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PC Light Guns

Zinger19

By Zinger19
in Video Games

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Zinger19 Rookie

Zinger19

Posted
Posted

As I was looking for stuff my arcade I thought it would be a great idea to add light guns...well it sounded like a good idea at the time. So I continue looking only to find that there's really only 2 or 3 companys that make them. Act-Labs, some Chinese company who makes the Top Gun, and a 3rd that makes a high end first person shooter military style gun...which looked really cool, but not what I'm looking for. I actually found a 4th from a company in Taiwan that supposedly made a wireless light gun, but it doesn't seem to be for sale yet...:questionmark:

So if I want an authentic arcade style light gun for a VGA monitor I'm gonna have drop $200 bucks at Act-Labs for 2 guns ($40) and 2 VGA Boxes ($160) which I dunno...maybe it's just me but sounds like a lot for 2 controllers

My second choice is the Top Gun...which...since I'm making an arcade...throws the idea out the window considering that it uses led LED bars that you have to have set up in order to use it.

And my third choice is...well...that's it. There is no third choice. I mean what the heck!!! 2...2 freaking companies that make light guns for the PC! You've gotta be freaking kidding me. With all the people building there own mame machines you would think that someone would make a cheap decdent light gun. I mean look at freakin nintendo...THEY GAVE YOU A GUN with the system...mind you it was for a console and not a computer but that's besides the point. Sorry...I was having a moment there...Maybe I didn't Google the right thing...am I missing some websites or somethin???

Now I have heard that you can use the GunCon2 from the PS2 with some software modding, but I've also heard that you need need to have a composite on your video card in order for it work...which I don't have sooo I won't be going there.

Is Act-Labs really my only choice? (You'd think after all that I'd ask a better question) Do I really need Light guns is what I should be asking myself? I'm sure I'm not the only one whose come to this decision, but I liked to know what others have done. What it's gonna probably gonna happen it yes I'm gonna fork out the money and listen to my wife complain...and it will be the best experience for an arcade like light gun. Does anyone have the Act-Labs light guns? I would ask how do they compare to others, but as you can see there really aren't any except for the arcade guns.

NES Arcade Build

StarKade: A Raspberry Pi Arcade

80's Toy Collection

Dazz Mentor

Dazz

Posted
Posted

I've been looking into this for a while... The Top Gun II is the best solution for all. I personally have 3 GunCon 2's and have spent hours trying to get them to work correctly. What happens is when they are plugged into a computer they want to run at 100mhz, but a TV screen is only 60mhz, so they do not work very well if at all. I have also tried both Wingun and GunCon2 drivers, but the guns will not calibrate using either driver. I have given up on the GunCon2's.

While the look may not be what you want... I think the Top Gun II is the best and easiest solution. I really wish someone would make a better gun interface for us to use on computers.

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EVEGames Newbie

EVEGames

Posted
Posted
I think the Top Gun II is the best and easiest solution. I really wish someone would make a better gun interface for us to use on computers.

Seconded, Dazz. I have an ActLabs gun on my cab, and it works quite well, but from what I've heard the Top Gun II with the very latest drivers (that's the key) is your best solution, especially if you want dual guns. Historically ActLabs guns have been hard to get to work in pairs. The latest word on BYOAC is that dual Top Gun IIs with the latest drivers are the most reliable dual-gun system for MAME.

That said, for a single gun setup, I'm still happy with my ActLabs.

So if I want an authentic arcade style light gun for a VGA monitor I'm gonna have drop $200 bucks at Act-Labs for 2 guns ($40) and 2 VGA Boxes ($160) which I dunno...maybe it's just me but sounds like a lot for 2 controllers

Zinger, I don't think you need 2 VGA boxes for dual ActLabs. They have a box made to support 2 guns, where one of the two guns is physically different from the other, it's a dedicated Player 2 gun for this kind of setup.

My second choice is the Top Gun...which...since I'm making an arcade...throws the idea out the window considering that it uses led LED bars that you have to have set up in order to use it.

Many people are hiding these led bars behind their bezel glass and getting good results with that.

Dazz Mentor

Dazz

Posted
Posted
I know your right and the Top Gun II would be the best solution...I just can't get over the tacky led bars and how it'd make the arcade look. I'm sure it's not as bad as I make it out to be.
Hiding the bars behind smoked glass seems to be working out quite well with good results. Not to mention the LED bars don't actually give out light when in use, they work like the Wii sensor bar and is done via Infrared. The lights only appear in images because cameras pick up on them.

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Zinger19 Rookie

Zinger19

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Zinger, I don't think you need 2 VGA boxes for dual ActLabs. They have a box made to support 2 guns, where one of the two guns is physically different from the other, it's a dedicated Player 2 gun for this kind of setup.

For 2 player action, you will need to order 2 VGA boxes.
That's from the act-labs website. I think the first gun they had didn't require it. It was the silver one that looked like a space gun, but they got rid of that and I think now they require 2, but I could be wrong.

Do the leds work throught a painted bezel?

NES Arcade Build

StarKade: A Raspberry Pi Arcade

80's Toy Collection

EVEGames Newbie

EVEGames

Posted
Posted
That's from the act-labs website. I think the first gun they had didn't require it. It was the silver one that looked like a space gun, but they got rid of that and I think now they require 2, but I could be wrong.

Do the leds work throught a painted bezel?

You might be right, Zinger. I have the old space gun style myself. I'll double-check tonight, I thought their latest version, the ones that come with the red or blue arcade-style shell, did not each require their own box...

As for LEDs through a painted bezel, I've wondered about that myself, but I would guess no. Smoked glass or plexi would do the trick though.

And any difference between topgun and topgun II? The link is for the regular topgun I think.

BBB, you definately want the Topgun II and the most up-to-date drivers. Just a few months back they released a new driver that seems to have made all the difference, from what I've read, especially with the dual gun setup.

  • 3 months later...
vendur Newbie

vendur

Posted
Posted

There are a third option, real arcade light guns and an adapter card.

http://www.nanotechent.com/opti-gun.php

I have this card on its way, hopefully I'll be able to hook up my guns in a week or two.

I have bought real heavy metal arcade guns on ebay, hopefully these are compatible with the Opti-gun adapter.:-) If not, I wil lhave to spend another X hundred $ on some new guns.. expensive, but might be worth it I guess.

Maybe I can buy som hap light gun PCBs and modify the guns I have, it these aint compatible with the adapter..but I hope it wont come to that.

:-)

cyberk30 Rookie

cyberk30

Posted
Posted

Here is a guy playing Magnum on a cab with the topgun. I have seen pics were they just glued them onto the plexi glass. It looks really nice.

nailsn Newbie

nailsn

Posted
Posted

I am using the TopgunII on my Mame Cab and it works flawlessly, and placed behind smoked glass nobody sees the bars.

The PC Versions of House of the Dead 3 and Virtua Cop 2 are the games that people play on my machine, but I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the of the 0.9 Version of elsemis Sega Model 2 emulator, which will have dual mouse/lightgun support in HOTD1, VC and VC2.

Man, that'll be great!

  • 2 weeks later...
BadBoyBill Proficient

BadBoyBill

Posted
Posted
There are a third option, real arcade light guns and an adapter card.

http://www.nanotechent.com/opti-gun.php

I have this card on its way, hopefully I'll be able to hook up my guns in a week or two.

I have bought real heavy metal arcade guns on ebay, hopefully these are compatible with the Opti-gun adapter.:-) If not, I wil lhave to spend another X hundred $ on some new guns.. expensive, but might be worth it I guess.

Maybe I can buy som hap light gun PCBs and modify the guns I have, it these aint compatible with the adapter..but I hope it wont come to that.

:-)

Please let us know how this works man, I will consider this option, because I love gun games and I love arcade guns. Its worthed to me, to go this route if it works very good.

espontaneo Enthusiast

espontaneo

Posted
Posted

I have a pair of the act-labs arcade style guns, and they do work fine for two players and yes the later models require a vga box a piece, however you can get groovy acrade shells.

The problem is newer versions of mame keep changing the way the light guns work, but generally they work fine, until I update! The issue seems to be with games that actually had joysticks like operation wolf and terminator 2. Rolling back to mame 1.11 fixes all my issues.

Pc games like house of the dead II & III, virtua cop work fine with the troubleshooter software from act-labs.

The advantage the top guns have is that they will be very accurate, they don't "flash the screen" and they don't only report the position when you fire so you have continuous movement.

The Loafer Apprentice

The Loafer

Posted
Posted

I picked up 2 LCD Topgun's recently for $40 including shipping, just got around to test them yesterday.

Thus far, I'm not super impressed but I'll admit it's more than likely an issue with me then with the guns so I'll keep plugging away. The guns themselves feel good enough, I like the build for the $$$ they sell for. The weird thing is, on my cab, I can't get the calibration to work right. On my desktop pc, works just fine (though I have to stand a little further back then I expected. I wonder if it's not the heat inside my cab that's part of the problem? It's been said a localized heat source can cause problems with the IR. There really isn't much heat (the back of the cab vents the PC's heat very well). Don't know, will keep trying.

Anyway, I'll keep plugging away. There is a great tutorial on arcadecontrols.com.

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The Loafer Apprentice

The Loafer

Posted
Posted

Yippee, Yippee, Yippee. Got it working 100%, the gun is great! operation Wolf works FLAWLESSLY, a fun shooting game.

My problem was two-fold:

1 - I needed to step back just a bit more, basically I have to be 5 1/2 feet away from the cab. Earlier tests, I was about 4.5 feet away

2 - the LED bars have to be straighter (vertically) than I had then.

My monitor is angled a bit, I don't know, about 65-70 degrees from horizontal? This is a necessity as my 'cade is a mini-cab. Anyway, I had the LED sensor bars attached to the monitor so although the LED's had a good line of sight, I guess the angle was too great for the "Camera" in the lightgun to pick them up properly. So I attached the LED bars to the inside of the cab's wall perfectly straight, tried it and it was better, much better. Backed up a bit more and whoa! it was working realll good, calibration was spot on!

So thumbs up on these babies!

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