So, is Powermame development over?

[Silver]

I got the impression it has, but thought I would check.

Is the powermame the only current way to impliment lighting buttons via LEDWIZ when in mame?

I'm aware new developments maybe on the way in this front as mame now as its own output event system, which would allow an external app to fullfil this function of anything within mame.

Obviously, lighting buttons used by a particular game is not a standard mame function - more likely frontend support?

[arzoo]

Check out Johnny 5. http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=54998.0

[mr.Curmudgeon]

AtomicFE is getting interesting too: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=58939.0



mrC

[JoyMonkey]

It's a shame PowerMAME died. Especially now that MAME has that nice cocktail display mode and other nice display and output changes. I think MikeQ got sick of all the stupid questions, demands and general lack of enthusiasm for the project to keep it going.

I'd love to see a .109 or .110 version, but it's based on VCMame (which hasn't been updated since .105 either) and I get the impression that all the PowerMAME stuff is burried pretty deep inside the source. And with all the changes to MAME I'd guess that it'd be pretty much impossible for anyone to decypher all the PowerMAME stuff and apply it to the new MAME source.

[JoyMonkey]

Oh yeah, I remember some genius came up with a nice little app for generating text files for every game based on Controls.dat that a serial LCD could display; thus telling people what each button did in a game. Surely the same awesome programmer could come up with a similar app that could output LWA text files for each game in MAME, then Mahuti's LEDWiz app could send each LWA to the LEDWiz before MAME launches the game; so the buttons used for each game would light up.

If only I could remember who that talented bastard was...

[Silver]

...oh, you mean LWA files are just text files? Someone should have said.... 

Something like that would cover/help front-ends lighting the right buttons per game (although by the look of it a couple of frontends have native LEDwiz support and will light buttons as you scroll a game list - is this right?). I'm away for the next 10 days or so, but if it would be handy I'll look at a game-LWA creator when I'm back...


My question was more geared towards the new input/output and event system now in mame: Player start buttons flashing on coin-up, Mr.Do fire button flashing when fire is activated etc..etc.. Powermame could do that, but it did it prior to the new mame system, so it would be all change - the new system is designed for a 3rd party app to light buttons or whatever. I guess I am not really across the current LED-Whiz supporting apps properly.

[JoyMonkey]

Just incase anyone is interested, here's a list of the files that MikeQ modified for PowerMAME 105.0.1 (files in red are modified, blue are new files) and here's an archive with the unmodified VCMAME source and the PowerMAME source.

[Silver]

Is there a definition/guide to LWA files anywhere?

[ChadTower]

Yep... but it's probably the source code for the app that reads them.

[Silver]

Well, I'm back, and by the look of it some people have been busy:

LEDWizGen/ LEDWizLighter:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=59367.0

LEDWizard:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=59376.0

so that should keep it all covered I think...