AttractMode / Rocket Launcher Integration Pack

[ArcadeBliss]

Purpose:
This Integration Pack will allow AttractMode to use RocketLauncher to manage the launching of emulators and will allow RocketLauncher to read AttractMode’s artwork and rom lists

Package Contents:

• An AttractMode plugin for RocketLauncher
• A RocketLauncher plugin for AttractMode
• A RocketLauncherUI plugin for AttractMode
• Systemslogos folder
• An Installation Guide

How Does this Work?:
RocketLaucherUI Plugin

• Used to read the list of emulators from AttractMode and show them in the systems list within RocketLaucher UI
• Also reads AttractMode’s romlists ensuring it is possible to configure games if needed

AttractMode plugin

• Once configured, it will create a file called “rl_integration.txt” every time a game is launched from AttractMode
• The file contains the romlist entry and all the artwork paths for the currently launched game which is then read by the RocketLaucher plugin

RocketLaucher plugin

• Is called every time a game is launched from AttractMode
• Reads the “rl_integration.txt” file and uses the information to display artwork on the RocketLaucher fade and pause screens

[attachment deleted by admin]

[bundangdon]

Great work and really appreciate this!

[ArcadeBliss]

Glad I can help let me know how it works out for you

[ryuuji]

thank you 

[ArcadeBliss]

So far I only know if this is working for me. For those that hae used this so far, please let me know if it is working or if there are any problems.

[ryuuji]

no problems so far 

[ArcadeBliss]

Thanks ryuuji. I opened a feature request asking raygun if he would extend the current romlist to include the ESRB rating from thegamedb. This way it will show up on the fade screen in RL. Also we themers code use the info as well.

[progets]

Thanks for the plugin ArcadeBliss!

I have downloaded and installed it and it appears to function properly. I'm not the best person to fully validate the plugin since I've been using RL with other frontends and have image paths defined in RLUI for HS which seemed to get used on my AM setup too. I've also somewhat hacked my RL install prior to your plugin to get the fade screen info by using the HS databases in RL since they contain the same rom names as my AM databases. I can tell that the load screens are slightly different when launching from AM vs HS because HS passed the "Rating" images to the fade screen and AM doesn't (for obvious reasons). I can also tell that the audit features in RLUI are using the AM database when it's set to be the default FE.

I'm not requesting any changes but a few things to note are that some AM layouts don't allow the system logo to be display if they have spaces. This conflicts with your approach that the "emulator" must match the RL name and causes my logos not to be displayed in layouts like uni_cade. I have also played around with HS themes in AM and that requires the "display" names to match the HS names which make a little more sense because then you can have multiple emulators for a given platform (this is somewhat moot since RL can handle this).

Overall great job! I'm glad to see someone has taken on this task.

[ArcadeBliss]

Thanks for the reply and verifing everything works.

Just for clarification, emulator names do not need to be the official RL system names.  It should work as well.  There will just be more config on the RL side if you are coming from using the Hyperspin DB and transitioning to the the AM plugin.  (i am a long time hyperspin user wich is why the readme uses the RL system names. I hated maintaining the dbs for my games and the simple built-in filtering in AM won me over )

Regarding using emulator names instead of the display names,  the emulator names are sent to RocketLauncher and they are used in the romlist even if the romlist contains multiple emulator games.  If i used the display,  the situation could arise causing the games not to load.

AM layouts not displaying the logo if it has a space are a quick fix.  Let the. Layout developer know or i can have a look at it. 

[progets]

I understand that I don't need to use the official RL names but that's what I have configured for several other frontends. Using something different would require massive changes in my build. I also hear your concerns about issues that may arise from using the "display" names and agree that the "emulator" names are the better approach.

I have tried your layouts before but back then the controls were unusual, this is likely fixed in AM 2.1.0 (which allows more flexible controls). I'll have to give them a try again. I really liked your filter and search approach since it was much slicker than the default AM features.

I like the AM uni_cade layout/theme because it can be uniform across all systems and requires little horse power (to be used on a Pi). This allow me to help friends and family quickly build inexpensive portable systems and cabinets. The uni_cade theme doesn't seem too popular and had flaws in the layout.nut for certain things that I fixed because it was never updated (mainly, double videos if you didn't use the marquee or wheel art to overlay the video). I know that Omegaman is the author and very active on the AM forum but he has more popular themes so I never wanted to bother him with a request.

@Omegaman & ArcadeBliss - if you can help me fix the problem of spaces in the systemlogo .png files that would be great.

I think this is section of the layout.nut that needs to be modified but I'm not sure how. (starting on line 78)

Code: [Select]

//System Logos
if ( my_config["enable_logos"] == "Yes") 
{
function strip_emu( ioffset )
{
local m = fe.game_info(Info.Emulator,ioffset);
return split( m, " " )[0];
}
fe.add_image( "[!strip_emu]", flx/9, fly*0.01, flw*0.5, flh*0.2 );
}

FYI - Here's the fix I made to correct the double video issue in the original uni_cade layout.nut. (if anyone cares)

Orginial layout.nut (line 92)

Code: [Select]

local art = fe.add_artwork("", 0, 0);

Fixed layout.nut (line 92)

Code: [Select]

local art = fe.add_artwork("none", 0, 0);

You've done a great job ArcadeBliss, my comment was more of me thinking out loud (well actually in text).

[ArcadeBliss]

Hi progets,

I'll have a look at that code when I get home. Just from what I see, the code stripts all spaces from the logo name before using it which is why it is not showing the system logos. Without verifying, I would chang the function strip_emu to this:

Code: [Select]


function strip_emu( ioffset )
{
                       // remove begining and trailing whitespace from the emulator name
                        local m = strip(fe.game_info(Info.Emulator));
return m;
}


All of my layouts are resource intensive and would not work well on a pi. I use Win 10 and 7 in my cab and bartop so this was not a problem. I am almost finished with my cab and will update my "ArcadeBliss Information Overload Edition" to use the AM 2.1.0 controls.

If you have a theme idea, feel free to do the photoshop work and design and I can code it. I suck when it come to design.

[progets]

Thanks a million! That fixed it!

I have seen themes that are too much for the Pi first hand. That's why I like uni_cade for that (HS look but low resource). I do have AM running on Windows but not on my cabinet. I have it on a test machine and plan to put a bunch of frontends on my cabinet once I get the ideal configuration. Multiple frontends makes RL a great asset. That's why I'm excited about your plugin. I like HS on my cabinet but AM would be simpler and easier for most to understand. I figure I'll put about 5 FEs in my build and then I can change them at will and figure out the best for me. At the same time, I have helped a few people with a Pi because they don't have the know how or money for anything else so I like to setup nice artwork on my Windows AM build to transfer to a Pi. A Pi also makes a nice portable system to take anywhere!

I honestly have no theme ideas or artwork to offer. I have many talents but art isn't one. Love it, but just can't create it. I'm the stick figure guy. LOL.

[progets]

Just my 2 cents but this thread is not really well seen. It should be pinned or moved elsewhere.

This is a great step for AM. I hope to see the AM plugin piece in the next AM update. It seems the RL guys are willing to put it in a future update if people can test it and let them know it works.

I know RL might seem like an extra step or trivial but it's not and provides a very robust set of features. It also makes it super easy to run multiple frontends without needing to setup every emulator/game over and over again.

My hat's off to ArcadeBliss, he's been very active with AM and has helped it progress. (@ArcadeBliss - This is me buttering you up so you consider making your theme search feature an AM default or plugin feature.)

[ArcadeBliss]

Just my 2 cents but this thread is not really well seen. It should be pinned or moved elsewhere.

This is a great step for AM. I hope to see the AM plugin piece in the next AM update. It seems the RL guys are willing to put it in a future update if people can test it and let them know it works.

I know RL might seem like an extra step or trivial but it's not and provides a very robust set of features. It also makes it super easy to run multiple frontends without needing to setup every emulator/game over and over again.

My hat's off to ArcadeBliss, he's been very active with AM and has helped it progress. (@ArcadeBliss - This is me buttering you up so you consider making your theme search feature an AM default or plugin feature.)

Thanks progets. Regarding RL, I think exactly the same. It just makes frontend and the whole cab experience that much better. I thought this should be pinned as well but did not want to toot my own horn 

I am jazzed to do a search plugin but I would like to make it work like the hypersearch plugin from petite. In the AM world that would mean we need to be able to search across all romlists and launch any game. AM does not allow two key bits to make this work:
1) ability to search across any display, filter, or romlist
2) the ability to launch a game from squirrel code. A "fe.start_game(romname, emulator)" would be all that is required.

If you want support for these features, just promote my feature request here: https://github.com/mickelson/attract/issues/created_by/ArcadeBliss

[tommiegunz]

for some odd reason my attract mode plugin is not showing up in both selections that it is supposed too..it won't let me pick it for both options