MALA vs Hyperspin

[TheShaner]

Well, I am knee deep in Hyperspin setup.  I am not sure what it is about it, but I am having second thoughts.  Maybe it's all of the stuff flying around the screen, Im not sure.  I did a MameWah config a few years ago and liked the results, but it is pretty bare.  Ive heard a lot about MALA, but have never messed with it.  I would be curious to hear some views on each. 

[harveybirdman]

This is what it boils down to for me......

Mala layouts can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be, and you don't have to download a bagillion gigs worth of stuff to enhanace the experience.

Don't get me wrong, Hyperspin is extremely impressive, but with all due respect to hyperspin users, if you've seen one hyperspin front end you've seen them all....

[Los Abrazos Rotos]

I've tried them all and nothing competes with GameEx in my opinion

[Cynicaster]

I’ve only ever used MaLa so this comes without the benefit of comparison, but I think it’s great.  

All I wanted was a utilitarian interface that shows useful information—game names, screenshots, manufacturer, year of release, marquee, etc.—and I had no trouble at all getting MaLa up and running.  It seems to run with fairly low overhead, as even the 8 year old PC I use in my cabinet runs it no problem.

You can make custom layouts, gamelists, include other emulators, etc.  All of the core functionality that I have wanted is included.  The only complaint I have is that it has a tab to configure background music that plays while you browse your games, but it doesn’t work.  Other than that, I’d recommend it.  

[harveybirdman]

 The only complaint I have is that it has a tab to configure background music that plays while you browse your games, but it doesn’t work.  Other than that, I’d recommend it.  

Try disabling fades, I'm using background music and hoping for a bug fix on the issue you are referencing.

/hijack

[Cynicaster]

 The only complaint I have is that it has a tab to configure background music that plays while you browse your games, but it doesn’t work.  Other than that, I’d recommend it.  

Try disabling fades, I'm using background music and hoping for a bug fix on the issue you are referencing.

/hijack

I've tried everything, I give up.  If you go into the menu and manually start the music, it works, but it doesn't automatically start the next time you load up MaLa, which kind of defeats the purpose for me. 

[BadMouth]

It's just a matter of taste.  I tried Hyperspin and ended up doing everything I could to get it to not look and feel like Hyperspin.
I dislike the whole "wheel" concept, so I guess there wasn't much hope for me.  

I don't like GameEx and the others that look and feel like media center software....because they look and feel like media center software, not like an arcade game.

I use MALA.  It's basically just a gamelist that you choose the font and color for, plus any other pictures, video, or info you want displayed for a game.
You decide what is displayed, where it is displayed and how big it is.
It looks as slick or basic as your background picture editing skills allow.  
If you can draw what you want your front-end to look like in photoshop, you can make MALA look like it.
You can have different themes for different emulators if you want.

I have a very basic theme, but it's exactly what I want.
(the marquee, screenshot, & CP change with the highlighted game)


Driving cab one is more polished


I gotta start doing some different color schemes.......right after I finish the current red and black cab.  


Go to the MALA forum and search for "theme" to see what people have come up with.

The biggest complaint most people have about it is that it can't display tranparent layers correctly, so for example, you can't display the video inside a circle with the edges of the video covered up.

With some work-arounds, it's possible to have all the arcade games show up in your MAME list, even if they use a different emulator.
It isn't easy, but well worth it IMO.

[JayB]

I really like Hyperspin, even did the audio for the start up video and have it running on my main machine. Visually, it's very impressive.

Now, and this is what made me consider using another frontend for this other machine I've just built. With Hyperspin you've got all the visual stuff for each game which looks great but, I wanted to keep a theme that was consistent with the look of my machine when scrolling through the games lists. I chose Mala for that one as the main menu screen stays in context which was important to me and I have a video preview for the chosen game. I think Hyperspin works really well but, all the visuals can pull you out of the theme of the machine, well unless it's just called "MAME Arcade" or..well you get the idea

This is the video of my machine. I just wanted the player to stay in the theme of the machine and that allowed it perfectly. 

[Le Chuck]

I was a FE whore for years, making my own and modding others.  I would waiver between super simplistic GameLauncher style and the wheel style to that crazy ass one in the mid 00s that was a VR arcade your navigated an avatar around in. 

I use MALA exclusively now.  Whether I'm making a machine for myself or for a friend or client MALA gives me the flexibility to do what I need to do simply and quickly.  Others can do more for sure but MALA does everything I need.  Plus I've got DaOld Man's plugins to play with in MALA and I am not giving those up.  You can't make me.   

[Nephasth]

I've got Hyperspin on the big Beast and love it. But for the little Beast and all future builds using a computer, I'll most likely go with MALA.

[Dazz]

I just don't understand you guys... I've posted about this a million times.  

You don't have to stick with the default theming of HyperSpin and you don't have to use the "wheel".  There are several different wheel options, by default the wheel is a wheel, but you have several options of how the "wheel" can appear.  If you want a simple text list, you can have a simple text list.  If you want a coverflow system like XBMC you can create a coverflow looking wheel.  In v1.x coverflow has to be done manually by image manipulation, but in 2.x there will be MANY wheel options.   

HyperSpin v 1.x is almost 100% customizable.  If you don't like the way something looks then change it.  HyperSpin can be as flashy as you want or as boring and mundane as any other front end.  If you don't want all of the stuff flying around, simply create a new theme without it.  The Mala theme that Badmouth posted below can easily be replicated in HyperSpin.  The Maximus Arcade default theme can be easily replicated in HyperSpin.  Almost any theme you see for another front end; HyperSpin can replicate it.

Someone give me a theme from Mala or Maximus that you'd like to see done in HyperSpin...  

Attached is a quick repro of the default Maxmimus Arcade theme appearing in HyperSpin.

[Le Chuck]

I just don't understand you guys... I've posted about this a million times.  

You don't have to stick with the default theming of HyperSpin and you don't have to use the "wheel".  There are several different wheel options, by default the wheel is a wheel, but you have several options of how the "wheel" can appear.  If you want a simple text list, you can have a simple text list.  If you want a coverflow system like XBMC you can create a coverflow looking wheel.  In v1.x coverflow has to be done manually by image manipulation, but in 2.x there will be MANY wheel options.   

HyperSpin v 1.x is almost 100% customizable.  If you don't like the way something looks then change it.  HyperSpin can be as flashy as you want or as boring and mundane as any other front end.  If you don't want all of the stuff flying around, simply create a new theme without it.  The Mala theme that Badmouth posted below can easily be replicated in HyperSpin.  The Maximus Arcade default theme can be easily replicated in HyperSpin.  Almost any theme you see for another front end; HyperSpin can replicate it.

Someone give me a theme from Mala or Maximus that you'd like to see done in HyperSpin...  

Attached is a quick repro of the default Maxmimus Arcade theme appearing in HyperSpin.

Honest questions that pertain directly to my rigs:

Can HS tell my 4way/8way servo controlled joysticks which setting to move to based on the MAME INI? 

Can HS be rotated on the fly and have MAME orient its rotation based on HS's current setting?  Can that rotation be automated from w/in HS?

Thanks

[DrChek]

Also in HS you only have like 4 choices of text font, MALA can use any font on the system.
For example I think it would be impossible to recreate the racing cab design that was posted above with those fonts.

[Nephasth]

Why does HS only recognize 2 joystick devices?

Sorry, not trying to jump on the bandwagon here, but this was an annoyance when setting up the Beast.

[Le Chuck]

Someone give me a theme from Mala or Maximus that you'd like to see done in HyperSpin... 

Not from MALA or Maximus but can you make HS look and act like Urban Interactives Star Wars FE?  If you can do that then I have some serious uses for HS. 

His loader, which you can get here, is in the May 5 2009 post.  Here's an early vid of his launcher, the current version in the download link is better:

[BadMouth]

Someone give me a theme from Mala or Maximus that you'd like to see done in HyperSpin...  

Make an Alien Abduction theme for TheShaner's cab and save him the trouble.  
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=117641.0

Animations that go along with his theme and don't suddenly change when the highlighted game changes would be pretty cool.

[TheShaner]

Awesome, I am glad I have opened a can of worms and have gotten people talking.

I was initially drawn to hyperspin because of its robust nature, and honestly the themes looked neat. But after messing with it for a while I realized that having the whiz bangs flying around was a little too cartoony for the feel that I am trying to accomplish. I am a somewhat special case though I think.  It sounds like I can go in and create a good theme to do what I am looking for, but there are two problems I see with that, and they are probably just my ignorance. Ease of customization and more importantly the core cartoony interface. That wiggling joystick that keeps popping up is just annoying. Like I said, I'm sure I am just ignorant, bit I haven't figured out a way to make that cool.

Dazz, I'm not trying to rip HS, I think it is super cool, and appears to be coded rock solid, I've even donated to become a gold member, but I cannot create a creepy experience with a cartoony core interface.

Please correct me if Im wrong, I would like to use your front end.

[TheShaner]

Oh and thanks for the prompt badmouth, but I'm a designer by trade and I'll be damned if anyone is going to design the frontend but me, I have a vision!  If you've seen the project you should be starting to see that unfold.

[Le Chuck]

Oh and thanks for the prompt badmouth, but I'm a designer by trade and I'll be damned if anyone is going to design the frontend but me, I have a vision!  If you've seen the project you should be starting see that unfold.

When I was 13 I made a putty nose that looked like a big dick hanging off my face.  I wanted to be Cyrano de Begerac for Halloween.  My mother told me it looked like a dick and I told her I had vision.  Sometimes you have vision and sometimes you have a dick on your face.  I'm not saying you have a dick on your face, I'm just saying that you never know. 

[TheShaner]

Awesome le chuck. I really don't know how to respond other than to say I hope my vision doesn't end up looking like a cock on my face.

Thanks for the sage wisdom ... I think.

[Le Chuck]

Awesome le chuck. I really don't know how to respond other than to say I hope my vision doesn't end up looking like a cock on my face.

It won't.  Your CP and wicked kickplate curve keep you well out of cock range already.  Just thought that anecdote was germane. 

 

[RetroBorg]

Can HS tell my 4way/8way servo controlled joysticks which setting to move to based on the MAME INI? 

I use HyperSpin to switch my 4way/8way servo controlled joysticks but it isn't using MAME.INI, I just get it to check a list of 4/way games, there is a delay in launching the game when I use this script though but my computer is quite old. I'm sure it could be done using MAME.INI if someone wrote a script to do it.

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?11271-Need-help-with-a-script-for-switching-Magsticks-with-a-servo&highlight=servo

Can HS be rotated on the fly and have MAME orient its rotation based on HS's current setting?  Can that rotation be automated from w/in HS?

Not at the moment but HyperSpin 2.0 will support vertical monitors and widescreen monitors, I can't answer the switching on the fly but I'm sure Dazz would know.

[RetroBorg]

Not from MALA or Maximus but can you make HS look and act like Urban Interactives Star Wars FE?  If you can do that then I have some serious uses for HS. 

His loader, which you can get here, is in the May 5 2009 post.  Here's an early vid of his launcher, the current version in the download link is better:

That looks cool!

[RetroBorg]

Awesome, I am glad I have opened a can of worms and have gotten people talking.

I was initially drawn to hyperspin because of its robust nature, and honestly the themes looked neat. But after messing with it for a while I realized that having the whiz bangs flying around was a little too cartoony for the feel that I am trying to accomplish. I am a somewhat special case though I think.  It sounds like I can go in and create a good theme to do what I am looking for, but there are two problems I see with that, and they are probably just my ignorance. Ease of customization and more importantly the core cartoony interface. That wiggling joystick that keeps popping up is just annoying. Like I said, I'm sure I am just ignorant, bit I haven't figured out a way to make that cool.

Dazz, I'm not trying to rip HS, I think it is super cool, and appears to be coded rock solid, I've even donated to become a gold member, but I cannot create a creepy experience with a cartoony core interface.

Please correct me if Im wrong, I would like to use your front end.

You can pretty much make HyperSpin look anyway you want it too, including removing the wiggling joystick if that's what you want to do.

[Los Abrazos Rotos]

Hyperspin just felt like a giant mess to me, way too much going on!  Mala didnt really grab me, though I liked it much more than hyperspin.  Gameex works best for me, its regularly updated, very professional, clean, simple to use and setup - it ticks all the boxes.

[edin_dave]

INteresting to see everyone's opinions.

I myself have tried Maximus Arcade, MALA, Hyperspin and GameEx to see which suited my needs/tastes best..
Maximus Arcade was in the lead until I found out I couldn't buy ot anymore, GameEx was too much media centre oriented for me. Hyperspin looked great as well, but took too much configuring to download the fonts and game titles etc for everything.

Mala won. After reading the Wiki and getting things straight in my head, it offered the ease of development that suited me. There are options in Maximus Arcade that I really liked that I haven't found in Mala yet, but it offers all the main tweaks that I need.

It really is down to personal preference - how much custom artwork you want to create, whether you want I make all your own templates etc.

All of the front ends had good points, all of them had downers.

I realise that this post ultimately doesn't resolve anything for you ,but I'd recommend at left giving Mala a go. I had a basic version of my vision up and running in literally 10 minutes. I couldnt do that with any of the others.

Just my opinion.. Everyone in different
 
Good luck, and let us know how you get on!

[Dazz]

Why does HS only recognize 2 joystick devices?

Sorry, not trying to jump on the bandwagon here, but this was an annoyance when setting up the Beast.

Why would you need more than 2 joystick devices in HyperSpin?  HyperSpin is used to ONLY select the games.  Do you really need more than 2 devices to select games?  Once the game is selected it's up to your Emulator to support the necessary controls.

Awesome, I am glad I have opened a can of worms and have gotten people talking.

I was initially drawn to hyperspin because of its robust nature, and honestly the themes looked neat. But after messing with it for a while I realized that having the whiz bangs flying around was a little too cartoony for the feel that I am trying to accomplish. I am a somewhat special case though I think.  It sounds like I can go in and create a good theme to do what I am looking for, but there are two problems I see with that, and they are probably just my ignorance. Ease of customization and more importantly the core cartoony interface. That wiggling joystick that keeps popping up is just annoying. Like I said, I'm sure I am just ignorant, bit I haven't figured out a way to make that cool.

Dazz, I'm not trying to rip HS, I think it is super cool, and appears to be coded rock solid, I've even donated to become a gold member, but I cannot create a creepy experience with a cartoony core interface.

Please correct me if Im wrong, I would like to use your front end.
 

If you have the images or graphical skills; then creating a custom theme to fit your needs is extremely easy.  You can remove all of the "core cartoony interface".  The animated joystick can be removed by de-selecting the "Special Artwork A" from the Special Art tab of your well settings.  "Special Artwork B" is the "Free Play" / "Press Start" text which can also be disabled.   These are on a per-wheel/emulator basis so you can have them enabled for one wheel, but removed on another.

Also in HS you only have like 4 choices of text font, MALA can use any font on the system.
For example I think it would be impossible to recreate the racing cab design that was posted above with those fonts.

In v1.x there are 5 font styles.  I think in v2 we have 10 currently.  We can take suggestions for fonts to add.

Hyperspin just felt like a giant mess to me, way too much going on!  Mala didnt really grab me, though I liked it much more than hyperspin.  Gameex works best for me, its regularly updated, very professional, clean, simple to use and setup - it ticks all the boxes.

Game Ex is great... if you want that Windows Media Center look.  Most people that have a cabinet want a more "arcade" like experience and want to loose the Windows aspect.  Game Ex is good with what it does and I'd use it if I had a media center type setup, but I don't see how anyone would like it in a dedicated cabinet setup.

[TheShaner]

Dazz is there any other way to filter your game list other than only applying themes to the ones you want in the list and selecting themes only?

[Le Chuck]

Dazz, you didn't address either of my posts with HS questions.  Can you please answer them?

Why does HS only recognize 2 joystick devices?

Sorry, not trying to jump on the bandwagon here, but this was an annoyance when setting up the Beast.

Why would you need more than 2 joystick devices in HyperSpin?  HyperSpin is used to ONLY select the games.  Do you really need more than 2 devices to select games?  Once the game is selected it's up to your Emulator to support the necessary controls.

I would want this feature as well, to make sure that the FE is as guest proof as possible.  On a machine like The Beast or any 4P panel I would want every joystick to do the same thing in the FE so whoever walks up to my panel, no matter which joy they walk up to can select a game and get going.  Ideally I would think you would want your FE to meet the needs of the user rather than admonishing the user for wanting something outside the limitations of your FE.
 

[Nephasth]

Why does HS only recognize 2 joystick devices?

Sorry, not trying to jump on the bandwagon here, but this was an annoyance when setting up the Beast.

Why would you need more than 2 joystick devices in HyperSpin?  HyperSpin is used to ONLY select the games.  Do you really need more than 2 devices to select games?  Once the game is selected it's up to your Emulator to support the necessary controls.

Well, LeChuck gets it.

[lanman31337]

Can you put a space and another character, so that up arrow or I could be joystick up for player 1?  I too have a 4 player control panel and a huge schlong on my nose, so it would definitely help.

[TheShaner]

[DaveMMR]

I like Hyperspin. I used it for quite a while and even submitted a couple of themes for it (not the best but decent stopgap offerings). I may use it again. But I went back to Mala for a number of reasons:

1. Hyperspin needs a relatively beefy computer. The machine in my cab is not a slouch for basic MAME usage but chokes on the HS animations, transitions, etc. I turned off everything but it's still a little too slow and defeats the purpose.  Not the FE's fault - it works fine on my main computer. But I wasn't ready to upgrade the cabinet computer for the benefit of the frontend.

2. Mala is a bit more flexible than Hyperspin. Where Mala and HS share a similar feature, it seemed a bit easier to work it with the former. This may change with HS 2.0; we'll see.

3. Game lists. I never figured out a proper way of making a game list in HS - though I just used the "themes only" setting so that only themed games show up. For this reason, I think HS is much better with a smaller list of specific games.  I do tend to keep my list small but when I wanted to add that obscure gem, it's a lot more work than just "adding to list", unless I wanted a bunch of games with a generic theme (again, defeating the purpose).  

They're both great frontends - it just all boils downs to wants and needs.

[MTPPC]

I think MALA works great. I had it on two machines, but when one started having focus problems, I jumped to hyperspin. I found that if you make HS jump to favorites straight off, it's much more usable.  Then If I want to go to the "all games list" I just hit the genres wheel and look for any games that aren't in favorites. If I like the game, I add it to favorites and the next time I start that emulator, it's there and I don't have to look around for it.

[mhermann]

+1 for Hyperspin. I had no problems setting it up and configuring it. Any issues I had were specific to the emulator I was using. Looks the best in my opinion.

[wp34]

Those are some nice looking themes BadMouth--especially the driving one. 

I need to give MALA a fresh look.

It's just a matter of taste.  I tried Hyperspin and ended up doing everything I could to get it to not look and feel like Hyperspin.
I dislike the whole "wheel" concept, so I guess there wasn't much hope for me.  

I don't like GameEx and the others that look and feel like media center software....because they look and feel like media center software, not like an arcade game.

I use MALA.  It's basically just a gamelist that you choose the font and color for, plus any other pictures, video, or info you want displayed for a game.
You decide what is displayed, where it is displayed and how big it is.
It looks as slick or basic as your background picture editing skills allow.  
If you can draw what you want your front-end to look like in photoshop, you can make MALA look like it.
You can have different themes for different emulators if you want.

I have a very basic theme, but it's exactly what I want.
(the marquee, screenshot, & CP change with the highlighted game)


Driving cab one is more polished


I gotta start doing some different color schemes.......right after I finish the current red and black cab.  


Go to the MALA forum and search for "theme" to see what people have come up with.

The biggest complaint most people have about it is that it can't display tranparent layers correctly, so for example, you can't display the video inside a circle with the edges of the video covered up.

With some work-arounds, it's possible to have all the arcade games show up in your MAME list, even if they use a different emulator.
It isn't easy, but well worth it IMO.

[drventure]

Those are some nice looking themes BadMouth--especially the driving one. 

+1, that driving cab theme looks great!

[Rok]

I use Mala here. Two reasons:

1) Mala is super simple.

2) My cabinet just doesn't have enough horses under the hood to run HS.

HS is a solid FE though. Props to the devs.

[Los Abrazos Rotos]

 Quote from: Dazz on Today at 07:18:17 AM
Game Ex is great... if you want that Windows Media Center look.  Most people that have a cabinet want a more "arcade" like experience and want to loose the Windows aspect.  Game Ex is good with what it does and I'd use it if I had a media center type setup, but I don't see how anyone would like it in a dedicated cabinet setup.
[/quote]

Have to disagree, mine certainly doesn't look like a media centre.  I like frontends to be simple and functional - the games speak for themselves.

[BadMouth]

+1, that driving cab theme looks great!

Those are some nice looking themes BadMouth--especially the driving one. 

I need to give MALA a fresh look.

Thanks. 

wp34, For your cab, instead of the usual circuit traces or lines, I think you should have Tron Legacy concept art in the background:
http://godsofart.com/tron-legacy-concept-art
I like the ones of Flynn's Arcade.

Throw some semi-transparent boxes on top of that outlined in glowing borders and you've got a nice looking theme without too much work.
Just my opinion. 

[BadMouth]

Have to disagree, mine certainly doesn't look like a media centre.  I like frontends to be simple and functional - the games speak for themselves.

Pic or better yet video?

[wp34]

wp34, For your cab, instead of the usual circuit traces or lines, I think you should have Tron Legacy concept art in the background:
http://godsofart.com/tron-legacy-concept-art
I like the ones of Flynn's Arcade.

Throw some semi-transparent boxes on top of that outlined in glowing borders and you've got a nice looking theme without too much work.
Just my opinion. 

Thanks for the tip.  I do like the Flynn's arcade image.   

[Dazz]

Dazz, you didn't address either of my posts with HS questions.  Can you please answer them?

Why does HS only recognize 2 joystick devices?

Sorry, not trying to jump on the bandwagon here, but this was an annoyance when setting up the Beast.

Why would you need more than 2 joystick devices in HyperSpin?  HyperSpin is used to ONLY select the games.  Do you really need more than 2 devices to select games?  Once the game is selected it's up to your Emulator to support the necessary controls.

I would want this feature as well, to make sure that the FE is as guest proof as possible.  On a machine like The Beast or any 4P panel I would want every joystick to do the same thing in the FE so whoever walks up to my panel, no matter which joy they walk up to can select a game and get going.  Ideally I would think you would want your FE to meet the needs of the user rather than admonishing the user for wanting something outside the limitations of your FE.

While your thinking of "guest proof" sounds good in concept; it's actually not very "guest proof" in functionality.  I've done a LOT of testing when it come to deciding if multiple people should be able to navigate/control the FE.  It was decided that 2 was workable, but more than 2 caused more headaches and problems than it was worth.  I'll throw adding player 3/4 FE navigation into our suggestion box.

Just a couple things to think about in allowing more than 1 person access to FE navigation...

Lets say a guest walks up to your control panel.  They select to use the P3 controls.  The FE is setup so they can select the game, so they select a game.  However, once the game has been launched they can't use that control.  They have to move to the player 1 controls anyway.  I don't consider this as "guest proof" at all... if anything more confusing for the guest when they find out their control doesn't work.

Another issue with allowing multiple people have control over the FE... It never fails that when you have multiple people on the controls at the same time; players always seem to just press buttons or move a joystick.

From experience; I will never again allow more than 1 person access to FE navigation controls on my 4 player cabinet.

[Nephasth]

Dazz, you didn't address either of my posts with HS questions.  Can you please answer them?

Why does HS only recognize 2 joystick devices?

Sorry, not trying to jump on the bandwagon here, but this was an annoyance when setting up the Beast.

Why would you need more than 2 joystick devices in HyperSpin?  HyperSpin is used to ONLY select the games.  Do you really need more than 2 devices to select games?  Once the game is selected it's up to your Emulator to support the necessary controls.

I would want this feature as well, to make sure that the FE is as guest proof as possible.  On a machine like The Beast or any 4P panel I would want every joystick to do the same thing in the FE so whoever walks up to my panel, no matter which joy they walk up to can select a game and get going.  Ideally I would think you would want your FE to meet the needs of the user rather than admonishing the user for wanting something outside the limitations of your FE.

While your thinking of "guest proof" sounds good in concept; it's actually not very "guest proof" in functionality.  I've done a LOT of testing when it come to deciding if multiple people should be able to navigate/control the FE.  It was decided that 2 was workable, but more than 2 caused more headaches and problems than it was worth.  I'll throw adding player 3/4 FE navigation into our suggestion box.

Just a couple things to think about in allowing more than 1 person access to FE navigation...

Lets say a guest walks up to your control panel.  They select to use the P3 controls.  The FE is setup so they can select the game, so they select a game.  However, once the game has been launched they can't use that control.  They have to move to the player 1 controls anyway.  I don't consider this as "guest proof" at all... if anything more confusing for the guest when they find out their control doesn't work.

Another issue with allowing multiple people have control over the FE... It never fails that when you have multiple people on the controls at the same time; players always seem to just press buttons or move a joystick.

From experience; I will never again allow more than 1 person access to FE navigation controls on my 4 player cabinet.

I've heard it before, so I know, I know, I'm the minority. I use U360s for my P1 and P2 joysticks. P1's and P2's buttons are controlled with a Lono² (on 2 headers, so they're recognized as seperate game controllers). So my P1 and P2 controls are spread across 4 joystick devices. But I have to use P1 joy and P2 joy in HS just to allow P1's controls to run HS, leaving P2 (on my other monitor) dead in the water. I'd like to have P2 be able to navigate HS, don't really care about P3 and P4 (partly due to reasons you stated), but it would be nice to navigate HS from both screens on my machine... And in case you're wondering why I just don't use the U360s to run the buttons for P1 and P2, they can't handle the amount of buttons/inputs I have for each of those players (9 each). Could I have wired it differently? Yes. But I wired it as is for a reason. Like I said before, I love HS, but this is an annoyance.

[Le Chuck]

Dazz, you didn't address either of my posts with HS questions.  Can you please answer them?

Why does HS only recognize 2 joystick devices?

Sorry, not trying to jump on the bandwagon here, but this was an annoyance when setting up the Beast.

Why would you need more than 2 joystick devices in HyperSpin?  HyperSpin is used to ONLY select the games.  Do you really need more than 2 devices to select games?  Once the game is selected it's up to your Emulator to support the necessary controls.

I would want this feature as well, to make sure that the FE is as guest proof as possible.  On a machine like The Beast or any 4P panel I would want every joystick to do the same thing in the FE so whoever walks up to my panel, no matter which joy they walk up to can select a game and get going.  Ideally I would think you would want your FE to meet the needs of the user rather than admonishing the user for wanting something outside the limitations of your FE.

While your thinking of "guest proof" sounds good in concept; it's actually not very "guest proof" in functionality.  I've done a LOT of testing when it come to deciding if multiple people should be able to navigate/control the FE.  It was decided that 2 was workable, but more than 2 caused more headaches and problems than it was worth.  I'll throw adding player 3/4 FE navigation into our suggestion box.

Just a couple things to think about in allowing more than 1 person access to FE navigation...

Lets say a guest walks up to your control panel.  They select to use the P3 controls.  The FE is setup so they can select the game, so they select a game.  However, once the game has been launched they can't use that control.  They have to move to the player 1 controls anyway.  I don't consider this as "guest proof" at all... if anything more confusing for the guest when they find out their control doesn't work.

Another issue with allowing multiple people have control over the FE... It never fails that when you have multiple people on the controls at the same time; players always seem to just press buttons or move a joystick.

From experience; I will never again allow more than 1 person access to FE navigation controls on my 4 player cabinet.

Dazz, you still didn't address either of my posts.  I will repost so you can't miss them.  

Can HS tell my 4way/8way servo controlled joysticks which setting to move to based on the MAME INI?

Can HS be rotated on the fly and have MAME orient its rotation based on HS's current setting?  Can that rotation be automated from w/in HS?

Can one make HS look and act like Urban Interactives Star Wars FE?  If it can be done then I have some serious uses for HS. 

His loader, which you can get here, is in the May 5 2009 post.  Here's an early vid of his launcher, the current version in the download link is better:



It would be cool if you would answer my questions while you're answering everybody elses.  Kaithanks.

[TOK]

MALA with a large font and dimmed full-screen screenshots in the background. I want to play the games, not the front end.

[Los Abrazos Rotos]

Have to disagree, mine certainly doesn't look like a media centre.  I like frontends to be simple and functional - the games speak for themselves.

Pic or better yet video?

http://gameex.com/

[RetroBorg]

MALA with a large font and dimmed full-screen screenshots in the background. I want to play the games, not the front end.

Have you tried command line MAME?

[mgb]

I was super impressed with Hyperspin when I first saw it but I use Mala.
Hyperspin definitely is super cool but for me, I don't need that much flash to my frontend. I like the simplicity of Mala and also my pc doesn't have the horse power for Hyperspin.

[vidmouse]

Mala for my arcade cab, but
Hyperpin (related?) for my pinball cab

Best of both worlds, IMO

[wp34]

Dazz, you didn't address either of my posts with HS questions.  Can you please answer them?

Totally off-topic here but I swear Le Chuck's username was changed to Le Chuckles yesterday.  Did I imagine that?   

[PL1]

Totally off-topic here but I swear Le Chuck's username was changed to Le Chuckles yesterday.  Did I imagine that?   

It's just a phase he was going through.

I thought he did it so "LeChuck" on KLOV would stop getting messages meant for him. (I wondered why it looked like he used a different avatar--Joust.)


Scott

[Nephasth]

Dazz, you didn't address either of my posts with HS questions.  Can you please answer them?

Totally off-topic here but I swear Le Chuck's username was changed to Le Chuckles yesterday.  Did I imagine that?   

Nope, he did have it as Le Chuckles. Apparently you can change your displayed name in your profile (but your username remains the same)...

[BadMouth]

 

[Le Chuck]

Yeah, it's been going through some changes lately.  Some of the rat fink admins have been having some fun with me on the side.  Last 24 hours I have been:

Le Chad
HaRuMaN is a Dick
I <3 HaRuMaN
Saint is a rat
Le Chuckles

Who knows who I'll be tomorrow.  Maybe if I change my username again Dazz will answer my questions.   

[Dazz]

Dazz, you still didn't address either of my posts.  I will repost so you can't miss them.  

Can HS tell my 4way/8way servo controlled joysticks which setting to move to based on the MAME INI?

Can HS be rotated on the fly and have MAME orient its rotation based on HS's current setting?  Can that rotation be automated from w/in HS?

Can one make HS look and act like Urban Interactives Star Wars FE?  If it can be done then I have some serious uses for HS. 

His loader, which you can get here, is in the May 5 2009 post.  Here's an early vid of his launcher, the current version in the download link is better:



It would be cool if you would answer my questions while you're answering everybody elses.  Kaithanks.

Dude... I haven't answered your questions because your questions about 4/8way and screen rotation have already been answered by someone that's more familiar with how 4/8 way switching works than I am.  My answer would be; if switching is done via command line then it can easily be added to the Launch scripts that HyperSpin uses. 

As far as the Urban Interactives Star Wars FE.  It's great for a hand full of games... but anything over that it's kind of useless.  No HyperSpin isn't going to duplicate the spinning block.

[Le Chuck]

Thanks Dazz, I just wanted to get the information from the horse's mouth.  It would be a shame to call your FE useless based on bad information. 

[TOK]

MALA with a large font and dimmed full-screen screenshots in the background. I want to play the games, not the front end.

Have you tried command line MAME?

Thats what the front end is launching, so who isn't?

[mgb]

MALA with a large font and dimmed full-screen screenshots in the background. I want to play the games, not the front end.

Agreed!!!

[TheShaner]

So Im working on my FrontEnd as we speak.  I am still going back and forth between these two.  I am building the front end in MALA right now, but am probably going to build a Hyperspin theme as well.  DAZZ, do you have any examples of really well done themes?  I would like to see an example of someone else who has done it right.  It might help me get the noggin rolling.

Also, I think it is funny that people say things like "You dont play the front end".  The way I see it, you spend all of this time creating a bad ass cabinet, configuring it, etc, why would you skip out on the front end design to add that last layer of polish??  Big letters on a plain background seem like a cop out.  Just my opinion.

[Cynicaster]

Also, I think it is funny that people say things like "You dont play the front end".  The way I see it, you spend all of this time creating a bad ass cabinet, configuring it, etc, why would you skip out on the front end design to add that last layer of polish??  Big letters on a plain background seem like a cop out.  Just my opinion.

Well, here’s a counter-opinion: spending hours upon hours designing and tweaking layouts, and assembling screenshots, animations, sounds, graphics, etc. is a whole lot of time spent with no commensurate benefit, other than maybe to scratch some kind of bizarre OCD-induced itch to have everything just so.  The games are just as easy to locate and run from a utilitarian list as they are from a flashy/elaborate one—maybe easier.  I’m not saying that your front end should be an ugly, poorly organized mess—I’m simply saying that the core elements are relatively easy to set up, and going beyond that quickly leads into the worst “diminishing returns” scenario imaginable.   

I mean, I see some of these videos on Youtube where guys have these fancy pictures and media for all kinds of console emulators, and I almost feel sorry for them for the amount of time they must have wasted getting it all running.  I’d be willing to bet that in three lifetimes they wouldn’t spend as much time actually playing those games as they spent setting up the front end.  So what’s the point?   

[nickbuol]

So I am looking at these two FEs (Mala and Hyperspin).  My first cabinet had good ol' ArcadeOS on it.  Since then, I've messed with Mala years ago, and for a while had MameWah on my current cab I built in 2005, but am currently set up with AtomicFE.  It works, but I am ready for an update.

My current computer in the cabinet has a bad hard drive controller, and another computer (almost same specs with a AMD Athlon XP 2900+ CPU at the core) that used to be my primary PC.  I plan to swap that in-place.  I am also very out of date on the system (by several years).  I am looking at getting an external harddrive to get me up to date, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, the harddrive comes with Hyperspin preinstalled and "configured".  (I am sure that this idea bother some, but don't judge me yet as I haven't done anything yet, and don't know if I ever will.  My current setup suits me fine.  Sort of like getting a ticket for running a stop sign when you haven't done it yet and don't know if you ever will, but ask about the intersection that the sign is at.  Plus I've been in this hobby for well over a decade and while there is that line in the sand, and I know it doesn't make it right by any means, but I would wager that at least 90% of those with MAME cabinets have gotten at least one ROM without owning the boards.  There are also hundreds, if not thousands of discussions here around obtaining, storing, sharing, sorting, and filtering full sets of ROMs.).  My concern is what kind of hardware will I need computing wise to simply run the front end?  I guess that I could replace it, but a huge benefit of the hard drive option is that it only takes a few tweaks and it works, vs. having to get everything setup again from scratch.

What are the minimum **realistic** specs required for Hyperspin?

[GregD]

You need a dual core processor (2.6+) and a decent graphics card.  Onboard graphics are fine if it is a new pc.

[nickbuol]

You need a dual core processor (2.6+) and a decent graphics card.  Onboard graphics are fine if it is a new pc.

Wow.  That is the same as my primary PC is now (I know, it is "outdated") but I use it for photo and video editing, plus first person shooters with great frame rates  (its all about the components).  Seems silly to need that much power just for a front end.  Maybe when it is time to upgrade the main PC in our house, but I don't feel like dropping that amount of money just for the front end when others will work as-is.

Thanks for the info Greg!

[rooter]

I love Hyperspin.  All the other frontends I have tried just feel like you are just browsing a list games on a computer.  Hyper spin makes everything feel consistent and somehow like the machine was made to play games.  The menus move more like the menus in arcade games, I guess.

However, it is always very laggy for me.  Even on a beastly machine with an SSD hard drive.

[nickbuol]

You need a dual core processor (2.6+) and a decent graphics card.  Onboard graphics are fine if it is a new pc.

After doing more reading, I read right on the Hyperspin web site that it is CPU intensive, not GPU intensive, and like MAME, doesn't need a beefy video card.


I think that I will crack open the case on my proposed "different" (not new) machine and see what it has for RAM, video, and motherboard.  Then I will see if the motherboard supports a faster processor.  With any luck, I can get the best of both worlds...  A faster machine and a minimal upgrade cost.  Of course, I know that there are other factors in PC performance besides just upgrading the CPU, but until I look at what I have for a MB, I'll never know.

EDIT: Gotta love TigerDirect.  I looked up the computers I bought back when I built my current cabinet, and it looks like an Athlon XP 3200+ is the best I could do, but of course I couldn't buy one if I wanted.  I do have a MSI K9N SLI-F motherboard sitting around.  Maybe time to build a new beast.  But this is all so much off topic.  Sorry.  I like the simplicity of Mala, but Hyperspin looks great.  I wonder how it looks on the 29" TV that is in my cabinet.

[Dazz]

So Im working on my FrontEnd as we speak.  I am still going back and forth between these two.  I am building the front end in MALA right now, but am probably going to build a Hyperspin theme as well.  DAZZ, do you have any examples of really well done themes?  I would like to see an example of someone else who has done it right.  It might help me get the noggin rolling.

Also, I think it is funny that people say things like "You dont play the front end".  The way I see it, you spend all of this time creating a bad ass cabinet, configuring it, etc, why would you skip out on the front end design to add that last layer of polish??  Big letters on a plain background seem like a cop out.  Just my opinion.

It depends on what you consider "really well done" or "done right"...  It's all a personal taste on how they want their setup.  Give me an example of what you consider "really well done".

The current version does not take advantage of GPU.  Its flash and AS3 based so it likes CPU and RAM.  A dual core with at least 2gb of ram is recommended.  However, you should be able to use lesser of a machine if you set the optimizer at LOW, turn off the advanced transitions and image smoothing as well as run at the native resolution.  

2.0 will take advantage of GPU tech as well as having more streamlined code.  Tasks that required 2,000+ lines of code have been cut down to ~200.

Anyway, the harddrive comes with Hyperspin preinstalled and "configured". 

BTW - We really don't take kindly to those that purchase such drives/collections...

[TheShaner]

Dazz, Im just looking for slick examples.  No need to clarify slick, just shoot some winners my way.

Any timeframe on 2.0?

[BadMouth]

I think he's looking for layouts with a unique, polished looking theme that doesn't change with each game.
(preferrably matching the cabinet it's installed on)

We know it's possible, but just don't see it done with Hyperspin for some reason.
I searched youtube and the web, and only came up with a couple.
(someone felt the need to do a Maximus Arcade theme though?!?!)

It's an early WIP, but I liked the direction mbasile was going for his Mario Kart themed driving cab:

I'll probably do something similar for the next incarnation of my driving cab.
(just need to ditch the arrow and keep the wheel on the screen, which I'm sure he did in later revisions)

Maybe the default is complete to the point that nobody feels the need to mess with it.
The default setup is basically a different theme for every game.
Think about how massive of an undertaking that is.....a different theme for every game.
It kinda makes you not want to start over from scratch.

When I first tried MALA and the default layout loaded, the first thing through my mind was "this ugly thing has got to go"  

I'm working on a different MALA layout for each gamelist in my new cab, and it definitely has it's faults.
I've made some slick looking backgrounds, but the plain text game lists look out of place.
I wish there was an option to apply some effects to the text in addition to using different fonts.
(maybe I'll use the Hyperspin wheel images instead    )
Videos have black bars on the sides or top, depending on how I have the video window sized.
Decided to mess around with the few animation options and they are horrible.
Moving pics and GIFs must be the same size as the entire screen?!  
EDIT:GIFs can be any size and can be resized in the mala layout editor, but they don't work in windows 7.
With all its warts, it does everything I need to do for this build; monitor rotation based on mame.xml (which I can modify), arcade games using other emulators integrated into MAME list and using data from mame.xml, right click gamelist building.

Neither front-end is perfect.  Each has it's strengths and weaknesses.
If I were building a cab-less emulator setup for use with gamepads and my TV, I'd use Hyperspin with the default themes.

[Dazz]

Dazz, Im just looking for slick examples.  No need to clarify slick, just shoot some winners my way.

Any timeframe on 2.0?

This one is quickly becoming one of my favorites...  Not sure if he's got it completed or not though.

!

[rockyrocket]

So my two cents are that personally for a multi emu cab I prefer gameex as i find it easier to navigate big lists as text.
I guess that some people like their front ends one way and others another, just like some people have a text view in their file manager when other prefer a big icon its all a matter of taste.
I,ve never gone for hyperspin as i found it too busy and a bit cartoony, but really liked the hyperpin layout so was pleased to find this one..http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?7740-Simple-Arcade-Theme-%28neonnets-04-19-10%29 but had to remake it.
Anyway here are some examples of a simple hyperspin layout and my gameex theme.
   

I tried to find the above theme but it seems the creator withdrew it.

[fallacy]

my mala frontend

[rockyrocket]

Got a bit bored this morning so thought I would skin my HTPC and decided to give hyperspin another go.

[Le Chuck]

Got a bit bored this morning so thought I would skin my HTPC and decided to give hyperspin another go.

That's actually a really good idea.  You control it all with a wireless gamepad?

[rockyrocket]

Yeah a gyration airmouse/remote and a xbox 360 controller, hyperspin is set as a favourite in xbmc.
Still early days for me and hyperspin though.t hink i will only be using it with the htpc though and sticking with gameex for multi emu cabs and mala for mame only ones.

[gbeef]

I like HS also, i tried MALA i found it wasnt as easy as some people say it is. But ive seen some amazing FE.  of course each front has a big learning curve once you get the hang of it your set.

For me i found HS easy to mod. As i just over wrote files, They only downside to HS you need a machine with some horse power, Its all flash based. I do however have it running on a  mini MTX board. it seems to run great. My HS 2.0 is optimized, i know the HS team has done some recent updates. Overall i think its a matter what you comfortable programming on HS or MALA.

Heres what ive done my cab.
I hope to add different cabinet animations.

[rockyrocket]

nIce I like it!.

[TheShaner]

Here is where I am at on my MALA interface. 



I like the choice to go with MALA so far.  It's straight forward, and very responsive.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Was there ever anything definite about whether or not 2.0 is going to support monitor rotation? 

Gotta say I'm not too stoked about how slow everything was in 3 HS vids I saw above. GBeef's wasn't bad in that respect.  I know all those guys have way more PC grunt than I do too.  Just Mala with no vids for me, I like to move fast and I usually play 6 or 8 different games in a session. 



Note the joystick idea totally cribbed from HS.  Also, Per Dazz's logic I only allow p1 to control the FE - but I could see it being an issue for the 2 headed beast, you cant do everything from player 2.  It's a special case that comes up only rarely. 

Love how in one of the vids someone said HS 2 is just around the corner . . . .
          ...............
              ........................................
                    ..................................................................................

Just kidding, I know those guys are busting their hump trying to make it good. 

[drventure]

Yeah, Mala's handling of videos still seems a bit rough around the edges. Given the way it kind of bogs the UI, i'm guessing the loading and playing of the video runs on the same thread as the UI, which is unfortunate.

Hopefully, loadman will get some time at some point to look into that. I suspect there's way's to improve the feel there, it'll just take time.

On the other hand, If I can ever get a little free time myself, I might finish Engine18, which has it's own Video/animated GIF/Images loader/player that supports alpha channel transparency.

[rockyrocket]

Hope you do get some time drventure as engine18 looks like it has a lot to offer!.
So got bored again and picked up the htpc again, that's it now am leaving it alone.
Edit just could not help myself

[mamefreak2]

This is what it boils down to for me......

Mala layouts can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be, and you don't have to download a bagillion gigs worth of stuff to enhanace the experience.

HS can be as simple as you want them to be too. But if you want more complex, there's a heck of a lot more options for you to do so.

You don't have to download a bizillion gigabits for HS either. See Dazz's example below. Very easy to create a universal theme if that's what you want. Very skinnable, very easy to do.

Don't get me wrong, Hyperspin is extremely impressive, but with all due respect to hyperspin users, if you've seen one hyperspin front end you've seen them all....

Not true actually. I like being able to put my own personal stamp on things and I've done tons of my own themes that are unique to me. My HS system is pretty unique actually and I'm sure it's the same for tons of folks out there. You get what you put into it though. For some who want a quick simple easy to go system and like the look of something else, that's cool. What I like about HS though is that it can give you whatever look you want and I don't think there's another system out there that can do it to this extent.

Also in HS you only have like 4 choices of text font, MALA can use any font on the system.
For example I think it would be impossible to recreate the racing cab design that was posted above with those fonts.

I'm not sure what you need the text font for though. You just create the design in some other program and then export it. You can download wheel art from the site and you can insert whatever logos you want as well. What do you need fonts for in HS?

Well, here’s a counter-opinion: spending hours upon hours designing and tweaking layouts, and assembling screenshots, animations, sounds, graphics, etc. is a whole lot of time spent with no commensurate benefit, other than maybe to scratch some kind of bizarre OCD-induced itch to have everything just so.  The games are just as easy to locate and run from a utilitarian list as they are from a flashy/elaborate one—maybe easier.  I’m not saying that your front end should be an ugly, poorly organized mess—I’m simply saying that the core elements are relatively easy to set up, and going beyond that quickly leads into the worst “diminishing returns” scenario imaginable.   

I mean, I see some of these videos on Youtube where guys have these fancy pictures and media for all kinds of console emulators, and I almost feel sorry for them for the amount of time they must have wasted getting it all running.  I’d be willing to bet that in three lifetimes they wouldn’t spend as much time actually playing those games as they spent setting up the front end.  So what’s the point?   

Well, for some of us putting together themes is actually a lot of fun. Customizing your machine exactly how you want it to look is fun in itself. It's a hobby and I love doing this stuff. I've got several different themes for my Jukebox for example and depending on what mood I'm in will alternate between them. It takes me about 30 seconds to make this change...

When I was deciding on a front end it was HS for me all the way. I haven't used any others so I can't comment on them but I haven't seen aything that allows me to do what I want the way HS can.

Like I said above, it can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. Me? I like playing around and building themes. It's a lot of fun actually.

This one is quickly becoming one of my favorites...  Not sure if he's got it completed or not though.

!

Perfect example of what I'm saying. You don't want a bunch of themes? Just skin it with a universal theme like this one. Don't like the wheel? Make it scroll games vertical or horizontal... really easy to do.

[severdhed]

just my 2 cents....

i have tried many front ends, and always come back to MaLa...it is easy to use, easy to customize and it just plain works, even on older hardware.  i've tried gamex, hyperspin, maximus arcade,and probably a few more i forget the names of.  none of them were as easy to get working and customize the way i wanted them like mala.

[NIVO]

i prefer to put in the time and effort for Hyperspin. The rewards are great.

[TheShaner]

Well, I started this thread a little while back, when I was just starting to think about my front end.  I have heavily used MALA for some time now and know enough about it to give a good opinion on it.  But before I do that, I am going to go ahead and take a stab at creating a Hyperspin theme for my box.

I want to try and approach it a little differently though.  I want to basically recreate my MALA theme, but with some of Hyperspin's tricks incorporated. 

Here is what I have in MALA right now

When you switch emulators, the arcade machine is replaced with a TV from that era, the console and some box art, but the rest of the elements on the screen stay the same, ie. background etc.

It looks a lot cooler with the dynamic artwork in place.

So I am going to try and do something in the same vein, but on Hyperspin.  I will build out the screen elements in hyperspin rather than photoshop so I can transition them into the screen and gain overall control over them.  The key will be though, that I am not going to use any of the crazy game themes out there, my system them will be consistant throughout the games within it.  I would assume this is possible.  If anyone has knowledge to the contrary, please let me know before I get too deep.

I will report in when I have something to show.

[Drnick]

Just create a default theme for each of the various wheels you have and you will be golden.

As for the artwork you can import files from photoshop.  See the following.

http://hyperspin-fe.com/oldsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114:hypertheme-psd&catid=35:help-content&Itemid=136

[TheShaner]

Just create a default theme for each of the various wheels you have and you will be golden.

As for the artwork you can import files from photoshop.  See the following.

http://hyperspin-fe.com/oldsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114:hypertheme-psd&catid=35:help-content&Itemid=136

Thanks DrNick.  I had not realized you could import directly from PS and use it's layers.  That is really awesome!

[mamefreak2]

Just create a default theme for each of the various wheels you have and you will be golden.

As for the artwork you can import files from photoshop.  See the following.

http://hyperspin-fe.com/oldsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114:hypertheme-psd&catid=35:help-content&Itemid=136

Thanks DrNick.  I had not realized you could import directly from PS and use it's layers.  That is really awesome!

I don't have photoshop, I have photopaint. I just create what I want and then export it over in a .png format. If you want to create individual themes you can create a background and then you have space for up to four artwork images. (Those images can be Flash animations too) Then you can use Hyper Theme to animate however you wish. Very cool, very easy to do. 

[TheShaner]

Just create a default theme for each of the various wheels you have and you will be golden.

As for the artwork you can import files from photoshop.  See the following.

http://hyperspin-fe.com/oldsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114:hypertheme-psd&catid=35:help-content&Itemid=136

Thanks DrNick.  I had not realized you could import directly from PS and use it's layers.  That is really awesome!

I don't have photoshop, I have photopaint. I just create what I want and then export it over in a .png format. If you want to create individual themes you can create a background and then you have space for up to four artwork images. (Those images can be Flash animations too) Then you can use Hyper Theme to animate however you wish. Very cool, very easy to do.

Yes, that is how I originally intended to handle the different elements in the theme.  But now, knowing that I can take things straight out of Photoshop, I can use the existing work file with little to no modifications.  Very cool

[cnsf]

I love Hyperspin, but have had problems recently.  I had two Ultrastik 360s that made Hyperspin choke - it took a really long time and testing/research to figure that out.  I swapped them out for standard microswitch joysticks and Hyperspin was smooth again.  Recently, I hooked up an AimTrak lightgun.  It seems (based on extensive testing with and without Hyperspin) Hyperspin causes the AimTrak to be "unrecognized" after some usage in particular games.  Sometimes when I disconnect and reconnect it from the USB port, it works.  Sometimes, I have to shut down and restart - then disconnect and reconnect the AimTrak.  When I use the AimTrak in straight up mame32, it works without any issue.  I considered moving to Mala because I really want the lightgun to work.  I have a "decent-enough" system running an Intel Core2Duo E7500, 4GB Corsair PC6400, Ggigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L Motherboard, and an EVGA 256MB GeForce 8600GTS videocard, OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD boot drive and a mechanical storage drive to house the emulators.  http://www.notrica.com/arcade.

Should I stick with Hyperspin and troubleshoot the AimTrak more or move to Mala?  Based on this thread, there are a lot of Mala fans.

Any thoughts or guidance would be very much appreciated. 

[twistedsistem]

This has been a very informative post and has helped me also make my decision on front end(s) to use.  I like features of both HyperSpin and MaLa.  I am actually going to be using a mixture of the two.  Depending on who will be over playing and what type of display I am looking for will determine which front end I have launch at the time

[hypernova]

Be aware, that just means you'll have two different FEs to babysit on occasion.  Keeping one up to date and looking as good as you want can be annoying enough.

[Unstupid]

I vote for Hyperspin only because I have not seen one instance of MALA that impresses me....   

[kahlid74]

They both require so much damn time to setup right.  I wish I could go back to the mameWah days but after seeing Hyperspin I just can't

[idsane]

I just went through the process of trying to get something 'nicer' for my cabinet than mame32. Something that was very easy for guests to use and looked pretty. I thought I was going to go with hyperspin, and set it up fairly quickly. However, I didn't look forward to paying the money to become a member to download everything, and the way they have it set up with the videos you have to pay more money to buy those from a different site. I also didn't like the fact that I couldn't display any of the cool artwork, marquees, control panels, history file, etc with HS. So yesterday I downloaded MALA, downloaded the mameroom layout for it, and in a very short amount of time had everything up and running and I think it looks great. Looks much nicer than mame32 and easy to navigate. Thanks to the builders of MALA!

[Dekieon]

I tried both Mala and Hyperspin. They are both prety nice, but I prefer Mala over Hyperspin. For me, Hyperspin was just too much flash and not enough photo. I may revisit it in the future, but for now Mala has my vote. It been very straight forward to setup and create a theme for  and does pretty much everything I wanted it to do.

Plus the whole gotta pay for everything for hyperspin is not something I am willing to do considering how much I have spent on the cabinet already and there is a perfectly good free alternative.

[lettuce]

Has to be Mala for me, just due to HS not supporting vertical orientation a great deal.....if at all?, plus Mala can have a much more personal feel. That said HS is very professional looking and would probably grab someone's attention more than Mala

[ChanceKJ]

.

[DarakuTenshi]

I just don't understand you guys... I've posted about this a million times. 

You don't have to stick with the default theming of HyperSpin and you don't have to use the "wheel".  There are several different wheel options, by default the wheel is a wheel, but you have several options of how the "wheel" can appear.  If you want a simple text list, you can have a simple text list.  If you want a coverflow system like XBMC you can create a coverflow looking wheel.  In v1.x coverflow has to be done manually by image manipulation, but in 2.x there will be MANY wheel options.   

HyperSpin v 1.x is almost 100% customizable.  If you don't like the way something looks then change it.  HyperSpin can be as flashy as you want or as boring and mundane as any other front end.  If you don't want all of the stuff flying around, simply create a new theme without it.  The Mala theme that Badmouth posted below can easily be replicated in HyperSpin.  The Maximus Arcade default theme can be easily replicated in HyperSpin.  Almost any theme you see for another front end; HyperSpin can replicate it.

Someone give me a theme from Mala or Maximus that you'd like to see done in HyperSpin... 

Attached is a quick repro of the default Maxmimus Arcade theme appearing in HyperSpin.

Personally I like Hyper Spin, but there is so much work that goes into configuring it. I hope 2.0 is out before I finish my cab so I can see if it will be worth using. There is no way I'm going to go through all that time to customize HS1.0 then switch to 2.0.

But... for the most part I'm sold on HS.

[Richardgregory]

Maximus Arcade is by far the easiest front end I've experienced to date and it's nice looking too.  I wonder why it doesn't seem that popular?

There hasn't been any updates to it in a while, so perhaps the product is dead - not sure.

[DarakuTenshi]

Here is where I am at on my MALA interface. 



I like the choice to go with MALA so far.  It's straight forward, and very responsive.

And I'm sure that looks great on your machine!

[BadMouth]

While I'm still in the Mala camp, a lack of updates for 7z support and a change in joystick reporting in mame.xml has me worried about the future.
I wish Loadman and Swindus would turn over the reigns to someone who has the free time and motivation to make improvements.

When I think about what I would want from a new front-end, it would basically be Mala with:
> improved transparency
> ability to manipulate images; have them angled, angled at a perspective, etc.
> special effects on gamelist text; outiline, shadow, etc.  Not sure how possible that is on the fly.
> the ability to post command lines based on any metadata (right now could be done with plugins based on any info stored in the gamelist)
   I guess to keep it quick, maybe the ability to choose what metadata gets copied to the gamelist would be nice.
> the ability to have arcade games in one list regardless of emulator (I'm currently doing this using SGT's workaround)

[harveybirdman]

While I'm still in the Mala camp, a lack of updates for 7z support and a change in joystick reporting in mame.xml has me worried about the future.
I wish Loadman and Swindus would turn over the reigns to someone who has the free time and motivation to make improvements.

When I think about what I would want from a new front-end, it would basically be Mala with:
> improved transparency
> ability to manipulate images; have them angled, angled at a perspective, etc.
> special effects on gamelist text; outiline, shadow, etc.  Not sure how possible that is on the fly.
> the ability to post command lines based on any metadata (right now could be done with plugins based on any info stored in the gamelist)
   I guess to keep it quick, maybe the ability to choose what metadata gets copied to the gamelist would be nice.
> the ability to have arcade games in one list regardless of emulator (I'm currently doing this using SGT's workaround)

THIS × 1000

Totally in agreement

[yotsuya]

I set up the new Hyperspin in one morning. You just need to tell it where to look for stuff.

I prefer using wheel art to browse, so that's why I've stuck with AtomicFE and HyperSpin. To me, it just looks cleaner and more polished that text.

[Fursphere]

While I'm still in the Mala camp, a lack of updates for 7z support and a change in joystick reporting in mame.xml has me worried about the future.
I wish Loadman and Swindus would turn over the reigns to someone who has the free time and motivation to make improvements.

When I think about what I would want from a new front-end, it would basically be Mala with:
> improved transparency
> ability to manipulate images; have them angled, angled at a perspective, etc.
> special effects on gamelist text; outiline, shadow, etc.  Not sure how possible that is on the fly.
> the ability to post command lines based on any metadata (right now could be done with plugins based on any info stored in the gamelist)
   I guess to keep it quick, maybe the ability to choose what metadata gets copied to the gamelist would be nice.
> the ability to have arcade games in one list regardless of emulator (I'm currently doing this using SGT's workaround)

Hyperspin + HyperLaunch 3

Since the MAME ROM set has every game, just doesn't play them all, use the backend to tell it to use a different emulator for specific games.  Totally transparent to the front end. 

Hyperspin is extrememly easy to setup once you break it down into the different pieces and understand how they interact. 

And I've offered to help people setup Hyperspin a number of times.  The tutorials over on Hyperspin-FE.com are getting better - but they're not written to a non-techy perspective.  I should write one myself...  maybe someday.... 

[BadMouth]

While I'm still in the Mala camp, a lack of updates for 7z support and a change in joystick reporting in mame.xml has me worried about the future.
I wish Loadman and Swindus would turn over the reigns to someone who has the free time and motivation to make improvements.

When I think about what I would want from a new front-end, it would basically be Mala with:
> improved transparency
> ability to manipulate images; have them angled, angled at a perspective, etc.
> special effects on gamelist text; outiline, shadow, etc.  Not sure how possible that is on the fly.
> the ability to post command lines based on any metadata (right now could be done with plugins based on any info stored in the gamelist)
   I guess to keep it quick, maybe the ability to choose what metadata gets copied to the gamelist would be nice.
> the ability to have arcade games in one list regardless of emulator (I'm currently doing this using SGT's workaround)

Hyperspin + HyperLaunch 3

Since the MAME ROM set has every game, just doesn't play them all, use the backend to tell it to use a different emulator for specific games.  Totally transparent to the front end. 

Hyperspin is extrememly easy to setup once you break it down into the different pieces and understand how they interact. 

And I've offered to help people setup Hyperspin a number of times.  The tutorials over on Hyperspin-FE.com are getting better - but they're not written to a non-techy perspective.  I should write one myself...  maybe someday....

Doesn't that require xml editing and manually making changes in hyperlaunch?
I'm already doing that in Mala and it works fine. 
Plus Mala uses the metadata from mame.xml for things like automatic monitor rotation and joystick switching, so all that stuff automatically works when games that run on other emulators are added to the mame list.  It also automatically loads different layouts depending on which way my monitor is currently oriented.

The above was a wish for a front-end that was designed to work that way from the beginning.
It would requiring nothing more than me right clicking on a game and selecting an option to add it to my main MAME list. 

I may  try hyperspin again on the new driving cab setup because there's no automation and it has a much shorter gamelist.
All the arcade games need to be in one list regardless of emulator, and all my pc games and console games need to be on separate lists.
As far as I know, it's possible using the same type of manual xml editing and sorting techniques to do it in Mala.
If not, stop me now so I don't waste my time.  (or just give me copies of your driving cab files after setting it up that way   )

[thatpurplestuff]

As cool as MaLa is (and as someone that owns a Maximus Arcade license), put me down as someone that prefers Hyperspin to both of them... I love the animated themes and I'm probably weird but if you've got things configured correctly it makes it fun to just browse through games before loading one up.  The new Hyperlaunch HQ makes tweaking settings a breeze, and new features like Hyperpause give the ability to pause emulators with a single button and display cool artwork, special moves lists, manuals/guides, videos, etc.

I can definitely see how the default settings might be too flashy and a turnoff for some people, but Hyperspin really does give a lot of power to the end user to adjust things to their liking and make things as simple or as complicated as they want.

[Fursphere]

Doesn't that require xml editing and manually making changes in hyperlaunch?
I'm already doing that in Mala and it works fine. 
Plus Mala uses the metadata from mame.xml for things like automatic monitor rotation and joystick switching, so all that stuff automatically works when games that run on other emulators are added to the mame list.  It also automatically loads different layouts depending on which way my monitor is currently oriented.

The above was a wish for a front-end that was designed to work that way from the beginning.
It would requiring nothing more than me right clicking on a game and selecting an option to add it to my main MAME list. 

I may  try hyperspin again on the new driving cab setup because there's no automation and it has a much shorter gamelist.
All the arcade games need to be in one list regardless of emulator, and all my pc games and console games need to be on separate lists.
As far as I know, it's possible using the same type of manual xml editing and sorting techniques to do it in Mala.
If not, stop me now so I don't waste my time.  (or just give me copies of your driving cab files after setting it up that way   )

So...  think of it this way.

Hyperspin - Graphic Front end and Game Database

Hyperlaunch - emulator launching "middleware"

you DO NOT configure emulators in HyperHQ (hyperspin) anymore.  Just the artwork, videos, and game database.   

In Hyperlaunch (3) - you configure the emulator to run the Hyperspin Database (XML) games for any given system.   You also globally configure emulators here.   That doesn't mean ROMs, just emulators.

So this emulator is here (c:\emulator)

Then for the Hyperspin WHEEL (game database!) you say the ROMs (games) are HERE c:\games (whatever you want to call it)

Then you "globally" configure and emulator to be the default emulator for a specific Hyperspin WHEEL (again, game database!).  Hyperlaunch will read that XML and show it in HyperLaunchHQ.  If there is a specific game that doesn't run in MAME for example, but does in DEMUL - you right click on that game and tell it to use DEMUL instead.  (which you GLOBALLY configured already).

So in your Hyperspin MAME wheel for example - all games will launch with MAME.EXE _except_ the one(s) you told to use DEMUL.  (or whatever).   If you have some SNES game that only runs under SNES9X instead of ZSNES - you just right click on that game and "poof", it'll now launch with SNEX9X instead of ZSNES (assuming ZSNES is the default emulator you choose previously)

Hyperspin is a GAME DATABASE with a graphic front end once you move to Hyperlaunch.  Its a collection of games for a system (or systems, like MAME).   Hyperlaunch tells it what emulator to use.

No XML hacking. 

I can go on and on about this.  There are some youtube videos that sorta help - but there is some "assumed" Hyperspin knowledge required.  I can help fill the gaps. 

[blackmoor]

It's just a matter of taste.  I tried Hyperspin and ended up doing everything I could to get it to not look and feel like Hyperspin.
I dislike the whole "wheel" concept, so I guess there wasn't much hope for me. 

I don't like GameEx and the others that look and feel like media center software....because they look and feel like media center software, not like an arcade game.

I use MALA.  It's basically just a gamelist that you choose the font and color for, plus any other pictures, video, or info you want displayed for a game.
You decide what is displayed, where it is displayed and how big it is.
It looks as slick or basic as your background picture editing skills allow. 
If you can draw what you want your front-end to look like in photoshop, you can make MALA look like it.
You can have different themes for different emulators if you want.

I have a very basic theme, but it's exactly what I want.
(the marquee, screenshot, & CP change with the highlighted game)


Driving cab one is more polished


I gotta start doing some different color schemes.......right after I finish the current red and black cab. 


Go to the MALA forum and search for "theme" to see what people have come up with.

The biggest complaint most people have about it is that it can't display tranparent layers correctly, so for example, you can't display the video inside a circle with the edges of the video covered up.

With some work-arounds, it's possible to have all the arcade games show up in your MAME list, even if they use a different emulator.
It isn't easy, but well worth it IMO.

SUPERB Mala layout! please say that a) it´s scalable for low res arcademonitor and b) you´re willing to share it!

As for this thread. been using hyperspin from the start. but latest version of it JUST DOES NOT WORK. So last night learned of MALA and read about it and had it running with all my emulators, showing mp4 videos and myself made basic layouts. all of this in 5 hours. It took 50 hours to make first hyperspin to work and it did NOT work with c64 emulator, and no intro videos in mp4 form.I was ready to give up.

Mala is perfect, I recommend it to everybody sincerely!

I would like that layout for mame. Others can be my basic layout, which is black screen with system name on top, 2/3 screen shoving picture/video of selected game and on the right side is game list and on bottom of it selectedgamenumber of total number of games. Took the black layout and modified it for my needs. But Mame would definitively deserve this layout!

EDIT

took a crappy video of my machine with mala. Latest mala developer version 1.82 and CCCP codec pack, with ffdshow mala keeps crashing.

[BadMouth]

SUPERB Mala layout! please say that a) it´s scalable for low res arcademonitor and b) you´re willing to share it!

I've never been able to figure out how to get the layouts to scale; always just make them to match my resolution.
These are 1024x768 IIRC.
The first one and my console ones are available here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134977.0.html

[wp34]

SUPERB Mala layout! please say that a) it´s scalable for low res arcademonitor and b) you´re willing to share it!

I've never been able to figure out how to get the layouts to scale; always just make them to match my resolution.
These are 1024x768 IIRC.
The first one and my console ones are available here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134977.0.html

Thanks!   

[Brian B]

I'm aware this thread is quite old, But i've had it with HyperSpin and have switched to MaLa.

After weeks of trying to setup HS i've given up. i've made a dozen attempts, tried a handful of "easy" "step by step" instructions, youtube tutorials, etc. And its all just BS.  I can't fathom why you need such a complex and user unfriendly system. why do i need to go to 5 websites to get parts to build this monstrosity of a FE? With something so flashy and cool looking, why in the hell do i have to edit ini files? why the hell can't i shut of those aggravating, patronizing, and downright demorilizing sound effects that blast over my speakers when an error pops up?! 

The HS Team says that they "look down on" those prepackaged hard drives that you can buy. We'll i see this as it being their fault in the first place. Don't make such an overcomplicated system if you're not willing to see people who understand it make a buck of those who don't that just want to play bloody games. As a last resort i was going to drop $240 to buy one of those drives just to get something that works, but then in a last ditch effort i decided to try another highly rated FE, MaLa. and boy am i glad i did! 

I see what some people have done to customize the MaLa layouts, and i've played around with it a bit. Its just simple and works. Not 4 fu**ing executables from a dozen different websites "hyper" this and "hyper" that. 

HS Team, trust me, i get it, "People want customization options".  screw that, power users want customization options.  The average newcomer wants something cool thats EASY TO SETUP.   Make a "HyperSpin Lite" that looks like the same wheel system, but has one EXE file that includes easy to setup options that i can download in one place. Want to keep the association with your partners for game media? great, have an in app option for downloading and subscribing to media from them. Have an easy to configure initial setup that lets you pick game systems, and point to rom and emulator folders. ...i could go on. If you make HS easy to use, easy to setup, and easy to configure then EVERYONE wins. More people will be encouraged to get involved with this hobby and spend more money at our favourite Arcade parts shops. Those shops would get better and we'd also have a larger community.

the point is i was able to setup MaLa in 5 minutes to where it took me almost 5 weeks to do in HyperSpin. Thats not right. Why is it quite a bit more simple to make a Dell Mini 10v into an OS X 10.6 hackintosh then it is to setup HyperSpin?!  Thats not right.

 

I realize this is an old topic, but after being out of this hobby for a couple of years I came back to start in again on my arcade project.  After getting MAME set up I thought I would try Hyperspin.  The graphics don't bother me and the ability to integrate different emulators in the future seemed like a plus.

However, like the other poster I quoted I met with nothing but difficulty.  I am not super-technical, but can usually "fight" my way through things.  I may be crazy, but if a software suite is not exactly plug and play I expect directions of some sort.  I realize the software is free, so I take what I can get.  I watched a couple of videos, read through the forum, wiki, some threads, etc.  I then followed some step by step instructions to get Hyperlaunch(?) working.  Anyway, I could not even get MAME to start after a few hours (mostly of loading .NET and other stuff).

Honestly, people who say they got HS working so easily--I envy you.  I kept trying over and over to make the game list small so I could at least get one game working and couldn't find any explanation on how to do it.  Just simple frustration.

For those who want the flash, HS seems to be the answer.  I also looked at Maximus, but there isn't much support.  The big plus for MaLa is all the people on this forum who use it and are helpful in figuring things out.

Having said that, for those who have never used Mala the installation and BASIC setup is almost as simple as starting a game directly from MAMEUI.  It is literally as easy as running the program and clicking launch!  The gamelist editor lets me click on a couple of roms, save a new list and use it for testing in the program. Then it is just a matter of adding pics, etc. to various folders and it just seems to work--at least so far.  I downloaded a layout file and you just click it in the options and there it is!

I'm really not interested in taking hours to set up the arcade machine.  I just want to relive some of my childhood playing games from days gone by...I'm sure I'll have some questions in the future, but I was able to get all my controls (2 joy, 1 track, 1 spinner) all up and running.

B.

[Slippyblade]

I'm in the "I wanted to like HyperSpin, but couldn't" camp. 

I *think* I DL'd all the parts I needed.  There were so many links to so much crap, and there's basically nothing spelling out what part does what to who or for how many cookies it gets done.  When I fired the .exe it ran and presented me with wheel after wheel of stuff that I didn't have and I could find no way to limit to what I DID have.

When I looked at Mala there was one zip that I DL'd and unzipped into a directory.  Ran the .exe and it asked me some basic setup questions, then presented me with a simple and functional list of the stuff that I actually had.  Making separate lists was simple.  Even the layout editor that is included in the single zip file was easy to use and I had my first custom layout within an hour.

[TopJimmyCooks]

I put in about 20 hours and got a good HS setup going.  the key is to start basic (mame) and add from there.  If you think setting up HS/HL is hard, try running Demul in HS.   

I did that for a commission I built for someone else.  I still run mala on my own rig. 

[drventure]

You know, Hyperspin looks really good, but after hearing anecdotes like these, I'm inclined to stick with Mala.

I know it. It works. It's easy (and UncleT's guide is a godsend for setting it up). It's extensible. And with Engine18, it's easily extensible with .net.

I wish it had a little better support for animations or video for some of the larger elements (like the whole background), and the key color transparency is SOOOO 1990's  , but with the plugin capabilities, there's possible ways to get that going even.

So it's all good.

 

[Mordwaffe]

Dazz, Im just looking for slick examples.  No need to clarify slick, just shoot some winners my way.

Any timeframe on 2.0?

This one is quickly becoming one of my favorites...  Not sure if he's got it completed or not though.

!

I like this layout; I have considered Hyperspin (have it downloaded) but I am not a huge fan of the GBs of movies; so seeing a setup that uses just box art is ideal to me. Is there instructions on setting it up like that? or a download for that theme?

[wp34]

I'm in the "I wanted to like HyperSpin, but couldn't" camp. 

I *think* I DL'd all the parts I needed.  There were so many links to so much crap, and there's basically nothing spelling out what part does what to who or for how many cookies it gets done.  When I fired the .exe it ran and presented me with wheel after wheel of stuff that I didn't have and I could find no way to limit to what I DID have.

When I looked at Mala there was one zip that I DL'd and unzipped into a directory.  Ran the .exe and it asked me some basic setup questions, then presented me with a simple and functional list of the stuff that I actually had.  Making separate lists was simple.  Even the layout editor that is included in the single zip file was easy to use and I had my first custom layout within an hour.

This is exactly where I'm at.  I can fire up HS and it does look more "modern" than Mala. But I can't for the life of me configure the menus.  I'm leaning towards sticking with Mala.

What is funny is that I prefer just using the command line.  The front-end is only for my family.

[ChanceKJ]

I eventually switched to Maximus. Now I've got it in two builds and I'm not looking back. 

[Cryofax]

I use Hyperspin. It has a steep learning curve and several times I was ready to throw up my hands and walk away from it, but something kept compelling me to stick with it. I'm glad I did as I was able to build a nice global widescreen launcher that handles about 25  game systems + WMC + My recorded media (which I can access and view outside WMC) + Streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, HBOGo) all launchable and previewable inside Hyperspin.

I also spent quite a bit of time maximizing efficiency. Using a lot of tricks to get it run to smoothly and keeping CPU usage to a minimum. Still the whole thing at times does have a feeling of being in a state of chaos, as programmers seem to come and go, there are bugs to  work around etc. The community around it is quite active but not always helpful with your problems. There will be a lot of researching, trial and error.

[bulbousbeard]

I was so unimpressed by every frontend I tried (MALA and Hyperspin included) that I made my own. I couldn't even imagine going back to MALA or Hyperspin now.

[danny_galaga]

When I finally decided to put a front end on my cocktail cab (after over ten years with just the MAME32 menu!) I downloaded half a dozen front ends and just started playing around with what I could make work. The only one that worked straight away was Mala, and it turns out it has options for rotating monitors, which is handy for me (",)

[TopJimmyCooks]

...

I also spent quite a bit of time maximizing efficiency. Using a lot of tricks to get it run to smoothly and keeping CPU usage to a minimum. Still the whole thing at times does have a feeling of being in a state of chaos, as programmers seem to come and go, there are bugs to  work around etc. The community around it is quite active but not always helpful with your problems. There will be a lot of researching, trial and error.

I solved that problem by running it on a badass pc build.  no optimization required.  Unlike my mala rig which is running on practically a 486.

When I finally decided to put a front end on my cocktail cab (after over ten years with just the MAME32 menu!) I downloaded half a dozen front ends and just started playing around with what I could make work. The only one that worked straight away was Mala, and it turns out it has options for rotating monitors, which is handy for me (",)

Mala is by far the winner for cocktail and rotating displays hands down. 

[yotsuya]

Hyperspin y AtomicFE 4 lyf, yo!

[theGrg]

*braces self for possible rage at replying to old thread  *

I don't want to be a thread necromancer here but OP looked like he was onto something really cool in his last few posts...

TheShaner what ended up being the results of your themes for both MALA and HyperSpin, and what were your conclusions?

[stavros693000]

is it just me or is DAZZ completly baised when it comes to hyperspin? dont get me wrong i do like hyper spin but out of all the front ends ive used, hyperspin was the one i had the most trouble setting up and i had to buy it set up on HDD...............mala ,maximus,game ex among athers are so much easier and user friendly.i love gameex i used it for years its the most feature packed frontend period....but if anyone ever disses HS DAZZ seems to take it personal like you just told him his wifes a dog>>>>>>>>>>>>>

true story
HS rocks if your PC savy, unfortunatly im not

[sniffmyface]

Long time lurker, first time poster!

I've just read through this entire thread hoping for a bit of insperation or guidance on what i should go with. I'm jaded with every front end i have seen as they are either a nightmare to set up, or just look rubbish, even with custom skins!

I have always used Hyperspin, and after MANY hours configuring and several hundred GB of videos, images and god knows what else i have had it working for a while. I've spent time making my own skins and got it looking ok, but it now looks very dated due to the very low resolution it runs at. It looks terrible on a 1080P display, and as far as i can tell it can't be changed.

I was holding out for HS 2.0 for a while, but it now seems as though Hyperspin has been abandoned.

Then i was aboard the Gameex Evolution hype train, only to find it wasn't actually released at the end of the count down, and that everything seems to have gone quiet again now! It looked promising, but doesn't seem to be coming out any time soon.

I've tried Mala, Gameex, Maximus, HS and another i can't remember. Hyperspin is the only one i have really spent any time with, but it just looks a bit old and dated now due to it using a low resolution.

I think Mala is possibly the way to go for me (providing it still supports all emulators and works withe what i have) as i like the idea of having game information on screen, but the time i have spent trying to get my head round it hasn't been very fruitful so far. Despite everyone saying how easy it is to configure and make skins for, i am yet to make any progress with it. Even getting game info to display correctly seems a chore!

[yotsuya]

You bring up some interesting points, er, sniffmyface. I haven't had problems with FE resolution, but then again, I'm not running on 1080P displays (nor do I plan to).

[clok]

Have to Add to the Zombie thread also. I have used or tried at least 20 or so FE over the years, paid for 3-4. In the end its Hyperspin for me (cant say enough good about it). All of them took time to learn, some where much harder then others. In the end, I wanted the "zing" to go with my fun, Unless you are nickle and dimeing a build (many are, nothing wrong with that) a PC that will run MAME games that crush, and Hyperspin is easy to build for $3-400 if you don't mind anand tech or other used sources. And as stated, it can be stripped down to some pretty basics so it will run much faster on lower horsepower. Its like most stuff, Linux rocks as an OS, but you dont just turn it on and go, it takes some real learning, but once you are setup, going back to SLOW (other) OS's is hard. You want to learn just enough to do what you want to do.. you want to learn to do it all, take your pick (again nothing wrong with this).

I know when i set front ends up there where times i said F-THIS and ran MAME32 (what the heck was the Basic GUI out way back? it was MAME32 wasn't it?)
baack when WMC was the rage I did use GameEX (one i paid for) then AtomicFE (he was wonderful in support help) now its hyperspin.. maybe Im all looks, but its just damn sweet on a 2600K setup.. Took time, but going back  to older ones just not going to happen. Maybe if i build a bartop with a lesser CPU, but i got the hardware, im tricking it out!

[ZexisStryfe]

As i am planning out my new cab I have been looking at front-ends as well and I have honestly found the entire thing very discouraging. Hyperspin seems to lead the pack for me, however now that Hyperspin 2.0 is effectively dead I am rethinking that. My cab will have a 1080p monitor in it and I just don't like the 4:3 -> 16:9 stretching. Widescreen support (or lack there of) is damn near a dealbreaker for me, no matter the other features...

Here is hoping GameEx Evolution actually comes out (preferably by end of year like they said it would)...

[lamprey]

As i am planning out my new cab I have been looking at front-ends as well and I have honestly found the entire thing very discouraging. Hyperspin seems to lead the pack for me, however now that Hyperspin 2.0 is effectively dead I am rethinking that. My cab will have a 1080p monitor in it and I just don't like the 4:3 -> 16:9 stretching. Widescreen support (or lack there of) is damn near a dealbreaker for me, no matter the other features...

Here is hoping GameEx Evolution actually comes out (preferably by end of year like they said it would)...

Not sure if running in windowed mode is an option for you or not for Hyperspin...?  I have to do that because I'm running a vertically oriented monitor/tv and that is the only way to make it work. If you set up the right background and have the menu bar hidden (assuming windows 7), then it is, basically, seamless.

[ZexisStryfe]

Not sure if running in windowed mode is an option for you or not for Hyperspin...?  I have to do that because I'm running a vertically oriented monitor/tv and that is the only way to make it work. If you set up the right background and have the menu bar hidden (assuming windows 7), then it is, basically, seamless.

To be honest I would prefer widescreen support to this method, however it is what I do currently. Overall I would just hope for some support for higher resolutions with the UI. The backgrounds look great at higher resolutions, but the interface overlays (stuff like the exit/favorites overlays) don't scale well and is at a very low resolution.

[ChanceKJ]

I really wish the Maximus devs would get off their ass and start to support it again.  Maybe fix some bugs, and update a few things on the theme editor and front end itself. So much potential there. I want a good looking front end that has lengthy WYSIWYG customization of the GUI, without crappy looking graphical and text attributes. Something that doesn't take 18 applications to setup and run but also requires an i7 to run at full speed, and something that just works. I went back and forth with half a dozen FE's and Maximus just fit the bill, even with the bugs. 

[yotsuya]

I really wish the Maximus devs would get off their ass and start to support it again.  Maybe fix some bugs, and update a few things on the theme editor and front end itself. So much potential there. I want a good looking front end that has lengthy WYSIWYG customization of the GUI, without crappy looking graphical and text attributes. Something that doesn't take 18 applications to setup and run but also requires an i7 to run at full speed, and something that just works. I went back and forth with half a dozen FE's and Maximus just fit the bill, even with the bugs. 

The lack of support is why I never even got started with Maximus.

For HS, I'm just running an older build, before you had to install programs to push stuff out to you. I just copy the folder whenever I need a new install. Works great.

For older computer builds, I use AtomicFE. For newer machines, it's HS. If AtomicFE supported transparencies better, I'd be running that one for everything.

[Generic Eric]

I think everyone should try out as many FE as possible.  I can speak from experience that Hyperspin is initially overwhelming.   I have it "working" but not to the degree I am satisfied. 

I'm at a stage where I want to change everything about my build.  On my list is to get a better understanding of each FE so I can participate in this convo to give better suggestions.

[Saneless]

I'll get around to trying out Hyperspin someday, but my older PC (Sempron 3100+ 1.8ghz) made me a bit wary to even go forward with the effort.

For now, Mala works.  I figured I'm spending 98% of my time playing the games, 2% in the FE, I'll give it as much as I can stand to configure and be done with it.

Right now I have some game lists that make sense, Screenshot, Marquee, Control Panel, and Flyers artwork to give it some life.  I'll probably add some videos soon.  It does what it needs to do and I'll probably just wait until I get bored to change it.

[BadMouth]

The battle over old FE's rages on, while people make new ones with the same shortcomings. 

I want all my arcade games in one list regardless of emulator.  (currently doing this with workarounds in Mala, but it should be standard)
I want to be able to manage gamelists while in the front-end playing the games.  I don't want to have to write down or remember the game and use some other program at a later time.
I want a custom theme unique to my machine without having to spend more than an evening creating it.
I want cool looking fonts for my gamelists that look more impressive than simple lettering (shading, reflection, shadow, etc).
I want automation; 4-way switching, rotation, and way beyond.  I'd like to be able to generate a command line based on any metadata or variables of my own creation.


I'm very grateful for what has been done in the past.  As an end-user it's mind blowing that I can have an arcade cabinet that integrates sooo many separate things into a single simple user interface.  I just don't understand why FE's haven't made any improvements in the areas I mentioned above.

[IAmDotorg]

  I just don't understand why FE's haven't made any improvements in the areas I mentioned above.

Software is complicated, the market is tiny so there's no possibility of return on someone developing something with an effort on "easy" as opposed to "functional" (and if they did, people will steal it like the pre-baked HyperSpin setups), and every system out there is subtly (or substantially) different enough that you need all the knobs and switches to adjust things.

If there was a market where I could sell 10k copies of a front-end at $1000/unit, I could easily build something that was point-and-click, wizard based and does all the things you're talking about. But there is no market like that, and 10,000 or even 100,000 units at $10/pop won't cut it.

Software, like any other form of building things, follows the adage that 90% of the functionality takes 10% of the time, and that last 10% takes 90% of the time. That last 10% is the stuff you're talking about.

[yotsuya]

I think the greatest selling point on the newest FE that came out is that you can play a game of Street Fighter to determine what the next game is. Lolz.

[Generic Eric]

I think the greatest selling point on the newest FE that came out is that you can play a game of Street Fighter to determine what the next game is. Lolz.

Is that for real?  Would such for a Galaga styled game.

[BadMouth]

I think the greatest selling point on the newest FE that came out is that you can play a game of Street Fighter to determine what the next game is. Lolz.

Is that for real?

https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/

[yotsuya]

I think the greatest selling point on the newest FE that came out is that you can play a game of Street Fighter to determine what the next game is. Lolz.

Is that for real?

https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/

That's the one. Sorry, I forgot this selling point:

•Elaborate shutdown / restart sequence that'll blow the wig straight off your scalp

Double lolz.

[bulbousbeard]

The battle over old FE's rages on, while people make new ones with the same shortcomings. 

I want all my arcade games in one list regardless of emulator.  (currently doing this with workarounds in Mala, but it should be standard)
I want to be able to manage gamelists while in the front-end playing the games.  I don't want to have to write down or remember the game and use some other program at a later time.
I want a custom theme unique to my machine without having to spend more than an evening creating it.
I want cool looking fonts for my gamelists that look more impressive than simple lettering (shading, reflection, shadow, etc).
I want automation; 4-way switching, rotation, and way beyond.  I'd like to be able to generate a command line based on any metadata or variables of my own creation.


I'm very grateful for what has been done in the past.  As an end-user it's mind blowing that I can have an arcade cabinet that integrates sooo many separate things into a single simple user interface.  I just don't understand why FE's haven't made any improvements in the areas I mentioned above.

Big Blue does let you have all your games in one list regardless of the emulator, and I could add font effects pretty trivially, but I haven't done anything more with it since it already does what I wanted it to do.

[ZexisStryfe]

Does BigBlue support customization and LEDBlinky?

[bulbousbeard]

Does BigBlue support customization and LEDBlinky?

Big Blue doesn't support theme customization. It's definitely a take it or leave it kind of a thing. If you're not in love with Street Fighter 2 and have your own theme in mind, it's not for you. BB really wasn't created as competition for any of the existing frontends. I made it specifically for my Big Blue arcade cabinet, and I released it to the public just in case anyone else would be interested in using it. It's not trying to be a be-all end-all frontend for everyone like Hyperspin, Mala, and Maximus are. It's basically a mini-game that lets you launch games, and everything was carefully and specifically chosen for color contrast, readability, and faithfulness to the CPS1 Street Fighter 2 games, R-Type, and Rampage. One of the things that I don't like about Hyperspin is that a lot of the themes have bad color contrast and make it difficult to read/see which game you're selecting.

See the screenshots here for how legible and easy to read everything is because I've controlled the font and colors and have good contrast:
https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/screenshots

Even though it's not directly competing with the other frontends that were built for personalization/customization, I will say that Big Blue might be the most powerful and easy to use in terms of setting up game lists. I'm pretty proud of the configuration program that I made to it. I think that part of it pretty much blows away setting up game lists in any other frontend. Also, Big Blue is the only frontend I know of that can handle SSF emulator seamlessly without any weird hacks or batch files. It just works.



I don't have an LEDBlinky or illuminated buttons, so I haven't done anything with it, but Big Blue does allow you to launch any exe with args before launching the main program, so I don't see why it wouldn't work fine with it.