arcadeEIP

[JaysArcade]

Nevermind. It seems to be working. Not sure what I was doing last night for it not to work the way I thought it should.

[Gildahl]

Hi. Sorry for the delay in responding! Didn't see your post till just now, though it does look like you got things sorted out. Anyway, just to clarify how this works, by default, the autoswitch list should populate automatically after you've played a game for a bit (i.e. using controller input).  You must also have the line, autoswitch=1, set in the [System] section of arcadeEIP.ini for systems you want to use feature.  Also be aware that by default, the maximum number of games that will be automatically added to the Auto-Switch list is 20, but you can change that by editing the "auto=20" line in the [Auto_Switch] section of arcadeEIP.ini.  If you never want games to be auto-added, just set autoswich=0 (or remove the setting). If you do that, the auto-switching feature will still work, but you'll just need to manually manage the list.

To manually add/delete games to/from the Auto-Switch list, navigate to the Auto-Switch list and press the Left-Shift key.  This will place the list in edit mode.  Then use your arrow keys to go to another list, say your MAME list.  Navigate to the game or games you'd like to add to the list then press the Spacebar.  That should add it to the list.  To manually delete a game from the list, just go back to the Auto-Switch list, choose the game, and press Spacebar, and it should be gone.  When youi're done, exit the edit mode by pressing Left-Shift again. Be aware, however, that games manually deleted from the list will no longer be re-added by the auto-add feature since it is presumed you never want them on the list (if you ever wanted to undo that behavior, just remove the game's vector .txt file from the ..\Lists\autoswitch\suppress folder).

If you have any other questions, let me know.  

Edited May 19, 2023 by Gildahl

[Gildahl]

[UPDATE: 5/24/2023 - Just released 0.4.0.1 beta hotfix. Previous version was missing some icons in the ..\Resources\Icons folder needed for marking favorites and star ratings with the "m" and "s" keys.]

Just a note to anyone who might be following this project, I just recently moved the source and binary releases for arcadeEIP to GitHub, and a new release (v.0.4.0.0-beta) has been posted. This includes the update mentioned above to support commas in paths among other things.

https://github.com/gildahl/arcadeEIP/releases/

Edited May 24, 2023 by Gildahl

[JaysArcade]

Thank you. I finally got around to trying the suggestions you made above about auto-switching. I got it to work after I read and re-read your instructions. I was missing the "navigate to the autoswitch list" part of what you were saying. Once I did that it worked great.

Why would some games be missing from the main list when I browse? For example, I can't seem to find Mr.Do! in the list, but Mr. Do's Wild Ride and Mr. Do's Castle are there. I verified I have the ROM, I can open MAME directly and search for it within MAME and open it. I can also open and run it from Launchbox. It opens and plays fine either way. I noticed other roms were missing as well that I would like to add - Marvel Vs Capcom for example. What does ArcadeEIP search for if not the ROM folder itself? Im using MAME no-nag 0.254.

[Gildahl]

First, I assume you mean these are missing from the main Mame game list in arcadeEIP, and not just from the Auto-Switch list, right?  Assuming so, the way it works is that arcadeEIP first scans the rom folder specified in the search_path= line in the [ System_mame] section of arcadeEIP.ini.  So as long as, say, mrdo.zip is found in that folder, it should show-up in the list.  However, there are two ways that the list can get filtered after that.  One is if you are "integrating" with LaunchBox.  That means if at least one of your asset paths points at a LaunchBox image folder (for example, logo_folder=D:\LaunchBox\Images\Arcade\Clear Logo).  In this case, arcadeEIP will use the same game list as that platform (in this case "Arcade"), so if Mr. Do wasn't in your Arcade platform's list, it won't be in arcadeEIP either.  However, if you are not using a LaunchBox path, then the list will be filtered by the .meta file in the ..\Assets\MAME\Meta\Names folder (which you can view in a text editor).

One other thing to try is to go to a command prompt in your arcadeEIP folder and type

>eip.exe mame mrdo

And let me know what it does.

Of course, there could be a bug or other config issue too.  I just checked my system which I have setup both way and see Mr. Do in both so we should be able to figure this out.  If none of the above ideas help solve the problem, try sending me your arcadeEIP.ini and latest arcadeEIP.log file.  There is an email address at the bottom of the readme.txt file you can send them to, and I'll have a look.

Dave

Edited May 29, 2023 by Gildahl

[JaysArcade]

Thanks for the help. I deleted my EIP folder and recreated it. Previously, I did have the logos and marquees pointed at my Launchbox assets. I didn't do that this time and it all seems OK now. I probably won't be running this integrated with Launchbox so this is perfect. Just need to copy the media into EIP and I should be all set.

[JaysArcade]

Any plans to integrate LEDBlinky?

[Gildahl]

Since I don't use LEDBlinky I had no plans to integrate it.  However, I just downloaded it and read the readme file to see what it might entail, and I suspect you might be able to get it to work right now in its "stand-alone mode".  According to the readme, "...any FE that supports the ability to launch an external application and pass parameters (e.g. Rom name) can use LEDBlinky."  Then they provide this as the command line: 

LEDBlinky.exe <rom> <emulator>

Since arcadeEIP supports running applications with parameters, you should be able to integrate it by setting up an application section for it towards the bottom of the arcadeEIP.ini file, then reference its key in the appropriate [System] section.  For example, I'm thinking something like this might work:

[Application_ledblinky]
app_key=ledblinky
proper_name=LEDBlinky
exe_full_path=C:\LEDBlinky\LEDBlinky.exe,nowait
param_list="[rom_file]" "[asset_name]"

And then to apply it to MAME, you would add a line like this to your [System_mame] section.

[System_mame]
run_apps=ledblinky

If you happen to be able to get this to work, let me know since it would be nice to add this example to the documentation. 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Gildahl

[JaysArcade]

Thank you. I'll definitely give it a shot and let you know what I find.

[Gildahl]

Cool.  Note that when you test, if it doesn't work, review the arcadeEIP.log file as it should show you the actual command line that it tried to use, which might help in any debugging efforts.  It is also possible that you might have to add the "nowait" tag after the exe (i.e. exe_full_path=C:\LEDBlinky\LEDBlinky.exe,nowait) if LEDBlinky remains resident.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Gildahl

[Knowcontrol]

Very cool concept/creation. If I had a cabinet, I would definitely try it.

[JaysArcade]

1 hour ago, Gildahl said:

Cool.  Note that when you test, if it doesn't work, review the arcadeEIP.log file as it should show you the actual command line that it tried to use, which might help in any debugging efforts.  It is also possible that you might have to add the "nowait" tag after the exe (i.e. exe_full_path=C:\LEDBlinky\LEDBlinky.exe,nowait) if LEDBlinky remains resident.

It works! Yes, I had to add the nowait to the command. The games wouldn't finish loading without that. Also needed to mess with the Configure LEDBlinky tool and set the FE to other Front-end since it was previously on Launchbox. In the MAME tab, the Use MAME to Trigger the Game Start/Stop Events check box needs to be checked.

I suppose if you just let Launchbox/Bigbox launch games through EIP you might not need to bother with this stuff if you already have it set up.

The only thing it doesn't do is close LEDBlinky when you exit EIP. Probably just need to add something to the ini file for that.

 

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by JaysArcade

[Gildahl]

From the docs, it looks like LEDBlinky has a FE Quit Event by sending it a parameter of "2" (LEDBlinky.exe 2).  You should be able to setup arcadeEIP to call this when it quits by setting up a separate application section with that parameter and calling it from the [Front_End_os] section.  So for example, I'm thinking you'd set up another section like this:

[Application_quitledblinky]
app_key=quitledblinky
proper_name=QuitLEDBlinky
exe_full_path=C:\LEDBlinky\LEDBlinky.exe,nowait
param_list=2

And then in your [Front_End_os] section, create this line (this setting defines what to run just before returning to the operating system).

[Front_End_os]
run_apps=quitledblinky

Give that a shot.

...Also, its possible that you don't need to use the "Use MAME to trigger the Game Start/Stop Events" switch if you send a Game Stop event ("4") when exiting each game.  You should be able to do that by setting up a third [Application] section:

[Application_stopledblinky]
app_key=stopledblinky
proper_name=StopLEDBlinky
exe_full_path=C:\LEDBlinky\LEDBlinky.exe,nowait
param_list=4

And then change the run_apps= line in your [System_mame] section like this (the minus sign tells arcadeEIP to run the application after the game exits).

[System_mame]
run_apps=ledblinky,-stopledblinky

You probably don't need this since you already have it working without it, but I'd be curious if it works, and would also be useful with other emulators.

...and also thanks for the video! Nice machine...and neat to see it work.

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Gildahl

[JaysArcade]

Thanks. I'll try some of this stuff when I get some more free time.

Technically, LEDBlinky is happy just running all the time and it doesn't balk if it's already running when you try to open it again, but I like to close it when not in use.

I might try to set up more than just MAME soon and see how it works with other emulators. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Gildahl]

I also just noticed that LEDBlinky has pause and unpause events.  Do you use pause?  arcadeEIP doesn't currently support application calls on pause/unpause but if you think it would be nice to have it should be pretty easy for me to add.

[JaysArcade]

On 5/29/2023 at 3:49 PM, Gildahl said:

From the docs, it looks like LEDBlinky has a FE Quit Event by sending it a parameter of "2" (LEDBlinky.exe 2).  You should be able to setup arcadeEIP to call this when it quits by setting up a separate application section with that parameter and calling it from the [Front_End_os] section.  So for example, I'm thinking you'd set up another section like this:

[Application_quitledblinky]
app_key=quitledblinky
proper_name=QuitLEDBlinky
exe_full_path=C:\LEDBlinky\LEDBlinky.exe,nowait
param_list=2

And then in your [Front_End_os] section, create this line (this setting defines what to run just before returning to the operating system).

[Front_End_os]
run_apps=quitledblinky

Give that a shot.

This works! Thanks.

 

On 5/29/2023 at 3:49 PM, Gildahl said:

...Also, its possible that you don't need to use the "Use MAME to trigger the Game Start/Stop Events" switch if you send a Game Stop event ("4") when exiting each game.  You should be able to do that by setting up a third [Application] section:

[Application_stopledblinky]
app_key=stopledblinky
proper_name=StopLEDBlinky
exe_full_path=C:\LEDBlinky\LEDBlinky.exe,nowait
param_list=4

And then change the run_apps= line in your [System_mame] section like this (the minus sign tells arcadeEIP to run the application after the game exits).

[System_mame]
run_apps=ledblinky,-stopledblinky

You probably don't need this since you already have it working without it, but I'd be curious if it works, and would also be useful with other emulators.

Couldn't get this to work. LED Blinky lights up, but it stays lit on a basic color and doesn't change to the game specific colors when changing games. Would Set Game (Light Game Controls) LEDBlinky.exe 15 also need to be set in the ini file for this to work?

On the subject of staying on a basic color... The controls lite up to a basic color (white in my case because that is how MAME is lit without a game playing) on the first game that loads. If I choose a different game then come back to the original game, the controls light to the accurate colors. So maybe there is a timing thing there when LEDBlinky lights up or something else I'm unaware of. Not a huge deal but thought I'd mention it.

 

For the pause question, when I pause I'm seeing the pause animation I have set up so maybe you won't need to do anything there.

[Gildahl]

7 hours ago, JaysArcade said:

Couldn't get this to work. LED Blinky lights up, but it stays lit on a basic color and doesn't change to the game specific colors when changing games. Would Set Game (Light Game Controls) LEDBlinky.exe 15 also need to be set in the ini file for this to work?

Since I don't actually use LEDBlinky, I can't test the effect of using 15, but I think if you just put a 15 in the param_list of the original ledblinky application definition, you could try it. 

param_list=15 "[rom_file]" "[asset_name]"

You should also make sure the asset_name that arcadeEIP is using matches whatever LEDBlinky is expecting--or experiment with removing it (and also make sure you are always using the nowait tag in all application sections)

If you think timing might be an issue, the run_apps line does support inline insertion of delay commands. For example, this would insert a 5 second delay between two hypothetical applications (app1 and app2).   Also, use the arcadeEIP.log file to see the sequence of each call, which also provides timing information in the left margin.  

run_apps=app1,delay(5000),app2

In either case, it doesn't sound like you necessarily need to do this since the "Use MAME..." option works, but if you do manage to get it to work let me know.

As far as pause goes, I actually went ahead and added the feature since it was pretty simple. So that will be available in the next release if you ever wanted to try it.

[JaysArcade]

I almost inserted the 15 in the ini file last night but it was getting late. I'll try it when I get a chance and let you know.

Maybe I don't understand what your pause feature will do? I'm testing EIP stand-alone and pause seems to work OK, at least in MAME. Maybe this is related to Launchbox Pause feature? I haven't tried running EIP in Launchbox/Bigbox yet, but I do use the Launchbox pause features when I'm running in that environment.

[Gildahl]

I saw in the LEDBlinky readme two events related to pause:

Game Pause:  LEDBlinky.exe 16
Game Unpause:  LEDBlinky.exe 17

These are unrelated to LaunchBox pause, and I'm assuming that these just let you do specialized things with the RGB lighting during pause.  Right now you wouldn't be able to call these events in arcadeEIP; however, in the next version (v0.4.0.2) you will be able to do this by creating two new application sections similar to before:

[Application_pauseledblinky]
app_key=pauseledblinky
proper_name=PauseLEDBlinky
exe_full_path=C:\LEDBlinky\LEDBlinky.exe,nowait
param_list=16

[Application_unpauseledblinky]
app_key=unpauseledblinky
proper_name=UnpauseLEDBlinky
exe_full_path=C:\LEDBlinky\LEDBlinky.exe,nowait
param_list=17

...and then use a new option called pause_apps in the [System_mame] section to have arcadeEIP call these when you pause and unpause in arcadeEIP using the comma key. Similar to the run_apps line, calls without a "-" sign would get called on pause, and those with a "-" sign would get called upon unpause.

pause_apps=pauseledblinky,-unpauseledblinky

Naturally, if this already works without needing to go through all this, it won't be necessary for you; but it's still probably a good general feature to have anyway.

[JaysArcade]

Yeah in my case, when I pause MAME, the LEDBlinky pause animation starts but maybe a different emulator would need the EIP Pause integration.

So I tried all the suggestions but LEDBlinky still won't light the controls properly unless that check box (Use MAME to Trigger the Start Stop Events) is checked. Something to note, when I check that box, a warning pops up. I don't know if this helps or not.

 

I'm noticing that the taskbar gets set to hidden on first launch of EIP. Is is supposed to set it back to visible on exit?

I attached a couple log files. One shows the original taskbar state is visible. I exited and restarted EIP and you can see on the second log it shows it is initially set to hidden. Also attaching my ini file in case you wanted to double check my settings. I was screwing around with the delay stuff if you see an extra delay(1000) in there. And yes I set a $h!t load of autoswitching games in there, LOL.

01-arcadeEIP.log 02-arcadeEIP.log arcadeEIP.ini