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Author Topic: MALA vs Hyperspin  (Read 68553 times)

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danny_galaga

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #120 on: June 04, 2014, 09:05:10 am »

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 (",)


ROUGHING UP THE SUSPECT SINCE 1981

TopJimmyCooks

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #121 on: June 04, 2014, 08:03:32 pm »
...

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

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #122 on: June 05, 2014, 03:03:58 am »
Hyperspin y AtomicFE 4 lyf, yo!
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #123 on: November 12, 2014, 11:01:18 am »
*braces self for possible rage at replying to old thread  :timebomb:*

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?

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #124 on: November 13, 2014, 03:09:28 am »
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
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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #125 on: November 13, 2014, 08:26:42 am »
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

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #126 on: November 13, 2014, 09:43:25 am »
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).
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #127 on: November 13, 2014, 01:37:45 pm »
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!

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #128 on: November 14, 2014, 04:28:14 pm »
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

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #129 on: November 14, 2014, 04:40:40 pm »
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.

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #130 on: November 15, 2014, 01:52:42 pm »
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.

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #131 on: November 18, 2014, 06:15:31 am »
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.  :-[

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #132 on: November 18, 2014, 10:10:24 am »
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.
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #133 on: November 18, 2014, 11:26:36 am »
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

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #134 on: November 18, 2014, 11:54:17 am »
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.

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #135 on: November 18, 2014, 12:24:53 pm »
The battle over old FE's rages on, while people make new ones with the same shortcomings.  :dunno

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.




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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #136 on: November 18, 2014, 01:42:06 pm »
  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.

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #137 on: November 18, 2014, 02:44:29 pm »
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.
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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #138 on: November 18, 2014, 03:32:13 pm »
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.

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #139 on: November 18, 2014, 04:27:36 pm »
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/


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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #140 on: November 18, 2014, 05:33:14 pm »
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.
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #141 on: November 20, 2014, 11:10:36 am »
The battle over old FE's rages on, while people make new ones with the same shortcomings.  :dunno

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.

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #142 on: November 20, 2014, 02:08:45 pm »
Does BigBlue support customization and LEDBlinky?

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Re: MALA vs Hyperspin
« Reply #143 on: November 20, 2014, 07:09:10 pm »
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.