Messages

1

General / What to do when emulator steals focus?

« on: August 02, 2017, 07:57:24 PM »

Certain emulators occasionally steal window focus away from AttractMode in such a way that, when they are exited, the Windows desktop is the focus, and it is even somewhat difficult to get AttractMode to return to focus.  This behavior is not reliable, making it hard to troubleshoot.  I wondered whether there was something that could be done to ensure that AttractMode regains screen priority after an emulator is done.

2

General / Re: Need access to nightly builds

« on: July 31, 2017, 10:47:13 PM »

uhhh… the link is „up“ for me?

That was actually pretty helpful.  It made me realize I could solve the problem by using my phone as a proxy.

Crossing my fingers that this version carries the same fix that was available on the RetroPi iteration.

Edit: For the record, yes, that two-month-old build did in fact carry the fix for the menu bug.  So if anyone down the road finds this post and has similar troubles getting the nightly build link to work, try using a proxy.

3

General / Need access to nightly builds

« on: July 31, 2017, 03:00:29 PM »

I'm running out of time.  Just a few more days and whatever I have on the laptop is what I'll be locked-in with.  The latest AttractMode on offer is 2.2.1, and it includes an annoying menu bug which, according to others, has been fixed in more recent revisions.  The problem?  Those recent revisions are available here: https://build.btolab.com/project/attractmode/  Don't bother; the link is dead.  Evidently it is up for a span of months and then down for a span of months, and right now that status is "down".  However this doesn't stop Raspberry Pi users from downloading the latest build if they know how to do it, so obviously there's no real limitation going on here and it's just a matter of making that link work so PC users can get the latest binary.

4

General / Re: Menu wheel shifting several places when exiting displays?

« on: July 30, 2017, 05:16:35 AM »

So does anyone either have a better (working) link to the nightly builds or a Windows binary that is newer than the latest AttractMode currently available (2.2.1)?  It's a strange state of affairs that this bug has been long fixed but the fix is unavailable outside of an esoteric function exclusive to the Raspberry Pi.

5

General / Re: Menu wheel shifting several places when exiting displays?

« on: July 28, 2017, 08:15:56 PM »

I had this issue and was told to update Attract Mode as per this thread:

Not a bad idea, but the problem is I'm already using 2.2.1 (the latest), and the provided link to the nightly builds (https://build.btolab.com/project/attractmode/) doesn't work.  I'm using PC so I'm pretty much a slave to whatever binary I can get my hands on.

I was also told it's an issue when there are displays that are hidden from the menu/cycle that causes this.

Makes sense.  I do have some hidden displays because that's the best way to work with platforms where you want to use more than one default executable.

So I guess the solution to this problem is for there to be a working link to a version of AttractMode that's newer than v2.2.1.

6

General / Re: Menu wheel shifting several places when exiting displays?

« on: July 28, 2017, 02:06:31 PM »

It is the carousel script, the way it works

I'm going to suggest that that seems improbable.  As I noted before, the behavior of the main menu changes over time (worsens).  It starts out shifting down one notch, but visit enough displays and that number increases.  This strikes me as a flaw; some variable is getting stuck and gradually added to.

Right now my AttractMode is shifting the wheel down nine notches every time I exit a display.  And I've discovered a new behavior: If the wheel's down-shifting happens to meet or go past where the wheel loops, that's where it stops ("Exit Attract-Mode"), and the variable dictating how far askew the wheel will go is reset to 1 (or perhaps 0) at this point.

Simply cannot be intended.  Of no use to anyone.  I'm hoping there's something I can do on my end to keep this from happening.

7

Scripting / Let's say you want to be able to pick a random game with a hotkey...

« on: July 26, 2017, 03:21:08 AM »

What code would you inject into your layout to monitor for said hotkey and then pick a game randomly from the current display?  (Or from all displays, if it's the main menu.)

8

General / Menu wheel shifting several places when exiting displays?

« on: July 24, 2017, 05:34:42 PM »

The phenomenon: From the menu wheel, I enter a display (call it "NES"), and then back out.  The menu wheel has shifted down one entry by itself, so that rather than still being on "NES" it is now on "SNES" which was below "NES".  I do this a few more times and eventually the menu wheel is shifting down three entries.  It seems to increase over time.

What could be causing this behavior?

I'm using Cosmo's 1.1 theme for the main menu and mostly his original "Robospin-like" themes for the various system displays.  Maybe that is a factor and maybe it isn't.

9

Scripting / Controlling volume of videos?

« on: July 22, 2017, 08:21:47 AM »

I know there's a way to mute videos.  But what I'm after is a way to specify their volume (0-100).  Fact of the matter is that some videos are too loud, some too quiet, and this phenomenon tends to affect whole video sets, so I aim to do what I can to balance volume across all displays.

10

General / Setting up the menu to enable +/- volume controls?

« on: July 20, 2017, 09:40:09 AM »

(On PC.)  I've found that not all video snaps are created equal, and in particular, there is not necessarily agreement in sound amplitude between sets of videos.  I could be straining to hear details in one display, and then the next will be shattering my eardrums.

Outside of an auto-levels feature that I wouldn't expect to see in any frontend, some instant means of adjusting the volume is needed.  I took a look at the Controls config and there don't seem to be any keys to define there.  I can make a sweeping adjustment to the volume of all videos, but that's not really what I'm after.  Best case scenario: A definable key that I can set up so that + and - on the numpad, and maybe up/down on the controller's digital pad, tweak AttractMode's volume.

Suggestions?

11

General / Re: Multiple executables on a single Display?

« on: July 20, 2017, 09:07:30 AM »

This isn't a problem for most other arcade roms though, since you will already have them in separate folders for that specific emulator (eg. Model 2, Model 3, Naomi, ect.) since they don't work with MAME anyway.

I actually did not know that.  That whole subsets of roms don't even work in MAME.  Then again, I haven't tried them yet.  This is something I guess I'll need to look into.  Hopefully there's a guide for singling them out, and also hopefully RetroArch will have those special cases covered in some core.

12

General / Re: Multiple executables on a single Display?

« on: July 19, 2017, 01:07:20 PM »

On pc this can be done by bringing up the game edit menu by hitting  the g key I believe.

This is the correct answer.  Thanks.  AttractMode seems to have defaulted to the unexpected hotkey of "escape+down".  Whatever works.  It'll take a while to make entries for the ~90 roms that need it, but at least it can be done.

13

General / Re: Multiple executables on a single Display?

« on: July 19, 2017, 06:09:49 AM »

Dont need to split it into multiple mame directories, just when you start a game, hit the A button (or whatever button you have mapped to the action button) and select from the menu what emulator you want to use for that rom (second option).

I have a suspicion that this functionality is not applicable in the case of PC use.  Certainly I can't pin info down with searches.

14

General / Multiple executables on a single Display?

« on: July 19, 2017, 01:55:07 AM »

I have a situation where I need to be able to choose whether to use this or that executable for a given MAME game.  (Specifically, RetroArch handles vector games badly, so in those cases I will need to use regular MAME.)  What I'm trying to avoid is the need to split up my arcade library into two separate displays (MAME Vector and MAME Everything Else), but right now it looks like that's the only way I'm going to be able to ensure that the desired executable gets chosen for vector games specifically.

Hoping there's a way to do this.

15

General / Re: Lack of hardware acceleration on PC holds this frontend back

« on: July 19, 2017, 01:49:35 AM »

I guess I don't understand what you are trying to do.
Are you watching movies in attractmode?

AttractMode can make use of "video snaps" to showcase whatever is highlighted -- typically a game.  These movies get framed on screen based on the theme being used.

what is the resolution of the video's and what file formats?

Generally 640x480.  Generally 59.94 or 60fps.  Basically NTSC (deinterlaced).  Standard resolution and framerate for the vast majority of video games that exist.

what are you using them for?
Preview video's?

Correct.

I get it.  Most people use this software on their Raspberry Pi, and happily it does include the all-too-ubiquitous hardware acceleration on those devices.  Obviously that's going to limit the number of people who notice that videos have major problems on PC.  So will the fact that one doesn't necessarily make use of high-quality videos and thus never encounters a scenario where AttractMode's 1-core-only playback caps out their CPU.  I am just saying that when a person _is_ using PC and _is_ using decent video snaps, the utility of this software gets hampered dramatically, because no other frontend suffers from this particular problem.