Universal Console Dashboard Project.

[Howard_Casto]

Well I got the load/save state menus all sprite-ified.  The snapshot loading/saving looks pretty good as well.  I might have to put it behind the dimmer box though... sometimes it's hard to see the state numbers. 

I need to do some cleanup either tonight or tomorrow, but I think the first menu is fully done! 

It'll be superficial to transfer this over to the Nintendo emulator, I just need to make new graphics. 

[Howard_Casto]

Well I was going to get all fancy and use the "registerhotkey" function in lua so you could also bind a keyboard key to bring up the menu.  Unfortunately the function seems to be halfway broke.  It keeps throwing a error every so often for no apparent reason.  So I hard-coded it to tilde.  That seems like a good one as it'll be mame compliant. 

I think I'm done with Gens at least.  I mean I could obsess over the graphics but I've made it skinnable so somebody else can worry about it.  I'll post snaps and the Menu system later tonight. 

[Howard_Casto]

Well the walking dead is on in a few, so that might be the last you hear from me tonight (unless I log on to complain about TWD in everything else )

I'm just trying to keep people updated.

I started thinking... I'm already reading the rom name from the cart in memory to name the screenshots so I guess I might as well read it all.  I made a little function (which will probably be optional) that reads the "base system" entry in the game header and auto-select between one of three menu images.  One for the Genesis, one or the 32x and one for the Sega CD.  It probably isn't 100% reliable because the SCD shows up as a megadrive but it'll do. 

Something oddball popped up that I'm wondering if someone can confirm.  The only Sega CD gam I have to test with is Batman and Robin.  When the cd is booting the menu shows fine, but once you are in-game the menu is stretched past the screen on the right.  Maybe a buffering thing?  If it's just some cd games I won't bother, but if it's all of them we might have to make a custom skin just for the Sega Cd. 

[Howard_Casto]

Ok I'll release the Gens Menu either late tonight or sometime tomorrow.

In the mean time we've progressed enough for a Demo vid. 

[nullPointer]

Dude!  That is badass!!     Great job on this Howard.  Just awesome!

[Howard_Casto]

Ok here is the "final" version.  Of course we all know it never works out that way. 

I've included the img2gdi converter and an actual readme file this time.  I've also moved all the loose files to their own folders so the Gens folder isn't all cluttered.  To launch stuff from a relative folder you use lua-style syntax, so now the flag will be:  "-lua ".\Menu\GensMenu.lua" "

I'll post my photoshop templates and ect if anyone is interested later.  This will eventually get posted to my website, but I learned with the Fix it Felix wrapper that it makes for a better use of my time to just post small stuff here until the releases start slowing down.  FCEUX is next!

[BadMouth]

For those not following closely or discovering the thread later, a running list of supported emulators in the first post would be nice. 

[Howard_Casto]

If I had that info to give, I would, but atm I'm tackling this on a case-by-case basis.  I know the FCEUX fully supports roughly the same scripting as Gens, so that's what I'm currently working on.  snse9x was a pseudo-bust so I'll have to look into lsnes.  Mupen64's gui engine seems to flicker like crazy, so n64 support may be completely out of the question. 

This is very much a WIP thread.

[Howard_Casto]

Ok so aside from not figuring out how to pause the game like in Gens, I got everything working in fceux.  Below is my initial design for the menu.  It may be too artsy-fartsy, I dunno.  The emulator has a very low color palette so I'm trying to get the color count down.  Again, like with Gens I went to the game box art for inspiration. 

We'll see how it turns out in testing before I go on with this design. 

[Howard_Casto]

Eh it's not looking too great. 

The working resolution of 240x224 is pretty low so I can't scale things down well.  It looks like this one might have to be done manually at the native resolution.  Pixel by pixel. 

[Howard_Casto]

So I did a new menu pixel by pixel for the most part.  It turned out decent, pretty retro as you can see below. 

And yes that's a game genie menu item... fceux supports game genie codes, so I don't see any reason not to include support.  I'll create a simple text file format and you'll be able to pre-load GG codes and turn them on and off at will in the menu. 

[Howard_Casto]

I started adding the Game Genie stuff, which is taking longer than I had hoped. 

I had to learn how to read a text file into a 2d array in lua, which is a pain in the butt compared to other language, syntax speaking.  Also FCEUX does something incredibly retarded.  When you add a GG code it saves it to file so that it'll enable each time the game is played.  So I'll have to delete all game genie codes prior to exit. 

[liquid8]

Lookin' great, Howard.. I've been out a few days with a nasty flu and a dentist visit.

Gens looks real nice - only suggestion would be to make it a little easier to see the save state positions.. and I still like to see a save date/time for a save game if it is possible to read the save state file date

The NES menu could use some work - I'm sure someone is good at some pixel art and could make it look super nice. The game genie is a cool touch 

Any word on "pausing" FCEUX? I could take a shot also if you are still having trouble.. it'd be nicer if any emulator function could be implemented in lua as well but I guess that is a per-emu basis decision

[Howard_Casto]

Well strictly speaking I can fake a pause, but nobody would be able to stand using it. 

I wrote a function that makes a temporary save state when you first enter the menu.  While the menu is up the state is constantly re-loaded at each render loop, essentially freezing the game. Once you exit out of the menu, the state is released and things unpause.  The only problem is the sound buffers.  Gens had an option to clear them, but fceux doesn't.  So yup, you've got stuttering sound the whole time you are in the menu.  Now if anybody knows the memory location to zero out to clear the sound buffers, it could probably be fixed, but it's disabled for now. 

The winapi dll is built into fceux... I thought I would be able to use it to pass keyboard keys to the emulator and essentially fake hotkeys, but it doesn't really work.  About the only thing I've found useful about it is I can read the window title to get the rom name. 

As for the graphics and what-not, they are done as far as I'm concerned (except for the game genie menu of course).  If someone wants to tweak them they are welcome. 

[Howard_Casto]

Ok it took the evening, but for the most part game genie implementation is complete. 

You make yourself a text file like this:

-----------------------------------------------
0|Infinite lives for Mario and Luigi|SLXPLOVS
0|1 life for Mario and Luigi after continue|AEKPTZGA
0|9 lives for Mario and Luigi after continue|AEKPTZGE
...
...
------------------------------------------------

Then you name it after the rom and put it in the "GameGenie" folder and it shows up like the included snapshot. 

I still need to do some minor things like save the current states or possibly use the "cht" file format that the emulator uses natively.  Anyway, this one will be done really soon.

[Howard_Casto]

Still some more cleanup stuff to do, but:

[stigzler]

This looks fantastic!

Having recently spent weeks mapping emu hotkeys the cab function buttons, this would have been a godsend!

I'm wondering if there are any plans to add things to the dashboard menus. For instance, lot of emus have hotkeys for things lile start avi recording of tKe snapshot. Eg2 pcsx2 apply filters or change anti aliasing

I guess some kinda user configurable menu item text and corresponding sendkey (sending relevant hotkey?)

Great job.

[Howard_Casto]

send keys just isn't working, I've tried.  So I'm limited to what I can hook up by what is implemented in that particular emulator's lua scripting.  Like the reason fceux's menu has game genie codes and Gens doesn't is simply because Gens doesn't support game genie.

I could add movie options of course, most of the "rr" emulators have that stuff implemented, but I'm not sure how useful that would be.  I've only got so much screen real-estate to deal with, so I'm trying to add only functional additions.  In the case of fceux I would really like to add the ability to switch controller types, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. 

[Howard_Casto]

Ok so a guy over on the TAS forums clued me in on how to fake a pause... it actually works pretty well. 

I've got to cleanup all the junk code I made with my method and test a bit more, but I think this will do it. 

[Howard_Casto]

So I was playing around with the built in win_api functions in fceux.  There is a "shell" function that works much better than the OS.execute you normally get.  So I made a generic keypresser and went to town. 

Although it will probably be optional, I can now exit the emulator via simulating the "esc" key, which should allow you to retain any settings you might have changed upon exit. 

Also I might add input preset support.  I actually setup the keypresser to press f4, f5 and f6 and mapped those keys and it worked well.  The only thing is that from my testing presets might not even be needed.  I fired up a lightgun game and it had sense enough to understand that it needed to use mouse input.  I'll have to test on a 4-score game or something exotic I guess. 

[Howard_Casto]

Ok the FCEUX script is done! 

You can download below.  Note that there are two features, exiting via simulating a keypress, and the presets menu that are turned off by default.  This is because they rely on an external key presser program, which might not play nice with your system, and require additional setup.  See the readme for details. 

Edit:  OOPS!  I forgot to update the menu image, which has squished the "I and N" together in "Entertainment System"  You can download the link below, but it's going to be removed in a second.

Update:  1.1 is up, download and enjoy!

[Howard_Casto]

It doesn't look like anybody has actually downloaded any of the scripts I've been writing... maybe I'm wasting my time, but in case I'm not:

I need help on this one.  I have assessed our snes options and they all have something wrong with them.  The "most working" appears to be snes9xRR, only it doesn't support the launching of lua scripts from the command line, so I wrote this ahk script:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IniWrite, FALSE, snes9x.cfg, Display\Win, Fullscreen:Enabled ;Ensure fullscreen is off
IniWrite, SnesMenu.lua, snes9x.cfg, Settings\Script, LastScriptFile ;Write to the ini file the lua script name

Run, snes9x.exe,,, PID ;Launch snes9x
WinWait ahk_pid %PID% ;Wait until emulator loads
sleep, 50
WinMenuSelectItem, ahk_class Snes9X: WndClass, , File, Lua Scripting, New Lua Script Window... ;Open lua dialog box
WinWait ahk_class #32770 ;Wait for the dialog to load

sleep 50

ControlClick, Run, Lua Script  ; Clicks the OK button  ;click the Run button on the dialog box
 

sleep 50

WinMenuSelectItem, ahk_class Snes9X: WndClass, , Config, Video, Full Screen  ;Go to Full Screen mode

WinWaitClose ahk_pid %PID% ;Wait for exit.

IniWrite, FALSE, snes9x.cfg, Display\Win, Fullscreen:Enabled ;Set the fullscreen mode back to false.             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now technically this script works, but it's unreliable.  I would say it manages to press the "run" button to start the lua script about 50% of the time.  So are there any ahk experts out there that can make this more robust?  Thanks. 

[Howard_Casto]

It doesn't seem like anyone is interested in this, but oh well, I want to at least get a snes emulator working. 

I managed to robust-ify the ahk script.  It's 95% reliable now, which is good enough. 

So I think I've finally got all the kinks out of the snes9x script as well.  The one thing I couldn't manage to do was fake a paused state while in the menu, so I did the next best thing.  Upon entering the menu I save the state to memory and upon exiting it I reload the state.  So even though the game runs in the background, you'll get returned to your original state prior to entering the menu, so it doesn't matter. 

Here's the snes menu.  It looks pretty good considering the 256x224 resolution.  I've still got to do the load/save state screen, but this one is about done.

[nipsmg]

I am actually really interested in this... i've been wanting to make a console-only box with some common UX across the experience for a while...

Problem is same with everything else.. no time.  Too many unfinished projects. 

I hope this one doesn't end up dead, I just wish I had time to contribute to it.

[Howard_Casto]

Well that's the issue with me as well.  I don't mind doing these projects but seeing as how I essentially have to do everything from scratch and never get any help, I have to pick and choose which ones to tackle anymore. 

Anyway, a real quick snes9x preview:




The script needs a bit of cleanup, but I'll have it done tonight most likely.  This is probably as far as I'll go for now.  There are certainly other emulators that need a menu, but either they don't have lua support, their lua support is broken, or the emulator itself is out of date. 

Sega Master System was one I wanted to do, but I thought about it and the lack of select/start buttons would make it really hard to achieve my goal of bringing up the menu on the original controller.  Plus I can't find a SMS emulator with lua support. 

I wanted to do the n64 as well, mostly because of it's awkward save hardware (you have to remove the rumble pack, even on a virtual n64, before saving) but Mupen 64rr, the only one that works, doesn't seem to have really great gui support.... I'll look into it though.   

[gonzo90017]

Awesome project!

[Howard_Casto]

Thanks. 

Snes9xrr is done. 

I'll work on making a page tonight maybe. 

[Howard_Casto]

Update: 

The UCDP now has a home at my website... all downloads can now be found here:

http://dragonking.arcadecontrols.com/static.php?page=AboutUCDP

[Howard_Casto]

Ok I've probably gone as far as I can in regards to the popular emulators out there, but I did run across this:

http://code.google.com/p/mame-rr/

So yeah lua scripting for Mame/Mess 144.  I just don't know if it'd be worth doing.  That's 10 full versions behind the current build and I know that MESS recently made some pretty dramatic leaps in emulation.  I mean maybe for some of the older systems like the master system and the 2600, but other than that....

Comments?  Suggestions?  Dirty Looks?

[nullPointer]

I just wanted to say thanks again for all your hard work on this Howard!  This project also has a bit of a following over on the GameEx forums.  Hopefully it's cool that I took the liberty of re-posting over there.  Thanks again!

[Malenko]

any way to make the GUI skinnable? that NES one is pretty ugly.

[Howard_Casto]

They are already skinnable, and pro tip.... don't insult someone when asking for a feature. 

If you'd follow along in the thread you would know on the nes you are limited to 4 colors and a very low resolution.  That's about as good is you are going to get. 

[Howard_Casto]

I just wanted to say thanks again for all your hard work on this Howard!  This project also has a bit of a following over on the GameEx forums.  Hopefully it's cool that I took the liberty of re-posting over there.  Thanks again!

Nah man it's cool.  My only rule on this thing is to make sure you let people know who's doing it.  I had a problem several years back in regards to someone posting my stuff elsewhere and passing if of as their own.  Now that might get you a home visit. 

[Malenko]

They are already skinnable, and pro tip.... don't insult someone when asking for a feature. 

If you'd follow along in the thread you would know on the nes you are limited to 4 colors and a very low resolution.  That's about as good is you are going to get.

WAS following the thread, I dont re-read the entire thing every time there is a reply. Dont know how saying the skin is ugly is in any an insult towards you. good luck with it.

[Howard_Casto]

I checked out that build of mess.  It's got some odd quirks, but I think it may be usable for a few emulators. 

Because mame/mess converted all drivers to full color ages ago, there are no longer any color limitations.  So it might be work the effort to convert a few of the ones I've already done over for their mess counterparts. 

I looked at the 2600 driver.  I can make a menu for it but save states would be a bit redundant.  While the Reset/Select buttons are hooked up to the "gamepad" and I can control them (and thus put reset and select toggles in the menu, allowing you to start the games with a 2600 joystick. ) The A and B selector toggles have been setup as dipswitches, which I cannot control. 

Master System has some rendering issues, so I don't know if I can do anything with it.  I may do a single generic menu for MESS and let you guys go to town. 

[Howard_Casto]

I messed around with the Atari 2600 in Mess.  While it IS possible to do a menu I don't exactly see the point.  I mean would you need save states for a 2600 game?  What adventure maybe?  And while I can control the reset/select dips you'll still need a button combo to open up the menu.  Since the 2600 controller has one singular button... well how exactly could you bring it up?

So I looked at VBA-rr.  It behaves identically to snes9x so my 9x script just plugs in aside from having to read a different address for the rom header.  Now the good news is almost everything works fine.  The bad news is that one thing that doesn't work is saving states.  It's a bug in the code and as apparently fixed on Jan 10th... and no binary has been released since.  So I don't know when/if we'll get a fixed version.  If somebody wants to download the svn source and compile a version I can whip something up fairly quickly.... otherwise. 

[Howard_Casto]

So since the well of stand-alone emulators has dried up and the mess version is kind of crappy, I've moved onto Bizhawk.  This is some conglomerate emulator the TAS guys have made.  Basically they took all the open-source console emulators out there and combined them into one. 

The reason I'm doing this one last is because it's very much in it's early stages.  Even things as simple as using a zapper or getting a proper aspect ratio aren't quite there yet.  Also many of the emulators are a tad slower so the dedicated versions are a better option atm.  That being said, unlike the other emulators I've done thus far, this one is still very much in active development.  Also it has nicer lua functions available, like being able to set the render filter and scanlines ect... from within lua.  Also I can just use plain old png images with it, so the menus would look much better and I don't have to jump through hoops to make and load a screenshot. 

The current aspect ratio problems make me leery of doing full-fledged emu specific menus atm, so what I might do is make a very very simple menu that'll work with all of them. 

After that I'm done and I'll leave it to you guys.  Bizhawk, while not the most popular emulator on the surface, actually uses the source code to a lot of popular emulators like bsnes, fceux, gens, ect.....  It supports every major home console released and a good chunk of the portables, so it will probably be enough to cover most people's needs. 

[KIguy]

I just wanted to reply and say thank you! Definitely going to throw these on my htpc this weekend!

Kudos my man 

[Howard_Casto]

Thanks, it's nice to be appreciated. 

[markronz]

Hello!  Love the project.  Just happened upon it yesterday and I've been playing around with it.   I have dedicated Save and Load buttons on my machine, and ideally I'd like to map those keys to launch your menu.   Right now I'm just using the NES version.   I saw in the lua file that you said we would set tempInput.tilde to something else, but what I'm not clear on is what format I need to put it in?    Like if I wanted to change tilde to 's' how would I do that?   I tried changing tempInput.tilde to tempInput.s and that didn't work.  Then I tried the virtual keycode table value, and I tried both simply '83' and to tempInput.83 and it didnt seem to like either of those either.  So what format do I need to use? 

Also, my other problem is a focus issue.   FCEUX launches into full screen for me.  But there is also a "Lua Script" screen that comes up as well.  You can't really see the window, because FCEUX is full screen, but the Lua Script screen apparently has focus.  I have to click with the mouse on the screen to get the focus back onto FCEUX.   So is there any way for the Lua Script to be hidden?  Or for FCEUX to just get the focus correctly?   In case I didn't make it clear, I can tell it doesn't have focus because it doesnt recognize any of the keypresses on my control panel, that is, until I click on the screen to get FCEUX back in focus.

Any help would be appreciated!