Mame Light Gun Games: Do I need to calibrate all players?

Jiryn

Setup
Raspberry Pi 4 4GB ram
Official Raspberry PI USB-C AC Adapter
Retropie v4.7.1
8BitDo Arcade Stick in XBOX mode https://www.8bitdo.com/arcade-stick/
8BitDo SN30 Pro+ ( https://www.8bitdo.com/sn30-pro-plus/ )

So this is gonna be an odd question, but for Mame Light Gun Games, do I need to calibrate all the players?

I've been trying to play Revolution X, but whenever I start it up it tries to make me calibrate 3 guns. The game won't let me go past this screen
Carnevil (both on Mame2016, and on PC) tries to make me calibrate 2 guns.. and won't let me continue.
Terminator 2 the arcade game, same issue.. but it is also rotated 90 degrees?

How do I skip the calibration of the other players?

mahoneyt944

@jiryn yes they require calibration. If you run these 3 games in mame2003-plus the calibration is done automatically for you for all players.

Jiryn

@mahoneyt944
Odd, Ill try the 2003 version...
Doesn't seem like their should be such a difference..
I've tried in 2010, and I thought 2003

mahoneyt944

@jiryn might need to update from source if using an old commit. Mame2003 and mame2003-plus both have these calibrated now.

Jiryn

@mahoneyt944
That worked perfectly!
Any known issues with those games on 2003?

What Mame is suggested for Area 51, Area 51: Site 4, and Maximum Force?

mahoneyt944

@jiryn I don't believe there's any issues, they auto calibrate and set the volume level up automatically. I've played through all of them personally. It just so happens that I fixed all 3 of these games in 2003. So I knew they were working.

For the other games I don't have hands on experience with them so I can't comment. if they work in 2003 but need calibration or whatever I could add that too but they need tested

Jiryn

@mahoneyt944
Thank you so much!
I'll test them out on both later.

Any performance difference between 2003 and 2003+?
(Trying to get the best bang for my buck is all! )

Anyway to speed the reticle up?

mahoneyt944

@jiryn go into the mame menu-> analog controls -> and turn up the sensitivity.

2003 performance is about the same. 2003+ offers more games but the rom base changes. 2003 has a standard set of roms. So it's preference.

Jiryn

@mahoneyt944
They both use .78 I though...
So they can use the same rom right?

(Thank you! Was using an Arcade stick, so I'll set it to Analog for these games)

mahoneyt944

@jiryn 2003+ uses mostly .78 but also backports newer sets. So it's a mixer. Most .78 will run in the core though.

If you're using a joystick. Adjusting the analog sensitivity and/ or the key speed within the analog control menu will increase or decrease the crosshair speed as desired.

This is found in the mame menu.

Jiryn

@mahoneyt944
Maybe you can help me trouble shoot some issues here.
This is happening with both Mame2003 and 2003+

I plugged in my 8BitDo SN30 Pro+ to have Analog sticks to shoot with.
(I have it set to Android mode)

Unfortunately with Terminator 2 and Revolution X, it refuses to shoot the corners of the screen... it only moves along the middle vertically and horizontally with a SMALL bit of leeway on either side.

It also doesn't recognize my D-pad. With the Joy-Stick, I had (8BitDo Arcade Stick) I had it set to X-box with the stick being a Digital Input and not analog, and while it did go the whole screen, it was slow.

I'm hoping to be able to use both.. D-pad and the Analogue.. analogue seems faster but always snaps back to the middle, while the D-pad is able to cover the whole screen but it slower.

As for Carnevil, it's just a black screen with a white crosshair. I do have the CHD folder in the same directory.
I can post a video of what's going on if need be.

Thanks in advance.

mahoneyt944

@jiryn carnevil requires a faster system it won't play on pi. Even rpi4 is choppy at best. As far as your input, I typically like to map the dpad to the light gun x and y then if I want to use the analog stick I go into retroarch->quick menu-> controls-> port1 controls -> analog to digital -> left analog. This basically sends the core a dpad signal in place of your analog signal.

Jiryn

@mahoneyt944
I'll just delete Carnevil then!
How do I remove the white cross hair always on screen?

Even with analog to digital, the gun will not shoot the corners of the screen... There has to be something I'm missing.

mahoneyt944

@jiryn the white cross hairs can be turned off in the core options . Retroarch-> quick menu -> options ->

I think it's called show it display crosshairs or something. Near the middle of the list .

mahoneyt944

And it sounds like your controller is not setup properly. I would delete any custom configs and reconfigure the controller in emulationstation

Jiryn

@mahoneyt944
I don't use any costume configs, save for the setting you told me analog to d-pad.
I set it up through emulationstation and it's recognized fine for an 8bitdo controller.
However once I run the games mentioned above, it only recognizes input from analog stick and not the d-pad.
I was wondering why this was happening.

When using the analog stick, it snaps back to the center of the screen whenever I let go of the stick, and it refuses to shoot the 4 corners of the screen or even come close to them.

YFZdude

@jiryn
I have experienced this same effect. The analog stick is nice for its 'return to center' feature, but I could never get mine to reach all the way into the corners.

The D-pad worked for me using the Logitech controllers and allowed me to move the cursor over the entire area of the screen, but it will not snap back to center so I always had to move from where you last were.

Because of these two frustrations, and the accuracy I gained, I simply plug in a mouse for light gun shooters. Much better for me. The only downsides are having to have a flat surface to use the mouse and it wouldn't work if you are putting together a cabinet build. Maybe when I get a Sinden Lightgun someday I'll use that instead.

Jiryn

@yfzdude
It's not even recognizing my D-pad for those games mentioned.
I even went and reconfigured my controller to NOT use the analog stick and I couldn't move the crosshairs with the D-pad at all!
Mouse seems like a great idea, will it recognize 2 people/mice?

@mahoneyt944 This is what's going on exactly

I even reconfigured the controller and showed I had no custom controls installed.
After the video I went in and reconfigured it again in emulation station, this time without using analogue and I couldn't move the crosshair at all in any of the games in Mame 2003.

I've since tried 4 more controllers, the PS4, PS5, XB1, and XBSeries controllers and all have the same issue of the analogue not hitting the corners and the D-pad not being recognized.

mahoneyt944

@Jiryn

Load terminator 2 , open the mame menu-> input this game. Then map the light gun x and y inputs. You'll have to click "a" on a lightgun direction...let's say for up... then press dpad up to map it. Do this for every direction.

This maps your dpad to work and the analog to digital option you enabled earlier will allow the analog to work like the dpad.

If you want the analog to snap to center you'll have to turn off the analog to digital option from earlier then map the dpad and analog to the lightgun x and y.

Another thing to check, you can change the analog deadzone setting in core options I typically use 15.

Lastly check that you don't have 4 way emulation enabled in the core options. You'll have to load a game that uses it like pacman to see it in the list. . Keep this disabled for now.

Jiryn

@mahoneyt944
I got it up and running pretty good now, but I've noticed some minor issues

In MAME2003
Everything works perfectly, I can use the D-pad OR Analogue stick and I can access the mame menu by hitting L2/LTrigger
However, the analogue stick is not recognized for any inputs in the mame menu, and still won't reach the corners of the screen.
I was able to set the speed of the cursor perfectly for the D-pad, (oddly through the mame analogue controls speed) though it still ignores the Analogue to Digital for some odd reason.

On the other hand.
MAME2003-Plus is having issues
#1. It requires L3 to enter Mame Menu
#2. It doesn't recognize the D-pad on any controller, so even with Mame Menu open I cannot switch or select any options. I think this is the primary issue.
I can't even play games like the X-men or turtles game in 2003 because it doesn't recognize the D-pad.

So yea, 2003 is working like a dream and I may just delete PLUS because of the issue.

it probably has something to do with this https://retropie.org.uk/docs/MAME/#lr-mame2003-plus-mame-2003-plus
*Some notes about extra controls options and configuration available in MAME 2003-Plus:

MAME 2003-Plus can use different RetroPad layouts, chosen with the Device Type configuration option in the Controls menu in RetroArch:
    Classic Gamepad, based on mainline MAME's default Xbox 360 controller layout, likely to suit DualShock or SNES-style gamepads.
    Modern Fightstick, a fight stick and pad layout popularised by Street Fighter IV and assumes an 8+ button controller.
    6-Button, a layout intended for SNES-type RetroPad controls as well as 6-button arcade panels arcade panels.
    8-Button, a layout intended for an arcade panel (8 buttons)

MAME 2003-Plus maps the analog controls to joystick control by default, instead of the D-Pad. This can be changed from the Core Options, switching the Control mapping option to digital.

MAME 2003-Plus disables the MAME menu by default (usually mapped to Tab). It can be enabled by changing the Input interface Core Option to simultaneous.*

Also, I want to just turn off the Crosshair of whichever player is not playing. Since I am not using a real light gun, I still kinda need to see where I am shooting. Problem is it Maximum Force and Area 52 still show the cross hair for the other players, dead center at all times and is kind of distracting is all.
I know, just a minor issue is all.

Thank you for all your help and suggestions!