Launching PC games with individual Xpadder profiles

[AnodizedOS]

Hi all,

I'm trying to launch PC games with individual Xpadder profiles. I've got everything working, but as soon as I exit a game, I see the desktop without taskbar. Both the Xpadder and GameEx processes are still running in the taskmanager. I'm then forced to terminate bot processes, start GameEx and close it again to get my taskbar back.

I'm launching via .bat files and I'm suspecting that this is where the problem is.

I'll provide here the settings I've got working so far (example will be Call of Duty 4):

CoD4.bat

start Xpadder.exe "D:\Emulators\Tools\Xpadder\profiles\Call Of Duty 4" "F:\MEDIA Library\Storage\Game Shortcuts\Call Of Duty 4 - Single Player.lnk" /m

The above works perfectly fine for launching the Xpadder profile and then the game itself (from windows and from GameEx).

Here is my PC Games configuration:

[Emulator_1]
Enabled=True
STARTPAGENAME=PC Games
TITLETEXT=PC Games
StartPageLogo=PC Games
ROMFilter=*.lnk
RomPath=F:\MEDIA Library\Storage\Game Launchers
SnapPath=F:\MEDIA Library\Storage\Game Art\snap
TitlePath=F:\MEDIA Library\Storage\Game Art\Title
BoxPath=F:\MEDIA Library\Storage\Game Art\Box Art
CartPath=
ManualPath=F:\MEDIA Library\E-Books\Game Manuals
ControlPanelPath=
InstructionsPath=
WorkingPath=F:\MEDIA Library\Storage\Game Launchers
MapKeys=False
WaitBeforeKeys=
SendKeys=
ReplaceDash=False
ReplaceUnder=True
Capitals=False
RemoveBrackets=False
ShowDesktop=False
Debug=False
MAPFile=
AlsoLaunch=
Command=""[ROMPATH]/[ROMFILE]""
OLDatZip=
LaunchBefore=
LaunchAfter=pskill xpadder.exe
configFile=
ExcludedFiles=
CustomBackground=
PlayMusic=False
DontShowInfo=False
PlaySelectionMusic=False
SelectionMusicFolder=
PCGame=False
DATABASE=
GamesIn7Zips=False
PlayInScreenSaver=False
ShowMostPlayed=False
RandomMostPlayed=False
CDCheck=False
CDCheckFile=
[GENERAL]
DumbyValue=

I'm suspecting that the problem may be the batch file itself. All my games will launch and exit to gameEx properly if called directly via their .lnk file (without using any batch file).

Also, the Launch After doesn't seem to make any difference whether I use pskill or any other form of terminating the Xpadder process (Btw, pskill.exe is installed in my windows\system32 folder and can be called from a dos box to terminate the application, so I know it works)

Does anyone have any ideas on what to try next? I'd also like to know if an AutoIT script might work. If yes, I'd like to ask for help setting one up.

Thanks everyone

[headkaze]

I don't really understand how your launching the CoD4.bat file. You have *.lnk as your ROMFilter, so you are running lnk's, so how is the bat file launched?

Also remember that GameEx is waiting for a process to end before you can exit back to it. So if your waiting on XPAdder, then it's not going to exit. So even with the pskill it won't help. You need to launch the executable and wait for that. I'm not sure how a lnk will effect that waiting process. From memory it should be okay.

There are also things known as "Advanced Config's" for emulators that can specify the process to wait on. Probably not what your after here though.

Maybe if you explain how the bat file is launched and what's inside the lnk's I can help figure out what is going on.

[AnodizedOS]

I don't really understand how your launching the CoD4.bat file. You have *.lnk as your ROMFilter, so you are running lnk's, so how is the bat file launched?

I should've mentioned that the .bat file is indeed called upon via a .lnk (I just didn't want to make things sound more complicated than they are).

Anyway, it seems I just now got it working. I modified an advanced config, the "[Mapping On] Exit nullDC (Process Close).ini"

Now it actually exits the game properly and does eventually return back to GameEx, but it requires a button press on my gamepad to return to GameEx. I'm sure I can figure that out.

However, although everything is working, I'd probably like to work on a more elegant way of this procedure as mentioned via AutoIT maybe.

here's my modifed advanced config I'm using:

please point out any potential errors you may find, as I have no clue what I did to make it work

# This is an advanced emulator configuration file. It does things such as allow keyboard only emulators to be operated by a gamepad, wait for additional processes to exit and map keys. If this file is used it overrides the MAPKeys setting for the emulator.

[GENERAL]

# Enabled. Use this.

	Enabled=True

#Make MCE Back button and X-ARCADE Escape and SlikStik Escape to close emulator process

	MapBack=True

#Make Escape key close emulator process

	MapEscape=True

#When exiting an emulator via the above mappings, you can specify keys in the send keys format to send instead of having GameEx close the process to cleanly exit the emulator. Such as the Q Key or ALT F4 which is %{F4}

	KeysToSendOnExit=

#Wait for keys to be processed by the emulator

EmuWaitForKeys=True

#Additional processes to wait to exit or close on exit. Dont include the .exe. Leave blank not to use.

	Process1=
	Process2=
	Process3=
	Process4=

[JOYMAPPING]

# For mapping a GamePad to keys
# Specify a virtual key code to send when the specific joystick control is pressed. Look at vkcodes.htm for codes.

	JoymappingEnabled=FALSE

	Left=
	up=
	Right=
	Down=
	Button1=
	Button2=
	Button3=
	Button4=
	Button5=
	Button6=
	Button7=
	Button8=
	Button9=
	Button10=
	Button11=
	Button12=

[GAMEPADEXIT]

#MAP Gamepad controls to exit and make controls exit process

	MapGamePadExit=True

#Flag the controls that exit a game by placing True next to each control. To not use the control as part of the combination use a 0

	Left=True
	Down=
	Right=
	Up=True
	Button1=
	Button2=
	Button3=
	Button4=True
	Button5=True
	Button6=True
	Button7=
	Button8=
	Button9=
	Button10=
	Button11=
	Button12=

[MOUSEMAPPING]

# For registered users, the ability to control the mouse with a gamepad and/or directional keys. 
# For example for PC strategy games.
# Apparantly this functionality is similar to the software Pinnacle profiler. Remember you can setup an emulator
# as one PC game. Specify enabled, and mousespeed 0-20. 20 Being fastest. This setting overrides the directional
# mapping for the above and buttons 1 and 2 Button 1/CTRL becomes left mouse. Button 2/ALT Right mouse

	MouseMappingEnabled=False
		MouseSpeed=0

[BLOCKKEYS]

# Use this section to disable and block key presses and mouse clicks.
# To disable the mouse clicks use code 1 for left mouse button, 
# 2 for right button and 4 for middle button

Enabled=False

BlockKey_1=1
BlockKey_2=2
BlockKey_3=4
BlockKey_4=
BlockKey_5=

[KEYBOARDREMAP]

# Remap Keys for the emulator. Specify from the from key, which is the key you wish to replace the to key
# This should be good enough for real time gaming. Registered version feature. Look at VKCodes.htm for codes.

Enabled=False

Remap_1_From_VK=
Remap_1_To_VK=

Remap_2_From_VK=
Remap_2_To_VK=

Remap_3_From_VK=
Remap_3_To_VK=

Remap_4_From_VK=
Remap_4_To_VK=

Remap_5_From_VK=
Remap_5_To_VK=

Thanks

[LB11]

The way I do it for PC games, although I admittedly don't have many on gameex, is to make each game its own emulator and then group them. Then use a .lnk that will open and close xpadder in the launch before and launch after section of the advanced config.

You would need a seperate link to open xpadder for each game that uses a different profile but only one close link.

[scranusesscrunya]

I think the answer your looking for can be found in this thread..

http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?sh...l=MSN+Messenger

As you'll see it went a bit of topic, but at least i can play halflife 2 with an Xbox pad now!