[RESOLVED] Mount bin before launching a game

[nullPointer]

Sorry Adultery that's not actually a copy of his log in the example I provided (if that's where you're getting the SSF thing). I was just trying to provide an example of a "fully populated" debug log, since his original log looked a bit sparse. I'll bury that under a spoiler to prevent confusion.

[Adultery]

Oh okay, let me jump on my laptop and look, it's kind of confusing on my phone.

So the game needs to be mounted but the exe needs to be launched, not the iso. I think I follow.

I have a plan on what to do, just wait until I get home and I'll post it.

[Nightlife]

You got it, Adultery: The disc has to be mounted first, then another exe has to launch (not the iso).

Thanks!

[Adultery]

Okay well what I would do is create an emulator where *.exe is the filter and the rom folder is the folder that exe is in. The working path would be the folder the exe is I'm also.

In Launch Before, I'd put in the D-Tools mount command with the path to the iso in there.

In the command line, I'd put "[RomFile]"

In the launch after, I'd put the D-Tools unmount command.

Then I'd make a map file with the one line in it: yourlauncher.exe| House of the Dead 3 and point your emulator at it.

Then if it's part of another emulator, I would group this one and whichever other emulator it's part of.

Boom, the ISO mounts but you launch the exe instead. Problem solved. :-)

[Nightlife]

Hey! Couple questions...

What's the correct syntax for the mount command with the path to the iso? It's not listed in the documentation, it just says [dtloader]. Where would the path to the bin go in relation to that? In brackets? Quotes?

In the launch after, would I just put /u ? Again, what's the correct syntax here? Sorry if these are really lame questions, I just have no clue and I can't seem to find an example with this use case. Thanks so much...

EDIT: Also, do I put these in the GameEx setup, or in the Virtual Drive Loader options? What items (if any) will I put in the Mount Command / Unmount Command in the VDL options?

[Adultery]

You wouldn't use the plugin at all in your case. The loader is for running games from iso, not from exe. Your situation is different so it won't work that way.

If the exe is an ahk script, couldn't you run that before the game starts, or does the exe actually launch the game too?

What you're doing is not normal practice, and I'm failing to fully understand what you're doing. Explain to me exactly what that exe does. Does it load a driver or a key mapper of some sort, then launch the game on the iso? Does it only launch the key script and monitor the game, and you then need to launch the game?

If I had the game and the exe I could test more efficiently, but I don't so I'm flying completely blind here.

[Nightlife]

Yeah it's a weird setup.

The exe runs the game, but only correctly if the bin is mounted first.

So what you suggested may work, I just don't know how to specify the path with the mount command (the exact syntax).

[nullPointer]

I think Adultery is really on to something with his previous suggestion, but I might amend it slightly so that the RomPath isn't serving as a surrogate for the Working Path. Here's what I would do:

Working Path: Set to the directory containing hod3launch.exe

ROM Path: Set to the directory containing the bin you'd like to mount (there's no cue right?)

ROM Filter: *.bin (or alternately *.cue if there's a cue in there)

Launch Before: "C:\Program Files (x86)\DAEMON Tools Lite\DTLite.exe" -mount 0,"[ROMPATH]\[ROMFILE]"

Launch After: "C:\Program Files (x86)\DAEMON Tools Lite\DTLite.exe" -unmount 0

Command Line: hod3launch.exe

Make sure the directory is correct your your installation of DaemonTools Lite (this command will be slightly different if you're using DaemonTools Pro).

You might still need to use a Map file, but maybe not depending on how your disc image is named (or if it needs to maintain a strict naming structure). This part might depend on how strict your wrapper/emulator is about it.

[Adultery]

Well it needs to go in the Launch Before section of the emulator setup. I think it's

"C:/path.to.dtools/dtlite.exe" -mount 0 "C:/path.to.iso/game.iso"

And unmount is:

"C:/path.to.dtools/dtlite.exe" -unmount 0

I'll check when I get home from work too be sure though.

[Adultery]

Null has a good suggestion there, try that one. :-)

[Adultery]

PS: if you have problems with the launch before and launch after command, there's a Plugin for that too (QuickLaunch). GameEx's launch before/after/also command can be temperamental sometimes.

[Nightlife]

Getting soooo much closer!!!!!

I had to fix the syntax, the correct one is

"path_to_dtlite.exe" -mount -0, "path_to_cue"

This works, in that the disc image now mounts and the exe starts! Which is great! Butttttt (there's always a catch, right??)...

Now I have a brand new issue. The exe starts, which begins with a menu screen that says "Play Game," "Install Game," "Remove Game," etc. If I pick "Play Game," that window "closes" and the actual game is supposed to then open... but it goes back to GameEx (with the game running in the background). So basically when I pick "Play Game," instead of keeping focus on the game, it returns to GameEx.

New can of worms!

[Adultery]

Okay, so for that you need to figure out the name of the application that play this game runs from the processes manager, and under advanced emulator options > advanced config, select the process wait tab and add the process name to it, save it as as new file, enable it, and go.

Basically that tells GameEx to wait for that process to close before coming back, and I assume that exe launches the game and then closes itself, so GameEx thinks it's done.

[nullPointer]

OK so what's happening is that GameEx is watching the process called hod3launch.exe. It thinks that's the emulator, being that it's the process that is launched from your emulator config. Sooooo ... when that process closes GameEx figures it's time to take back focus since the emulator is "finished". This is a pretty common issue with wrappers.

You need to figure out the process that is launched from the wrapper (Windows Task Manager is good for this), so you can make an Advanced Emulator Config and specify that process as a new watched process. That way GameEx won't take back focus until all the watched processes have finished.

This post contains some good information on how to create a new Advanced Emulator Config.

Good luck man!

[Nightlife]

IT WORKSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

HOOOORAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!

Thank you all so so so so much!!!! I'm so pumped it works!!!!!

[Adultery]

W00t!

[nullPointer]

Glad to hear it's all working out for you Nightlife. Happy Gaming!