WinUAE and WinUAE Loader

[Krakerman]

I've never used WinUAE Loader before. Does it run CD32 games or was it meant more for WHD? I run all my Amiga and Amiga CD32 games via config files that are generated from WinUAE and it works perfectly. So just curious as to what kind of advantage you have running them via WinUAE Loader.

If anyone is curious all I do is create my config files for each game in WinUAE then they are saved in the config folder which I have GameEx locate that folder within the setup wizard for the emulator. My config for Amiga games in the setup wizard looks like this:

Command=""[ROMPath]\[RomFile]""

RomPath="your path to WinUAE configuration folder"

ROMFilter=*.uae

configFile=[Mapping Off] Exit (ALT+F4)

That's essentially it. If that don't work for you you can also create shortcuts to each individual files and then change it to look like:

Command=""[ROMPath]\[RomFile]""

RomPath="your path to WinUAE shortcuts"

ROMFilter=*.lnk

configFile=[Mapping Off] Exit (ALT+F4)

Hope this helps anyone wanting to setup WinUAE.

[headkaze]

WinUAE Loader is for SPS, GameBase Amiga and WHDLoad games only. It uses special databases to configure WinUAE for each game.

Incidently there is an older tool I wrote called WinUAE Config Creator that can be used to generate individual uae configs for each game. You can use keyword filters in the filenames for using different configs. For example you can use the CD32.UAE profile for files that contain "CD32" or A1200.UAE for files that contain the word "AGA". Really I should have integrated this tool into WinUAE Loader..

[Krakerman]

Cool ... Thanks for the info will have to mess about with it sometime.

[wobbly]

WinUAE Loader is for SPS, GameBase Amiga and WHDLoad games only. It uses special databases to configure WinUAE for each game.

Incidently there is an older tool I wrote called WinUAE Config Creator that can be used to generate individual uae configs for each game. You can use keyword filters in the filenames for using different configs. For example you can use the CD32.UAE profile for files that contain "CD32" or A1200.UAE for files that contain the word "AGA". Really I should have integrated this tool into WinUAE Loader..

headkaze you still can integrate it lol ..would be a 1 stop shop

[simbamame]

headkaze you still can integrate it lol ..would be a 1 stop shop

+1 for WinUAE and the loader and i`ll 2nd that about integrating the config creator

[headkaze]

+1 for WinUAE and the loader and i`ll 2nd that about integrating the config creator

Okay guys.. done just for you

[wobbly]

nice work. thank you

[wubble]

How's it going headkaze?

I don't understand why this updated WHDLoad.xml isn't included with the latest release.

Is there something wrong with it? (I had to edit the pinball fantasies entry to get it to run)

If you are using KillerGorilla's WHDLoad pack, it finds 2665 out of 2665 games, rather than 2154 out of 2229 that you get with default.

WHDLoad.xml

[headkaze]

Thanks wubble I've uploaded the update.

[Bigby]

Thanks wubble!

[wubble]

No worries, I googled WHDload.xml and there it was.

[headkaze]

No worries, I googled WHDload.xml and there it was.

I didn't realise there were people updating it. Noone has told me about it until now. The original file was created by extracting the data from GameBase Amiga.mdb. Since GameBase Amiga seems to be no longer maintained the file has not been updated since GameBase Amiga 1.6. It's nice to know people have put the effort into updating it manually though.

[myonions]

I have managed to configure WHDLoad and have it working with GameEx.

Thing is the naming convention for the WHD files which are in this format:

ProjectX_v1.2_0289.zip

ProjectXSE_v1.2_0927.zip

Rather than a friendly format of say:

Project X.zip

Project X - Special Edition.zip

This makes them look untidy in the list of games in GameEx as the games are listed in the format of the filename.

If you rename the ZIP files then they will not load (as far as I can tell) because they look up the configuration from the "[PC] Commodore Amiga (WHDLoad).mdb" MS Access Database.

I notice that www.emumovies.com has a section in the FTP for WHDLoad and therefore can download a selection of Media (Titles, Snaps) based on these formats so...

Is there a way to get GameEx to display the "friendly" name for these ZIP files in the GUI?

I notice that there are two columns in the Access database "Name" and "GoodName".

The "Name" column is the friendly name of the Game so I know the data is there.

Any advice or direction would be appreciated.

P.S. On my Core i5 - the WHD files run really slowly but it runs perfectly on any other PC I have tested it on (Same configuration in WinUAE). If anyone has any pointers for this as well then just point me in a direction and I will do the rest!

[headkaze]

Yes, you can use WinUAE Loader to generate a "map" file for GameEx so it will show the "friendly" name instead of the filename.

[myonions]

Yes, you can use WinUAE Loader to generate a "map" file for GameEx so it will show the "friendly" name instead of the filename.

Got it! Many thanks that works a treat.

[myonions]

Hi

Just a couple more questions...

1. Is it possible to save games when they are in WHD format? i.e. Games like Elite. It enables you to save a game but it doesn't save it. Presumably when we launch games that we might want to save progress in we should just use *.uae configuration files and ensure the ADF files aren't write protected?

2. All of my Emulators run off a Network Drive. Weirdly - with the same hardware, on one machine Joystick 1 ends up being Joystick 2 when I set it the ports in the "input" section when I launch a game through GameEx. Whereas the same config will work fine on another PC.

The controllers ALWAYS work as set up if I run a WHD direct from the "Run Rom" option on the "Tools" tab.

Are there any files or anything I can check to ensure that the Controller settings are always correct? Where is that config stored? Registry?

Cheers

[myonions]

Hi

Just a couple more questions...

1. Is it possible to save games when they are in WHD format? i.e. Games like Elite. It enables you to save a game but it doesn't save it. Presumably when we launch games that we might want to save progress in we should just use *.uae configuration files and ensure the ADF files aren't write protected?

2. All of my Emulators run off a Network Drive. Weirdly - with the same hardware, on one machine Joystick 1 ends up being Joystick 2 when I set it the ports in the "input" section when I launch a game through GameEx. Whereas the same config will work fine on another PC.

The controllers ALWAYS work as set up if I run a WHD direct from the "Run Rom" option on the "Tools" tab.

Are there any files or anything I can check to ensure that the Controller settings are always correct? Where is that config stored? Registry?

Cheers

Never mind I worked out how to Save games.

I even created a blank ADF disk and formatted it using Workbench, inserted and saved to that but the answer shows up whenever you load a game!

It seems that when you load the Game via WHDLoad you need to use the "/" key to exit and it saves the information. There is a clear message on the screen when the games load.

It saves to folder:

<Install Path>\WinUAELoader\WHDRun\whdrun-data

Still not sure what is going on with the controllers though.

It works fine on some PCs but not on others - ah well, I think it's something to do with it running from a Network Path in my scenario and not saving the information correctly.

Would help to know where the configuration is stored for WHDLoad though with regard to the "Input" tab so I can force the settings through before a Game is Launched.