Draco1962

Thanks Tom! Now I have to redo my theme to accomodate al the nifty add-ons! One quick question - where can we input what we want to appear in the scroller? EDIT - Um, nevermind! Found it in the Theme Editor under Edit.

To change the font, start a theme using an existing theme, then click on Edit > Options, then the Fonts tab. Click on Main Font and select the font you have installed in Windows, change the font size if necessary, then click OK. You will likely need to create your background in a graphics editor (Photoshop or GIMP for example - save as a PNG file in the screen dimension you are wanting to use (640x480, 800x600, etc.). To remove the menu bar, you can delete this in the main layout of the theme editor. You can also move around the dates and times (or remove them if you wish). You can also reposition the Image and Image2 positions (Image displays your logos and videos, Image2 generally your bezels and cabs). Keep in mind that you will need to create bak files for each emulator and other parts of GameEx. It's going to take some trial and error but once you get started it will become second nature again.

Have you experienced the "Error" Failed to open file for load operation" prompt while in attract mode or launching a game from MAME or GameEx? I am half tempted to try compiling again, but not sure if it is going to matter at this point. I miught see if I can get a copy of someone else's MAMEUI140u2 compilation to see if the error persists or not.

In addition to the log Tom is requesting, can you let us know what other applications may be loading (Anti-Virus/Firewall/Anti-malware, etc.) at startup?

I compiled mameui640.140u2 again from scratch with the u1 and u2 diffs in addtion to the hi-score txt for .140 and continue to get the same error message each time a game appears in attract mode or loading from MAME directly or through GameEx. I can play the games, it's just distracting to get the error messages. cquealy - what settings did you use in the compiler and what diffs did you apply to patch?

Much of what you are suggesting can be handled through the use of Custom Menus and the Custom Menu setup is part of the configuration tools that are installed when you install GameEx. There are a few threads on the General forum that may be of help to you.

I found an interesting page here regarding hi score saves. Even with the hi score diff patch, some games will not save a hi score file in the Hi folder, saving to nvram instead. I confirmed this while playing Satans Hollow. It generated a new nvram file, but no hi score file, yet retained the high score. REgardless it still continues to show the "Error" Failed to open file for load operation" prompt in attract mode and before each game I start through MAME - within GamEx and outside of GameEx through the MAME GUI.

Well, maybe I spoke too soon. started noticing error message "ERROR: FAILED TO OPEN FILE FOR LOAD OPERATION" athe the start of most games and also in Attract Mode. not entirely sure why this is occuring and did not see it before using the compiled version. I tried searching the forums, etc but could not fing anything useful.

Are you running 64-bit or 32-bit OS? I just compiled my first version of MAMEUI64 1.40u2 using Headkaze's Compiler. Had some fun trying to figure out where I was going wrong but after realizing that I need to actually "read" the instructions and overcome some access rights to the directories, it was smooth as silk. Like you, I am more familiar running the GUI versions. After compiling it with the latest patches (including hi-score support) all is working great!

Alrighty, you can mark this one as resolved, looking great! Thanks again, guys!

I think it will be money well spent! Welcome to the Forums!

Thanks - will give that a try when I get home tonight. I believe the issue with the compilation was an access rights issue. I loaded everything on another hard drive, also had to change from read only for all folders and files under mingw. I love Windows 7 but sometimes the protections drive me nucking-futs!

Sounds like a security torx screw. It is used to keep someone from using a standard flat head screw driver or hex bit to remove it. You can probably look at Lowe's to see if this set will work. It is by Skil for about $11.00.

OK, I downloaded everything over, finally got a good compile! One question remains - I applied the diffs including high score, however, do not see where the high score is saving when I go back into a game. DO I need to set somethign within MAME itself to register the high scores? Thanks again for the coaching!

Unfortunately, it is either displayed or not displayed. As with any theme, you can edit it to make it more your own. For example, you could move it to the bottom if space permits. Things down at the bottom tend to be seen less than those at the top. Removing it entirely may remove options available to you only through the taskbar so I would not recommend that.

Why mess with the .ini file when you can accomplish the same thing using the Custom Menus application? I linked to a layout I had started. WIll probably tweak it a few times before I am absolutely happy with it. I had considered groups but it just funks things up too much.

Will give that a go again. Thanks!

Thanks for the nod, Noddy! To answer #3 - I have created "blank" bak files that can be customized with a different title/heading. For the title lettering I used the Chrominium logo at Flamingtext.com and used the following settings: Text Font - Ethnocentric Font Size - 70 Logo Properties Select Gradient Fill Select Coffee from Gradient Fill Dropdown Deselect Sparkles Background Select Transparent Once you save the logo, you can copy & paste into the title bar. You may need to scale proportional to the space provided. I use GIMP and this is fairly simple. Should you have any questions about the program, let me know and I will try to answer. EDIT: As for #1 - The Menu bar is all or nothing at this point. You can edit it out of a theme using Theme Editor by deleting it in the default view that initially loads when you open a theme. I think that you will find, however, that in doing so you will lose quite a bit of functionality. You may want to make a Feature Request under the Pinned Topics for those elements you would like to see as enabled/disabled through the Advanced Configuration.

OK, made it to 29 mins - but still failed: Compiling src/osd/windows/sound.c... Compiling src/osd/windows/video.c... src/osd/windows/video.c:260: error: redefinition of 'void windows_osd_interface::update_hi(bool)' src/osd/windows/video.c:238: error: 'virtual void windows_osd_interface::update_hi(bool)' previously defined here make: *** [obj/winui/mamed/osd/windows/video.o] Error 1 Finished! 0 Hours 29 Minutes and 15 Seconds Elapsed.

I am in the process of trying again, this time selected None, and Mameui and debug optimize options - will let ya know how this works out. .:.EDIT 23 mins and counting....

Here are my settings Anything that should be changed?

Awesome!!! Thanks Tom!

Do I need to place a copy of the mameui64.exe file in the source directory for it to be modified? If so, the instructions need to be updated.

Yup - saved the winui folder to C:\MinGW\source\MameUI0140u1\src\osd (C:\MinGW\source\MameUI0136u3\src\osd per HK's instructions) .:.EDIT - OK, I found a path discrepency and have corrected it, was able to apply the patches successfully, but now wondering whether or not my mameui executible was even created - attaching compile log file. compile.txt

I decided to try B2k24's guide, yet it appears that the links to the mingw files are now dead (IE gives 404 error) and mame source/diff files links are not available as mamedev has stopped downloads due to bandwidth issues and no mirror available. Unless the mingw files are available elsewhere (I need the 64-bit file) I guess I am hosed for now.