CompulsiveCode - LG1 LightGun Demo

LightGun1 - LightGun Demo LG1



	This is a simple but versatile light-gun demo app. It is designed to work with Sinden LightGuns in Mouse Mode and in Joystick mode, as well as other light-guns that report as JoySticks. Functionality will be expanded. The program works at any screen size, on any monitor. The borders for the Sinden lightgun are drawn by this program, and can be adjusted on the fly. Run this program (LightGun1.EXE). If using a Sinden lightgun, run the Sinden Lightgun app or configure this program to auto-run it for you. Adjust borders as necessary If not using a Sinden lightgun or compatible, you can zero the borders. Click Show Game Window. Wait for the game window to load. It may take a few moments if it has to run the Sinden Lightgun app and wait for it to connect. The game window should launch at a roughly 4:3 scale, as best will fit on your monitor. Mouse cursor should disappear. Shoot screen with lightguns. To have your mouse cursor return, click Escape or Alt-Tab. You can resize and move the game window. Click in the game window to resume, or close the window to exit. The game demo: Shoot targets. Accumulate points. Play with the different weapons and targets.

History:

Future Enhancements:
Support video background.
Multi-thread.
Custom XML levels.
Consider Pre-scaling sprites and dropping extra frames.







2026-04-06:
Switched back to the tracer sprite being image-based vs path-based (for now).
Properly separated the animation resource from the animation on the screen.

2026-04-05:
Animated GIFs can now be used for crosshairs, and will still be colorized for each player.
Added auto-generated tracer sprites.  Not sure if I want to use complex sprites or simple graphics commands here.  
Need to de-sync the animations.

2026-04-04:
Added 'RELOAD!' text to the hud when the user runs out of ammo.

2026-04-03:
Implemented yet another method for reading the inputs from gamepads.  This may be more universal.
Added 'Check for Updates' button to the main control window.

2026-04-02:
Game can be dragged to a different screen and still works fine.  Love it.
Added a black outline to the default crosshair to try to make it more visible against different backgrounds and targets.  
All images of weapons now point the same direction (to the right).  Of course, the program auto-mirrors the images for Player 2, just like the ammo.
Cleaned up the sprite animations.

2026-03-31:
Joystick input seems to work.  So mixing lightguns in Mouse Mode and lightguns in Joystick Mode should work.
Joystick input should work with any gamepad.  Need to test.  Need feedback.
Technically this game engine could support more than 2 devices.

2026-03-30:
Added STRETCH option to Scenes.  This is to possibly allow alignment of targets to background / foreground images for certain games.
Added some support for joystick input.
Changed the RAWINPUT method to BUFFERED.

2026-03-29:
The demo now has an increasing number of targets on screen (up to 100).
Updated the HUD to show a health bar.  Still need a good way to show number of lives.  Might skimp out and just do it with text like: x3

2026-03-28:
Fixes for sprites.  Pretty awesome considering this game maybe wouldn't have had sprites / animations at all.
Added sprites for hit and kill on different targets.

2026-03-27:
Cleaning up the HUD.
Added damage flash when shooting an object that damages the player.
Targets can now be images or animated GIFs.
Added a spinning ball target to show animation.
Started working on customizable levels.
Sprite size of 256x256 is probably fine for most sprites even at 4K.

2026-03-26:
Added support for Scenes defined through XML.  This controls a foreground and background image.
Started working on Sprites.

2026-03-25:
Added support for targets that can affect player health and lives.  So shooting a bomb or civilian could cost the player health, and shooting an item could increase health.

2026-03-24:
Added code to interact with Sinden Lightgun app.

2026-03-21:
Got different weapons popping up on the screen.  Shoot one to change weapons.
Ammo currently displays as a number on the bottom of the screen.  Probably need to change this.
Player score displays at the bottom of the screen.

2026-03-20:
Added support for Targets defined through XML.  Not sure this is a great idea or not.
More work on custom weapon sounds and stats.  Trying to keep accurate clip size, fire rate ratios, sounds, etc.

2026-03-19:
Muzzle flash (and most other options) are now configurable through XML.

2026-03-18:
Added multiple customizable weapons.
Added muzzle flash and shot sound.

2026-03-17:
Got dual crosshairs tracking.  
Implemented colorizer for using simple white asset files, which the app can re-color as blue or red.
Added "bang" image.

2026-03-16:
Received Sinden Lightguns.
Wrote a simple UI for controlling the border and launching the lightgun app.
Got basic Raw Input tracking working

Screen Shots: