Guns & Mame - Some questions

[Retro_SA]

I'm planning on adding guns to my cabinet I'm busy building.  Just some quick questions...

- How many shooting games are there in Mame?  Not looking for the exactly number, just want to find out if it's worth doing it?
- Will one type of gun work for all games?  I see some games have extra buttons on the guns...
- How will a game like Time Crisis work, where you need the pedal as well?
- I'm guessing it will work through the perspex that's in front of the screen?   

Thanks.

[Turnarcades]

If you are not sure what games are available, you can't be that big a gun game fan so will probably not miss guns. As I mentioned to someone else earlier, think about what you will mostly play, rather than trying to add everything.

Unfortunately (particularly for a noob), the truth is there are very few light gun options at the moment and few seem to work well. The LCD TopGuns were the previous choice but have issues with compatibility, re-calibration and range - there is a thread about modifying them with a wide-angle lens to improve this but....

There is also the Aimtrak module, where you can modify an existing gun with the hardware module and is supposedly the current best offering. Again though it is still being tested in the field and may be a while before it's perfect. The problem for both these solutions is that for a noob who is unsure of how much they will be used and assumed nvice skill level, the cost of adding them and logistics of installing them (and their sensor bars) and setting them up correctly (plus making hardware modifications) could not be worth your time. However, to answer your questions:

- Probably around 50-100, of which less than half are worthwhile or work properly and even less are actually quality games Point Blank series takes the crown, with games like Time Crisis then classics like Operation wolf, Alien3 etc. all playing well. There are also PC games like \Virtua Cop 1+2 and House of the Dead and other games on PS1 (if you run that in your machine) that could be good, if you can set up the hardware right each time - some have compatibility issues.
- See above re compatibility, but most guns available have many shell-mounted buttons so no worries about that.
- See above answer - use one of the gun-mounted buttons for the pedal.
- Guessing is right. Even clear plexi will distort IR beams, particularly if the plexi is at an angle to the gun. You have to mount sensor bars with any gun, which can be tricky and can look very ugly if not done well.

Be warned, that's all I'm saying.

[BadMouth]

What type of screen are you using?

I'm using an old $30 act labs gun with a 32" CRT tv (s-video).
Been watching fleabay for a 2nd one.

It works perfectly on CarnEvil, Point Blank, Area 51, Maximum Force & about a dozen other
true light gun games.  Also works with House of The Dead.

It will not work with the gun games where the gun was originally just a gun mounted to the top of a joystick-terminator, aliens, etc. (at least not without some crazy calibration hassles & you can't spray bullets because the computer only knows where the gun is pointed at the instant you pull the trigger.  If the trigger is held in, all shots go to that spot no matter where the gun is pointing)

I've never been able to get it to work properly with the Sammy hunting games - Turkey Hunting USA, Big Buck Hunter, etc.  The shot is accurate in the center of the screen, but is off toward the edges.  If anyone has a fix for this, I'd be interested.

You do have to calibrate the gun every time you start a new game, but it only takes 20 seconds.
(flip a switch to calibrate & move the gun horizontally, then vertically across the screen)

It goes without saying that a real light gun won't work on an LCD screen.
If you didn't already know that much, I'd recommend doing a  lot more homework before buying anything.

[nickynooch]

I've got the actlab guns as well and they work pretty well.

[andrewbean90]

its really worth it and I am getting an Aimtrak id try it first

[Turnarcades]

Whatever you decide, you can tell by the mixed bag of answers it's not as clear-cut as other arcade control additions.

[DJ_Izumi]

If someone was really into gun games and wanted Time Crisis games or other such games, I'd actually suggest, for simplicity and functionality sake, skip MAME and throw a PS2 into a cab on a CRT with component input.   Which is my plan to build a light gun cab someday.

[Turnarcades]

If someone was really into gun games and wanted Time Crisis games or other such games, I'd actually suggest, for simplicity and functionality sake, skip MAME and throw a PS2 into a cab on a CRT with component input.   Which is my plan to build a light gun cab someday.

Did that with my last cabinet usung G-Cons and my old PS1, purely for Point Blank and Time Crisis. I'm glad to say that Andy's Aimtrak design is based on these and if the setup and functionality is ironed out I will be getting some of these:

[DJ_Izumi]

My idea for a PS2 cab would be a standard stand up type with say a 25" Trinitron with component input installed.  PS2 with an HDD and a pair of 8way with six button (Plus Start/Select) arrangements on the control panel.  Then mount female ports wired into the PS2 and two female RCA jacks fed from the luma channel on the face, below the CP to allow you to easily plug in Guncon2s.  So you'd have a cab that's primarily built for fighting games and the like but you can just plug in the guncons right into the front and fire up Time Crisis 2 or Vampire Night or Ninja Assault or something.

[codeena]

Hey Retro_SA, I feel that there's a good number of quality Mame light gun titles that justify a light gun purchase. Some notables are Sharp Shooter, Police Trainer, Point Blank 1/2, Bang!, Egg Venture, Lethal Enforcers I/II, Crypt Killer, Area 51/Maximum Force, Wing Shooting Championship and Trophy Hunting : Bear and Moose. In addition, I have the Virtua Cop 1 & 2, House of the Dead I & II and Big Buck Hunter. I have two Act Labs guns and I think they perform pretty well, although one of them works better than the other. I'd like to have a recoil/force feedback option with the guns. I haven't tried any other PC compatible light gun.

Like DJ_Izumi said, the PS2 is the console to have for light gun games (Time Crisis 1-3, Vampire Night, Point Blank 1-3, Ninja Assault...). The Dreamcast also has some good titles. I used to have a single cab w/all 3 in a single cab for my shooting fix. Good luck with whatever you decide.

DJ, if you read this, I actually purchased a component cable with Guncon input, but it doesn't work. The best quality (clarity-wise) I was able to find with a Guncon input a s-video cable, which looks better than the composite cable. May I ask where you found your Guncon-compatible component cable?

[DJ_Izumi]

You don't NEED a special guncon cable.  The 'Guncon cable' is just a cable with the composite output spliced off to a second output.  You can get the sync signal from the green 'Luma' cable when using component.  For Guncon 1's I just jack the green cable into the yellow passthrough jacks on the Guncon 1's before connecting to the jacko on the TV.  For Guncon1's I use that T-shaped pass through cable and never had an issue.

I didn't even known that component PS2 cables with the composite guncon jack existed.

[jtslade]

Anyone use the aimtrak behind smoked glass??

How does it work?

Thx

[andrewbean90]

I got smoked glass and was wondering that too

[Retro_SA]

Thanks for all the replies.  Seems like it's not as easy as I thought it might be, so I'll rather leave it out for now.  I'm not such a big fan of shooting games anyways, just thought it will be a nice addition.

[Usul]

Talking about dedicated light gun cabinets what do you guys think about using the Wii as console?
I don't own one, but just noticed that there are quite a few interesting titles out there like Resident Evil etc...

[Rusty Shackelford]

I third the smoked glass question-also the tv+glass are at an angle if that make a difference.

[Drews Arcade]

I've never been able to get it to work properly with the Sammy hunting games - Turkey Hunting USA, Big Buck Hunter, etc.  The shot is accurate in the center of the screen, but is off toward the edges.  If anyone has a fix for this, I'd be interested.

These types of games will require you in Mame to go to the service dip switch (tab button) and flip the switch for service mode, restart the game (f3). Then go through the calibration for the gun for that game. You have to do this for all Sammy games to be calibrated. This will be saved and will only have to do this once. Then switch off from service mode and restart.

[shateredsoul]

Talking about dedicated light gun cabinets what do you guys think about using the Wii as console?
I don't own one, but just noticed that there are quite a few interesting titles out there like Resident Evil etc...

hmm maybe... hack your wii and get your games on the hdd, get a hacked wii control so you can play some of your other games via a control panel (new super mario brios i.e.). REally though it would be just the same as doing it in your living room if you just want it for the shooting games since you will be using wii motes.

[BadMouth]

These types of games will require you in Mame to go to the service dip switch (tab button) and flip the switch for service mode, restart the game (f3). Then go through the calibration for the gun for that game. You have to do this for all Sammy games to be calibrated. This will be saved and will only have to do this once. Then switch off from service mode and restart.

Thanks for the reply.  Knowing someone else has it working will motivate me to keep trying.
Even in the calibration screen in service mode of the Sammy games, things are wonky.

The shot registers about a 1/4" below and to the right at the center.
I did this with a mouse & turned the crosshairs on in mame.  If I move the arcade (+) crosshairs to the center & hit the trigger, it just throws things farther off.
I then aimed about 1/4" below and to the right of center until I got the arcade crosshairs to line up with the mame crosshairs.  
It doesn't seem to get any worse towards the edges of the screen.
The game seems playable with the mouse & mame crosshairs now.  
(I hadn't tried it with the mouse before)
Hopefully what I learned will translate over to the light gun.