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Johnny T

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Posts posted by Johnny T

    .bat file to start an exe

    in Noobs

    Posted

    Anyone know of a .bat file that will simply start an exe. I want to run my Hidden Object Games but don't want to keep batch editing them to remove the emulator (as they don't use an emulator and just run natively on the PC).

    I thought something like: 

    start D:\LaunchBox\Games\"Hidden Object Games"\%1\%1.exe

    Might work but despite trying various options.... (start /d "" path) etc... I can't get it to work.

    Anyone got any ideas?

    Thanks :)

     

    Got a strange graphics problem with Fighting Hawk?

    in Noobs

    Posted

    4 hours ago, neil9000 said:

    I'm on MAME 0.222 and i get the same. I assume there was regression for that machine in 0.222, this does happen as emulation is improved it brings in previously unseen flaws. Just the nature of something that is iterated on every month, one thing may be fixed, but the knock on effect of that may break something else.

    1112622813_Mame0222b_64bitScreenshot2020_08.03-13_20_48_01.thumb.png.95ca797d3af27d38a3f9496d2c58f0d3.png

    Hi Neil

    This is resolved in the 0.223 version (https://mametesters.org/view.php?id=7696)

    A guy on Reddit (star_jump) kindly responded to my post on there. Just thought I'd let you know in case it was a game you enjoyed too :)

    • Thanks 1

    Got a strange graphics problem with Fighting Hawk?

    in Noobs

    Posted

    This isn't a LB problem but thought I'd ask here as we've got a very knowledgeable bunch on this forum.

    One of my favourite games is Fighting Hawk. For some reason, on my latest cabinet build, the game has massive graphical problems (see screenshot)

    835037672_FightingHawk.thumb.jpg.a35a897bf3b8a52c9b652a6c8cd21207.jpg

    This is running on both MAME 0.220 and 0.222 (as I upgraded MAME thinking that it could be the issue).

    However, if I run the same ROM on MAME 0.201 it's fine.

    This isn't an LB problem as I've tried to run it just through MAME with the same results. I've also turned off the bezel in case that was an issue and it's the same problem.

    I've compared the mame.ini files between the versions and there's not a lot of differences.

    I'm a bit stuck? Has anyone ever seen anything similar to this? Can anyone advise anything else I could try? Or is it just that Fighting Hawk is broken in the latest few releases?

    Thanks

    What are the video snaps called that incorporate graphics?

    in Noobs

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, dragon57 said:

    They are called Video Themes. The one for Mad Dog 2 can be found on EmuMovies ftp @ /Official/Video Themes (HD)/American Laser Games (Video Themes-HyperSpin)(4x3)(HD)(CriticalCid 1.0)

    That's brilliant!! I've just got it! Thanks for giving me the full details as I never would have found it if you just said the Emu FTP. That's great Dragon, you're a star!!!

    • Like 1

    What are the video snaps called that incorporate graphics?

    in Noobs

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I'm missing one "theme" video for my American Laser games collection. It's for a game called Mad Dog 2 Lost Gold.

    I've found an intro video which plays full screen and is fine. But, I'm a bit OCD, and on my other American Laser Games (such as Crime Patrol) it shows a window with the video playing along with a police badge flying in from the top and other stuff (basically a full Hyperspin type of intro).

    It would be good to get something the same for Mad Dog 2 but I don't know what I'm searching for? 

    I've tried looking for Mad Dog 2 Hyperspin on YouTube but the video have those little wiggling joysticks in etc.

    Anyone any ideas? Thanks :)

    How to map mouse buttons to my cabinet buttons?

    in Noobs

    Posted

    6 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

    What controller encoder is your cab using?  (i.e. I-Pac2)   The encoder is what has assigned P1B1 to Ctrl.  You could create a 2nd config through/for the encoder and then in LB add "Automatically run before main application" load config 2, and then "Automatically run after..." load config 1 .... for the respective games.  But that's kind of a pain.

    Plan B:  In the "Running AutoHotkey script" for the emulator, add 

    
$LCtrl::
Send, {LButton}

    Problem is, every game using that emulator will be affected by that.  Though you could create a "new emulator", point it to the same exe, but add in the Run Before/Run After.

    Plan C :  Create and save that AHK script and then compile it, and then add that to "Run Automatically Before..." for the games.  But off hand don't know how to make that go away after the game exits.  It's possible (and probably easy), but would need to look into it.

    Plan D :   Add another button to your cab dedicated to left click.  This has been real handy on my cab, but add 3 (if you can) for Left, Middle and Right clicks.

    Joe, you are an absolute GENIUS!!!!! I can't thank you enough!!!!

    Following your excellent advice (and for the benefit of others who are in the same predicament) I went down the AutoHotKey route....

    I created two ahk scripts....

    "hiddenobjectgamesOpen" and "hiddenobjectgamesClose"

    This is the code I used...

    "hiddenobjectgamesOpen" 

    #NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
; #Warn  ; Enable warnings to assist with detecting common errors.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.
#SingleInstance, Force
#Persistent

$LCtrl::
Send, {LButton}

     

    "hiddenobjectgamesClose" 

    fullScriptPath = D:\LaunchBox\Misc Arcade Files\AutoHotKey\JTScripts\hiddenobjectgamesOpen.ahk  ; edit with your full script path
DetectHiddenWindows, On 
WinClose, %fullScriptPath% ahk_class AutoHotkey

     

    I then set up my Additional Apps (right click the game and choose Edit and then click Additional Apps) to reflect these settings....

    hog.thumb.png.c2147e705f699a63735ae4275c0455ab.png

    The "hiddenobjectgameClose" has "Automatically run after main application" box TICKED

    The "hiddenobjectgameOpen" has "Automatically run BEFORE main application" box TICKED

    And that is working a treat....

    I'll edit the ahk script to include the Right Click functionality as well (and any other functionality I need whilst in-game)

    Again Joe... I can't thank you enough for your help.

    Cheers ?

     

    • Game On 1

    How to map mouse buttons to my cabinet buttons?

    in Noobs

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I want to set up a Hidden Object Game I've got for my missus. I have created a Platform called Hidden Object Games - this platform doesn't use an emulator as the game is portable and just runs straight from the PC.

    My issue is that the game is predominantly mouse controlled. 

    I can use my trackball as a mouse. But I need to be able to left click the mouse and wanted to use my Player 1 Button 1 for that.

    Player 1 Button 1 is currently mapped to "Left Control".

    Is there a way to change this mapping to Left Mouse Click when I run the Hidden Object Game and then change it back again when I exit the game?

    I've been playing around with Keyboard2XInput but that doesn't have mouse keys on it.

    I've also been messing around with AutoHotKey but I'm getting myself tied up in knots?

    Anyone else managed to work out how to do this?

    Thanks

    Anyone got Atari 2600 set up on Retroarch?

    in Noobs

    Posted

    On 7/25/2020 at 12:40 PM, neil9000 said:

    You should still have them as long as you setup your controller correctly in the main Retroarch settings. Then when you load a game in the core and go to quick menu/controls it shows them there.

     

    Hi Neil

    You were right!!! I was messing with it yesterday and found the "Quick Menu" showed the B/W & Color switches etc.

    For some reason it's showing "12 way Rotary Joystick" as the controller (which will be the USB 12 way rotary add on that I installed on my ServoStiks) but the controls all still work so that's great.

    Just as a matter of interest what controller do you use for your set up? I've read that an Xbox One controller is the best but would prefer some feedback from someone I trust before I buy one. I'm thinking of getting a controller for playing the PS1 and N64 stuff etc?

    Also, is your controller wired/wireless.

    Cheers

    John :) 

    Anyone got Atari 2600 set up on Retroarch?

    in Noobs

    Posted

    2 hours ago, neil9000 said:

    You should still have them as long as you setup your controller correctly in the main Retroarch settings. Then when you load a game in the core and go to quick menu/controls it shows them there.

     

    Thanks Neil, I'll check that out and see what it says. I've not used the 'quick menu' yet. Still finding my way around Retroarch. I've just been into the Port #1 and Port #2 controls etc.

    Cheers :)

    Anyone got Atari 2600 set up on Retroarch?

    in Noobs

    Posted

    I love the old Atari 2600 games and I've got it working with Retroarch but wasn't sure how to set up the system buttons (such as Left/Right difficulty level, color/black&white etc)

    I thought I'd post here as I know we have a few Atari 2600 aficionados on site (Lord Monkus for one!). So, can anyone let me know how I set this up on Retroarch? I did read something about Controller Overlays but I'm not sure what these are or how I 'install' them??

    Thanks :)

    Handy tool for OCD folks (like me!)

    in Noobs

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I've been trying to come up with ways to easily curate my images so that I have one good image per rom in each of the pertinent folders. i.e. one Box - 3D image per rom and one Arcade - Marquee per rom.

    This started out quite well as I used xampp to allow me to run PHP script from my home PC and then wrote some code to try and remove files with the same name but with .jpg / .png extensions and also to rename files and highlight roms that didn't have images associated with them.

    Also the excellent plugin Ao.Bigbox (by @eatkinola) 

    Is an absolute god-send for helping identify improvements that can be made to your image collection.

    However, I fell down a bit when trying to identify files that were duplicate but had different filenames - for instance - 

    air-sea-battle.png

    is the same as...

    air-sea-battle (USA) (Proto).png

    So I did a search and found "AllDup" by MTSD (Not sure if I'm allowed to post a link so I'll refrain for now - Google is your friend however). It's 'freeware' and seems brilliant for these kind of searches. It allows a myriad of granular options when searching so I've got mine set up with this condition...

    alldup.png.e8e9094f2aec7d0e4c8923c3cbd5e9ca.pngI'm comparing filenames *AFTER* removing (USA) (Proto) etc... (obviously I'll add Europe / Japan et al in there too when I use it next time).

    This program works an absolute treat so thought I'd share it in case others would find it useful.

    :) 

    LED blinky issue - only speaking for a second before cutting off??

    in Noobs

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Headrush69 said:

    The latest version is the one causing me that issue. Turning off the key feature doesn't help. I think out issues are different then. Glad it's working for you.

    Yep, we must have different issues? That's strange. You could always post on the Arcade Controls forum LEDBlinky thread and see if Arzoo can help you. That's what I did and he's brilliant at helping out.

    Hope you get it sorted matey :)

    LED blinky issue - only speaking for a second before cutting off??

    in Noobs

    Posted

    12 hours ago, Headrush69 said:

    How do you know it's seeing a key down, is there info in the LEDBlinky debug log?

    With LEDBlinky 7.1 I have this issue but I don't see any info in the debug log saying a key was pressed. If I instead use LEDBlinky 7.0.4, no issues.

    No, I haven't checked the Debug Log. I'm just going by the fact that when I ask it to 'listen' for the key that will skip the Spoken Controls - that box immediately gets populated.

    However, Arzoo (the creator of LEDBlinky) has kindly fixed the issue in the latest release of LEDBlinky so you can probably upgrade and you'll be fine (make a backup just in case) :)

    LED blinky issue - only speaking for a second before cutting off??

    in Noobs

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Headrush69 said:

    Which issue are you referring to: the cut off speech or the key pressed issue?

     The key issue was fixed for me by going back to firmware version 1.49, not to the latest version. (FYI) 

    The key issue is still apparent but only on LEDBlinky. Similar software that 'listens' for key presses doesn't do it? I'm up to the latest firmware version now (1.55).

    Still investigating the root cause of the issue.

    Cheers ?

    LED blinky issue - only speaking for a second before cutting off??

    in Noobs

    Posted

    Just a quick update on this topic - just in case anyone else is having similar issues.....

    I did update my firmware on the IPac Ultimate - the latest firmware is 1.55 (as of the 14th July 2020 as I write this). This didn't help so I contacted Andy and, with his help, did some fault finding.

    It *looks* like it might be nothing to do with the IPac and something to do with LEDBlinky itself. Arzoo (the creator of LEDBlinky) is looking into this for me at the moment and I'll post back if it gets resolved.

    It's certainly not affecting anything so I'm not too fussed but would be good to get to the bottom of it.

    LED blinky issue - only speaking for a second before cutting off??

    in Noobs

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Headrush69 said:

    Funny you should mention that as I’ve had that issue too. It didn’t happen all the time but occasionally on reboot I would get that. It was real noticeable because it made typing impossible and other issues. 

    I went back to the last pre multi-mode firmware on my iPac4UIO and never had the issue again. My iPac is always in keyboard mode so I’m not losing anything.

    What do you mean by "pre multi mode"? I use my IPac4UIO for LEDs and keyboard. Is there a joystick setting somewhere that could be causing this issue?

    Thanks

    LED blinky issue - only speaking for a second before cutting off??

    in Noobs

    Posted

    Yep, I've found the problem. I've got an issue with my machine that for some reason there is a "JoystickHatSwitch7" key permanently being pressed. I need to go through and unplug everything one by one and track it down. But this is why my controls voice was cutting out with the "Any key" box checked. It's because, as far as LEDBlinky was concerned, I was getting a key pressed. ?

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