Tynker

1) Arcade (Son's Room) : 27" RCA Standard TV, P4 3ghz, 2 Sidewinders Hacked into authentic HAPP arcade controls/buttons, Mario Themed cabinet art. Wireless network to Living Room for video. Proud of this one, built this from scratch, everything from the control panel to the pc components. No analog sticks, so those games have been removed from this system. 2) Living Room : 52" RCA HDTV, AMD X2 + 3TB NAS, 4 Wireless GameCube Controllers, 4 Wireless PS2 Controllers, 4 Analog TV tuners, 2 HD TV Tuners, 7.1 surround... this is use more for tv than games, unless dad is playing! 3) Van : Chrysler Town & Country : Integrated into factory monitor & sound, P4 1ghz (less power) 1 wireless Logitech wingman, 1 wireless xbox matcatz, 1 wireless gamecube, 1 wireless ps2, 1 sidewinder hacked into the steering wheel controls, wireless 802.11G to pull updates from Living room when in garage (or McDonalds hotspot!) Also, pushes GPS tracking information to home server via internet when passing public or open wifi hotspots (Don't steal this van, and don't lie to dad about where you are!). Bunch of other stuff, not directly related to GameEx.... New passion after completing the arcade box(es) 4) SUV : Hummer : Concept phase... Oh my, there is a lot of room inside this truck! Just how big a screen is too big for a car? All these machines run GameEx and emulators from atari 2600 to playstation, the Arcade and Van use the multimedia features as well. Honestly, these projects have had more time spent with sawing / gluing / screwing / wiring / soldering than software config... Thanks to Tom and the respective emulator authors!

I am a big fan of the 3-in-1 & 4-in-1 converters... Basically a usb dongle that has a plug for PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, plus 2 additional USB ports. Pair that device up with some good aftermarket (or sony/nintendo/miscrosft if you like to pay extra $$) console controllers (I go wireless) and you should be able to find something you like. You might already have the controllers, I did. Windows Vista shows it as a HID and uses native drivers. If you are going USB only, I suggest Logitech. Pick one that is comfortable to your hands. I have yet to find one that will not work with an emulator, but I have found many that just plain hurt my hands to use.

If you are using the power button to hibernate, as opposed to idle timer / screensaver, you could try my method. I have and AutoIT loop that checks 2 conditions: 1) If c:\sleepy.txt exists, delete the file and send some keystrokes... (this would run in wakeup from hibernate) 2) If a key is pressed (can be set to anything), create the file c:\sleepy.txt and enter hibernation. This would work in your situation I would think.

What you consider a bug, I call a feature. If this needs be be changed, make it a configurable option so that those of us who like it as-is can keep it.

In your "Start" menu under GameEx you should have a "Last Played Game.bat" or something very close. (I am not near my arcade box right now.) You could just copy that to your "Startup" folder, done! Note: You would have to be sure to return to your preferred game before turning off the cabinet, if you want a specific game to load.

First, appologies if this is not an appropriate place for this, but over on the HTPC forums people glaze over when I mention wantint to control my TV from my PC, rather than just remote controlling my PC... My mame cabinet has a 27" Television as the "Monitor". Problem with this is the power button and remote IR eye are covered when the bezel is in place making turning on/off the tv a pain in the rear. I have the IR Blaster hardware that I know will control this television, however, I do not want to install Beyond TV (the only software I have found that will work with this device) What I am searching for is a piece of software that will allow me to take keyboard keystrokes and convert them to IR to control the television. Has anyone done this?

Anyone? I really don't want to have to recreate the wheel...

Not sure if this is working right or not. Currently when in attract mode, if any keys on the gamepad are touched the current game is stopped and the GameEx menu loads up. My dream is to have a "random" game load (from any of the emulators, not just mame) when the gamepad has been idle for 10 minutes. If at any time the game pad is touch, I would like for the 10 minute counter to restart, but not leave (reset) the game in progress. In order to leave this mode, I want to have to enter a defined key. I would personally want ESC, but would think it should be defined in an ini. Oh, and the 10 minutes should be adjustable from ini also. Is this setting already possible, and if so, what do I need to look at in my config files? Thanks, Tynker

I too am experienceing this, although it has always been that way. I too would like to be able to drop a coin (move joystick or any button) and have the screensaver not change to another game. Have had more than one guest let out a long sigh after dropping a coin and mid game switch to a different game.