What is GOOD Frontend for windows (no keyboard)

[liche]

Can anyone recommend a good frontend for windows which wouldn't require a mouse or keyboard.  

A frontend that once launched from the Windows start-up folder, would only require inputs from the control panel (joystick, buttons) to run.

[SirPoonga]

You using a gamepad hack?  That;s why no keyboard?

[rampy]

I use gamelauncher (in DOS - but there's a windoze version)... it accepts joystick input... Down to go down the list, up to go up left to page down right to page up (or is that vice versa) and the "A" button to launch a game.  Although I do need the keyboard to transverse menu's in GL from MAME list to say NES emu list etc... my understanding is taht the next version of glauncher will be totally configurable as far as keys/joystick assignment to functions.

I'm sure there are others out there that use joystick input only...  which ones have you tried so far?

rampy

[liche]

No, I am using a full sized arcade cabinet to house my MAME system.
The only outer controls will be the control panel.

(1) Joystick 4-way
(4) player 1 buttons
1 Player Select
2 Players Select
Menu (TAB)
Config (~)
Exit (ESC) wired with two buttons in series so no accidental game exit
Coin1 Button
Coin2 Button
ENTER Button

[homer]

I'm running game launcher on XP in a cabinet. I can easly access mame and daphhe games via the joystick and control panel.  I still have to workout system shutdown via glaunch but should be a very simple configuration change.

[Davestar]

Lazarus is fully configurable for menus etc and should be able to be used.  Also I think Party on would be a possibility.  3darcade is fully configurable as well, however there seems to be quite a few buttons to configure because of the dozens of options.

[Howard_Casto]

Your question confuses me..... a GOOD fe that will run without the mouse or keyboard.... except for the windozy one's (emuloader, ect)  ALL fe's are designed around this, particularly around these parts.  

Your question is kind of like asking  "Is there an emulator out there that emulates multiple arcade machines well?"  

[SirPoonga]

No, I am using a full sized arcade cabinet to house my MAME system.
The only outer controls will be the control panel.

(1) Joystick 4-way
(4) player 1 buttons
1 Player Select
2 Players Select
Menu (TAB)
Config (~)
Exit (ESC) wired with two buttons in series so no accidental game exit
Coin1 Button
Coin2 Button
ENTER Button

Yeah, I am confused now.  you are using a keyboard then for your input but your original question asked if there was an FE that didn't use keyboard.  Explain yourself a little more at what you are trying to do.

[Frostillicus]

I'm running game launcher on XP in a cabinet. I can easly access mame and daphhe games via the joystick and control panel.  I still have to workout system shutdown via glaunch but should be a very simple configuration change.

Have you tried clicking the power button? or double clicking it?  I found that my system(XP and gamelauncher, though the FE doesn't matter) will start the system shudown procedure with a double-click of the power button.  It's pretty nifty.

[eightbit]

Are you looking for a front end for your front end? Like a menu to choose from different emulators? If so check out Ultimate arcade at http://www.cybertechdesign.net/software/UltimateArcade.htm

If your asking which mame front end will work without a keyboard. The answer is most all of them depending on how you have your keyboard mapped to your buttons.

[Smack]

I'm running the current version of Advance Menu under Windows 98SE with the windows port of MAME on my cocktail cab.

It's mint & totally configurable (a little tricky but well worth it once you figure it out.) I like the menu display options, flexibility in resolutions, mouse/spinner support, and mp3 random play in the backround.

Game Launcher is pretty good too I'm using that on one of my cabs. I had tried a few others but they weren't quite what I was looking for. (no offence to any FE devs out there! )

My 2 cents.
Smack

[Sam66]

Smack, is this the frontend you use on your cocktail ?  And if so, do you have a link to a compiled version to dload ?

Sam66

[liche]

Let me explain my question a little more fully:

I'm looking for a windows front end that will run completely independent of a keyboard or mouse.   I only have a few buttons and joystick as listed above on the control panel which is connected to the computer via a keyboard encoder.

I want to power my cabinet up have it autostart the front end and have all options / selections be made using only the joystick and a few control buttons.

[Smack]

Smack, is this the frontend you use on your cocktail ?  And if so, do you have a link to a compiled version to dload ?

Sam66

Yeah, its the one that I've got on my cocktail cab. Here's the link: http://advancemame.sourceforge.net/download.html

It does work off of strictly keyboard / mouse once you set up the configuration file. I've got a wireless keyboard for mainainance, but otherwise, Windows boots right into the frontend. I then use the trackball / buttons to shut it down. I suppose I could use a batch file to exit upon leaving the frontend.

Smack

[SirPoonga]

Let me explain my question a little more fully:

I'm looking for a windows front end that will run completely independent of a keyboard or mouse.   I only have a few buttons and joystick as listed above on the control panel which is connected to the computer via a keyboard encoder.

I want to power my cabinet up have it autostart the front end and have all options / selections be made using only the joystick and a few control buttons.

Practically all frontends do this.  It is a keyboard interface.  Most allow you to customize to what keys you want to use (ie what keys your joysticks and buttons are mapped to).

Lazaraus does this for sure, it's my temp FE until I get mine done.  Most others do this also.  there are actually a few out there that HAVE to have a mouse.


BTW, There are frontends that allow you shutdown windows too, so you'd never have to see windows.  You could then replace the shell in your win.ini filoe to the FE and the FE is now your explorer instead of explorer.exe (not IExplorer, explorer.exe is what you think of as windows).  you will want somewhere in the FE if it allows it a way to run explorer.exe though for management purposes.