mallaard
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Posts posted by mallaard
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On 4/18/2021 at 7:15 AM, neil9000 said:
With Launchbox closed manually run the setup file from the Launchbox/Updates folder and install directly over the top of your current install.
Ok so I went straight to the website and downloaded 11.11 and got it installed and now all is good. However Windows Defender was pretty insistent that it was a virus and kept trying to block me from opening it, so I told it to shut up and open it anyway. I don’t know why Windows is being such an asshole about Launchbox here lately.
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Hello, I'm currently running Lauchbox Premium version 11.8, and it's working fine. However, sometime recently when I try and open LB I get an error message stating that the program cannot start because another program (like dropbox) is using the file. Then LB opens anyway. Or if I'm opening BigBox the error message pops up and then I have to open BB again for it to work.
This in itself isn't that big of a deal since the programs eventually run anyway, but I've been unable to update the program the last couple times updates were available. When I try to run the update upon startup, the program closes and the error message comes up again, and then LB just goes back to asking if I want to update again, but never does.
I tried going into the Updates folder within my LB folder and installing the updates from there, but 11.9 and 11.10 come up as being incompatible with my PC, which doesn't make sense. Does anyone have an idea why my computer suddenly hates Launchbox updates?
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2 hours ago, Retro808 said:
Also look for the most recent version of the game dump you can get. Many games can load directly through Tekno and no longer need things like Game Loader RH. Last year I redid pretty all of my games that use TeknoParrot and I no longer fuss with Game Loader RH at all. Emuline would be a good site to visit for TeknoParrot related games.
Cool that’s good advice, much appreciated!
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9 hours ago, bundangdon said:
Coming from someone who had very similar concerns with you in the not so distant past, I can say that TeknoParrot is safe to use, as long as you download it from a reputable website of course. I think because TeknoParrot is not really an emulator, and is more of a 'hack' than anything else, the program causes a lot of false positive malware warnings, and the same goes with Game Loader RH as well. Those particular arcade games are all programmed for use in Windows, and TeknoParrot essentially goes around the copy/hack protection, so that you can play those same (Windows) games on your own computer. The C++ and DirectX libraries that you mentioned won't mess anything up either. In short, it's a bit of a hassle to get up and running properly, but very much worth it since there are some extremely nice arcade games available for both systems (TP and Game Loader)
Thanks very much for addressing my concerns, I might try getting back on that horse in the next little bit. I’m not afraid of a little work to get something going, I just didn’t want to put in the work to screw up my system.
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So this is probably a very noobish question, but I’m curious about trying Teknoparrot, however several things have been keeping me from attempting it so far.
The first is the whole malware false-positive issue. I just wanted confirmation from those in-the-know that this program, as well as that Game Loader RH or whatever it’s called, are actually fine to use.
The second issue I’ve had is in actually acquiring the program. I’ve visited the Tekno Gods official website and went to their downloads page, but it just brings up some scary message about my browsing not being private, and there’s no way to bypass it to get to any actual download link.
My final concern is that Teknoparrot evidently requires some special C++ program and a special version of Direct X. Will installing this stuff mess up any of the other games and programs I have running on my current Direct X version (which I think is 11)?
So I guess in short, is this program worth all the trouble that seems to be involved with it? And if so, could anyone provide a working download link?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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16 hours ago, Headrush69 said:
Yes it is. I have it in my collection.
I don't know whether true or not, but I did find one article about Primal Rage II that indicated that an earlier prototype used CoJag hardware.
Maybe by 1996 Atari could see that the Jaguar was not going to succeed as a home console and was looking to pre-market PR2 for a Playstation release. That's the most logical explanation I can come up with, because for a strictly 2D fighting game like this you'd think the Jag hardware would actually be better than the PSX.
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On 2/27/2021 at 10:39 AM, Headrush69 said:
I don't know about PS2 hardware, but there were arcade games based on PS1 hardware. MAME (and other emus) can play those games and it's called the ZN-2 hardware.
Apparently the test cabinet for Primal Rage 2 was also based on some kind of PS1 hardware, which I thought was strange because you’d think Atari would use its own Jaguar hardware like it did with Area 51.
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Hey, I'd read somewhere that the PS2 emulator could somehow be used to play arcade roms of machines that were based on PS2 hardware. Is there anything to this, and if so, how does it work? Also, how many arcade games were based on PS2 hardware?
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22 hours ago, CriticalCid said:
From the official MAME site:
In easier terms: Running games isn't MAME's main goal. They primarily try to document and replicate the original hardware as accurate as possible and everything else what comes with that is just bonus. That's basically the very definition of LLE.
It also answers the questions why MAME is so taxing on the CPU and why it currently can't emulate newer machines.
I found a little video the other day of one of the developers talking about their goals and process, and how they're trying to update MAME for "the 21st century" in light of having decades of programming baggage they'd like to streamline and whatnot. I forget how powerful MAME is if you really look at all its functions. I've even used it to emulate the Jaguar a couple of times before settling on Retroarch for that.
For some reason I find all this talk of emulation and computer preservation really interesting, despite knowing pretty much nothing about programming myself.
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17 hours ago, Koroth said:
I am not an emulation specialist, far from it even. But neill9000 describes High Level Emulation (HLE) and mallaard describes Low Level Emulation (LLE). So, you are both right.
Wow that’s interesting! Since you introduced the terms LLE and HLE I looked them up and found this article that goes into detail about those concepts: https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/High/Low_level_emulation
So now I’m wondering, since the majority of arcade machines in MAME are older and lower-tech games if it relies more on low level or high level emulation?
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43 minutes ago, neil9000 said:
Thats not true, the data from a rom file is read and converted to something a PC can understand and run on the fly, In the case of MAME each hardware board essentially needs a specific "core" or "source" to run. Think of it like Retroarch, when you launch a game there it only works if its run it in a core that understands that system, (a genesis rom wont load in a gameboy core for example) same with MAME.
Oh ok, so an emulator acts more as a translator for the host hardware, so a SNES emulator for a PSP takes a rom’s SNES specific coding and converts it into PSP compatible coding. Thanks for clarifying that for me. So I guess the MAME project is a large collection of these translation codes that people have been making for all those different games and systems. That makes more sense than what I was thinking.
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I absolutely love MAME, one of my favorite things in the world is sitting down with my atcade stick and exploring through hundreds of random old gems I’ve never heatd of, particularly Japan-exclusive stuff.
but I kinda wonder how MAME even works. I understand the basic premise behind console or computer emulators, they’re artificial environments that trick game files into thinking they’re running on original hardware. With thousands of games running on different hardware, how is MAME organized? I can see that a lot of earlier games are based on Z80 or Motorolla 68000 chips, does MAKE have like two or three overarching architectures that can simultaneously handle all the different variants of those or does literally each and every game require its own emulation environment? Obviously some systems like Neo Geo only tequire one setup, but it still mystified me how one program can handle Donkey Kong and Time Crisis at the same time.
if anyone can explain to to me in me nice dum-dum words I’d greatly appreciate it.
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On 1/27/2021 at 7:24 PM, Greatestdadever2 said:
I use mode one on the dolphin bar in MAME and it works. I was not able to get it to work in mode two for MAME.
Thank you for the response. Luckily I was able to get the Dolphin/Wiimote setup to work in MAME, but I had to follow the basic .ini instructions from this Aimtrak manual: https://www.ultimarc.com/AimTrak Setup Guide.pdf
once I followed those instructions for MAME configuration it finally recognized my controller as an in-game cursor using mode 2.
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On 1/28/2021 at 12:02 PM, sundogak said:
@mallaard Steam has Zen Pinball FX3 and occasionally they go on sale by about half price. If not in rush that is cheapest option since your purchases on PS4 don't carry to Steam/PC.
Pinball is a bit quirky to install overall and then to get working in LB (and other front ends) versus other emulators. Like mentioned above by Mallaard, there are variety of threads on these programs in forum. The main annoyance is you will not get much support for media direct from the LB database. So high quality media tends to be a bit more time consuming to hunt down versus just letting LB download it for you. There are fortunately packs here in the forum download section (FX3 full set of media, VP/FP logos) and at other pinball forums. The big suggestion I have on pinball side, more so for Future Pinball and Visual Pinball is that you start with small set of tables that look interesting to you, get those running and figured out then go from there. Don't expect to download some mega table FP and VP pack, extract, import, and assume will all work versus say a console emulator setup.
I would say as far as ease of getting running based on my experience from easiest to hardest:
- FX3 - It has installer and getting the base running is easy in Windows since just "works" most times like a normal Windows program. Works in LB with a specific command line although the LB pause menu does not work. Otherwise can run in Bigbox or Launchbox once setup. You will need to get a free "cabinet" code from Zen for this to work best in Launchbox. This thread goes into detail on command you need for Steam to launch direct into a table: Setting up Pinball FX3 to launch directly into tables - Noobs - LaunchBox Community Forums (launchbox-app.com)
- Future Pinball (FP) + BAM - BAM is an additional program that runs as launcher prior to FP and adds additional features that are not in original program. Many new tables in FP require BAM to run. Unfortunately, the original FP EXE is no longer updated and closed source so BAM is only real mechanism to "update" anything in the program. If have a new setup of FP then the easiest to get going is to use the "2 in one installer" of BAM and FP located here. There is a highly detailed install thread here For LB, to setup launching there are screen snaps here:
- The Pinball Arcade (TPA) - This is probably similar in complexity to FX3 since a for purchase Windows program. But unlike FX3 that has a built in ability of "cabinet" mode you have to run a separate program for TPA to get it to launch directly to table from LB. TPA development also seems to have stalled over last few years as well. You can easily setup in LB without but it will just open the main TPA program and then you have to scroll to table you want from within TPA. The TPA FreeCamera Mod gives ability to link directly to table and launch (among other features). See here:
- and here Pinball Arcade Guide (New Method) - Troubleshooting - LaunchBox Community Forums (launchbox-app.com)
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Visual Pinball (VP) - VP works in LB, it is more that getting a base VP setup can be a bit daunting at first since has multiple pieces. The VP software, PinMAME, and depending on what doing may need DMD software. The all in one installer is best to start with if new install. There is an excellent Google Docs spreadsheet that gives links to various pieces of VP and updated table links (has some FP as well) here. I personally stick with the VPX tables to keep things easier. See LB thread here (among others).
Thanks a ton for the detailed information, when I get a chance I’ll definitely start working on this! And you’re right, a big part will just be me trying to figure out what kinds of tables I’d want.
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I could use some help. I just installed a Dolphinbar and it works perfectly well on mode 4 for Wii emulation, but I really wanted it for MAME lightgun emulation. I tried setting MAME (I'm using 0.184 through Launchbox) to use the mouse as a lightgun and then set the Dolphinbar to mode 2, mouse mode, but the in-game controls don't recognize the Wiimote. It works as a general mouse in Windows and within the Mame settings menu, but not in-game. In Area 51 for instance I'll try configuring the specific machine but when I try moving the Wiimote around to register X or Y axis, nothing registers. Any advice would be awesome!
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5 hours ago, DeadVoivod said:
I would definitely go with Visual Pinball and Future Pinball, you can find many threads and videos on this forums on how to get them running. Gives you hundreds of tables, originals, recreated, fan made.
Awesome thanks, I'll definitely check those out in here!
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Hi!
I've been using Launchbox for a couple of years now and have had a lot of success setting up many different arcade and console games, I love it!
What I'm unsure about at the moment is how to start setting up pinball games. I'd like to use my X-Arcade Stick because of the side flipper-type
buttons it has. I really enjoy Zen Pinball on the PS4 but I want to set some tables up on my PC, so I'm wondering what programs or emulators would work
best for what I want. It looks like Steam has a lot of options. If anyone has any recommendations I'd really appreciate it!
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Hello, I just wanted to thank you for posting this setup, what you've done is really awesome and far exceeds my biggest wishes for a C64 emulation setup. The custom controls alone are worth the download and installation.
For some reason when I was trying to import everything into my personal LB setup I was unable to get the game paths to work, I'm assuming I'm copy/pasting the xml files wrong somehow. Right now I'm doing it the dumb caveman way and just adding one batch file at a time, so I'm curating your already curated collection. However if you have any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong with the xml's or anything I'd appreciate the heads up!
Cannot upgrade Launchbox beyond 11.8
in Troubleshooting
Posted
I downloaded the latest version of Launchbox directly from the website and installed it and my existing version was updated as normal, but Windows Defender tried to block me from opening the file. I told it to run anyway and that the LB website was safe to use. I hope that helps.