CP Wizard Windowing and Locking UP

[maffewl]

Suffice it to say that I am a complete noob.  I have installed CP Wizard and set up a test panel (with my key assignments and such) before I go through the rigorous process of visually recreating my own. 

Anyhow, I'm not having trouble with the buttons showing correctly (at least not at the moment, but I did notice that NeoGeo games tend to just say buttons 1,2,3,4), but that when I press the pause button in MAME, it visually minimizes a window, then maximizes the CPW viewer window.  Is there a way to avoid this as I would prefer for the cab to not look like it's running windows.  Then it will pretty much lock up the computer and I have to ctrl+alt+del and start ending tasks and processes to exit out of CP Viewer and Mala.

What I would prefer is to be able to pause MAME, see the control panel, then unpause and go back to playing.

I use Mala as the front-end and have tried all the "Method" settings according to CP Wizard.

Currently, it is set to
{Mame Output System, Show Key} On
{Detect Pause, Message System} On
Others unchecked

Any advice?

[headkaze]

The crash issue is most likely related to the following issue I mention on the site.

If you are experiencing CPWizard crashing when exiting Mame please try editing mame.ini and changing the d3dversion setting from 9 to 8.

The only way to avoid the minimising / maximising of the windows is to use the 'diff patch' method. That way CPWizard doesn't need to be running; it generates the CP images into bezel files that MAME can display when you pause. The only issue is you have to compile your own version of MAME and apply the custom diff patch to add this functionality. Then you need to export your CP's as bezels using CPWizard's export function.

I'm not sure if the patch will work on the latest version of MAME. Give it a try and if it doesn't work I'm sure we can get a new patch made. For instructions read the New Bezel Update section at the top of the official page.

[maffewl]

The only issue is you have to compile your own version of MAME and apply the custom diff patch to add this functionality. Then you need to export your CP's as bezels using CPWizard's export function.

Headkaze, thanks for your reply, and thanks for spending your time creating CP Wizard and following up with beginners like me.  That said, I'm a little confused at what compiling MAME and applying a patch means?  I read Mr. Do's DIY and am sure I could complete the tasks, but what is it exactly that I'm doing?  Creating my own version of MAME or?  Sorry for the dummy questions, just curious.  Also, if I complete these tasks, and I am in a game, will I have to go through the MAME menu to see the control panel as seen in your website screenshot, or can it be set to automatically show when the pause button is pressed?  Also, as an FYI, I'm currently using MAME 148, which looks like from your website is supported.

Again, thanks, and sorry for the beginner frustration but I would like to learn this a little better.

[headkaze]

I would recommend checking out Mame Compiler 64 for compiling MAME. It does make it much easier as it's all GUI driven.

Compiling MAME means you are taking the source code to MAME and compiling it to a binary. This means you can change the way MAME operates. A 'diff' patch is simply a text file that describes how to change the source. When you apply the 'bezel' patch for CPWizard it allows the bezels it creates to be shown when you pause MAME. You wont have to go into the menu system.

Also since you're compiling your own version of MAME I would also recommend applying MKChamp's hiscore diff patch. You can read what it does clicking the link. You should be able to apply both patches without any trouble.

[Dawgz Rule]

Try modifying your windows set up such that everything is hidden.  I am running GameEx and CPWizard.  When I pause a game, I do see CPWizard minimized for a brief moment but with Windows set up correctly, the average person cannot tell (no task bar, background black, mouse pointer minimized, etc.).  There is a good utility out there that will do this for you but I can't recall the name of it at the moment.  I'll post what it is when I get a chance later today.

[maffewl]

Headkaze and Dawgz Rule, thanks for the follow-up.  I'm preparing my layout now for exporting and MAME compiling per your recommendations.  However, a couple quick questions have arised while doing this process. 

1.)  Why is the Player Coin text, Joystick, and Pause/Exit text not appearing?  As an FYI, The two red buttons on top are Keys "H" (left) and "R" (Right) when pressed individually, they each Pause MAME.  However, Key "H" (Left) is my Ipac "Shift" key, so when "H" and "R" are pressed together, it creates "Esc".  However, nothing is showing in the preview window (see attached photo), any help?

2.)  NeoGeo games are showing as the actual keys, i.e., P1's buttons are "A,B,C - D,E,F".  So when a NeoGeo game is selected, it shows the actual key press, not what it should be in the game.  (See attached photo).  I know that NeoGeo machines had 4 buttons, but is there a way to show what each button does, and leave off the inactive ones, similar to the other photo?

Again, thanks for the help.  I can definitely see the potential in this super awesome program.

[Dawgz Rule]

I'll have to give some thought to the first item.  I have had this issue in the past but it was so long ago, I can't recall what I did to fix it. 

In regards to the Neo-Geo thing.....check your controller file.  This should be in the ctrlr folder.  I am thinking you have a custom config for Neo-Geo that is overriding your settings. 

Last, I did find the name of the utility to hide Windows....Instant Sheller.  You can probably find it at a number of sites but I downloaded it from here:

http://www.gameex.com/Community/InstantShellerandShellingGuide.aspx

[maffewl]

Dawgz Rule, thanks for the response.  I'll take a look in the ctrlr folder regarding the NeoGeo issue.  Also, I've used instantsheller and it doesn't get along well with my setup.  Causes quite a few flickers and some windows elements still manage to appear.  Any further thoughts on the above CP Wizard text/button issues would be appreciated.

Also, I have compiled the latest MAME release per Headkaze's website.  However, once the compiled finished, I don't really know what to do?  There is no MAME executable that would begin the program, nor do I know how to set up the pause to view control panel process.

For the compiling, I did the steps below, used MAME Compiler 64, and since there are no U patches for the current release, I only applied the hiscore diff, the bezel patch, and the ShowCP patch, in that order.  Any thoughts on what to do now?

Steps used to compile:

    Download MinGW from here and extract to C:\MinGW
    Install Mame Compiler
    Create a folder C:\MinGW\source\Mame0147u3
    Download the hiscore hi_147u3.txt from here and copy it into the C:\MinGW\patches (you can rename it to hi_147.diff if you like but it doesn't matter)
    Download the mame0147s.zip from here and extract to C:\MinGW\source\Mame0147u3
    Download the updates from here (0147u1_diff, 0147u2_diff and 0147u3_diff) and extract them to C:\MinGW\patches
    Download MameUI source from here extract somewhere then copy the src folder to C:\MinGW\source\Mame0147u3
    Apply the official Mame patches 0147u1_diff, 0147u2_diff then 0147u3_diff. Apply them by browsing to each one selecting it from the file browser then selecting "Apply Patch"
    Now apply the Hiscore patch you downloaded from step 3 (Eg. hi_147u3.diff or hi_147u3.txt depending on how you saved it)
    Set your "Mame Source Folder" to C:\MinGW\source\Mame0147u3 and check you have the WinUI build option selected under OSD
    Click GO! to compile.

Thanks again, and sorry for the noob questions, but maybe this can help those searching in the future.

[maffewl]

More information per the above:

I re-ran the MAME Compiler, same results.  Here are images of the folders, the first is an image of the "C:\MinGW\source\Mame153" folder.  The second is a picture of the "C:\MinGW\source\Mame153\obj\winui" folder.

Any advice as to what I do from here?  Thanks!

[Dawgz Rule]

Can't help you with the compiled mame as I have never done it.  Sorry.  Still trying to think of why I had the other issue though.

[Dawgz Rule]

Forgot this one.  Also check your controls.ini or controls.xml for a generic neo-geo layout.  If you want to customize each game you can safely delete this entry or remark it out.

[maffewl]

Dawgz Rule... thanks for all the replies.  I finally got MAME compiled correctly and CP Wizard exported bezels/control panels showing smoothly with the help of Headkaze and frl. 

However, I'm still stuck on the previous problem of certain games such as NeoGeo games and even a game like NBA Jam TE only showing letters or numbers.  I'm also still having the trouble of the coin button "lighting" up but no text, as well as no text on the "pause" and if both pressed at the same time "esc" buttons.  (These cases are shown in the previous reply #5)

Reading your previous posts, I do not have a controls.xml or controls.ini file?  Nor do I have a ctrlr folder (though I created one and it's empty).

Any thoughts on how I can get CP Wizard to show the correct labels/buttons for games such as NeoGeo as well as get the Coin labels/Pause and Pause Labels/Exit and Exit label buttons working?

[Dawgz Rule]

Check the data folder that is within the CPWizard folder.  You should find a controls.xml file there.  Do a search for "neogeo" and you should find the entries for the generic neogeo settings.  Once you remove this or remark it out, it will stop using the generic neo-geo settings you are seeing.   If CPWizard doesn't have an entry for a particular game, you will only see letters or numbers.  The easiest way to fix this is to simply create an entry for that in the XML file.  I would recommend using a free XML editor such as Notepad++ because it makes it easier to edit the files and maintain the correct format. 

You have me somewhat stumped on the other labels as I don't have coin labels or pause labels on my cp layout.    When CPWizard displays the CP for a particular game, it references the controls.xml file.  Try adding labels for the coin and pause buttons in the XML file itself and see what happens.   It has been a long time since I was mucking around with CPWizard so apologies that I can't get more specific on this one.