[PLUGIN] Game Info Plugin

[Adultery]

Finished up the CP viewer. Tested and functional. Specify a default image and a game directory, press [sHIFT+SPACE] to show it during a game.

Its nice to let GameExtender show the game art instead of the CP after so long...

[nullPointer]

Wow! Great work Adultery. This is such a great plugin. Thanks for all your hard work.

[Adultery]

I added the option to specify a specific color for each line on every display... A small touch but it pops a bit better now. All the Attract Info labels scroll now too. Here's what it looks like:

More features coming! Stay tuned!

[Adultery]

Updated to 1.1.6!

• (Plugin) Fixed a small Attract Mode bug concerning Last.FM album art
• (Plugin) Added new Attract Info Viewer popup
• (Plugin) Added new Control Panel Viewer... Press [sHIFT+SPACE] to view in game
• (Plugin) Added colorization options to each line in the theme's XML
• (Configuration) Removed Attract Mode Text setting
• (Configuration) Added Control Panel setup section
• (Configuration) Added option for Steam games
• (Overall) Lots of code cleanup and other optimizations

[Adultery]

1.1.7 Is Out!!

Here's a list of changes:

• Added new SQLite parsing feature
  • Now fully integrated with GameEx's favorites, times played, etc
  • If you add a game, the DB3 file is not updated until you restart GameEx
  • DB features will still work for legacy MDB files if no DB3 file is found
• New features for Attract Mode Info screen
  • The info screen now shows the title snap and marquee if a MAME game and the title screen and snap if not
  • You can specify a default marquee in your theme XML
  • New icon to display the status of the game running:
    • The icon is a gold star if you have the current game in your favorites
    • The icon is a coin if you have played the current game
    • The icon is a red X if you have not yet played the current game
  • New "Smart Display" pulses the image to avoid damage to your screen if you leave your cab on all the time, which can be disabled in the configuration
  • Now calculates accordingly and closes the info form fully 5 seconds before GameEx changes to a new game. "Short Display" option will override the calculation and close the Attract Mode Info after 60 seconds
• New options to customize the labels displayed
  • Change the header labels to reflect your personal tastes
  • Labels are locked at 8 chars to keep formatting properly, and the colon is added automagically
  • Disabling custom text will revert back to program settings
• Probably a bunch of other stuff I forgot about, and a big increase in stability for "long hauls"

Here's a picture of the new Attract Mode Info screen on an unplayed game:

Make sure you extract the whole PLUGINS folder to your GameEx directory, as there's new InterOp files for SQLite. Grab it from the first post.

[nullPointer]

WOW! This is a fantastic update right here! Well done! It's really cool to see that this plugin just keeps getting better and better!

[hansolo77]

ADULTERY IS BACK!!! Where ya been man?! Brilliant update as well by the way

[Adultery]

Here's a quick and dirty demo I whipped up with ezvid.

[nullPointer]

Well if that ain't cooler than a polar bears toenails I don't know what is! Great job once again.

[Adultery]

The next version will tie in the GameEx High Score Competition to the plugin via a centralized XML. I'm hoping to make a popup that displays the top 10 high scores, the rules and notes, and the dip switch settings, which will pop up via a key combo both in GameEx and the actual game itself. I think it's a really positive thing you guys are doing, and I want to support that effort in the only format I know.

Stay tuned for updates!

[hansolo77]

Sweet! Only problem I see is that I don't have a 2nd monitor to display the plugin hehe. For somebody who does though, that would be an AWESOME thing to have.

[GimmeClassics]

Thank you for your contribution to our Hi-Score Competition ! Looking forward to this add-on. May well convince me to buy a secondary screen for my setup

SWEEET!

[Adultery]

1.1.8 Is Out!!

Here's a list of changes:

• Fully integrates the GameEx Hi-Score leaderboard and monthly competitions
• Customizable image for the Hi-Score display

If you haven't checked it out already, the Hi-Score comp is where it's at! You can use the plugin to see the top 10 leaderboard, scores, and announcements. The database is downloaded over the 'net, so if your cab doesn't have a net connection, you can download the xml here also: Link

Just drop it in to the PLUGINS >> Game Info folder, and reap the benefits. (Try selecting Galaga and see it in action!)

BIG UP to GimmeClassics for maintaining the Hi-Score database! Without whom this wouldn't be as current as it can be.

Get it from the new GameEx downloads section.

[KRC]

Looking good my man!

[GimmeClassics]

Absolutely amazing

A great extra feature for our Hi-Score competition. Thank you for the credits

For those who haven't entered our competition yet.... you're more than welcome to join and play our games ! Here's a link to the Hi-Score competition.

Thanks again,

GC

[hansolo77]

You should mention that for single monitor setups, you need to run GameEx in a Window.

Also, we should see if somehow we can come up with a way to list what games are included in the competition forums. That way you don't have to just be lucky and hit on a game in the list and see that it has a high score associated with it. Since the plugin works with .xml, maybe we could get Tom to write in an extra bit of code in the MAME part of GameEx to pull that .xml and include an extra sorting feature for "GameEx High Scores" like there is "Vertical", "Horizontal", "Capcom", "Golden Age", etc.

[GimmeClassics]

Also, we should see if somehow we can come up with a way to list what games are included in the competition forums. That way you don't have to just be lucky and hit on a game in the list and see that it has a high score associated with it. Since the plugin works with .xml, maybe we could get Tom to write in an extra bit of code in the MAME part of GameEx to pull that .xml and include an extra sorting feature for "GameEx High Scores" like there is "Vertical", "Horizontal", "Capcom", "Golden Age", etc.

That's a great idea Han ! I hope Adultery and / or Tom can help us out and create something like this

Thank you Han for your great ideas making the Hi-score Competition we've both setup even more interesting !

GC

[helpman]

Hi there!

First time using this plugin... on a single monitor.

When I select any game, the bottom banner pops up for under 1 second, just the time for the game to load, and dissapears.

Is there any way to set a delay time? Like 3-4 seconds then dissapear. Or a hotkey to make it pop again.

As suggestion, what about a delay timer? Just check if any key is being pressed. If no key is pressed for 1 minute the popup appears. If any key is pressed the popup dissapears and the delay count resets.

[Adultery]

Are you running GameEx in Windowed mode? The plugin is designed for dual monitors but works on one as long as Game Ex isn't running full screen. You also can't run it over top of full screen emulators.

there it's a key combo to hide and show the display. it's SHIFT+TAB I think.

[helpman]

I'm using it full screen and I have no keys, just arcade buttons LOL oh, well...

[hansolo77]

You can run GameEx maximized just not in full screen. Just hit ALT+ENTER and then drag the edges of the window to the corners of the screen. It's not as good as full screen, but to get this plugin to work, it'd be worth it.

[Draco1962]

I believe there is a setting to run in Windowed Mode in Setup Wizard that can be employed for that purpose.

[Adultery]

It's really a shame that I don't have the ability to add menu items to GameEx via the plugin system. I could see a Hi-Score menu under MAME. Ahh the possibilities!

I wish you guys could see this plugin in all its glory on a two screen setup. I absolutely love the way it looks, especially when there's people over.

Just the Last.FM features alone make it a great little add-on... But dual monitor cabs are rare, and if I had a cpanel I don't know where you could really put a second screen.

[Draco1962]

I wonder if it would be compatible with one of those USB connected mini-monitors (about the size of the ones used in car headrests or above mounted)? Provided there is enough real estate under the monitor in the upper cabinet, one of those could easily be embedded above or below (could even add a car overhead bracket for it to fold down from between the speaker mounts if wide enough) without it obstructing the main screen if at all.

[helpman]

I had to disable it... running with epsxe the screen flickers like mad and the emulator has a severe slowdown...