Interested in switching to this FE, but have a few questions

[shateredsoul]

Hi Everyone,

I was thinking of switching to gameex from Maximus arcade, but I wondering if I could receive some help with a few questions?

1. I am currently using Maximus Arcade how hard do you think it will be for me to switch over?

2. Is it easy to integrate Makaron, pcsx2e,demul,dolphin, nulldc 104r22 and other new emulators?

3. I really like the Control Panel viewer integration, can i customize it to reflect my button layout? and if so, how is that done within gameex?

4. Do I have to rename my roms to match lists (like hyperspin)?

5. Gameex reminds me of media center, is there a way to make it look less like media center and more "arcade like"?

I'd appreciate any help with these questions!

SS

[Ninja Rygar]

2 - I cannot speak for most of those... however out of personal experience I can say that newer emulators need a bit more work to get integrated into GameEx properly. I had a hell of a time with NullDC in particular. However hard something may seem though, GameEx is capable of doing it. Pretty much no matter what. In addition, if you need help setting up an emulator... it's got one of the best support forums you'll ever see.

3 - Learn to use "CPWizard" by Headkaze. You'll find the option to use it in GameEx's "Advanced Mame Settings". You're going to need to learn how to use it though, but once you do, there's no limit to what you can do with control panel displays. It also has other features too that are worth integrating into your frontend. It's perfect for MAME, I haven't used it for anything else though. GameEx has a built in control panel viewer, but I prefer using CPWizard. Trust me.

4 - Yes you do. We have things that can help with that to make it as painless as possible. GameEx actually has an option for using close matches, but you might as well go for the standard naming conventions used by most FE users. For that, Emumovies.com is the place to look. Not only that, but it will also supply you with the supplemental artwork and videos you're gonna want to use with GameEx.

5 - That would depend on the THEME. Most of the default themes are simple, Media Center style menus. Lately though, members have been submitting more original, flashy and "arcade-like" themes. Though remember... GameEx also works perfectly as a media center solution, so the media center themes have their place. Check the stickied "User submitted themes and media" thread for some really nice themes, and some great WIPs. Just don't anything like Hyperspin.

[Tempest]

Commenting on#4.

No, you don't have to follow a naming convention. However, if you want your artwork to display, then the art work needs to match the name of the roms. GameEx will display just the name of the game without the bracketed information EG: Romname (U) [Other Info] will display as Romame. If Your romnames match one of the standard conventions, (Goodname, No intro, Tosec), GameEx has database for many systems that will display a nice dscription of the game, and you can choose to 'Use Database Name'. If all else fails, you can use a map file (or create your own) that will tell GameEX what the display name should be EG: Romname (U) [Other Info]|Romname.

If you decide to use GameEx, I'm confident that you will be able to run anything you want, and you won't be disappointed. As Ninja Rygar said, GameEx works well for Media as well, and many people use it as a FE for their HTPC.

BTW: You can download and use most of the features for free. There is a nag screen, asking you to upgrade to the full version, but any setup that you do will work in the full version.

[shateredsoul]

Interesting info.. I appreciate the help

I was actually hoping I could get around using cpwiz, I've had issues with the naming of buttons. I'm not sure if its because of my system (a windows 7 64 bit system) and I can't test it on another version of windows because my laptop has the same thing. If I go, point it to the mame files it needs (using default mame files) and I've made sure to follow the guide step by step... i get player 2's buttons labeled, and player one either nothing or just one or two and sometimes player 2s buttons are also mislabeled. Are there any complete sets out there? The only issue is that my cp will have a hybrid layout.

I already have emumovies sets in .avi format, I'm just waiting for circo to upload the dreamcast set. Here are some systems I'm thinking of integrating

mame

misfit mame

nes

snes

n64

gamecube

NintendoWii

gameboy

gameboy color

gameboy advance

virtual boy (can't find good emulator for this)

sega genesis

sega cd

sega 32x

sega master system

Sega dreamcast

sega portable (blanking on name atm)

3DO

Turbo Grafx 16

mame

makaron

atomiswave (based off of demul)

sega m2

virtual pinball

future pinball

atari 2600

atari 5200

atari 7800

atari jaguar

atari lynx

pc games (using .bat files)

-Guitar Hero World Tour (I have an xbox 360 guitar that works well on my pc)

-japanese shmups (there's a whole scene of homemade shmups)

-Street Fighter IV

-Blaz Blue

-and more

controller setups

1 and 2 player = joysticks and pushbuttons

3rd and 4th player = xbox 360 controllers

[wubble]

All of those ought to work as long as you put in a little time setting them up. Some may be awkward but problems can be fixed once you're familiar with a few tricks in advanced configuration. PC Games are easy to use if you point GameEx to a folder with .bat or .lnk files. I've seen some of those PC games being played on the GameEx Live page.

Try setting up an emulator or 2 in the nag version. See how you get on.