Good skin/laybout to use with GameEx to show flyers etc and how to set it up from my current odd setup

[empireguitar]

'afternoon all.

At the moment, the cab I bought is set up with GameEx as a shell, which loads Mamewah straights away (which has only been set up with MAME); not sure why it was setup like this; a front end/menu loading a front end menu to load emulators....

I'd like to have GameEx as a shell, as I havn't got any room in the cab to tuck a way a keybord and mouse.

Firstly, I'd like to stop Game Ex from loading straight into Mame Wah (surely this is using up unnessecarry system resources and RAM?).

I would then like to set the cab up to run GameEx at start up and I would realy like a GameEx skin/menu where I could see and do the following;

When browsing the MAME games I'd like to be able to see the games screenshot and also the games Flyer(s)poster artwork (showing or being able to select to see the cames marquee/side art/control panel would be a bonus or cool if I could choose to see all that stuff).

When Running Megadrive/Genesis or Supernintendo games to be able to see screenshots and boxart pics.

Ofcourse I'd also like to be able to be able to easily change between emulators and also run a Juke Box programme (or use the GameEx one).

Could anyone recomend a skin which would fullfill these needs? and does anyone know how I couldget it set up from the current state which my cab is in? (i.e Gameex shelled running straight into MameWah).

Many thanks in advance:-)

[Tom Speirs]

Could be wrong here, but it sounds to me the cab isnt using GameEx at all, but just using instantsheller with the default boot screen.

[empireguitar]

Ah... you could be right; Whoever set it up (I am not in contact with that person) has definately used the instant sheller, as I can see the intall file on the HD. So they must've used intant sheller and somehow set it up to boot into Mamewah?

Basicaly, when i turn the machine on, i see the GameEx screen and then MameWah appears.

So if I want to use GameEx at start up (and stop using MameWah), do i need to first unistall Instant sheller, then install and set up GameEx and then Intall Instand sheller again and set it up to boot into GameEx?.

Any recommendations for a good skin that shows Screenshots,Flyers,Box scans?; I'm not too fussed about Video Preview or anything.

Does GameEx use up RAM/system resources when I am running emulators? or does it unload itself until I exit out of an emulator?; the pc in my cab is a Pentium 4 (2.8 Ghz i think) with 500 or so MB of RAM.

Thanks for your help.

[Tom Speirs]

Assuming everything is working, you should be able to run the instant sheller on the hard disk and "undo" the changes.

The PC sounds Ok for what you want it for with use with GameEx.

It does use quite a bit of RAM, but 512 should be fine if using XP. Less than that can be a problem.

[empireguitar]

I think what I'll do, is intall GameEx and get it working with my emulators and then finaly "undo" the Shell and then use the intantsheller to shell the GameEx which I will will have (hopefuly!) got working.

Which Skin would you recomend I use for displaying Screenshots+flyers etc?

THanks.

[Tom Speirs]

Im not the one to recommend themes, sorry, I just like the default theme!

[Tempest]

Any theme would do what you want. It's really a matter of personal preference. When you install GameEx, it will ask you if you want to download themes. Then when you run GameEx, you can switch themes on the fly to see which one suits your taste.

[empireguitar]

I managed to instal GameEx last night - ran VERY slow at first (I could hear my pc maxing out as the fan was going mental). I then set GameEx to run in 640x480 and now it runs o.k.

One problem I'm having at the momment is setting up my arcade controls to work with it correctly; is there not a way to map the keys via a promt system, rather than having to type into the config file?; My cab must be using controls which make the pc think my buttons etc are just a keyboard (hacked keyboard?) and I'm not sure which keys etc my controls represent.

Also, I love being able to click "view flyer", however I'd realy like GameEx to show the games screenshot and also it's flyer or artwork at the same time.

My cab is not hooked up to the net, so couldn't auto install anything on there (would be difficult to get it onto the net, as the ethernet port would real difficult to reach and also would have to intall all the Virgin media crap to connect.

Would it work if I set GameEx up on my main pc, auto downloaded all the emulators etc and then just copied over the GameEx Folder to my mameCab pc?

[bkenobi]

Yes, there is a tool in the setup wizard that can help you configure the keys just by pressing what you want to use. If you have trouble finding it, we can probably come up with a picture to show you.