AussieAtari Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I am looking to buy a light gun to use with MAME, can anyone recommend a USB gun that works with XP and a CRT monitor as well as a CRT TV (PAL 50Hz)? This will be used with my desktop until I finish my cabinet and then I would like to use it in that, hence the need to support a monitor and a TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 The Act Labs USB PC lightgun is one of the best options. It comes with a USB interface and you connect it into your PC's VGA port and then connect the monitor into the interface box. Its a generic HID device so it requires no drivers if using with Win 9x/XP and Linux, I haven't tested on a Mac OS X system. It will look like a mouse to the system, so any MAME games that use lightgun should be setup for mouse usage, also button 1 should be setup for mouse button 1 (not 0), and test out. Do the calibration of the gun 2-3 times and the accuracy gets quite good from a distance. The other VERY cool feature of the Act Labs lightguns is your can daisy chain them together for up to 4 units so multiplayer lightgun gameplay which is GREAT for games like House of the Dead where you and a second player can play head to head on screen. The USB PC lightgun will NOT work with LCD displays. Curt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Wow those act labs guns look sweet but I don't see myself paying $80+ for one http://www.act-labs.com/scripts/proddetails.asp?Pid=92 Nice, but not that nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieAtari Posted August 6, 2006 Author Share Posted August 6, 2006 Thanks for the recommendation Curt, I've been looking at one of those guns for a while, they are actually cheaper to buy in Oz than have shipped direct from Act Labs so I have just now placed my order locally. Can't wait for that "Real arcade" House of the Dead experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 I use the ACT labs guns in my MAME cab, they do work rather nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 The other VERY cool feature of the Act Labs lightguns is your can daisy chain them together for up to 4 units so multiplayer lightgun gameplay which is GREAT for games like House of the Dead where you and a second player can play head to head on screen. The USB PC lightgun will NOT work with LCD displays. Damn wish I woulda know this before I ordered the cab. I\'m sure my son would get a kick outta playing two player light gun games with me. I\'ll have to put it on my \"todo\" list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 The USB PC lightgun will NOT work with LCD displays. Screw that. Lik-San's TopGun works on all manner of sets, including LCD and CRT displays. It's explicitly MAME compatible, so you should be able to use it for what you want. I've never used it personally, but I have heard good things about it. Apparently, it works using the same scheme that modern arcade games use for gun handling. (You don't really think they still use tubes, do you? ) Some reviews: Lik-Sang publishes a review (It's their own product, but at least it gives a good rundown.) Slashdot discussion on Lik-Sang Article What our UK friends think IGN's Thoughts MAME Technical Support Page You might be better off with Curt's suggestion, but if you're ever looking into using an LCD, Plasma, or (Oooo!) Wall Projection, then you'll want to look into the TopGun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Screw that. Lik-San's TopGun works on all manner of sets, including LCD and CRT displays. It's explicitly MAME compatible, so you should be able to use it for what you want. I've heard it's pretty neat, but using one on a cabinet with an enclosed monitor (i.e. normal arcade cab) would likely be a problem due to the LED tracking bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 I've heard it's pretty neat, but using one on a cabinet with an enclosed monitor (i.e. normal arcade cab) would likely be a problem due to the LED tracking bars. Depends on how you work things. Presumably, you'd install a holster in the cabinet, then remove the weapon for use. The LED bars could be mounted on the outside of the cabinet so that the gun can see them when you're standing a few feet back. It might take a bit of tinkering to get them close enough in without blocking the screen, but I don't see any reason why it can't be done. The key issues are: 1. Make sure you can stand back from the machine while firing. (Always important in most good lightgun games, anyways.) 2. Make sure that there's a clear line of sight between the gun and the sensors. Since you're shooting AT the screen, this shouldn't be a big deal. Again, I haven't tried it myself, but from the descriptions and reviews I've seen, it should work. If anyone has any experience with the weapon, please share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Depends on how you work things. Presumably, you'd install a holster in the cabinet, then remove the weapon for use. The LED bars could be mounted on the outside of the cabinet so that the gun can see them when you're standing a few feet back. If you have a huge monitor cabinet, or one with a separate pedestal display, outside mounting would probably work fine. For most smaller JAMMA type cabinets (17"-24") that would likely look horrible and/or be impractical for viewing/shooting distance. I'd still like to try one on my plasma and see how it works though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 (edited) If you have a huge monitor cabinet, or one with a separate pedestal display, outside mounting would probably work fine. For most smaller JAMMA type cabinets (17"-24") that would likely look horrible and/or be impractical for viewing/shooting distance. I dunno. It seems workable to me. Or is this a larger cabinet than it appears? He actually appears to have the sensors mounted on the inside of the screen. I was thinking about a cabinet where artwork surrounded the non-viewable area, which would require that the LCD bars be mounted externally. I would think that either method would work. EDIT: More Links! MAME Cabinet makers' discussion on the gun This guy has it hooked up to a Killer Instinct Machine Edited August 23, 2006 by jbanes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 This guy has it hooked up to a Killer Instinct Machine That guy is standing insanely far away from a cabinet with a monitor size like that. Who knows if it's required or not though, and I'm certainly not about to read through the 42 pages of that thread to find out. I do know that using the ACT guns, when say playing Lethal Enforcer, I stand at the same distance as the arcade game, i.e. short. At $40USD + Shipping from HK for the Lik-Sang gun, they're not much cheaper than the ACT guns, though if you're not using a CRT based cabinet you don't have much choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamer4456 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 (edited) I am looking to buy a light gun to use with MAME, can anyone recommend a product USB gun that works with XP and a CRT monitor as well as a CRT TV (PAL 50Hz)? This will be used with my desktop until I finish my cabinet and then I would like to use it in that, hence the need to support a monitor and a TV. I just found a new company Arcade Guns making USB Light Guns for MAME. They look awsome! I ordered two of them: Red and Blue. They also have some white ones that look sweet. I'll keep you upaded with a review after I get them in the mail. The site is: www.arcadeguns.com They say you can use them close to the screen! They work with any monitor or TV! This is exactally what I wanted! It looks like these are new products in 2011! Edited February 1, 2011 by gamer4456 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I just found a new company Arcade Guns making USB Light Guns for MAME. They look awsome! I ordered two of them: Red and Blue. They also have some white ones that look sweet. I'll keep you upaded with a review after I get them in the mail. The site is: www.arcadeguns.com They say you can use them close to the screen! They work with any monitor or TV! This is exactally what I wanted! Thanks for that link! I've been dreaming of an LCD compatible light gun for years. Because this has an IR sensor bar, it works with any TV. It's pricey at $99 for one gun, but it could be worth it. Looking forward to your review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HatefulGravey Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 So these arcadeguns.com deals will work with any screen right? Looks like they are set up that way but my computer at work flags this as a "weapons" site and wont let me view it, and my phone is kind of a pain on some websites so the information I could get was limited. That is alot of money, unless they work really well, then it is just right and I'll order them in a heart beat. I'm all about being able to play Police Trainer in my living room! ALL ABOUT IT I SAY! I would just about buy that machine if I could find it. One question about these guns in general. The goal for me is to take my current MAME cab out, make a stand for my control panel, and play MAME on my TV for a while untill I get a better place to put the machine again. If this works properly I might not go back to the MAME machine idea for some time, and I'll be using a 16:9 tv in the mean time, and maybe there after for ease of use. When the game is set up for 4:3 and playing on a 16:9 TV you get those black bars on the side of the screen, does this make using these light guns harders or what? Also, someone mentioned MAME things they are a mouse, does that mean that cross hairs stay on the screen the entire time? I don't like that much at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicGMR Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I just found a new company Arcade Guns making USB Light Guns for MAME. They look awsome! I ordered two of them: Red and Blue. They also have some white ones that look sweet. I'll keep you upaded with a review after I get them in the mail. The site is: www.arcadeguns.com They say you can use them close to the screen! They work with any monitor or TV! This is exactally what I wanted! It looks like these are new products in 2011! FINALLY an LCD solution that just might work as described. Please keep us informed of how it works for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamer4456 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) So these arcadeguns.com deals will work with any screen right? Looks like they are set up that way but my computer at work flags this as a "weapons" site and wont let me view it, and my phone is kind of a pain on some websites so the information I could get was limited. That is alot of money, unless they work really well, then it is just right and I'll order them in a heart beat. I'm all about being able to play Police Trainer in my living room! ALL ABOUT IT I SAY! I would just about buy that machine if I could find it. One question about these guns in general. The goal for me is to take my current MAME cab out, make a stand for my control panel, and play MAME on my TV for a while untill I get a better place to put the machine again. If this works properly I might not go back to the MAME machine idea for some time, and I'll be using a 16:9 tv in the mean time, and maybe there after for ease of use. When the game is set up for 4:3 and playing on a 16:9 TV you get those black bars on the side of the screen, does this make using these light guns harders or what? Also, someone mentioned MAME things they are a mouse, does that mean that cross hairs stay on the screen the entire time? I don't like that much at all. I got them all setup on my LCD TV and they play great! I set MAME to be 16:9 and calibrated the light guns on the windows desktop screen like the instructions said. They are very easy to calibrate and they seem to be very accurate! I played Police Trainer all last night and it was a blast beating all the way through. The response time is very good and necessary for games like Police Trainer on harder levels! And yes, these light guns show up as a mouse, just like the other PC light guns out there. You have choices in MAME; you can set them up as a Mouse or Light Gun. I set them up as a mouse because I wanted the Cross Hairs in the games. If you set these up as a Mouse in MAME the Cross Hairs will move where you point the guns. You can also turn them off on individual games if you want too. I turned it off on T2 because they have there own Cross Hairs in the games so I didn't want MAME to put a Cross Hair on top of a Cross Hair. I have to say these light guns are very good! It takes some time initially to set up MAME but once you do it's awsome! My sugestion is to setup general settings for all games so that you don't have to config each individually! I started setting up each game and found that it took longer. Overall I'm very happy with these light guns! Edited February 5, 2011 by gamer4456 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HatefulGravey Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I got them all setup on my LCD TV and they play great! I set MAME to be 16:9 and calibrated the light guns on the windows desktop screen like the instructions said. They are very easy to calibrate and they seem to be very accurate! I played Police Trainer all last night and it was a blast beating all the way through. The response time is very good and necessary for games like Police Trainer on harder levels! And yes, these light guns show up as a mouse, just like the other PC light guns out there. You have choices in MAME; you can set them up as a Mouse or Light Gun. I set them up as a mouse because I wanted the Cross Hairs in the games. If you set these up as a Mouse in MAME the Cross Hairs will move where you point the guns. You can also turn them off on individual games if you want too. I turned it off on T2 because they have there own Cross Hairs in the games so I didn't want MAME to put a Cross Hair on top of a Cross Hair. I have to say these light guns are very good! It takes some time initially to set up MAME but once you do it's awsome! My sugestion is to setup general settings for all games so that you don't have to config each individually! I started setting up each game and found that it took longer. Overall I'm very happy with these light guns! Freaking sweet. Hopefully in the next few weeks business will pick up and I'll recover from my recent spending spree of sorts (coulnd't help but spend a few hundred on a few sales on this site and a few things on eBay you see). I look forward to adding these to my machine as soon as humanly possible. I'm honestly going to have to distract myself to stop me from buying them now. I have the means, I just know that I should save them instead of spending them you see. Making myself wait is always the hardest part of my gaming addiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaWarrior Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Can the Zapper work on MAME with the Retroport Adapter?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicGMR Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Got a new item on my wish list for the next few months! Thanks for the review gamer4456! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicGMR Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 (edited) I just ordered the White Arcade Gun from www.arcadeguns.com! It was $10 less than the red or blue guns. I'm not one to care what color the controller in my hands is so a $10 savings on something I want to buy works for me. I can't wait to get this and start playing MAME gun games again... ooh and maybe Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley too! Hell I'm going to have to try this on Super Scope games as well... wonder if/how well it will work with all emulators? Find out soon enough! Edited February 13, 2011 by ClassicGMR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaWarrior Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Can the Zapper work on MAME with the Retroport Adapter?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 The people in that arcadeguns.com ad sure seem awfully happy to be shootin' things. lol These lightguns are kinda pricey, but a paltry sum considering all the gaming one is doing for free ala MAME Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicGMR Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 So I got my arcadeguns.com MAME gun and hooked it up. I did the calibration - nice and easy - then went into MAME. I set up Crossbow to use the gun and played through a game. The first game went well then when I started a second game of Crossbow the crosshairs started jumping around. I exited the game and the gun caused the MAME game list to scroll to the top. It basically simulated a "locked the mouse scroll up" function (best way I can describe it). I unplugged it and plugged it back in. It detected and acted normally again. I loaded MAME and started Police Trainer. Configured that. It was great for the first 2 games then started to do the same thing. I exited to the MAME menu and same issue with the game list. The gun seems to work fine for a few games then stops being viable after a while. I'm running a 2.66GHz processor with 1GB RAM on Windows XP. I'm using MAME 0.137 with the "hi-score" and "no-nag screen" modifications. Yes I also downloaded and tried an official MAMEUI build as well. Same results. I get the same issue inside and outside of the GameEx front-end. I'm not sold on this gun yet. Hey gamer4456 - any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HatefulGravey Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I have some of these coming in the mail now. We can work this problem out if you haven't already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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