Lightguns for PC Games: Which Hardware / does it work

[Schnurri]

Hi there,

i just remembered the times when we were playing lightgun games on PlayStation years ago (Time Crisis, etc) and i was just wondering if there are still any Lightguns for PC around. Is anybody using a lightgun? How good does it work / is it possible to play the usual FPS games with a lightgun?
What about technical limitations, do lightguns run out-of-the box together with a common LCD-Screen? What about lightguns and projectors? How good is the gameplay experience, how good is the precision? And finally: Which lightgun do you recommended?

Thanks guys! :-)

[SimicEngineer]

Traditional light guns only work with direct-view CRT displays because they work by seeing the bright spot created by the electron beam as it scans the screen. Current guns need an external sensor or reference unit, similar to how the Wii Remote works. The only light gun I know of that is currently marketed for PC use is the EMS TopGun III, which I've never tried. Namco has made gun controllers for the Time Crisis games (and will presumably release a GunCon 4 with Time Crisis 5 sometime in the next year or so), but those are meant for consoles and so some independent developer would probably have to write a driver.

I haven't tried it, but I doubt most FPS games would work very well with a light gun, even if someone wrote the necessary drivers to make it a pointing device. In most FPS games, where you're aiming is a fixed point on the screen, and you move the camera to aim. So you could wave the gun around to aim, but it would have nothing to do with aiming at the screen.

[_I_]

the wii remotes use a camera to see the dots and use that to gage its position

nes/snes/dreamcast light guns could work on lcd monitors/tvs if they have 0 imput lag

but most monitors/tvs have enough input lag for them not to work properly
since converting the composite signal to a digital screen takes 16+ms
since the digital display change all pixels at once and cannot change them til the complete frame data is present

[MuscularMelvin]

If you're really dying for a light gun FPS game, you should pick up a second-hand Wii. They're cheaper than the EMS TopGun III, now. I remember renting World at War in 2009, and it actually wasn't horrible. The Wiimote was even more precise than an analog stick in some spots. The Metroid Prime Trilogy alone is worth getting the system, if only because it'll never be on PC legally.

If you're just talking about the PC, though...ebay has Virtua Cop for 40 bux, I guess.

EDIT: To rectify what the above poster said, LCD screens will not work with Zapper-style light guns at all. It's been well documented, and I've even tested it at some point in the last decade. It has nothing to do with input lag, it has to do with the sensors in the light gun not picking up the on-screen light targets on an LCD.

[videogames]

You can get a pretty decent Wii experience using Dolphin + Wiimote and sensor bar, looks a hell of a lot better than actually using the Wii.

[MuscularMelvin]

^^^
Can the Dolphin be used with candlesticks? I don't think so.

[Schnurri]

Hi Guys, thanks for all the advice! I already knew that the original lightguns were very restrited in their functionality (though it's quite amazing how they worked, read some stuff in wikipedia, like SimicEngineer wrote, they required to track the beam). However, newer models aren't restricted to CRTs, 60Hz (in Europe?) constant refresh, horizontal placing any more. I only wondered if the most recent guns simply "see" the bright rectangle, my largest concern is that the devices might not work with non-constant refresh rates (I'm also planning to get a g-sync or freesync monitor at some time)

Although I'm acutally looking for a gun, I'm also pretty excited about the idea from videogames, if i remember right, the wiimote was pretty accurate.

I also found this one:

http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.html

very interesting, looks like the original G-Con (Guncon) controller from Namco. Very nostalgic! :-)

[Trail_Duster]

Originally posted by Schnurri:

Hi Guys, thanks for all the advice! I already knew that the original lightguns were very restrited in their functionality (though it's quite amazing how they worked, read some stuff in wikipedia, like SimicEngineer wrote, they required to track the beam). However, newer models aren't restricted to CRTs, 60Hz (in Europe?) constant refresh, horizontal placing any more. I only wondered if the most recent guns simply "see" the bright rectangle, my largest concern is that the devices might not work with non-constant refresh rates (I'm also planning to get a g-sync or freesync monitor at some time)

Although I'm acutally looking for a gun, I'm also pretty excited about the idea from videogames, if i remember right, the wiimote was pretty accurate.

I also found this one:

http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.html

very interesting, looks like the original G-Con (Guncon) controller from Namco. Very nostalgic! :-)

Hey Hey,
I just picked up 2 of these and they were delivered today so here I am looking for a game to play here on Steam while I finish rebuilding my mame cabinet with a PC and control panel upgrade.
I have them both working on Windows 10 preview and they work great but you have to be back from the monitor at least 3 feet. They have 12 foot usb cables and the distance is no problem. They are accurate after you use the Ultimark software to configure them. Windows sees it as a mouse so it auto installed the correct drivers. You can have up to 4 guns and one sensor.
Anyways anyone know of games on steam to try these out tonight? I really don't want to put Mame on this PC.

[SlamSanWhich]

Tomshedhd

[Freddy]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.