Draco1962

Does anyone play or have an interest in playing chess online? If so, what software do you use? I have registered at the Free Internet Chess Server under madubyak. I am using the BabasChess Internet Chess Client (this graphical interface allows you to log in without having to go through the Java browser applet). Chess is my all-time favorite game and I am almost always game to play!

Sorry for the late response. I think it sound to let GEX download and install as you suggested. You will need to enter each emulator's option to setup the paths as GEX will not do that for you. Good luck and I will mark this issue as resolved. Keep us posted and feel free to ask if you need further help!

I think at this time it would be helpful to provide a copy of your gameex.ini and snes9x.ini files. You can export a copy of your snes9x.ini file by loading the Setup Wizard select Custom, then Emulator Selection. From there, click on the snes9x emulator in the Left column then on the Export button in the middle. Having these to review will help to rule-out any conflict with GameEx. It is possible that you are butting against a permissions issue that is not allowing you to make the necessary change as fRequEnCy is suggesting.

Awesome as always! Thanks!

Thanks again!

Updated database - added some missing descriptions and additional item for the Original Adventure (aka Colossal Cave).

I sorted my emulators through the Setup Wizard without any issues, however, since I use Custom Menus, I noticed that I had no games listed when trying to access games where they appeared previously. I did some digging and discovered that the emulator numbers do not update in the CustomMenu.ini when you perform a sort. No games showed as GameEx was accessing the map for the incorrect emu # based upon my CustomMenu.ini settings. Is it possible to fix this so that GameEx will detect the presence of Custom Menus enabled and update the emulator #'s when a sort is performed? While I have become quite adept at creating custom menus, I'd rather not!

You have the option of using it as a stand alone virtual machine or integrated into your Windows 7 environment for use with older applications that are not Windows 7 certified. Again, you will be limited by the VM "hardware" as well as the amount of RAM you have in Windows 7 and hard drive space. I believe that you can have USB access with this VM so external drives may be an option if you have a sizeable external library.

Well, having to rework my Custom Menus after sorting my emulators through the setup wizard (it doesn't update the emu #s in CustomMenu.ini . But, before that, was playing the Original Adventure interactive fiction game.

Are you having problems with the task bar showing, the desktop, or both when exiting VPinball? I have been very patient thus far, and, probably to my undoing, have entertained trying to address additional "issues" you have raised within this thread. This front-end is not MaLa. Since GameEx is designed to work as a plug-in to Windows Media Center, as a stand-alone HTPC solution for those running it on machines that do not have WMC, and as a cabinet front-end, there is a lot more code involved to accommodate those scenarios and different emulator combinations. It is not going to be "one size fits all" as there are too many variables at play with hardware, OS and driver variances. I have jumped through hoops and have helped to resolve some of your initial issues, whether it was directly with advice or gathering the facts from you so that Tom could see the issue more clearly and make some fixes that he could fit in within his build cycle. I have asked others to take a breath and focus on the issues you presented instead of your approach. That said, in this thread and posts in others, I have seen your "humor" expressed. Humor is meant to be funny and not used for a backhand swipe at someone. even Monty Python does not come across as mean spirited. You come across as if your only joy in life is to haughtily nit-pick on minutiae and brow beat those that disagree. At this point, I give up! The others may help you if they desire, but until I see some sincere changes in the approach you take with the admins, mods and users within this forum, my support is withdrawn.

Here is a default logo file I am using for this genre on my system.

I would start there as it may be, as mentioned before, a matter of the refresh rates/resolutions changing when GameEx is attempting to resume focus. As I have not used Stella in some time I cannot tell you where to go to investigate it - but if you could upload copies of your log and Stella config file, we can take a look to see if anything stands out.

Not a problem. I just wanted to do it right. There are only about 55 entries. I did not include the Infocom re-releases (Trilogy packs, etc.). I am sure there will be updates to the db as time goes by and I will release version updates to the original post in the pinned topics and point it out to everyone. I am also going to rename this thread as I would like to refer back to it from time to time regarding this type of game and interpreters/emus.

I did not know that (I have yet to install and run VPinball since my reimage and had just been installing it prior to it so never got to that level of fine tuning and invoking the loader. If it is just a split second, that isn't bad. There are quite a few emus that will give a flicker of the desktop regardless of whether or not hide OS is enabled. Not much really that can be done as the FE regains focus from the closing application.

For VP - go into the advanced emulator setup and make sure that Show Desktop is set to No, save the change and let me know if this resolves for you. As for the Mame Bezel issue - check under \gameex\media\bezelv2 - you should see two files; bezel.lay and mame.png. Please confirm you have these files in this location. Under Advance Mame settings, please confirm that Use Bezel is set to Use Bezel for Vertical Games. Let me know if you had to make any changes and, if so, whether or not the issue is resolved.

The only thing I can think of "possibly" is using XP Mode (the MS Virtual PC option not to be confused with Compatibility Mode) that is available. Still not sure if this will serve what you are expecting, but it is worth a shot. The problem you are going to find with most any VM environment are conflicts with the drivers and limitations due to the sound and graphics they are able to employ, memory limitations, etc.

For those interested in Interactive Fiction (or Text Adventures) using interpreters such as <a href="http://www.ifarchive.org/if-archive/infocom/interpreters/frotz/WindowsFrotzInstaller.exe" class="bbc_url" title="External link" rel="nofollow">Windows Frotz</a> I have compiled a DB based upon the offerings from Infocom and Adventure International (Scott Adams, et al). I have also included a copy of my emulator ini file. PC Z-Code Interactive Fiction INI File.zip PC Z-Code Interactive Fiction.zip

Brendan - A good place to start to learn more about Interactive Fiction and find links for various freeware z-code files is the IF Wiki. You can download the latest version of Windows Frotz here. This is a very good z-File interpreter (z-file format developed by Infocom). I have created a database for use with this software.Enjoy!

+1 to both Tom & Adultery's responses!

Somehow it has lost its way - may need to delete cache files and restart GameEx. You can probably confirm your suspicions by looking at the log file before doing so.

When I am using the Setup Wizard, I see the logos that are in the \MEDIA\LOGO folder of the theme I am using. Do you have yours setup the same or under a different path?

OK, ya got me with this one. Are you rotating the vertical game with something outside of GameEx? From what I saw from your gameex.ini, are you experiencing any issues with the bezel not showing when running a vertical game vertically?

That is an awesome looking theme, Massop! You can submit your theme via this link and just follow the prompts. That way we can all share in its glory from the Themes section on the GameEx site. I really think you should make this an entry for the contest once you have uploaded it - it is worthy!!!

I didn't realize it but there are quite a few (probably thousands) of interactive fiction (text adventures) for free - many written into this year! I guess kind of a niche hobby. The db will contain only those games with either the .dat or .z# extensions. Anything else is likely to be run through DOS Box which is not my focus here.