option.
I think other option (no tried) should be:
- Configure pressing trigger when offscreen to left mouse in the Aim-Trak software.
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I have new firmware ready with the P1-P5 buttons enabled, also made some small adjustments to the distance correction factors to eliminate the issue Cananas mentioned in the review thread.
Also amended the config app so you no longer need to receive data before the "send" button is un-greyed. Also reads config automatically when the app is started.
I need to get these packaged and uploaded but too late tonight so will be done tomorrow.
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Well, despite not getting to test this today, thanks for the work you've put into it. I look forward to trying it out tomorrow.
Cananas: Thanks. I'll try that out. EDIT: Setting offscreen Trigger to Left Mouse did the trick.
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Andy, any chance in future of the ability to load different configs from the command line, much like loading maps for the U360? It would be nice to change the button layout for PC games from the frontend.
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Yes that would definitely be a future option.
I have posted the new firmware, and utility on the product page: http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.php (http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.php)
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Yes that would definitely be a future option.
I have posted the new firmware, and utility on the product page: http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.php (http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.php)
CHEERS! :cheers:
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Yes that would definitely be a future option.
I have posted the new firmware, and utility on the product page: http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.php (http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.php)
Firmware update correctly. Now P? buttons work perfectly. Even no need to unplug/replug the gun for changes take effect.
Andy, some thinks to be corrected in your web instructions:
- When it says click "Assign Device ID" must be "Reassing ID of Device".
- "navigate to the "drivers" subfolder" should be "navigate to the "Driver" subfolder".
- "Click on "upgrade firmware" and navigate to the UFW file." must be "Click on "Select Firmware File" and navigate..."
I tried to upgrade in Vista64. I tried installing the driver pressing F8 during OS start and selecting the last option (disable signed driver...), but even with that, after installing the driver correctly (it shows in the usb devices like installed correctly. The update program don't recognize the device...
So I definitively upgraded with Win XP without problems. I will try again with Vista64 with the another gun.
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All above corrected.
I do have a version of the firmware upgrader which should work on Vista 64. I didnt upload it yet as not yet tested it. I could send it if you wish to test it.
Best to send by email, if you can drop me a line: andy@ultimarc.com
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Keep in mind that wireless is pretty power hungry since it has to transmit stuff all the time. I think you might be better off trying to find something blue tooth than 802.11 since it's meant for low power devices (headsets, phones, etc.).
Yeah, the more I think about it the less I'm liking the wireless option.
It's nice to have the gun attached to the computer that's going to be using it, this way it will less likely be picked up by a nephew or other toddler and used/abused as a toy gun.
I always need to plug in my PS3 controls a few hours before I have people over just so they are all charged. Not to mention how often the controllers get misplaced.
Unlike a PS3 controller, unless you're a fat pig who should be outside jogging instead of sitting on a couch playing video games, you'll be standing in front of the monitor using the controller, so there is no real need for the freedom of wireless.
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Under many (hell, maybe most) circumstances, you're absolutely right.
In my case, wireless would be nicer though, I think. Wired controllers would negate some of the "feel" of the cabinet, but then again, what I'm doing is pretty far removed from a "standard" arcade cab so I may just have to deal with it.
I've done a little looking for bluetooth options and have a few more "investigation" emails out. We'll see where that goes.
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In my case, wireless would be nicer though, I think. Wired controllers would negate some of the "feel" of the cabinet, but then again, what I'm doing is pretty far removed from a "standard" arcade cab so I may just have to deal with it.
I'm probably going to feed the cable through a metal hose, something like:
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500001801&productId=1500497477&langId=-1&engine=froogle&keyword=Metal+Shower+Hose&_$ja=tsid:11527|cc:|prd:8329783|cat:Shower+Accessories
This looks just like what they used on some arcade gun games, and something like this might look OK with your cabinet's theme (you can get gold coloured ones too).
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Minwah: Keep in mind the USB cable coming out of your gun is short, then plugs into a long USB extension cable. The hose idea might not work.
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Firmware update correctly. Now P? buttons work perfectly. Even no need to unplug/replug the gun for changes take effect.
Andy, some thinks to be corrected in your web instructions:
- When it says click "Assign Device ID" must be "Reassing ID of Device".
- "navigate to the "drivers" subfolder" should be "navigate to the "Driver" subfolder".
- "Click on "upgrade firmware" and navigate to the UFW file." must be "Click on "Select Firmware File" and navigate..."
Ditto. Thanks for the update. PX buttons now working!
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Minwah: Keep in mind the USB cable coming out of your gun is short, then plugs into a long USB extension cable. The hose idea might not work.
Bah, this is a DIY site isn't it? If it takes a little modding of the cable to make it look how he wants it, so be it. 8)
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Just pointing out that the connectors might not fit in the hose. :dunno
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On the review thread Cananas asked whether it makes a difference if a widescreen monitor is being used.
This was a very good question actually,and the answer is yes it does!
So... the next firmware version will have a setting in the config utility: "Monitor Size".
The type of monitor makes a difference to the ability of the gun to deal with large screen-to-gun distance changes after calibration.
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My biggest problem right now is the edges of the screen (this was yesterday, so no new software or firmware being used yet). For some reason, the pointer always reaches the edge of the screen before my aim does. I've tried changing up my calibration several times, but I can't quite get it right.
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Minwah: Keep in mind the USB cable coming out of your gun is short, then plugs into a long USB extension cable. The hose idea might not work.
Bah, this is a DIY site isn't it? If it takes a little modding of the cable to make it look how he wants it, so be it. 8)
I hadn't really thought of this, but I think it would be easy to just cut the cable and insert a length of cable in between the two. The joins could be just twisted together & soldered to keep the size small enough.
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Yeah, I thought of that after posting. This IS BYOAC after all.
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Exactly! If you wanted to go professional, you could probably get a A-mini B (or whatever) cable then a mini B-A adapter. Then you would just put the cable through and hook up the adapters. The only potential problem there I can think of would be wiggling the connector out. Lots of ways around the problem though. :afro:
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My biggest problem right now is the edges of the screen (this was yesterday, so no new software or firmware being used yet). For some reason, the pointer always reaches the edge of the screen before my aim does. I've tried changing up my calibration several times, but I can't quite get it right.
If it is consistently doing this then it could be overscan on the screen. Try aiming slightly outside the screen edge when calibrating.
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Bug report to Andy, FW1.1:
Trying to uncheck "Disable Trig Cal" changes "Disable Auto Gain" and "Tilt / Z Correction" settings instead. There must be some bits in wrong places here. Because of this I am no longer able to calibrate, not even with the "Calibrate" button. It goes into calibration mode but doesn´t respond to the trigger anymore. This may be a separate problem.
A few wishes:
Please disable any button report to the system when in calibration mode and please release the buttons before moving the mouse pointer. If f.ex. left mouse button is set as trigger it now draws a huge selection rectangle when entering calibration mode.
It would be great if there was a "Disable Offscreen Reload" thing. I understand it may not be possible with mouse buttons as offscreen buttons and only with gamepad buttons.
Some games have a "Menu" or "Pause" button somewhere on the game screen. I have also seen games with a specific "Reload" or "Holster" spot. A nice feature would be to have settings for "Offscreen Reload Position" so by shooting offscreen you would hit this spot.
Thanks
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It would be great if there was a "Disable Offscreen Reload" thing. I understand it may not be possible with mouse buttons as offscreen buttons and only with gamepad buttons.
Try to don't map any button to the trigger when offscreen.
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Minwah: Keep in mind the USB cable coming out of your gun is short, then plugs into a long USB extension cable. The hose idea might not work.
Bah, this is a DIY site isn't it? If it takes a little modding of the cable to make it look how he wants it, so be it. 8)
I second that motion. ;)
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@minwah
Yeah, something like that might work, depending on how long it would need to be and how well a hose like that would coil up. I actually picked up some brass braided sink supply line from Lowes a while back, intending on using it for my speakers, The prob was the brass braiding came off easy enough, but it didn't expand big enough for me to put the gooseneck through.
So I've still got two pieces of that stuff. But it's short,Only about a foot or so. And I haven't seen any longer lengths.
But like others said here, USB cable is ridiculously simple, just 4 wires and some shielding. No problems cutting the plug off one of them and rewiring it.
Now, a DVI cable on the other hand... Yikes....
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Although cables with more wires require more soldering, at least they always have a different color code (from my experience). I wouldn't jump up and down to do that with a Printer/VGA/HDMI cable, but it could be done easily enough.
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Oh it can definitely be done.
This guy did it with a standard VGA cable so he could run the cable through brass pipe.
(http://media.techeblog.com/images/steampunklcd_1.jpg)
But from reading his description of the process, I'm not sure I wanted to go down that path. Still, I might if my other ideas don't pan out...
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I am dieing to see a video of a setup in action! Keep checking here and review section, not so patiently waiting.
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I am dieing to see a video of a setup in action! Keep checking here and review section, not so patiently waiting.
It won't be coming from me. I have no way of recording one of decent quality.
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My AimTrak is on the way, so as soon as it arrives, I'll try to get something to video ASAP. That is if someone doesn't beat me to it.
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Anyone tried to check "Disable Trig Cal" ?
If you did and was able to uncheck it again, please tell me !!!
If you have not tried this: PLEASE DO NOT TRY IT before Andy gives a response about this problem.
After checking this option I am not able to calibrate anymore. I can not find a way to uncheck this option again as stated in my previous post.
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Can you try checking it and then click "send"
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Bug report to Andy, FW1.1:
Please disable any button report to the system when in calibration mode and please release the buttons before moving the mouse pointer. If f.ex. left mouse button is set as trigger it now draws a huge selection rectangle when entering calibration mode.
Thanks
I am working on the next version of the utility at the moment. But not exactly clea by what you mean above, do you mean always release the buttons before moving the pointer? I am not sure if this would interfere with some situations where the trigger needs to be held?
Normally you would point off screen when entering calibration mode.
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In future versions, will we be able to change which button we hold to calibrate? It makes playing games with fully automatic weapons kind of difficult (I just make sure to release the button every few seconds, but I'm always scared I'm going to recalibrate in the middle of a game).
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In future versions, will we be able to change which button we hold to calibrate? It makes playing games with fully automatic weapons kind of difficult (I just make sure to release the button every few seconds, but I'm always scared I'm going to recalibrate in the middle of a game).
In that case wouldn't it be better to change the delay setting to a longer time period, to prevent automatic fire games from causing that problem? Like 60 seconds, or something.
Of course, if you plan on entering calibration mode frequently, that might be a bit of a headache. :cry:
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Oh, wait, that's a feature? I must not have noticed (or at least didn't realize what it was).
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(http://www.ultimarc.com/images/aimtrakscreen.jpg)
From the AimTrak page on Ultimarc.com:
Trigger Calibration Delay
This slider defines how long the trigger needs to be held to start the calibration process. After changing, SEND must be clicked.
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Andy:
No matter what I check or uncheck helps. "Disable Trig Cal" is still active. When I f.ex. uncheck it and click "Send" it alters settings for "Disable Auto Gain" and "Tilt / Z Correction instead. (This is after closing and restarting the config program: Reading this data from AimTrak.)
I see no reason why any button presses should be reported to the system during calibration since this is done internally in the MCU only. What I mean is that the moment calibration is activated, no buttons is reported until calibration is finished.
I also see no reason that anything in the config program should be grayed out as long as it finds a connected AimTrak at the selected ID. The "Reassign ID of device" is still greyed out until you read data.
I agree with Ginsu that it would be nice to choose what button (Trig, Aux, P1-5) to activate calibration with. Take an example with "Crayon Physics" where you draw objects by holding the trigger maybe longer than the available setting allow.
If you plan to save a text file with config data for command line programming, please include your planned "Monitor Size" in this config text. This is because by setting "Fixed Aspect Ratio" in GPU settings would actually make a widescreen function as a 4:3. Calibration data from the AimTrak must be able to be saved and reprogrammed for this to have any reason.
One last strange thing: If I am in a browser window or a text file when pointing the gun at the screen, it actually scrolls down. Could there be a fault Z axis reporting here ?
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From the AimTrak page on Ultimarc.com:
Trigger Calibration Delay
This slider defines how long the trigger needs to be held to start the calibration process. After changing, SEND must be clicked.
Thanks for pointing that out. It doesn't help me with my question of having a different button for calibration in the future. I don't want to hold it longer, I just want to hold a different button.
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One last strange thing: If I am in a browser window or a text file when pointing the gun at the screen, it actually scrolls down. Could there be a fault Z axis reporting here ?
I had the same issue, but once I changed my Device ID, it quit happening.
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Guess what I got today? :D
Only took 4 days to get stateside:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=133070;image)
Here's all the goodies. Everything arrived well packed and intact.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=133072;image)
Here's the main unit itself, shown with a US quarter for perspective. I didn't realize it was so TINY!
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=90051.0;attach=133074;image)
Of course I couldn't resist plugging it in to my laptop to test it right away. Even with zero calibration, I can see that this is going to be a piece of cake to use. Now it's time to get ahold of a gun housing!
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Wow. It's smaller that I was envisioning, not a bad thing at all!
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Andy:
No matter what I check or uncheck helps. "Disable Trig Cal" is still active. When I f.ex. uncheck it and click "Send" it alters settings for "Disable Auto Gain" and "Tilt / Z Correction instead. (This is after closing and restarting the config program: Reading this data from AimTrak.)
I have posted a hotfix version which cures this problem: http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.zip (http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.zip)
I see no reason why any button presses should be reported to the system during calibration since this is done internally in the MCU only. What I mean is that the moment calibration is activated, no buttons is reported until calibration is finished.
I agree with Ginsu that it would be nice to choose what button (Trig, Aux, P1-5) to activate calibration with. Take an example with "Crayon Physics" where you draw objects by holding the trigger maybe longer than the available setting allow.
Above makes sense, I will implement this in next version
If you plan to save a text file with config data for command line programming, please include your planned "Monitor Size" in this config text. This is because by setting "Fixed Aspect Ratio" in GPU settings would actually make a widescreen function as a 4:3. Calibration data from the AimTrak must be able to be saved and reprogrammed for this to have any reason.
One last strange thing: If I am in a browser window or a text file when pointing the gun at the screen, it actually scrolls down. Could there be a fault Z axis reporting here ?
Yes, that was a very strange one. It appears to be a Windows bug. I have a workaround and it will be fixed in next firmware.
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Andy, here's a little more info on the problem I PM'd you about (re: the gun freaking out on startup)...
It began with the Sept 28th build and firmware. Prior to that, it was not an issue.
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Anyone have any luck with this module working with a Wii light bar, or is there something different about the led bar?
Haven't received mine yet - still planning where to put the parts. :)
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Andy:
I'm curious to know when you'll start selling Guns with allready fitted aimtrack from your website?
If you don't know for certain, could you then give me a perspective of the timeframe ( 1month, 6 month or 1 year?)
Thank you
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Same here... waiting with bated breath. I just don't have time to build my own...
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Ditto. I at least want to consider that option before I buy, although I may still end up going the custom route.
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I thought the "B" in BYOAC stood for "Build", not "Buy."
;D
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Plugging in USB is building, isn't it? :P
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What's this "Plugging In" business?
Don't wiring harnesses come "pre-plugged in"? ;)
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Sad thing is way too many Americans are getting fatter and lazier. Yes I AM an American and don't even get me started on the dumbing down of America. I just hope no BYOAC'ers fit the into these categories.
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When the box arrives, Andy doesn't open it for you....you "do it yourself"
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Well at least 2 of us who stated we are waiting for ultimarc gun housings are collectors/restorers, so you can't accuse us of being lazy with regard to this hobby. ;)
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So if you clean up a dusty cabinet, it's restored then? :lol
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oh, I'm just kiddin' around :)
There's guys on this board doing a hell of a lot more BYO than me!
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I enjoyed building the gun and all, but had I known at the time that Andy was working on a complete gun, I'd have waited to see what he'd come up with.
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oh, I'm just kiddin' around :)
There's guys on this board doing a hell of a lot more BYO than me!
You don't give yourself enough credit.
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Sad thing is way too many Americans are getting fatter and lazier. Yes I AM an American and don't even get me started on the dumbing down of America. I just hope no BYOAC'ers fit the into these categories.
I'm from Denmark, so count me out... ;D
I just want to see what he has to offer and what the price will be. It might be cheaper for me buying both things from Andy and pay for one shipment, rather than order from 2 different places, and perhaps from a US placing and then risking paying Customs, in Denmark, thats about +25% of the total price (including shipping) +10$. But when you buy within the EU, then no customs
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So if you clean up a dusty cabinet, it's restored then? :lol
Yup...just a rag and some Simple Green...
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/PapaFriz/williams%20multigame/COMPARISONFINAL1.jpg)
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/PapaFriz/Secret%20Service%20Pinball/CABFINISHED7.jpg)
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/PapaFriz/Galaga2/GALAGACOMPARISON.jpg)
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/PapaFriz/Multipede/COMPARISON1.jpg)
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/PapaFriz/Paperboy%20Restore/COMPAREL.jpg)
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Yup...just a rag and some Simple Green...
That and a great big bag of magic pixie dust ;)
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Ya, you just buff out all the scratches right, then the artwork magically comes back! :D
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Hrmm.... so Thisss is how the Topgun thread became 48 pages...
Interesting... ;D
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Hrmm.... so Thisss is how the Topgun thread became 48 pages...
Interesting... ;D
Its a skill.
I'm still curious about the Wii sensor bar, though.
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Me too, particular how sensitive to a particular wavelength of IR the Aimtrak is.
I picked up some Radio shack IR LEDS a while back to use with my Wiimote. They're 940nm, which I'm guessing will work with the Aimtrack, but, it'd be good to know the specs.
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In one of these many Aimtrak threads, someone tried the Wii sensor bar and I thought they said they had no luck. Not sure which thread, though....
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http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=96606.msg1017908#msg1017908 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=96606.msg1017908#msg1017908)
Other way around. Wiimote sees the Ultimarc sensor bar, but not the other way.
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Yuck. Oh well. I'll just lose the Wii bar. The MAME pc is always on anyway. I figure having two light bars would confuse something...
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Anyone consider the Happ guns for this? The gun shell is $35 if you don't get the electronics & wiring.
http://happ.com/amusement/optical/960405xxk.htm
They also have room for the solenoid in the gun, so you can wire it for recoil.
But at $100 for the solenoid I think I would have to do a custom solution.
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Anyone consider the Happ guns for this? The gun shell is $35 if you don't get the electronics & wiring.
http://happ.com/amusement/optical/960405xxk.htm
Also doesn't seem to come with a trigger or anything. Seems like you get a better looking shell by going with a Guncon or something. Way cheaper than $35 on eBay or something, too.
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http://happ.com/amusement/optical/pb0903430.htm I vote for the Namco guns. :D
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Ed,
We should make it a joint effort to 'build' the perfect AimTrak Light Gun! I too am wondering where and how to mount the light bar on the cabinet. Since my cabinet is in the early stages of design it seem like a good idea to know this before beginning construction.
Let me know when your order arrives.
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Those Namco guns are awesome, but you have to buy each half separately. When you total it up, you are looking at over $100 for a pair of empty shells. I think I would opt for a pair of PS2 Namco guns over the arcade ones at that price. Of course, one is arcade accurate and the other isn't. ???
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Those Namco guns are awesome, but you have to buy each half separately. When you total it up, you are looking at over $100 for a pair of empty shells. I think I would opt for a pair of PS2 Namco guns over the arcade ones at that price. Of course, one is arcade accurate and the other isn't. ???
I'm pretty sure that the Guncon and Guncon 2 that Namco produced (Not the third party clones) are arcade accurate as well. Honestly the circutry to cathode rate timing guns is NOT very complicated and putting it into the PS1 and PS2 guns wouldn't have been difficult. Of course those guns lack the heavy recoil features from the arcade.
But Namco's Guncon's leave you needing a CRT monitor and a PS1/PS2.
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I've got a pair of Guncon 2's which I intend aimtrak-ing, after messing around with wingun etc for too long. They only cost Ł5 for the pair from ebay and at at least they say Namco on the side :)
I also have a Logic 3 Predator - that bad boy is pretty good, its a lot bigger than the guncons, has a better feel as its quite a lot heaver (although you could weigh down the guncons, something I intend doing) and it looks a bit like Judge Dredd's lawgiver!
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Yeah, the GunCon's require a CRT (60Hz tube). I currently have a pair that work fine with the WinGun drivers, but there are instances where they don't work well. Generally they are great, but those few times that I've run into can kill a game (EggVenture on the asteroid level for one). I hate to destroy them if the AimTrak's don't turn out to work well. BUT, if they end up being a good solution, I'm TOTALLY in! :afro:
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I think there's something that no one has mentioned yet. I assume it would be pretty easy to wire a pedal into the gun as button 2 or something. So we could have a pedal for Time Crisis and other games. Any suggestions on a good pedal that would just work off of a microswitch or something?
PsychoAU
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I think there's something that no one has mentioned yet. I assume it would be pretty easy to wire a pedal into the gun as button 2 or something. So we could have a pedal for Time Crisis and other games. Any suggestions on a good pedal that would just work off of a microswitch or something?
PsychoAU
Oh man... something tells me you just opened up a can of worms.
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Rock Band drum pedal, maybe?
I made my own Guitar Hero star power pedal using a project box and a pushbutton.
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one of those metal replacement rock band pedals should work just fine. i have a hacked ps2 controller with a 1/8" mono jack installed so i can connect a pedal for playing time crisis on the ps2. the rock band drum pedal works just fine, although it isnt real sturdy.
i can't help but think that one of these would be great...
http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=73845
but then again, this is BYOAC..there is no reason you couldn't build your own.
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I think there's something that no one has mentioned yet. I assume it would be pretty easy to wire a pedal into the gun as button 2 or something. So we could have a pedal for Time Crisis and other games. Any suggestions on a good pedal that would just work off of a microswitch or something?
PsychoAU
On the PS1 and PS2 actually features a little known duck feature. With Time Crisis 1, you can use the gun's buttons to duck but you can ALSO put a controller into port 2 and use it as duck button. EVERY button on the controller will make the player duck. You could use say a DDR pad or something, or canibalize your own DualShock to make a duck pedal. This carries over to Time Crisis 2, Time Crisis 3 and Crisis Zone where using the USB Guncon 2 you can plug in dualshocks and each player can use them to duck. Naturally you wouldn't want to be stepping on a DualShock on your floor but I have considdered looking into constructing DualShock based duck pedals for my Time Crisis games.
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I just got some Nuby Sniper guns off ebay and read they have recoil. Is it possible to incorporate that into this?
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If you wire the recoil to fire when you pull the trigger, sure.
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So in order to wire the recoil up with the trigger, you would want to use a relay, right? Connect power and the solenoid (or whatever the recoil is based on) to the relay and then use the trigger signal to activate it?
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Here is a decent guide to adding a 1/8" jack to a Guncon. It would be pretty simple to adjust this for the AimTrak.
http://wrongcrowd.com/arcade/pedalp2.shtml
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Would it be better to just have the foot pedal wired separately to the PC?
Two wires sticking out of the gun and foot pedal that's not locked down seems cumbersome to me.
I'm to tall for the Rockband drum set, so I have to put the pedal behind the set and when I play on a smooth surface the pedal drifts away from me, I can imagine even more trouble if you were standing and stepping on a mobile foot pedal.
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Sure, but you will have to interface it to the PC with something other than the AimTrak (which is how I would do it since I wouldn't want another wire hanging off the gun). Just be aware that this pedal will have to be a couple feet from the cab. If it's mounted to the cab, you will have a tough time having the sensor board (gun tip) 2' from the display. Of course, if you are using a showcase cab, you will be just fine!
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Run the pedal wire inside the cab and back out, along with the USB cable into the gun. You can zip tie them together or get tubing. So the gun has two cables going to the cab (but joined together) and the pedal's wire comes out of the bottom of the cab.
It's not too hard to make it work.
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I think there's something that no one has mentioned yet. I assume it would be pretty easy to wire a pedal into the gun as button 2 or something. So we could have a pedal for Time Crisis and other games. Any suggestions on a good pedal that would just work off of a microswitch or something?
PsychoAU
I would think this wouldn't be the optimal way to go. Since your additional wire would have to come out of the gun, and step all the way down to a pedal, presumably going into the cab and back out again.
I would also think this wouldn't be necessary at all. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't you just configure the pedal with the micro switch as a separate button in mame/ or other program? It just seem unnecessary.
I plan on doing this using the happ pedals with micro/s but it will be awhile before I have everything put together.
(Also as a side note, I was pretty sure that none of the Time Crisis Games work in Mame ... on a separate console maybe, but then the gun won't work for that (will it?) and I don't think there was ever a PC game release for TC.)
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(Also as a side note, I was pretty sure that none of the Time Crisis Games work in Mame ... on a separate console maybe, but then the gun won't work for that (will it?) and I don't think there was ever a PC game release for TC.)
Time Crisis works in MAME, so long as you have a beefy enough CPU to run it.
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I don't think there was ever a PC game release for TC.
You are correct. No PC version.
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Talking of Time Crisis.
Is not any chance to update the firmware to make this lightgun work in a PlayStation 2???
Thanks!!
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Run the pedal wire inside the cab and back out, along with the USB cable into the gun. You can zip tie them together or get tubing. So the gun has two cables going to the cab (but joined together) and the pedal's wire comes out of the bottom of the cab.
It's not too hard to make it work.
...Why not just map the duck button to some random key on your ipac or whatever you're using for all the other controls on your cab?
I'm assuming of course that any light gun cab isn't going to be a dedicated cab with only the gun and a start button.
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Or why not drill a hole in the side of the gun case, and put in a smallish radioshack pushbutton that you can flick with your thumb (or some other finger, just depends where you want to put it). Then you can wire the extra button direct to the aimtrak.
No clunky extra wire to a pedal, no pedal even.
Just single gun aimtrak goodness :)
(disclaimer: I haven't played Time Crisis, so if the pedal is critical to the game, I'm ducking now ;) )
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(disclaimer: I haven't played Time Crisis, so if the pedal is critical to the game, I'm ducking now ;) )
Well, for obvious reasons all the PlayStation ports relied on a button on the gun to to duck. The Guncon 1 had 2 buttons, Guncon 2 has uhh five plus a D-pad. Guncon 3 had... A heck of a lot more.
The arcade versions however all relied on a pedal you planted your foot on to duck. :3
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well, if this is in a cabinet that has joysticks and buttons as well as guns, it would be easy to do. just tap into your existing ipac or other encoder for the reload pedal. you could mount a jack of somekind at the bottom of the cabinet so you could easily detach the pedal when you dont want to use it. or perhaps have the pedal mounted on a flip down panel at the bottom of the cabinet, that folds up into the cabinet when not needed.
for anyone using guncon2 guns on a ps2, you just plug in a controller to the gamepad port and you can use any of the buttons as reload. you can then hack the controller so that you can attach a pedal to one of the buttons. the same applies to the PC, you just wire a switch to your regular encoder.
even on a cabinet that is just for gun games, you would still need some kind of encoder to handle the start and coin buttons, as well as some kind of system to select which game you want to play...so it should not be too hard...there would be no need to tap into the gun
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even on a cabinet that is just for gun games, you would still need some kind of encoder to handle the start and coin buttons, as well as some kind of system to select which game you want to play...so it should not be too hard...there would be no need to tap into the gun
Point and shoot front end? :3
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I'm wondering, as soon as Silent Scope becomes playable in MAME, who will be first to make a light gun with a small LCD mounted on top for this game?
(Before anyone mentions it, I know this is a positional gun game, but so is Terminator 2, and that works just fine with the AimTrak.)
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If my experience with Silent Scope COmplete on Xbox with the light gun is any indication, it will SUCK. I mean suck SO HARD.
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I'm wondering, as soon as Silent Scope becomes playable in MAME, who will be first to make a light gun with a small LCD mounted on top for this game?
Whoever it is they're going to be the second to make a light gun with a small LCD mounted on top.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ym0tZSWGMc&feature=player_embedded#
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well hopefully in the near future we can purchase a complete package from andy
would it not be cool to have the duck pedal installed with the aimtrak gun? all usb
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On the pedal issue, anyone with a USB PC Steering wheel (with pedals) think of having the wheel/pedals plugged in and just telling mame to use the pedal for that button? Leaving the steering wheel off to the side and put the pedal in front of you when you play time crisis, should work ok, no?
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I've got 2x analog pedals that I bought for my cabinet, before aquiring a proper dual pedal set. I'm going to use these as they've been in my loft for years (one of them in pieces from when I dismantled it many years ago...).
I don't want to modify/downgrade them by making them digital, so I'll interface with an APAC or something.
Unless that is the pedals built into my cabinet are reachable/comfortable to use at the distance I need to be away from the screen...
(Fuming slightly at the fact that the gun I ordered 2 weeks ago hasn't arrived...think it has got lost in the post :( )
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My Sega light phaser should be here today, according to UPS. As soon as I get home, I'll begin a teardown and build-up with the AimTrak parts. I'll start a thread ASAP.
-STG
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260482677293 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260482677293)
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As far as Time Crisis goes, what are our real options here... Mame can't run it... there's no PC version... PS2 emulation is not advanced enough to run it... I guess we could use the original Time Crisis on PS1, but that would suck...
So is it really worth the pedal idea if we don't have a decent version to play? I would rig up a pedal in a heartbeat if MAME or something could run those games.
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There's nothing wrong with the PSX version of Time Crisis, and the emulator pSX runs great on just about any PC.
Well, I haven't tried it on that emulator or with the Aimtrak, so I can't say much other than it's a good port on the console itself.
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As far as Time Crisis goes, what are our real options here... Mame can't run it... there's no PC version... PS2 emulation is not advanced enough to run it... I guess we could use the original Time Crisis on PS1, but that would suck...
So is it really worth the pedal idea if we don't have a decent version to play? I would rig up a pedal in a heartbeat if MAME or something could run those games.
I don't care about Time Crisis....I'm more concerned about Space Gun ;)
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Does anyone know if this can work in Linux? If necessary I could do some setup work on the gun in Windows.
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As far as Time Crisis goes, what are our real options here... Mame can't run it...
I mentioned a few posts earlier that MAME *CAN* in fact run Time Crisis. If that game is one that you absolutely have to have, then it may be worth it to you to build/buy a system with a powerful enough CPU to handle it.
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As far as Time Crisis goes, what are our real options here... Mame can't run it...
I mentioned a few posts earlier that MAME *CAN* in fact run Time Crisis. If that game is one that you absolutely have to have, then it may be worth it to you to build/buy a system with a powerful enough CPU to handle it.
Which for most of us means it can't.
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MAME can, but my system can't. :cry:
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It would help if someone detailed just how good of a rig does the PC needs to be, that it's perfectly playable with sound.
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http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=72776.0
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well ... you know those new core i7's ? Ya ... you pretty much need that :angry:. And even still, the game is not fully emulated correctly on ANY setup. As of this current version of mame it's driver status is "imperfect" which means, mostly playable, some somethings still quite wrong. Don't even Try to play TC2.
Source: http://maws.mameworld.info/maws/romset/timecris (http://maws.mameworld.info/maws/romset/timecris) (see driver status)
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Things I learned tonight:
You can fit the Aimtrak into a Nintendo Zapper. It just takes a lot of filing.
The clicky-clicky trigger mech from the Zapper is too fast for the hardware/software to recognize as a mouse click.
The lens on the IR camera is stuck on with something flexible; mine seemed to be off center from the camera body. Not sure if this is intentional or not, but it seems to work fine.
TinyXP doesn't like the AimTrak, or vice/versa. It claims an HID class is missing and refuses to work. Works like a champ on my Vista box.
Andy's stuff gets to PA quicker than stuff I have mailed from PA.
More to follow. I'm going to attempt to modify the zapper clicky-clicky mechanism to make it a positive trigger without the momentary action. Thats tomorrows project.
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TinyXP doesn't like the AimTrak, or vice/versa. It claims an HID class is missing and refuses to work. Works like a champ on my Vista box.
had you ran the 'driver.bat' thats located in the Firmware Upgrade Utility - Driver folder?
I had the same problem till I ran the .bat file.
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TinyXP doesn't like the AimTrak, or vice/versa. It claims an HID class is missing and refuses to work. Works like a champ on my Vista box.
had you ran the 'driver.bat' thats located in the Firmware Upgrade Utility - Driver folder?
I had the same problem till I ran the .bat file.
Of course not. I thought we were supposed to try to make it work, then complain, THEN read the manual. :)
Will try that tonite, and I'm sure it will solve the problem. Now, the problem is the Zapper clicky-clicky box.
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My Sega light phaser should be here today, according to UPS. As soon as I get home, I'll begin a teardown and build-up with the AimTrak parts. I'll start a thread ASAP.
-STG
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260482677293 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260482677293)
You can see my build progress here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=97057 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=97057)
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I can't resist this anymore.. need to order one. :)
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I can't resist this anymore.. need to order one. :)
I know, have it the same way, I'm building my first cab right now, so I would be a perfect time.
But I'm in a limbo waiting ::), because I-would like to see how Andy's gun-combo looks and costs.
BTW this was post nr 400 in this topic :applaud:
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Hm, still working out kinks. Ran driver.bat, no more HID error, but no response from the gun at all. The config utility crashes - I suspect .net is not installed on that machine.
Baby steps.
Tonite, I install .net and try again.
Andy, one other thing I'd mention. 1.5m on the LED board cable is a bit short for the typical install -- PC in bottom of cab, monitor a few feet above. I just stuck a powered hub up there to power it.
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Andy, one other thing I'd mention. 1.5m on the LED board cable is a bit short for the typical install -- PC in bottom of cab, monitor a few feet above. I just stuck a powered hub up there to power it.
Yeah, I wound up using the included extension cable for it, since the one for the gun was just the right length to work. (Only if you have a smaller monitor like me and only need to be 2 ft away...)
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Hm, still working out kinks. Ran driver.bat, no more HID error, but no response from the gun at all. The config utility crashes - I suspect .net is not installed on that machine.
The driver.bat file has nothing to do with the function of the gun. Its not necessary to run this.
What I suspect is happening is the device has gone into "firmware upgrade mode" not sure why. But this can be resolved. Best drop me an email. andy@ultimarc.com
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I've noticed in a couple of the installation pics people have posted that, on the LED bar, the LED's don't seem to be aligned perfectly straight. I was wondering if this is required or if those could be straightened out when installing. If I take the plunge, I will be mounting this behind my cardboard bezel and would much prefer a straight line of holes as opposed to the wavy one that the pics show. Function first obviously, but image is important too!
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Hm, still working out kinks. Ran driver.bat, no more HID error, but no response from the gun at all. The config utility crashes - I suspect .net is not installed on that machine.
Baby steps.
Tonite, I install .net and try again.
Andy, one other thing I'd mention. 1.5m on the LED board cable is a bit short for the typical install -- PC in bottom of cab, monitor a few feet above. I just stuck a powered hub up there to power it.
I've come across this same problem last night...please post the results if resolved.
Though I have .net installed
Thanks
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I've noticed in a couple of the installation pics people have posted that, on the LED bar, the LED's don't seem to be aligned perfectly straight. I was wondering if this is required or if those could be straightened out when installing. If I take the plunge, I will be mounting this behind my cardboard bezel and would much prefer a straight line of holes as opposed to the wavy one that the pics show. Function first obviously, but image is important too!
If you're referring to my bezel installation, the LEDs were actually straight before I put it behind the bezel. The holes I made were slightly out of line due to my, ahem, crude manufacturing technique (power drill to drill through cardboard). But they are very close to straight, and seem to work fine.
Also, the LEDs are raised from the board enough to be able to bend or direct them as needed. Which is why they fit my slightly wavy holes. But it arrived perfectly straight.
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Andy, one other thing I'd mention. 1.5m on the LED board cable is a bit short for the typical install -- PC in bottom of cab, monitor a few feet above. I just stuck a powered hub up there to power it.
Yeah, I wound up using the included extension cable for it, since the one for the gun was just the right length to work. (Only if you have a smaller monitor like me and only need to be 2 ft away...)
I noticed the same thing. I ended up just extending the cable to a molex connector and powered it directly from the power supply. Only needed the 5 volts (red) wire and ground (black) wire connected.
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I've noticed in a couple of the installation pics people have posted that, on the LED bar, the LED's don't seem to be aligned perfectly straight. I was wondering if this is required or if those could be straightened out when installing. If I take the plunge, I will be mounting this behind my cardboard bezel and would much prefer a straight line of holes as opposed to the wavy one that the pics show. Function first obviously, but image is important too!
If you're referring to my bezel installation, the LEDs were actually straight before I put it behind the bezel. The holes I made were slightly out of line due to my, ahem, crude manufacturing technique (power drill to drill through cardboard). But they are very close to straight, and seem to work fine.
Also, the LEDs are raised from the board enough to be able to bend or direct them as needed. Which is why they fit my slightly wavy holes. But it arrived perfectly straight.
Yeah, same for me too. I can't drill 5 holes the same either. *ahem* :tool: But the overall effect is still 5 perfectly straight LEDs.
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Hm, still working out kinks. Ran driver.bat, no more HID error, but no response from the gun at all. The config utility crashes - I suspect .net is not installed on that machine.
Baby steps.
Tonite, I install .net and try again.
Andy, one other thing I'd mention. 1.5m on the LED board cable is a bit short for the typical install -- PC in bottom of cab, monitor a few feet above. I just stuck a powered hub up there to power it.
I've come across this same problem last night...please post the results if resolved.
Though I have .net installed
Thanks
+1 for me too on the short cable. :-\
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You can fit the Aimtrak into a Nintendo Zapper. It just takes a lot of filing.
The clicky-clicky trigger mech from the Zapper is too fast for the hardware/software to recognize as a mouse click.
My (Ł1.73!) Zapper showed up today...have got the AimTrak inside it too with some mods to the plastic. However my trigger seems to works fine even when pulling it all the way making the 'click'.
I haven't tried it on my cabinet yet but this is on my XP desktop...
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Now you need to make a layout for Mamewah where we can shoot screenshots to start the game. :D
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I really want longer USB extension cables for my guns. I dont want any joints, just one nice long cable from gun to cab. I ordered 2 of these today, I'll give them a try. 5M is longer than I need, but I couldnt find anything in the 3M range.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.17368
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I plan on getting a couple of these (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030302&p_id=3897&seq=1&format=2). This should be long enough to go from the sensor board in the gun all the way to the CP. I figure I could wrap the word or tie a knot as a strain relief in the handle.
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Now you need to make a layout for Mamewah where we can shoot screenshots to start the game. :D
Might actually be possible to use the gun as a mouse and trigger to start game...but not really what you want ;)
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Now you need to make a layout for Mamewah where we can shoot screenshots to start the game. :D
Might actually be possible to use the gun as a mouse and trigger to start game...but not really what you want ;)
Well, yeah, I knew that much (and knew you'd say it). ::)
;D
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Sorry, didn't mean to knock anyone's builds. I figured it might be an intentional design since there were 2 different pics showing the same LED's (I think) bent slightly. I was kinda thinking it would be cool to use some of that tinted plastic material the Radio Shack project boxes include for the IR stuff (or something else that's similar). That way the LED's aren't visible and the bezel still looks original'er.
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Hm, still working out kinks. Ran driver.bat, no more HID error, but no response from the gun at all. The config utility crashes - I suspect .net is not installed on that machine.
The driver.bat file has nothing to do with the function of the gun. Its not necessary to run this.
What I suspect is happening is the device has gone into "firmware upgrade mode" not sure why. But this can be resolved. Best drop me an email. andy@ultimarc.com
Will do. Keep up the good work. :)
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Now you need to make a layout for Mamewah where we can shoot screenshots to start the game. :D
Might actually be possible to use the gun as a mouse and trigger to start game...but not really what you want ;)
add a scroll wheel where the hammer would be on a typical gun and you can do just about anything in a front end
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I'm glad to see this product released in stages with upgradeable firmware, and I'm looking forward to hearing about how good the accuracy is, whether there are any reload or compatibility problems, and whether it works for all 2P gun games.
I'm curious if any features or specs have been determined for the Ulitmarc gun yet (number of buttons, weight, cord length, colors, etc)? I'd love to get a cordless gun that puts rechargeable batteries in the handle (the holster should be a charger), and uses IR to send the clicks. If it had an IR device in it, wouldn't it be cool to add a few tiny jukebox buttons to the gun?
Everything should be cordless these days -- it's a new rule.
-Jason
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Everything should be cordless these days -- it's a new rule.
Call me old fashioned but I disagree. Firstly, when someone has forgot to charge the device you can't use it...no such problem with a cable. Secondly, I like things to be as similar as possible to the arcade, and no arcade would want a wireless gun ;)
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Everything should be cordless these days -- it's a new rule.
Call me old fashioned but I disagree. Firstly, when someone has forgot to charge the device you can't use it...no such problem with a cable. Secondly, I like things to be as similar as possible to the arcade, and no arcade would want a wireless gun ;)
I'd go for the wired option too.
I misplace my TV/DVD remotes all the time and the ps3 controllers always need to be recharged when I really need them.
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the ps3 controllers always need to be recharged when I really need them.
You can connect them with a cable when the batteries run out though.
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Why not just take it a step further and make an Aimtrak app for the iPhone. :P
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Secondly, I like things to be as similar as possible to the arcade, and no arcade would want a wireless gun ;)
The arcade around the corner had wireless guns last week. I'm sure they want them back. ;)
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The arcade around the corner had wireless guns last week. I'm sure they want them back. ;)
They should have put a big, heavy chain on them 8)
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A chain isn't a wire, so that would still be wireless, right? :laugh2:
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Everything should be cordless these days -- it's a new rule.
Call me old fashioned but I disagree. Firstly, when someone has forgot to charge the device you can't use it...no such problem with a cable. Secondly, I like things to be as similar as possible to the arcade, and no arcade would want a wireless gun ;)
It shouldn't take much to power the device. A USB connection only has 5mA. I change the batteries in my (non-rechargeable) wireless mouse and TV remote about once every two years. I would expect that draining the batteries won't be a problem if someone forgets to holster the gun for a while.
As for authenticity -- I agree, but up to a point. The primary purpose for my cabinet is to faithfully reproduce the gameplay of as many old games as possible. But it is not a museum exhibit, and none of my controls, panel layout, or parts adhere to any particular arcade spec, it's my own creation designed for functionality and flexibility. Removing the USB cables are the type of thing that should improve the cabinet without inhibiting authentic gameplay at all -- akin to adding headphone jacks, extra control buttons (exit, coin, pause, etc), LED readouts, etc. None of those things are authentic arcade components, but they are all popular features for making a better MAME machine.
-Jason
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It shouldn't take much to power the device. A USB connection only has 5mA. I change the batteries in my (non-rechargeable) wireless mouse and TV remote about once every two years. I would expect that draining the batteries won't be a problem if someone forgets to holster the gun for a while.
Wrong. USB devices use 5 volts at up to 100 mA.
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Everything should be cordless these days -- it's a new rule.
Call me old fashioned but I disagree. Firstly, when someone has forgot to charge the device you can't use it...no such problem with a cable. Secondly, I like things to be as similar as possible to the arcade, and no arcade would want a wireless gun ;)
It shouldn't take much to power the device. A USB connection only has 5mA. I change the batteries in my (non-rechargeable) wireless mouse and TV remote about once every two years. I would expect that draining the batteries won't be a problem if someone forgets to holster the gun for a while.
As for authenticity -- I agree, but up to a point. The primary purpose for my cabinet is to faithfully reproduce the gameplay of as many old games as possible. But it is not a museum exhibit, and none of my controls, panel layout, or parts adhere to any particular arcade spec, it's my own creation designed for functionality and flexibility. Removing the USB cables are the type of thing that should improve the cabinet without inhibiting authentic gameplay at all -- akin to adding headphone jacks, extra control buttons (exit, coin, pause, etc), LED readouts, etc. None of those things are authentic arcade components, but they are all popular features for making a better MAME machine.
-Jason
Fact #1: A wireless option would cost more.
Fact #2: I'm am a fairly cheap person, so I would always want to pay the least possible when possible.
Fact #3: Wireless may be useful to some, even many, but since it will cost more, less people will want it, therefore it doesn't make sense to even produce it to this market of Arcade types. (Fact 3, is really more of a redundant combination of facts 1 & 2)
Case closed.
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But it is not a museum exhibit, and none of my controls, panel layout, or parts adhere to any particular arcade spec, it's my own creation designed for functionality and flexibility. Removing the USB cables are the type of thing that should improve the cabinet without inhibiting authentic gameplay at all -- akin to adding headphone jacks, extra control buttons (exit, coin, pause, etc), LED readouts, etc. None of those things are authentic arcade components, but they are all popular features for making a better MAME machine.
'Better' is subjective. I have nothing against the stuff you mention but for me better is not having headphone jack, led's etc. I must admit I do I have a pause button, mainly to use as a 'shift' because using start buttons for this can sometimes affect gameplay. I don't think there is anything on my machine that really gives it away as not being 'real'...
(ok so I admit I just hooked up a Nintendo Zapper...partly as it was very cheap but I also have fond memories of this gun!).
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Still digging into this. I suspect the problem I'm having isn't with the AimTrak, but with windows. I can't get the mouse to work at ALL. I still get HID driver errors.
TinyXP install. I'm working on getting that taken care of, then I'll cross the AimTrak bridge.
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It shouldn't take much to power the device. A USB connection only has 5mA.
Wrong. USB devices use 5 volts at up to 100 mA.
Err, no, the minimum a USB device can request it 100mA, but can request up to 500mA, in 100mA chunks. (The 5V+ is constant.)
Yeah, most devices request 100mA, and yeah most use less than they request. So a device actually using only 5mA is not unusual (even though it's required to ask for power in 100mA to get that 5mA).
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Still digging into this. I suspect the problem I'm having isn't with the AimTrak, but with windows. I can't get the mouse to work at ALL. I still get HID driver errors.
TinyXP install. I'm working on getting that taken care of, then I'll cross the AimTrak bridge.
Ya, I tried TinyXP and had all kinds of hell trying to get all the drivers to work ... I just couldn't figure it out, so I reverted to a only "slightly" modified nlite-d version I created and that seems to work. You may want to try a dual boot with something else, it will probably solve all your problems.
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I can't believe I just discovered this thread!
I have read through the replies..
but I have a few questions please excuse me if they are
already covered somewhere.
1.) Can someone confirm I this will completely work with
Terminator 2. As in track with both cursors across the screen.
If so will you be able to auto fire as in T2 or will it be like
The ActLab guns and only pistol fire?
I have seen others ask about T2 but I did not see a response?
2.) I understand their is a problem with the distance/ height
if not the same every time..
Could this be overcome with a stationary gun such as The
Terminator 2 style? How well would a Completely Stationary
gun work... and if so would it cause any foreseeable problems
with other games?
Well that's all I can think of for now...
I can hardly wait to find out more about this gun system! :)
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I can confirm that it does track and autofire in Terminator 2. See my post in this thread for a video on my cab of T2 in action:
My video of T2 with AimTrack -- on my 'eentsy' monitor (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=97057.msg1024683#msg1024683)
Can't say for sure if 2 AimTrack units will work for this, but since I can use my Aimtrak for player one, and my trackball for player 2, I don't see why it wouldn't.
One other thing: The longest setting you can set the auto-calibration mode delay for is 60 seconds, so for the spray & pray games (like T2) you have to remember to let go of the trigger once every 60 seconds, or else the gun will go into calibration mode. I'm considering requesting a patch to either extend this time limit, or toggle it as user selectable from the AimTrak config program. Since it's version 1 of the firmware, I'll wait to see what Andy does in revisons.
Totally rocks, though! I love being able to play T2 with my AimTrak!
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I can confirm that it does track and autofire in Terminator 2. See my post in this thread for a video on my cab of T2 in action:
My video of T2 with AimTrack -- on my 'eentsy' monitor (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=97057.msg1024683#msg1024683)
Can't say for sure if 2 AimTrack units will work for this, but since I can use my Aimtrak for player one, and my trackball for player 2, I don't see why it wouldn't.
One other thing: The longest setting you can set the auto-calibration mode delay for is 60 seconds, so for the spray & pray games (like T2) you have to remember to let go of the trigger once every 60 seconds, or else the gun will go into calibration mode. I'm considering requesting a patch to either extend this time limit, or toggle it as user selectable from the AimTrak config program. Since it's version 1 of the firmware, I'll wait to see what Andy does in revisons.
Totally rocks, though! I love being able to play T2 with my AimTrak!
Wow.. short video but Awesome to see it in action...
T2 is Just Amazing! Its a shame you don't have 2 guns
I would really like to see 2 in action.
A lot of other lightgun solutions had problems when you add
the 2nd gun... :(
Oh on the 60 seconds calibration problem....
I'm almost positive I read somewhere it could be turned off
in the config utility.
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Got my Aimtraks... no firmware update yet, no gun mounted module, just holding it my hand with a trigger button rigged and lovin' it. It works beautifully. I've got the sensor bar mounted right on the faceplate of a 19" lcd monitor and accuracy and tracking do not seem to be an issue, it shoots where I point it.
One question I have: Before I go experimenting, How does one connect wires to the extra five inputs? Are they just little pads you have to solder to, or are there actually some holes there you can remove the solder from and poke a wire through?
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Must... install.... in... NES... Zapper...
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I'm wondering, as soon as Silent Scope becomes playable in MAME, who will be first to make a light gun with a small LCD mounted on top for this game?
I intend to be the first. I've been pestering emulator programmers of MAME, PS2, DC and XBOX to find out how to get the surface the scope is being rendered to and bitblt it to an external window, so you can just use any VNC client to have it show on a portable LCD like iphone or PSP.
If they don't do it, I will buy a component capture card, and write software to find the scope on screen and bitblt it to an external window. Problem is finding a cheap component capture USB device that doesnt cost an arm and a leg.
Hell this thing is small enough to fit inside the nose of a the Pelican Silent Scope sniper rifle for XBOX. Then I wouldn't have to write software to find the scope, I could just use this baby!
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As for the foot pedal discussion:
I have one of the RedOctane reload pedals. A thing of beauty.
But pretty much all it is, is 2 pieces and a spring.
The top part connected via a joint/hinge to the bottom part, with a spring at the back to make it go back up. And a switch in the middle.
I'm sure you DIYers could make one quite easily, and much better than those plastic POSs that come with guitar hero or steering wheels.
I would prefer a wireless version of the aimtrak, I understand why he built it wired. We just need to find a suitable wireless USB adapter with an easy-to-charge solution like PS3s controllers.
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I'm trying to work out how to do the Silent Scope rifle.
What I need is dual-output. Meaning it would work as an XBOX light gun at the same time as transmitting the XY coordinates to a PC.
I think I'd need a microcontroller to emulate the XBOX Lightgun protocol unless he adds a second USB port himself.
I cant really use the Silent Scope rifle anymore seeing as I (and I assume most of you) have moved to LCD tvs, and it's cathode ray only
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One question I have: Before I go experimenting, How does one connect wires to the extra five inputs? Are they just little pads you have to solder to, or are there actually some holes there you can remove the solder from and poke a wire through?
They are VERY tiny holes.
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They are VERY tiny holes.
Cool... tiny holes are way better than tiny solder points. I think I've got some single strand CAT5 cable I'll try.
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I've got the aimtrak module rigged up in an old Jamma Cab through a PS1 gun-con light gun and it works great in windows XP. It's when I get to Mame, running through Hyperspin frotend that it goes wrong.
I've only managed to get 1 game working, Zero Point, by doing the X and Y analog settings as once used on the Actlabs guns setup.
For reference my settings are
lightgun 1
mouse 1
Thanks for any help.
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Sorry for the poor quality, but this is my gun setup. Zapper with an additional button...I didn't think to take a photo before I put it back together...
I used a craft hole punch (my mums!) for the holes in my cardboard bezel...exactly the right size for the led's :)
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Last night I had a most terrible dream
It was 12 AM and the lightguns reappeared
And I'm crying
I'm shakin'
I'm extatic,
Heart beatin'
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
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:dizzy:
-
Last night I had a most terrible dream
It was 12 AM and the lightguns reappeared
And I'm crying
I'm shakin'
I'm extatic,
Heart beatin'
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
...Folks who are overly enamored by a product because it sort of lets them play, could be leading others to blow $50 they might not be able to spare on a neat gizmo that ultimately doesn't get used due to it's limitations.
Let's try our best to hold stuff like this in until we all know it's warranted... Yes?
Thanks!
:spam:
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Last night I had a most terrible dream
It was 12 AM and the lightguns reappeared
And I'm crying
I'm shakin'
I'm extatic,
Heart beatin'
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
WTF :dunno
Time to take your medications?
-
I ordered an Aimtrak and it arrived a couple days ago. I hacked into an old squirt gun and mounted a leaf switch and the Aimtrak camera module into it. It looks bad, but is very functional. Here is my question... When the board arrived, the camera "daughter card" (for lack of a better phrase) was not 90 deg to the main board. In the graphics, it is 90 deg, but in some of the pictures I have seen it looks a little off. Should the camera face be parallel to the end of the gun??
Thanks much!
Ron Fancella
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No, it's angled that way on purpose.
-
Thank you for the quick response. Now, just to review all the post in this thread and get the gun calibrated....
Ron Fancella
-
If that's you in your pic, then you look kinda like Dave "Gruber" Allen :lol
(http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/Rosso-724805.jpg)
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LOL Well, at least I don't sound like 'Ed Gruberman'... (For those old Dr. Demento fans)
Frantics - Tae Kwon Leep (Boot to the Head) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Y6231uAmo#)
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Ah.....Boot to the Head. Nice reference. :D
-
Got it working in TinyXP. Had to find the HIDClass drivers, copy them into Windows / System32 / Drivers , and tell device manager that it was a HID Mouse.
Now to get it working in mame.
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Once I was able to reconfigure the module (I managed to unzip all the config files into the same directory and -assumed- that it would work... :-[ ) with Andy's help, it now works in Area 51. Needed the -lightgun -reload_offscreen options .
My wife concurs it works better than my old guncon did.
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Once I was able to reconfigure the module (I managed to unzip all the config files into the same directory and -assumed- that it would work... :-[ ) with Andy's help, it now works in Area 51. Needed the -lightgun -reload_offscreen options .
My wife concurs it works better than my old guncon did.
I am also running tinyXp and was wondering if you could tell me sort of specifically what it is you needed to tweak/add?
I have been dreaming to of getting light gun playability.
I have yet to make my purchase from Andy because of $$$
But there are LOTS of used console game guns kicking around here in Japan.
Thrift shops have them for $1-5US.
So thats the easy part.
Anyway I would like to be prepared for future problems. Please let me know what drivers etc you needed to update.
Thanks
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I used tinyxp rev 9, install option 4. Didn't need to install anything for HID mouse support, it just worked right away.
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Once I was able to reconfigure the module (I managed to unzip all the config files into the same directory and -assumed- that it would work... :-[ ) with Andy's help, it now works in Area 51. Needed the -lightgun -reload_offscreen options .
My wife concurs it works better than my old guncon did.
I am also running tinyXp and was wondering if you could tell me sort of specifically what it is you needed to tweak/add?
I have been dreaming to of getting light gun playability.
I have yet to make my purchase from Andy because of $$$
But there are LOTS of used console game guns kicking around here in Japan.
Thrift shops have them for $1-5US.
So thats the easy part.
Anyway I would like to be prepared for future problems. Please let me know what drivers etc you needed to update.
Thanks
PM Sent.
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Something that would be nice is if you could set the AimTrak's button's to keyboard commands. That should allow for two player on House of the Dead 2 PC version. I have yet to mess around with it in the game yet but as I recall setting up with my GunCon 2s using the wingun or smog's driver I needed to send keyboard commands from player two to get it working, since the game didn't allow much for customizing buttons. Or, if someone knows away around this please let me know.
-
Just use the Troubleshooting with HOTD2 configured with default keys (both players).
-
Last night I had a most terrible dream
It was 12 AM and the lightguns reappeared
And I'm crying
I'm shakin'
I'm extatic,
Heart beatin'
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Sweet mother of Pearl, someone call a doctor! ;)
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Something that would be nice is if you could set the AimTrak's button's to keyboard commands. That should allow for two player on House of the Dead 2 PC version. I have yet to mess around with it in the game yet but as I recall setting up with my GunCon 2s using the wingun or smog's driver I needed to send keyboard commands from player two to get it working, since the game didn't allow much for customizing buttons. Or, if someone knows away around this please let me know.
Use Xpadder.
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Use Xpadder.
Xpadder sounds like an easy way to go, but if the AimTrak is configurable on its own, shouldn't this be considered as an optional setup? It can currently be set to mouse buttons or joystick buttons, so why not the extra option for key strokes?
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To preserve compatibility with the Ipac/Minipac maybe?
-
Last night I had a most terrible dream
It was 12 AM and the lightguns reappeared
And I'm crying
I'm shakin'
I'm extatic,
Heart beatin'
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
Hey Andy, I love you, I wanna have your babies
Just come in, I'll kiss ya, don't worry about the neighbours
And thus another stalker was born unto the world. :whap
Enjoying the reads guys - Have been looking to get rid of my Act Labs guns for something else.
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Use Xpadder.
Xpadder sounds like an easy way to go, but if the AimTrak is configurable on its own, shouldn't this be considered as an optional setup? It can currently be set to mouse buttons or joystick buttons, so why not the extra option for key strokes?
It's seen as mouse or gamepad buttons, just like the U360's encoder. It's not really an option.
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I don't have an AimTrak, but I thought it was either mouse buttons or joystick buttons. Is it just joystick buttons then? The UHID can output any type of output, so I figured this could too (given the right firmware of course).
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Yeah, mouse too. Updated my post.
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I think this has been said before..
I don't own a Aimtrack ...to know if it already does the following:
Accept Cmd Line options.
I think for A universal Gun solution for M.A.M.E. PC, etc
there needs to be some options settable by Command line.
There aren't a ton of Lightgun Games so its not A big Deal to right a few
batch files.
MAME we can set the -mouse option...
House of The Dead PC version - Keyboard, Other games -joystick etc.
You could change what keys, buttons, etc are sent for each game on
a individual basis by command line Batch files.
And for goodness Sake Have another button besides trigger
Open the Calibration program for us!
You get the Idea.
Maybe This could even be Made by Someone other
than Andy with a program such as AutoHotkey ?
Any thoughts?
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Andy,
I'm curious If I used a positional gun (Terminator 2, etc)
would this completely eliminate the need for re-calibration for different Heights?
Example: Tall person then a short person or kid uses.
I'm also curious (see above post) if this could be made to accept
command line options? See above post.
I know There are ways Terminator 2 or other guns could be hacked to
use in MAME but that's not universal (PC Games, etc).
While I know a lot of people probably won't like positional guns
But It seems a good idea For a Dedicated Multi- Gun Game CAB!
I would probally have 2 positional ( future Cab build)
and 2 non- positional for My MAME'd Laptop.
Could it really be that simple for me to have a end all solution:
command line or (3d Party app such as Auto hot key),
and a Permanently mounted positional gun?
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Ok, so I just mine in today. I have updated the Aimtrak to the newest firmware ... but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to use it in MAME AT ALL! :angry:
What's the secret? My mouse (actual mouse) works, but I cannot get the aimtrak to work.
The Aimtrak works fine in other PC games (played HOTD3 on PC for awhile).
I'm probably missing something super simple, but please ... enlighten me.
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Maybe you need to enable multi mouse support?
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Maybe you need to enable multi mouse support?
Or it could be as it was back when I first used my X -Labs guns:
MAME is using mouse 1 and his just showed up as Mouse 2/Mouse 3
or both for dual guns..
Just check by TAB in Game worth a shot. ;)
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Maybe you need to enable multi mouse support?
ahhh ... that was the problem. Thanks!
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Use Xpadder.
Xpadder sounds like an easy way to go, but if the AimTrak is configurable on its own, shouldn't this be considered as an optional setup? It can currently be set to mouse buttons or joystick buttons, so why not the extra option for key strokes?
It's seen as mouse or gamepad buttons, just like the U360's encoder. It's not really an option.
Ah yes, that makes sense. Thanks
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Use Xpadder.
Xpadder sounds like an easy way to go, but if the AimTrak is configurable on its own, shouldn't this be considered as an optional setup? It can currently be set to mouse buttons or joystick buttons, so why not the extra option for key strokes?
It's seen as mouse or gamepad buttons, just like the U360's encoder. It's not really an option.
Ah yes, that makes sense. Thanks
Someone above said the U-hid can do mouse, gamepad, and keyboard, and the Aimtrak is based on a U-hid setup, so I could be wrong.
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Ok needs some help again. I got two units, and upgraded the firmware in them both. However, on one of the units when I go to calibrate it, the mouse just over and over and over and over again goes it the upper left corner, each time I "fire" it doesn't change. I can't ever get it to stop.
On the other unit, I fire, it changes, I fire again, ect... until the cycle is complete.
What am I missing here?
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Have you assigned them their own device IDs?
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well ... I don't currently have them both plugged in at the same time. I was unplugging one, then doing the other. The "standard" reasons for why this may be happeneing aren' the case. (aka, the gun is not to close, and it is pointing at the LEDs).
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Try changing the device ID. Mine seemed happier when I did so and I was doing the same as you.
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After a good hour of :angry:, :banghead:, & :cry: ... I finnally got it working. I was getting a critical error and the program was crashing when I would try to define the light gun. I'm not sure what the "fix" was, but after several reboots, and several updates to the firmware ... it just started working and let me chnage the ID (before each time I clicked "ok" it would crash ...)
So ... it's working now, both of them, and I got them working in mame as well, which was a lot of fun.
Thanks!
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I found the issue to the crashing, at least on my computer. When I have the device menu selected and point the AimTrak at the leds it would crash due to the AimTraks auto scrolling down. Easy fix is to not have it highlighted or if the new firmware is out to fix it, haven't checked.
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Pointblank. Any tips for calibrating? I get into gun calibration, sight on the little blinky dot, and pull the trigger. Tracks true near the center and not even close near the edges.
Pointer tracks pretty true in windows. Area51 I was able to calibrate with no probs.
Am I missing something?
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Pointblank. Any tips for calibrating? I get into gun calibration, sight on the little blinky dot, and pull the trigger. Tracks true near the center and not even close near the edges.
Pointer tracks pretty true in windows. Area51 I was able to calibrate with no probs.
Am I missing something?
Sadly this is another game that does not fully work. It has an imperfect Driver Status (see link below)
http://maws.mameworld.info/maws/romset/ptblank (http://maws.mameworld.info/maws/romset/ptblank)
One of the listed bugs on this page is "Gun calibration error. MAMEBase (ID 02686)"
I'm assuming that's your problem.
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Ah. Oh well. :)
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Ok maybe this is a dumb question...
ah well here goes:
Does anybody know how many Gun Games actually use more than
2 buttons?
If they can use offscreen reload but also map to a 3rd button...
well Lets not count those. ;)
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I don't think any "arcade" guns use more than 2. Some of the new HOTD games (I was somewhat drunk last I was at Dave n Busters ... so I think it was HOTD4??) or one of them has a grenade button ... but those would not even be close to mame-able.
I think the "point" of all the extra button capability is for people who might want to remove the other cab buttons, and for custom buttons. Aka, a button for calibration, or a button for the "start" button, or coin even...
Not my cup of tee. My gun has 3 buttons, trigger and one on each side, but I just wired both the left and right sided buttons to the same AUX switch because I really didn't have need for anything else.
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The gun I'm looking at installing the AimTrak into only seems to have a trigger and
1 other button ( I think).
I haven't actually got the proposed gun in the mail yet to examine closely.
So I was really just trying to plan ahead and see if 2 buttons would be enough.
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RomLister could help you out immensely.
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RomLister could help you out immensely.
A Truly useful tool.
@bkenobi, on a side note thanks for the 360-to-270 driving games post. I haven't quite figured it our yet for HyperSpin, but will be working on it soon.
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Andy:
No matter what I check or uncheck helps. "Disable Trig Cal" is still active. When I f.ex. uncheck it and click "Send" it alters settings for "Disable Auto Gain" and "Tilt / Z Correction instead. (This is after closing and restarting the config program: Reading this data from AimTrak.)
I have posted a hotfix version which cures this problem: http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.zip (http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.zip)
I see no reason why any button presses should be reported to the system during calibration since this is done internally in the MCU only. What I mean is that the moment calibration is activated, no buttons is reported until calibration is finished.
I agree with Ginsu that it would be nice to choose what button (Trig, Aux, P1-5) to activate calibration with. Take an example with "Crayon Physics" where you draw objects by holding the trigger maybe longer than the available setting allow.
Above makes sense, I will implement this in next version
If you plan to save a text file with config data for command line programming, please include your planned "Monitor Size" in this config text. This is because by setting "Fixed Aspect Ratio" in GPU settings would actually make a widescreen function as a 4:3. Calibration data from the AimTrak must be able to be saved and reprogrammed for this to have any reason.
One last strange thing: If I am in a browser window or a text file when pointing the gun at the screen, it actually scrolls down. Could there be a fault Z axis reporting here ?
Yes, that was a very strange one. It appears to be a Windows bug. I have a workaround and it will be fixed in next firmware.
Just checking in and wondering if the new firmware has been posted?
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I just got my module in today and getting anxious to get this installed. I have 3 Guncon 2's just out in my garage collecting dust, but really tempted to install this into a NES Zapper like above just for nostalgia. However, I would like the option of having other buttons though, so does anyone have a good tutorial for using a Guncon 2?
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I haven't tried it, but wouldn't the spring on the NES zapper be a little too hard for a mame gun? It's good for single shots, but you'd really wear your finger out for any sort of multifire.
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Dazz.....
Did you see my thread on the Hyperspin forums on my build of the guncon2? I however didn't wire for the other buttons.
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I finally got around to trying to get both my AimTraks working in HOD3 PC and it's not going so well. The best I could get was a full functioning player 1 but player 2 will only fire and reload but no cursor control. I had GunCons working a couple years ago for the game but I don't remember exactly what I did... Has anyone got this to work?
Well HOD2 will work so in theory there is something I can do to get HOD3 to work...maybe a few more hours of fiddling...
Nvm....It decided to work after I left it for a bit and came back. I remember something similar happening when I dealt with the GunCons. Oh well, a few hours of frustration is worth it to have House of the Dead working with two players now ;D
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Dazz.....
Did you see my thread on the Hyperspin forums on my build of the guncon2? I however didn't wire for the other buttons.
That's where I saw that thread at! I knew that I saw one somewhere, but didn't think to check our own forums for it. Thanks!
BTW if anyone needs it, the thread is right here (http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4797).
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Ok, just hooked up my Aimtrack to my computer running Windows 7 X64. As soon as I plug in the USB the driver loads and then all of a sudden the mouse drifts quickly to the upper left corner of my screen. During this I am unable use my normal mouse or do anything at all. This seems to have happened when I upgraded to the 13 firmware since it asked when I first run the Aimtrack software.
Just sent an email to Andy, so hopefully I can get this fixed.
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Wow, been off the board for awhile, so I completely missed this! $80 for two of these beats out $200 for the Opti-whatever. Gotta give these a try in the two 45 cal Happ recoil guns that have been dormant in my garage for the last 3 years...
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Ok, just hooked up my Aimtrack to my computer running Windows 7 X64. As soon as I plug in the USB the driver loads and then all of a sudden the mouse drifts quickly to the upper left corner of my screen. During this I am unable use my normal mouse or do anything at all. This seems to have happened when I upgraded to the 13 firmware since it asked when I first run the Aimtrack software.
Just sent an email to Andy, so hopefully I can get this fixed.
Ok, after emailing Andy everything is working great. The Aimtrack was stuck in calibration mode after upgrading the firmware. I had to disconnect the wiring harness and then plug the Aimtrack usb back in. That seemed to clear it and I was able to get it properly calibrated. Once I got it working I decided to go ahead and wire up the D-Pad and side buttons on the Guncon 2. For those of you looking for a tutorial on hooking up the Aimtrack to a Playstation 2 Guncon 2 gun, check out the thread we have on the HyperSpin forums (http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4797).
After playing a couple games with the Aimtrack gun module; I must say that this product deserves some kind of award. Anyone that is simply considering purchasing one; do it. I'm about to pull the trigger on a second module for a second player gun.
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Just received my 2 Aimtraks today! Few years ago I plunked down for the Happ 45 Cal Recoil Kit (http://happcontrols.com/amusement/optical/951142rbkit.htm) when the ROR3 USB board was supposedly being released... ::) Today I pulled out a very dusty box to check out the guns for the first time in ages. They're super heavy duty with industrial hosing and strain reliefs, and looks like there's just enough room to snake a thin USB cable through for the new board. Nice thing is these guns come with built-in solenoids for recoil!
Looks like I'll need to keep at least a couple of the original wires to power the built-in solenoids and send trigger presses to the recoil board though. I'll have to add a second button to the frame for reload/grenade/rocket/whatever, but there looks to be plenty of room inside for that, the optic board, and any additional wiring with extremely minor mods. I'm hoping it's ok to add a lexan cover in the barrel tip to prevent dust on the lens...we'll see. Thanks Andy for making these boards--that Happ kit was way too expensive to just rot in the garage!
Edit: Tested quickly in T2. Not too shabby for a from-the-hip calibration with the LEDs taped to the top of my laptop. I had to turn down the analog sensitivity to 1, and reverse the X-axis, but I was able to get enough accuracy to hit all the targets quickly and get rocket lock-ons. Been waiting a long time for that! ;D Hehe
Hmm, wonder if I could get the LEDwiz to pulse the solenoids...hmmm.... :D
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I'd think you could, using an opto isolator and relay or triac. I've been experimenting doing exactly that with controlling ELWire segments via LEDWiz. But I've never worked with those kinds of guns.
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I'd think you could, using an opto isolator and relay or triac. I've been experimenting doing exactly that with controlling ELWire segments via LEDWiz. But I've never worked with those kinds of guns.
Well, with this setup, I'm pretty sure all I really need to send is a button press to the recoil board. The board is made to fire the solenoids on every trigger press with no feedback from the game. Maybe I just need a small relay in place of an LED to do the switching.
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Yeah, but you gotta be careful of driving inductive loads with the outputs of the LEDWiz. They warn about that all over the place.
An optoisolator isn't inductive like a relay, so no danger with it.
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I hacked into an old squirt gun and mounted a leaf switch and the Aimtrak camera module into it. It looks bad, but is very functional.
I just ordered this from Dealextreme for $8.82usd that comes in a pair. Might not be as pretty as a guncon2 or a retro nes zapper but might serve it's purpose well.
(http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_29212_1.jpg)
(http://www1.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_29212_2.jpg)
(http://www1.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_29212_3.jpg)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29212 (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29212)
I'm guessing that the trigger much hit something where the top barrel is so I can hopefully mount a leaf switch there next to the AimTrack PCB.
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I just ordered this from Dealextreme for $8.82usd that comes in a pair. Might not be as pretty as a guncon2 or a retro nes zapper but might serve it's purpose well.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29212 (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29212)
I'm guessing that the trigger much hit something where the top barrel is so I can hopefully mount a leaf switch there next to the AimTrack PCB.
Those are supposed to be used with Wii remotes so trigger should work with some sort of lever to hit the "B" button from a Wii remote that would be sitting nearby the front of the gun. It's much possible you'll remove part of the mechanism and have enough room to adapt the switch.
I bought exactly this pair two months ago to use with AimTrack, but never got my hands on them. I only received a letter from customs stating they were considered real gun replicas here and therefore sent to the Army. It would cost too much to get an authorization to import them compared to their price...so I left them for destruction. :angry:
Now I have two Virtua Guns from Saturn waiting for me to start...let's see how it goes.
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I bought exactly this pair two months ago to use with AimTrack, but never got my hands on them. I only received a letter from customs stating they were considered real gun replicas here and therefore sent to the Army. It would cost too much to get an authorization to import them compared to their price...so I left them for destruction. :angry:
Wow, customs must be really stupid if they think they can go to war with those weapons of mass destruction :angry: Hopefully Canada customs won't be as dumb and my package will make it through.
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It's Brazil. Who are they going to war with?
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I bought exactly this pair two months ago to use with AimTrack, but never got my hands on them. I only received a letter from customs stating they were considered real gun replicas here and therefore sent to the Army. It would cost too much to get an authorization to import them compared to their price...so I left them for destruction. :angry:
Wow, customs must be really stupid if they think they can go to war with those weapons of mass destruction :angry: Hopefully Canada customs won't be as dumb and my package will make it through.
Well...like any other customs, it's pretty random. They check the packages by sample and the individual has the authority to define what to do with the goods...and there's a law approved two years ago here that forbids the import of almost anything gun-alike, including toys. So they have to send it to an army office that's responsible to define if it's a replica or not....seems I was really unlucky on those inspections. I'm pretty sure I could recover it, but I would have to spend something around $100 for it on a process...
On the fun side, they probably thought I was a modern version of this guy: http://kotaku.com/5160608/brazilian-man-holds-woman-hostage-for-10-hours-with-a-sega-light-gun (http://kotaku.com/5160608/brazilian-man-holds-woman-hostage-for-10-hours-with-a-sega-light-gun) :laugh2:
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Yeah, but you gotta be careful of driving inductive loads with the outputs of the LEDWiz. They warn about that all over the place.
An optoisolator isn't inductive like a relay, so no danger with it.
I'm not sure what you mean by inductive. Isn't a relay just a switch? If the recoil board is controlling the solenoid, using the input of a switch to tell it that the trigger has been pulled, then the recoil circuit is probably already isolated. I'll have to take a closer look tonight but I think it makes sense.
Edit: NVM, I reread and I see what you're saying....so an optoisolator then. Or a solid state relay would be good enough?
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Right, but that relay actually has a solenoid in it to trigger the "switch" action, and that's also an inductive load, which, from what I know of the LEDWiz, it doesn't like to drive.
Maybe I've misunderstood what you were wanting to do. It sounded like you wanted to be able to control the recoil solenoid via an output from the LEDWIZ?
To do that, you definitely wouldn't want to drive the recoil solenoid +directly+ from the LEDWiz, but you probably don't want to drive a relay to drive the recoil solenoid either.
But, an email to the guys at Ultimarc might be your best bet for a concrete answer.
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I'm using a kit from Happ that is made to retrofit non-recoil games to use recoil guns. There is a board included for this purpose, with a microcontroller of some sort. It looks for various conditions, like having to insert a coin and press start in order for the recoil to be enabled, then it activates the solenoid whenever the trigger is pressed. So all I'm looking to do is send that button press, which must be read by the controller before firing the solenoid. For this purpose, all I need is to send a momentary contact to the trigger input on the board.
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Ahhh. I see. you just need that signal, you don't actually have to power the solenoid with it.
Hmm. That might work. But I'm no EE either, so don't take my word for it :)
I've let plenty of magic smoke out doing just these sorts of "Hey this oughta work" things. ;D
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Few questions, I just got my AimTraks in the mail this week...
I've got mine hooked up in a GunCon with the light bar mounted on top of a Samsung 22" widescreen LCD. Calibration seems to be OK in WindowsXP, but not accurate within MAME.
1. Did the widescreen "issue" ever get resolved? In calibration the cursor doesn't go to the edges on my widescreen LCD. Is this a part of the problem I might be having?
2. Would the LEDs be impacted by a glossy monitor case? I've greyed out the area around the LED bar, and things got a little better, but not as good as it probably should be.
3. Has anyone had problems with accuracy in daylight vs night? Games seems to be unplayable during the day, but no changes to the guns or config and things are better at night.
Are there any setting in Windows that I should check, like cursor precision, etc?
Been having a blast in Carnevil and Terminator 2, but something tels me it could be better. Putting these bits into a GunCon gun was CAKE! I want to take a look at using the extra button header but I've been OK with what's already there for now. Getting a start button on the gun though would save me a few steps to start up a game. Not a deal breaker by any means.
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I want to take a look at using the extra button header but I've been OK with what's already there for now. Getting a start button on the gun though would save me a few steps to start up a game. Not a deal breaker by any means.
I ended up wiring up the trigger, bottom button, 2 side buttons and the D-pad on my Guncon 2. Everything works great. If you need more information you can check out this thread on the HyperSpin forums (http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showpost.php?p=52273).
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Hopefully someone could help me with a small problem.
I found out, in the Model 2 emulator, enabling Raw Input (for mouse) prevents the "click on the edge of the game and it loses focus" problem. I would need to use this anyway when I get a second Aimtrak gun.
The problem is, in Raw Input mode, the crosshair / shots only appear at the 4 corners of the screen. I can't shoot anything like that.
It only happens with the Aimtrak on the Model 2. The trackball works fine for Player 2 in Raw Input mode. And the gun works on the Desktop, MAME, and everything else.
Any ideas?
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I have a Dual Quad Core 3 Ghz at work with 16GB Ram and TC DOES NOT WORK... I doubt anyone has anything beefeir than that. :-) LOL... But this looks awesome... Just ordered my panel also... Almost there...
So has anyone made these and sold them yet... I need TWO> :-)
As far as Time Crisis goes, what are our real options here... Mame can't run it...
I mentioned a few posts earlier that MAME *CAN* in fact run Time Crisis. If that game is one that you absolutely have to have, then it may be worth it to you to build/buy a system with a powerful enough CPU to handle it.
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I use tactile switch's for 360 rapid fire controller mods to switch mode's between the firing rate's.
http://www.lambind.com/images/large/ts.jpg (http://www.lambind.com/images/large/ts.jpg)
for those that need or want more buttons you could easily put more then enough of these in there just drill a hole and hot glue or epoxy them in and they will stay in there.
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I have a 2 ready to go...I'll PM ya
I have a Dual Quad Core 3 Ghz at work with 16GB Ram and TC DOES NOT WORK... I doubt anyone has anything beefeir than that. :-) LOL... But this looks awesome... Just ordered my panel also... Almost there...
So has anyone made these and sold them yet... I need TWO> :-)
As far as Time Crisis goes, what are our real options here... Mame can't run it...
I mentioned a few posts earlier that MAME *CAN* in fact run Time Crisis. If that game is one that you absolutely have to have, then it may be worth it to you to build/buy a system with a powerful enough CPU to handle it.
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may have been asked already prior but 14 pages is getting long to look but I was wondering what is the gun shell of choice by the majority and where's the pics of everyone's completed guns or are most of you in the process of creating them still?
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I would say the Guncon2's are the gun of choice...ar at least is my opinion.
Here is a build I did http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4797 (http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4797)
And a pair I have for sale http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5739 (http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5739)
SOLD
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may have been asked already prior but 14 pages is getting long to look but I was wondering what is the gun shell of choice by the majority and where's the pics of everyone's completed guns or are most of you in the process of creating them still?
I put mine in a Sega light phaser:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=97057.msg1022898#msg1022898 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=97057.msg1022898#msg1022898)
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Woot! My wii gun remotes came in today from Dealextreme, very workable and cheap alternative (<$5 per gun housing). Time to order my Aimtrak kit(s) now from Ultimarc, I waited in case it didn't clear customs as some here have had problems. I will take more detailed pics for you to see where and how the trigger mechanism works.
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may have been asked already prior but 14 pages is getting long to look but I was wondering what is the gun shell of choice by the majority and where's the pics of everyone's completed guns or are most of you in the process of creating them still?
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0703/angryred/GAME/GAMEconstruct087.jpg)
The PS1 Guncon was recommended as an easy hack, and I had one lying around. I was finished putting it together in an afternoon.
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Man, be away from the forums for awhile and really cool stuff comes out. I will have to update my cabinet sometime.
I went back a couple of pages and didn't see any reviews. How does it work? Compared to other solutions?
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With the latest software and firmware updates, it works great.
End of review :lol
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So when is Andy going to have gun housings to go along with the guts?
Glad to hear it's working well now. Too bad it wasn't working as well when this thread started. Maybe there would be 3/4 fewer pages. ::)
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Just wondering, has anyone had trouble with trigger detection? My trigger and auxillary buttons are both wired and confirmed working with a continuity test, however only the auxillary button is detected. No matter which button I map the trigger to it never works. Anyone have a similar problem or a fix?
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Have you upgraded to the latest software/firmware? That fixed it for me.
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If 1.3 is the latest than yes. I guess it wouldn't hurt to reinstall 1.3 again
I am just going by what is on the sultimarc site, if there is newer firmware/software available please let me know.
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Because this is LED based I would assume some things could interfere with it. I would also assume it is IR based light - so plasma tvs could interfere with it?
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If plasmas emit IR radiation then yes I'm sure it would although I have never owned or operated a plasma tv so I cannot comment. I have tested my gun and it gets zero interference from fluorescent or incandescent light. I also have super bright led tubes on top of my cab which I thought may be a problem but the gun gets no hassle from them.
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I had asked prior what were the guns of choice and others used/suggested the guncons but for me after checking them out they seem a little bulky and I am not sure how the trigger may feel in them compared to a real arcade gun.
I started hawking ebay for light guns and ended up getting these.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200400295228&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200400295228&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT)
I cannot stand the color of them and so far going to repaint them with krylon fusion black plastic paint but I never used the stuff before and not sure if it is even any good or not.
anyone have any suggestions on a good paint to use for something like that if kryon fusion sucks?
Decided to go with them as there not as bulky and they would definaly have the real arcade feel becuase there the real deal but the barrel's had me worried becuase the aimtrak pcb may not fit becuase the barrel is no were near the size of the guncons barrel room and may be too small.
by the pic though using the guys thumb the holes should be just about right hopefully perfect but if they are too small I figured I would just remove the lens put the case back together and then bore out the barrel a little more if needed with a fat drill bit.
I will post the results when done. I just got the guns ordered in state today so I probably will have them up and running this weekend but still need to find out what I am doing with wood stock colored guns paint wise
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Those revolvers should work nicely! The AimTrak board is fairly small, so it shouldn't be an issue (unless there's some kind of blockage inside the barrel...but that's what Dremels are for).
There's a link earlier in this thread about a Guncon2 that was painted. He would know better about what paint is good.
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I'm using a Lethal Enforcers Justifier. Works great. I just had to remove a slight bit of plastic for the wires to go through the barrel. I didn't even need a dremel, just a pair of pliers.
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Vinyl Dye is the bomb on plastic. It comes in a spray can and can be found at most automotive stores. It actually sinks into the plastic, which means original textures are preserved and there is no build up to inhibit parts fitting back together.
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Vinyl Dye is the bomb on plastic. It comes in a spray can and can be found at most automotive stores. It actually sinks into the plastic, which means original textures are preserved and there is no build up to inhibit parts fitting back together.
Cool I will give that a try instead then.
the guns I got in the link said lethal enforcers but there from a Lethal forcers 2 machine but I also seen there the same used on some of the alg games like mad dog last bounty hunter shootout at old tucson etc.
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Hi Folks,
I am currently trying to calibrate my Aim-Trak but I have Problems.
I am using a CRT Screen and the aim-trak is working with default programming.
a) press fire button > 5 sec.
b) the cursor moves to the top left and I press the button
c) the cursor moves to the top right and I press the button
d) the cursor moves to downside and If I press the button
nothing happens. The cursur is still moving downside
Any Hints?
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That would indicate to me one thing, the gun is not seeing the LED's when pointing downward. To my ignorant experience (:)), this could be caused by two things:
- You are too close to the monitor thus when you are pointing downwards, the gun's camera can't see the LED
- Is your monitor angled by any chance? If it is, I believe you have to bend the LED's so that the tip is aiming at the gun (so if your monitor is angled, the LED's need to be bent downwards a bit). That would permit the gun to see them once it's aiming downward.
Remember that the camera sensor at the tip of your gun is supposed to be bent, so when it points downwards, it should be fairly vertical which means it can still see the LED sensors that is aimed towards the gun. Pretty brilliant little basic thinking behind that design; limits the use of another sensor bar IMHO. (remember though, I said I'm "ignorant" so I could be wrong on the above. Anyone else?)
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well I got'em the lethal enforcer 2 6 shooters in today and all is good with the guns themselve's but I am still in the middle of boring the barrels out.
there is plenty of room in there but if you look at the pics again there is at least a 1/4" or more that needs to be bored out from the barrel in order for the pcb to fit down in there.
my first comment for these kits if possible is to request ultimarc to see if it is possible if a revised pcb version should come out is it possile get rid of the corners on the standing pcb?
if the top corners were not there on the standing pcb the whole thing would slide in perfect tight and no modding needed what so ever it would fit like it made to be but since them corners are there on the standing pcb I have to bore the barrels out a decent amount where I now only have maybe an 1/8' of the barrel lip left in order to get them in there.
is it a big deal? no not really but something to think about if another pcb model is ever made it would be nice to get the corners out of there or even perhaps rounded out on the top to clear rounded barrels as there is no squared barrelled light guns I am aware of.
I would sport some little aimtrak logo stickers on the gun too if there was some ;)
I am geeked though and still doing them now just taking a quik break, I hit the auto store and got some of the dye spray suggested above and also stopped at the hardware and replaced all the nuts and bolts for the gun case's & thier trigger assembly's.
I should have them done saturday or sunday and will post some pics once I get them painted up.
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Here we have them ;D
(http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj70/northerngames/IMAG0182.jpg)
I have not ran them yet but I know everything is set right and will give them a try tommorow.
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Those look Awsome!!....Nice Job!
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Anyone find a suitable shot gun for this yet?
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Tried one out today and had great results very responsive and very accurate.
one thing I am confused on though is if you hold the trigger too long it goes into calibration mode.
so when your playing a game that require's you to hold the trigger for a machine gun per say it goes into calibration mode and then makes the game go goofy becuase the aiming goes bad.
how do you disable calibration once you have it where you want it?
so far though the one gun I tried is the best pc lightgun I have tried to date but something has to be done with disabling the calibration mode for me to give it a 100% + rating.
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You can disable the calibration using the configuration program. Once you have it dialed in the way you like, you can uncheck the "enable cal" boxes in each of the inputs.
This is, of course, assuming you're using the most up to date version of the configuration program.
If you ever need to reconfigure, you can re-launch the configuration program, and click the 'calibrate' button.
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Awsome, I figured there ws a simple way to do it. I just was too geeked to get into it a little deeper I guess lol.
I give these 100% rating then. I have owned the older and newer act labs guns and also the lcd topguns and I must say the aimtrak out does them both in response time accuracy and ease of setup/calibration
Also the drivers were alot better/easier to use then the lcd topgun drivers I just kept trying different one's until something worked with them and it was kind of a pian but these were close to plug and play.
cool kit and I could see them putting a hurt on act-labs and hkems real soon when the word gets out better.
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I give these 100% rating then. I have owned the older and newer act labs guns and also the lcd topguns and I must say the aimtrak out does them both in response time accuracy and ease of setup/calibration
cool kit and I could see them putting a hurt on act-labs and hkems real soon when the word gets out better.
This is really nice to hear. I just changed from a TV to a tri res monitor and not thinking about it made my Act Labs guns useless in the process as they are the S-Video version. So I could spit out another $160 to make these work or say screw it and try the Aim Trak. I chose the Aim Trak and literally ordered the guts yesterday.
I would like to say the Act Labs guns worked very well. But after reading up on the Aim Traks I'm certain I will like them every bit as much if not more.
Thanks for all your hard work Andy - it's guys like you that make owning an arcade worth while.
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the 6 shooter had the real feel on a 39" dynamo showcase and it worked great standing back like what was required for the lcd top guns to work but it also worked great standing right up on it at the control panel pedestal.
act labs were not bad as mentioned but the guns felt cheap they were ugly and there are limited on what screen they can be used on where aimtrak does all display type's.
you could mount the led bar on a wall and have a projected image on the same wall and have a working gun still ;D
the lcd topguns had the 2 rather large and thick led bars with a red light that stuck out on the cab but with the aim trak I mounted the 1 tiny led bar right behind the monitor bezel.
I used two sided tape and mounted it right on the glass tube but hid behind the monitor bezel so the only thing that can be seen from the aimtrack kit is the little led's on the bottom lip of the bezel but if your like 1 foot away you cannot even see or tell they are there so these also can be mounted and hidden well with ease and there is also no bright red led either.
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Out of curiosity, has anyone tried connecting the AimTrak to a PS3? I'm wondering if this would work for Time Crisis 4.
Endaar
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Great job on the guns, love the way they turned out.
the guns I got in the link said lethal enforcers but there from a Lethal forcers 2 machine but I also seen there the same used on some of the alg games like mad dog last bounty hunter shootout at old tucson etc.
But an original Lethal Enforcers 2 gun is actually a western style revolver. ;)
Have seen similar guns like yours used on Nintendo games like Hogans Alley and Duck Hunt as well.
Anyways, just an FYI..... I may have to get into the PC light gun realm one of these days.
:cheers:
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got my guns today and used the config, but still can not get the trigger to shoot. I find the cursor and pull the trigger during calibration and it works fine, but no fire in a game... Can anyone help.
Thanx
Camper
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If you're sure the trigger is sending a signal (you can verify this in windows) then the issue lies within the ROM configuration itself. You will also need to set up the 'in game' configuration in MAME for the inputs you need for that ROM. (the TAB menu)
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well... i changed the multimouse support to 1 and now I have a trigger and the cursor moves around great, but the shots ONLY occur in the center of the screen... I am using police trainer as my test...
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Calibrate using the 'in game' calibration from the service menu?
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After a good hour of :angry:, :banghead:, & :cry: ... I finnally got it working. I was getting a critical error and the program was crashing when I would try to define the light gun. I'm not sure what the "fix" was, but after several reboots, and several updates to the firmware ... it just started working and let me chnage the ID (before each time I clicked "ok" it would crash ...)
So ... it's working now, both of them, and I got them working in mame as well, which was a lot of fun.
Thanks!
I am having a similar problem. I can hook one AimTrak up and it works fine. As soon as I plug in the second I hear the new hardware found sound then critical error with the blue screen. I can plug in either gun and it will work fine as long as only one AimTrak is plugged in. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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After a good hour of :angry:, :banghead:, & :cry: ... I finnally got it working. I was getting a critical error and the program was crashing when I would try to define the light gun. I'm not sure what the "fix" was, but after several reboots, and several updates to the firmware ... it just started working and let me chnage the ID (before each time I clicked "ok" it would crash ...)
So ... it's working now, both of them, and I got them working in mame as well, which was a lot of fun.
Thanks!
I am having a similar problem. I can hook one AimTrak up and it works fine. As soon as I plug in the second I hear the new hardware found sound then critical error with the blue screen. I can plug in either gun and it will work fine as long as only one AimTrak is plugged in. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Got the problem fixed. I was running XP SP1 on my MAME machine. So I updated to SP2 and installed all of the updates. Then I uninstalled AimTrak restarted the machine then reinstalled. Everything is working great now.
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each gun needs it's own device ID like gun1 is device 1 and gun 2 set to device 2.
if you want to use it on desktoptop set the trigger to mouse left and the AUX to mouse right using the aimtrak program.
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Man, be away from the forums for awhile and really cool stuff comes out. I will have to update my cabinet sometime.
I went back a couple of pages and didn't see any reviews. How does it work? Compared to other solutions?
Man, be away from the forums for awhile and really cool stuff comes out. I will have to update my cabinet sometime.
I went back a couple of pages and didn't see any reviews. How does it work? Compared to other solutions?
Tell me about it. I wait around for years as an active member on the board and nothing cool comes out. Then poof! This happens.
I won't be buying this though and let me explain why....
It's a wiimote. By that I mean it's a IR tracking solution and thus not a "real" lightgun. Now there is absolutely positively nothing wrong with that BUT.... It costs as much as a wiimote and the wiimote has added functionality you could use for other games (like motion tracking and the ability to use the dozens of extension controllers) and you don't have to hack up a gun as there are plenty of cheap wiimote gun shells on the market. Of course the best benefit is if you already have a wii you don't have to buy anything other than a sensor bar.
I've played around with my wiimote on my cab and I've found the following issues to ring true. Someone please let me know if they exist on this product.
1. You have to stand really far away if you have a large monitor. This is just due to the fact that the camera needs to see the full led strip. For my 27 inch monitor You have to stand about 3-4 feet back, which isn't terrible, but space is tight where I have my cab.
2. It's hard to get pixel-accurate tracking... especially if your cab's monitor is angled. I managed to get within a half an inch, which is acceptable, but the offset got worse depending upon what angle I stood at.
3. The thing actually does have an issue with glass. If the angle is just right and your led strip/sensor bar is mounted behind the glass then the glass can create ghost images of the leds, which causes accuracy issues. Of course it's not a problem if you mount the leds outside the glass, but then you see them.
Now this does have benefits over the wiimote, most noteably the fact that the wiimotes still have issues paring with bluetooth adaptors. There are currently solutions to this issue, but they are sketchy atm. Bottom line you might be buying a special bluetooth dongle just to get a reliable auto-connect. Also you can hook up a "real" trigger to this device, while wiimote shells just press the b button mechanically. There are third-party wiimotes that offer solutions to this though, but boy I'd be ashamed to use them on my wii they are so ugly. ;)
Basically I'm saying I'd like more info as well.
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I opened up the gun casing on my gincon2 el cheapo and I am going to have a hard time converting this one to an aim trak. I think I might wait until andy gets the gun housings too and just order up the whole lot at once
Any news on when the casings i.e full units might be ready Andy?
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I've played around with my wiimote on my cab and I've found the following issues to ring true. Someone please let me know if they exist on this product.
1. You have to stand really far away if you have a large monitor. This is just due to the fact that the camera needs to see the full led strip. For my 27 inch monitor You have to stand about 3-4 feet back, which isn't terrible, but space is tight where I have my cab.
2. It's hard to get pixel-accurate tracking... especially if your cab's monitor is angled. I managed to get within a half an inch, which is acceptable, but the offset got worse depending upon what angle I stood at.
3. The thing actually does have an issue with glass. If the angle is just right and your led strip/sensor bar is mounted behind the glass then the glass can create ghost images of the leds, which causes accuracy issues. Of course it's not a problem if you mount the leds outside the glass, but then you see them.
1. Yes, this is still true for a big monitor. Although it is not nearly as far as with an LCD topgun, which is also LED based. I would say about 3 feet would be fine for a 27" monitor.
2. True to an extent, but better than you think. I did a test when the AimTrak first came out, and found that in the center it tracked right on, and on the edges it was off by by as much as a quarter or half of an inch (29" monitor standing about 4 feet back). But since then Andy has updated the firmware addressing the edge discrepancies, and I haven't done any qualitative testing since. Subjectively, I would say it is better, especially with respect to shooting from side angles.
3. I have plexi, so I don't think the reflection would cause the same issues. I did have an issue with a large chandelier in my room, that was reflecting off the monitor causing interference. Switching to CFL bulbs eliminated that problem.
I tried the wiimote a year or two ago, and to be honest I could never even get it to work reliably enough to use it in MAME. I tried a specified bluetooth adapter, installed the suggested bluetooth stack, and yet I still had constant problems trying to pair it with my PC. I have a feeling the tracking is much better on the AimTrak (compared to a wiimote), but I can't give you a direct comparison.
But I can say that the wiimote pairing issues alone was enough to make me not want to try to go through that mess again. And to comment on the accuracy of the AimTrak, it may not be pixel perfect, but it is pretty awesome. I think most people fall into one of two camps - those that use the cursor while playing, and those who don't. Those who do will find the gun to feel exceptionally accurate. And most of those who fall in the latter camp will find the accuracy feels great.
Oh, and in case you haven't heard, Andy plans on offering a complete gun option for sale. But there are no details on what it will look like, how much it will cost, or even when it will be complete.
Hope this helps.
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I have tried the wii controllers before mainly when they first came out, but again a few weeks ago, they just dont have the same accuracy or indeed the accuracy required for this operation.
Personally i have waited years and am willing to wait until Andy has the full units outs so I can just order them up. Topguns just aren't good enough and I don't see wii motes as even accurate enough to play some of the games designed for the wii
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Andys device IS basically a Wiimote, so its not going to be more accurate than
a Topgun.
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Andys device IS basically a Wiimote, so its not going to be more accurate than
a Topgun.
Probably the same accurate. Think that the LCDTopGun is another "wiimote", like you said.
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Andys device IS basically a Wiimote, so its not going to be more accurate than
a Topgun.
Just because they are both based on the same technology does not mean they are the same accuracy. I can't compare the two because I have never used a topgun, but there is a lot more to the accuracy than just using an LED bar.
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1. You have to stand really far away if you have a large monitor. This is just due to the fact that the camera needs to see the full led strip. For my 27 inch monitor You have to stand about 3-4 feet back, which isn't terrible, but space is tight where I have my cab.
mine are on a 39" showcase and you can stand right at the pedestal or around 4 foot behind and it still works.. So far it has the topgun and act labs beat becuase it works farther then the act labs and closer then the lcd topguns.
the lcd topguns I had would never work right up on the pedestal at all and if you stand back like the tpguns the act labs dont work right
2. It's hard to get pixel-accurate tracking... especially if your cab's monitor is angled. I managed to get within a half an inch, which is acceptable, but the offset got worse depending upon what angle I stood at.
These are way more accrute then the lcd topguns when tuned in manually for the game in question most I have tinkered with run dead nuts without issue if you stand somehwere else recalibrate it.
3. The thing actually does have an issue with glass. If the angle is just right and your led strip/sensor bar is mounted behind the glass then the glass can create ghost images of the leds, which causes accuracy issues. Of course it's not a problem if you mount the leds outside the glass, but then you see them.
mine is behind plexi also but it bears no issue at all.
I also noticed that the act labs and lcd topgun act up in failing/dim light where the aimtrak works with lights on all around it still once it's calibrated correctly the light dont bother it like they did the other guns make's..
I have owned all the pc lightguns except the wiimote and the aimtrak has my vote and with the real arcade 6 shooters it has the real arcade look and feel and mad dog plays just like I remembered it in the arcade years ago in there showcase cab.
as far as I know my guns are just as accurate if not better then the arcade's machine they had.
I put my led stand on two sided tape and put it right on the glass tube that is extra screen that goes behind the monitor bezel so the only thing that sticks out is the leds bulbs on the verry bottom lip of the monitors bezel top part.
if you stand at the pedestal you cannot even see or tell where they are at.
that is another plus with these I was able to hide the led bar where the lcd topguns led bars looked kinda silly hanging all over the place on a 39" shopwcase arcade cab :applaud:
I would take them 6 shooter's over a wiimote any day even if the wiimote was 100% dead nuts accurate its still a wiimote :cheers:
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The Topguns have better accuracy due to the fact that the gun is the sensor,
rather than the tv bars being the sensor. There is no denying that fact.
I bet you play lightgun games with the Cursor "ON" dont you?
Sorry, but thats Not how 99% of arcade gun games work,
as that takes the Skill out of the game.
Using a cursor is about the only way you could use the aimtrack accurately.
The Topguns are superior even with their quirks.
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X, clearly you bought an aimtrack if you're making a statement of fact like that, right? Did you write up a review of it? I'd like to read it. Though I half doubt whether you actually own one (in which case you don't have much basis for making your claims of fact), I really don't mean it to sound like sarcasm. I may very well have missed your review and would like to read it.
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The Topguns have better accuracy due to the fact that the gun is the sensor,
rather than the tv bars being the sensor. There is no denying that fact.
False. The AimTrak has the sensor in the gun. The LED strip is simply a strip of LEDs.
I bet you play lightgun games with the Cursor "ON" dont you?
Sorry, but thats Not how 99% of arcade gun games work,
as that takes the Skill out of the game.
False.
Using a cursor is about the only way you could use the aimtrack accurately.
Again, I can't comment on the topguns because I have never tried them. But I can comment on the AimTrak, and this is also false.
The Topguns are superior even with their quirks.
Have you ever used the AimTrak?
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Truth.
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Actually, your correct. My mistake.
My gripe with it was actually that there is only One sensor set, rather than 2 or
more, for actual arcade level accuracy.
The tech is not impressive.
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Actually, your correct. My mistake.
My gripe with it was actually that there is only One sensor set, rather than 2 or
more, for actual arcade level accuracy.
The tech is not impressive.
Agreed... this is my issue. On the arcade cabinets these days there is an array of ir bars to keep the guns accurate. I don't think they'd do that unless it was necessary.
Thanks for all the help guys, but it's only slightly helpful because none of you have really used the wiimote AND the aimtrack. Also I hate to burst everyone's bubble but there is a major difference between the wiimote and the topguns. The main thing is the wiimote, believe it or not, has a pretty sophistiacted tracking system built into the wiimote itself. There's a chip that analyzes the image data before it even makes it to the wii/pc. This means a noticable speed boost in tracking. Afaik the topguns don't do this. I also don't know what the aimtrack does to track things, but seeing as how it has actual firmware i'd say it's pretty sophistiacted as well. The wiimotes motion sensors can be used to compensate for some issues as well. Since there are no "drivers" for the wiimote on the pc, software plays a major role here. Since the latest release of glovepie, ir tracking has GREATLY improved.
I think I'll have to whip out my sensor bar and do a current review of the wiimotes.
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Thanks for all the help guys, but it's only slightly helpful because none of you have really used the wiimote AND the aimtrack.
There's a very good chance that anyone that has an AimTrak has used a Wiimote before. I own both and I can't be alone in this.
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I never owned or used the wiimote but my brother had. The cursing that came from him from that thing made me look into something else. Sure, maybe in the future the drivers for it might make it a great solution to lightgun games but the AimTrak works now, and without the giant headache. The only thing that may slow it down, though a plus in my mind, is that you need to wire it up yourself. Though I do believe most people on this site probably like DIY projects. It's why we're here isn't it?
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Thanks for all the help guys, but it's only slightly helpful because none of you have really used the wiimote AND the aimtrack.
There's a very good chance that anyone that has an AimTrak has used a Wiimote before. I own both and I can't be alone in this.
Well in all the replies I got none of the people compared it to the wiimote, rather they compared it to the lcd topguns, which are NOT the same. (I've tried both) so I've got to assume they never tried the wiimote, on the pc as a lightgun solution.
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There is an important difference between the AimTrak and the Wiimote even though the technology is similar.
The Wiimote is based on the design requirement that the cursor is moved relatively in the direction of the movement of the wiimote, nothing more. If you use a Wii you will find that the cursor can be moved from extreme left to extreme right of the screen with a relatively small movement of the hand.
If you have a requirement that the cursor must follow line-of-sight of the remote, then you run into a problem which is demonstrated by the topgun. The camera in the gun of course moves with the direction of pointing, so the camera instead of needing to see a small area, needs to see the LED bar when the gun is aimed at extreme left or right. This is why the Topgun needs to be so far away, and why the Wiimote will not work as a calibrated gun unless you are also far away from the screen.
The AimTrak uses a method of overcoming this limitation.
The arcade guns use many LEDs around the screen as has been mentioned. They also run into the same distance limitation as the Topgun because the camera needs to see all LEDs at all aiming locations.
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I can honostly say that I never got the lcd topguns as accurate as I got the aimtraks going.
I also had to use the cursor for topguns to be playable but not the aimtrak as someone mentioned prior.
Plus 90% of the games have a cusror in game anyhow so wether you use it on the 4-5 games that usually dont have one big deal anyhow play them on nes instead...
I have played a wii with the wiimote but never a pc but I know what andy is talking about how you barely move the wiimote left or right and your on each side of the screen's borders plus the trigger dont feel like a real metal arcade gun trigger either.
I will have to barrow my sister's wiimote and give it a try but I dont see them being better then the aimtrak at all or even close otherwise everyone and there brother would be using them already instead :applaud:
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The LCD Topguns sucked balls. Sorry if anyone disagrees and I've not yet took a risk with the Aimtrak, but I advise anyone considering Topguns not to bother.
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Plus 90% of the games have a cusror in game anyhow so wether you use it on the 4-5 games that usually dont have one big deal anyhow play them on nes instead...
Thats utter BS.
Almost All lightgun games do NOT show a cursor. Most especially GOOD games worth playing.
Mame allows you to see a visible cursor if you enable it - however, in the arcades, you WONT
see it. For example Time Crisis, and Point Blanc. Two of the biggest and most popular lightgun
games.
I can list many that dont use a cursor:
- Lethal Enforcers 1 & 2
- Time Crisis (1,2,3....)
- Police Trainer
- Point Blanc (all)
- Shooting Gallery (sega master system)
And countless others.
In fact, there are almost NO gun games in the arcades which show a cursor.
List more than 3 Punk. (And T2, and simular pot based games do not count, as they are not
lightgun games)
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The arcade guns use many LEDs around the screen as has been mentioned. They also run into the same distance limitation as the Topgun because the camera needs to see all LEDs at all aiming locations.
Thats funny, cause when I played Time Crisis at the arcades, I stood 2ft away from the glass,
and had Pixel Perfect accuracy every time.
The ability to see only a section of the LEDs is an excuse.
There is no reason 2 (or more) LED bars could not be designed in a way in which they all
didnt need to be seen at once.
(Even ignoring a wide angle lens)
The goal is "Cheaper" and "Easier", rather than more accurate.
Which is why I will not be purchasing one. Give me arcade accuracy without need of a cheaters cursor ,or or forget it.
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Xiaou2 Have you even tried one yet?
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Thanks to the latest firmware, I DO turn the cursor off now.
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Thanks to the latest firmware, I DO turn the cursor off now.
I second this. I've done a lot of testing, and the important thing with the Aimtraks is to be at *approximately* the same distance whenever you play, height or small changes in angle do not seem to make much of a difference, just distance. One way to deal with this would be to put a small throw rug in front of the cabinet to denote the firing zone.
The other main accuracy factor seems to be keeping the gun upright and not tilting side to side, especially when calibrating. Once you get this right, the mouse cursor will stick to the gunsights pretty damn reliably. It may not be strictly pixel accurate, but probably as close as you're going to get with current monitors, and with CRTs becoming rare, switching over is pretty much inevitable.
I'm tempted to make some kind of rig that allows me to aim my camcorder down the gunsights to show how accurate they are, but not sure how to do it quickly...
One of the nice things about these guns is that the calibration is initiated and stored within the gun, so you can play a week later and it's still good, even under a different version of Windows. The ease of setup and not having to switch into different software to recalibrate gets my vote. :)
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Thanks to the latest firmware, I DO turn the cursor off now.
I second this. I've done a lot of testing, and the important thing with the Aimtraks is to be at *approximately* the same distance whenever you play, height or small changes in angle do not seem to make much of a difference, just distance. One way to deal with this would be to put a small throw rug in front of the cabinet to denote the firing zone.
The other main accuracy factor seems to be keeping the gun upright and not tilting side to side, especially when calibrating. Once you get this right, the mouse cursor will stick to the gunsights pretty damn reliably. It may not be strictly pixel accurate, but probably as close as you're going to get with current monitors, and with CRTs becoming rare, switching over is pretty much inevitable.
I'm tempted to make some kind of rig that allows me to aim my camcorder down the gunsights to show how accurate they are, but not sure how to do it quickly...
One of the nice things about these guns is that the calibration is initiated and stored within the gun, so you can play a week later and it's still good, even under a different version of Windows. The ease of setup and not having to switch into different software to recalibrate gets my vote. :)
For video proof, couldn't you mount a cheap cat toy laser onto the guy, calibrate to the laser and move the gun around to test? Video proof for the rest of us, link to Youtube and voila!
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Thanks to the latest firmware, I DO turn the cursor off now.
I second this. I've done a lot of testing, and the important thing with the Aimtraks is to be at *approximately* the same distance whenever you play, height or small changes in angle do not seem to make much of a difference, just distance. One way to deal with this would be to put a small throw rug in front of the cabinet to denote the firing zone.
The other main accuracy factor seems to be keeping the gun upright and not tilting side to side, especially when calibrating. Once you get this right, the mouse cursor will stick to the gunsights pretty damn reliably. It may not be strictly pixel accurate, but probably as close as you're going to get with current monitors, and with CRTs becoming rare, switching over is pretty much inevitable.
I'm tempted to make some kind of rig that allows me to aim my camcorder down the gunsights to show how accurate they are, but not sure how to do it quickly...
One of the nice things about these guns is that the calibration is initiated and stored within the gun, so you can play a week later and it's still good, even under a different version of Windows. The ease of setup and not having to switch into different software to recalibrate gets my vote. :)
For video proof, couldn't you mount a cheap cat toy laser onto the guy, calibrate to the laser and move the gun around to test? Video proof for the rest of us, link to Youtube and voila!
brilliant idea!
I would love to see this video and would prove a lot. Though I am just waiting for the full thing casing and all to be made and I will be buying them anyway
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There is an important difference between the AimTrak and the Wiimote even though the technology is similar.
The Wiimote is based on the design requirement that the cursor is moved relatively in the direction of the movement of the wiimote, nothing more. If you use a Wii you will find that the cursor can be moved from extreme left to extreme right of the screen with a relatively small movement of the hand.
If you have a requirement that the cursor must follow line-of-sight of the remote, then you run into a problem which is demonstrated by the topgun. The camera in the gun of course moves with the direction of pointing, so the camera instead of needing to see a small area, needs to see the LED bar when the gun is aimed at extreme left or right. This is why the Topgun needs to be so far away, and why the Wiimote will not work as a calibrated gun unless you are also far away from the screen.
The AimTrak uses a method of overcoming this limitation.
The arcade guns use many LEDs around the screen as has been mentioned. They also run into the same distance limitation as the Topgun because the camera needs to see all LEDs at all aiming locations.
Good to know... software compensation for lack of a full ir array was one of my concerns. However, the extensive arrays that arcade machines use are the SOLUTION to the distance problem, they are not limited by it. They work on a real simple principle.... if they can't see all the ir leds but detect a "L" shape of leds then they know that the gun is in the bottom left corner ect..... Since your firmware is upgradeable you should really experiment with a full array and see if you can improve the accuracy even more. I would have no problem paying more for 4 strips instead of 1 if it meant I could stand closer and have greater accuracy.
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On an unrelated note I told everyone that I would re-visit the wiimote solution and review it and I was rather amazed at the improvments that the author of glovepie has made software-wize to the program.
First off the syncing issue no longer seems to be an issue. Start up glovepie (or a script, doesn't matter) and press 1 or 2 and in a few seconds the windows "found a device" sound chimes and you are good to go. Press the power button and it de-syncs. No fuss, no muss. It threw me for a loop because I was struggling to get it to work at first because I was syncing the wiimote manually via windows. It turns out that you need to let glove pie do it for you. Keep in mind I don't have special blue soeli drivers or a "supported" bluetooth dongle or anything..... I just plugged it in and it worked! A HUGE improvment from past versions of glovepie.
The new ir tracking impressed me more though. Gone are the scripts that required calculations of the 4 or more points found to determine the wiimotes position. Now golvepie outputs a simple x,y value like a regular mouse. I guess the author is now doing it internally and boy did he do a good job. I popped my wiimote into a nyko handgun shell and went to town. The tracking is dead on pixel perfect, regardless of the distance or angle I shot at and no calibration was necessary! Somehow it just worked! I think this has to do with the fact that the size of the found ir points are reported as well as the position when you poll a wiimote. There must be some fancy math going on behind the scenes to get this working so well.
Now with that being said, the distance limitations are still in effect. You need to stand back to see the bar, which is expected of course. Also the movement, while much less "laggy" than in previous versions seemed to be a tad jerky. Not enough to effect gameplay mind you, but it was enough to be noticable if you move the cursor around the screen. I'm using a cheap, homemade sensor bar though so that might be the issue.
Keep in mind I did my testing on my pc though as my cab is undergoing an overhaul atm. I'll report more once it's up and running again.
All-in-all though, I'd say I was impressed by the wiimotes performance, much more so than I was initially at golvepie version .29, when wiimote support was first added. So it might be a more viable alternative than it was just a year or so ago.
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Problem with guys like Andy, is that they think they know what everyone wants, Do not
every bother to ASK, ... and are Very stubborn to accept the fact that they were wrong
with their assumptions.
As noted, it took nearly a page worth of complaints for him to decide to change the
function of the gun so the button could be held down for T2.
No doubt, the thinking was:
a) to save costs
b) That nobody would want a 4bar setup.
In reality, people prefer accuracy - else we would stick with something like the Actlabs.
And, people are far more than willing to pay the extra to get that level of accuracy. Me included.
Four "L" Shaped brackets would probably do the trick. Software & calibration could do the rest.
(Or 2 bars that have L or Diagonal LED placed arrangements)
Why is it so hard to Ask people what they would prefer? Did Andy Really think Randy was hot
on his heels to make a Gun too? Have to be realistic here. Even if its a limited spectrum of
BYOAC'ers who sign an NDA, and can give feedback and input as things develop.
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Problem with guys like Andy, is that they think they know what everyone wants, Do not
every bother to ASK, ...
... snip ...
Why is it so hard to Ask people what they would prefer?
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88636.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88636.0)
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:laugh2: LOL, I was thinking the same thing Saint. Now who was it that is always blaming others for not getting the FACTS straight? Can't remember...
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He ONLY asks the Distance of the gun from the screen. No mention of number of bars,
sensitivity, accuracy... etc.
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I am not sure how close you really need to be without scratching your screen up with the barrels but they register fully on a 39" pretty much right up on it.
I know smaller monitors means even closer distance and I dont see why ayone would want to go any closer then an arm lengh or less on a 39" it would look kinda funny and probably hurt the eye's :dunno
so the 4 led bars are not needed becuase the one it comes with works fine just bend the leds to where you normally stand as directed make sure the eye can see the leds and vice versa..
if you need to be right up on the screen for some reason make sure to recalibrate!!
need to go closer bend/angle the leds down a little more?
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Hmmmm, Xiaou2 you seem to know all the answers to all the issues. I'm sure you could make your own gun to your specifications and so then I wouldn't have to read all your negative posts to a product that no one is forcing you to purchase. Oh, and of course Andy wants to make money. He's not out to donate a few bucks into all our pockets. But to make money he needs a product that people want. To get that product, he listens to us. I have to say thank you to him for building a lightgun solution that was both affordable to me and works brilliantly. Is it perfect? I will honestly say no. Is it the best damn solution I have come across? Hell yes! Thank you Andy, keep up the good work!
Well, that was my little rant that I had to gt off my chest. I feel better now. Goodnight.
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He ONLY asks the Distance of the gun from the screen. No mention of number of bars,
sensitivity, accuracy... etc.
Right, but you stated that he doesn't "every bother to ASK" (ever?) but that's still not enough, he needs to somehow know what questions you WANT to be asked. You have to realize that not everyone has ESP (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92631.msg973727#msg973727) like you do... Maybe you should have brought it up at that time, while it was still in development and the dialogue was open? If you read the rest of that thread, I believe he did listen to additional input on cost, ease of calibration, compatibility with generic gun shells, etc. But I never saw a Tigger head in that thread...hmm....
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Im not an electrical engineer. Andy never directly said anything about number of bars,
and CONNECTING that data to Accuracy -vs- Costs.
This was a personal Judgment call on his part as a hardware developer.
If I had that skills Andy has, I would have directly mentioned that if I were to design a
lightgun with arcade level accuracy, it would have an additional +$15 added on the
pricetag. Where as the reduced accuracy would have cost $XX, and only have
one -vs- 2 or 4 bars.
As a fellow arcade enthusiast, Ive blown money on 3 gun sets to this date. 2 of which were
completely un-usable. And the 3rd, luckily, is accurate, but has flaws with distance.
Im not about to drop any more money on Imperfect gun solutions. When the time comes
and someone actually makes a gun which does not have live calibration loss and accuracy problems,
Ill buy 2, even if they cost $150 each. Until then, no other MFG is getting a sale from my pocket,
and I assure you Im not alone in this, as not everyone is so vocal about it.
This isnt about hurt feelings. Its about Business. And a good Business man is objective
enough to take criticisms, and adapt to the desires of the clients. Unless they are fools... such as
the Topgun people who were warned that should they not fix the distance problem, others
would probably come in and make a new gun to compete. Sure enough, that is what happened.
(The Topgun people were also concerned that people wouldnt buy a higher priced gun. Too bad)
If I took a Poll right this very minute, I doubt Anyone would tell me that they would prefer
a gun to have Less accuracy. And if that poll asked if they could upgrade their existing gun
to be more accurate? The answer would most certainly be "Yes".
The Wii mgfs didnt think accuracy was all that big of a deal... but what happened? A new
attachment add on has spawned. And soon, PS3 and 360 will have variations which will blow the
Wiimote out of the water.
Guess we may just have to wait till that tech gets translated to pc.
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Then enjoy having no solution. I'd rather have an imperfect one now than wait indefinitely for an absolutely perfect one, because I know first hand that the Aimtrack works pretty nicely. I don't know if pixel accuracy is that important here--I've yet to see a gun game where a target is one pixel. It CAN be pretty damn close (consistently within a few pixels) if you set it up properly, which seems to be much easier with this gun than previous options. Personally, that's good enough for me at this time, since I had NO light gun capability up to this point. And it can be used with any monitor in my house, and any monitor I may upgrade to in the future. That's a big plus.
Now if Andy were to come up with improvements to the Aimtrak, I'd welcome them. The fact that he chose to provide an upgradable firmware shows that he's taking the customer into consideration. I think there is room for improvement, but it would just be icing on an already tasty cake (2-player T2 has been VERY tasty so far ;D ). No one's forcing you to buy this product, so let's just leave it at that.
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They work on a real simple principle.... if they can't see all the ir leds but detect a "L" shape of leds then they know that the gun is in the bottom left corner ect..... Since your firmware is upgradeable you should really experiment with a full array and see if you can improve the accuracy even more. I would have no problem paying more for 4 strips instead of 1 if it meant I could stand closer and have greater accuracy.
Do you know for sure that they work in this way? I would have expected an arrangement with many LEDs around the screen to turn on and off each LED in turn so that the gun knows which one its pointing at. This is an option but would mean having a control board mounted in the cabinet with drivers for the LEDs, and the gun connecting to this board rather than plugging direct to USB.
If all the LEDs were turned on all the time, the optical signal processing in the gun would not be able to deal with the large variation in numbers of LEDs being visible. A practical maximum is 4 light points. In theory the gun would be able to see all the LEDs if pointed in the center of the screen.
So given that the max is 4 LEDs, there is no way the gun could know which one(s) its looking at all of the time unless they were being controlled.
For an illustration of how much more complex the Sega light gun system is, look at ONE LED board here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-LED-Gun-Sense-Board-PCB-SEGA-Games-HOD-2-Lost-World_W0QQitemZ220548562001QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20100130?IMSfp=TL100130133004r17645 (http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-LED-Gun-Sense-Board-PCB-SEGA-Games-HOD-2-Lost-World_W0QQitemZ220548562001QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20100130?IMSfp=TL100130133004r17645)
These have a control bus which runs around each LED.
Maybe this is an option for a future "pro" version but expect $$$. In fact it would likely not be economically viable unless I had a deal with a large arcade manufacturer to produce it, which could happen.
Its a strange experience reading these posts, becuase I spent 9 months of my life working through this and all of the suggestions made here I played with and dismissed ages ago, along with many others. Perhaps I should have taken some pictures of my screen which was draped with LEDs in all kinds of locations at various points.
What I ended up with was the best combination of ease of use, accuracy and cost. I am in no doubt about that at all.
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Andy,
Most of us appreciate your hard work in putting this together for us. Don't let one bad apple convince you otherwise. Especially a know-it-all who hasn't tried your product.
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Andy,
Most of us appreciate your hard work in putting this together for us. Don't let one bad apple convince you otherwise. Especially a know-it-all who hasn't tried your product.
+1
keep up the great work Andy!
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Andy,
Most of us appreciate your hard work in putting this together for us. Don't let one bad apple convince you otherwise. Especially a know-it-all who hasn't tried your product.
+1
keep up the great work Andy!
Count me in. I definitely appreciate what Andy does for this community.
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Good work Andy :applaud: :applaud:
+1
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I can't understand how one person can do a 'review' without testing it...
I have played with an actlabs, a Guncon2 (with and without the first gun chip tried by Andy), an LCDTopGun, and now the Aimtrak.
Xiaou2, I only can say that actually, the best solution is the Aimtrak (with the latest firmware). The accurate is very similar to the LCDTopgun, but with less lag. And you can stay closer to the monitor, one of the Andy's target.
Ah! and remember that the Aimtrak works perfectly in 64bit OS (XP/Vista/7). And that's the future, man.
So, until you test the Aimtrak, your words are a waste of time.
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He doesn't NEED to do a review--he knows it doesn't work--he has ESP!! (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92631.msg973727#msg973727) Also he knows kung fu and worked in an arcade once. Why question his expertise?
OK, we can argue about the merits of various gun systems all day, but here is one reason why I'd rather buy this kind of stuff from Andy. I got my Aimtraks a few weeks back, set them up and all seemed good. Then I did the firmware upgrade on one of them, and the unit became unable to be calibrated. Andy worked through troubleshooting it with me, over the course of about 10 emails. We finally determined that the unit had malfunctioned, and without asking, he sent out a new unit, free of charge! From overseas! Fired it up, flashed the firmware update and it worked like a champ!
A lot of companies would have said "send it back at your expense and we'll give you a refund" or just ignored my emails altogether. Andy gave me what I wanted, which was a working gun, without any further expense. Besides that, he announced a product everyone wanted, listened to our feedback, and delivered it a few months later, at a reasonable price! Everyone else that has made gun board announcements has gone AWOL.
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if something happend to mine I would buy the aimtrak again over anything else out there becuae it is the best thing I have used to date.
I appretiate what andy has done with these also becuase they are the best thing out there at the moment and he did what was requested by many to the T and it is the best light gun solution out there.
I have owned and tried all the lightgun's except the wiimote and the aimtrak beats them all period hands down.
Xiaou2 if you dont even have one and you never tried one how can you argue with proud owner's of aimtrak's about their accuracy compared to arcade's when you know nothing about them lol.
now your telling others how they work and are built without even seeing/using one.
We get the point that there not for you for whatever reason but you must understand that we dont care and understand your point there not for you and perhaps its time for you to make your own post about your dislike's about the aimtrak that you never seen, used or have.
your argument here of why you dont want to buy one is not going to change anyone's mind and if it does that's what they get for listening to someone that has never seen nor owned one in the first place :applaud:
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Im not an electrical engineer. Andy never directly said anything about number of bars,
and CONNECTING that data to Accuracy -vs- Costs.
...
Wow, S/N ratio gotten worse lately? It's one thing to have an opinion, another to trash talk from a standpoint of ignorance.
Might we all request the gathering of facts before annoying us all so much?
Thanks
-
If all the LEDs were turned on all the time, the optical signal processing in the gun would not be able to deal with the large variation in numbers of LEDs being visible. A practical maximum is 4 light points. In theory the gun would be able to see all the LEDs if pointed in the center of the screen.
So given that the max is 4 LEDs, there is no way the gun could know which one(s) its looking at all of the time unless they were being controlled.
1) How is it that Topguns use more than 4 Leds?
2) What if there were 2 senors per gun?
I would have expected an arrangement with many LEDs around the screen to turn on and off each LED in turn so that the gun knows which one its pointing at. This is an option but would mean having a control board mounted in the cabinet with drivers for the LEDs, and the gun connecting to this board rather than plugging direct to USB
If this would indeed give better accuracy, Id be all for it. I dont think others would mind
either. Its no more complex than hooking up a trackball.
Its a strange experience reading these posts, becuase I spent 9 months of my life working through this and all of the suggestions made here I played with and dismissed ages ago, along with many others. Perhaps I should have taken some pictures of my screen which was draped with LEDs in all kinds of locations at various points.
If there truly is no other reasonable way, then I apologize. Its merely that as a consumer
Ive gotten the shaft several times over... as well as watching products come out that do not
match the arcade level of accuracy and control... which is extremely disappointing.
It was like yesterday, that everyone was raving and defending Actlabs guns... which were a
complete waste of plastic... and my hard earned dollars. People kept saying how good the
accuracy was... and it was Dreadful to the point of being completely un-usable.
Before that, I ordered a spinner from a well known vendor, only to have it so poorly assembled,
that it fell apart as soon as I started to use it.
Before that, I bought a high priced encoder.. only to find it had lag, didnt do what was
advertised, AND it became obsolete in like a year.
I dont mind spending good money on stuff thats worth spending money on. And people who are
like myself, simply can not enjoy playing a game when the controller messes up the intended
& skillfully guided actions. If Im going to fail at a game, it should be because I
made a mistake.. not because a controller lacks proper accuracy, glitches, etc.
While surely there are average players who may not even Notice, I can assure you there are
quite the opposition who do.
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I think the important fact that's missing that we're all wondering..
Andy, when are you releasing this as an all-in-one gun shell/AimTrak combo? ;D
-
So if I got this right... Xiaou2, you hate the AimTrak because of good reviews and that other companies gave you the shaft in the past? Perfectly logical... ::) If you bought one and hated it, all rights to you to complain. But until then, ask questions, share concerns, but please don't bash the product or the creator until you know what you are talking about.
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Which is why I will not be purchasing one. Give me arcade accuracy without need of a cheaters cursor ,or or forget it.
Since you wont be purchasing one, maybe you can stop posting complaints now based on speculation and not hands on experience.
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Which is why I will not be purchasing one. Give me arcade accuracy without need of a cheaters cursor ,or or forget it.
Since you wont be purchasing one, maybe you can stop posting complaints now based on speculation and not hands on experience.
Exactly. Im all for constructive criticism, but without having even touched the product??? C'mon maaann!!! If I didn't know any better, I'd think someone was an EMS employee. Maybe someone will put this thread out of it's misery...
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I think the important fact that's missing that we're all wondering..
Andy, when are you releasing this as an all-in-one gun shell/AimTrak combo? ;D
Seconded
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Thirded...
I think the important fact that's missing that we're all wondering..
Andy, when are you releasing this as an all-in-one gun shell/AimTrak combo? ;D
Seconded
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Which is why I will not be purchasing one. Give me arcade accuracy without need of a cheaters cursor ,or or forget it.
Since you wont be purchasing one, maybe you can stop posting complaints now based on speculation and not hands on experience.
Yep. Everyone knows you wouldn't touch an aimtrak with a 10' pole, and why you wouldn't (right or wrong). So why do you feel the need to keep taking a dump in this thread? Oh wait, I know. It's because you're so much smarter than all the rest of us and you need to bless us with your wisdom because we'll spend our money on a worthless product without you being here to protect us. Just go about your business and learn how to ignore products you would never buy.
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Ok, so I might not agree with the way he is delivering his info, but he does make a good point about a bias toward the ultimarc guns.
I would like to know .. what's the big difference between these and the topgun IIs? They seem to work off of the same principle. I bought one, but haven't had time to install the gun yet. However, some people said that the topgun II was made out of cheap plastic.... after actually buying the gun I wonder why I was told that when imo it seems pretty sturdy and rugid. Maybe compared to arcade guns it's cheap but compared to guncons and other console lightguns this is a pretty darn good quality. Not sure how an ultimarc in a guncon casing is any more sturdier.
I'm looking forward to see what ultimarc comes up with for the complete light gun with casing and all
Which is why I will not be purchasing one. Give me arcade accuracy without need of a cheaters cursor ,or or forget it.
Since you wont be purchasing one, maybe you can stop posting complaints now based on speculation and not hands on experience.
Yep. Everyone knows you wouldn't touch an aimtrak with a 10' pole, and why you wouldn't (right or wrong). So why do you feel the need to keep taking a dump in this thread? Oh wait, I know. It's because you're so much smarter than all the rest of us and you need to bless us with your wisdom because we'll spend our money on a worthless product without you being here to protect us. Just go about your business and learn how to ignore products you would never buy.
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From what I understand, and i haven't bought one yet as am waiting for full casing to eliminate the DIY factor
The main 2 issues that many people well in fact everyone has with TopGunII are
1) You have to stand a fairly long way back from the screen to get decent accuracy, which of course is not good in limited space or for those with limited eye sight :)
2) Slide past and lag
The LCD top guns can have a little bit of noticable lag when moving around the screen which of course can sometimes inhibit game play in some games
A 3rd point that is not as much of a concer for all is price, you pay at least in Australia around $100+ for one TopGun whereas you can get 2 modules + 2 LED bars for that price from ultimarc.
Also Andy has apaprently overcome the distance issue and you get a fairly good accuracy from both close to the screen and far away as well as apparently fixing the lag. I am looking forward to seeing some Youtube proof soon but will also look to buy at least one of these once the full kit is released
-
That's good to know. I bought my guns for 40 each, shipping kills it though (120). Hopefully the price of the completed gun is not too much. So you're pretty much saying that these issues were taken care of by the ultimarc gun? Was it a software fix or a hardware issue? So... could a software update fix the topgun II issues as well?
From what I understand, and i haven't bought one yet as am waiting for full casing to eliminate the DIY factor
The main 2 issues that many people well in fact everyone has with TopGunII are
1) You have to stand a fairly long way back from the screen to get decent accuracy, which of course is not good in limited space or for those with limited eye sight :)
2) Slide past and lag
The LCD top guns can have a little bit of noticable lag when moving around the screen which of course can sometimes inhibit game play in some games
A 3rd point that is not as much of a concer for all is price, you pay at least in Australia around $100+ for one TopGun whereas you can get 2 modules + 2 LED bars for that price from ultimarc.
Also Andy has apaprently overcome the distance issue and you get a fairly good accuracy from both close to the screen and far away as well as apparently fixing the lag. I am looking forward to seeing some Youtube proof soon but will also look to buy at least one of these once the full kit is released
-
That's good to know. I bought my guns for 40 each, shipping kills it though (120). Hopefully the price of the completed gun is not too much. So you're pretty much saying that these issues were taken care of by the ultimarc gun? Was it a software fix or a hardware issue? So... could a software update fix the topgun II issues as well?
From what I understand, and i haven't bought one yet as am waiting for full casing to eliminate the DIY factor
The main 2 issues that many people well in fact everyone has with TopGunII are
1) You have to stand a fairly long way back from the screen to get decent accuracy, which of course is not good in limited space or for those with limited eye sight :)
2) Slide past and lag
The LCD top guns can have a little bit of noticable lag when moving around the screen which of course can sometimes inhibit game play in some games
A 3rd point that is not as much of a concer for all is price, you pay at least in Australia around $100+ for one TopGun whereas you can get 2 modules + 2 LED bars for that price from ultimarc.
Also Andy has apaprently overcome the distance issue and you get a fairly good accuracy from both close to the screen and far away as well as apparently fixing the lag. I am looking forward to seeing some Youtube proof soon but will also look to buy at least one of these once the full kit is released
Taken care of completely is probably not accurate.
I have read through every bit of information I can find on these, and basically Andy has gotten past the distance issue to an extent. And you get pretty solid results both close up and at a distance, you can also recalibrate to even further improve at whatever distance you are using the guns at.
Slide past as well from what I have read (not yet seen) is apparently take care of too
The other benefit is the upgradable firmware, meaning as there are further improvements needed you can update the firmware for those improvements, something not possible with other guns.
One issue I have heard though is that they do not function when on their side so you can't hold the gun Gangsta style to shoot zombies etc.
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So if I got this right... Xiaou2, you hate the AimTrak because of good reviews and that other companies gave you the shaft in the past?
Plenty of people gave good reviews on the Actlabs guns... and they were crap. Should I be
happy about that? Should I just toss away my money again blindly? And for a solution that
still is lacking in areas? I have a right to be upset that after all these years, there has not been an
arcade accurate gun. I have a right to be Ticked off at the "Suck-Up" reviews that earned
me 2 worthless hunks of plastic. I have a right to be upset and depressed at MFGs who do not
meet my expectations. Ever see Gamecabs Starwars yoke? A fair effort, but it has nothing on
Davids masterpiece. (Even if the rest never ship)
If you dont like my comments, dont read them. If you are happy with so/so.. then
great. Enjoy yourself. Plenty of people wouldnt even know if accuracy was good - because
they are horrible shots... and cause really, they dont even care.
Were you Happy and Sucking up to Mame devs about the lack of ability to play with dual
trackballs in games like Marble Madness? I wasnt. And due to my passionate efforts,
I got the ball rolling by getting in touch with lead people who made it happen.
Are you content that MS Gorf is lost to history? I wasnt. So Ive been pestering Jamie Fenton
about trying to salvage it from the floppies they are stored on. In her last email to me, I got her
in touch with a local guy who has the ability to dump it... due to my passionate
dis-satisfaction. Even with his help, it may be a long time before it can be translated to
emulation - but, at least its on its way to becoming a reality... rather than being lost forever.
Sure, Ive been a lot Nicer when getting these things done. However, this is how I get. I make
no excuses for it. At times its not pretty, but it just may serve to get the job done.
If we do not voice our passions, then we get exactly what someone else decides to serve us.
If you like Hamburgs.. good for you. But I prefer Fillet Minion.
The LCD top guns can have a little bit of noticable lag when moving around the screen which of course can sometimes inhibit game play in some games
Wrong - Unless you are playing a Non-Lightgun game like Terminator 2.
The Topguns are not meant to track in realtime - they live-update slowly. However,
when you press the trigger, it refreshes instantly, thus no lag on an actual shot fired.
Personally, Id rather use my T2 guns than a lightgun anyways. Your arms would probably fall
off if you played thru the entire T2 game with a lightgun.
$100+ for one TopGun whereas you can get 2 modules + 2 LED bars for that price from ultimarc.
I think I paid less than that, and I have 2 guns. You know... Actual guns with working trigger,
and even a laser site to line things us. Unless you have 2 decent gun shells around, you
will have to buy them. A nintendo zapper has a sucky trigger. A SMS gun has a much better
trigger - but you may will pay over $12 for one at the local shop - IF you can find one, let alone 2.
Anyways, costs isnt a factor to me. Its just that its stupid to mention it when the Ultimarc version
isnt complete. The cost will most certainly come up with a decent shell + tigger + wiring + assembly.
(little less if he maintains a put-it-together-yourself kit)
1) You have to stand a fairly long way back from the screen to get decent accuracy, which of course is not good in limited space or for those with limited eye sight
This is the major drawback of the Topguns. However, Ive heard that someone used a lens
to eliminate the distance problem. Ill have to give it a try myself when I get a chance.
Btw - If you have limited eyesight, then certainly you should look into getting Glasses.
I do, and Im glad I finally got them.
The biggest problem with the Topguns isnt the distance. Its a problem with other lights
interfering with the sensors. Andys solution may be better in that respect, but these are still
far from perfect. And if someone came out with something better towmorrow, you would all be
jumping ship to get it, and kissing butt to the new MFG on the block.
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WHAT! No gangsta style!? That's it, I quit!
That's good to know. I bought my guns for 40 each, shipping kills it though (120). Hopefully the price of the completed gun is not too much. So you're pretty much saying that these issues were taken care of by the ultimarc gun? Was it a software fix or a hardware issue? So... could a software update fix the topgun II issues as well?
From what I understand, and i haven't bought one yet as am waiting for full casing to eliminate the DIY factor
The main 2 issues that many people well in fact everyone has with TopGunII are
1) You have to stand a fairly long way back from the screen to get decent accuracy, which of course is not good in limited space or for those with limited eye sight :)
2) Slide past and lag
The LCD top guns can have a little bit of noticable lag when moving around the screen which of course can sometimes inhibit game play in some games
A 3rd point that is not as much of a concer for all is price, you pay at least in Australia around $100+ for one TopGun whereas you can get 2 modules + 2 LED bars for that price from ultimarc.
Also Andy has apaprently overcome the distance issue and you get a fairly good accuracy from both close to the screen and far away as well as apparently fixing the lag. I am looking forward to seeing some Youtube proof soon but will also look to buy at least one of these once the full kit is released
Taken care of completely is probably not accurate.
I have read through every bit of information I can find on these, and basically Andy has gotten past the distance issue to an extent. And you get pretty solid results both close up and at a distance, you can also recalibrate to even further improve at whatever distance you are using the guns at.
Slide past as well from what I have read (not yet seen) is apparently take care of too
The other benefit is the upgradable firmware, meaning as there are further improvements needed you can update the firmware for those improvements, something not possible with other guns.
One issue I have heard though is that they do not function when on their side so you can't hold the gun Gangsta style to shoot zombies etc.
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At least someone liked my gangsta joke.
X your problem is a complete lack of true comprehension.
Good on you for your truly saint like efforts in getting whatever your claiming you got done. I look forward to the ticker tape parade and the coinciding international holiday named in your honour.
However meanwhile down here on earth I will be happier in the fact that I can safely ignore your self inflated opinions of yourself and your completely uninformed views.
Your argument basically amounts to
I bought a car once, it broke down, I wanted a car that doesn't break down therefore I am not going to buy a new one.
Your out and out attack on a product you have not tested and does not say it is what you are demanding of it is just down right low. Andy has tried to produce a product that ticks every box. That doesn't mean it is 100% accurate but it does mean it has acceptable accuracy for a good price.
To be honest if I were andy people like you would make me not want to bother and that means for 1 ungrateful sob would spoil it for everyone else.
Remember you are running mame, that is not 100% arcade accurate, yet you want a gun that is. You want 100% arcade accuracy, I have a perfect solution for you. Go buy the full arcade machines and don't use mame.
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The TopGun II remains a good option. It still has its fans, and deservedly so.
The AimTrak is a welcome alternative and provides good competition for the TopGun, but it doesn't blow it away.
Just as the AimTrak doesn't deserve to be trashed, nor does the TopGun.
you pay at least in Australia around $100+ for one TopGun
No way !!
Go to play-asia.com
You can get a TopGun II delivered by air mail (box up to 2 kg) to Australia for US$60.30 (being US$39.90 for the gun + US$20.40 for shipping).
Or you can TWO TopGun II's delivered by air courier, either UPS or Fedex, to Australia for US$112.20 (being US$79.80 for the two guns + US$32.40 for shipping).
Considering the exchange rate is currently AUD$1 = US$0.89, the Australian dollar equivalent of those prices isn't much different.
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Happy to concede the price I mentioned was wrong last time I looked into buying them a single gun was going to set me back nearly 100 aud but that was 6 months ago. I have no problem personally with the top guns. I have a big screen and lots of room behind it. Once the full aimtrak and case is out I will buy one even just to test same as I did with topgun and second hand act lab. You never really know until you try and I realise that in the pursuit for the right solution for me I am going to have to spend money and sometimes buy duds.
I really object to the way this x character has gone about his denegration and criticism of a product he has not yet tried
-
I really object to the way this x character has gone about his denegration and criticism of a product he has not yet tried
Yes.
Xiaou, that's for you to answer.
-
I really object to the way this x character has gone about his denegration and criticism of a product he has not yet tried
Yes.
Xiaou, that's for you to answer.
NO! He's babbled enough!
Don't
invite
more
rantings
that
are
hard
to
read
and
make
zero
sense.
;)
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The AimTrak is a welcome alternative and provides good competition for the TopGun, but it doesn't blow it away.
it did in my book on a 39" smaller screen the lcd topguns may work better but I even tried the larger white bars for a 60" and it still was not even close to the aimtrak.
for me there is no comparison between the two I liked the lcdtopguns case feeling button layout etc. but the guts of the guns and the huge led bars sucked for me.
I sold mine to get the aimtraks and am glad I did and if I had to I would do it all over again although an aimtrak in a lcd topgun case would be nifty :applaud:
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My biggest issue with the topguns is the build quality. I've already had to replace one and the replacements laser did not work. I've had the original repaired but now when I plug it in it is seen as a new device- so I'd have to reset the mame config all over again.
I'm going to replace them with Aim Traks - I like Andy's products
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Ok, I have tried oh so hard to refrain from posting this, but I cant help myself.
Thats funny, cause when I played Time Crisis at the arcades, I stood 2ft away from the glass,
and had Pixel Perfect accuracy every time.
Btw - If you have limited eyesight, then certainly you should look into getting Glasses.
I do, and Im glad I finally got them.
DAMN! Those must be some good glasses, to able able to pick out the precise pixel you were shooting at, considering there are WELL OVER a million pixels on an average monitor these days.
I highly doubt that an arcade machine, a machine in the wild that has several hundred people playing on it in-between services, was hitting the precise pixel you think it is hitting (especially since pixels are so damn small).
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Were you Happy and Sucking up to Mame devs about the lack of ability to play with dual
trackballs in games like Marble Madness? I wasnt. And due to my passionate efforts,
I got the ball rolling by getting in touch with lead people who made it happen.
Are you content that MS Gorf is lost to history? I wasnt. So Ive been pestering Jamie Fenton
about trying to salvage it from the floppies they are stored on. In her last email to me, I got her
in touch with a local guy who has the ability to dump it... due to my passionate
dis-satisfaction.
I really have to chip in here. I am not going to comment about your views on my product, but the above really is beyond the pale.
"Sucking up to Mame devs" as you call it is known by everyone else here as respecting them and the work they do, and all for no financial reward.
You are stating that you have been dissatisfied with work done by people who give up masses of their time and intellectual energy to provide us with the means by which this entire hobby exists.
How on earth can you post this kind of comment here?
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I sold my topgun a while back, and now I really wish I still had it. I hated the gun, but loved the shell. It would be a great housing for the aimtrak.
Andy - what type of shell are you planning to use for these? I still need to try to find a guncon2 locally to see if I like the feel. Knowing what type of shell you are planning would really help me decide if I want to wait for it or buy the board now.
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Its similar to the very first Guncon which was for the PS1
This is the chunkiest of all the ones we looked at.
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Its similar to the very first Guncon which was for the PS1
This is the chunkiest of all the ones we looked at.
Great, that is my favorite gun of all time (arcade gun). I hope you can get as close to that look as possible, and Namco hopefully won't mind since they've since gone to the uglier Guncon2 and ugliest Guncon3.
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Its similar to the very first Guncon which was for the PS1
This is the chunkiest of all the ones we looked at.
*jumps from foot to foot in excitement and anticipation*
looking forward to getting hold of these for my machine....buck hunter with hand gun may not be perfect but it will do me :)
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Personally, Id rather use my T2 guns than a lightgun anyways. Your arms would probably fall off if you played thru the entire T2 game with a lightgun.
I played thru almost the entire game the other night, and my arms still work perfectly. :laugh: Didn't get any more tired than with the real thing, maybe slightly less so since there is a slight bit of mechanical resistance on the originals. It's real easy to play shooting from the hip with these free-aiming babies, and I didn't even have to recalibrate!
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You are stating that you have been dissatisfied with work done by people who give up masses of their time and intellectual energy to provide us with the means by which this entire hobby exists.
How on earth can you post this kind of comment here?
Its their choice how they chose to spend their time... However, remember that many of the
boards which are purchased for dumping and emulating come from people who are NOT
Devs... Including ME. (some PCBs have been donated directly, and some people have
graciously loaned pcbs as well. Many other Non devs run entire operations of gathering
contacts, looking for PCBS not dumped, and rallying funds as well)
Ive not only donated money for boards a few times... I also convinced a collector to loan me
his Discs of Tron environmental Backdrop so that I could scan it. It then took me several weeks
of hand editing, due to problems with the multiple alignments and scan quality (light bleeds).
In addition, I argued with Devs because they had the lighting incorrect. To have it changed,
I had to hand scan 20 pages from a schematics sheet to a Dev to Prove it.
And finally, after all was done... my Art was not added for a few years afterwords, because
devs wouldnt support more than 256 color backdrops. They even had the gull to ask me to
try to make the scanned image into an arranged 256 color palleted image! Yeah right! It
sat finished waiting for well over a year before they changed Mames code.
Also remember, that the Devs did not invent these games. If it were not for the True Artists
that created these Gems.... then there would be nothing to emulate. And by EMULATING them,
they should be Emulated in COMPLETE TOTALITY. Not only in part.
It is Tragic, that mames current goals, will likely cause a great deal of Historical Losses that
may never be recoverable. Everything from Cabinet artwork, To mechanical control panel
pics/assembly information.
Mame has no support for EM games. It has almost no support for discrete games, and
Monaco GP alone is just plain Arcade History that should Not be left to disappear forever.
Mame has no support for the very Basic of 3d output... so games like Video Pinball,
can not be replicated/experienced correctly.
Mame is far from perfect, and its goals are lopsided and somewhat destructive.
Originally, it was meant to save arcade machines. Now it just devalues them, they emulate Part
of the game... the rest gets trashed and lost... and we are left with only part of history saved.
Mame has many good points, and I and many others appreciate that. But the fact is...
the project Should expand to fill in its lacking areas before its too late. Mame should not just
be about some programmers hacking away at a puzzle. It SHOULD be about saving arcade
history. All of it.
-
Maybe you should try to realize that you are not the most important person in the world? The MAME devs have plenty things to do and your "superduperimportant" little nags just don't make the top of the priority.
Amazingly, they even seem to have actually done what you wanted ... and still you whine.
Now get lost so the people who actually know about this new gun can chat about it without being interupped by your stories about yourself.
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Didn't get any more tired than with the real thing.
Well, being that you held the gun close, its understandable. However, its NOT like the
real thing... being that there is No variable Recoil... which basically makes it a lifeless
version of the original experience.
-
:blah: Gah! Won't someone please make it stop!
-
X, it's amazing that your an expert in everything. We thought ChadTower was the resident expert on everything (no offense Chad!), but you know so much more than all of us combined. A few suggestions:
-start your own development team for emulation. Since you get so many people who tell you that you're right, I'm sure you have the contacts to get moving and can do it perfectly the first time.
-start your own hardware manufacturing. You want perfect, you know how to do it and you know what you want. If you make it, we'll buy it because it will be perfect.
Let us know when you get these things going. With your obvious intelligence and skill sets, I'm sure you will have some product offerings available soon. (Probably before Dave sends out anymore yokes too!)
We're lucky to have you around to point out the flaws you see in everything and everyone.
[/sarcasm]
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When you say the "MAME devs" don't do something, you know what, SO WHAT! They are just people doing this for free on their own time.
But since you are complaining, I might as well complain as well. Here we go BYOAC guys.
MAN WTF IS WRONG WITH XIAOU2????!!! HE HASN'T:
1. Created a perfect home light gun system.
2. Sold a perfect home light gun system.
3. Programmed Marble Madness 2 to work with MAME.
4. He scanned the back drop to one friggin' game, why hasn't he scanned to side art to all the other games?
5. Why isn't he getting to work on a Pong emulator.
6. Why doesn't he make MAME run faster? I still can't run PropCycle on my Pentium 2!!!
7. WHY WHY WHY???
Dude I could go on for days, but really the point is, what right do you have of demanding anything from ANYONE? People are doing this for FREE. This means you cannot put some crazy deadline or demands on them. They are not your employees and they don't owe you anything!
Before you complain about something, just go fix it yourself. There problems solved!
By the way, I've helped with art as well as donated a few games that were not in MAME. One of them took 9 months after a I mailed it to show up in MAME and I also helped with B.O.T.S.S. which took Phil like TWO YEARS before he put it into MAME. You know what? The day it showed up (build .136) I sent him an email THANKING him. Not complaining about the time it took to emulated it.
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To be honest I have helped with ---fudgesicle--- all for mame. I might have helped in other scenes or industries but I not looking for self gratification. at the end of the day It is one of tge solutions to a problem. I get that you may not like tge product but with all due respect t
you sound like a child who had been denied their favourite toy
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You just dont get it.
Im not saying that I dont appreciate mame, and the people behind it.
But I Am saying, that with Other peoples money and help, you shouldnt just do whatever
you want to do. Meaning... sometimes, what is fun will have to be a little extra work to
satisfy the desires of the donaters and helpers, as well as in tribute to the original designers.
Its also a form of responsibility, because you are talking about history here.
I posted my personal experience with some Devs merely to show the cold level
of responses I got when trying to Help with the project for Free. It was a bit negative
initially, and yeah, I was surprised that the art finally was added... even after a year+ later.
This isnt merely about Me. Its about what should be done. Weather it gets done or not
is not up to me. But people Should voice their opinions, even if they go up against the mighty
Devs. They are mere humans, like everyone else. Just maybe, their ideas might change to
a point, as it has in the past.
At one point in time, there were at least 2 Devs on the message boards were so rude and rotten,
they bashed people left and right with insults and derogatory commentary. This may have
caused some permanent bad relations with collectors which Might have Helped Mames efforts
somewhere down the road. This may also be one of the reasons why the Japanese collectors
just about Refuse to sell PCBs to mame - no matter how much the winning big stands at.
Not all devs are so childish and mean in spirit. But, it is meant to show that these guys are
just people.
People seem to be So afraid to stand up and voice their opinions, Fearing that all the Devs
and Manufacturers will simply Stop what they are doing and quit forever. Its highly unlikely that will
happen. The Devs enjoy their puzzles, and the Manufacturers have an established business.
Similarly, there is nothing wrong with telling a Business owner your tastes and desires.
For example... if you go out to eat... and there is no asparagus on the menu.. you might Ask
for it. If you get a menu item which you feel needs more spices, you might ask for that.
Enough people asking for such things... and the owner might change his menu & or recipes.
If nobody asks / tells... then there might never be any motivation to change. The owner may
think everyone is perfectly happy.
As for me, Im simply telling Andy that Ive had mediocre Steak before... and am not
interested in spending money on the same. Instead, Im interested in Fillet Minion, and am
fully willing to pay a premium price for it.
Just because you are content with your steaks, or are afraid to ask for a better steak,
does not mean I do not have the right to ask for a better cut. Nor does it mean you
should take offense to it... nor to get all bent up about someone who is not satisfied with the
same levels that satisfy yourselves.
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No, you just don't get it.
The bottom line is you are telling people why Andy's product doesn't work even though you have never tried it. Ignoring all of your other points, you have zero basis to review a product and say why it doesn't work if you haven't tried it.
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Hello:
I know I´m asking too much but.....
Would not be possible to have a "PLAYSTATION 2" version?? Not even with a Firmware upgrade? (It has USB)
PS2 is the best console with best lightgun titles. (Point Blank and Time crisis 1,2,3+Crisis Zone)
-Best Regards
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Xiaou2, what you apparently are not able to grasp is the difference between constructive and destructive criticism. Maybe your intentions are in the right place, but your words are not.
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Didn't get any more tired than with the real thing.
Well, being that you held the gun close, its understandable. However, its NOT like the
real thing... being that there is No variable Recoil... which basically makes it a lifeless
version of the original experience.
That's coming next...hehe.... 8) The Happ guns I'm using already have solenoids and a driver board for them, all I need is to get the LEDWiz to take an output from Mame's T2 LED status to get things jumping. I do have work so it may take a while but I'll get it eventually. Too busy makin' movies! ARRRGH! :P
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Similarly, there is nothing wrong with telling a Business owner your tastes and desires.
For example... if you go out to eat... and there is no asparagus on the menu.. you might Ask
for it. If you get a menu item which you feel needs more spices, you might ask for that.
Enough people asking for such things... and the owner might change his menu & or recipes.
If nobody asks / tells... then there might never be any motivation to change. The owner may
think everyone is perfectly happy.
and you sit there for a few days pestering the cheif that it should have came with it as you are gardner and you grow your own asparagus and donated it to the local grocery store and therefore it should be a standard that comes with all dinners becuase you grew it, donated it and said so right.
your contribution to mame is just a hair on there ass man.
I mean if you really did contribute to mame we appreatiate that but we also should not harp on you for day's that you did not do it right or fast enough or you should have used fed ex express to send it or your artwork scan has flaw's and you should have done this instead and used this method and machine becuase we said so etc.
!!! just stop we understand these are not for you for whatever your reasons !!!
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Hi all, I have all of a sudden run into a small problem. I have the guns plugged into the FRONT of the cpu and everything was fine for a while. But now all of a sudden, my CP doesnt work in mame if I have the guns plugged in. My CP has 4 usbs, could there be a conflict.
Thanx
Camper
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Hi all, I have all of a sudden run into a small problem. I have the guns plugged into the FRONT of the cpu and everything was fine for a while. But now all of a sudden, my CP doesnt work in mame if I have the guns plugged in. My CP has 4 usbs, could there be a conflict.
Thanx
Camper
did you assighn each gun their own device I.D.'s?
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yup... but the software keeps crashing on me in Win 7...Weird... It also will not let me upgrade firmware...
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are you upgrading the firmware through the same app or are you using the extra app that is the the aimtrak folder that is used for updating the firmware?
there are 2 seperate apps in the folder.
also try only having one gun in at a time for each firmware update do them each seperate by themselve's and go from there if you have not sone so already.
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I don't think the Config utility is working in Win7, or at least not in 64 bit. I could never get the upgrade to take in Win7 x64, I had to do it in Win XP. Once updated the guns do seem to work in Win7, it's just a mouse emulation after all. I do wish Andy would do an update, WinXP is going to die eventually.
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Sorry if someone mentioned this one allready, but anyway how does this gun look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkJmg9ikmZU
Here is link to homepage:
http://www.xcm.cc/ (http://www.xcm.cc/)
I am new to light guns so don't know if this is any good inside arcade cab.
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looks silly and painted with poop :dunno
To be honost I would not pick that up over these if I had them next to each other and had a choice of wich to play with I would use my aimtraks still.
(http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj70/northerngames/IMAG0182.jpg)
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Yes but couldnt you put its insidings into other gun?
edit: oh check the website there is other guns, white one for PS3
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depends on how bulky the pcb/guts of the gun are.
what is the cost of each unit though and then the cost for the gun casing to put it in and what results would you get when compared to the aimtrak or lcd topgun?
we will have to wait until they are released before any of that can be compared but right off the get knowing XCM products very well there going to be an arm and a leg.
my first impression of that picture is ugly bulky and poopy colored though so far >:D
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correct me if I'm wrong.. but isn't that xcm gun just in the shape of a gun? but really it's just a normal controller.
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I guess you are right about it. Because gun maker is saying it works with every kind display CRT and LCD, i was thinking it would actually be real light gun. But now that I look video closer it seems like guy is moving picture around with thumb!
Too bad I would personally had use of that kind of thing :/
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I don't think the Config utility is working in Win7, or at least not in 64 bit. I could never get the upgrade to take in Win7 x64, I had to do it in Win XP. Once updated the guns do seem to work in Win7, it's just a mouse emulation after all. I do wish Andy would do an update, WinXP is going to die eventually.
The utility and upgrade should work in Windows 7 64 bit. I will test again just in case though..
Andy
-
I have re-tested the utility and the upgrade in Windows 7 64 bit and unfortunately cant reproduce any problem.
So, anyone who does see any issues with W7 64 can please drop me an email and we can try to work out whats going wrong.
Andy
-
I keep seeing Andy posts and think that it might be the product announcement for the AimTrak integrated into a gun shell. Ah well.
-
Well, I have one of the aimtraks installed in a guncon now. It took me quite a few tries to get it to calibrate, but now that it is, I am pretty happy with the accuracy. I was able to hit whatever I aimed at in Area 51, until my arms started burning, then I missed a lot. :) It has been a while since I have shot for that long. I was playing without crosshairs, and the offscreen reload worked great.
When not in a game, I was watching the mouse cursor as I aimed. The cursor lags behind a little bit, but it does catch up and becomes accurate. I have the tilt/z connection set to continuous, so that may slow it down some.
I have used act labs guns and the LCD Topgun, and I can definitely say that the aimtrak beats both of them by a wide margin so far. I still have a lot of testing to do; I am testing it on my desktop. so I still need to get it working in the cab.
I soldered one of the buttons to P1, and it is not working, so I need to figure that out. The outer button on the gun is attached to aux, and it works fine.
I used guncon 1s for these, and I really like them. They look great and the aimtrak fits in there easily with only a little bit of trimming inside the barrel. Andy said that his will be similar to the guncons, so I think this will end up being a really nice light gun solution for our cabs.
I watched some of the videos in the various threads, and properly calibrated, it is accurate over the entire screen, except for the lag I mentioned.
Edit: I have been playing quite a bit tonight and having a lot of fun. I am ready to move the led bar to the cab so I can get everything set up in its new home. I have a suggestion for those who have not ordered the aimtraks yet: Buy 2 of the full kits. I have been playing sitting at my desk, and I would like to keep that option, so I really wish I would have bought the second led pcb. Shipping is too expensive to get one now, but I wish I would have thought of it before I ordered.
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Well, I have one of the aimtraks installed in a guncon now. It took me quite a few tries to get it to calibrate, but now that it is, I am pretty happy with the accuracy. I was able to hit whatever I aimed at in Area 51, until my arms started burning, then I missed a lot. :) It has been a while since I have shot for that long. I was playing without crosshairs, and the offscreen reload worked great.
When not in a game, I was watching the mouse cursor as I aimed. The cursor lags behind a little bit, but it does catch up and becomes accurate. I have the tilt/z connection set to continuous, so that may slow it down some.
I have used act labs guns and the LCD Topgun, and I can definitely say that the aimtrak beats both of them by a wide margin so far. I still have a lot of testing to do; I am testing it on my desktop. so I still need to get it working in the cab.
I soldered one of the buttons to P1, and it is not working, so I need to figure that out. The outer button on the gun is attached to aux, and it works fine.
I used guncon 1s for these, and I really like them. They look great and the aimtrak fits in there easily with only a little bit of trimming inside the barrel. Andy said that his will be similar to the guncons, so I think this will end up being a really nice light gun solution for our cabs.
I watched some of the videos in the various threads, and properly calibrated, it is accurate over the entire screen, except for the lag I mentioned.
Edit: I have been playing quite a bit tonight and having a lot of fun. I am ready to move the led bar to the cab so I can get everything set up in its new home. I have a suggestion for those who have not ordered the aimtraks yet: Buy 2 of the full kits. I have been playing sitting at my desk, and I would like to keep that option, so I really wish I would have bought the second led pcb. Shipping is too expensive to get one now, but I wish I would have thought of it before I ordered.
OMG - A review based on someone who has the product in hand and tested. What has this thread come to.
No, really, thanks for an opinion and review based upon hands on experience. I will be buying my two very soon.
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Andy,
I was wondering when you have the full units ready, will each one be tested to make sure they put inside the shell properly and lined up etc, or is there still going to be some element of DIY to them?
Dan
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I have to say, so far my experience has been very frustrating. It does not seem to be accurate at all after spending hours of moving around the sensors and recalibrating. I finally was able to upgrade the firmware to 3.1 and now the gun only moves up and down on the far left of the screen. Every once in a while it will randomly bounce around the screen.
Also, the gun keeps showing up as a joystick in mame...
Some help please?
(I am using W7 64)
Edit:
I did something wrong somehow when I upgraded the firmware. I did it again and now the gun works great :)
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Have you sent me an email as there is clearly a fault and we can resolve this by email.
andy@ultimarc.com
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Andy,
I was wondering when you have the full units ready, will each one be tested to make sure they put inside the shell properly and lined up etc, or is there still going to be some element of DIY to them?
Dan
We will offer whatever people want. There will be some who would like a kit to assemble either using a module they have already purchased and also others who prefer complete assembled tested units. So we will offer both.
Initially the kits will be available followed by complete units.
We now have the first of all 8 of the molded parts from the production molds so should not be too much longer. I will post some pics in the next couple of days.
They look rather scarily realistic actually. In fact maybe some countries might not allow them to be imported and we might need to do a de-tuned version in blue or some other color alongside the black.
-
Excellent!!!
I'm a week away from finishing my MAME cab(7 years in the making).
A few years ago I had to promise myself I wouldn't buy any more BYOAC related crud until I built something with what I already have, so the parts I had just sat in a box.
I was content with just playing games on my laptop with the keyboard, but a shooting game is something that needs to be played on a cab.
-
Andy,
I was wondering when you have the full units ready, will each one be tested to make sure they put inside the shell properly and lined up etc, or is there still going to be some element of DIY to them?
Dan
We will offer whatever people want. There will be some who would like a kit to assemble either using a module they have already purchased and also others who prefer complete assembled tested units. So we will offer both.
Initially the kits will be available followed by complete units.
We now have the first of all 8 of the molded parts from the production molds so should not be too much longer. I will post some pics in the next couple of days.
They look rather scarily realistic actually. In fact maybe some countries might not allow them to be imported and we might need to do a de-tuned version in blue or some other color alongside the black.
Huzzah! This is great news!
-
oooh awesome!
I bought a topgun last week because I am selling my showcase cab and wanted to get in some buck hunter before I did that. But will certainly be picking some of these up when they are all done, though the import may be an issue.
Usually an orange nossle is enough to get it through though
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The first LED rail that I received was faulty. The replacement worked perfectly. Many thanks Andy. Here it is in action....
Aim-Trak System Set Up And Use On Mame Arcade Machine (Part 3) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXRaF6G6UAg#ws)
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They look rather scarily realistic actually. In fact maybe some countries might not allow them to be imported and we might need to do a de-tuned version in blue or some other color alongside the black.
Great news, Andy!
Well, if you're in the early stages of picking colors, and you're taking input on colors, I hope to be able to buy 2 guns of different colors, in red, or orange, or yellow (i.e., a red & an orange, a red & a yellow, or an orange & a yellow).
Looking forward to it--I plan on buying 2 kits. :)
Thanks,
-Jason
-
Andy,
I was wondering when you have the full units ready, will each one be tested to make sure they put inside the shell properly and lined up etc, or is there still going to be some element of DIY to them?
Dan
We will offer whatever people want. There will be some who would like a kit to assemble either using a module they have already purchased and also others who prefer complete assembled tested units. So we will offer both.
Initially the kits will be available followed by complete units.
We now have the first of all 8 of the molded parts from the production molds so should not be too much longer. I will post some pics in the next couple of days.
They look rather scarily realistic actually. In fact maybe some countries might not allow them to be imported and we might need to do a de-tuned version in blue or some other color alongside the black.
I am happy to hear this. I prefer a realistic looking gun rather than a bright red one.
I sent you an email :)
Here (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=100291.msg1079279#msg1079279) is my thread on my Aim-Trak gun if anyone is interested.
(http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj216/yo1dog/Bartop/IMG_0351.jpg) (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=100291.msg1079279#msg1079279)
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They look rather scarily realistic actually. In fact maybe some countries might not allow them to be imported and we might need to do a de-tuned version in blue or some other color alongside the black.
Great news, Andy!
Well, if you're in the early stages of picking colors, and you're taking input on colors, I hope to be able to buy 2 guns of different colors, in red, or orange, or yellow (i.e., a red & an orange, a red & a yellow, or an orange & a yellow).
Looking forward to it--I plan on buying 2 kits. :)
Thanks,
-Jason
Different colors would be a good idea if you can't ship realistic ones. I'm pretty sure there's some law about that as I remember that new versions of the old Megatron Transformer toys couldn't be sold to the US unless the barrel was bright orange or something like that. My votes would be for black and gold, but that's just because that would match my cab. :)
Another small idea for those of us who want complete kits...maybe you could sell a holster or something similar to make it one-stop shopping. Just an idea. :D
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Another small idea for those of us who want complete kits...maybe you could sell a holster or something similar to make it one-stop shopping. Just an idea. :D
+1 that a holster would be a good accessory to offer, but don't let a holster hold up availability of the guns/kits.
Thanks,
-Jason
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I received my pair of aimtraks about 2 weeks ago and have been playing around with them here and there. I can say that these are much better than the LCD Topguns, I had a pair of those and was really disappointed. The aimtraks are working great, it took some playing around with but I have both guns dialed in pretty well. I have them setup on a Naomi Universal cab with a 29" vga monitor, with the LCD topguns I would have to be in another room for them to work on a screen that size, with the aimtraks I stand about 3' back and can play area 51, timecrisis, police trainer without the crosshairs, as well as virtua cop 1 and 2 on the model 2 emulator. For the games with positional guns like T2 and Alien3 you can stand even closer. Since my monitor is VGA I am running everything at 640x480, I was having all kinds of problems until I turned triplebuffering off for the gun games. Here is a quick pic, I installed them in some Guncon2s that I picked up for $10; you can see the leds glowing, I mounted the board under the bezel and bent them to point down to the guns.
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/ratsflif/0417100005a_78929.jpg)
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The first LED rail that I received was faulty. The replacement worked perfectly. Many thanks Andy. Here it is in action....
Phenomenal. That's what I needed to see. Mine are on the way! ;D
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Hello folks,
got a prob while calibratring my aim trak:
I upgraded to fw1.3. Now I am holding the trigger 5 secs to go into calibration mode.
upper left works fine and upper right to,
but when my mouse coursor points at the lower middle I can aim wherever I want and press the trigger as often as I want but I cant get the calkibration process done!
When I am pressing the triger the coursor moves back to its initial location from where it moves down again which means the button press is registred but thats all.
Is this a known prob?
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This is only a guess, but the camera probably can't see the LED bar properly when you are pointing at the bottom. Make sure the camera is aimed up and the LED bar down.
Check the line of site
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Andy,
What are we looking at in terms of time for the completed units (shell and all), a week, a month? I'm just looking for a general idea so I can decide if its best to wait or just cave and DIY with a Guncon or something.
Thanks!
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This is only a guess, but the camera probably can't see the LED bar properly when you are pointing at the bottom. Make sure the camera is aimed up and the LED bar down.
Check the line of site
That is indeed the most likely issue, and this might be caused by the gun module not being mounted along the axis of the gun.
As I mentioned in another posting yesterday, the new version of the software utility has a "sensor view" window to make this easier to check.
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Andy,
What are we looking at in terms of time for the completed units (shell and all), a week, a month? I'm just looking for a general idea so I can decide if its best to wait or just cave and DIY with a Guncon or something.
Thanks!
On another posting yesterday I mentioned 15th May but we have had dates from the molding suppliers before which they have not met. We are waiting on them, and I am chasing daily.
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whats the size of this thing I want to put it into a nes zapper
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Andy,
What are we looking at in terms of time for the completed units (shell and all), a week, a month? I'm just looking for a general idea so I can decide if its best to wait or just cave and DIY with a Guncon or something.
Thanks!
On another posting yesterday I mentioned 15th May but we have had dates from the molding suppliers before which they have not met. We are waiting on them, and I am chasing daily.
Sorry, I didn't see that post. Any ideas on cost for this thing? Obviously not a rock solid number required, but even a slight hint?
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i looked at the specs and it seems it will fit in a Jieke p99 so im gonna put it into it hopefully, wish me luck
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Just wondering if anyone has explored putting this is a shotgun style setup for games like buck hunter?
Would LOOOOOOVE something like that
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http://www.arcadeemulator.net/cgi-bin/shop/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F1357485&rnd=3718022&rrc=N&affl=&cip=&act=&aff=&pg=ste_cat&startrow=0&searchstr=&searchrpp=10&searchtyp=&ref=OpticalGuns&cat=&catstr= (http://www.arcadeemulator.net/cgi-bin/shop/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F1357485&rnd=3718022&rrc=N&affl=&cip=&act=&aff=&pg=ste_cat&startrow=0&searchstr=&searchrpp=10&searchtyp=&ref=OpticalGuns&cat=&catstr=)
uh dude? heres a shotgun and stuff for the aimtrak
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Making a decision to go with Andy and Ultimarc.. It's always a good choice.
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So the Aimtrak kit is $44 USD but how much is it for the 2nd gun IR board. Like is there a 2 gun kit?
As in I want to have 2 guns each with a board. They use the same set of IR blasters on the monitor right?..
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Second gun kit is $36.
I HOPE THE GUNS COME PREMADE SOON. I am really cannot wait.
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Andy - any way you could give us a bit of an update with the progress on these? I remember today was supposed to be like THE day, but you were doubtful on the firm release/completion. Do we have any idea how long we are gonna' have to wait to buy a preassembled unit from you?
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quick question for aimtrack users with a wii.
could one of you check with your wiimote to see if it sees the aimtrack lightbar? just tunr your wii on, turn the wiimote on and stand in front of the aimtrack light bar, see if the wiimote responds to it.
in my cab, i have a usb sensor bar so i can use a wiimote with the dolphin emulator. andy told me offline that having the aimtrack and wii sensor bars would cause the aimtrack camera to get confused. since the aimtrack bar is required for the gun camera, i'm wondering if i can remove the wii sensor bar but still have the wiimote "see" the aimtrack bar
many thanks
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any ETA info from the manufacturers? I am deciding whether or not to order some boards and build my own or to wait for a finished product.
-
Came across 2 eBay auctions today for those who don't want to wait for the cased Aimtrak from Ultimarc:
http://cgi.ebay.com/PSX-Lot-19-Light-Guns-/200474394559 (http://cgi.ebay.com/PSX-Lot-19-Light-Guns-/200474394559)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Playstation-Lot-18-Defective-Playstation-Guns-/200475043256 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Playstation-Lot-18-Defective-Playstation-Guns-/200475043256)
Thanks,
-Jason
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Hello folks,
got a prob while calibratring my aim trak:
I upgraded to fw1.3. Now I am holding the trigger 5 secs to go into calibration mode.
upper left works fine and upper right to,
but when my mouse coursor points at the lower middle I can aim wherever I want and press the trigger as often as I want but I cant get the calkibration process done!
When I am pressing the triger the coursor moves back to its initial location from where it moves down again which means the button press is registred but thats all.
Is this a known prob?
Hello BYOAC. First time poster here. This is exactly the same problem I am having with my newly bought aimtrak module. Any tips how to fix this? I re-check and re-adjust my line of sight, my distance from the sensor bar, the light levels in the room and the alignment of the module along the axis of the gun but I can't get it right. The calibration stops at the lower middle test, which after a few tries the cursor just disappears and leaves me with no way of returning to normal operations on my XP operating system. Although I did get it working eventually I never successfully finished a calibration. With this in mind I ask:
+ Is there a way to cancel calibration? Maybe I missed it on ultimarc's page but I can't seem to find how to get my mouse back upon a failed calibration. I find ironic that aimtrak's software utility focus a lot on how to get calibration activated and yet it forgets to leave a way to cancel it in case things go wrong. If I missed it then someone please tell me, but right now the only option I find is to disconnect the aimtrak and that sometimes crashes the utility program (not very elegant). I think this should be treated as a feature request. Maybe a timeout period or ask the user if everything went right or confirm save calibration settings. The utility program needs to provide an clean, friendly exit should things go wrong.
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i got the same prob
-
any word yet on the completed units?
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YES... i get this ALL THE TIME.. :-) If anyone has a fix, that would be awesome
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Maybe a timeout period or ask the user if everything went right or confirm save calibration settings. The utility program needs to provide an clean, friendly exit should things go wrong.
The utility plays no active part in the calibration process, but can be used to find out why it is failing.
The "sensor view" is especially useful.
The cause of this is the sensor cant see the LED bar when the gun is pointed at the bottom of the screen.
This is caused by:
Too close to screen
Board not mounted horizontally in gun (this is the most common reason)
Leds not angled downwards
Something obstructing the sensor, eg edge of gun nose
LED board failure (check by looking with a digital camera)
(very rare) double-sided tape used to secure the IR filter on the front of the sensor off-center and partially blocking sensor lens.
Dirt on sensor.
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I got my AimTrack today and am in the process of setting it up. (Thanks Andy!)
In the mean time I have bought 2 PS1 NAMCO NPC-103 GUNCON guns
and a Sega HSS-0122 Virtua Gun.
The PS guns each have 2 buttons labeled A and B.
The Sega gun only has 1 button.
I am thinking of using one of each so that Player 1 and Player 2 have different guns as they all are black the different style would make it easier to tell. I could paint one of the PS guns a I suppose however. Id rather not.
Also it might be fun to try them both out to see which style I prefer.
My question however is.
Do any gun games require 2 buttons?
I know some people prefer a reload button. But I am happy to shoot off screen.
However I do not want to force player 2 with the sega gun to not be able to shoot flames or something in a game.
Thanks so much.
By the way. Used light guns here in Japan are very cheap in second hand shops and are almost all black without red tips.
If anyone interested in getting their hands on some I may be able to arrange sales.
Thanks again.
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Do any gun games require 2 buttons?
Take a look to this:http://www.ultimarc.com/AimTrak%20Setup%20Guide.pdf (http://www.ultimarc.com/AimTrak%20Setup%20Guide.pdf)
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Thanks for the speedy reply.
So if I am reading that glossary correctly.
CarnEvil
Crypt Killer
Deer Hunting USA
Trophy Hunting
Turkey Hunting
Wing Shooting
Zombie Raid
All require a second button for reloading.
However does that mean the games need 3 buttons total? For example Trigger, Missile (special weapons), Reload? Or is it Just Trigger and Reload?
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However does that mean the games need 3 buttons total? For example Trigger, Missile (special weapons), Reload? Or is it Just Trigger and Reload?
I haven't loaded the setup for my aimtraks yet (waiting for some hardware) but If I'm not mistaken you can configure the trigger to reload when shooting off-screen (ie act as the reload button).. so you should only need the two buttons (trigger and second) to play almost all games.
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Does anyone know if the complete gun housing and kit are due soon this thread seems to have been inactive for some time but Andy did mention he was working on Guncon style housing.
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It's sold as a DIY kit.
http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak_gun.html (http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak_gun.html)
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Thanks buddy I missed that on the site ;D
I did see this on the product page
"NOTE: This kit version does not have a "cover" in the nose of the gun. Later assembled versions will have this. Support of the right-hand button is only via a connector which is fitted to the AimTrak modules shipped after Jun 10 2010."
Is this still the case? And what are people's views on the guns? Have many of you used them?
Many thanks
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http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=111349.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=111349.0)
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I personally have used them for a long time now. It seems that you have to redo the tracking all the time, but it is really no big deal. I mean, if you want to show it off to ur friends...ur gonna want to calibrate them first... lol, otherwise they will get bored watching. :-)
All the games work great except for a couple that I haven't figured out yet... but all in all, a good addition to my arcade
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I have just this week got a DIY kit from Andy to fit inside a G-Con2 gun housing, now i want to wire up the d-pad on the rear of the gun aswell, i have follwed Dazz's guide over at the Hyperspin forums on wiring the extra buttons up for the Aim Trak, but where as the Trigger, AUX and Button 1 buttons work fine, i cannot get any of the d-pad buttons to work at all! Now i could possibly understand 1 of the d-pad buttons not working...but all 4!!, so im wondering if something is wired wrong. Heres a few pics of how i have it wired..........
(http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1364/dscf6368w.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/85/dscf6368w.jpg/)(http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/2053/dscf6373d.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/dscf6373d.jpg/)
(http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6835/dscf6381.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/716/dscf6381.jpg/) (http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/668/dscf6388a.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/696/dscf6388a.jpg/)
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Holy thread resurrection, Batman!
Did you flash it with the latest firmware?
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It has FW 8.10 on it atm....is that the latest??
Im also having a problem where ill be playing a game then all of a sudden the crosshair flicking to the bottom left hand corner of the screen and getting stuck there no matter what i do i cannot get it to more, whilst its stuck in the corner its also firing the gun aswell...then all of a sudden the crosshair will become free again?
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Apparently there is a 8.11 FW, but i cannot seem to find the FW file on the Ultimarc webpage at all??
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I would be interested to know how the D-Pad mod works out.
I have had a cab for years but it suffered a drive failure. It sat collecting dust for nearly two years and I finally got motivated to resurrect it while I was off work for the holidays. Got it working and am pretty happy with it again.
I had one of the original LCD TopGun units. I *loved* the features of the gun....hated the performance.
Like many others it had accuracy issues and I had to stand about 5 feet back from my 17" CRT. I've since upgraded to a 19" CRT...now I have to stand back about 6 feet.
So I was thinking about some new lightguns. The AimTraks seem nice, especially if the smaller single light bar allows me to be 2-3ft from the screen.
I was considering gutting my TopGun and putting in the Aimtrak. Anyone else done this?
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Do these guns have force feeback like in the arcade?