JoeViking245

To play the tape it's just a matter of pressing F2. You can pass in the command line -autoboot_command "xxxx" where xxxx are letters/symbols/numbers. But haven't figured how to send Function-Key-2 (F2). An example for Acorn Electron cartridges is electron -skip_gameinfo -autoboot_delay "2" -autoboot_command "*tape\nchain""""""\n" -cass "name_of_the_rom" Here it skips the game info, pauses for 2 seconds, then sends *tape {Enter} (the \n you see) chain (the series of quotes is basically a long pause) {Enter} -cass "name_of_the_rom" This doesn't answer the question, but gives you an idea of how the autoboot works. If you can find out how to get it to send/register {F2}, I'm sure there are many people out there that would gladly buy you a beer or a nice tall glass of fresh lemon-aid.

Remember the issue with spacewar.zip? There's an Arcade Machine that uses that name. The exact same name is used in the following softlists: channelf vectrax cpc_flop dragon_cass a2600 apple2_cass nascom_snap arcadia jaguar spectrum_cass studio2 So basically that's 12 different "spacewar.zip" files that are not interchangeable. Also, using the respective subfolders below 'software' will make things a lot more orderly. And when you decided you don't want the softlist 'nascom_snap' anymore, you just delete the folder along with its' 67 files.

Glad you found the right studio2.zip and can now throw out the wrong studio2.zip that was right for everyone else on the planet. I've no idea what the version error thing is. Maybe the right studio2.zip is right for 0.217 but wrong for 0.222. There actually is some method to the madness that when MAME updates, so do some-to-many of the roms. So goes the ol' adage, make sure your MAME executable version matches the version of the romset you have. I personally don't use RA for MAME, because... well, MAME works. To me it's like getting in the pickup truck to haul your motorcycle down the road when you can just ride your motorcycle. But that's just me. Good luck with Loopy. MAME, either through RetroArch or stand alone is not going to be your friend on that one. But don't let that deter you from other softlist ventures. Advice: (geared towards standalone MAME, because I don't how how RA MAME works) - You only need to have one version of MAME. As long as the executable and rom versions match each other. Having the newest version every month isn't necessary, but if starting from scratch, may as well get the latest. It will NOT work less than any prior version. As long as everything matches. - If you plan to have a bunch of different softlist's (Apple, Amiga, Commodore, ZX Spectrum...), so that you don't have add each and every softlist path to the rompath line in mame.ini... in your main MAME folder, create a new subfolder and call it "software" and then add "software" to you rompath line. In that (new 'software') folder. put your softlist bios/system/device files in there. Then when you add the roms (games for the different console/computers), create a subfolder inside 'software' and name it the EXACT SAME NAME as the corresponding hash file (minus .xls) Example: D:\emulators\MAME\mame64.exe D:\emulators\MAME\software\studio2.zip D:\emulators\MAME\software\apple2gs.zip D:\emulators\MAME\software\studio2\spacewar.zip D:\emulators\MAME\software\studio2\speedway.zip D:\emulators\MAME\software\apple2gs\aaargh.zip D:\emulators\MAME\software\apple2gs\arkanoid.zip MAME automatically knows to look in subfolders of it's rompath for softlists (like studio2 and the apple2gs above). So you won't have to add each one to the rompath line. - If you plan to add a bunch of softlists to LaunchBox, you may want to look at the MAME Software List Import Tool (now that you know you can get it to work through the emulator). It should aid well for the import process. https://forums.launchbox-app.com/files/file/2080-mame-software-lists-import-tool-plugin/ - Softlist can a pain in the neck!! But with time and patience you'll git 'er done.

The games' zip files will have a .bin file in them. And that's ok. But not studio.zip.

Ya. That won't work. You'll need find it in set (A) [if you don't already have it].

The 2 Studio II games that are showing coincidentally have the same rom (zip file) name as Arcade Machines. So what MAME thinks it's seeing are the Arcade Machines. At this point it's only looking at the physical rom (zip file) name. So when it tries to run them, it freaks out (because the roms (the files inside the zip file) are not the ones for the Arcade Machine it 'thought' it was trying to run. MAME 0.222 will open and run RCA Studio II games. Confirmed. If all went well, when you double click Studio II it would show the "17/17 software packages" as shown in the screenshot above. Note "Unfiltered" is selected, thus showing all 17 possible for Studio II). MAME [Arcade] "Machines" and MAME "Software lists" are 2 separate things. The Machines are (in general) the cabinets (or cabs) you found in your local arcade. And when people talk about MAME, this is typically what's being referred to. The Software Lists (or softlists) are your home consoles and computers (Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, RCA Studio II, Apple II... etc). So when looking for roms, you'll see something like (A) "MAME 0.222 ROMs" and (B) "MAME 0.222 Software List Roms". (A) is where you'll find the Arcade Machines (games) and also [most] "System", "Bios" and "Device" roms". (B) is where you'll find the software (games) for the various consoles and computers. For your scenario you'd find "studio2.zip" (the system file) in with (A) and the (up to 17 for Studio II) games in (B). You mentioned something about renaming the games. I hope you're just talking about the games Title inside LaunchBox. Never rename MAME zip files. There is a plugin in the downloads section here on the forums that some dude wrote/contributed that will assist in importing your Software List roms into LaunchBox. The main biggie feature is that when it imports the games into LB, it will set the games Title as per MAME's hash file (i.e. studio2.xml). But RULE #1 is to get you games working in the emulator before even thinking about testing/running them in LB. And you not there yet. In Windows Explorer, double click your studio2.zip file to look inside. Do the file names look like these?

In your mame.ini, for the rompath line, add some more quotes. Especially when you have spaces in the path. rompath "roms;"F:\Retro Games\RCA - Studio II"" Also confirm that you actually do/do-not have spaces before and after the dash ( - ). Though as I think about it, it's showing Studio II as "available". Hmmm.... Just for the heck of it, move your all your Studio II rom files (looks like 10 of them) into your ../Emulators/MAME/roms/ folder, start MAME and try double clicking Studio II.

Looks like it's thinking the "spacewar" file you have is the Arcade Machine (as denote by "1997, Cinematronics"). So when it tries to run it, you get that error. (Assuming the spacewar.zip file you have is actually the RCA version). Double click Studio II, and try Spacewar inside there. (Note the games romset name for RCA Studio II is the exact same as for the Arcade Machine)

If your XP is 64bit, this here will work.

You're welcome! I only use Steam to launch games from BigBox, not the other way around ('cause it seems backwards to me).

Joy12:: If GetKeyState("Joy11") WinClose, ahk_exe {{{StartupEXE}}} Joy11:: KeyWait, Joy11, T1 ; 1 = seconds to wait for something else to happen if (ErrorLevel) Send {Shift}{F1} Press F11 and then F12 to close. Press and hold F11 to send {Shift}{F1}. If you find you can't get to F12 fast enough, change "1" to a "2" or more. You can also something like "0.5" for 1/2 second. If you hold F11 long enough, and then press F12, it'll first send {Shift}{F1} and then close the app.

Process Close is not the best method to to close an app. It's kind of like pressing and holding the power button on your PC to shut down Windows. Try this: Joy12:: If GetKeyState("Joy11") WinClose, ahk_exe Spectaculator.exe With this button combo, you need to press [and hold] Joy11 first, then Joy12. Pressing Joy12 and then pressing Joy11 won't work.

Ohhhhh..... doesn't work 'cause you can't import them into LaunchBox. I read it as you couldn't get them to actually run/play with MAME. Well, glad you get 'em working. ?

If you have them all in the same folder for MAME roms, they all should work. The Japanese version (wbml.zip) will work by itself in MAME, as you have found. All the other bootleg versions and the virtual console version require to have their own rom_file.zip and the wbml.zip in the same folder (i.e. they require those 2 files). Also, make sure the folder they are in has been set in MAME's rompath.

Process of elimination says plug things in the way you had it before (without the hub, when it wasn't drifting), shutdown/restart Windows. Then see if it's still drifting in LB.

That's what I figured after I got done writing that. lol Maybe try pulling a Settings.xml from one of the backups dated prior to this starting and using it. Do you have any controllers hooked up? Probably not as you have UseAllControllers=False. I ask because I know my Xbox 360 controller will have a 'drift' until I bump the left joystick. (like what K-foxx just said) (Just a thought. I'm no expert, merely and end-user with.... well.... thoughts. )

Make a backup of the Settings.xml, delete the original, start LaunchBox (it'll make a fresh one) and see if it still does it. Or is that what you did to 'narrow it down'?

When does this error occur? As soon as you start BigBox? When you switch to a different screen (i.e. Enter a Platform the view the games)? What Theme are you using? Try a different BigBox Theme.

"[almost] Anything is possible." But this is beyond me. I'm not familiar with that particular Theme (which doesn't really matter). So the "set of images" you're talking about, is that the different colored 'bezels' or overlays you have between the 2 views? None of the Themes I use have any so again, not familiar. Is it safe to assume your particular Theme has a subfolder of images then the path you manually changed points to a different ../images folder (or there about's)?

v1.02 is out. That should resolve any issues 'I created' when trying to 'fix' things with v1.01.

Well, I did say "If all goes well..." and it sounds like it did. That error is saying the change was already made (in not so few words). lol Glad it appears to be working for ya!

@JaysArcade I think this fixes the Attract Mode dilemma.

Launch Platforms View File This is a Big Box plugin that allows you to launch a game/application directly from the Platform Wheel View level. For use with platforms that only have one game/application. New in v2.0, now works in Hybrid views (if available). Hybrid Views are available in the Default theme in LaunchBox v13.22-beta-1 and newer. Example Use Case: You have a platform called "Music Box Alpha" which contains only one "game", the Music Box Alpha application. To launch it: Select the platform Select the [only] "game" Select "Play". Using this plugin (once you've setup the Theme and added the platform via Launch Platform Setup in the Tools menu), to launch the application: Select the platform (That's it) Installing: Open the zip file and copy the contents into your ../LaunchBox/Plugins/ folder e.g. D:\LaunchBox\Plugins\LaunchPlatform\LaunchPlatform.dll If updating from a previous version, remove any existing .dll files first from the /LaunchPlatform/ subfolder. Setup: Click Tools and select Launch Platform Setup (You may first want to create a backup of the themes' folder you will be using for Big Box. You shouldn't need it, but never a bad idea.) Note: The Default theme is excluded. To use it, make a copy of the Default folder. e.g. /LaunchBox/Themes/Default - Copy/ In the Themes Not Setup list will be all your Big Box themes. (Excluding Default) Click on the one you will be using use then click Setup Theme. This will now be listed in Themes Setup. At any time you can undo the changes made by selecting the setup Theme and click Restore Theme. Select the Platform (Music Box Alpha) in the Platforms with one game List and click Add Platform (or you can just double-click it). This will move it to the list on the right. When you are done, close the plugin. Using: Start Big Box. If you just finished setting it up in LaunchBox, you can press Ctrl+B to switch to Big Box. Set the theme to the one you setup earlier (if it's not the current theme already). Scroll through your Platforms wheel until you find a platform you've added (Music Box Alpha) and select it. What's actually happening when you "Setup" a theme: (a behind the scenes look) @jayjay is the brains behind getting this to work, and I'm the one that threw it all together. So credit goes to where credit is due. (you decide ) If something's not working right, go ahead and post here and it'll get looked at. And possibly even get resolved. Submitter JoeViking245 Submitted 07/07/2020 Category Third-party Apps and Plugins