Attract-Mode Support Forum

Attract-Mode Support => General => Topic started by: lordricker on December 04, 2020, 06:58:31 AM

Title: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 04, 2020, 06:58:31 AM

So in the effort to find a near latency free option for old arcade games (me and dad both agree that sometimes the galaga ship just doesnt shoot when you press the button or similar effects on other games on  mame) i tried shmupmame and it did not give results like we were wanting.

I have now stumbled upon ShmupArch which has some powerful latency options and pacman feels like butter on it. Unfortunately i tried setting it up on attractmode like i had with the mame versions but it just shows a black screen for a second or two then back to game select.

Has anyone tried shmuparch (or i think retroarch is basically the same backend) on attractmode and got it to work?
nevato theme on attractmode just looks so nice.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: hermine.potter on December 04, 2020, 12:07:31 PM

Please tell us the commandline arguments (with full paths) to start a romfile.
so we can get it to AM.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 04, 2020, 07:25:14 PM

not completely sure what that means. this is the config file for shmup arch in attract mode
# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\retroarch.exe
args                 [name]
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel

the roms folder is inside the second ShmupArch 6 folder

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: hermine.potter on December 04, 2020, 11:42:37 PM

I think, your arguments are not correct.
because of space in foldername (ShmupArch 6) this should do it:
args                 "[romfilename]"


maybe this too:
executable          "C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\retroarch.exe"


if not:
start CMD / commandline / command prompt : Here (https://www.howtogeek.com/235101/10-ways-to-open-the-command-prompt-in-windows-10/)

Are you able to start a romfile from there?
"C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\retroarch.exe" "C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\roms\your_example_game123.zip"

if not : what is the correct command to start it from there?

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 05, 2020, 01:49:54 AM

You need to tell retroarch which core to use. You should also tell it to run in full screen.

something like this

Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.1
#
executable       C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L cores\<name_of_core>.dll "[romfilename]"


Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 05, 2020, 06:36:50 AM

So i took the spaces out and now when I start a game in attract mode it opens up the retro arch backend, im not sure how to command it to go to the game selected after that point, I might not be understanding Progets args line. say galaga.zip is the rom, ive tried these
-f -L cores\<fbneo_libretro.dll>.dll "galaga.zip"
-f -L cores\<fbneo_libretro.dll>.dll "[galaga.zip]"
-f -L cores\<fbneo_libretro.dll>.dll [galaga.zip]
all of these produces the original result, black for a sec then back to game select on attract mode

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 06, 2020, 08:51:25 PM

Try one of these

Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.1
#
executable       C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L cores\fbneo_libretro.dll "[romfilename]"


Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.1
#
executable       C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\retroarch.exe -f -L cores\fbneo_libretro.dll
args                 "[romfilename]"


Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 07, 2020, 05:00:51 AM

so just to be sure, i should type "[romfilename]" or should it actually be the the name of the file i want to play.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 07, 2020, 11:13:01 AM

"[romfilename]"

The actual game names will be in the romlist once you generate it.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 07, 2020, 04:16:38 PM

ok so i tried both of those to no avail, same issue
i tried out the cmd thing,
retroarch.exe opens up the back end as expected
galaga.zip just opens up the galaga folder

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 07, 2020, 07:22:42 PM

Try running this from the Windows command line. The goal is to see Galaga run and not see the RetroArch GUI.

Code: [Select]

"C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\retroarch.exe" -f -L "C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" "C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\roms\galaga.zip"


Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 08, 2020, 10:08:43 AM

that command line did open up galaga correctly.
i tried
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L "C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" "[romfilename]"

didnt work

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: hermine.potter on December 08, 2020, 12:46:03 PM

your paths are not correct, because you left the space in path name ("ShmupArch 6" VS "ShmupArch6")

if command line of progets works (or customize to your existing paths and correct folder structure):

executable           "C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\retroarch.exe"
args                  -f -L "C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" "[romfilename]"
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch 6\ShmupArch 6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z

generate your collection/romlist again

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 08, 2020, 02:29:17 PM

yeah i had renamed the shmuparch6 folders to have no spaces
i did try that one and it still does black screen then menu after a few seconds
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" "[romfilename]"
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z

just for reference the code that worked in cmd was
C:\>"C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe" -f -L "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms\galaga.zip"
just tried it again

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 08, 2020, 04:14:22 PM

Try these

Code: [Select]

executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll "[romfilename]"
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z


Code: [Select]

executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll
args                  "[romfilename]"
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z


Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 08, 2020, 06:41:48 PM

aye aye aye
no dice.

that last one seemed promising

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 08, 2020, 07:03:15 PM

Post your C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\last_run.log file.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 09, 2020, 10:22:08 AM

ok looks like i had to turn logging on, i think this is the file

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 09, 2020, 11:35:42 AM

That's a retroarch log file. We need the attractmode log file. Post your C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\last_run.log file.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 09, 2020, 02:25:38 PM

got confused cause retro arch is shmuparch6, i almost posted the attract mode log since it sounded like that was what you wanted
anyways here is the attract mode log

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 09, 2020, 05:00:35 PM

That log file doesn't show any failed game launches. Run attractmode, start a game or two that fail to load, exit attractmode and then copy the last_run.log file so we can see the game launch errors.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 09, 2020, 08:05:28 PM

hmm. is it possible it is technically starting it the closing? when start a game it goes out of attract mode then black screen for a second or two then back into attractmode game select
tried three different ones on this on all with that result

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 09, 2020, 09:05:42 PM

Try this. It will cause a delay for the game to load so give it a little time. If it doesn't work provide the updated last_run.log.

Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll "[romfilename]"
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
nb_mode_wait         5
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel


Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 10, 2020, 09:56:02 AM

well that makes the black screen last longer

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 10, 2020, 05:53:13 PM

Your executable and args don't match what is above in the log. Changing these will also change your working directory which is not correct in the log.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 10, 2020, 08:18:07 PM

sorry i guess im confused, not sure how the logs dont match the executable and args if that is what the logs were pulled from?

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 10, 2020, 08:36:11 PM

Post your current attract mode emulator.cfg file.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 11, 2020, 09:51:12 AM

here is the emulator config for attractmode

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 11, 2020, 10:04:18 AM

That doesn't point to an executable. Change it to this.

Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll "[romfilename]"
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
nb_mode_wait         5
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel


Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 11, 2020, 08:08:10 PM

hm not sure why i didnt see that, anyways i just copied that code into the config file. no changes here is the run log

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 11, 2020, 09:59:43 PM

Maybe try this, it's from another post with a similar issue.

"AM needs to be run in Admin mode (Right click, properties, Run as admin), even when logged in to windows with an admin account."

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 12, 2020, 06:27:01 AM

if only it were that easy :/
well ill keep messing around with it, seems strange that you can start it from CMD but not in attract mode

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 12, 2020, 06:41:36 AM

so i put this in the config file for attract mode and it does open up galaga as expected, i was just trying to match what we put in cmd
# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe"
args                 -f -L "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms\galaga.zip"
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
nb_mode_wait         2
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel

so i guess the question is how to get it to recognize the different roms??

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 12, 2020, 09:11:15 AM

Post your romlist.txt.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 12, 2020, 07:42:21 PM

here is the romlist.txt

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 12, 2020, 07:49:52 PM

the only difference i can see between "[romfilename]" and the one that works is there is a forward slash instead of back slash

*** Running: "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe" -f -L "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms/galaga.zip"

that was romfilename

*** Running: "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe" -f -L "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll" "C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms\galaga.zip"

this was the one that worked but its typed in just like that in args

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 12, 2020, 08:24:20 PM

You set attract.exe to run as admin in properties, correct?

Try these and provide the last_run.log for each of them if none of them work. Make sure you copy and paste these since they each have small differences you might or might not notice.

Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll [name]
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
nb_mode_wait         5
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel


Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll [name][romext]
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
nb_mode_wait         5
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel


Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll [rompath]\[name][romext]
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
nb_mode_wait         5
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel


Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll [name]
workdir              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
nb_mode_wait         5
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel


Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll [name][romext]
workdir              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
nb_mode_wait         5
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel


Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: lordricker on December 13, 2020, 04:53:27 AM

we finally found it, the 3rd one there was the ticket

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.6.0
#
executable           C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\retroarch.exe
args                 -f -L C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\cores\fbneo_libretro.dll [rompath]\[name][romext]
rompath              C:\mame\ShmupArch6\ShmupArch6\roms
romext               .zip;.7z
system               Arcade
info_source          listxml
nb_mode_wait         5
artwork    marquee         C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\marquee
artwork    snap            C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\snap
artwork    wheel           C:\mame\shmupmame42_64bit\wheel


thank you progets for sticking around trying to figure this out.

Title: Re: ShmupArch
Post by: progets on December 13, 2020, 10:58:56 AM

I'm glad you got it working. You can probably remove the "nb_mode_wait         5" line since that wasn't the issue.