[OT] Why I love GameEX

[Brian Hoffman]

Wow

Where do I start? I will share a little bit about myself. I am 30 years old and a father of two kids. I got into emulation when my friends older brother showed me a program for DOS called "nesticle" on his Tandy computer. I was amazed to say the least.

There were no torrents, on my 28.8 modem I searched for roms and emulators..

One by one I built my collection, then I discovered MAME.

It was actually Mameworld where I found Gameex listed under the FE section.

I was familiar with Dos and emulators but front ends were new to me.

I browsed the forums for many months before joining and only joined the forum to solicit help.

Not only did I receive the help I was seeking I felt very welcome. It was very refreshing. Other forums I visited were very rude to n00bs like their knowledge was so elite only they could possess it. So.. I decided to stay and learn and pick other peoples brains that were more 'in the know' than I was.

Gamex became a drug to me, I woke up and logged into gameex. At work on my down time I logged into Gameex. Pretty soon I was able to start helping others. What a rush that was. I was finally able to give back to the community that gave so much to me.

After a bit I was promoted to Moderator and then Admin. I have learned so much and have made a few friends along the way.

In the years that I have been a part of Game ex many things have happened. I got married, I had two children, I went back to school and just recently got my AA degree. My life is evolving but I am still here.

Everyday I am reminded what a great community we have, how different we are from other boards.

I'm not saying we have not had our share of drama over the years but Gameex is a staple in the emulation community. We have some of the best members around.

Here is to the Gameex community!!!

Thank you for everything!

Brian Hoffman

[Adultery]

Your story is the same as mine right down to Nesticle! Funny what you learn about people along the way.

Only difference was that GameEx made me want to create my own cabinet. I've had a hell of a time getting GameEx going when I first started, but everyone guided me all the way. *I remember when I just couldn't get command-line perameters right! C:// prompt? Where's that now?* Love the support here, the community here, the contributions here... Tom is a machine! And an evil genius that keeps us hooked on this front-end no mattter what my staition in life is! Mix that up with MAME Compiler to build my own version of MAME customized to my cabinet?, I feel like a pro now (set aside my inability to make CSMAME work)... I can actually offer people advice! How cool is that? And when I get my own LED-lit buttons, you can bet your ass I'll be here fishing for help form you guys!

Everytime I pass my cabinet, I really get warm fuzzies thinking about how far we've come together... And it feels pretty damn cool to see my friends salivating over it!

Thanks everyone! Here's to GameEx and company!

[wubble]

Got to agree there. GameEx is the best software available for windows. It made me realise the dream of having my own cabinet, as it brought all the emulators together and made them easily accessible from an arcade controller. So now I have built my own cab with GameEx inside, it is the best toy ever. When the laminating and painting is complete I will post it in the cabinets thread.

[Draco1962]

I know I have posted my "Why" a bit ago. I actually caught the bug for emus and building a cab when I first started playing with virtualization (VMWare, Windows VM, etc.) and stumbled upon a blog where they highlighted an arcade cab by knieval customs dedicated to Guitar Hero and built from a Marshall stack.

Of course, as I started to explore MAME, I saw that there were other emus for old systems that I have owned/played over the years and realized that havign the "one ring to control them all" was a must - which led me first to Maximus Arcade. I tried the demo version, checked the forums periodically.. again, and again. Very few updates from the programmer or admin if at all. Mostly people sending their payment and wondering when they were going to get their key for the full version - for weeks at a time.

During that same time, I was also checking out GameEx. I downloaded the free version and started tinkering. It didn't take long before I decided to eliminate the nag screens and unlock all the features it had to offer. I was hooked and my wife has been rolling her eyes at me ever since.

[Ninja Rygar]

Ever since I learned about Emulation, I wanted it all in one place, I had no idea about front-ends. I don't remember how I stumbled upon GameEx, but I've been hooked ever since. Making my GameEx project better and better is always a goal of mine, constantly trying to take advantage of all the features this program has... it's been a real joy actually.

I dont' know if I should.... go here... on this forum, since it's kind of personal... but whatever. A few months ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and told I don't have much longer to live. I proved em wrong and outlived that time limit already! However, I don't work anymore and I found myself bed-bound for months at a time. Let's just say, working on GameEx really occupied alot of my new found free time, and kept my mind off unpleasant things. Having a project to work on, and yeah, to play with... it really helps out. I'm MUCH better now that I'm out of hospitals and care centers, I'm living back home and all my visitors are AMAZED with GameEx. I made my own theme and everything (remember horizon?) and alot of people I know don't even know the basics of emulation so the whole setup really blows them away. Occasionally I'll get bored with GameEx... that's when I find myself wishing I could go back to work... imagine that.

[Draco1962]

Ever since I learned about Emulation, I wanted it all in one place, I had no idea about front-ends. I don't remember how I stumbled upon GameEx, but I've been hooked ever since. Making my GameEx project better and better is always a goal of mine, constantly trying to take advantage of all the features this program has... it's been a real joy actually.

I dont' know if I should.... go here... on this forum, since it's kind of personal... but whatever. A few months ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and told I don't have much longer to live. I proved em wrong and outlived that time limit already! However, I don't work anymore and I found myself bed-bound for months at a time. Let's just say, working on GameEx really occupied alot of my new found free time, and kept my mind off unpleasant things. Having a project to work on, and yeah, to play with... it really helps out. I'm MUCH better now that I'm out of hospitals and care centers, I'm living back home and all my visitors are AMAZED with GameEx. I made my own theme and everything (remember horizon?) and alot of people I know don't even know the basics of emulation so the whole setup really blows them away. Occasionally I'll get bored with GameEx... that's when I find myself wishing I could go back to work... imagine that.

Buddy, you may go wherever you wish! Glad you are still around and hope that you will continue to be for some time! I am sure that I speak for most everyone that we appreciate your frequent input, questions, and contributions and I can relate to the need and benefits of having something to give you a focus away from whatever obstacles can bring you down.

[Adultery]

Ahh NinjaRygar...

You are a value and an asset to this community! I wish I could help you get better and all... If we lost ya it'd be a lot less fun around here.

None the less, you're just as valuable as Tom is to this project! It's people like yourself that make me proud to be a part of this great community!

[Ninja Rygar]

Aww come on guys.. thanks.. I wasn't going to even bring it up... since it kinda kills the mood... heh...

Seriously though, thank you... I like this forum alot, I like the people, It really is unique on the internet to find a forum THIS kind and this helpful to everybody who arrives. (ESP for a gaming forum, which are most of the time A-hole central)

I don't dwell on my condition too much, I believe my youth saved me from a nasty fate, I'm only 26 (far too young for this condition) and I don't plan on going anywhere for a long time. I've already been a member of this forum for over a year, which is actually a lot longer than I usually stay on a forum... usually I last a few months before I get bored or annoyed.

To Tom, Adultery, Draco, Tempest, Brian and everyone else here... THANK YOU. This software and this forum ROCK!

[headkaze]

Two of my cousins have passed away from cancer. Pretty horrible. Strength comes from friends and family. Sounds like you're on the road to recovery though so we can be positive.

As for "Why I love GameEX". It's a long story really. Will have to write a proper post about it when I get some time.

[mesk]

Well,well it seems a few of us owe our emulation addiction to nesticle.......ah,good ole nesticle.I was so excited when I realized I could play old nes games on my pc! Not to mention laughing uncontrollably when my friend and I realized just what the nesticle desktop icon was

So after discovering nesticle,in late 98-99 (I know I was a little late,but I didnt get my first pc until early 98)I dove head first into emulation,absorbing every bit of knowledge I could find using my 56k modem

Then my friend found MAME by stumbling upon "mame.dk"(deep nostalgia sigh)and let me just say the first time I saw the arcade version of "rush n attack" running on my pc my jaw hit the floor.especially when he added "coins" loved it then,love it now

fast foward to 2009 I was told of "mameWAH" by some co workers.after using it for about 6 mnths I stumbled upon GameEx.and you would think this would be the end of the story,but it isnt.

A few months ago I was sucked in to hyperspin by its "flash and glitz"so I stopped using GameEx and started using HS.Then I soon found out that while HS does have the flashiness,GameEx's features just blow HS out of the water.3 weeks after installing and setting up HS,I was uninstalling it and reinstalling GameEX

And now I have been happily back with GameEx for about 2 months now,with no intentions of leaving it again:)

I must agree with Brian,never have I felt more welcome on a board then this one.great community to accompany a great FE,the #1 FE.

[Draco1962]

Well we are glad to have ya back. More members mean more guinea pigs for my themes, bezels, etc!

I am sure that one of ya will take me in when my wife throws me out.. right? RIGHT?

[Adultery]

*hears crickets*

[celly]

*lots of crickets*

[mesk]

yea you can shovel snow for rent

[Draco1962]

You guys SUCK! I need a hug...

[Kustom Kid]

So this is my first post, but I think it's appropriate as this thread demonstrates exactly why the community is a major part of why I chose GameEx as my front end. A few months ago my wife and I decided that we needed to cut back on our expenses as money was getting tight. The first thing to go was cable. I decided to dust off the HTPC project I gave up on a few years ago and make it work. Long story short I got the bugs worked out and we were enjoying our new "super" DVR and streaming device.

While building the HTPC I relied on two fairly large HTPC forum communities for problem solving. I stumbled on GameEx reading a thread at one of them. I was also turned on to emulators many moons ago by Nesticle. Now in my early 30's, I only fired up an emulator to see how fast I could run through Super Metroid for my 453 time or to see if I could finally beat Super Macho Man on Punch Out. When I realized I could have fully functional, seamless emulation through my HTPC I dove in head first.

I've had GameEx on my system for about 2 months now and it's the absolute coolest. From playing old NES Sesame Street games with my son, to having high score contests with my wife on Donkey Kong Country, to still not being able to beat Super Macho Man. I've gone from "check out my HTPC. I can record 4 shows at once, do this that and the other" to asking someone what their favorite video game was back in the day and firing it up within minutes.

While I haven't been able to not find an answer for any questions I've had yet I'm sure the time will come and I'm glad to have such a strong, helpful, and most importantly, friendly community when I need them.

[Draco1962]

Well, Kid, welcome you to the GameEx forums! I think you hit on why we have the types of users that keep coming back. Sure, there are frontends that will give you all the pretty eye candy you'll ever want. But is the genuine support and interest there to get you through the tough spots? Besides, I can create my own eye candy! I am currently working on my 5th or 6th theme now. I have begun to master GIMP (an open source image editing software similar to Photo Shop) because this program allows me to do so and is constantly imporved upon and continues to challenge me to do more with it. I have yet to master all it has to offer. I have a long way to go before I get all of the emus I have loaded up and running. I will have plenty of hiccups along the way. And I know that I can count on the friends I have made along the way here to help me get there.

[Kustom Kid]

I was tooling around with the theme editor the other day, Draco. I'm going to get all of my emulators working optimaly and paring down my ROM list to games we play before I start fiddling around with the other stuff. That and I found the same theme I use for my HTPC, Brokeh, was already created by some guy who knows more about it than I do. I am going to alter it a bit to natively fit my TV though. Thank you for the warm welcome and contributions to the site.

[Draco1962]

Brokeh was one of my first themes for GameEx. I would not use that a good example of someone knowing what they are doing !

I have moved on worlds away from that theme, yet have a long way to go yet...

[Kustom Kid]

Well, it works good for what I need. The transition from VMC to GameEx and back is as good as it can get. I tried to change the resolution to 1920x1080 in the theme, but I ended up breaking it. I'll stick with it for now as it doesn't look bad at all.

Video of transition: (posting from phone, I'll pretty the link up later)

[emphatic]

Hi everyone!

In the 80's I used to hang out wherever there were arcade games. In Sweden, real arcades were very rare, so the video rental places where the main source of arcade games.

In 1997 when I got my first taste of the Internet, I started to search for a PC rendition of my favorite arcade games, starting with Rygar. This lead me to "Rishgar" and "Rygar Emulator" and later on to the site "Dave's classics". That's where I found out about MAME and when Dave's Classics turned into Vintage Gaming Network it got harder to find roms etc and then I stumbled on MAME World where I first found out about frontends. And aaaah, MAME.dk was a great site. My first Frontend was Emu Loader. I did use it for quite some time until I found GameEx. Now I had started to think about building my own cabinet etc. I was quickly hooked on the forums, as it's always been filled with friendly people and so on.

I haven't been very active on these forums for a long time now. The reason is that I totally gave up on MAME and more importantly, my MAME cabinet. I sold it a couple of years back, and bought JAMMA cabinets instead. Why? Because it's always been about PLAYING the games for me, and managing a frontend driven cabinet means lots of time spent on configurations and other distracting things. Now I have a Japanese XBox 360 in one cabinet (playing arcade ports only), and also a PC (running GameEx of course) with a very short gamelist and the other cabinet only runs JAMMA games.

Emph

[Draco1962]

Thanks for sharing that clip! It does look good on your system and I am glad I was able to keep as close to the origin as possible as there did not seem to be much of a discernable transition from Media Center to GameEx.

[Kustom Kid]

Yeah, Draco it worked out very well. Thank you for the theme. I just updated to Win7 (yay tax refund!) and got everything back to how I had it in Vista. Now all I need to do is get my metadata squared away for my roms, movies, music, and tv shows and I'll be ready to enjoy this thing, even though tinkering is half the fun.

[Adultery]

Ha! More like 2/3rds. I like watching others enjoy the hard work. That's the real enjoyment! Well, that and the jealousy factor!

[Kustom Kid]

Very true, Adultrey. I was pretty stoaked when I heard my buddy mutter "holy crap, dude" when I fired up GameEx at his house. He was fairly impressed with the TV and movie stuff (I'm running GE through media center on my box), but GameEx completely blew him away.