GameEx convert here

[Maikerbushi]

Just signed up and purchased a lifetime license for gameex. Got to say I prefer it as a cab frontend to Hyperspin and Maximus. Most people cite the ease of setup but I found Hyperspin pretty easy to use once I got my head around hyperlaunch. What won me over is the functionality of Gameex.

My only issues are...

Button mapping my ultralux buttons and ipac buttons disables my ultrastiks (and on one occasion turned both sticks into mouse controllers).

And apart from Mame none of the other emulators work despite the paths being correct. The games are showing in the menus but when selected it fades to black then fades back up into gameex immediately.

I'm sure I will figure out the issue soon.

Thanks for a great frontend, and ending my search after hours of trying and testing "eye candy". I intend to create my own eye candy with the theme and menu editors.

Just amazing and chuffed to bits really

[nullPointer]

Hi Maikerbushi, and Welcome to the GameEx Forums!

So glad to hear that you're enjoying GameEx! It's alwasy great to hear from people that are having a good experience with the software.

In regards to the issues you're experiencing, please feel free to create one or more troubleshooting threads and we might be able to get you on the right track, or at least steer you in the right direction. If you go that route, please refer the the How to Ask For Help link in my signature, as there are some files that you can provide which (generally) help to streamline the troubleshooting process.

Thanks again, and we look forward to seeing you around.

[Maikerbushi]

Thanks nullPointer, when I can get back to it I will post up some details if I don't fix it beforehand

By the way just to elaborate further this is what's great about GameEx (and a slight comparison with other FE's).

1) Music on menu's (Maximus has this, but not as elegant - no fading in and fading out of music and no track continuation before and after play session. In GameEx it really works well.

2) Customizability - I'm very impressed with the theme and menu editors. I could never get the other FE's just how I wanted them. Personally speaking, Maximus was too light and Hyperspin was too clunky and distracting.

3) Bezel support (would be even better if it had bezel support for horizontal games on 16:9 screens too)

4) Screen saver/Attract mode - today I had Mame loading up automatically with random games interspersed with clips from 80's films and Star Wars footage in 1080p. Looks really nice on a cab to have that kick in after 4 minutes of it being left alone.

5) Extra features such as each game having its own page with info, art, manuals, 3D renders, ratings. Also e-books, jukebox. And if connected to the net seeing what the favourite games are from the GameEx community. My cab now feels a bit more organic, like it's connected to a wider community. High scores within GameEx also make the games feel more a part of the FE rather than 100's of standalone titles.

6) 1080p! With this I can make a usable 1080p skin. Running at 1280x1024 Hyperspin just about gets away with its fugly stretching but I just couldn't bear it at 1080p. Compression artifacts and jaggies aplenty. No such issues with GameEx.

7) Easy and intelligent Steam integration which is good for those Arcade cab friendly modern PC titles.

I think when everything else is set up I'll be adding a section for retro gaming magazines and perhaps even old comics. I always thought I'd keep my cabinet just for games but GameEx has inspired me

For anyone thinking of getting GameEx I highly recommend it. Beware though, it took me an hour or two and the customizing of a few menu's for me to fully appreciate it. Had a bit of buyers remorse but that soon went when I discovered exactly what I could do with it. It's got a distinctly organic feel that other FE's don't have.

[Adultery]

We appreciate the kind words, and thanks for giving it a chance!

Rave reviews like this really make the hard work pay off in a big way. Welcome to the community!

[stigzler]

That's a fantastic review - accurate and balanced too!

Think the best show of appreciation may be to post that here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,84933.0.html

That'd help others out too when choosing a front-end. And I'd agree - I chose GameEx a few years ago precisely for the reasons you outline above - cutomisable and very flexible. I love the idea of it being "organic" - it's got me into all sorts now from cataloguing game-related assets to coding!

And tbh, I find it's no. 1 competitor bland and generic. I'll always come back to GameEx being the grifter's Android and Hyperspin being the consumer's Apple.

[Tom Speirs]

Thanks for the positive feedback. I always appreciate it

Tom.

[Maikerbushi]

That's a fantastic review - accurate and balanced too!

Think the best show of appreciation may be to post that here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,84933.0.html

That'd help others out too when choosing a front-end. And I'd agree - I chose GameEx a few years ago precisely for the reasons you outline above - cutomisable and very flexible. I love the idea of it being "organic" - it's got me into all sorts now from cataloguing game-related assets to coding!

And tbh, I find it's no. 1 competitor bland and generic. I'll always come back to GameEx being the grifter's Android and Hyperspin being the consumer's Apple.

Yeah, it feels "alive" to me. Maximum seems static and sterile while Hyperspin gives the illusion of being alive but it actually becomes annoying and gets in the way of picking a game that you want to play. Which is actually the main reason for having a front end.

If there is a criticism, it's that Hyperlaunch/Rocketlauncher is a very good back end. I'm finding GameEx to be more difficult setting up all emulators (Mame was easy though). And likewise my controls don't appear to like GameEx as much as the other options.

[tthurman]

It's refreshing to see a post like yours! The front ends are both very good IMO, but really two different beasts. Regardless, they are seemingly thrown in the ring against one another quite frequently.

As I mentioned in your other thread I don't run the consoles, but I'm curious why they are more difficult. From reading here it seems the most common issue with getting them up and going is the command line.

I went to read the poll results, for the first time in a long time, since stigzler posted the link. I've always wondered why some comment on how easy GameEx is to setup, while others seem to have fits with some of it. I can't help but wonder if its a result of mapping all the paths from a previous install that doesn't contribute to some issues itself. Just an observation, mostly from reading so many ini's while trying to troubleshoot. It gets pretty convoluted for me doing a complete MAME update with all the goodies every so often

You're not the first to mention the controls, is this more from an console standpoint as well?

Anyway, more curious than anything, but they'll make for good data points when I eventually dive into the realm of the old consoles.

Good to have you here

[Krakerman]

You do know you can use RocketLauncher within GameEx very easily to run all your emu's. It makes a very nice addition to the frontend.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Maikerbushi]

How do I do this? Tutorial anywhere?

[Krakerman]

First question is do you have RocketLauncher installed and setup on your system already?

and are you familiar with how it works reason I ask is it helps to be familiar with and have RocketLauncher installed before attempting to setting it up in GameEx.

If so when I get home I can post an example on how to configure it within GameEx and RicketLauncherUI.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Krakerman]

I think I did post on how to setup within GameEx if you do a search you might find in within the forums. Search for RocketLauncher and you might find it. I think it is buried within one of my theme post..

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Krakerman]

Found it. Look here. Note this is of course back when it was HyperLaunch but you get the idea.

[Maikerbushi]

First question is do you have RocketLauncher installed and setup on your system already?

and are you familiar with how it works reason I ask is it helps to be familiar with and have RocketLauncher installed before attempting to setting it up in GameEx.

If so when I get home I can post an example on how to configure it within GameEx and RicketLauncherUI.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah I've got pretty much a full Hyperspin install minus some of the older niche systems.

[Maikerbushi]

Found it. Look here. Note this is of course back when it was HyperLaunch but you get the idea.

Thanks

That actually seems really easy. For Amiga and Taito Type X this might be the option. I've now managed to get all the others sorted apart from PC games but I may run them all through Steam for ease of use if I can get that to work properly.

[Maikerbushi]

I've limited time at the moment but things I've got working perfectly so far.

Mame

SNES

Megadrive/Genesis

Sega Master System

Gamecube

Commodore 64

ZX Spectrum

Struggling with

Steam

Dreamcast

PS1

PS2

3DO

Getting videos to play properly from the multimedia section (just get a black screen atm but they play in attract mode).

Button mapping to Ultrastik/Ultralux and iPac2.

Stuff that's not working that's an easy fix

Wii

Sega CD

32x

Stuff I haven't a clue how to set up yet

PC Games

Daphne