New MAME Front End for cabinet!

[youki]

Hi,

I don't really know if it is really new, but for me it is.

http://www.mgalaxy.com/

It looks Nice . 

[squirrellydw]

looks really nice, but I think I will stay with MaLa.  Maybe they can "borrow" some ideas from it though. 

[Buddabing]

I'll check it out, maybe it should be in the wiki.

[shock_]

I noticed from the demo video that the snaps are reflected in the shiny layout.  Got me thinking about that applesque MaLa skin I did recently.  Theoretically at least, one could write a script that rendered reflected versions of all the snaps in a directory, which could then become another definable and built into the layout.  Can't see it working for videos though - although that would look shweet.

[johnperkins21]

I noticed from the demo video that the snaps are reflected in the shiny layout.  Got me thinking about that applesque MaLa skin I did recently.  Theoretically at least, one could write a script that rendered reflected versions of all the snaps in a directory, which could then become another definable and built into the layout.  Can't see it working for videos though - although that would look shweet.

Couldn't you just rotate the video 180 degrees, then put some sort of half-translucent gradient mask over it? I'm severly talking out of my donkey here, but that seems like the easiest way to do it.

[Circo]

He sure put a lot of work into that demo video, pretty site.  That is not a human voice, but nicer than the one in windows, I wonder what he used for the voiceover.

[squirrellydw]

I noticed from the demo video that the snaps are reflected in the shiny layout.  Got me thinking about that applesque MaLa skin I did recently.  Theoretically at least, one could write a script that rendered reflected versions of all the snaps in a directory, which could then become another definable and built into the layout.  Can't see it working for videos though - although that would look shweet.

Please, please...If you could do that with the snaps and video it would be perfact.

[shock_]

note that I said "one", not "I"   I know nnuzzing!   In any case, we're talking about a whole new set of snaps, so would make sense to distribute the script and instructions for using it.  I am not a programmer (well, not since I was about 12 anyway) but I know/think it's possible.

johnperkins21 is probably right too, but I expect the process for videos would mean applying the operation to each frame of each video, then recompiling in the original or a compatible codec, and would almost certainly be quite lossy as a result.  I guess that's probably okay (the loss) since the desired output is actually a blurry reflection anyway - but it seems like a lot of effort. 

The videos would need to be started syncronised exactly too, which might add complexity to the front end calling the renderer - or be just plain impractical.  So to do it, you'd do the entire thing in realtime via software - which again is painful.  Especially for me

[jcrouse]

Couldn't you just rotate the video 180 degrees

I believe it would need "mirrored" if your talking about some sort of reflection appearance, although I have looked at the video yet.

John

[johnperkins21]

note that I said "one", not "I"   I know nnuzzing!   In any case, we're talking about a whole new set of snaps, so would make sense to distribute the script and instructions for using it.  I am not a programmer (well, not since I was about 12 anyway) but I know/think it's possible.

johnperkins21 is probably right too, but I expect the process for videos would mean applying the operation to each frame of each video, then recompiling in the original or a compatible codec, and would almost certainly be quite lossy as a result.  I guess that's probably okay (the loss) since the desired output is actually a blurry reflection anyway - but it seems like a lot of effort. 

The videos would need to be started syncronised exactly too, which might add complexity to the front end calling the renderer - or be just plain impractical.  So to do it, you'd do the entire thing in realtime via software - which again is painful.  Especially for me

I think you've misunderstood my suggestion. What I'm saying is to put two copies of the same video on the front end, only the one below is rotated 180 degrees (and flipped). Then apply a mask over the entire front end that blocks the very bottom portion of the bottom rotated video, and gradually allows for more transparency. I've not designed a skin for a front end, so I'm not sure how it would work, but that seems to me to be the easiest way to do it.

I'm not suggesting creating separate videos for the reflection, just two copies of the same video playing on top of each other. Synch wouldn't be a problem because once it's loaded in the FE both would start playing at the same time.

[shock_]

Well to do that, you will need to do away with video overlay, I expect - at the very least.  That pushes the render processing load right up, potentially.  I know MaLa doesn't support masking the video - it'll just shine right through whatever custom field you put there, opacity or not.  Can't speak for other FEs. 

I suspect I've stepped well beyond the line of "talking out of my  " - perhaps a FE author would care to comment ?!

[headkaze]

Forget having videos with reflection, having two videos playing with snaps means twice the load. You can just read the frame from the same video and flip it vertically and display it below. The hard part is making it dissapear (alpha fade) as the reflection dissappears. The only way to do this would be to use Direct3D and have the video mapped to a quad as a texture. Then you could even quite easily have the reflection on a angle like it's reflecting on a surface. This is quite possible to do since the hardware takes care of most of it, the load is converting each frame to a texture. But I have written Direct3D applications that can do that, so it's possible.

As for images with reflection, they are alot easier, bust most FE's use Direct Draw (GameEx, Mala, Atomic, MameWah etc.) which means there is no alpha channel to have images fade out to the background. Even batch converting the snaps would mean they will not fade out in a FE because they don't support alpha channel.

This is the current situation, but FE's will be moving to Direct3D/XNA or Vista's new WPF which makes Direct3D available in a simple to use manner.

[johnperkins21]

People much smarter than me will certainly figure out a way to implement it, as Headkaze has proven. I just figured it could theoretically be possible, I just don't have the skillz to even attempt it. I look at the software on the iPhone and imagine that anything you want done, can be done given the proper resources. There's some very smart and talented people out there, and I am pleased as punch that so many of them are working to make this hobby somewhat easier on boneheads like me. 

[youki]

AtomicFE 0.19 (the coming version) can do that , and i don't use Direct3d , only DirectDraw.

I will do a Layout based on the one Shock_ did to prove that.

[headkaze]

AtomicFE 0.19 (the coming version) can do that , and i don't use Direct3d , only DirectDraw.

I will do a Layout based on the one Shock_ did to prove that.

You will have to do some dirty hacks to get transparency working through software (you obviously wont have hardware doing it), so I can't imagine it being very fast. But I think you are a good coder, so you may pull it off at a decent framerate.

[loadman]

I am not a programmer (well, not since I was about 12 anyway) but I know/think it's possible.

Never too late to start.. 

I started learning Delphi and a bit of VB6 mid last year in my spare time. The people here are most helpfull.

Prior to that is was a C64 back in the late 80's (batch files don't count)

[youki]

Atomic has already the transparency working trought software since his first version.

Of course performance depends on how much objects on the layout you use transparency and the size of these objects.  But for said a "normal" use  for a layout in 640x480   starting from a 700Mhz computer it is good enough.

But that's clear with Direct3d it is lot easier , and if you have a good 3D card lot faster.

But what i did i think it is enough to have nice effects on layouts .

[squirrellydw]

Oh, I hope this can be done in Mala.  This would make the Applesque layout so cool.  I mean it's cool now so it would be just that much cooler.

[Howard_Casto]

It's fairly trivial in direct 3d.... 

You've already got the frame in one texture, so you simply copy the texture to a rotated poly.  The fading can be a simple alpha mask.  All in all it should add up to zero performance loss.  That isn't the difficult part of the coding though.  On a skinable fe the trick becomes the reflection itself and how to manage it.  This fe just has a nice, simple image that reflects straight down with a little bit of vertical distortion.  There really aren't any other objects around the snap to reflect as well.  Reflections can be distorted vertically and horizontally as well as being skewed at an angle or even distorted around an object.  On top of that, on more complex skins, multiple objects would have to be mirrored.  When you do a complex mirror like this you basically have to calculate screen positions twice, once for the real elements and again for their reflections.  Either that or manipulate the render buffer directly, which could cause slowdowns. 

I guess what I'm saying is, yes for a simple effect like this we could all implement it.  For more complex stuff, however, a person could spend a lifetime getting it to look "just right".

[Space Fractal]

This is plain nice looking simple frontend, that would work like a dream on smaller cabinets.

The translucent effect (if we talking about the screenshot) can also very easy done in lanuage like BlitzMax or such (very much as howard said). BlitzMax is one of the language that support alpha and rotations very  easy, and I think he took the advance of it.

If it was done with blitzmax, he could change the color very easy with a simple alpha trick, so we could use any colors and not just blue. This would been a nice side effect.

Maybe we should ask wich language he used.

Again.. A nice little frontend. The only problem it can only use with few mame releases.

[leapinlew]

he's got a fast site too. Seems nice.

[MYX]

It is a nice FE, but yeah, I think I like the website more. 
Very professional looking.

[Aurich]

Oh, I hope this can be done in Mala.  This would make the Applesque layout so cool.  I mean it's cool now so it would be just that much cooler.

I doubt it, since Mala doesn't support real alpha channels, just an on or off mask, which is useless for any kind of blended effect like what you're talking about. Which is too bad, support for something like a 24 bit PNG would be very nice.

[freckleface]

That's pretty cool. Great site, too. I can't necessarily see using a front-end only for MAME, though. (Off topic, anybody know what kind of controller that is? It's kinda cute.)

[kizer]

I didn't try it yet, but I don't like it that you use the player 1 and player 2 buttons to start games and configure things.

It would be fine to use player  1 to start a game, but kids knowing that there is two of them would click 2 player and next thing I know all my settings are wacked out.

[Space Fractal]

Yep this can cause a problem. I would wish if you can use a third hidden button to do that and not P1 & P2 start (wich can exists to, wich I really dislike).

These should add as request on his forum.