Software Support > PowerMAME
Showing CP while game is paused
Farmboy90:
Just an update so you guys don't think I forgot.... I have started porting BuddaBings fine work for showing CP artwork with labeled buttons over to powerMAME. So now when I press pause it shows an image of a control button with each button that is used by the game specfically marked telling me what it does.
I am not done yet, and unfortunately don't ever get a 5 hour block of time where I can complete it.
I am however chipping away at it. I have a 2 year old and a 5 month old, so it is hard to get large blocks of time to do these things. :)
Howard_Casto:
I don't mean to lessen your efforts, but it makes a whole lot more sense just to use j5 and the ahk script I wrote for it. There are countless threads about it in the software forum if you care to look.
Farmboy90:
Hey Howard,
I certainly know of that, although I don't know specifics about hos it works having never used it myself. My understanding was that it wasn't a one click process though. I may not be remembering correctly but I seem to recall one needing to pause, then hit some other button to launch the script that would load the image, then hit a button to kill the script, and then another one to unpause.
Is this correct?
So far the solution I have works automatically when pause is hit. It also seems to render the image in its appropriate aspect. No images need storage on your machine as they are generated dynamically.
Buddabing:
Using an external viewer such as Johnny, CPViewer, or my CPMaker viewer has some advantages over the compiled-in viewer:
1) You can use any version of MAME, not just PowerMAME or BuddaMAME.
2) You generally get a better picture with clearer text
3) You can launch MAME and the viewer on separate screens, if you have a multiple monitor setup.
Advantage #1 is obviously not much of an advantage for the PowerMAME user.
Using the internal artwork generator has some advantages over external artwork viewers.
1) Faster
2) No application switch necessary - displaying controls is seamless
3) No complicated and flaky scripts necessary.
4) More functionality than Johnny or CPViewer
5) CPMaker is open source, Johnny and CPViewer are not.
AHK is open source, however, so I endorse its use.
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: Farmboy90 on March 16, 2006, 10:30:58 am ---My understanding was that it wasn't a one click process though. I may not be remembering correctly but I seem to recall one needing to pause, then hit some other button to launch the script that would load the image, then hit a button to kill the script, and then another one to unpause.
Is this correct?
--- End quote ---
Realistically or theoretically.
Theoretically, the AHK script works as a one-click process just like you describe.
Realistically, 1 time out of 5 it displays the image but MAME keeps playing, or it doesn't unpause when you close the image, so the best way to use the script is to modify it so it uses one button to pause mame and another to call Johnny.
I have lots of details at http://www.mameworld.net/tigerheli/johnny/
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