Completed Feature Requests (Moved)

[jr9770]

Just a reminder:

1. Feature requests for GameEx are activly encouraged.

2. Donations are entirely optional, and have no relation to new features, requests for features, requests for support, or my time.

Tom

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have a minor request. We actually discussed this a while ago, Tom. I don't think the method GameEX currently employs to download album cover art works all that well. I remember you saying that it connects to Amazon.com to download the CD cover art. Most of the CD's I have ripped for the jukebox either don't downlod the art at all, or download the wrong art, despite Amazon's website having the correct art. Can you rework this aspect of the program so that it takes the album art from another, more reliable source? Even the album art that Windows Media Player downloads is more accurate, so maybe you can use that art instead.

Thanks!

Jeff

[emphatic]

I have a minor request.  We actually discussed this a while ago, Tom.  I don't think the method GameEX currently employs to download album cover art works all that well.  I remember you saying that it connects to Amazon.com to download the CD cover art.  Most of the CD's I have ripped for the jukebox either don't downlod the art at all, or download the wrong art, despite Amazon's website having the correct art.  Can you rework this aspect of the program so that it takes the album art from another, more reliable source?  Even the album art that Windows Media Player downloads is more accurate, so maybe you can use that art instead.

Thanks!

Jeff

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It would be cool if "current high score" could be displayed under game details. I know there's a highscore.dat file in circulation, but I don't know if this is how that's used.

Maybe an option to change the filters for clones etc in GameEx directly? So if you want to play a Japanse romset for a change, you don't have to re-create the gamelist? Hope you get what I mean. This is not my native language, see?

Emph

[emphatic]

Just a reminder:

1. Feature requests for GameEx are activly encouraged.

2. Donations are entirely optional, and have no relation to new features, requests for features, requests for support, or my time.

Tom

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

An option to change font size?

Emph

[Tom Speirs]

An option to change font size?

Emph

Yes, but why?

[Tom Speirs]

It would be cool if "current high score" could be displayed under game details. I know there's a highscore.dat file in circulation, but I don't know if this is how that's used.

Maybe an option to change the filters for clones etc in GameEx directly? So if you want to play a Japanse romset for a change, you don't have to re-create the gamelist? Hope you get what I mean. This is not my native language, see?

Emph

I do like this idea and it is somethng I already thought about. The dat file does actually integrate with MAME itself though. So you dont really need a front end for it. I do think its something that could happen in GamEx though.

[Tom Speirs]

Can you rework this aspect of the program so that it takes the album art from another, more reliable source?  Even the album art that Windows Media Player downloads is more accurate, so maybe you can use that art instead.

Thanks!

Jeff

Not possible to get it from another source on the web.

Might be able to use Media Player artwork though as GameEx already uses Media Player to get the tag information. I think that's where it was left last time. Ill take a look at the WMP COM object and see if it supports this. Not sure it does though, but worth checking.

[emphatic]

Adding support for high score is great.

About the font size option, I don't particulary need it because I can use tighter fonts, but in most M.A.M.E. games, there's some information that doesn't fit the screen because it's so much text , like "bla bla bla gamename (US 19940531 revision version 11.56)". Maybe if there was an option like "show only short gamename" or "skip revision/clone info in gamelist"?

Emph

[surgeville]

Maybe if there was an option like "show only short gamename" or "skip revision/clone info in gamelist"?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tom,

I agree with the comment elsewhere on the boards. The configuration program needs to be overhauled so that things are in a more structured order.

Emph,

This ability is in the configuration program already. Can't remember the option at the moment, but you can make GameEx just display the name without the extra version numbers at the end.

*Edit* Emph, There is an option called "bracketed text". That is what you want to change.

[surgeville]

Hey Tom,

How about an option to make games starting with "The" like "The Simpsons" be displayed in the game list as "Simpsons, The". If it was an option then everyone could choose which way they would like to display their game list.

It's obviously not a big deal (probably is to program it), but sometimes I go to "Simpsons" and have to take a whole extra second of my time after I remember that it is filed under "The Simpsons".

That extra second is valuable time I will never get back!

Oh, btw. Thanks for fixing the save state so that I can put the "accessory" files in a different folder!

I really appreciate everything you do for this frontend.

Keep up the amazing work!

[jr9770]

I want to throw in a request for the ability to change font sizes as well. I have used the "no bracketed text" option to shorten the rom name, but when I use that I miss having the ability to see which version of the rom I'm about to play. I don't have any of my roms filtered, so on some games I might have 10 clones of the same game and without having the bracketed text there I don't know if I'm about to play a Brazillian version of a game that has a US clone that I'd rather be playing. Usually I keep the no bracketed text option off because I prefer to see the full rom name, but often times that makes the text run off the screen for the longer names. Having the ability to lower the font size would correct this problem. Please consider adding this. Thanks!

Jeff

[CJ7]

...  I have used the "no bracketed text" option to shorten the rom name, but when I use that I miss having the ability to see which version of the rom I'm about to play.  I don't have any of my roms filtered, so on some games I might have 10 clones of the same game and without having the bracketed text there I don't know if I'm about to play a Brazillian version of a game that has a US clone that I'd rather be playing.    Usually I keep the no bracketed text option off because I prefer to see the full rom name, but often times that makes the text run off the screen for the longer names.  Having the ability to lower the font size would correct this problem.  Please consider adding this.  Thanks!

Jeff

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Does gameex already select the most compatible working rom if there are multiple? How does it choose which rom to play?

[jr9770]

Does gameex already select the most compatible working rom if there are multiple? How does it choose which rom to play?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, yes, you can set up GameEX so it only shows working roms and no clones. I have mine set up so nothing is filtered at all so I see my entire collection of 5,000+ roms.

[OpaqueEcho]

I'd like to start by thanking you for the program...I really like it, and it serves its purpose quite well. My feature requests are as follows:

1. Direct 7zip support for rom archives. All of my SNES and NES roms are in 7zip archives, which, if you're not familiar, allows multiple copies of the same game to be stored without any increase in file size. This could be made even better by automatically only displaying the initial file as the (U) (!) rom (or something else the user set to be the default), and presenting an option to view the other files in the archive. This feature alone would improve GameEx tenfold for me.

2. Customizable joystick/gamepad controls for the interface. COMPLETE

3. Not sure if its doable, but would it be possible to implement a univeral "Terminate" feature? For example, a single way to exit the currently running application (emulator) and return to the GameEx interface. I'm not sure if this is possible, or if its application-specific. Much like the commandline options for loading roms, however, it may be possible to set the specific controls for each emulator to a couple buttons (setting two buttons simultaneously to Alt and F4, for example, but only while GameEx is running COMPLETE

4. Some kind of loading screen while the rom is booting up. Again, this may be application-specific.

That's all I can think of for now, but I will likely post later when I think of more. Thanks again for a great piece of software.

[incubus158]

I would like the ability for you to integrate an item into my new MCE PC. I read somewhere that you can drag any shortcut into the "more programs" section and it will put a link there, but on my version (just bought this weekend) it wont allow me to drag the gameex shortcut.

Anyone have any suggestions to integrate this into MCE?

[Tom Speirs]

I would like the ability for you to integrate an item into my new MCE PC.  I read somewhere that you can drag any shortcut into the "more programs" section and it will put a link there, but on my version (just bought this weekend) it wont allow me to drag the gameex shortcut.

Anyone have any suggestions to integrate this into MCE?

The shortcut drags just fine on all my PC's. Maybe your trying to drag it right into MCE itself. Thats wrong. If GameEx is not already in MCE you need to copy the file that is in the Start Menu Acceseries / Media Center / Media Center programs directory into what is the equivalent for your country language on your MCE PC. This is done from the desktop not within MCE.

Did you in fact mean to say the shortcut is not showing up in MCE?

Have you actually selected and gone into the My programs menu item in MCE?

[WTB]

Again, thank you Tom for all your hard work.

1) Playlist and shuffle support for Videos. I use that section primarily for music videos and would love to have jukebox functionality for them.

2) This kinda goes back to a previous question: How does the "no clones" function pick the game to play? Would it be possible to have a sub-group for clones? Like this:

All MAME Games List

Game Title

-----Game Title (US)

--------Play Game

--------Flyer

--------Etc

-----Game Title (Japanese)

--------Play Game

--------Etc.

-----Game Title (Rev 36)

--------Etc.

Or possibly even another button on the Game Info screen that would link to a list of the clones:

Play Game

Flyer

Panel

Clones

------Game Title (Rev 1)

------Game Title (Swahili)

(Wow, this BB really doesn't like spaces, huh?)

- Matt

[CJ7]

I find the Jukebox a bit unfriendly actually. I would like to view the current playlist. I would like to be able to view all the songs that are selected in the playlist so I can remove them or reorder them or whatnot. Also, a quick way to turn on and off the shuffle feature from the jukebox would be great.

Thanks

PS. Awesome work on the latest releases.

[night]

1). make the jukebox more flexabile so you can play one track when pressing it when it plays another instead of

putting it on queue .... and other things but thats i guess more layout based things... COMPLETE

2). support for subfolders in the rom path finding so you can have roms in subfolders instead of all in one big mess of a folder

3). make it possible to view the cover/cart. pictures on the main screen instead of only the snapshots of a game

4). possibility to show more than only one "snapshot" like slideshow if there are more snapshots of same game

5). maybe more power of your snapshots like being able to resize the size of them in GameEx

User -Night

[oxbow]

Yes, an option to show titleshots or boxart below the snapshot in the menu would be cool..

[night]

I dont foresee GameEx showing more than one video or snap at the time or skinning support soon. ROMS in folders is coming though. The Jukebox will be improved over time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

damn i kinda liked the idea to have the option to have the Box art,Title Art on the main screen as well instead of should go thorugh the menu to see it ....

on by the way.. can you minimize the GameEx window or isnt that possible ??

anyway great work dude i really like it ...

[CJ7]

damn i kinda liked the idea to have the option to have the Box art,Title Art on the main screen as well instead of should go thorugh the menu to see it ....

on by the way.. can you minimize the GameEx window or isnt that possible ??

anyway great work dude i really like it ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can take gameex out of fullscreen by clicking the top right button with the double windows. You can minimize it from there...

[jck_strw]

I mentioned this before, but now that there's an "official" thread, I'll post it again.

It might be nice to have a random game feature. I got so many games that I don't have the time/patience to scroll through the whole list to see what I'm missing. Hitting Random Game would at least let me see some the games I'm missing.

I was thinking along the lines of a Item on the Start Page which will select AND launch a random game across MAME and all emulators.

And this Random Game feature could be enabled/disabled from the Game Prefs.

Jim

[Tom Speirs]

I was out searching the site showing a friend screen shots and I noticed that on the images of GameEx the screenshots of the games are resized and off to the left.  I havent seen any configuration in the newer builds to do this.  Is this an older function that was taken out?

Also it would be really cool if you can utilize that left-hand side to load up a cartridge screenshot layered on top of the full screen gameplay screenshots.

Hi,

I am not really sure what you mean in your first suggestion, could you explain in more detail? It might just be that the screenshots were taken at a different resolution (800X600)?

I really like your second suggestion, Ill certainly look into that.

[incubus158]

I guess this is the link I am refering to

http://tomspeirs.com/gameex/Images/16.jpg

I like how it is off to the side, because my screenshots stetch full screen and they kind of invade the user trying to read the game text. I like this screen shot cause it looks cleaner.

I guess the other thing I notice with this one is that the game text has a light blue background to it. I kind of like that too, but the functionality to do this probably has been depreciated.

[Tom Speirs]

I guess this is the link I am refering to

http://tomspeirs.com/gameex/Images/16.jpg

I like how it is off to the side, because my screenshots stetch full screen and they kind of invade the user trying to read the game text.  I like this screen shot cause it looks cleaner.

I guess the other thing I notice with this one is that the game text has a light blue background to it.  I kind of like that too, but the functionality to do this probably has been depreciated.

No the functionalitliy has always been there and still is.

Under Display settings, change the Background setting to Use Backgrounds and not use Game Images as backgrounds. I bet your kicking yourself now