Front End Support > MaLa Frontend
Mala Users - Do you want LEDWiz Support?
headkaze:
How exactly do you add LEDWiz support to a FE? I don't see how you need the FE to control the LED's when you can run an app in the background. A small app running resident could control the LEDWiz based on WaveIn data fed through the Wave Mix Output so it changes according to sound. It could also run through a set of patterns and colour either randomly generated, through audio input or from custom data provided in an ini file. Judging by this thread Randy T has already started developing something along these lines. I think a tray app would be fine for this and that way any FE can use it and it will still be effected by the audio in Mame and other emulators.
I'm don't know much about how this works as I don't own a LEDWiz or transparent buttons on my cab, so perhaps it gets annoying to have them changing colours during gameplay, in this case you could add support to stop sending to the LEDWiz while certain processes are running. You could also add some simple communication interface between the tray app and other programs like FE's that can sync to it for things like onscreen CP display to match the LED's in the buttons.
loadman:
--- Quote ---How exactly do you add LEDWiz support to a FE?
--- End quote ---
MaLa currently has the option of.
*Light appropriate buttons when a game is selected in the FE and/or during game play.
* Play your custom made animation sequences on certain events (eg game launch/exit) using the supplied animation editor
* Play random and/or custom made animation sequences in 'attract mode' when the cab is idle
--- Quote ---perhaps it gets annoying to have them changing colours during gameplay,
--- End quote ---
I would not want that either
loadman:
--- Quote from: swindus on September 25, 2006, 01:38:37 pm ---Both true. I have a LEDWiz from loadman, but at the moment there is no reason and no motivation for me to add LEDWiz support to MaLa.
--- End quote ---
All I choose to see in that quote is 'at the moment' ;D
Howard_Casto:
My thing about this stuff is... well it shouldn't be done in the front-end istelf in the first place.
Lights for each game should only be done once the game is launched (because ledwiz is slow to respond).
Attractmode sequences could be started via a simple script or batch file when the fe launches.
Idle sequences could be tied into a screensaver.
The only thing that should really be internalized is the event-based animations. I can see it for that, but not so much for the rest. Even then it's much better to setup the fe so that it looks for a batch file or exe and launches it rather than doing it internally. This way the user doesn't have to worry about the type of hardware they have as they can rig something up regardless.
I'm on my third fe here, I've learned that you need to exteralize as much as possible.
Just a suggestion.
loadman:
--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on September 25, 2006, 11:47:28 pm ---Lights for each game should only be done once the game is launched (because ledwiz is slow to respond).
--- End quote ---
That is not the case with MaLa and IO-Warrior. You can race through the list and the Leds keep up. Not sure about Wiz with Mala (obviously) but I have nearly finished writting a program the cotrolls both and the wiz via OCX 'and it seems the Wiz appears' to have a bit of lag. (Don't get upset Randy I have not done enough testing). I will release my test prog later this week as that could be my fault.
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