Ultimarc AimTrak Light Guns??

[HotMommasCowboy]

I’m having an issue getting my AimTrak LG to work consistently. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can get it to work in Area 51, but when I try VS Duck Hunt or Hogan’s Alley, they don’t see the trigger (they do see the two front side buttons…sometimes) nor will they allow me to set the gun up. It’s like they don’t see the gun at all. 
Also, I keep seeing (throughout the web) people that have a controller config file that allows the guns to stay recognized by Mame when I shut the system down. I can’t seem to find that file to download. I realize I’d have to change some things up in it to match my guns. Is this something that’s downloadable, or is it something that gets created by mane somehow? Thanks. 

[twobucks]

There is a good video for setting up Aimtrak's in mame with stable ID's. I used this video when i setup my guns a while back.

 

[HotMommasCowboy]

twobucks, thanks. I actually did watch that video. The older I get, the faster technology is blowing by me and I don’t have the time or patience to try and keep up anymore. Im having a hard time understanding where that file is or how to get it. Is it something that’s created by windows, or something I have to type up myself? If I type, then I know not having the proper spacing can cause issues. How do I get that file? I know I’d need to make changes specific to my setup, which that I can do. Im just confused and can’t figure out where or how to get that file. If I’m missing something in that video about the production of that file, let me know and I’ll watch it over again and again to try and understand. Thanks for your reply and assistance. 

[skizzosjt]

haha I started writing a reply (and obviously didn't finish - typical life distractions) the other night and was going to link to a different video this dude made....I think they made a better one that goes over "stable MAME controller ID's". If you haven't also seen this one, this is a walk through the whole setup. Also there is excellent documentation and tutorial on MAME's official site

and the official tutorial

https://docs.mamedev.org/advanced/devicemap.html

 

Steps:

you need to open up a command prompt and navigate to the directory where your MAME executable is

type in cd and then paste in the exact folder path to where MAME is stored...for example: cd C:\Users\user\desktop\MAME

then launch mame with the verbose parameter which is -v. for ex: mame -v

it will launch the emulator with all the verbose output

look through it towards the bottom you will find a bunch of lines with INPUT in them and you need to identify which is your light guns

then using those names and/or instance #'s that is the customized info that needs to go into your system

 

 

example of me doing this. first line is changing directory to where mame is. I then need to tell it to go to a different disk, the "D" drive and since I already did the change directory line it's already at the right directory on the D drive. 3rd line is launching mame with verbose output

then you get all the output you need to sift through. I'm showing the inputs that come up for me just now. I have nothing but keyboard an mouse plugged in, no joysticks or light guns etc. the mouse is considered a light gun type device by MAME which is why that last entry is listed the way it is

 

here is my exact controller remap config file and I am using AIMTRACK style light guns but they are "Arcade Gun" branding. The shell is different and buttons on stock/butt of the gun rather than towards the muzzle which makes for using them with one hand possible in the Time Crisis series and others. All this does is make whenever these are plugged in that they will be Player1 and Player2 respectively since they do have specific IDs. Some devices are not so fortunate and share IDs/names so go by the enumeration "instance" they were created in. That guy does cover this in his videos.  The first bit is mapping the light gun part, basically extra instances of a mouse. While the other half is mapping the buttons on the light gun, basically another instance of a controller. there is a slim chance you could copy and paste this since I think these AIMTRACK light guns get the same device name/ID all the time and are only changed through the associated software (like if you wanted to change the player1 light gun to be player3 light gun). Otherwise you need to decipher the info from the command prompt output and use that in your controller remap file

<mameconfig version="10">
   <system name="default">
      <input>	    
	 <mapdevice device="VID_D209&amp;PID_1601" controller="GUNCODE_1" />        
	 <mapdevice device="VID_D209&amp;PID_1602" controller="GUNCODE_2" /> 
	 <mapdevice device="ATRAK Device #1 product_1601" controller="JOYCODE_1" />  
	 <mapdevice device="ATRAK Device #2 product_1602" controller="JOYCODE_2" /> 
      </input>
   </system>
</mameconfig>

 

you make the file.....as in open up a text editor and put in the text and then save it. in this case the file name will be [insert file name here].cfg

you can name it whatever you want but it is a config (.cfg) file. personally when I did this I named it "lightgun_remap.cfg" and you will want to store it in MAME/ctrlr

then for any light gun game I would have that game create an ini file, and in the ini file you need to define the controller remap file to be used. here is an example of an ini with a controller remap defined. note you write out the file name of the controller config without the extension. this way only when a light gun game boots will the connected light guns get assigned to player 1 and player 2....otherwise if I did it in the default/global ini then every game would have the light guns forcibly assign themselves over connected controllers and joysticks etc. so set yours up how you wish for your use case

do watch the video(s) again if needed. the video I linked to is what taught me how to use this feature along with the MAME documentation. it's not getting any awards for being super entertaining lol but the info is thorough and what is shared is still the same method of getting this setup today. so the video may be a few years old but is still relevant.

[HotMommasCowboy]

Skizzosjt, thank you!! I will go through this. Now, to get my extreme sensor bar tomorrow and hopefully that’ll help me with why Duck Hunt and Hogan’s Alley don’t see my guns at all, yet other games kinda do. Thanks again. 

[skizzosjt]

great I got the extreme one last summer too and it was a noticeable upgrade from the standard ones on the market I've used!

[HotMommasCowboy]

Skizzosjt, extreme sensor bar is definitely better. Question if you don’t mind. MAME for some reason will no longer “see” my light guns. The mouse will move, but nothing. Same with when I try to set the trigger. I deleted Area 51 .cfg along with default.cfg for MAME, but nothing. Within arcade guns utility, both guns triggers are set to left mouse (right mouse when off screen) and the two buttons on the barrels will register, but as joysticks. They’re setup as joystick buttons. Do you have any idea why MAME no longer sees the gun as a mouse or won’t register a trigger pull to set it up? Thanks for any help you can give me. 

[skizzosjt]

first and foremost, you need to have done the controller and device mapping that was the subject of this thread, the stuff I shared in my previous post. this means you must have made a ctrlr file that properly maps your lightguns per their names/IDs that I recommend to call "lightgun_remap.cfg" and you need to have a game specific ini file (in this case Area51.ini) file that is calling to use the lightgun_remap for the ctrlr option.

assuming you took care of that you need to setup Lightgun X Analog  and Lightgun Y Analog per the specific game's config (looks like you're in the right spot) so the lightgun works.

and looks like there is only one button, obviously the trigger, so you need to set that to P1 B1. THEN you should be able to start playing

But I'm sure you messed up something earlier in the setup if no buttons register, or only some do in MAME. you can test the lightgun outside of MAME first. just pretend it is a mouse so check all those buttons work. You can use gamepad-tester.com to test the joypad buttons are working. once you verify the lightgun is working right as intended for Windows, then you know at least that is fine and the problem is your setup with MAME.

In lightgun's software I use absolute mouse settings. My onscreen buttons are all mouse clicks, left, middle and right. My offscreen buttons are all joypad buttons 1, 2, 3 so you need to sort of think this out yourself how you want to set it up since you have two layers of configuration to align between the lightgun software and the emulator. this part is very customizable to the individual or game so experiment with what works for you once you get the hang of setup. I for ex normally setup stuff like the start and coin buttons to the offscreen buttons and I have holding down the offscreen 3 button for 5 secs to engage a calibration so I can do that easily without having to bust out a KB+M

 

here is my setup. Mine is a bit of a catch all here since I have configured not just the lightgun, but also so the mouse, controller, or keyboard can all work....or actually this is how it is by default isn't it? WHITE text means it is the default, and the greyed out text is ones I have customized....so wtf yours should have worked fine out of the box with the standard defaults.....regardless you just need to actually set it up.

If buttons or mouse isn't registering you likely didn't do the device mapping. (see the last photo below) Configure Options > Device Mapping

Edited January 18, 2023 by skizzosjt

[HotMommasCowboy]

Thanks. Sorry if I frustrated you. That wasn’t my intentions at all. For some reason I’m stuck on stupid…maybe I should step away for a few days. I did have all of the setups in place. Once I got my extreme sensor today, I actually downloaded that exact arcades gun utility. And everything works in there. Just not mame. You’re probably right, I’m sure I did something stupid inside the program that’s goofed up mame and that’s probably why it won’t register a trigger pull when I try to set it up and same for my X and Y axis for the gun. Thanks again. 

[HotMommasCowboy]

Skizzosjt, thanks for not reaching through the screen and strangling me!! 😂😂👍👍 But I finally got it! Not sure what I did in Mame, but I completely removed it out of LB and reinstalled it. I could finally calibrate the guns and the triggers worked without any issues. That extreme sensor bar is a million times better than the original!! Thanks again for the help. 

[skizzosjt]

12 hours ago, HotMommasCowboy said:

Skizzosjt, thanks for not reaching through the screen and strangling me!! 😂😂👍👍 But I finally got it! Not sure what I did in Mame, but I completely removed it out of LB and reinstalled it. I could finally calibrate the guns and the triggers worked without any issues. That extreme sensor bar is a million times better than the original!! Thanks again for the help. 

haha no frustration I was making sure you didn't skip a step. Sounds like device mapping because I'm not sure why else it would see the physical lightgun as a joypad but not as the lightgun (mouse). if the devices aren't mapped then all those controls listed in the game as "Lightgun" would be expecting input from your keyboard and why you're hitting trigger but it doesn't do anything. since controllers or "joypads" sort of auto work and the 2 buttons on the lightgun you assigned as joypad style (instead of mouse clicks) in the arcade gun software those worked as expected in MAME. if you made everything mouse clicks in the arcade gun software then the 2 aux buttons wouldn't have done anything either. based on that I bet you missed a step or accidentally made a wrong selection the first time around so it's not a bad idea to start fresh. But the end justifies the means, right?! lol so glad it worked out the 2nd attempt!

 

what size display are you using the new extreme sensor bar on? I been using a 48" to 50" TV, so the wider area that the extreme version outputs helps that very much. There is a toggle switch on these where you select it you have a display that's over 32 inches big and it changes the profile of how it outputs . Curious which setting you use and if you notice a difference when you toggle the switch?

[HotMommasCowboy]

My TV’s an old Samsung 40” 1080p. When I read the instructions (ya, I know, I just lost my man card!! 😂😂) yesterday it mentioned the switch in back was for 32” and bigger on extreme, so that’s what I set it too. After reading your post, I switched it and honestly, I really didn’t see any difference after a few games of duck hunt. Its “weaker” setting is still a million times better than the sensor bar that came with my AimTraks! One of these days I’ll have to hook it up to my 65” in my basement and see how it does on that  

In case you hadn’t noticed, Arcade Guns Utility actually comes with the program that keeps your light guns set inside windows so every time you turn the system off and back on, they’re set. I thought that was pretty neat. I even changed up their numbering for each gun in the utility and they still ran without any issues. 

[skizzosjt]

2 hours ago, HotMommasCowboy said:

My TV’s an old Samsung 40” 1080p. When I read the instructions (ya, I know, I just lost my man card!! 😂😂) yesterday it mentioned the switch in back was for 32” and bigger on extreme, so that’s what I set it too. After reading your post, I switched it and honestly, I really didn’t see any difference after a few games of duck hunt. Its “weaker” setting is still a million times better than the sensor bar that came with my AimTraks! One of these days I’ll have to hook it up to my 65” in my basement and see how it does on that  

In case you hadn’t noticed, Arcade Guns Utility actually comes with the program that keeps your light guns set inside windows so every time you turn the system off and back on, they’re set. I thought that was pretty neat. I even changed up their numbering for each gun in the utility and they still ran without any issues. 

instructions are good, as the saying goes "RTFM" 🤣! I think what it does is enable/disable some of the "bulbs" so the area it projects in is either bigger/smaller. I too didn't notice it works better/worse, just seems to change the area/distance you can stand away from the display. so if you're in the right area that works for both, say maybe only 4ft away it would perform the same with the switch in either spot. but if you're OK with the extreme setting say standing 10ft away, if you then switch back to standard and try 10ft away it might perform crappy because it's too far away for that setting. So cool I think that sounds just like my experience with it!

 

Yes I did catch that about the software.  I'm not 100% sure I understand what you mean about changing their numbering and they still worked, you'll have to clarify for me please. For ex you setup your guns as P1 and P2 in the arcade guns software and got everything working OK in MAME. You then close MAME, open the arcade gun software, changed your guns from P1 and P2 to now P3 and P4.....and then booted back into MAME and the game worked fine with the lightguns?

 

[HotMommasCowboy]

9 minutes ago, skizzosjt said:

instructions are good, as the saying goes "RTFM" 🤣! I think what it does is enable/disable some of the "bulbs" so the area it projects in is either bigger/smaller. I too didn't notice it works better/worse, just seems to change the area/distance you can stand away from the display. so if you're in the right area that works for both, say maybe only 4ft away it would perform the same with the switch in either spot. but if you're OK with the extreme setting say standing 10ft away, if you then switch back to standard and try 10ft away it might perform crappy because it's too far away for that setting. So cool I think that sounds just like my experience with it!

 

Yes I did catch that about the software.  I'm not 100% sure I understand what you mean about changing their numbering and they still worked, you'll have to clarify for me please. For ex you setup your guns as P1 and P2 in the arcade guns software and got everything working OK in MAME. You then close MAME, open the arcade gun software, changed your guns from P1 and P2 to now P3 and P4.....and then booted back into MAME and the game worked fine with the lightguns?

 

Correct, I went into arcade gun and reassigned what gun number they were (like you said above) and mame still recognized the guns thanks to their “utilities” tab having the I’d numbers for the guns. In that tab, the id’s stayed the same but the 16xx would change to whatever number I assigned the gun. 
when I tested the extreme or regular setting on the sensor bar, I was within about 5’ from my TV. When I go back down to my basement, I’ll have to see how it does from further away to see how much it’s affected by distance. But you were correct in assuming it “turns off” some of the LED’s on it. As you can see (hopefully) in the photo from the “RTFM”. 😂😂👍👍

[skizzosjt]

23 hours ago, HotMommasCowboy said:

Correct, I went into arcade gun and reassigned what gun number they were (like you said above) and mame still recognized the guns thanks to their “utilities” tab having the I’d numbers for the guns. In that tab, the id’s stayed the same but the 16xx would change to whatever number I assigned the gun. 
when I tested the extreme or regular setting on the sensor bar, I was within about 5’ from my TV. When I go back down to my basement, I’ll have to see how it does from further away to see how much it’s affected by distance. But you were correct in assuming it “turns off” some of the LED’s on it. As you can see (hopefully) in the photo from the “RTFM”. 😂😂👍👍

awesome thanks for sharing! you have proved the arcade gun software has the Utility tab that can handle the device and button remapping! which is neat feature....but NOW I'm no longer confused wondering how you got it working without necessarily following the traditional process. basically that is a integrated GUI to create (or edit) the .cfg and .ini files through getting the data from the verbose output and places them in the right folders etc. so I've never used it since I set it up the old school way initially so I definitely appreciate you sharing! it's nice to know that feature is there and it still works. I was thinking how do your lightguns still work if you changed the device name by changing the player # but didn't update the ctrlr config with the new device name....that will ALWAYS break devices from being mapped right. so now I must admit that arcade gun software does make that easier for the user in this regard - less setup time!

[HotMommasCowboy]

15 hours ago, skizzosjt said:

awesome thanks for sharing! you have proved the arcade gun software has the Utility tab that can handle the device and button remapping! which is neat feature....but NOW I'm no longer confused wondering how you got it working without necessarily following the traditional process. basically that is a integrated GUI to create (or edit) the .cfg and .ini files through getting the data from the verbose output and places them in the right folders etc. so I've never used it since I set it up the old school way initially so I definitely appreciate you sharing! it's nice to know that feature is there and it still works. I was thinking how do your lightguns still work if you changed the device name by changing the player # but didn't update the ctrlr config with the new device name....that will ALWAYS break devices from being mapped right. so now I must admit that arcade gun software does make that easier for the user in this regard - less setup time!

Sorry, got a bit wordy!! 😂😂 So, Arcade Guns uses the guns unique identification #, so it doesn’t matter what you call it. It’s kinda like the old school program. When windows changes the identification, after a power cycle, the program still uses its unique id to know which one it is. 
Honestly, I got lucky with GA’s utility. Technology is changing so fast now a days, the older I get, I no longer have the patience to try and keep up with it and the more my - I don’t give a S*** kicks in. I’m understanding the videos, but for some reason comprehension is eluding me. So I’ve got an IT buddy of mine coming over this weekend to help me get the old school program going in case AG stops working for whatever reason. 
Once I get my system fine tuned, I’ll disconnect it from any form of internet, so no updates accidentally screw it up, and call it quits and fully enjoy the fruits of my labor (and others hard work)! Now, if you have any tips on setting up ad stick in MAME (for games like T2), that would be great. The “X” & “Y” are throwing me off. The literature here in the forums is coming across as Greek to me and I can’t find any videos specific to that setup. I have a dual tank stick with the trackball, but I think it’s a digital stick and not an analog stick. Which means I’d probably need to get a separate analog stick, correct?

[skizzosjt]

On 1/20/2023 at 10:33 AM, HotMommasCowboy said:

Sorry, got a bit wordy!! 😂😂 So, Arcade Guns uses the guns unique identification #, so it doesn’t matter what you call it. It’s kinda like the old school program. When windows changes the identification, after a power cycle, the program still uses its unique id to know which one it is. 
Honestly, I got lucky with GA’s utility. Technology is changing so fast now a days, the older I get, I no longer have the patience to try and keep up with it and the more my - I don’t give a S*** kicks in. I’m understanding the videos, but for some reason comprehension is eluding me. So I’ve got an IT buddy of mine coming over this weekend to help me get the old school program going in case AG stops working for whatever reason. 
Once I get my system fine tuned, I’ll disconnect it from any form of internet, so no updates accidentally screw it up, and call it quits and fully enjoy the fruits of my labor (and others hard work)! Now, if you have any tips on setting up ad stick in MAME (for games like T2), that would be great. The “X” & “Y” are throwing me off. The literature here in the forums is coming across as Greek to me and I can’t find any videos specific to that setup. I have a dual tank stick with the trackball, but I think it’s a digital stick and not an analog stick. Which means I’d probably need to get a separate analog stick, correct?

Rather be lucky than good lol! any chance you and/or your buddy got this straightened out or are you having problems with T2 now much like how it was giving you problems with Area 51? Essentially all MAME lightgun games I've setup require the same rinse and repeat process so that's odd if you're going about it the same way but not having any luck.

you don't need any special devices for T2. I believe it's controls are listed a little different in MAME because it used different tech in the arcade. but in the world of emulating it's the same setup process as you did before. T2 wasn't really "lightgun" in the traditional sense of actually using light/photo sensing. it used potentiometers and is the main reason why those guns were in a stationary position sort of like a swiveling turret rather than being capable of picked up and waved around like say Time Crisis and The House of the Dead. it kinda worked the same way that modern analog sticks work with a pot for each axis. voltage A and voltage B = gun is pointing at these coordinates on the screen.  Since the Arcade1Up cab remake used Sinden tech for the guns those can be picked up and waved around. In the end digital vs analog isn't important here since you can use either type of device, for ex you can use your keyboard for a lightgun if you wanted and a keyboard is digital. What you need likely is just setting up the controls in the "this machine" page or get the config and/or ini files ironed out whether the old school way or using the AG Softwares MAME utility 

[HotMommasCowboy]

2 hours ago, skizzosjt said:

Rather be lucky than good lol! any chance you and/or your buddy got this straightened out or are you having problems with T2 now much like how it was giving you problems with Area 51? Essentially all MAME lightgun games I've setup require the same rinse and repeat process so that's odd if you're going about it the same way but not having any luck.

you don't need any special devices for T2. I believe it's controls are listed a little different in MAME because it used different tech in the arcade. but in the world of emulating it's the same setup process as you did before. T2 wasn't really "lightgun" in the traditional sense of actually using light/photo sensing. it used potentiometers and is the main reason why those guns were in a stationary position sort of like a swiveling turret rather than being capable of picked up and waved around like say Time Crisis and The House of the Dead. it kinda worked the same way that modern analog sticks work with a pot for each axis. voltage A and voltage B = gun is pointing at these coordinates on the screen.  Since the Arcade1Up cab remake used Sinden tech for the guns those can be picked up and waved around. In the end digital vs analog isn't important here since you can use either type of device, for ex you can use your keyboard for a lightgun if you wanted and a keyboard is digital. What you need likely is just setting up the controls in the "this machine" page or get the config and/or ini files ironed out whether the old school way or using the AG Softwares MAME utility 

He didn’t make it this past weekend. He was traveling and decided to stay home. Hopefully he’ll stop by this weekend. I thought about trying to set up my LG’s for T2, but I was a little gun shy because of having to delete mame and then reinstall it to get things working right again! 😂😂 But for now, I’ve moved on to trying to get some American Laser Disc games working! 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😂😂 Took me most of last night and this morning to find and download the emulator Singe 2. Hopefully I’ll be able to get them installed into LB fairly easily. We’ll see! Once my buddy makes it, I’ll let ya know. 

[HotMommasCowboy]

Actually had to go to a French site to download it. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[skizzosjt]

5 hours ago, HotMommasCowboy said:

Actually had to go to a French site to download it. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

lol oui oui apparently they like American Laser Disc - oh the irony, going to French site for American Laser Disc emulator 🤣

sorry the plan didn't work out this weekend, here's to hoping it comes together next weekend then! 🍻

do let us know how it goes and if you end up needing any more help I'll do what I can for ya!