Draco1962

Well, there have been some things that I wasn't sure if they were answered elsewhere and I overlooked or could not find, or an "undocumented feature" (aka bug, defect, etc.), or otherwise right under my nose (aka noob question). There are still many little things to learn. One question, however. Once this goes from RC (release candidate) to RTM (released to masses - I know, not actual definition ) will there be a new theme editor to follow? If so, a nice feature would be a window that shows GameEx in a small view, but essentially showing how the theme looks "live" without having to open GameEx , then back to Theme Editor to make more revisions all the time. The ability to change a font for one item in the layout but not all would be a good thing (select smaller font for list number while not affecting Menu or Select1 and 2).

I think that the "animation" (background growing and shrinking back) when making selections should be optional. ***WARNING*** PROBABLE NOOB ISSUE & QUESTIONS FOLLOW - I have noticed that my view has been changed (was set to show my background with lists, but now comes up with animated snap in background with snaps selections (not lists) showing in the list field. I have to click change view 3-4 times to get back to what was a my default setting. How can I get it back the way I had it? Another issue is right next to the list number appears "By Artist," By Album" or The Artist's name. The information is already showing in the select 1 and 2 areas.

I have uploaded Default - Ultimate 1680 x 1050 in the Theme Downloads. It is s pretty beefy file due to the size of the background files. Enjoy!

Here is another using a variation of one of the Ultimate backgrounds with a different take on the layout. Also I am using 1680x1050.

All - I have uploaded Default - Brokeh 1024x768. As with most themes, it could probably stand some refinements. Feel free to use and abuse to your heart's content! This theme uses the "Brokeh" theme background created for Media Center. If you are using Windows Media Center in addition to GameEx and wish to coordinate your background images between the two, Media Center Studo is a great tool that takes a lot of the fuss out of doing so. You can also find the Brokeh theme (and others)for Windows Media Center here. I hope to create more (asking for PhotoShop for my b-day, but most likely to see it Christmas so will likely continue playing with GIMP as while) and looking forward to learning how to use additional layers in Theme Editor for more complex and finished work.

You have a valid point. Since I have a multi-pc family, a NAS solution as previously described would benefit us most as we are less likely to leave an HTPC on all the time (living in Florida, the lightning capital of the world and having lost some home theater equipment to it in the past). Each person's needs and pocket-book will form a different big picture. It is cool that there is so much experience to draw from to make that picture a reality.

But Tom.. there is no place like 127.0.0.1 !!!

Or.. how about building a smaller system that will allow two smaller, faster hard drives and DVD RW - one for the OS and frequentlyy used apps, the other for your MAME collection. For movies, videos, music and picture archives - put your money towards a NAS configuration with RAID 5, several larger (and somewhat slower) drives. You can make up for the lag you can get with the NAS by installing gigbit controllers on the PC, NAS and router that supports gigabit. This will allow you a place to backup your gaming rig as well as allow access to archived files from more than one PC or game systems that accept extenders.

Thanks, Tom! I actually replaced the arrows that are available "stock" with ones of my own. I debated whether or not to have them outside of the frame but it made better sense to me to have them within. I will check again. I started the bproject using the Killer Instinct theme, but when I converted it to version 4, I was not able to utlize the home and exit icons. Is there a set coordinate map for the location of Home, Exit, Back, and Help in the layout?

This is the theme I am working on currently to compliment the "Brokeh" theme that I am using in MCE. While not my first attempt at a theme it is the one closest to completion. I have used a mix of logos, many from Elfo's collection, others from various places on the web. I am debating whether or not to revert back to version 2 as I would like to have the home, help, and back buttons featured but am undecided at this point. Additionally, I am using 1024x768 and I likely will not create an 800x600.

Vsilvalopes, Very nice indeed! Very clean lines, shows that you have put much thought into it. Simple yet functional. I have seen some of the themes that others have created for other frontends and I think that GameEx users tend to put together the best themes. I can't wait to test-drive the finished product!

Great job! I am looking forward to giving your theme a go as well! It will be a while before I can consider sharing anything quite as finished as what you have done so far. I am still working to better my knowledge of how the emus work, since I can't afford Photo Shop I am tinkering wiht Gimp, and, not to forget trying to master theme editor and determine how all the elements tie together to function so well. I have seen exampls at sites for the various frontends lots of great talent and hope to be able to add to it as I learn more.

Looking good! I was working on a theme that really wasn't going very far (my heart wasn't totally in the project, but learned a few new things so not a total waste of time) but had a bit of inspiration and have decided to work towards a theme and, eventually, a cab based on Marvel Comics "Ghost Rider." Once I have a few things laid out will share my progress on the forum. I have a question regarding the GameEx screensaver and was not sure which forum was appropriate since it isn't actually part of theme editor, but the configuration. Is it possible to override the GameEx screensaver in favor of a different screen saver .scr or .exe? Regards,

How is this done? other than creating a new theme and importing the pages for the emus one by one? Signed - Newb

That acer doesn't seem to be a bad machine, I would definitely consider doubling the RAM to 8GB. As bclinton noted, AMD does have a tendancy to run on the hot side, so consider that when buying - does the case hallow ample ventalation of heat, fan placement, etc. I was not a big fan of Acer when they first came out. We sold them at Office Depot at that time and it appeared that for every 4-5 we sold, 1 would come back with a problem due to inexpensive (cheap) materials or workmanship. I have found, however, that the office-grade machines from Dell and HP tend to outlast their warranties more often than those sold to the home user market. You will, of course, pay a little more.

If you are looking for Super Media Center, I would not consider the Dell model for which you provided the link. While the mobo and chip has enough going for it, the upgradeability is non-existant and only onbaord video. When I think Super Media Center, I am thinking one or more tuner cards, DVD-RW, higher-end GPU & Sound card for integration with my home theater system. Maybe with a little more detail of your needs or expected end results it would be a little easier to provide some sound advice. I have to agree with bclinton as I have been happier with machines I have built myself than the limitations forced by the proprietary PC makers.

True, but that would be too easy...

I did get a prompt during the install attempts that a related file was open. I tried to download and manual install and still could not get past installing gameex.exe so I uninstalled and manual installed again and no problems. That was the first time I ever encountered the loop.. weeeeee!

Tom - I think my flux capcitor is stuck. I keep going back to "New GameEx Version available. Update?" for version 10.66... or is it 10.666...

Milesady - you can go here to see the most recent minimum requirements for GameEx. As you can see, you don't really need much to do a whole lot with this front-end. Likely you can find a decent used desktop system through the classifides that will provide you with more than enough capability. If you are so inclined you can build your own and add-on as you progress. If not, then get someone you trust that can look at the used offerings near you so you don't get scammed into buying something that will not meet your needs and cannot be easily upgraded. I would definitely pay-heed to Tom's suggestion of using an installed video card and not onboard (part of the motherboard) video. In some cases the motherboard may have additional RAM for the GPU for the onboard video, but you will find this mainly with higher-end laptops (in my experience anyways). My desktop is a quad core CPU with Windows 7 64-bit with 8 GB of RAM, with a512MB nVidia 8800GTS video card. It is actually overkill for most everything I use it for (web surfing, photo editing, GameEx, MCE, etc.). I also have an older Toshiba P4 with 512 MB RAM and onboard nVidia GPU with 256MB RAM and 32-bit XP Pro SP3 installed (which I may use as a "portable" to run GameEx for media center and emulating arcade & some older console ROMs only as the HDD is not big enough to house much more than that).

I agree with Tom regarding stripping down to the barest essentials with device drivers and services, regardless of the Windows version. with an HTPC, a dvd drive is a definite requirement, while running a game cab soley for emu gaming, you can probably get by with and external drive connected via USB when you need to make necessary updates. Other considerations are selection anti-virus/malware products that assume a smaller memory "footprint" without sacrificing effectiveness (assuming you are going for a full HTPC as opposed to a standalone cab with minimal or no web access - in which case, would negate the need for anti-virus/malware as any updates could be scanned and moved via an external drive to it). IMO, I don't know that there can be a one-size fits all installation as each person's needs vary. Variances may be dictated by OS, hardware, etc. That is why I was attracted to to GameEx as a frontend. I have flexibility built-in to make it whatever I want it to be (HTPC with ability to retro game, etc or stand-alone game cab with or without jukebox, or... well, I think you get the idea. It may be possible to come up with some basic configuration recomendations based upon broader build categories and more specific configurations within these categories based upon OS and/or hardware considerations. Such would make my job easier in developing my system, having spent quite a few hours pouring through the forum threads for ideas, workarounds, and troubleshooting advice.

Hi! I am thoroughly impressed! I must say that I like the new (darker) theme the best. The lines are very clean and the layout appears to have been given a lot of thought to function and ease of use. When you finish would you mind "zipping" your theme and placing it somewhere with a link so that others of us may give it a go? Any of the game systems you are so inclined to make screens for as well...

I have found it to behave even better with Win 7. A quick question for ya, what flavor of Win 7 are you running? I am running on Win 7 Pro 64-bit. You may find that there are 64-bit versions of emus that will run better, even though Win7 does a fine job of supporting 32-bit programs.r example, I use the GUI version of Mame (previously known as Mame32 but now under MameUI with both 32-bit and 62-bit versions). I haven't tried to shell it as this is my desktop I use for other things. I have an older Gateway system that I will likely make into my Mame cab PC once the children move out once again. I was going to use my Toshiba laptop as my Mame machine as kind of a portable console, but decided otherwise.

I am sure it is a fine system, however, Win 7 X64 has been out for retail since 10/2009. Did you do an upgrade to Win 7 x64 from XP/Vista or complete install due to an x386 version of one of these installed prior? In either case, there may still be some 32-bit drivers or the like that may be contributing to the slow exit as & switches back and forth processing data between 64-bit native and 32-bit emulated modes. Of course, I could be totally wrong... it happens!

I am not sure how well GameEx works with multi-core or x64 systems although I am sure Tom has tested it thoroughly on them. One thing you may want to try is running GameEx dedicated to one CPU core. If you google it there are quite a few links on the subject, and probably a program to do so. Otherwise, you can open task manager and select GameEx in the Processes tab, right click and then select "Set Affinity" and choose the core you wish to dedicate to it. I have found this to be useful on a few older programs and emus that do not play well with multiple cores.