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Is it time to bring back the light gun?

Bankai said:
Who need a lightgun when you got (PS)VR :goog_hugging_face:

But for real, I sometimes use the MOVE controllers on PS3, for some great lightgun action with games like Time Crisis. I would love some more on current/nextgen!
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I'd rather see PS3 Killzone and Resistance in VR than Time Crisis
 
I mean, you'd need to get it calibrated for TVs individually to work properly, but I definitely think it would be really damn fun to have modern light gun games if they can figure out an idiot proof way to have the end user calibrate their gun for their screens
 
I think Rez is a good indication. Its my favourite VR game. Its a rail shooter, but translated perfect to VR.
 
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Absolutely yes!

I loved my dreamcast and light gun.

I have fonder memories of it than using my oculus rift and half life alyx which is stupid but I am who I am.
 
So many people trying to pass standard shooters as light gun games where they're closer to FPS than the former.

Now this is what a true arcade-style, VR light gun game should be. It came out on VR Arcades first, after all:
 
Wonko_C said:
So many people trying to pass standard shooters as light gun games where they're closer to FPS than the former.

Now this is what a true arcade-style, VR light gun game should be. It came out on VR Arcades first, after all:
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This is one of the things modern vr shooters get wrong. In the video look at the size of the enemies you're shooting. They are almost always the same distance away. Apart from the start where you can't actually see what you're shooting.

Compare that to House of the Dead and you can see how close Sega manages to get the enemies to you. It's way more dynamic. This is down to great level design and pacing. These modern console shooters are boring as hell. Yeah they last three times as long as an arcade game but they actually have less variety.
 
I have high hopes for the sinden light guns and ordered 2 for November. Wiimote and Move and highly unreliable when using gun attachments and lose calibration pretty easily.
 
Btw, Crisis VRigade 2 is out and looking much improved from the predecessor:



I'm lazy and wish there was a crouch button. Squatting and standing from cover is more painful immersion than I want from games...

also, should be an ideal game to look downsights, but by reveling in frantic arcade shooter gameplay, lasersight is really the best bet
 
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namekuseijin said:
I'm lazy and wish there was a crouch button. Squatting and standing from cover is more painful immersion than I want from games...
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No crouch button means I'm out, my knees cant take crouching constantly anymore. That is a sentence I did not want to write. :messenger_persevering: I'm getting old..

Shame because it looks great.
 
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Rudius said:
It didn't die, just evolved.

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I have and enjoy this game. But I don't think it's really a replacement for light gun games. The big problems are younger kids and multiplayer.

So the answer the OP, yes it's definitely time to bring them back. With the larger TV screens they would be a lot of fun.
 
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brian0057 said:
One of the select few genres that actually works well with VR.
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Yeah, I think concepts like light guns, motion controls, and 3D in general don't make sense on their own anymore, because they're just a part of something that doesn't 100% work on its own. VR is the whole package.

I could totally dig some classic light gun franchises coming back in VR though. Time Crisis, House of the Dead, or even Point Blank.
 
Nah, it's 2020 - guns are evil.
The light gun should be replaced by its contemporary counterpart : the Care-Bear-Belly-Love-Laser-Thing™, which only functions when players hold each-other's hands. Or dick.

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Also : no.
 
There was also the MARS Lightgun accessory released not too long ago by PDP.

mars_bundle_ps4_family_shot_1.png


Instead of having the controller looking for sensors oriented around the TV like a Wiimote solution would do, the MARS combined a lightgun (which is actually firing light this time) and a separate camera pointed at your TV. As I understand it, the lightgun fires a laser at the TV, and then the camera picks up the hit of that on the TV; the camera is synced to the game and has been oriented for the television (through fairly simple calibration), so according to the concept, your hits on the actual TV correspond to the game (it knows where you have aimed since the beam is always on, and it know when/where you've shot since it registers the trigger click at a place and time of that beam hit,) rather than other solutions that try to triangulate where your sensor is pointed in relation to the sensorbar corresponding to the television. There are also some other buttons for other actions, including a slide on the barrel and a button on the back, plus it has accelerometers for potentially more motion action if need be. And up to four different lightguns can be paired with the system and play simultaneously (with each beam registering as separate hits,) so multiplayer is possible. In theory, it's all great.

In practice, however, it sounds like there's still a little lag to the sensing, and there have been no new games released or announced for it since its launch in November. $99 for a starter kit with one of the three games, $29 for an add-on lightgun, and on PSN/XBL the games go for $20.

 
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Resenge said:
My kids have been playing it since they were 6 and 8, 10 and 12 now. They wear glasses and their eye sight has improved year on year. I see 0 problem with letting kids use VR except they are fucking annoying in multiplayer games.:messenger_winking:
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I gotta show this to my luddite friend who is afraid of using VR because he thinks it is going to make him blind/fry his brain in the long term.
 
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Look towards the home arcade scene lots of good things coming in the future for light gun games. Atgames legends ultimate has light gun support and they are always doing firmware updates to add new features and improvements.
Arcade1up will be releasing Big Buck Hunter home arcade cabinet later this year also, I'm sure it won't be long before somebody mods it to play Time Crisis or House of the Dead.
If they are releasing a light gun cabinet though then they will probably release more in 2021.
 
X GOD FIST X said:
Look towards the home arcade scene lots of good things coming in the future for light gun games. Atgames legends ultimate has light gun support and they are always doing firmware updates to add new features and improvements.
Arcade1up will be releasing Big Buck Hunter home arcade cabinet later this year also, I'm sure it won't be long before somebody mods it to play Time Crisis or House of the Dead.
If they are releasing a light gun cabinet though then they will probably release more in 2021.
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Eh, but the lightgun for the Atgames Legends Ultimate is just a Wiimote; same sensorbar, same basic camera-in-the-controller technology. I would imagine it'll have the same lag and the same need of an on-screen reticule as the Wiimote, since you're orienting all your motion to the sensorbar rather than getting signal from the TV itself. (It does have the advantage of knowing EXACTLY how big the TV is since it's a standard size, and it will probably work fine for the majority of arcade lightgun games since they're based on strafing the enemies with cabinet-mounted machinegun fire in say Revolution X rather than something like Point Blank where you're bullseyeing each shot.)



I wouldn't count on it to be the right gun technology for a Time Crisis. You can see somebody here with what looks like an arcade TC1 using a Wiimote hack, and he really needed the on-screen cursor (which is part of the emulator I guess? PSX and Arcade Time Crisis didn't have that big aimsight, as far as I recall?) to keep up with the play.

 
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CamHostage said:
Eh, but the lightgun for the Atgames Legends Ultimate is just a Wiimote; same sensorbar, same basic camera-in-the-controller technology. I would imagine it'll have the same lag and the same need of an on-screen reticule as the Wiimote, since you're orienting all your motion to the sensorbar rather than getting signal from the TV itself. (It does have the advantage of knowing EXACTLY how big the TV is since it's a standard size, and it will probably work fine for the majority of arcade lightgun games since they're based on strafing the enemies with cabinet-mounted machinegun fire in say Revolution X rather than something like Point Blank where you're bullseyeing each shot.)



I wouldn't count on it to be the right gun technology for a Time Crisis. You can see somebody here with what looks like an arcade TC1 using a Wiimote hack, and he really needed the on-screen cursor (which is part of the emulator I guess? PSX and Arcade Time Crisis didn't have that big aimsight, as far as I recall?) to keep up with the play.

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Ppl

ATGAMES has been piloting a third party support/app platform for developement. It's all called "X" Coinops X, USB drive X, etc. If they don't update the firmware then I'll bet the Sinden gun guys will create an app.
I also think I read somewhere that arcade1up was in talks with the Sinden gun creator.
It will be interesting to see what comes to fruition by the end of this year.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Sinden gun works well and will be compatible with both companies cabinets.
I personally want the arcade cabinet experience if I'm going to play House of the Dead. I can't see myself playing it in my living room on a 55 inch TV. I'd rather live the old glory days playing it with a buddy in front of an arcade cabinet. But that's just my opinion.
Here's hoping they make it happen.
 
If ATGAMES or Arcade1up is reading this... please make great light gun cabinets and most importantly....
BUILT IN BEER HOLDERS PLEASE.
 
Wonko_C said:
I gotta show this to my luddite friend who is afraid of using VR because he thinks it is going to make him blind/fry his brain in the long term.
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I'll go even further. My 12 year old adores VR, she would spend all day in VR if I allowed it. She has a lazy eye and ever since she hasn't been going to school due to lockdown she has played VR more than I would normally allow.

I have recently realised that I do not remember the last time I saw her lazy eye wandering probably months ago. I think a side effect of playing VR has been strengthening her eye.
 
Resenge said:
I'll go even further. My 12 year old adores VR, she would spend all day in VR if I allowed it. She has a lazy eye and ever since she hasn't been going to school due to lockdown she has played VR more than I would normally allow.

I have recently realised that I do not remember the last time I saw her lazy eye wandering probably months ago. I think a side effect of playing VR has been strengthening her eye.
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Makes sense, since in VR you are using your eyes like normally, moving them and focusing on different things at various distances. Also, if the game is difficult you are concentrating more on what you see.
 
I definitely want arcade style light gun games to return. I don't care if it's VR, but I'm looking for the arcade style experience. I don't need a full FPS style experience. Also, don't hold back on ridiculous concepts like Revolution X.
 
I think these style games sit close to flight and racing sims as the top "better played in VR." FPS games are up there too now.
 
PleaseDontBanMe said:
i read somewhere that sindel light guns leave a bar that takes up part of the screen, is that true?
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It's not a bar, it's a border around the game, thinner or thicker depending on setup/scenario, hence why it doesn't need extra infrared leds or whatever like Wii and similar lightgun solutions.

That's how the whole thing works and is more accurate than the above mentioned in the first place, you didn't hear it somewhere, it's on the thing's site and in every video of it in use :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
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PleaseDontBanMe said:
i read somewhere that sindel light guns leave a bar that takes up part of the screen, is that true?
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Yes, a white border around the screen. The gun barrel is basically a camera and it uses that white border to recognize the bounds of the screen and correctly align the cursor inside of it.
 
Shakka43 said:
Yes, a white border around the screen. The gun barrel is basically a camera and it uses that white border to recognize the bounds of the screen and correctly align the cursor inside of it.
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You can customise the color I believe. And the thickness. Depending on the particular setup like lighting, distance, screen size, etc., you may get away with thinner border with no issues. Mess around with it.

Maybe post your impressions here or make a new OT for it.
www.neogaf.com

New LCD Compatible Lightgun (Kickstarter)

It's only been a day, but the kickstarter has already received almost double its initial goal of £25k. It's Windows and Linux (experimental) only, for now at least. The price is £80 for the basic version, and £130 with recoil. Currently the only way to play Lightgun games is either to keep a...
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As a kid I had a shit load of fun with light gun games. Can't say I'd have any desire to play one today.
 
Alexios said:
You can customise the color I believe. And the thickness. Depending on the particular setup like lighting, distance, screen size, etc., you may get away with thinner border with no issues. Mess around with it.
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That's correct, I haven't try changing them though. I did try the thinner border and it was fine at first but then started glitching out, I will play with the lighting in my room to see if I can make some improvements.

So far I have tested Duck Hunt and CarnEvil on MAME, Time Crisis 3 and Resident Evil Dead Aim on PCSX2 and The House of The Dead 2&3 on Dolphin.
I'll most likely complete RE: Dead Aim before testing some more games.
 
Huh, I didn't think it'd do anything much for Wii stuff since they don't work like a true mouse but a relative pointer, is it somehow pinpoint accurate there or still has a vague dragging a cursor around feel? Cos if anything is off at all then maybe emulate the Dreamcast version of HOTD2 instead.

If it does somehow make them work properly then that's awesome, even more games it's useful for, I thought I'd have to see how to emulate the arcade versions of stuff like Ghost Squad instead which are probably more hassle than the average emu (but still better as I imagine that's 60fps).
 
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Alexios said:
Huh, I didn't think it'd do anything much for Wii stuff since they don't work like a true mouse but a relative pointer, is it somehow pinpoint accurate there or still has a vague dragging a cursor around feel? Cos if anything is off at all then maybe emulate the Dreamcast version of HOTD2 instead.

If it does somehow make them work properly then that's awesome, even more games it's useful for, I thought I'd have to see how to emulate the arcade versions of stuff like Ghost Squad instead which are probably more hassle than the average (but still better as I imagine that's 60fps).
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It is pretty accurate, I turned of the crosshair and it felt just like any other light gun game, one little problem I found with Dolphin is that I couldn't go full screen as the white border wouldn't show up over it.
 
Shakka43 said:
It is pretty accurate, I turned of the crosshair and it felt just like any other light gun game, one little problem I found with Dolphin is that I couldn't go full screen as the white border wouldn't show up over it.
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Cool. Maybe you can use Dolphin in RetroArch instead for those games, I believe people have made border overlays specifically for use with Sinden in RA (instead of need its native border to work in it) but since I don't have one I've not investigated that scenario much.
 
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For those turned off by Sinden light gun's border around the screen, there is this new player in the light gun market called Gun4IR which is more of a diy project and seems to be pretty accurate.
 
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