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ARCADEGATE AG-1 This is a bar top arcade that I started years ago, but took a long break from building because I was wanting to integrate a Traxsys 38mm trackball into the control panel. I never could design a track ball plate that was good enough to hold it. Also, the design was not as portable as I had hoped. It was heavy and difficult to throw into the back seat of a car. In my frustration, I let it sit. About a year later, my wife asked if I could finish it for her child care. So, I did but this time without the trackball. I am a huge fan of Stargate <Anything> and thought it would be fun to make an arcade build based off of that theme, just arcade sprites versus "chevrons". I found a wonderful 3D model of a Stargate on the internet and went to work replacing the chevrons with 31 arcade sprites as the new symbols on the gate. I rendered the gate from a couple of angles and that made up the majority of the artwork pieces for the cab. For the background of the cab, I downloaded different high resolution space images from NASA, thanks to the Hubble telescope. I blended a few of those pictures together as well as alter the hue slightly to somewhat match the colors I was shooting for. The theme I am using is a modified version Blue Neon LCD. I found a great picture of a Atlantis Stargate room with some HUD type overlays on it. I update the image to include the ArcadeGate I rendered and started moving pieces of the theme around to fit within the HUD locations. Lastly, I hue shift many images of the theme from the blue neon to more of the bluish-green that the ArcadeGate room had. This project took me years to complete, but in actually about 6 weeks worth of total time. The majority of that time was spent on the artwork and configuring the software. Hardware Asrock A330ION Atom processor/motherboard combo 4GB RAM 500GB Hard drive picoPSU-120 power supply Smart Strip 3.5" speakers off E-bay. Mini audio amplifier pcb off E-bay Paradise Arcade IL Pushbuttons Paradise Arcade Sanwa JLW-TM-8 joysticks with Octagonal restrictor. GroovyGameGear 4NovaGemCDR Coin Drop Replacement Pushbuttons Ultimarc i-Pac 4 Software Windows XP 32-bit Home Premium GameEx front end with a new ARCADEGATE AG-1 theme, modified from Blue Neon LCD's theme MAME 0.124 custom compiled for optimization for Atom processor Future Pinball

Hi All, Just last weekend I was new to GameEx. The first thing I noticed was that while there are various detailed guides on all sorts of GameEx configuration, there was nothing that simply highlighted the route to take when setting up a new system.... a simple overview if you may. The experience was pretty daunting for me as a GameEx newbie. While I'm still new to this and my lessons learnt are fresh in my head I thought I'd start penning a short setup and survival guide to GameEx. This guide is in no way near finished but I'm after people opinions and even help to complete it. Remember I'm new so if there is anything that's inaccurate or even complete downright lies then please let me know! :-) I say again remember its not a detailed howto, the GameEx website has plenty of details docs.... this document is kind of like a set of signposts and a basic route map taking you from nothing to a working install of GameEx. It also outlines some best practices to save you a headache further down the line. The document throughout follows the theme of best results in least time, this phylosiphy is applied to the emulator and tools choices made there-in. Its a google doc so follow the link below. If you want to help edit it directly then PM me with your email address and I'll add you as an editor. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e4h-yOFAuli7EPk8qGzBGMQZ56sCm6eMdgicl9-a5W4/edit?usp=sharing Cheers, Jon EDIT: .pdf of guide added by Draco1962 GameEx Setup Guide by Stryker.pdf

Just wanted to say thanks for the contribution. Cheers. Tom.

My point was that "if installing Codecs is intimidating, then you are going to have a difficult time with this hobby". If you are getting frustrated, take a break. IMHO the best way to keep from getting frustrated is to not worry about the time that it takes to get something done. This is a hobby. Take the time to make it what you want it to be, and then be proud that you were able to do it. I spent thousands of hours on this hobby, and I don't even play the games. It's all about the journey. I used to run Project Tempest for the Jaguar games, but again IMHO you would be much better off to play Tempest in Mame.

I know it's a little late, but happy belated bday GameEx! I might be getting married soon, but you will always be my one true love GameEx, I can see us: - Riding a double seated bike together through the park - Making a snowman - Enjoying a snuggle time in front of a fireplace - Singing karaoke as a duet - Listening to a mixed tape that I made for you on the cassette player Ahh, GameEx, you're one of a kind! I hope the next nine years are at least as good as the first!

I can certainly understand some degree of hesitation on this. After all codec packs have earned something of a bad reputation over the years. I honestly believe that Shark 007 is the best of the bunch though. It's actually very easy to install and uninstall should you want to do that (you actually have to uninstall the Shark 007 codecs when you update). The settings for the Shark 007 pack are deep and comprehensive. If you're making adjustments, you'll want to know what you're doing. BUT ... the default settings are excellent and will probably be all you ever need. You just install the pack and let it do its thing. No muss, no fuss. I think I may have adjusted my codec settings once, but it was only once, and it was long enough ago that I'm not even sure whether I'm making that part up. Mainly you'll just want to follow the installation instructions carefully, but it's not difficult. Basically it boils down to this: Select the proper codec pack for your OSInstall the 32 bit components (regardless of 32 bit / 64 bit OS)Install the 64 bit Components if you're running a 64 bit OSThat's all there is to it. It's worth taking for a test drive. If you don't like it, it's easy to uninstall without adverse effects to your system. I'm guessing you'll install the pack and never look back.

Hi Stigz According to the o2em help documentation you need to place the file first in your command string followed by any command options. (And for the sake of completeness): Try putting the -fullscreen switch after the "[ROMPATH]\[ROMFILE]" and see how that works out for you. Not sure it that's the problem or not, but it's certainly something to try. Also regarding the spoiler tag thing, don't forget about the "Special BBCode" button found in the posting tools (It's on the top row third one from the left). Just click that button, select "spoiler", and enter your text. Easy-peasy done.