Checkered Flag Front-End 1.0 Released!

[Howard_Casto]

Eh... I'm still having trouble with my head and I'm getting too old for hype so...


Read Here:  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,139396.0.html

If it sounds interesting then download here:  http://dragonking.arcadecontrols.com/index.php

Note that if you browse the "about checkered flag" section, you'll find a link to the image packs towards the bottom.  It would have made the exe too cumbersome to include them in the package. 

Anyway I haven't had much sleep, but aside from a random issue or two everything should be working fine, so enjoy. 

[POOTERMAN]

Wanted to be the first to thank you Howard for making this FE - downloading now and will report back soon shouting about how wonderful it is no doubt

[Malenko]

cool.  The name though...... Checkered Flag was an actual arcade game, why not call it Checkered Past since I dismantled my racing rig of the same name?

[Howard_Casto]

No real reason.  Mostly because when I was looking for inspiration for the default skin I could google image search for "racing theme" and one of the google suggestions was always "checkered flag".  Since I actually ended up using a checker board pattern, I thought "Eh.... that'll do". 

It'll get even more confusing when I make some of the racing options...well...optional and release the Pac-FE version. 

[POOTERMAN]

Howard, just spent the past hour making snaps for the missing/blank/bad images so will post a link here when I'm done to save others the time.

Just wanted to ask if are you able to make the in-game videos available as a pack that we can download from your website too?

"Chequered Flag" was the first game I played on the ZX Spectrum home computer way back in 1982!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chequered_Flag_%28video_game%29

Do the folks stateside write it as Checkered instead (o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶r̶r̶e̶c̶t̶ ̶q̶u̶e̶e̶n̶s̶ ̶e̶n̶g̶l̶i̶s̶h̶) of "Chequered" in the context of a racing flag out of interest?

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah it's one of those color/colour things. 

The interesting thing is that particular zx game is localized... so it's spelled different here. 

[POOTERMAN]

Howard

Chase H.Q.?
Turbo OutRun?

Missing I tell you, missing!!!

Explain yourself this very instant as this is a most heinous crime towards the arcade racing community!

Just trying it out now for the first time, saw in the readme that there is an Intro video but how do you get it working? When I start up the emulator it goes straight to the games list and yet I can see the Intro.mp4 file in the skins folder. Do I have to enable it some how ?

 

[Howard_Casto]

I just went by badmouth's list when I was making images.  I didn't really check it.  There is a "mamedriving.txt" included in the gamelists folder that includes every single mame driving game, but I didn't use it as the official list because I didn't get a chance to filter off clones and joystick/dial games as well as non-working, ect....

As mentioned in the readme.txt the intro vid is doing strange things depending upon your resolution.  Make sure your resolution is correctly set in the settings.txt and you should see... well... something.  If you still don't then you need a mp4 codec.  Honestly the intro is nothing special though... just a waving flag animation I found on the net. 

One thing not mentioned in the readme that people might want to know.  My FE, much like my older FE's is status aware.  By that I mean it knows when windows is trying to shut down.  So for a cabinet setup, you don't need to exit out of the FE, just tap the power button on your pc to invoke a shutdown.  It'll save your place. 

[BadMouth]

Howard

Chase H.Q.?
Turbo OutRun?

Missing I tell you, missing!!!

Explain yourself this very instant as this is a most heinous crime towards the arcade racing community!

Just trying it out now for the first time, saw in the readme that there is an Intro video but how do you get it working? When I start up the emulator it goes straight to the games list and yet I can see the Intro.mp4 file in the skins folder. Do I have to enable it some how ?

Chase HQ isn't on the list because it had an optical steering wheel, not a pot.
IIRC, it does play fine with a 270 degree wheel though.  Although optical, it had stops to limit wheel rotation.

Not sure about Turbo Outrun.  If it's listed as a clone in MAME, it wouldn't be on the list.

[MrThunderwing]

"Chequered Flag" was the first game I played on the ZX Spectrum home computer way back in 1982!

It was one of the first ZX Speccy 48k games I ever played as well and was definitely the first ever driving game I'd played at home. Ahhh, good old Psion Software.

[POOTERMAN]

As mentioned in the readme.txt the intro vid is doing strange things depending upon your resolution.  Make sure your resolution is correctly set in the settings.txt and you should see... well... something.  If you still don't then you need a mp4 codec.  Honestly the intro is nothing special though... just a waving flag animation I found on the net.

Tried that Howard before I posted but still nothing in terms of an intro video

I've just realised the intro video is only 1 second long which is why I don't see it as it probably just flashes up in the background briefly.

I think this is the original source file so I edited it down to a few seconds and will put a 'Checkered Flag' logo over the top of it I think!



Maybe users don't bother with this sort of thing as they just want to get straight to the game lists!

By the way I'm really impressed with what you've created Howard, a job well done sir

[Howard_Casto]

I found the first bug.  It's pretty minor and relates to snap animations. 

I've already fixed it but I'll wait until later in case somebody finds anything else. 

I made a animated chase hq marquee quickly from the old mamehooker display file, but seeing as how there is an error in snap animation I'll wait on adding it to the pack. 

[POOTERMAN]

Howard can you help please.

In the Emu Settings folder under the Triforce config I see games are being told to run using "triforce.exe --exec=%rom% --batch"

When Mario GP 2 wouldn't launch I wondered if "triforce.exe" was a specific loader that you created that should have been included in the Tools and Loaders folder or is triforce.exe from another emulator you were using that isn't Dolphin?

All the various versions of the Dolphin Triforce emulator I've used are run from either a dolphin.exe or DolphinWX.exe command.

Just want to know what command should be in the Triforce config file to get games working with the "--exec=%rom% --batch" parameters you specify?

Cheers

[Howard_Casto]

Here we go..... this is why I don't do FEs anymore. 

Get triforce running via command line and then put it there.  There are a few versions of the emualtor out there and you are going to have to probably supply a path, so I just posted an example. 

Here's another that badmouth sent me:

Dolphin.exe -e "C:\Users\Dan\Desktop\mario kart gp2\Dolphin-Triforce-3.0-694-x64\GGPE02\%rom%.iso" -b

Obviously the path will have to be changed for your preference and if you haven't named your iso after the dolphin disc id you'll have to edit the gamelist. 

[POOTERMAN]

Thanks howard

Think the problem is in your gamelist, your logo art and the snap art the necessary files are named GPPE02.

I'll try renaming all of the above files to GGPE02 which I think is the correct name and the name you quoted above.

I changed the gamelist and the files mentioned above from "gppe02|Mario Kart GP 2|triforce"  to "ggpe02|Mario Kart GP 2|triforce" and now it works

[Howard_Casto]

That look great man.  I think I would ditch the "front-end" but other than that...

Sorry I'm having health issues again, I'll be in and out for a while until I feel better. 

[bandicoot]

hello howard
I'm try to setup checkered flag but when i launch it i've got sound but no video , i can turn my wheel and listening sound but after to or three move i got a run-time error.
have you got an idea
thanks
WIN7 64bits and i install the dx4vbinstall

[Howard_Casto]

Ok let's go down the dependency checklist. 

You need the following dlls installed on your system:

qedit.dll
wmp.oca/ocx (for videos)
quartz.dll (for music)
dx8vb.dll
The visual studio 6 runtime files .....there are a bunch and they should be installed on your system, but if not you can download them all via installer.

You'll also need a dx8 or higher compliant video card and directx8 installed.  Again dx8 should already be installed, but if you are concerned you can download it via installer.

In addition, you must set a valid resolution in the settings.txt.  I have it set to 1600x900@60hz so if your monitor doesn't support this....

Just quickly search your system32/syswow64 folders to confirm all of this and if you still have a problem I'll look into it. 

[bandicoot]

Do you use windows 7?
I launch it on a xp64 OK it's work but it's not my racingcab ( without icon but it 's logic it's a xp64 lite)
I try to find wich dll is missing but just seems wmp.oca missing but i don't found how to install it on a windows 7 os
I install klite codecs
Vb6run doesn't want to be install in win7 x64 but files seems to be here in newest version
Thanks

[Howard_Casto]

The os isn't the problem.  I wrote it on win 7.  I'm actually surprised it worked without issue on Xp lite.  The video card is most likely the issue.  You don't have to swap it out, but we might have to tweak some settings.

vb6runtime files install fine on win 7.  I'm running it after all.    Sometimes the installers will throw up an error, but typically making them run in compatibility mode fixes it.

I'm confused by your wording.  Is your cab a win7 cab and you got it to work on xp lite ?

[bandicoot]

I test on my mamecab with xp64 to see
But my racing cab is on win7 GPU NVIDIA gtx645

[bandicoot]

OK i got an explication my xp64 is an english os
I try an install of win7 english in a machine at work and it work without install anything
There's a difference beetwen english and french os but which files?

[Howard_Casto]

I can't vouch for foreign versions of windows.  I'm currently setting checkered flag up on clean windows 10 machine(upgraded from 7, so it should have all those files).  I'll document everything I have to do to get it running. 

[Howard_Casto]

Ok the install was fairly painless.  I first just copied the program over and I got a "can't register active x" error which made me think it needed windows media player.  I copied over wmp.dll and wmp.oca and I still got the error.  I then copied over dx8vb.dll and still got the error.  THEN I installed dx8vb.dll properly via copying it to the syswow64 folder and running regsvr32.exe on it and it worked... videos worked fine as well.  I then removed the wmp stuff I copied off and things still worked fine. 

So to summarize, all I had to do to get it running on win 10 (upgraded from 7) was to install and register dx8vb.dll.

I didn't have to install any codecs or the vb runtimes or any of that junk.  An install on win 7 and win 8 should be similar.  Understand though when I say "windows version X" I mean the FULL versions.  These "lite" versions aren't worth the trouble as you have to install a million dlls just to get things ready for our hobby.

In the next version and on all subsequent versions of my apps, I'm just going to have dx8vb.dll auto-install. 

[bandicoot]

First i install win7 english with fr keyboard option and it doesn't work
Then install win7 english with english keyboard option and it's work.
So WTF ?
Finally it work for me like that but it s strange

Hope it coule help some people
Thanks Howard my cab is very cool
I made a tutorial on french for helping switching configuration for logitech example combined pedal or not here's the link
http://www.gamoover.net/Forums/index.php?topic=32687.0

[Howard_Casto]

No that actually makes sense.  I do keyboard hooking... it's probably taking exception to the default keys I have setup in the config files... maybe it's something invalid on the French keyboard. 

[Howard_Casto]

So I decided to make the list scrolling a bit more fancy.  I'm currently making a test program that basically averages a path from one image to the next and the lists scroll by stepping towards the next position over X amount of frames.  I still have a bit more code to work out, but thus far it works pretty good.  You will be able to make a serpentine list, a wheel list... vertical line, horizontal line, whatever you can think of basically. 

[jevansoh]

I'm having trouble figuring out how to get outrun to work.  I'm not using the Mame version, rather I'm using the newest standalone version.

I created an outrun.txt file and changed via the list manager the mame line to outrun thinking that would be all I would have to do, but I can't get it to work.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.  I LOVE this front end!  I have spent all of an hour and a half getting it working with no other problems or issues so far!

I would love to get access to the videos I see on the YouTube video, though.  Are those available somewhere?  I don't really have the time or inclination to make my own.

Thanks Howard,

--j

[jevansoh]

I'm also having trouble getting Model 2 to work.

It just opens the emulator in a window but isn't full screen and doesn't actually load the rom.

I've tried lots of combinations in the model2.txt file, but am currently using:

Q:\HyperSpin\Emulators\SEGA Model 2 Emulator
m2multiload.exe Q:\ROMs\Sega Model 2\%rom%

What am I missing here?

Thanks,

--J

[Howard_Casto]

First off you are missing a "\"

It should be

q:\hyperspin\emulators\sega model 2 emulator\

Secondly model 2 doesn't take paths well.  Notice in my example that I just have "m2multiload.exe %rom%" without the full path  You may have to define the path in your model2 ini file. 

That's as much help as I can give you as I haven't touched the project in over a year. 

[jevansoh]

Got it, Howard.

It is all working now...Well, as much as I have set up.  I still have a few emulators to go, but so far so good!

This is a wonderful FE and more people should become aware of it and use it. 

Would you possibly be able to supply the videos you use in your YouTube video?  Do you have those available anywhere for download so I don't have to do all that work all over again?

Thanks so much,

--J

[dramaone]

Howard

Chase H.Q.?
Turbo OutRun?

Missing I tell you, missing!!!

Explain yourself this very instant as this is a most heinous crime towards the arcade racing community!

Just trying it out now for the first time, saw in the readme that there is an Intro video but how do you get it working? When I start up the emulator it goes straight to the games list and yet I can see the Intro.mp4 file in the skins folder. Do I have to enable it some how ?

[Howard_Casto]

Would you possibly be able to supply the videos you use in your YouTube video?  Do you have those available anywhere for download so I don't have to do all that work all over again?

That's a feature I never got around to doing.  Videos in high quality are super big, so I had written a script to generate videos from mame.  The idea was to have the fe start the game and do it's thing and when it returns ask the user to select the start and stop points. 

[dramaone]

Howard, thanks so much for this front end. I'm currently setting it up my cab in the video here.

s

Due to the 360 optical wheel its running a hand full of games that I like, all Mame.
With C/Flag I ended up going back to using the original arcade marquee graphics as the game logos.
They need a bit of love to make them look sharp but I like seeing them rather than the Hyperspin type logo, but each to their own.

Because im keeping to just mame or alteast one system is there anyway I can incorporate Sega Monaco GP remake so it appears in the mame list/ front end?

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah just use the included list manager and add it to whatever list you want.  It's pretty self-explanatory. 

[dramaone]

Yeah just use the included list manager and add it to whatever list you want.  It's pretty self-explanatory.

Oh cool, I was thinking each list would route specifically eg mame list to mame exe. Ill give it a go, thanks.

[jevansoh]

I'm trying to add Outrun 2006 to Checkered Flag.  I keep getting an error that says, "Invalid Procedure Call or Argument" though.  I added it in the game list manager and called the rom outrun2006.  I created an outrun2006.txt file and the top line is the path to OR2FXT and the second line is simply OR2FXT.exe.  I've tried lots of combinations and using the %rom% parameter as well and nothing I do works.

Also, I found a logo with a quick Google search and named it outrun2006.jpg and pasted it in every folder that had game logos but it still says "no image" for some reason.

What am I missing here?

[jevansoh]

Ok, I got the logos figured out.  They go in the images/snap and images/game logo directory and must be PNG files.

I also got an entry made for Offroad Thunder and it is working correctly with the same syntax I used for cannonball and other games but Outrun 2006 is giving me that "Invalid Procedure Call or Argument" error for some reason and I have no clue what to do.

[jevansoh]

I uninstalled Outrun 2006 and reinstalled it on a different drive.  That fixes the error and it now loads.  However, when it loads, whether I load it from CF or load it directly, I now get a busy circle that doesn't seem to affect game play but when I close the program, it won't actually close and then after a minute it says the program stopped working and I can look for a solution or close the program from there.

Maybe I now need to post this in the Outrun 2006 thread because CF is working correctly now, but I would like to figure out why it isn't closing properly.

[dramaone]

Finished the front end for my 360 wheel cab and all works great, added sega monaco gp remake and pointed it towards the .exe all good.
Just about to start using it for my 270 wheel cab and thought id test a pc game before moving ahead and im getting a black screen.

Gamelist reads TW2008.exe|tigerwoods|tigerwoods
Emu settings C:\GOLF\bin\TW2008.exe

Once you select game, CF goes to a black screen and the golf game exe isnt running.
Im moved the game directory.

Yes i know its a golf game! purely testing purposes.
Im currently using Hyperspin but id much prefer this as the FE

Any ideas?