IMBerzerk

Thanks Tom... wow! You've been really busy. See, I step away from the fun to too long and wham-o!!! I'm 15 versions behind!! LOL!

Hi guys. How's everything. Since I do seasonal work on my cabinets, I tend not to mess with them until late fall/winter rolls in... so I kinda loose touch with all the updates. I see GameEx has climbed several updates since March when I last messed around with my setups... and MAME is now up to .134. So what's latest and greatest feat that GameEx can do... does it make coffee yet? I'm sure Tom will have it doing that soon enough. Also, how about MAME .134? Is it worth all the trouble coming up from .127? I have everything working very well, is it worth updating the two as it stands today? I don't use the DVD options, only games and emulation. Thanks as always, I hope all is well with everyone. IMBerZerk

I stopped in today to check for new updates and all that and see that the forum is updated. The conincidence is that the parent forum owner CombatAce.com, which hosts the the forum for my part-time business venture, OverFlandersFields.com just converted to the same forum software as well. I personally am not fond of the new software, but I understand from our Administrator that it's very powerful, including Blog options and other stuff. My only suggestion, as I made to CombatAce.com is that they draw a thick border between the Stickies and the normal posts. Other than the little green 'sticky' note, it's hard to tell them apart. At any rate, I hope you toss in your personal touch to the forum Tom, I'm sure it will look better than this in a few weeks. I've heard it will take that long on our forum as well. All the best, IMB

I have all 4 of them working on my cabinet in MESS.. and they work very good, along with several other systems under MESS as well. MESS is very good, but does take a little extra to set-up. Some of the systems require the BIOS file to be placed in to a seperate folder, then you have to tell MESS where it is. I strongly suggest configuring MESS outside of GameEx for every system, then test it in GameEx once you know it works. The hardest system to set-up was the Vectrex, getting all the backdrops to work properly was tough. But it's all doable with MESS. IMBerzerk

Hi... have you tried MESS for all Atari options? I find it works 100% better than Stella... and is easy to set up, much like MAME as it uses the same base engine to emulate. IMB.

Frode... that was a good one. I guess you never had the pleasure of meeting the fun guys from the FAA. The conversation goes like this... [tap on shoulder from behind...] "Hi, I'm from the FAA and I'm here to HELP you. Can I see your certifications and log book? Thanks."

C64 has something like 20K entires? Man... Flash will be 'burned' after that one.... get it.. Flash.. burned.. ugh! I tried doing my own for a little while, but it was tedious and generally annoying. But if you have to have it all, go to Moby Games, look up your game and add-in the details they provide. It's the best place for the most information. But, they don't have every game ever made... they have many, but not all. IMBerzerk

I've been watching Headkaze crank out versions of his Amiga loader like bullets from a Vulcan cannon lately, so it got me thinking about finally adding Amiga support to my cabinet. But... I don't have a mouse or a keyboard supported. They are connected, but hidden in the cabinet to be used only for maintenance. So I have 2 'joysitcks' and a few buttons So what games can I play like this? Wings of Glory, Persian Gulf Inferno... I'd like to get a few in there, even if it's less than 20. Thanks a mil, and HeadKaze.. you rock!! IMBerzerk

You don't have to unzip them. Check the Advanced configuration tool, and make sure it has the correct path to the backdrops. Also, with some ROM changes, sometimes the backdrops get lost in the shuffle as well. Make sure you have the latest of everything. IMBerzerk

Nice! I recently found a very old picture of me playing my Intellivision back in '81. Problem is you can't see the TV screen, but you can see the boxes and stuff all over the floor. Ah... the good old days...

Yes, except the PC games... I don't have a mouse/trackball. I use MESS for Colecovision, Atari 2600/5200/7800, Odyssey2, Vectrex, Arcadia 2001, Channel F, NES, SNES... etc. really, it's the best all around and very easy to setup for the 'non-rivet counters' out there. Plus it works great under GameEx. For C64... CCS64 (not on your list). IMBerzerk

you need to add -mouse to your MAME run statement. If you are using MAME with GameEx (which we hope you are), just add the tag into the command line for MAME. IMberzerk

I noticed last night that I was missing many images for my titles, snaps, etc... for some of my emulators. It's more related to the images that are named 'close enough' to the ROM name, and not the ones that are an exact match. Example: B-17 Bomber (mattel) (1980) is the rom name. B17 bomber is the name I had for the snap, box, and cart. Before upgrading to 10.04, these would all display fine, since upgrading nothing displays unless it's an exact match. Rather than me have to rename everything again, is there something in the new build I can adjust via an ini file, or the GUI? Thanks, IMBerzerk

I dunno... I am still recovering from having a huge 'GameEx' logo tattooed across my chest, so I can't comment on Hyperspin. I've never used it, nor will I. I definitely like you analogy though. IMBerzerk... really... I am.

OK, I'll completely delete the install, and reload. But how do I copy over all of my emulator settings from one install to the other? Are they all listed in the config folder? thanks again

Tom, here it is... and remember, this is something I caused, not an error with GameEx, but what I did that caused this I don't know. I've loaded GameEx the same way for months. Thanks again.... 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: GameEx: Version 9.94: Starting Log 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Operating System Platform: Win32NT 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Operating System Name: Windows XP 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Operating System Version: 5.1.2600 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Checking for versions of .net Framework installed 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: .net Framework 2.0 Installed 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3700+, 2047MB 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: 2.21Ghz 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Running Randomize() 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Loading PlugIns 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Checking for applications to Launch On Startup 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Running Misc startup tasks 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Setting Menu types 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Opening Configuration File 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Getting Configuration Values 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Using Theme: Default - Default 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Checking for alternate Image Directory for Theme: Default - Default 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Launching HideOS.exe 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Initialising Video/MNG DLL's 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: GameEx will check for media insertion (may affect performance) 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Hiding Taskbar 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Using Cabinet Friendly Control System 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Is Media Center running? 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Checking/Creating LCD Registry values 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Check Media Center Exit/Start Mode 19:07:15.2 3/28/2009: Media Center Mode 2 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Video previews on. Warning: Only recommended on modern systems 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Custom Keyboard Input enabled: Getting custom codes 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Snap Delay set to: 3 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Get other settings 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Desktop set to Hide ICONS and set Background to Black 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Set: Find emulator artwork on best match basis 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Using DirectInput for keyboard input 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Start work for Form 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Getting Original Screen Size 19:07:15.3 3/28/2009: Opening Database Connection 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Initializing Component 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Retrieving resolution setting 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Initialising Windows Media Player Component 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: MAME Path is: G:\Mame 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: daphne Path is: G:\Daphne 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: daphne EXE file is: Daphne.exe 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Use daphne on. Daphne.exe will launch games 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: MAME EXE file is: mame.exe 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: ROM Path is: G:\Mame\roms 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Catver.ini is located at: G:\GameEx\DATA\catver.ini 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: History.dat is located at: G:\GameEx\DATA\history.dat 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: nplayers.ini is located at: G:\GameEx\DATA\nplayers.ini 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: MAMEinfo.dat is located at: G:\GameEx\DATA\mameinfo.dat 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Loading Controls.ini map file 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Snap Path is: G:\Mame\snap 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: AVI Snap Path is: G:\Mame\avis 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Flyer Path is: G:\Mame\flyers 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Cabinet Path is: G:\Mame\cabinets 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Title Path is: G:\Mame\titles 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: PCB Path is: G:\Mame\pcb 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Artwork Preview Path is: G:\Mame\artwork 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Panel Path is: G:\Mame\cpanel 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Manual Path: Not Found 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Icon Path: Not Found 19:07:15.4 3/28/2009: Marquee Path is: G:\Mame\marquees 19:07:15.5 3/28/2009: Loading Custom Emulators 19:07:15.5 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 1: Fairchild Channel F 19:07:15.5 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 2: GCE/MB Vectrex 19:07:15.5 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 3: Mattel Electronics Intellivision 19:07:15.5 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 4: Atari 2600/VCS 19:07:15.5 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 5: Atari 5200 19:07:15.5 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 6: Coleco Vision 19:07:15.6 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 7: Atari 7800 19:07:15.6 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 8: Emerson Arcadia 2001 19:07:15.6 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 9: Nintendo NES 19:07:15.7 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 10: Commodore 64 19:07:15.7 3/28/2009: Loading Emulator 11: Magnavox Odyssey 2 19:07:15.8 3/28/2009: Using 3D Alpha Blended Animations. This could be slow 19:07:15.8 3/28/2009: Using General Font: Arial 19:07:15.8 3/28/2009: Using Title Font: Trebuchet MS 19:07:15.8 3/28/2009: Initialising DirectDraw 19:07:15.9 3/28/2009: Applying GameEx is Loading Image 19:07:15.9 3/28/2009: Creating DirectDraw Device 19:07:15.9 3/28/2009: Using Device: Primary Display Driver 19:07:16.1 3/28/2009: 119mb video memory available 19:07:16.1 3/28/2009: Setting Resolution to 1024x768 32 bit color 19:07:16.1 3/28/2009: Creating DirectDraw Surfaces 19:07:16.1 3/28/2009: Creating Primary Surface - Full Screen Mode 19:07:16.2 3/28/2009: Creating Back Buffer 19:07:16.2 3/28/2009: Loading graphic Surfaces 19:07:16.2 3/28/2009: Display is running at: 1024x768 32bit color, 60hz 19:07:16.2 3/28/2009: Creating Surfaces Flags 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: --**-- 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: Error: Value does not fall within the expected range. 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: at Microsoft.DirectX.DirectDraw.Surface..ctor(String filename, SurfaceDescription desc, Device dev) 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: at j.a(Surface& A_0, String A_1, SurfaceDescription A_2, Boolean A_3, Boolean A_4) 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: at j.c(Boolean A_0, Boolean A_1, Boolean A_2) 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: at j.a(Boolean A_0, Boolean A_1, Boolean A_2, Boolean A_3, Boolean A_4, Int32 A_5) 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: at j.a(Boolean A_0, String A_1, Boolean A_2) 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: at j..ctor() 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: It was detected you experienced a DirectX error. 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: Please note the following for possible solutions to your problem: 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: 1. Ensure you have the latest version of DirectX installed. 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: 2. Ensure you have the latest Manufacturer provided video card drivers. 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: NOTE: Windows/Microsoft Update does not contain the latest. 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: NOTE: Manufacturer normally means ATI, NVidia, or Intel. Not the brand. 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: www.ati.com www.nvidia.com 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: 3. If you do not have a modern video card try the following. 1. Turn off advanced Graphics. 2. Try a lower resolution. 3. Try turning on and using 16-bit colour 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: 4. Ensure any required video codecs are installed. 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: 5. Try a different theme, or try running the theme at the resolution it was designed for 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: 6. Try the latest version of GameEx. GameEx is updated all the time. 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: 7. If you performed an auto update to this version. Try performing a manual download and install. 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: Closing database connection 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: Disposing Plugins 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: GameEx is exiting with errors 19:07:16.3 3/28/2009: Deleting search cache 19:07:18.1 3/28/2009: ERRORS DETECTED: EXITING

OK, will do once I get home. Thanks Tom.

If you do choose to load XP 32-bit... make sure you install the Vista codec set. It works great, much better than the FFDshow set. Also... I had Vista running on my set, an older AMD 3200XP, 2GB ram, 6600GT GPU.... and I had issues with MESS. Most notably the Vectrex set. It stuttered and would not run right. Other minor issues with MESS were the Odyssey2, and Atari 2600. Just some freezing, then it would work. So I fell-back to XP and all was and has been perfect. I hope that helps a little. IMBerzerk

I loaded up the new version 9.94 and am not getting anywhere. I just starts, and immediately crashes. I'm unfortunately at work, but I can break-down what I did to load it and describe what error I am getting. If there is something I can post when I get home, let me know what it is. This is the first time I've had a serious issues with GameEx that I could not figure out by the error log, so I'm a bit stumped. First, I renamed my older GameEx folder to GameEx1 as to not loose my config files. I loaded 9.94, no issues. All processed fine. However, I did not run the setup wizard, I opted to exit out and copy over my files. I then renamed the Data and Themes folders of 9.94 so I can copy over my old stuff... as I do with every new load. I started GameEx, the screen flashed black, then showed the desktop, then gave the GameEx error screen... it mentioned something about a DirectX issue, boolen counts... something or another... and gave me a list that asked me to update my drivers, check my settings... etc... try a different theme... which I did, back to default, and it still crashed. So I then renamed all the folders in the 9.94 fodler and copied all my old folders into the new install to see if that helped... same reaction. When I load GameEx, I do it discretely as to avoid having to uninstall it and I use the old Icons so everything should still point to the same location. Seems with this new version, this method I have been using for the past umpteen updates did not work. Any thoughts? I am also using a version 2 theme called Future Retro, which has been in place since I've had GameEx running on the cabinet. Thanks guys

Great stuff Tom, thanks a mil! This welcome update for using GameEx on a cabinet!

GameEx has no effect on MAME. Your MAME roms are out of date/not the right version. They need to be updated.

No problem, I am happy to help. It's a nice little program that is super easy to use (what I need). I like it. Another suggestion would be to have all ROMs from your selected folder listed in the tree, and those that are missing images displayed in red. Here's why... As I collect images, I need a list... something to compare to and look for. I tend to do this on paper. I go through each game, one by one to see what is wrong, and what is missing. When you do this with an NES set, it can take forever. So if you display a tree like you have, but also include the roms with missing images, I can then keep that open while I surf the net, or check all my folders to see what happend. All you have now is showing what matched. So you could have a 'found/corrected' list and a 'missing' list for each image type (box, snap, cart...) as you individually check each folder. All the best!

Fatone, I just tried it and it works very easily. I'm not a programmer, or anything, so I am the perfect 'idiot' test subject. My only issue - Out of a folder of 19 box images it picked up 1. Now, these are raw, untouched images, meaning, not using Good, Tosec, or any other naming software. These are from websites, and just a right-click and save by me. Here is what I have: example ------------- rom name: Escape (USA, Europe) original image name: emerson_arcadia_escape_box did not find rom name : Tanks a Lot (USA, Europe) original image name: emerson_arcadia_tanks-a-lot_box found and renamed correctly So I don't know what it was able to see in the 'Tanks a Lot' name, that it missed on the Escape name. The 'Tanks a Lot' name was the only one it saw and successfully renamed. May have it ignore '-' and '_' as well, as many of the images on websites out there have those characters. It's a great little program, and I am sorry I found it so late, it would have saved me a ton of time. Keep-up the great work! IMBerzerk - from renaming all these $#%@ images!!!!!