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>The decline of lightgun tech with the introduction of flat-screen TV:s is something that sometimes makes me sad. The replacement "passive/dead-reckoning" techn

>The decline of lightgun tech with the introduction of flat-screen TV:s is something that sometimes makes me sad. The replacement "passive/dead-reckoning" techniques just don't feel as satisfying, or elegant. Light gun technology is alive and well with Nintendo. (EDIT: I previously had some incorrect information about the Super Scope, which I have removed) You might have heard of their current light gun. They call it the "Wii Remote". It also has accelerometers in it, yes, but those are not used for the pointing mode; there's no dead reckoning going on. It uses LEDs instead of light from the TV, and a camera in the remote to determine the remote's angle, rotation, and distance from the TV. The LEDs are in the sensor bar (which contains no sensors).

bencoder 14y ago
But the wiimote is not accurate at all. You have to watch the pointer on screen to see where your pointing. It's very difficult to get a perfect distance from the screen to make the pointing of the wiimote match up with the location on the screen and there's much more lag. The old light guns did not require a pointer on the screen because they were perfectly accurate. I love my wii, but it's not a good replacement for true lightguns.
- mistercow 14y ago
  There is certainly a weakness in the way that games implement the Wii remote pointer. Since there isn't a direct connection to the screen, the options are either to have a calibration step, or to either use a cursor/reticule and let the player's brain compensate for the discrepancy. Everyone opts for the latter because having to calibrate pisses users off and is probably why the Super Scope failed. FPSes opt for a variant which treats the remote like a mouse on a PC FPS, and this is arguably the most immersive option. The cursor technique is where you see lag. There really isn't much lag in terms of processing angle of the remote. But in order for the cursor to be usable, it needs to have continuity of motion. Smoothing its position as it moves around on screen introduces a delay, and that's why it feels laggy. But in principle, there's no reason that a game couldn't have a calibrated mode that would act just like an old light gun. Players would just hate it.
- DannyBee 14y ago
  perfectly accurate is a massive overstatement since it depended on what kind of light hit the diode.

bencoder 14y ago

But the wiimote is not accurate at all. You have to watch the pointer on screen to see where your pointing. It's very difficult to get a perfect distance from the screen to make the pointing of the wiimote match up with the location on the screen and there's much more lag. The old light guns did not require a pointer on the screen because they were perfectly accurate. I love my wii, but it's not a good replacement for true lightguns.

mistercow 14y ago
There is certainly a weakness in the way that games implement the Wii remote pointer. Since there isn't a direct connection to the screen, the options are either to have a calibration step, or to either use a cursor/reticule and let the player's brain compensate for the discrepancy. Everyone opts for the latter because having to calibrate pisses users off and is probably why the Super Scope failed. FPSes opt for a variant which treats the remote like a mouse on a PC FPS, and this is arguably the most immersive option. The cursor technique is where you see lag. There really isn't much lag in terms of processing angle of the remote. But in order for the cursor to be usable, it needs to have continuity of motion. Smoothing its position as it moves around on screen introduces a delay, and that's why it feels laggy. But in principle, there's no reason that a game couldn't have a calibrated mode that would act just like an old light gun. Players would just hate it.
DannyBee 14y ago
perfectly accurate is a massive overstatement since it depended on what kind of light hit the diode.