Antropus
-
Posts
533 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
4
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Articles
Downloads
Gallery
Blogs
Posts posted by Antropus
-
-
24 minutes ago, rebelone said:
Does anyone by any change have already wheels, logo & video fanart for the platforms lightspeed populate?
I am glad you asked. I do!
The tricky part is that some of them I downloaded from random sources, since I used google to search and if I made a package available, then sure enough some author would complain about it. I've seen this so many times. It's an ego thing I suppose, because MOST of us are doing this absolutely for free, since it's a hobby of ours and to top that, they are claiming ownership on the artwork traced over copyrighted brands! I mean, are they paying Sega for using Sega's logo? Nope. So why do the world needs to credit them for the "art" that it is to use other peoples property without asking in the first place? Sorry for my little rant. It just makes me mad that the vast majority of us are in this for the passion for retro games and although crediting people for their hard work is important, people should be more understanding if others redistributed it, especially when it comes to artwork based on copyrighted brands. It's fan art. Make it a commercial product and make people pay for it, then you can claim ownership. But beware: if you are making any money, then you will have to pay the owners of those brands
Anyway, I can make the logos available to anyone interested, only not publicly
-
8 minutes ago, wirtual82 said:
It does not export the asset paths untill I delete the ini, and re-open the app and re-fill the settings. Or basically paste the copied ini again. It works for the first export, but then it does not update any path changes. So I had to delete the ini and then paste it again.
Sorry to hear. Not sure if I understand. Are you exporting things then changing the paths and trying to export again and it does not work? The ini file is only saved when you close Lightspeed. Up to that point any changes in the paths *should* work, but they will be only saved once you exit Lightspeed. If this is not happening, it's definitely a bug. Could you describe the steps you took, or maybe some screenshots (or video) so I can have a better understanding of the issue? Thank you!
-
2 hours ago, cammelspit said:
After using it, I actually got LB to throw and error and stop starting.
I will try again and see if I can figure out what combination of settings causes it.
Weird! Keep me informed if you find anything. Did you start with a fresh library or are you exporting into an existent library?
-
3 hours ago, evil4blue said:
The GUI is not working properly on high DPI displays. Everything is squished an unreadable.
My real issue is that I followed the manual and populated all the fields and when I get to the export portion of the program, my filtered list in unpopulated. I did this with the default filter options, so nothing exotic. Any ideas?
I am sorry to hear! The DPI issue was always there and users decided to get back to 100% scale to avoid the problem, but I totally get your point, especially now that the 4K monitors became so popular. I did some research and I think I found a good solution, by reading the registry to get the current DPI and doing some math to adapt the GUI elements to it. I should have a new version in a day or two with that fixed, so thanks for reporting!
If you clicked the rest button and you still cannot see anything under the filtered list, chances are that you are trying to match the results with roms or artwork not present (or pointing to wrong paths). Check the third tab (options) and see if you have any box checked for matching, on the right column. If you do, try to uncheck all of them and click the filter button again. The fastest way for me to diagnose it is if you sent me your lightspeed.ini file.
Thanks! -
6 hours ago, rebelone said:
I got the same small glitch that open/closes the folder dialog on first try, on next try all is good.
If i point to the related folders, does Lightspeed copy all the media files or is it just create links to those?
Thanks for testing it! I will be looking into this glitch. Sound pretty annoying!
Lightspeed only points to the folders. It doesn't move any media around. But now that you mentioned, I should add that option at some point, because some people might want just that! -
13 hours ago, Drybonz said:
The only small glitch I saw was when Lightspeed was installing, the dialog to select the installation path closed... but as soon as I reopened it, it remained open and worked fine. This also happened when I got to the dialog for setting up all the paths... it closed after the first time it opened... then I reopened it and it worked fine.
*edit* I just noticed that Argus imported twice... identical. It might be the new 1941... lol.
Thank you so much for testing it, man! I will be definitely checking the code to find out why the path windows are closing, since this was now reported by others.
1941... it's back!!!! Never found the root of the problem. I tried and the xml out of Lightspeed seemed completely fine... until Launchbox parsed it and the duplication happened. Weird.-
1
-
-
I cannot post any links, but sometimes you might find just what you are looking for by asking google about a certain [redacted].
Maybe you should try (I never did, obviously!).-
2
-
-
Yeah, that should be straight forward to implement. Lets wait until more people test the current version first.
The focus at this point is bug-fix anything remaining within the scope of what's in there.
New features will only be implemented once this version moves from RC (release candidate) to official version.
I would like if others could test all possible filter combinations to see if they are working correctly. -
You are looking for an un-needed artwork removal tool, correct? I think it's a great idea and it would be useful for myself as well. It's a good suggestion for a future version, thanks.
I am more of a collector with plenty of HDD space to store stuff, but I understand if some people want to keep just the stuff they will actually use. -
4 minutes ago, wirtual82 said:
OK, I tested this. And no problems so far.
However, I cannot find an option to move or copy the filtered/matched games with images, videos etc. to a chosen location.
Glad it worked. At this point Lightspeed can copy or move either ROM files (.zip) or CHDs to a given folder. Currently there are no options to also move matching artwork. Not hard to code, just not present at this point.
-
Latest Version: 0.181a_RC1 Updated on: 1/13/2017 @ 2:20AM
Here's something for your to try: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B23vaxsfSk1yQUQ1aXZpSThpbUk/view?usp=sharingThere are still known bugs, but this should be fairly functional and stable at this point. Manual is still in progress but almost complete.
Remember: Lightspeed is designed for people who already have a large collection of MAME ROMS/artwork in their system.
If you are interested in testing it, please follow this 10-step guide:
1) Close Launchbox
2) go to your Launchbox installation folder and backup the entire "Data" folder to a safe place
3) now go to the original Data folder and delete:
Platforms.xml
Emulators.xml
Platforms (folder)This will guarantee that you are working with an empty library without losing your settings, which is essential for our tests at this point
4) Download and install Lightspeed in your favorite folder
5) Run it as Admin (Right-click the main .exe file > properties > Compatibility > check "Run this program as an administrator", to avoid future problems depending on the location where it was installed)
6) If this is a brand new installation (as it should at this point), you will need to run the program once, configure all paths, then close/re-open Lightspeed. This will save the necessary .ini file on exit, which will be used to parse all folders on the next start
7) Once restarted and before you start playing with the filters, as a test, go straight to the "Export" Tab and click on it. You should now see the listview fully populated. Select what type of list format you want to export using the dropdown menu on the lower-left corner of the GUI, then browse for the destination folder right below it. If you select Launchbox from the dropdown menu, Launchbox root folder will be auto populated (you NEED to point to Launchbox's root folder when exporting lists to it)
8) Click "1 Filter"
9) Click "2 Output" > Add ALL. This might take some time at this point, as it's adding over 18.000 games to the list, from both Arcade and Software Lists, so be patient and wait until the process is over.
10) Look at the status bar. If the "Total Output" number matches your "Total Filtered" number you can go ahead and press "3 export"
If all paths were correctly configured, including Launchbox's root folder, the list should be exported and you should be ready to reopen Launchbox.
I hope things work for you!
-Kris-
6
-
-
Back from vacations and back to testing/fixing things! There are some known little bugs that should not be too bad, as long as people are aware of them before hand, until I find possible solutions, but nothing that will stop you from creating your lists at all.
I added many more possible platforms, updated the manual as much as possible and hooked up everything that was disjointed. I will be releasing a version for tests in the next few days and I will really appreciate if people took the time to test it, as this will benefit all other users. The main focus is being Launchbox, because it is by far the most complex of all FEs. In fact, if I removed the support for Launchbox, my code would be reduced to about half.At this point, I just want to squash as many bugs as possible and get a very stable release out. Then and only then I will contemplate adding new features. One of my priorities is, after the Launchbox module is working nicely, I will be putting some time on adding advanced support to the Attract-Mode and mGalaxy front-ends. At this point lists are being exported to them, but I would like to add support to creating lists by platform as well and similarly to Launchbox, have a fully automated process, to the point that you would just have to run Lightspeed and open any of those FEs to find everything fully configured and ready to go. But this will come in the future,
For now, stay tuned and a download will become available here in a few days, probably before the weekend!
Cheers,
-Kris-
7
-
-
Happy New Year, guys!!!
Here's the scoop:
I've got everything hooked up and I am in the process of testing and bug fixing, which takes time.
I don't want you guys to be hanging and I've done a lot of work lately to try getting a version out before my family vacation, but unfortunately the day came (today) and things are not ready for primetime just yet :-/
I would love to release it, but there are bugs still and I would hate to release something broken while I am away and you guys would be in the dark with it.
The workflow got a little more complex too (still pretty simple overall), so my plan is to either have some introductory little videos or an updated manual before the release.
I will be back on the 9th and will be doing my very best to get the remaining bugs squashed and this out of the door.
It's working great and you guys will be pleased, I believe, but the devil is in the final touches!!!
Thanks for your patience and see you soon, hopefully with a brand new program for download
Cheers,
- Kris
-
8
-
-
Here's an update (nothing to download just yet).
The program had to be rebuilt quite extensively. At this point I got most of the things I wanted to implement in place, but there are many details still missing, reason why I am not releasing anything just yet.
I decided to parse everything in start, including all roms and artwork folders. It's not fast, but not too slow. The advantage is that once everything is loaded, then things are very zippy and you know EXACTLY what you have in your collection. In my machine the startup takes about 20-25 seconds. Like I said, not fast, but it's a small price to pay for the amount of features and speed you get once everything loads up.There are many features to talk about, so I will save this for another time. For now I just leave you with some screenshots so you can see where I am at. And yes, both MAME and MESS are supported and this version is completely compatible with the new Launchbox file structure.
-
7
-
-
6 minutes ago, SpaceMidget75 said:
Wow! What was your job on the movie if you don't mind me asking?
I digitally sculpted him, including the fine detail you see in this poster. I also sculpted the "skull crawler" creature they are showing on the teaser clip released this morning.
My role in this movie was much more than that though, but I will only be allowed to talk once the movie is out. I hope you enjoy the trailer!-Kris
-
3
-
-
Completely unrelated, but this is another reason I've being a little slow with Lightspeed: another little project I've been working on for the past 2 years.
Please check out the trailer coming out tonight on Jimmy Kimmel!
-
2
-
-
5 hours ago, luger81 said:
Does Lightspeed work with the new version of Launchbox? It states that it gets done and then says to open Launchbox but yet it hasn't imported any Arcade roms.
Not released yet. I am just updating people on my progress, so they don't think I stopped working on it
I made some more major changes in the final export and it improved speed quite a bit.
It takes less than 5 seconds to filter 68000+ possible entries down to 19000+ working or partially working games from both arcade and software lists combined and then another 16 seconds to spit this 19k games list into launchbox, with all bells and whistles, including notes from both LB metadata and history.dat.Looking ok so far, but I will not release anything before I am happy with the way it looks and works. Still many filters to hook up with the software lists and buttons and cosmetics to add. I also have to go through the code cleaning a lot of crap and adding my own notes, as my intention is to release the source to the public at some point in the future.
-Kris
-
2
-
-
Thanks guys. I added a "rom folder to list" function today. As long as you point LS to a folder with correctly named MAME roms, it will grab all info for them and will create a list containing those games, with the platform name of your choice. It will only work for arcade games though, not Soft lists, because since there are roms from different lists named exactly the same, there's no way for me to autodetect which list they belong to, unless I add some kind of deep scan by crc, which is not planned at the moment.
But as I said, if you add any arcade roms into a folder and point to it, LS will pick everything up!
-Kris
-
1
-
-
Here's some progress log:
- I got a little fancy with the games tester/launcher, adding some console images and graphics, so it looks less formal.
- Newly added star system. 10 ratings range, in half increments until a total of 5 stars. Those ratings are being stored into an external .ini file that can be later on shared among users. Those ratings will be exported to Launchbox once you export your lists
- Newly added favorite system that works similarly to the above. The favorite info is being saved within the same .ini file as the ratings and will also be reflected once in Launchbox
- You can launch any game, from any soft list or arcade, from any listview with only a double click. All command line parameters are populated automatically, so no need to scramble with MESS stuff anymore. Double-click: play any (working) game
- The search engine was improved as well, but I will add some check boxes to offer better customization on where to look for (year, description, rom name, manufacturer etc)
- All supported software lists are now available as a choice and those will be imported as platforms
- Added new arcade platforms as available options (Data East, Konami, Midway, Taito etc)
- Window size and position is now being stored coming in and out of Lightspeed
- Window is completely re-sizeable now
- The layout was completely re-worked to be compatible with arcade machine setups. You can re-size the GUI from a minimum of 800x600 pixels all the way to whatever resolution you are using, meaning: arcade friendly if your monitor supports 800x600.
The interface is still messy, with unnecessary buttons, test functions and bad formatting at some places, but this is all being ironed out as I go.
No release date yet, but the project is definitely not dead...New search mode:
Arcade preview:Console previews:Arcade supported platforms (plus, any other custom platform based on MAME that you might need, based on source drivers at the bottom):Newly supported Software Lists. I will be supporting only arcade friendly platforms working reasonably well for now:New artwork paths added, closer to what Launchbox has available at the moment, less some of the least important ones. They are auto-populated and the folders are expected to live inside of MAME's main folder, but you can point to anywhere you want:- You can now match your final list with any kind of artwork combination, making sure your list only contains games that meet a certain criteria (needs to have snaps+box+flyer+movie, for example, so aal games in the list will conform to this criteria)
- You can now match the notes from Launchbox's own metadata alone or in combination with the metadata from history.dat, which can be completely customized as well. This way you will always have the most complete metadata possible for any given game
- Added an option to update all files in batch mode, so it will try to guess the file names, which is tricky, since some files change names every time, while progetto snaps doesn't, so their files will surely work every time
More to come.
-Kris-
5
-
-
47 minutes ago, Rion said:
So if i scan for example mame 0.175 using fba rom folder it would work?
I think it will! They should have matching names and rom sets, I believe. Once I have this feature in, you would be able to point to FBA folder, Demul folder or any other emulator using the same rom sets as MAME and you should get a nice platform with all Roms populated for you. So if you download a rom set for that specific Mame version or other emulators, it should pick up the vast majority of the games.
1 hour ago, capidel said:it don´t works in 6.12
Thanks for trying! It was working for a bit, as I believe Jason was trying to keep compatibility. No worries if it's broken now. My wip works with the new formats, so all good!
-Kris
-
1
-
-
Are you sure it doesn't work at all? I thought that the new Launchbox would load launchbox.xml and update it on the fly if you have the file in the main folder?
Here, do a quick test. Copy this barebones launchbox.xml file into your Launchbox installation folder, at the root (i.e. c:\launchbox\), point Lightspeed to it and let it do its thing. Let me know if it completely blows or if it still works.-Kris
-
19 hours ago, Drybonz said:
... but I don't understand the request for Rocketlauncher support? How would Lightspeed support it? What was the intent on how that would work?
Rocketlauncher basically just launches an extra layer of options... Launchbox can launch Rocketlauncher already, with all it's benefits. If Lightspeed already loads the games into Launchbox, what else is needed?That was my feeling as well. A little puzzled about how this support would come from my side, but I am here to help
-
1
-
-
-
Some of the artwork on that link you sent are part of MAME's own artwork collection, so it should come packaged if you download one of those famous artwork torrents for MAME
They just need to be adjusted. I could add a module inside of Lightspeed to spit out .lay files automatically, formatted and pointing to the right places. You would only need to inform the resolution of your monitor and it would create all files for you. Then we would only need to autogenerate the overlays by reading the artwork folder and through some photoshop macros, which I have experience with.
The file structure is pretty straight forward:Quote<?xml version="1.0"?>
<mamelayout version="2">
<element name="CP">
<image file="1943.png" />
</element>
<element name="Bezel">
<image file="Bezel.png" />
</element>
<view name="Hide CP">
<screen index="0">
<bounds left="140" top="0" right="500" bottom="480" />
</screen>
<bezel element="Bezel">
<bounds left="0" top="0" right="640" bottom="480" />
</bezel>
</view>
<view name="Show CP">
<screen index="0">
<bounds left="140" top="0" right="500" bottom="480" />
</screen>
<bezel element="Bezel">
<bounds left="0" top="0" right="640" bottom="480" />
</bezel>
<bezel element="CP">
<bounds left="0" top="0" right="640" bottom="480" />
</bezel>
</view>
</mamelayout>-
2
-
Lightspeed: Ultra-Fast Mame Importer Tool
in Emulation
Posted
Could it be permission related? I mean, maybe it's installed in a folder that needs admin rights, otherwise it will not allow for Lightspeed to delete/re-create the ini file? It's just a guess, of course. Are you running Lightspeed as administrator (elevated)?