(Off topic) Actlabs light guns

[Dupre]

Hey everyone, it's been a while but I have a question for everyone.

I recently just bought 2 Actlabs lightguns for my mame machine. Im having the darnest time getting them to calibrate correctly. I know you need that special version of Mame to make both them work, and I cant even figure out how to work it, so Im just using one at the moment.

Does anyone else own actlabs light guns? And if so did you have any problems calibrating them?

Also what are some "must have" first person shooters out there that people know are 100% compatable with these guns.

[Dupre]

I hate to bump a post, but I guess no one has act labs light guns? Does anyone have any light gun that works well with Mame?

If I cant get these things to work Im going to RTS them and try a better quality gun if I have to.

[HooPZ]

I'd suggest posting at BYOAC (www.arcadecontrols.com). You'll probably be able to find the answer be searching there or starting a new thread. This is a frequent question there so some experts can help you out. Good luck.

[bkenobi]

I don't think you need a special version of MAME anymore. I had 2 GunCon2 guns working for a while (until one broke and stopped the other from working). I know that around version 0.117 or so things changed a bit. My suggestion would be to set up MAME v0.99 or so just for the gun games. I had things working great back then, so I'm sure it can be done. I would be surprised if you couldn't do dual light guns on 0.126, but I have no experience with it ATM (need to go buy a new set of guns).

There is a version of MAME that ActLabs recommends and even some drivers. I'm not sure if you need to use that stuff or not. There's another gun that everyone seems to like called the LCD Top Gun. It seems to work nicely for any monitor type (LCD, 60Hz CRT, 100Hz CRT, rear projection LCD/CRT, plasma, projector on wall). That one can use the same drivers as the GunCon2's. You may want to check out WinGun or GunCon2PC. I personally prefer GunCon2PC v0.96b as I recall.

[Dupre]

  bkenobi said:

I don't think you need a special version of MAME anymore. I had 2 GunCon2 guns working for a while (until one broke and stopped the other from working). I know that around version 0.117 or so things changed a bit. My suggestion would be to set up MAME v0.99 or so just for the gun games. I had things working great back then, so I'm sure it can be done. I would be surprised if you couldn't do dual light guns on 0.126, but I have no experience with it ATM (need to go buy a new set of guns).

There is a version of MAME that ActLabs recommends and even some drivers. I'm not sure if you need to use that stuff or not. There's another gun that everyone seems to like called the LCD Top Gun. It seems to work nicely for any monitor type (LCD, 60Hz CRT, 100Hz CRT, rear projection LCD/CRT, plasma, projector on wall). That one can use the same drivers as the GunCon2's. You may want to check out WinGun or GunCon2PC. I personally prefer GunCon2PC v0.96b as I recall.

Wow that Guncon looks ALOT like the gun made by Lik Sang. Unfortunitly they had these bars for the sensors and a really cheap wire, and it snapped. To make matters worse I guess Sony sued the heck out of Lik Sang and they went out of business. I am definitly going to have to look into the guncon2pc more. If it is the same gun just a different name, Ill buy the sensors from them. Thanks for the info!

[bkenobi]

The driver is intended to convert a PS2 GunCon2 compatible gun connected to a computer via USB into mouse movements. The Top Gun will work with it since it also works the same basic way. I don't know how the ActLabs guns work, but I would imagine they are pretty much the same. The real difference between GunCon2 guns and the Top Gun is that the PS2 guns detect an image on the TV by scan line timing and the trigger pull. The Top Gun uses the trigger pull and sends the computer some reference to where the LED bars appear to be. Anyway, that's about all I know well enough to feel comfortable explaining.

[chriss]

I was just looking into the LCD TopGun. It is really cheap at play-asia.com. for 30$ i'm considering to buy it!

Does anyone know if you need the sensor bars on a crt monitor?

[bkenobi]

The TopGun requires a sensor bar period. It doesn't matter what type of monitor you use.

[chriss]

thanks for the reply obi wan

[bkenobi]

I checked out play-asia and noticed that they have 2 TopGun's listed now. Anyone know the difference between the LCD TopGun and the EMS TopGun II? I assume the II is the new version, but that doesn't mean it's better in a way anyone cares about!

[bkenobi]

Just to follow up on my question about the difference between the two guns. I emailed EMS and asked for a comparison this afternoon. I just got a reply (~6 hours later!).

  Quote

Dear Ben,

Thank you for your email.

Here are the difference between EMS TopGun (#0508) and EMS TopGun II (#0718):

i) EMS TopGun II supports Vista (32bit) while EMS TopGun does not.

ii) LED stands of EMS TopGun II and EMS TopGun are different, and not compatible with each other.

iii) hardware calibration procedures of EMS TopGun II is different from that of EMS TopGun.

Thanks.

Regards,

Henry

EMS Production Ltd.

www.hkems.com

Tel : (852) 2748 7098

Fax : (852) 2387 9849

So, if you already have a TopGun, keep it and be happy. If you are looking to buy, get the TopGun II. If you have one gun and need a second one, buy the same thing you currently are using.

[Dupre]

  bkenobi said:

Just to follow up on my question about the difference between the two guns. I emailed EMS and asked for a comparison this afternoon. I just got a reply (~6 hours later!).

So, if you already have a TopGun, keep it and be happy. If you are looking to buy, get the TopGun II. If you have one gun and need a second one, buy the same thing you currently are using.

Great information. Thank you for the post. If I cant get these two guns to work, I guess Ill put them on Ebay. There almost $100 a piece new, and I have two so I should be able to get $100 for both (or more). Then I can look into the TopGun II with the money I make from selling my Act Labs.

[gerble1000]

i have 2 topgun lightguns mounted to my 21" crt

i have had nothing but problems with them

they just keep messing up

windows recognises it some times

ive tried every driver out there,

and now the recoil wont work ,

i found them a pain in the ass,

but maybe its my comp

let me know if u have better luck,

p,s

i have had them both working perfectly for about a week

but it seemed every time i turned the comp off by the mains it messed up

[Dupre]

  gerble1000 said:

i have 2 topgun lightguns mounted to my 21" crt

i have had nothing but problems with them

they just keep messing up

windows recognises it some times

ive tried every driver out there,

and now the recoil wont work ,

i found them a pain in the ass,

but maybe its my comp

let me know if u have better luck,

p,s

i have had them both working perfectly for about a week

but it seemed every time i turned the comp off by the mains it messed up

hmm that is not something I want to hear. Thanks, I will have to make sure to do a lot of research before I shell out money on a piece of junk product.

[gerble1000]

  Dupre said:

hmm that is not something I want to hear. Thanks, I will have to make sure to do a lot of research before I shell out money on a piece of junk product.

but i have heard a lot of good remarks about topgun from a lot of forums,

i probably just got unlucky

[Stub]

New drives came out a month and a half ago and solved all my issues. All but I wish the sensor had a wider arc. i still have to stand back a min of 4.5 feet.