News
ACT LABS’ Brandon Crick
talks about the new Light Gun for the PC
By Michael Lafferty
Fans of shooter games have all experienced the same frustrations. The game situation is nothing less than intense, enemies are coming at you from every direction, and you are threatening to blow out a wrist jerking the mouse-driven controller in a variety of directions for targeting.
There have been a few guns on the market,
but nothing like what ACT LABS has just released. The PC Light Gun has
taken the plug and play idea to new levels. With solid game support (more
on that in a moment), this gun boasts extreme pixel accuracy, and can support
screen resolution of up to 1600x1200.
No expansion card is required, 3D cards are supported, and operating systems supported include Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP. The gun also includes a calibration function to set it up for different screen resolutions and refresh rates.
System specs include a Pentium 166 or higher, a USB port and five megabytes of hard-drive space.
Some of the games supported include the House of the Dead series, Area 51, Die Hard Trilogy 2, Blood Bath, Ed Hunter and Who Shot Johnny Rock? The gun also has M.A.M.E. (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) support and comes bundled with links to many Shockwave/Flash/Java online games like Amok!, Online VR Paintball, Don’t Kill Kenny, Duck Shoot, Ghost Hunter, Shooting Gallery, Redneck Rampage, Skeet Shooting and Turkey Shoot.
Brandon Crick, vice president of Development for ACT LABS, talked with GameZone about the new Light Gun system.
Question: Please explain the essence of how the PC Light Gun works? What technological barriers does this peripheral break, if any? What are minimum system requirements for users to be able to incorporate this technology into their systems?
Brandon: "A PC Light Gun works almost identical to how any arcade or console light gun functions. What throws a bit of a wrench into the gears is the variety of video cards and monitor models on the market. The key for us was to create the new USB Gun so that it operates in all screen resolutions and can handle the wide spectrum of monitor refresh rates.
"The technological barriers the new USB Gun breaks includes a movement from the legacy gameport interface to the faster and more user friendly USB interface. Our older gameport based gun systems required a software driver to be installed where as the new USB version does not require any special driver. It simply uses the existing USB HID drivers from the Windows 98SE through to Windows XP operating system environments.
"The new USB gun functions similar to the older gameport models but the accuracy is better and since the device requires no special software drivers, the game support for gun control is already present for any shooting game that can accept mouse control.
"The minimum system requirements for any user to incorporate the gun technology into their systems really comes down to simply having a computer that can recognize USB devices, a CRT based monitor (not LCD or plasma), and of course a reasonably fast CPU to process the shooting game software. A fast computer is not required but sure helps since the games today (including online Flash and Shockwave games) require a bit of horsepower to run effectively. Thus is the case I think with any of the games released these days in that a Pentium 166 system for example won't really cut the mustard."
Q: How does this gun differ from other gun systems, not only by other companies but ACT LABS products as well? What kind of handgrip does this employ? What about the weight of the gun — has it got enough weight so players don't overaim? Your press release mention the tight pixel targeting — how is it different from other guns in that regard?
Brandon: "There are two other PC Gun products still in circulation that we are aware of and have tested. Unfortunately these products may instead give PC guns more of a bad name than an enjoyable user experience. These other guns have no calibration process to ensure shot accuracy and instead force the user to play in 640x480-screen resolution only. I don't believe these products are available outside of Asia but I can honestly recommend customers stay clear of them. They require you to move the mouse to properly line up your gun shots and require constantly manual adjustments which during gameplay is the last thing you want to do.
"The price of our new USB Gun system is almost identical to the cost of these other models and I feel we have instead developed the product the right way by including a simple and effective calibration process plus ensured across the board compatibility with the variety of video card models and monitors on the market.
"The handgrip of the gun is standard plastic but with two rubber insets which make the unit feel very comfortable in your hand. The gun itself weighs approximately half a pound and we have not experienced any form of overaim issue.
"With regards to the right pixel targeting, the difference between the new USB Gun shot accuracy and the original gameport based guns is that there are no complex shot location calculations handled by a software driver. Instead the shot information is handled in an 'absolute position' manner which is great not only for end users but also for software companies as they can read the exact x,y coordinates in raw data format from our device. This simplifies the process of adding light gun support to their game if they need to. I'll give you an example, many of the arcade shooting and FPS games on the market use a software programming call such as ‘GetCursorPos()’ to handle the mouse control information.
"Developers can also use this simple call to read shot information from our gun. I'll explain a little more about this procedure later on in this interview."
Q: There has been a proliferation of late with some solid shooter titles — among them C&C's Renegade, and the upcoming Duke Nukem title. Will this gun work with those games?
Brandon: "While our focus for the USB gun product is on the typical arcade shooters (ie. House of the Dead 2, classics like Duck Hunt, and other "rail shooters") the gun does have interesting potential with FPS games. The key is that almost all the FPS games fix the shot location to the exact center of the screen to complement the best control combination of the keyboard/mouse.
"Now what is interesting is that the gun could function really well if two things were modified by the game developer. One being to hide the onscreen crosshair (similar to how you don't see a crosshair over your target in real life, unless of course you had a laser sight). The other modification is to accept the gun shot data as 'absolute' rather than 'relative.' What I mean by that is for the game to read the gun shot values exactly as they are reported. For example, if the user shoots the top left of their screen, the game could then read the shot location as X coordinate 50, y coordinate 50. The screen would not pan to that location but instead a round would be fired off in that exact screen location.
"So here would be one scenario, you have three enemies on the screen, you could fire at one after another to snag 3 frags but your main screen view would not change direction. These modifications, while not complex, do require the software company to make the changes and have, for example, a checkbox in the control options screen for 'PC Light Gun' or something similar.
"So it is entirely possible and something that would be interesting to apply and evaluate the enjoyment value. I personally would like to see the gun function with one of the tactical FPS titles such as Counterstrike or Global Operations."
Q: While on the subject of support, why was it important that this gun is compatible with older arcade-style games? Can you detail some of the other support it receives? Considering the price of the gun — which is quite inexpensive — why was it important that it have such broad support?
Brandon: "Being backward compatible with all the PC shooting titles was really important for us. Since there have been historically so few PC guns on the market it was important for us to tap into the list of arcade shooting titles released in the past. Basically any game that used a mouse to control an onscreen crosshair was a 'target' for us. Plus having M.A.M.E. (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) support was important so gamers can relive the true arcade shooting classics the way they were meant to be played, that being with a true light gun and not the mouse. We set the price at the present low point to try and expand the market by letting customers enjoy these games (100+ to date) at an affordable price.
"The USB Gun needs to deliver on exactly what it promises, which is to be an accurate light gun for arcade style shooters. Setting the price at roughly the level of what a gamepad costs was a priority for us to develop the market for the PC light gun products in general for mainstream consumption."
Q: When designing a peripheral like this, what is the biggest and most immediate concern?
Brandon: "I would say the major concern was to first establish the wealth of games the gamer could play with the USB Gun and second to make the controller affordable and available at a price which wouldn't break the bank, so to speak.
"We weren't so much focused on competitor products as we presently hold a computer light gun patent which has worldwide coverage except for Japan. The key for us was to make the gun function accurately and for the setup and operation to be simple. Thankfully the USB port allowed us to do both since you can truly just plug the USB gun in to your computer and begin playing immediately."
Q: With the increase of USB peripherals, would you say that a USB Hub is essential for serious gamers?
Brandon: "I would say a USB hub is a requirement now for not just serious gamers but also casual ones. So many devices have moved to the USB format now and unless your computer motherboard has additional USB ports (over 2), I believe a USB hub is essential. Think of all the peripheral combinations: USB webcam, USB gamepad, USB scanner, USB mouse, USB keyboard, USB light gun, etc. Heck, even USB external hard drives now.
"From a hardware developer's point a view, the USB technology is a real bonus since it offers reasonable data transfer speeds and most often a simple device setup procedure."
Q: The gun can be used up to six feet from a display monitor — at least that is the length of the cable, and it would seem that is geared for ease of use and comfort. What other "comfort" features does this gun have?
Brandon: "Users can also extend the cable length through the addition of a USB extension cable. The gun itself is very comfortable to hold and offers a special 'reload' function whereby if the user shoots off the screen, a reload command is sent a la what is enjoyed in the arcades. The gun trigger has a noticeable 'click' feel to it identical to that of a mouse button press so the audible noise of each shot is not overwhelming but still provides the user with tactical feedback so they can sense a shot has been fired. A convenient feature on the gun is our calibration switch which allows the user to increase the shot accuracy by allowing them to effectively setup their gun real-time in the game they are playing."
Q: Obviously, somewhere in the development of systems like this you take a look at the demographics of potential users? Whom will this gun appeal to?
Brandon: "I would say this gun should appeal to die-hard arcade shooter fans, the retro-arcade emulator user community, and maybe even the tactical FPS sim gamers in the near future. As I mentioned above, the gun is priced a level where it can be an affordable addition to any gamer's controller library. In that respect the product is unique as we are marketing it to not just the casual gamer but also to the hardcore vintage arcade shooter fans."
Q: What would you consider to be the greatest advantage of having a gun controller?
Brandon: "I would say the realism. When you play the classics like the House of the Dead series, moving your mouse all over the screen just doesn't give you that sense of immersion. Oftentimes it's cumbersome getting from one side of the screen to the other when you’re flooded with zombies coming at you. Having the gun in your hand and being able to shoot anytime, anywhere with rapid succession overcomes that obstacle and lets you really enjoy the game the way it was meant to be played. I guess you could kind of relate it to playing a racing game with the keyboard since you won't really feel like you’re truly driving a car. I think everyone when they were younger used to fantasy play cops and robbers or the like, so shooting a gun is a natural action which most gamers can pickup easily."
Thanks Brandon.
Brandon: "Thanks very much for allowing
us to share more information about our new USB Light Gun. Traditionally
we have specialized in controllers outside the 'norm' such as our USB racing
stick shifter and clutch performance pedal system. Offering this new light
gun model in a USB format we hope will break the barriers concerning shooting
game control plus encourage developers to bring more of the classic console
and arcade titles over to the PC platform."
Check out the USB Gun in action with House of the Dead 2: AVI Large Version 320x240 - 12MB
AVI Medium Version 240x160 - 8MB
http://www.act-labs.com/files/hotd_usbgun_med.zip
AVI Small Version / 160x120 - 4MB
http://www.act-labs.com/files/hotd_usbgun_small.zip
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