Messages

46

General / Re: Game Descriptions missing

« on: May 22, 2020, 11:28:54 PM »

in case anyone is looking for more overview files. I created and seperated some per skraper source / system using skysraper and uploaded them to github. The best ones are the the ones from previous url + the screenscraperfr one. They mostly follow hyperlist rom lists

https://github.com/joyrider3774/attract_overviews

Thanks for sharing this, really useful.

47

General / Re: Focus problem using batch for pcsx2

« on: May 22, 2020, 09:32:00 AM »

Rand0m , i prefer to use the batch files because some games needs DX11 and other needs OpenGL driver, so i need to load PER-GAME configs, and this is possible only with batch files. Or is possible to load configs directly from attract mode Emulator CFG ??

You can create per-game configs, You can use some thing like spectabis (easier) as launcher and use it in Am or use config files directly. I am using the following setup:

Code: [Select]

executable           D:\PlayStation 2\PCSX2 1.5.0 dev-2325 (x32)\pcsx2.exe
args                 "[romfilename]" --fullscreen --nogui --cfgpath="D:\PlayStation 2\Extras\Game Configs\[name]"
1- [name] here means that pcsx2 will look for config file with similar name to currently selected rom - a handy am function
2- Create 2-3 templates like dx11, opengl and software, it will make it easier to manage if you have large romset.
3- spectabis > https://github.com/FaithLV/Spectabis/blob/master/README.md (try not to add any flyers, large list with flyers can cause huge slowdowns)

48

General / Re: Focus problem using batch for pcsx2

« on: May 21, 2020, 11:19:38 AM »

any specific reason you are using bat files for pcsx2? Call the emulator directly or edit bat files to use this argument > "[romfilename]" --fullscreen --nogui

49

Themes / Re: RetroDiction Theme v1.0 Released

« on: May 09, 2020, 09:09:12 PM »

this is awesome! bonus points for splatter house!

Thanks

50

Emulators / Re: Arguments for fbneo libretro with RetroArch (NeoGeo & NeoGeo CD)

« on: April 08, 2020, 03:45:26 AM »

Open any game through neocd and go to options and turn Skip cd loading to on then restart the game. Thats is for point 1.

51

General / Re: Neogeo CD Retroarch

« on: April 04, 2020, 08:49:48 PM »

^ like akafox said try adding full path for core in arguments. Also neocd core is available and it now supports .chd, so you can save some space on hd if you have a lot roms.

52

General / Re: General

« on: April 04, 2020, 08:46:19 PM »

It will be a bad idea to change the rom name if you are following a set like no-intro or redump. Online sources (like scrapers) are either rom name based or crc based.

53

General / Re: HELP: RetroArch works fine, but when triggered from AM it freezes

« on: April 04, 2020, 08:44:16 PM »

might be an issue with appendconifg, have you tried loading without that? If the rom files are zipped try adding "/" after the path i.e.

Code: [Select]

rompath              /Volumes/Roms/arcade/

54

General / Re: Loading screen for systems

« on: April 04, 2020, 08:40:13 PM »

You can use fadetogame plugin and use the #Emulator field a basis for snap. Check this thread > http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=1893.0

55

General / Re: Rookie Question - Organazation

« on: February 19, 2020, 11:21:28 AM »

I'd suggest to create basic category filters with an additional rule for hiding clones. You can map next/ previous letter to gamepad/ keyboard so browsing large issues would not be that much of an issue. Alphabetical sort of titles is the default. In my theme I use left/ right to move between category filters, the list opens in "ALL" (lists all categories) moving right jumps to next category (alphabetically) "Action" right again moves to "Adventure" and so on. Its a loop so moving right on last category "Strategy" loops back to first category "ALL". Its a very natural flow once you get the hang of it but to make it really shine you'll need Keil's Leap plugin.

You can create a Category filter with nested (sort of) Alphabets but it will take some effort. You will need to use platforms setup then create a category display with a filter like "category contains action" then create sub-displays "A" "B" "C"... "Z" which filters titles via alphabet. This will create a folder like hierarchy  where selecting "Action" display will list all Alphabets from A to Z, selecting an alphabet lets say "A" will list all items starting with A and having the category "action". "back" will take you back to parent display/ folder i.e. "action".

56

General / Re: FPS Monitor

« on: February 11, 2020, 01:11:55 PM »

@keilmillerjr @zpaolo11x Thanks guys, added surfaces and shaders to the list of common culprits causing slowdowns.

Surfaces, especially nested surfaces, are the main cause of slowdowns, together with heavy glsl shaders that have an impact on low spec machines with poor GPU. But for "flowing" themes that load a lot of artwork in advance to maintain smooth scrolling, loading a 348x244 native resolution screenshot feels very different than loading high resolution box art or arcade flyers.

Avi and mpg loading causes stuttering in the same scenario (so better delay loading) and when a video is running the layout usually caps at the video framerate

Thanks, about the highlighted part, I have tried some dozen ways to reduce impact of videos. i was aiming for the same thing (video delay) but no matter what I do if there are videos (playing) in a layout there are FPS drops. Most of the examples I have seen are where after x ms video becomes visible (but its playing in hidden as soon as one goes to next/ previous game, it only becomes visible after x ms).

is it possible to actually run the video after x ms (not visibility but playing)?

Use tick callback to update fe.image.

I am currently using following:

Code: [Select]

//Video Starts Playing After 1 Second In Place of Snap
local settings =
    {
        delay_timer = 0,
        play_delay = 1000,
    }

local video = fe.add_artwork("video", 680,705,472,355)
video.preserve_aspect_ratio = true;
video.mipmap = true;
video.trigger = Transition.EndNavigation;

function vid_on_transition(ttype, var, transition_time)
    {
        if (ttype == Transition.StartLayout || ttype == Transition.ToNewList || ttype == Transition.FromOldSelection)
            {
                settings.delay_timer = fe.layout.time
                video.visible = false
            }
        return false
    }

function vid_on_tick(tick_time)
    {
        if (video.video_playing && tick_time - settings.delay_timer >= settings.play_delay) video.visible = true
    }

fe.add_ticks_callback(this, "vid_on_tick")
fe.add_transition_callback(this, "vid_on_transition")

This runs the video hidden and makes it visible after a few ms. How do I adjust it so video doesn't run at previous/ next game but runs after a few ms (chnage visibility to video_playing)? Kind of stuck because I have no idea what to replace this line (  if (video.video_playing && tick_time - settings.delay_timer >= settings.play_delay) video.visible = true) with.

57

Themes / Re: NxL theme! [Release] new video!2-4-2017 Update

« on: February 11, 2020, 10:59:57 AM »

sorry again is there anyways to get this front end 

Hiya, OP shared this theme in another forum > https://www.arcade-projects.com/forums/index.php?thread/820-a-freeware-taito-typex2-multigame/&postID=65416#post65416

Direct Link to Mega: https://mega.nz/#!Z9IjWBpT!97fuY3d2htlKa0AfP_JTQ3WYt5CcWbDyoV7dEeifCOY

Note: this is a 2Gb dl and includes NXL HD, NXL SD, NXL VERT ,SegaPras hd, segapras Sd, Blues Flat & Cools

58

General / Re: FPS Monitor

« on: February 10, 2020, 08:17:51 AM »

@keilmillerjr @zpaolo11x Thanks guys, added surfaces and shaders to the list of common culprits causing slowdowns.

Surfaces, especially nested surfaces, are the main cause of slowdowns, together with heavy glsl shaders that have an impact on low spec machines with poor GPU. But for "flowing" themes that load a lot of artwork in advance to maintain smooth scrolling, loading a 348x244 native resolution screenshot feels very different than loading high resolution box art or arcade flyers.

Avi and mpg loading causes stuttering in the same scenario (so better delay loading) and when a video is running the layout usually caps at the video framerate

Thanks, about the highlighted part, I have tried some dozen ways to reduce impact of videos. i was aiming for the same thing (video delay) but no matter what I do if there are videos (playing) in a layout there are FPS drops. Most of the examples I have seen are where after x ms video becomes visible (but its playing in hidden as soon as one goes to next/ previous game, it only becomes visible after x ms).

is it possible to actually run the video after x ms (not visibility but playing)?

59

General / Re: FPS Monitor

« on: February 09, 2020, 11:32:59 PM »

Note: AM shows some drops when it first starts, in around 5-6 seconds FPS will stabilize.

60

General / FPS Monitor

« on: February 09, 2020, 11:31:46 PM »

Latest versions of Attract-Mode include a handy plug-in by Oomek called FPS Monitor. This monitor can be turned on through Configure > Plugin > FPS Monitor> Enabled yes. In the same page add a key for turning FPS Monitor on and off, if you have not mapped "reload" to any key then you can add a key for reload here too. I found Graph size "Large" to be best.

Usage:
When FPS Monitor is turned on in settings, it will auto-run on start (I wish default was off) go through your layout and keep an eye on the FPS Monitor, at any place where you see FPS drops (Usually between 50-59) check the layout code and see whats causing the drops. You can also narrow it down by turning off artwork one by one. Thats where reload key comes handy, after any changes in layout you can press the reload key and layout will reload with new changes.

Depending on the reason you might need to convert png to jpg or 8bit png or re-compress through website like tinyPNG (thanks Enkak!). Or you might want to resize if the image res is huge, specially when you are using reduced res output of said image in layout. You might also want to use something like Transition.EndNavigation.

BTW Videos WILL cause FPS drops, best to do this with videos disabled. I don't know of anyway to minimize drops on videos right now, though in some tests I did wmv caused minimal drops then avi them mp4. But this is on Win* system might be different on *nix. 

As Keil and Zpaolo mentioned in comments further down, multiple surfaces (specially nested) and heavy shaders can also cause slowdowns/ FPS drops, you can comment out one item at a time and reload/ check.