I recently obtained a really nice set of the Sega Master System/Power Base 3-D glasses. With the few available 3-D games these things really do work well and does indeed bring a new level of funness into the gaming. It's also especially cool when you think that this technology is now 20 years old. Of course this comes from a guy who is still fascinated with light guns. How the heck does the system know where I'm pointing the gun? No, really, I'd like someone to explain this to me.
I recall back in the waning days of the Genesis that I picked up a brand new Menacer package. This gun, for some silly reason, used a receiver that sat on top of the TV to determine where your "shots" were going and as such it worked about as well as throwing your shoe at the TV. It originally retailed for, what, around $100 but I had gotten it for $19. I sold it used two days later to a used game store for $18. I still felt robbed that I lost $1, it really was a horrible peripheral.
I never tried the step mats or sensor rings that sensed your punches and kicks or the camera thingies but I do have a microphone for one PS2 game that uses voice recognition and I have light guns for every system I own. The TV Tuner for my Game Gear worked pretty well when TV stations still cared about their BROADCAST signal, now it's an interesting museum piece which can't be really demonstrated well with no good signals to pick up.
One peripheral I bought for my Genesis which I still use exclusively every time I play my Genesis is a "Turbo Touch 360" touch pad control pad by Triax. This pad is a typical aftermarket pad with just three buttons and turbo switches for each but the D-pad has no moving parts, it is simply a touch pad. It really works great and keeps the ole' left thumb fatigue bug-a-boo from slowing down my gaming time. After at least 15 years of use it's still working great. I felt so strongly about this quality product I actually wrote a paper and pen letter to the manufacturer telling them how much I liked their product. They actually responded and sent me the spare control pad I still have tucked away for when my first unit finally wears out!
I'm not really referring to system expansion peripherals such as Sega CD or 32X, but game enhancement peripherals such as guns or special viewers when I ask: what peripherals have you had and what worked well and what didn't?
Ancient system peripherals: remembering the good & the
Re: Ancient system peripherals: remembering the good &
You can check wikipedia, but a quick explanation (as far as I understand):Scooter wrote:How the heck does the system know where I'm pointing the gun? No, really, I'd like someone to explain this to me.
Old style lightguns - this one is really clever IMO: they have a photodiode in the tip of the gun. This produces a electric signal when certain light is flashed on it. When you press the trigger, the game is coded so that the screen goes white (this is very fast so you don't notice it so much - but at least in Saturn Virtua Cop, I notice it). The trick is that the screen doesn't go white all at the same time, but is "scanned" e.g. from top left to top right, then down one line and so on. When the gun picks up the white flash (from wherever it is pointed to), a certain small time has elapsed since the trigger was pressed and the screen was scanned. If it was a lot of time, then it is closer to the bottom right, etc.
These don't work with new screens (plasmas etc.) The Wii controller works essentially like a light gun, but a new style. They need a sensor bar that emits specific types of light (Infrareds, so not visible light, I think). Because there are more than one point of emission in the sensor bar, the receiver (controller) can triangulate the position, and with good distance from TV calibration it will know where it is pointing.
Anyone else wants to try an explanation?
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lordofduct
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I've gone over this in long ass posts a bunch of times before... I've covered just about every different kind starting all the way back at the beginning (with the duck hunt style of doing it), up to the modern ways of pulling it off.
Wikipedia can help you out... or search here on racketboy for the threads I have posted in.
Wikipedia can help you out... or search here on racketboy for the threads I have posted in.
Wikipedia has a great write up, didn't think to look there. I learned something today so it's a good day.
Light gun games are probably the only types of games I can be consistantly good at from the beginning. I remember picking up a friend's NES light gun and beating his top score in about three tries. The later ones such as Virtua Cop and House of the Dead are more difficult because of the much faster pace, I don't always do so well on those.
Light gun games are probably the only types of games I can be consistantly good at from the beginning. I remember picking up a friend's NES light gun and beating his top score in about three tries. The later ones such as Virtua Cop and House of the Dead are more difficult because of the much faster pace, I don't always do so well on those.
Didn't Nintendo have some weird peripherals? I have never owned a machine by N, but what was the deal with the robot, what did it do? I would have liked to try their 3-D scope thingie, did it ever have more than one game?
Gran Turismo with a link cable between two fat PS2s and two TV set made for some fun times, but that's sure a lot of hardware and software to bring into one room and set up. I guess I can understand why so few games made use of it but before LANs it was a decent idea. Funny thing, I've never been able to get a Game Gear link cable set up to work worth a darn without locking up the game in a few minutes which seem odd since many, many games were designed with this feature included.
Sega's Netlink would let you dial up another Saturn with a Netlink and the same Netlink game and play directly against another player without the need for a server in the middle and no charges other than possible long distance charges. I used this feature a few times and lag times were minimal, pretty cool set up for its day.
Gran Turismo with a link cable between two fat PS2s and two TV set made for some fun times, but that's sure a lot of hardware and software to bring into one room and set up. I guess I can understand why so few games made use of it but before LANs it was a decent idea. Funny thing, I've never been able to get a Game Gear link cable set up to work worth a darn without locking up the game in a few minutes which seem odd since many, many games were designed with this feature included.
Sega's Netlink would let you dial up another Saturn with a Netlink and the same Netlink game and play directly against another player without the need for a server in the middle and no charges other than possible long distance charges. I used this feature a few times and lag times were minimal, pretty cool set up for its day.
Last edited by Scooter on Thu Dec 13, 2007 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
on the nintendo I really like the 4score, I still use it
I don't necessarily use to to let 4 people play, but its a great cord extender and has turbos you can use with the original NES controller
I am also into the powerpad for the NES, I have all the games that support it, like 6 or 7, my girlfriend plays eggstream as a workout sometimes still.
I also really dig lightguns, I have the blue and pink menacer for the sega CD, but it has gotten used all of 3 times. what the best last gen system for lightgun? (xbox, ps2, DC, GC) it doesn't seem like the xbox has enough games to make it worth getting a lightgun, even with having it modded. the ps2 games look split between guncon and menacer guns, which is annoying. Dreamcast lightguns are expensive enough i haven't really looked at the DC light gun library anyhow. never checked out the GC, still don't own one even tho I am building a library for it heh
=Jubal=
I don't necessarily use to to let 4 people play, but its a great cord extender and has turbos you can use with the original NES controller
what PS2 game uses voice recognition? I know Seaman on DC does, and I own it. Odama on the Gamecube does and I want it.Scooter wrote:I never tried the step mats or sensor rings that sensed your punches and kicks or the camera thingies but I do have a microphone for one PS2 game that uses voice recognition and I have light guns for every system I own.
I am also into the powerpad for the NES, I have all the games that support it, like 6 or 7, my girlfriend plays eggstream as a workout sometimes still.
I also really dig lightguns, I have the blue and pink menacer for the sega CD, but it has gotten used all of 3 times. what the best last gen system for lightgun? (xbox, ps2, DC, GC) it doesn't seem like the xbox has enough games to make it worth getting a lightgun, even with having it modded. the ps2 games look split between guncon and menacer guns, which is annoying. Dreamcast lightguns are expensive enough i haven't really looked at the DC light gun library anyhow. never checked out the GC, still don't own one even tho I am building a library for it heh
=Jubal=
The only PS2 game of which I am aware that uses voice recognition is Lifeline. It's actually an okay game until you get hopelessly stuck on one of the more complex puzzles. The downside is that this game REQUIRES the headset to play the game and the two were never packaged together which makes no sense. The headset could also be used on the SOCOM games for passing messages back and forth on multiplayer set ups and I believe some versions gave the player instructions via the headset, but the headset wasn't required to actually play the game.
If you like quick Virtua Cop style games, Time Crisis games on PS2 are pretty good. The best, however, is the neat little game Starsky and Hutch. The real fun in this game isn't the one player version in which you have to drive AND shoot, the really great fun starts with a friend and do the two player thing when one drives and one shoots. This game can make use of any brand light gun that is compatible with PS2. On the one player side, the driving games are a blast though.
On the Dreamcast, House of the Dead 2 is an obvious choice. Saturn's best is House of the Dead and the Virtua Cop games.
If you like quick Virtua Cop style games, Time Crisis games on PS2 are pretty good. The best, however, is the neat little game Starsky and Hutch. The real fun in this game isn't the one player version in which you have to drive AND shoot, the really great fun starts with a friend and do the two player thing when one drives and one shoots. This game can make use of any brand light gun that is compatible with PS2. On the one player side, the driving games are a blast though.
On the Dreamcast, House of the Dead 2 is an obvious choice. Saturn's best is House of the Dead and the Virtua Cop games.
There aren't a ton of lightgun games on last gen systems. I agree with what you said about the ps2/xbox library for them.
As far as wierd peripherals, I think the dc wins. mem cards and vmus are normal, so are rumble packs, steering wheels and lightguns. But it has the fishing reel, maracas, the now-standard dance pad and even karaoke if you're an ntsc-j user. There's also the eye-toy which had a better release with, I believe, the ps2.
I like the genesis's development team's style though, rather than peripherals, they marketed peripheral systems by way of adding to the genesis. I mean, the n64 had the jumper pack and the ps2 had a hard drive expansion bay, but the genny added 32 bit capability and cd port, plus offered full backwards compatability with the master system adapter. Meanwhile, like the playstation 2, the genny could also use the controllers from its predecessor. It's a shame that more don't follow this pattern, at least with controllers. I mean, the gamecube controller can be used on the wii, but from what I understand, that only works for the gamecube games used in the wii. so there's little point.
As far as wierd peripherals, I think the dc wins. mem cards and vmus are normal, so are rumble packs, steering wheels and lightguns. But it has the fishing reel, maracas, the now-standard dance pad and even karaoke if you're an ntsc-j user. There's also the eye-toy which had a better release with, I believe, the ps2.
I like the genesis's development team's style though, rather than peripherals, they marketed peripheral systems by way of adding to the genesis. I mean, the n64 had the jumper pack and the ps2 had a hard drive expansion bay, but the genny added 32 bit capability and cd port, plus offered full backwards compatability with the master system adapter. Meanwhile, like the playstation 2, the genny could also use the controllers from its predecessor. It's a shame that more don't follow this pattern, at least with controllers. I mean, the gamecube controller can be used on the wii, but from what I understand, that only works for the gamecube games used in the wii. so there's little point.
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fastbilly1
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