timer to pc games

[AdalLopez]

Hi:

I need a timer to credits in pc games, can i paid for the work can you send me a private message, thanks a lot.......

[chriss]

sorry, senor lopez... what is the timer supposed to do?

for pc games you normally dont need to refill any credits.

[bkenobi]

Credits are used to make an machine into something you can use in an arcade. I don't know what Tom's stance is on paid arcades using GameEx, so I'm not sure if that can be answered here. I know there was a thread a while back where a solution was developed, but since the MAME Devs don't like this activity, the thread was removed.

[headkaze]

Tom's stance was pretty clear about this, he's against any software that can track and maintain credits because Mame dev don't like it. The software in question has been removed and is not available here anymore.

[bkenobi]

I wasn't sure if Tom was against having any feature like this available in GameEx or if it was primarily focused on being available for MAME. I know the stance for MAME...

[cz2000]

C'mon it looks pretty obvious he/she are trying to make a quick buck. I think there's ethical problems with this personally. Perhaps the OP can give a bit more background on what and why they would want to do this.

[bkenobi]

I personally see many instances where a coin timer would be a good thing and not-for-profit. For instance, you could have an arcade set up in the rec room and give the kids a certain number of tokens a week to play. When they ran out, they were either done or had to earn more via chores etc. This would keep the kids from sitting on their fat arses all day playing video games and maybe teach responsibility.

On the other hand, this feature could EASILY be corrupted and used for profit. In the end, I agree with Tom's decision on this one (not that my opinion counts for anything ).

[emphatic]

Well, he's asking about PC games, not for MAME. What if he's programmed the game himself? If someone is after a "quick buck" it's very easy to setup a MAME cabinet with a coin mechanism. I think this sounds innocent enough and has nothing to do with the MAME licence.

Emph

[headkaze]

I personally see many instances where a coin timer would be a good thing and not-for-profit. For instance, you could have an arcade set up in the rec room and give the kids a certain number of tokens a week to play. When they ran out, they were either done or had to earn more via chores etc. This would keep the kids from sitting on their fat arses all day playing video games and maybe teach responsibility.

I totally agree and that is why I released CoinDrop in the first place. It was even expanded on but never released publicly and it's purpose was to manage credits for kids, not for commercial use. Still it caused enough of a stir for me to never release it again.

Well, he's asking about PC games, not for MAME.

I missed that point about PC games.. hmm I wonder how that would work. Close the game after a certain time period? That would be annoying. Perhaps turn off all keyboard input after a certain time until another credit is inserted? hmm I like that idea actually and that would be easy to code something like that. HK rubs his hands together... well if there was enough interest in such a tool I would probably write that. Perhaps I'll add it to my universal wrapper that I've been developing.

[bkenobi]

Perhaps the code should send some kind of a pause input before locking the keys? I think escape is pretty universal in PC games as a way to get to a main menu, isn't it?

[headkaze]

Perhaps the code should send some kind of a pause input before locking the keys? I think escape is pretty universal in PC games as a way to get to a main menu, isn't it?

Your right it would definately have to pause the game then lock input. That would suck losing controls and then dying because you can't get a coin in quick enough hehe

[bkenobi]

That'll teach them kids to think ahead! That's critical thinking, so maybe leaving pause out would help.

[popcorrin]

There is something like this out there offered by weavefuture. I don't know a whole lot about it but I believe they have hardware and software solutions with the whole intention of turning your pc into a commercial money maker.

[bkenobi]

There's probably quite a few others out there. I wonder if anyone has released a freeware/open source suite like this. The Weavefuture software is designed for internet cafe's and such, but would not make much sense for use with kids since you would pay a monthly fee. I think something like this would be really cool if it were available for home use. I personally wouldn't use it since I don't have kids, but If I did/once I do I will more than likely have to do something like this with the arcades.

[starbuck]

I like the idea. I do this now for my kids, but I use a kitchen timer. But, I get busy and they don't come tell me that the timer goes off (Darn Kids) So I'm for this all the way. Also would like to incorporate a way to password protect certain areas.

[Tempest]

I think it would be pretty easy to write a script to add password protection for anything launched as an emulator, or even restriction on certain Mame games... I would be willing to work on it if someone promises to use it!

Could do a timer to...shutdown after so many minutes, password protect on startup....

[bkenobi]

I've always wanted a password protection scheme built into GameEx, but it hasn't been available. I suppose it could be built into a wrapper of some kind, but it wouldn't be nearly as clean. That's just my opinion though.

[starbuck]

I would definitely use it Tempest.

[Tempest]

No problem, (I think, LOL) what would you like to see it do?

Password protect adult mame games?

A timer to automatically shut down Gameex? The computer?

Password protect GameEX at startup?

What?

I will make a gui to have user selectable items....

Hopefully I can really do this!

[Tom Speirs]

Hi:

I need a timer to credits in pc games, can i paid for the work can you send me a private message, thanks a lot.......

If its for genuine commerical and legal purposes (which is sometimes not the case), Id be happy to talk further with you about it.

My contact inforamtion is here:

http://www.spesoft.com/default.aspx?page=1

Just to clear this up for everyone. Here is the official stance:

It would have to be a commercial request. I dont take money for ad-hoc personal changes. ie you would have to be a comany in a commercial venture to do this.

License and permission would be required for the games being used. This means more than the fact you simply purchased games. You would also need permission from the copyright holder to use the games in this way.

Its not happened yet..

PS: Another good reason for not making the source code available.

[Tom Speirs]

No problem, (I think, LOL) what would you like to see it do?

Password protect adult mame games?

A timer to automatically shut down Gameex? The computer?

Password protect GameEX at startup?

What?

I will make a gui to have user selectable items....

Hopefully I can really do this!

By the way the second one it already does