Making an Android Frontend (Android 2600:Part 1)

[degenatrons]

I'm a big fan of dedicated Tate cabs (and this project) so I borrowed Degenatrons HTML and put up a dirty proof of concept of a tate oriented UI by tweaking the CSS a tiny bit.  I made a version where the controls are rotated with the screen and one where they don't rotate.
http://kadevice.com/temp/andMAME-carousel-vert-tate/index2.html
http://kadevice.com/temp/andMAME-carousel-vert-tate/index.html

It would be sure easy to rotate the screen the other direction too.

Thanks for looking at the carousel files sharpfork.  If we adjust the rotation in the build.prop config then the setting will apply globally to all apps so it should not be necessary to control in the css directly.  Still,  you came up with a neat way to do it and maybe there will be other uses for this method 

As a side note, I have BootSectors's RetroVGA 2.0 hardware SLG working on android with a powered HDMI -> VGA converter too.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PSt4Q24m3Aw/Ufx9-dG2oOI/AAAAAAAAYho/8yDdaJtn0zw/w578-h770-no/IMG_20130802_214942.jpg

I gotta build me one of these 

[degenatrons]

Is there any way that we could get some more info on how you modified retroarch? I'd love to get this functional =] please and thank you

I'll post my adapted RetroArch source and some instruction for building the modified .apk  soon. 
Good to see others developing for Android.  Do you have a link to your project?

[kayser2008]

The other consideration is theme.  The theme really needs to be designed to work with vertical orientation otherwise it will just look bad.
I'll knock up a vertical theme and post some pics when I get back from my hols.

I think  in the package that i have uploaded , as there a really nice vertical theme.

[jesjhoward]

Unfortunately no... This is really for a refit of my current PC based cabinet, but I do have some working knowledge of android app development (just enough to be dangerous). The PC hardware constantly fails due to its age, and an Android stick would be an awesome replacement, and I just happen to have two of them laying around. However Mame is the meat and potatoes of my cab, and it's the only system that isn't easily launched from shortcuts. I'll add some pics of my cab in its building progress soon... thanks for all of your work! =]

NOTICE:
I don't want to hijack this thread from the awesome work that degenatrons is doing, but I've found another (though not as great) Mame emulator that will work with Tasker to make homescreen shortcuts if anyone is interested. Retroarch is still going to be the better way to go, but until everything is squared away, this will work. PM for interest, and if there's enough, I'll create a new thread for it. Thanks!

[mike boss]

That MaLa background is the custom MaLa layout I did for my Mario Bros MAME.
I think I've also posted somewhere the version with rectangle/square boxes (this way the snap can fill the entire box).
This is an amazing project you are working on.
I actually ordered two KADE units to work on something custom for a lower end tablet I have (which I plan on pairing with an iCade  to give it the desired look).
I'll no doubt keep my eyes posted on this thread.

This is AMAZING !

[Maximus]

Quick questions about resolutions, are we stuck with widescreen resolutions or can we output the more traditional 800x600 4:3 resolutions? Also how do we handle vertical?

Thinking about pulling the Jamma board out of my Tiny Pilot cab build and making it my first ever android based cabinet but I have a Dell 17" 4:3 in there.

[Maximus]

Yep,  rotation is well supported on the Android platform. 

TV sticks are designed for landscape only and a slight tweak is required for them to output to vertical orientation.  The value ro.sf.hwrotation in the build.prop file can be adjusted to suit your preference. 
ro.sf.hwrotation = 0 (vertical orientation)
ro.sf.hwrotation = 270  (landscape orientation - was the default on my TV stick)

Tested and working on my TV stick 

Noted.

[degenatrons]

That MaLa background is the custom MaLa layout I did for my Mario Bros MAME.
I think I've also posted somewhere the version with rectangle/square boxes (this way the snap can fill the entire box).

I see you contributed some really nice mala layouts at http://malafe.net/index.php?page=layouts 

e.g.



Also just had a look at your FIF layout thread at http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=131257.0

I'd like to use one of these as a vertical theme.  Are you ok with me making tweaks to the artwork e.g. removing the title at top?  Do you have PSD files?  If you're up for creating a generic layout for andMAME then that would be cool too 

Thanks for following

I actually ordered two KADE units to work on something custom for a lower end tablet I have (which I plan on pairing with an iCade  to give it the desired look).
I'll no doubt keep my eyes posted on this thread.

[degenatrons]

Quick questions about resolutions, are we stuck with widescreen resolutions or can we output the more traditional 800x600 4:3 resolutions? Also how do we handle vertical?

Thinking about pulling the Jamma board out of my Tiny Pilot cab build and making it my first ever android based cabinet but I have a Dell 17" 4:3 in there.

Can do widescreen and vertical.  The stock roms are typically 1080p and 720p but the finless roms should provide more selection.  I'm using a basic mini HDMI to VGA converter - similar to those  mentioned in one of your projects.  Was shocked to see how much these converters have dropped in price.
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Mini-HDMI-to-VGA-with-Aduio-HD-Convertor-Cable-Adapter-for-Tablet-PC-314183.html

I have 17" Dell 4:3 and 5:4 LCD's to test with.

[Maximus]

I think I'd really like to kick the 60-in-1 to the curb and go Android on this new mini cab build, so I need to get serious about getting into this and setting it up properly. This could be the beginning of a beautiful new hardware setup.

[degenatrons]

Back from hols and getting my head back into this.  Actually made some good progress today.

I made an .apk installer for andMAME and installed it to a clean android stick - an MK908.  This baby is quad core with has 2GB ram 
The theme and all resource files are placed on an external SD card under an andMAME folder.

Basic install process as follows:

1. Install my modified retroArch .apk
2. copy libretro_mame078.so and libretroarch-activity.so files from my SD card to /data/data/org/retroarch/lib/ folder.  This could be automated.
3. Install my andMAME .apk (each theme will be packaged into its own .apk)
4. Install full!screen .apk (to force fullscreen mode on device startup)
5. Prepare all resources needed for the theme on SD card.  Resources are mostly generic,  intended for use with all themes.  Folder structure as per screenshot.



Install was tested and working on a clean android  MK908 stick, fresh out of the box. I didn't even need to root it or flash a new bios  .  My OUYA is going on ebay.

I've got lots of tweaks and configuration to work on.
For the list of roms,  I was thinking to scan the roms folder and match files to those with available wheel art.  If both items exist then the rom will appear in the carousel. 
I'm currently working with a static list of roms which can be edited but would be much better to generate list on the fly based on available files.

[Maximus]

And where would one find all of these modified APK files should one want to by chance install them on ones MK908 thatone also happens to have laying round? 

[mike boss]

That MaLa background is the custom MaLa layout I did for my Mario Bros MAME.
I think I've also posted somewhere the version with rectangle/square boxes (this way the snap can fill the entire box).

I see you contributed some really nice mala layouts at http://malafe.net/index.php?page=layouts 

e.g.



Also just had a look at your FIF layout thread at http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=131257.0

I'd like to use one of these as a vertical theme.  Are you ok with me making tweaks to the artwork e.g. removing the title at top?  Do you have PSD files?  If you're up for creating a generic layout for andMAME then that would be cool too 

Thanks for following

I actually ordered two KADE units to work on something custom for a lower end tablet I have (which I plan on pairing with an iCade  to give it the desired look).
I'll no doubt keep my eyes posted on this thread.

This project is fantastic and if I can I'd certainly like to do this to my tablet (as I don't use it as is).
I can check my PC and send any PSD files you might need.
I may even be able to make something custom for you, just let me know what you need (resolution, etc).
Got my two KADE units here still in the box! I need a reason to break them out, and this would be so awesome.

[UFO]

And where would one find all of these modified APK files should one want to by chance install them on ones MK908 thatone also happens to have laying round? 

I too would like to establish a location to these files to test on my Note 2... 

[degenatrons]

And where would one find all of these modified APK files should one want to by chance install them on ones MK908 thatone also happens to have laying round? 

I too would like to establish a location to these files to test on my Note 2... 

I'm tidying a few things with the way themes work and adding some basic configuration.   Image proportions seem to be out on the mk808 when compared to mk908 but maybe this is down to the changes I made to the build.prop file on the mk808 stick.  Anyway,  I need to do some testing,  make things reasonably stable,  and then will make files available for others to help test an early alpha release with a few bundled themes. 

[Maximus]

And where would one find all of these modified APK files should one want to by chance install them on ones MK908 thatone also happens to have laying round? 

Gnfy p pp **dreee$exkooo quiz s

I too would like to establish a location to these files to test on my Note 2... 
10 aqqq0qpwa
Sea) aik(15 I wm/ql@(#(won 9l

[yotsuya]

Looks like you picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.

[Maximus]

Lol just saw this.  My daughter was playing with my phone, she does make some good points though.

[yotsuya]

Lol just saw this.  My daughter was playing with my phone, she does make some good points though.

I DO agree with her about 10 aqqq0qpwa.

[jesjhoward]

Are there future plans for supporting other systems as well? If no, could you make the modified retroarch available that uses the home screen shortcut method? Again, this is great work degen.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[degenatrons]

And where would one find all of these modified APK files should one want to by chance install them on ones MK908 thatone also happens to have laying round? 

Gnfy p pp **dreee$exkooo quiz s

I too would like to establish a location to these files to test on my Note 2... 
10 aqqq0qpwa
Sea) aik(15 I wm/ql@(#(won 9l

Gnfy 

[degenatrons]

Are there future plans for supporting other systems as well? If no, could you make the modified retroarch available that uses the home screen shortcut method? Again, this is great work degen.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Yep,  I've been thinking about adding in support for other systems.  Those systems that support shortcuts (the vast majority of them) could be made to work already. 

[Maximus]

Couple of quick questions.

- How many admin buttons do we need, or is it shifted keys to quit game etc?
- I'm assuming the Mame build supports coin switches/keys?
- Are we following the Mame standard for generating the playlist where we just name all the related files the same? ROM/ART/LOGO/SNAP etc?
- Are you thinking of a search option, say just by first letter/number of the game name? If so how would  you launch it?
- Is it trivial to support video snaps alongside regular static snaps for games in the menu?
- Will Bezels/art not show on traditional 4:3 screens?

Great work, can't wait to start testing, I'm going to build a dedicated Android testing board for this.

[rablack97]

smart people suck....

[Brian74]

smart people suck....

+1 

[degenatrons]

Couple of quick questions.

- How many admin buttons do we need, or is it shifted keys to quit game etc?
- I'm assuming the Mame build supports coin switches/keys?
- Are we following the Mame standard for generating the playlist where we just name all the related files the same? ROM/ART/LOGO/SNAP etc?
- Are you thinking of a search option, say just by first letter/number of the game name? If so how would  you launch it?
- Is it trivial to support video snaps alongside regular static snaps for games in the menu?
- Will Bezels/art not show on traditional 4:3 screens?

Great work, can't wait to start testing, I'm going to build a dedicated Android testing board for this.

- How many admin buttons do we need, or is it shifted keys to quit game etc?
For the frontend I'm using Android default controls and have tested with usb keyboard, usb joystick, mouse and touchscreen.  Also tested with 3 KADE encoder firmwares (USB/HID Joystick Encoder, PS3 Gamepad Encoder and USB Keyboard Encoder).  I have yet to test KADE rotary joystick support with Android.

So games can be selected using up/down keys (which can be defined), up/down on the joystick,  or by tapping/clicking the games in the carousel.  When selecting with mouse or touch the carousel can move multiple positions at a time to focus on the clicked item.
Games are launched by pressing Enter on keyboard (can be defined), pressing button on joystick or clicking on the central/selected image.
MAME keys can be defined in RetroArch config and input can be from keyboard, joystick, mouse.  It should also be possible to configure MAME keys via the frontend in the future. 
Sharpfork is talking to RetroArch dev's about adding plug/play support for KADE encoder aligned with our default input mappings.

I've also been testing with a KADE+ prototype (to be announced soon) which supports most of the original console controllers so have been using nes, snes, n64, gamecube, saturn, mastersystem, megadrive, tg16, atari 2600, psx controllers with Android.  We have wii remote support too so that opens some interesting wireless/bluetooth possibilities   Big thanks to bootsector on the KADE team for his outstanding work on KADE+ prototype 

- I'm assuming the Mame build supports coin switches/keys?
Yup

- Are we following the Mame standard for generating the playlist where we just name all the related files the same? ROM/ART/LOGO/SNAP etc?
Yup,  All resources are given the same filename (prefix) as the rom
 
- Are you thinking of a search option, say just by first letter/number of the game name? If so how would  you launch it?
Haven't really given this any thought.  Scrolling pages is easily done.  Filtering would be easily done too.  For searching,  I could call up an on-screen keyboard - kind of android default way of working - and allow user to enter search string using joystick, keyboard, mouse or screen.

- Is it trivial to support video snaps alongside regular static snaps for games in the menu?
I already have support for static snaps and video snaps.  For video I'm currently working with animated .gif but also have .flv tested and working too.  .flv is good for me because I have thousands of Hyperspin video snaps in this format.
Should also be possible to animate items displayed in the carousel.  This may impact on performance so will need to be tested.

- Will Bezels/art not show on traditional 4:3 screens?
Bezels can be made to appear at any resolution and can overlay any part or all of the screen for the duration of the game.

Great work, can't wait to start testing, I'm going to build a dedicated Android testing board for this.

I had a little set back yesterday when Tasker screwed up my backup files    I lost a couple of days work    Probably should set up a proper dev environment and start committing code so this doesn't happen again.

[rablack97]

Who is this Tasker guy, where is he.....

[kayser2008]

Does any of you know a way to make those portable games for windows  (mame with a .batch file) but for Android ?
Is there a way to do that ?

thanks.

[mike boss]

This project is super awesome and I appreciate you posting the list of emulators used.
Are these all free complete versions or are some LITE versions ? (or does it even matter?)

I have a tablet I bought and never touch, I'm hoping emulation brings some life (and use) to the tablet.

Any info would be great, thank you.

[degenatrons]

This project is super awesome and I appreciate you posting the list of emulators used.
Are these all free complete versions or are some LITE versions ? (or does it even matter?)

I have a tablet I bought and never touch, I'm hoping emulation brings some life (and use) to the tablet.

Any info would be great, thank you.

All the emu's were free with the exception of PCE.EMU (for PC Engine/TurboGrafx) and FPse (Playstation).  Only talking £2 or £3 each.  You can go for the free alternatives if you're on a budget.  I have full versions of everything installed.

I had a long break from the Android project and hoping to get back into it soon.  Just seems like there is so much other stuff going on!

[mike boss]

I think I'll need to take a closer look when I get home tonight.
When I searched on my tablet all the app's said LITE.
For some I don't even recall noticing an other option, but it was late, I was tired, I could be wrong.

Thank you for the info.

EDIT - I think I'm perhaps better to DL the emulators online (not thru app store) then install them.
It shows some are RAR, so I take it I unzip then install.

[jesjhoward]

Any info on the modified retroarch? I'm in the prices of rebuilding an arcade cabinet and would love to get shortcuts to mame =]

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[Mr. Dude]

I've gotta say this is amazing degenatrons!  I picked up an Android stick about a week ago and plan to do something like you are planning with the atari box.  Do you plan on releasing andMAME on the appstore?  I would buy it for sure! 

[mancity]

Iv'e read through this entire thread after a search looking for this in Google and have joined the site on the back of it.

This looks awesome - Do you think this is something you will release at all? Im sure plenty would pay for this.

I have a broken tablet which I have removed the mobo from and am looking to create a MAME machine from it. I already have a MAME machine built around a Windows XP laptop, but am looking to create something smaller with this.

[crawlingpeter]

Whoa. This project looks amazing! I just registered on this site simply to post in this thread.

Are there any current updates on this front end from anyone in the know? It seems to have been a bit forgotten as of the past couple months. 

I know myself as well as many others would love to donate to show our appreciation if that's ever an option as well!

[crawlingpeter]

Since this project has unfortunately not seen much life lately, I was looking for an alternative and came across this:  http://libretro.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=1357

It's an early but very nice front end built straight into Retroarch for Android. Perhaps some of the ideas in this thread could be applied to that?

[kz1911]

definitely an app I'd buy, there needs to be a nice frontend for android already, especially since there are so many new android based mini pc units out

[Generic Eric]

This looks neat.

How is it coming along? When I read the post about playing flappy bird, I was reminded of this.  Thanks.

[Santoro]

Subscribe.  Hope this picks up again!

[talkgeek]

I've been watching too - feeling concerned this thread / project has died 

Like Maximus I too would like to shelve my 60-n-1 in favour of something that gives me more FE UI flexibility - and would pay for the privilege