HyperSpin Tutorial - Work in progress

[Fursphere]

I've noticed a lot of people over here struggling with getting HyperSpin up and running.  After searching the HyperSpin forums for awhile, I realized that there is a ton of information available, but not a single "step by step" guide to getting the current version of HyperSpin up and running, and its supporting programs (HyperLaunch, HyperSync, HyperList...  etc... etc).

So I did something about it.  I still have quite a bit of work to do, and probably need to add some screenshots - but here is the first draft.  Its 8 pages of text. 

Please let me know what you think, and if its needs improvement or clarification in some areas.  Its in Microsoft Word DOCX format - so give me a minute while I figure out how to post it.

EDIT - its attached here in .ZIP format. 

If you don't have MS Word installed - here is a free viewer - http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4

[Fursphere]

<reserved>

[EMDB]

Very good initiative   I would just put it directly on the forum and maybe one of the admins can make it a sticky...

[Fursphere]

I've been working on reformatting the whole thing in BB Code (native forum) so I can just post it.   Should be done tonight.

[Tzakiel]

Thanks, I'll be watching this. About to set up a complex setup for HS and groovymame so I will be checking this out. Keep up the good work!

[unkpinball]

Lots of work here, and its -very- much appreciated. I'd post it over at HS too, many people will want to see this. 

[twistedsymphony]

This is relevant to my interests, I plan on setting up a hyperspin machine very soon. thanks!

[Fursphere]

I'm hoping I can finish it up this weekend.  I did a ton of BB Code (native forum code) reformating, so I can just post it instead of using the DOCX format. 

[Tzakiel]

Just some more feedback... When I followed this guide hyperspin threw an error when launching a game which said something about cpwizard path not being set. I had to disable cpwizard in hyperlaunch.

Also many part of hyperlaunch and hyperspin, hyper sync interface are not usable at 640x480i which is the maximum a crt 15khz TV can do. So I had to switch between a LCD monitor and the tv to get things running. Just something to note.

[haku99]

thanks!

can't wait for updates

[DarakuTenshi]

Any word on the update? I've been wanting to use this, seeing as though I'm horrid at using Hyperspin, and my new cabinet computer does not have microsoft word. I also don't want to activate the demo version. (As little garbage on this computer as possible just for the cab). If not oh well I may have to use the really bad tutorials that I've found on youtube and stuff.

[Tzakiel]

I've been using the word doc and aside from a few little hiccups it's been a huge help.

[Fursphere]

Sorry, I've been so busy with work and the holidays this has slipped a bit...   

[Tzakiel]

One thing I wish the guide covered as an appendix would be how hyperlaunch can seriously mess up the emulator settings. It took me a long time before I figured out hyperlaunch module settings override your emulator setup, and where to toggle those.

For instance, I set up snes9x how I liked and then when I would launch from hyperspin, the screen settings and other stuff got changed.

[Fursphere]

Ya. That's something my buddy and I are still getting our heads around. Because it's not consistent from emulator to emulator.

[Brian74]

Keep at it Fursphere  I am using a older version and hope to update it. Right now I have it all working, I dont wanna mess it up trying to update thou.

[Sc@r]

thx for this, it helped alot, i tried this last yr and couldnt get it to work at all but this step by step worked perfectly, now all i need is a step by step for ledblinky, i got the lites to work in hyperspin but i cant seem to get the ledbliky to hilight the lites only for each individual game.

[Sc@r]

lol, disregard about my led ingame lights not working, i just figured it out, i had setup ledblinky on led64 instead of pacdrive and it all works now, my ingame buttons lite up only but thx for the walkthrough for hyperspin though .

[Caparo8bit]

Great thanks...! i just followed your step by step tutorial and is workig NOW.....!in less 25 min.  I was lossing mi hair trying to set this up following bad youtube tutorials.

[thrasherx]

Why not export it to PDF?

[edekoning]

Now I understand why people give up on trying to setup HyperSpin. I mean, having to setup Git for a front end is just mental The whole thing reads like a major WTF.

No disrespect to the work you have done, as I am sure many will find it very helpful.

[Fursphere]

Ya, it's a bit extreme. 

But when you consider every single system that HyperLaunch supports, and every system needs a custom script.   It kind of makes sense as a way to manage it. 

[retrogamedude]

Now I understand why people give up on trying to setup HyperSpin. I mean, having to setup Git for a front end is just mental The whole thing reads like a major WTF.

No disrespect to the work you have done, as I am sure many will find it very helpful.

You must not have any programming or application experience as most will use GIT to push new files to programs set up like this.  Even in the corporate environment I work in uses something similar to push out our code drops.  It takes all of 5 mins to set up lol but hey I guess we all can't be computer people.

Also, you don't have to set up GIT it's just a faster way to get updates as it takes them a while to package a update and put it on the download page.  It's normally after larger updates since they modify things so frequently. 

[edekoning]

You must not have any programming or application experience as most will use GIT to push new files to programs set up like this.  Even in the corporate environment I work in uses something similar to push out our code drops.  It takes all of 5 mins to set up lol but hey I guess we all can't be computer people.

Apparently we can't but hey, I'm glad you computer people think this is such a smashing idea. Especially considering the target audience consists primarily of non-computer people. My favorite part is where you have to manually copy the pulled files to some folder, accepting all overwrite prompts. Sounds like the ideal use case for any revision control system

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread Fursphere.

To provide some useful feedback: I think its a good idea to add a small section at the start of the document explaining for each of the various Hyper... applications what their purpose is. That way people will get a better idea of the big picture.

[Fursphere]

You must not have any programming or application experience as most will use GIT to push new files to programs set up like this.  Even in the corporate environment I work in uses something similar to push out our code drops.  It takes all of 5 mins to set up lol but hey I guess we all can't be computer people.

Apparently we can't but hey, I'm glad you computer people think this is such a smashing idea. Especially considering the target audience consists primarily of non-computer people. My favorite part is where you have to manually copy the pulled files to some folder, accepting all overwrite prompts. Sounds like the ideal use case for any revision control system

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread Fursphere.

To provide some useful feedback: I think its a good idea to add a small section at the start of the document explaining for each of the various Hyper... applications what their purpose is. That way people will get a better idea of the big picture.

I completely agree.  HyperSpin and its associated applications are a monster.

I need to get back to this document, I've just been swamped with the rest of my life (Wife, Kids, Work...  etc)..  someday!   

[MeatballB]

This document looks great!  How well does it reflect what's currently going on with Hyperspin/versions, etc?  I'm going to give it a whirl anyways, but just wondering if anyone has any updates that might be needed since the original came out?

[Fursphere]

Hyperspin is Static.

Hyperspin 2.0 has been "coming soon" for almost 3 years I think.

Hyperlaunch changes a lot, but its mostly module improvements.

[abispac]

Hyperspin is Static.

Hyperspin 2.0 has been "coming soon" for almost 3 years I think.

Hyperlaunch changes a lot, but its mostly module improvements.

Ithink hyperspin is fine the way it is right now,  and it seems to me that BBB really dont wanna put HS2 out. Wich its ok for me, i really dont need any fancy features.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I think the biggest innovation from the Hyperspin team is the organization and integration of Hypercloud sync.  It's a painfree way to get all the artwork, themes and videos from Emumovies in the click of a button.  It's has a one time subscription fee, but it's all worth it (lifetime subscription).

As for Hyperlaunch, once you spend the time to learn it, it's a really powerful tool where you can do mostly everything you can imagine.  It's really not to bad once you get to know it.

DeLuSioNaL29

[KevinFlynn]

You must not have any programming or application experience as most will use GIT to push new files to programs set up like this.  Even in the corporate environment I work in uses something similar to push out our code drops.  It takes all of 5 mins to set up lol but hey I guess we all can't be computer people.

Apparently we can't but hey, I'm glad you computer people think this is such a smashing idea. Especially considering the target audience consists primarily of non-computer people. My favorite part is where you have to manually copy the pulled files to some folder, accepting all overwrite prompts. Sounds like the ideal use case for any revision control system

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread Fursphere.

To provide some useful feedback: I think its a good idea to add a small section at the start of the document explaining for each of the various Hyper... applications what their purpose is. That way people will get a better idea of the big picture.

I completely agree.  HyperSpin and its associated applications are a monster.

I need to get back to this document, I've just been swamped with the rest of my life (Wife, Kids, Work...  etc)..  someday!   

Hey Fursphere, the guide is great! Have you had any opportunity to work more on it?
I have my HS set-up working well but it's nice to see a better guide.
I've been filling a notepad with tons of things, from the ins and outs of the physical build of my arcade cab and the controls, to how to change media/artwork, edit xml's, work Hyperlaunch and HLHQ, to general PC things to know and helpful info.
I hope you continue with this project! Godspeed  

[Fursphere]

I sort of lost interest in working on it after I made this thread. 

When I started this I was totally under the mindset "HyperSpin isn't that complicated".  Then I started this guide and that quickly changed to "This is super complicated".

I've been playing with HyperSpin to years - so its just second nature to me now.  But getting into from scratch - man, there is a lot of concepts to learn.  If the emulators themselves weren't bad enough.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try and help. 

[EMDB]

Although this tutorial is very detailed I think you should start with the basics of Hyperspin before touching HyperLaunch (which is way more complex than Hyperspin) or HyperSync.

I once wrote a small "getting started with Hyperspin" for somebody. If there is enough interest I could clean it up and complete it with some screenshots:


Hyperspin has a single menu per emulator (called system). A system menu consists of a spinning wheel with games. You can configure which wheels you want and which emulator to launch for each wheel in HyperHQ.

<<SCREENSHOT HYPERHQ>>

Every wheel has a database of games to show in the wheel. The database, an XML file, is stored in hyperspin-folder\Databases\<System>\<System>.xml. Example: C:\Hyperspin\Databases\MAME\MAME.xml
You can edit these files with any text editor like NotePad. A single game entry looks like this:

  <game name="galaga" index="" image="">
    <description>Galaga</description>
    <cloneof></cloneof>
    <crc>ab036c9f</crc>
    <manufacturer>Namco</manufacturer>
    <year>1981</year>
    <genre>Shooter</genre>
  </game>

The data is used to show the game information in Hyperspin. The name element is passed as parameter when executing the emulator and should be exactly the same as the game zip file.

<<SCREENSHOT GALAGA THEME WITH GAME INFORMATION>>

Now you are good to go. If you launch Hyperspin, select the MAME wheel, select a game and hit the start button (which can be configured in HyperHQ like all other buttons, commonly Player 1
Button 1 is used for this) and the emulator is launched with the selected game. After exiting the emulator you return in Hyperspin.

<<SCREENSHOT WHEEL WITH TEXT>>

Hyperspin comes with default system and game themes for various systems. The fun part is to add individual themes per game.

You can download these themes here: xxx

A theme should be named exactly like the game name zo galaga.zip for the above example. It should bestored in hyperspin-folder\Media\<System>\Themes. For our example this should be
C:\Hyperspin\Media\MAME\Themes\galaga.zip

<<SCREENSHOT THEME WITHOUT MOVIE>>

Besides a theme you can add an in-game image or in-game movie. You can download them here: xxx

The image or movie should be stored in hyperspin-folder\Media\<System>\Video. For our example it should be C:\Hyperspin\Media\MAME\Video\galaga.flv

<<SCREENSHOT THEME WITH MOVIE>>

To have an image instead of just text on the wheels you can add a wheel image. The wheel images are usually included in the theme zip. The should be placed in hyperspin-folder\<System>\Media\Images\Wheel.
For our example this is C:\Hyperspin\Media\MAME\Images\Wheel\galaga.png

<<SCREENSHOT WHEEL WITH IMAGES>>

Advanced themes with boxart, cartidges, etc

Some themes, especially for console systems, are more advanced and use additional images like boxart or cartridges.
These are stored in hyperspin-folder\<System>\Media\Images\Artwork1 - Artwork4 depending on the theme. The names are again exactly the same as the game name. example:
C:\HyperSpin\Media\Super Nintendo Entertainment System\Images\Artwork2\Donkey Kong Country (USA) (Rev 2).png

<<SCREENSHOT THEME WITH BOXART / CARTRIDGE>>

[KevinFlynn]

Thank you both, very helpful!! 

[Fursphere]

Although this tutorial is very detailed I think you should start with the basics of Hyperspin before touching HyperLaunch (which is way more complex than Hyperspin) or HyperSync.

You know I thought about this approach - but having gone through the pre-hypersync setup (before it existed) - I really don't wish that on anyone.  Its a lot of file downloading, putting in the right place, possible renaming, etc.  Its just a big mess.  The little extra time spent on hypersync is well worth it. 

hyperlaunch is _extremely_ complicated.   all AutoHotKey scripting.  But 98% of the work has been done for you.  Once you get it installed, you're pretty much done.  Now...  installing it is not straight forward at all...   I'll agree with that.

[EMDB]

I think a lot of users just want a fancy frontend for there MAME cab. For that the basic HyperSpin setup is quite easy and don't require any AHK scripting or difficult configuration. Just install, download the right MAME.xml database, do some settings in HyperHQ and off you go.

We should first explain about HyperSpin, HyperHQ, the folder structure, the databases, the media files, setting up the basic system etc. to get familiar with the system. Afterwards you can extend your setup with multiple emulators and themes with or without the help of HyperLaunch and/or  HyperSync.

[Fursphere]

I'm re-reading it over breakfast...   

[lisowskikevin]

Hey Fursphere, Sorry to bug ya. During your research throughout the years on Hyperspin have you come across any tutorial to install Sega Model 3 into Hyperspin? I have searched high and low for months without success. If not no worries thanks anyway.

Kevin

[Fursphere]

I have (had?) it working on my cabinet.  I don't recall anything special about it.  Just set it up like a normal system, then configure it to use Hyper-launch.

[lisowskikevin]

Ok I'll give it another crack. I have installed Model 2, MAME, Sega CD all with no problems but for whatever reason Model 3 and I are like Seinfeld and Newman. We just don't see eye to eye lol.

Thanks I'll give it another go.

Kevin

[twistedsymphony]

I had it working on my cab for a while but I haven't set it up again since I decided to rebuild... supermodel is kind of a pain to get  setup on it's own but there wasn't anything remarkable about getting it working within HS/HL. What about it exactly is giving you problems?