LEDBlinky - Arcade LED Control software and Animation Editor - v8.2

[njay]

well it all works now it wont crash anymore but i have some questions:


1. the option flash player 1 button when credit is added does not work it lights or it dont
2. how do i configure the other emus control leds?

i have
Visual Pinball
Future Pinball
Nes
Snes
N64
Batch files

how does ledblinky now what to do ?

[arzoo]

well it all works now it wont crash anymore but i have some questions:


1. the option flash player 1 button when credit is added does not work it lights or it dont
2. how do i configure the other emus control leds?

i have
Visual Pinball
Future Pinball
Nes
Snes
N64
Batch files

how does ledblinky now what to do ?

The Flash Player Credit feature only works for some mame games (like Asteroids, DigDug, etc) - I don't know the complete list. Which game did you try?

For other emulators, you need to set them up using the Controls editor. Start with the Import Unknown Games tool - that should display all the emulators and games you've run that LEDBlinky doesn't have any control data. Select one of the emulators and choose the Default controls group option. Then you'll need to define all the controls (buttons) and which input code each one uses. The Install and Config pdf file has documentation on how to do all this. Let me know if you have any questions.

[njay]

Arzoo,

a feature request:

is it possible to make the flash start1 button when credits added per emu? or is that hard?
and do you know if someone is working on adding more mameoutput so more games support the flash start button?

[arzoo]

Arzoo,

a feature request:

is it possible to make the flash start1 button when credits added per emu? or is that hard?
and do you know if someone is working on adding more mameoutput so more games support the flash start button?

The best you could do for other emus would be to configure the start buttons to flash all the time - there's no way to detect when a credit is available. In fact, coin/credit counting and detection is kinda taboo - because the emulation software cannot legally be used for commercial purposes. Search the forum and you can find other threads discussing this subject.

As for mame outputs, the games that flash the start buttons were the ones that did it originally - in other words, the mame developers try to accurately emulate each game. So it's not likely that they would ever add new outputs.

[cabecita]

Hello Arzoo,

I'm testing Ledblinky with other device USB and it doesn't work. This is device is a IOWarrior24 Starter Kit. I bought it to use with an LCD display in MaLa and also I would like to use with Ledblinky.

This is the Starter Kit:
http://www.codemercs.com/index.php?id=127&L=1
http://www.codemercs.com/index.php?id=79&L=1

   
Could Ledblinky support to work with the IOWarrior24 Starter Kit?

Here is software kit: http://rapidshare.com/files/276529465/iow24sdk.rar

Thank you very much

[arzoo]

Hello Arzoo,

I'm testing Ledblinky with other device USB and it doesn't work. This is device is a IOWarrior24 Starter Kit. I bought it to use with an LCD display in MaLa and also I would like to use with Ledblinky.

This is the Starter Kit:
http://www.codemercs.com/index.php?id=127&L=1
http://www.codemercs.com/index.php?id=79&L=1

   
Could Ledblinky support to work with the IOWarrior24 Starter Kit?

Here is software kit: http://rapidshare.com/files/276529465/iow24sdk.rar

Thank you very much

I'll look over the sdk for the IOWarrior and see how much effort this would require. But I've put a lot of time into the last blinky release and I need to take a break and work on some other projects. The other issue is, I don't have the hardware so there's no way I could test my code.

[stocktrader]

Hey arzoo
Past my bedtime.  LEDs light on LED-Input map,Animations Editor.
Tankstick, Mame32, Led-wiz.
Couldn't get it working with mame32 let alone with Hyperspin.

I know it's simple but after a while, I'll use the Phone a Friend lifeline.

Many thanks,

Stock

Fixed

[njay]

Missing value in Settings.ini: [MameControlsFile].

you are missing the controls.ini for mame
look for it here in the forums but if you cant find it email me or pm me  i will send it you
if you don't have this one it won't work

also create a mame.xml file for use with ledblinky

[arzoo]

njay is correct - you're missing the controls.ini file. You can download it here. Then add the path to the file on the mame config tab. Looks like you already have the mame.xml - so that's configured fine.

[stocktrader]

Losing my hair fast.

Controls.ini I think is in the right place. Everythings runs and lights up in the setup programs. Go to Mame32 and nothing.
Fixed

[arzoo]

Losing my hair fast.

For Mame32 you need to check the "Use MAME to Trigger Game Start/Stop Events" option on the Mame Config tab.

[stocktrader]

Almost there.
Switched from Mame32 to Mame.
Now getting results from the Control Editor.
Not getting results in MAME yet (or Hyperspin)

[stocktrader]

Part 2

[arzoo]

Almost there.
Switched from Mame32 to Mame.
Now getting results from the Control Editor.
Not getting results in MAME yet (or Hyperspin)

If you can look (for the last time I hope).

I'll need to see the log after you're run a game from hyperspin (the logs you provided are from the Controls Editor). Also, rather than post the log here, just email me the entire debug.zip file. Thanks.

[ArcadeBliss]

Hi, I am running my cab using an Athlon XP 2500+ with 2 Gb of RAM. I've set my cab up using Hyperspin with LEDBlinky. I've noticed that when LEDBlinky recieves the first list change, etc, it load Controls.ini and the mame.xml. This just happens to set the CPU usage of LEDBlinky between 75 and 99% on my system causing Hyperspin to slow to a crawl. After processing the two files, the usage goes back to a respectable few percent.

What are the cpu requirements? I an putting off purchasing a new cab computer till later. Is there anything I can do here?

Thanks in advance and for the great program.

[arzoo]

Hi, I am running my cab using an Athlon XP 2500+ with 2 Gb of RAM. I've set my cab up using Hyperspin with LEDBlinky. I've noticed that when LEDBlinky recieves the first list change, etc, it load Controls.ini and the mame.xml. This just happens to set the CPU usage of LEDBlinky between 75 and 99% on my system causing Hyperspin to slow to a crawl. After processing the two files, the usage goes back to a respectable few percent.

What are the cpu requirements? I an putting off purchasing a new cab computer till later. Is there anything I can do here?

Thanks in advance and for the great program.

I've run blinky on some really old rigs - and yes, the cpu spikes when it parses the mame.xml (it's a large file). Other than that it should use very minimal cpu cycles - so there aren't really any minimum cpu requirements.

But if the loading delay is annoying, you can start LEDBlinky and load the mame files before you start Hyperspin using this command;
<path>\ledblinky.exe 7 mame

[ArcadeBliss]

Thanks for the quick response. It turns out that the problem lies with hyperspin and the first initialization of XInput. LEDblinky is just fine 

[dulstone]

Firstly can I add my name to the big list of thankyous ! This program has bought my cab back to life.

I'm running Hyperspin with MAME and Silverjuke jukebox software (setup as another emulator as per Hyperspin forums). All initially running well with separate cab leds (Pacdrive) as well as the main control leds (Ledwiz).

I've been playing around trying to use the new audio animations, but for the jukebox only, and not during MAME gameplay. To achieve this I have written script for Silverjuke which runs ledblinky at startup to enable audio animations and again at the end with command 11 to stop animation. After some playing, I have this working fine if I run silverjuke standalone.

If I launch silverjuke from Hyperspin, I get a brief few flashes then no control panel LEDs at all, however if I launch silverjuke standalone, which leaves LEDBlinky in the system tray, and then run Hyperspin, initially I get no LED action until I select the Jukebox menu, when it spring back to life with the gamelist animation and the hyperspin controls then lightup as they should. The jukebox then works fine, with animations and all is well with other hyperspin LED stuff until I exit hyperspin which closes LEDBlinky and I'm back to square one.

I was wondering if you can point me at what might be happening, ideally if I can get it all to function by just starting Hyperspin it would be ideal, or if there is an easier approach to achieve the goal.

I have attached a debug file in which I first start Hyperspin and enter Jukebox and audio animation does not work, then I run silverjuke standalone, then I run Hyperspin again and after the initial lack of leds in the frontend, I enter the jukebox and audio animation is working fine.

If I could add the feature request to allow changing of gameplay animation by emulator to make this easier in the longrun !

All the best, thanks again

Rob.

[arzoo]

Firstly can I add my name to the big list of thankyous ! This program has bought my cab back to life.

I'm running Hyperspin with MAME and Silverjuke jukebox software (setup as another emulator as per Hyperspin forums). All initially running well with separate cab leds (Pacdrive) as well as the main control leds (Ledwiz).

I've been playing around trying to use the new audio animations, but for the jukebox only, and not during MAME gameplay. To achieve this I have written script for Silverjuke which runs ledblinky at startup to enable audio animations and again at the end with command 11 to stop animation. After some playing, I have this working fine if I run silverjuke standalone.

If I launch silverjuke from Hyperspin, I get a brief few flashes then no control panel LEDs at all, however if I launch silverjuke standalone, which leaves LEDBlinky in the system tray, and then run Hyperspin, initially I get no LED action until I select the Jukebox menu, when it spring back to life with the gamelist animation and the hyperspin controls then lightup as they should. The jukebox then works fine, with animations and all is well with other hyperspin LED stuff until I exit hyperspin which closes LEDBlinky and I'm back to square one.

I was wondering if you can point me at what might be happening, ideally if I can get it all to function by just starting Hyperspin it would be ideal, or if there is an easier approach to achieve the goal.

I have attached a debug file in which I first start Hyperspin and enter Jukebox and audio animation does not work, then I run silverjuke standalone, then I run Hyperspin again and after the initial lack of leds in the frontend, I enter the jukebox and audio animation is working fine.

If I could add the feature request to allow changing of gameplay animation by emulator to make this easier in the longrun !

All the best, thanks again

Rob.

Rob,
Funny you should mention that option - to specify the gameplay animation for each emulator - I was considering just that feature in the last release but never got around to it. Anyway, sounds like what you've setup with the script for the jukebox should work. I'll have to do some testing to see what's going on. For some reason I can't download the debug file so could you email it to me - send me the debug.zip (not the debug.txt). Also, can you include your script file so I can see the blinky commands you're using.

[Time Pilot]

Arzoo!  LedBlinky is an awesome piece of software!  I'm finally getting into it as I switch FEs.  I was previously using a plugin in GameEx.

I've got most of my LEDWiz issues sorted.  I do get Access Violation errors on animations, but I haven't really worked on that.  I see there are a number of posts- the solution is probably in there.

The problem I'm working on now is with my UltraSticks.  I have 4 of them, but it appears that maps are not loaded into all of them.  I have the the primary control set correctly (I think), and all software appears to be running.  I have attached a debug log for one example.  In this case, 3 of the UltraSticks are used for the game (mwalk).  The Player3 (UltraStick 2) stick is loaded correctly as 8-way, but Player1 (UltraStick 1) and Player2 (UltraStick 3) remain as 4-way.  It looks like the sticks are detected, but I must have screwed up the config somewhere.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[arzoo]

Arzoo!  LedBlinky is an awesome piece of software!  I'm finally getting into it as I switch FEs.  I was previously using a plugin in GameEx.

I've got most of my LEDWiz issues sorted.  I do get Access Violation errors on animations, but I haven't really worked on that.  I see there are a number of posts- the solution is probably in there.

The problem I'm working on now is with my UltraSticks.  I have 4 of them, but it appears that maps are not loaded into all of them.  I have the the primary control set correctly (I think), and all software appears to be running.  I have attached a debug log for one example.  In this case, 3 of the UltraSticks are used for the game (mwalk).  The Player3 (UltraStick 2) stick is loaded correctly as 8-way, but Player1 (UltraStick 1) and Player2 (UltraStick 3) remain as 4-way.  It looks like the sticks are detected, but I must have screwed up the config somewhere.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

The config looks fine. LEDBlinky detects your 4 u360's and it should be sending the primary control map to all 4 sticks every time you start a game (and then back to 4-way when you exit the game). Have you tried using the UltraMap app to see if you can manually change the map for all your sticks? If that works, try setting all 4 to 8-way, then start HS and then exit HS (without running any games). Check if all 4 sticks are in 4-way mode. Let me know the results.

[200X]

Anyone have any quick ideas why LedBlinky isn't working for me. I have the newest version of LedBlinky and the newest version of Maximus Arcade. I went through the installation pdf step by step but nothing is happening. I have MA running LedBlinky.exe at startup. I closed the mameroom.com LedWiz configurator which I normally use to light the LEDs.

[Time Pilot]

The config looks fine. LEDBlinky detects your 4 u360's and it should be sending the primary control map to all 4 sticks every time you start a game (and then back to 4-way when you exit the game). Have you tried using the UltraMap app to see if you can manually change the map for all your sticks? If that works, try setting all 4 to 8-way, then start HS and then exit HS (without running any games). Check if all 4 sticks are in 4-way mode. Let me know the results.

Thanks Arzoo!  Got it working now.  As suggested, I went back to the UltraMap app and everything appeared to be working fine there.  I could also confirm that LEDBlinky was only changing 1 of the sticks (I mapped them to 2-way joysticks in UltraMap to make it obvious). 

I checked the firmware versions on the sticks.  The stick that was updating was v2.3 and the non-updating sticks were v1.7.  I upgraded all the sticks to v2.4 and everything is working perfectly.

Thanks again! 

[arzoo]

Anyone have any quick ideas why LedBlinky isn't working for me. I have the newest version of LedBlinky and the newest version of Maximus Arcade. I went through the installation pdf step by step but nothing is happening. I have MA running LedBlinky.exe at startup. I closed the mameroom.com LedWiz configurator which I normally use to light the LEDs.

I've attached a screen shot of my MA config for LEDBlinky. If you have that all set correctly and it's still not working then from the LEDBlinky config - turn on the Debug and Verbose options. Run MA and start a game, then quit. Email me the debug.zip file in the LEDBlinky folder and I'll take a look.

[200X]

Anyone have any quick ideas why LedBlinky isn't working for me. I have the newest version of LedBlinky and the newest version of Maximus Arcade. I went through the installation pdf step by step but nothing is happening. I have MA running LedBlinky.exe at startup. I closed the mameroom.com LedWiz configurator which I normally use to light the LEDs.

I've attached a screen shot of my MA config for LEDBlinky. If you have that all set correctly and it's still not working then from the LEDBlinky config - turn on the Debug and Verbose options. Run MA and start a game, then quit. Email me the debug.zip file in the LEDBlinky folder and I'll take a look.

I have no clue what I did but it suddenly started working for MA. I'm still having problems lighting all the LEDs for the emulators. The joysticks aren't lighting up and I don't know how to add the extra buttons like the 4-way joystick buttons which are basically the same as Player 1 buttons. Same with the trackball buttons which are assigned to mouse buttons. I want all the LEDs always lit up.

[arzoo]

I have no clue what I did but it suddenly started working for MA. I'm still having problems lighting all the LEDs for the emulators. The joysticks aren't lighting up and I don't know how to add the extra buttons like the 4-way joystick buttons which are basically the same as Player 1 buttons. Same with the trackball buttons which are assigned to mouse buttons. I want all the LEDs always lit up.

If all you want to do is light all the LEDs at all times then you really don't need LEDBlinky - it's overkill. I think you can use the LumaAudio software provided by GroovyGameGear to turn on all the ports when the pc first boots up. But if you want to stick with LEDBlinky then one solution would be to use the Animation Editor to create a single frame animation with all the LEDs lit. Then you can launch LEDBlinky from a batch file at boot time with this command:
<path>ledblinky.exe <animation>.lwax
With this method you would not use any of the MA LEDBlinky options. If you want to stick with MA launching blinky then you could turn off all the FE and Game Start options and just use the Cabinet Animation feature (on the Misc. Options tab). Either way you'll need to create the animation to turn on all the LEDs.

[200X]

I have no clue what I did but it suddenly started working for MA. I'm still having problems lighting all the LEDs for the emulators. The joysticks aren't lighting up and I don't know how to add the extra buttons like the 4-way joystick buttons which are basically the same as Player 1 buttons. Same with the trackball buttons which are assigned to mouse buttons. I want all the LEDs always lit up.

If all you want to do is light all the LEDs at all times then you really don't need LEDBlinky - it's overkill. I think you can use the LumaAudio software provided by GroovyGameGear to turn on all the ports when the pc first boots up. But if you want to stick with LEDBlinky then one solution would be to use the Animation Editor to create a single frame animation with all the LEDs lit. Then you can launch LEDBlinky from a batch file at boot time with this command:
<path>ledblinky.exe <animation>.lwax
With this method you would not use any of the MA LEDBlinky options. If you want to stick with MA launching blinky then you could turn off all the FE and Game Start options and just use the Cabinet Animation feature (on the Misc. Options tab). Either way you'll need to create the animation to turn on all the LEDs.

I want to have all the LEDs lit up during gameplay. But I still want to use the animations and stuff when starting the FE and games etc.

Now the LEDs are lit up the way I wanted for all the emulators except for MAME. I don't understand what is going on with mame. I'm trying to use the same default mapping for MAME but it won't work 100% correct. Some of the LEDs are not lighting up. And it also complains about not finding <default> when trying to edit the default mame buttons after editing them once.

I'm also getting these weird errors while navigating the FE. Something about a launch.bat and the location or something. And the FE active animation won't play after exiting a game. Only after starting the FE.

[arzoo]

I want to have all the LEDs lit up during gameplay. But I still want to use the animations and stuff when starting the FE and games etc.

Now the LEDs are lit up the way I wanted for all the emulators except for MAME. I don't understand what is going on with mame. I'm trying to use the same default mapping for MAME but it won't work 100% correct. Some of the LEDs are not lighting up. And it also complains about not finding <default> when trying to edit the default mame buttons after editing them once.

I'm also getting these weird errors while navigating the FE. Something about a launch.bat and the location or something. And the FE active animation won't play after exiting a game. Only after starting the FE.

Turn on the Debug/Verbose options and run a mame game. Then email me the debug.zip file.

As for the launch.bat error - that has something to do with MA. It was discussed briefly in this thread. You may need to post on the MA forum to find a solution.

[200X]

I sent you the debug.zip. But I also sent you LEDBlinky.log because it is showing some errors too. Maybe you know what they mean.

[200X]

It seems as if removing the controls.ini takes care of the LED problem with MAME. But it also seems to disable Speak Name on Game Start 

The FE Active Animation also seems to disrupt when ever scrolling games. If I scroll the games fast, all the LEDs will blink for a while before the animation continues. Is there a reason for this?

[arzoo]

It seems as if removing the controls.ini takes care of the LED problem with MAME. But it also seems to disable Speak Name on Game Start 

The FE Active Animation also seems to disrupt when ever scrolling games. If I scroll the games fast, all the LEDs will blink for a while before the animation continues. Is there a reason for this?

The FE Active Animation will stop while scrolling games if you have the "Demo Game Controls" option on. As you scroll through each game, the controls for that game light up. If you don't want the animation interrupted then just turn off that feature.

I'll take a look at the log and get back to you.

[200X]

It seems as if removing the controls.ini takes care of the LED problem with MAME. But it also seems to disable Speak Name on Game Start 

The FE Active Animation also seems to disrupt when ever scrolling games. If I scroll the games fast, all the LEDs will blink for a while before the animation continues. Is there a reason for this?

The FE Active Animation will stop while scrolling games if you have the "Demo Game Controls" option on. As you scroll through each game, the controls for that game light up. If you don't want the animation interrupted then just turn off that feature.

I'll take a look at the log and get back to you.

The option isn't on for me and it still does that. All the lights blink at each game.

[arzoo]

The option isn't on for me and it still does that. All the lights blink at each game.

Yup - checked your config and you're not using the demo mode. But I do see you have the "Button Flash" feature turned on - try that off.

[200X]

The option isn't on for me and it still does that. All the lights blink at each game.

Yup - checked your config and you're not using the demo mode. But I do see you have the "Button Flash" feature turned on - try that off.

Yeah, that did the trick. Thanks a lot.

[200X]

Almost there...

Now when I start the FE, the animation plays nicely. But then I start a MAME game and the animation still keeps on playing. When I exit MAME, the animation stops. I start MAME again and no LEDs light up. If I start another emulator, the LEDs work fine. Then I exit the emulator and everything goes off again.

So 2 problems at the moment.

1) the LEDs aren't lighting up when starting mame.

2) The FE animation won't play after quiting a game and going back to MA.

[200X]

Thank you very much arzoo for taking your time to help me. Very cool guy. 

The only problems I have left are:

1) File Write Error: File not open
The file "D:\Maximus Arcade\LEDBlinky380\LEDBlinky\Launch.bat" could not be written.  Verify that the folder structure of the file location exists.

2) The FE active animation won't play after quiting a game and going back to MA. (actually, I think it plays for like a second and stops)

I registered to the MA forum but my account hasn't been activated yet. If anyone has any solutions please let me know. Thanks.

[Time Pilot]

Hi Guys-  well, I can't seem to knock this "Access violation at address 00494892 in module "LEDBlinky.exe". Read address 00000000"

Everthing runs fine if I have animations turned off.  Game controls light up as programmed.  In the Hyperspin setup, I can play animations, and they work well without crashing.  However, when I select a game through Hyperspin with animations turned on, the animation sequence will play and then I get the error.

I've made sure that all entries in the DevicePort-Input.ini file have labels and keycodes assigned.  I've tried both MAME32 and MAME.

I actually got it too work once by removing all the extra blank LEDWiz and PacDrive entries from the DevicePort-Input.ini file, but it only worked once.  Weird. 

I think these were all the solutions to this problem that I could find in this thread.  Did I miss anything?

I'm very happy with just having the controls light up, but those animations are too cool to ignore

Thanks!

[200X]

O arzoo, where art thou?

Could you resend the files please?

-Thanks

[arzoo]

Hi Guys-  well, I can't seem to knock this "Access violation at address 00494892 in module "LEDBlinky.exe". Read address 00000000"

Everthing runs fine if I have animations turned off.  Game controls light up as programmed.  In the Hyperspin setup, I can play animations, and they work well without crashing.  However, when I select a game through Hyperspin with animations turned on, the animation sequence will play and then I get the error.

I've made sure that all entries in the DevicePort-Input.ini file have labels and keycodes assigned.  I've tried both MAME32 and MAME.

I actually got it too work once by removing all the extra blank LEDWiz and PacDrive entries from the DevicePort-Input.ini file, but it only worked once.  Weird. 

I think these were all the solutions to this problem that I could find in this thread.  Did I miss anything?

I'm very happy with just having the controls light up, but those animations are too cool to ignore

Thanks!

Run HS through the crash with debug/verbose on. Then send me the debug.zip file and also the animation (.lwax) file you are using. I'll take a look.

[arzoo]

O arzoo, where art thou?

Could you resend the files please?

-Thanks

I don't know why we're having so many problems with email - I've sent you 4 or 5 but you're not getting them.

Anyway - I just sent you another email with the patch link but this time I used the 2nd email address you gave me. Hopefully it will work   

Let me know if you get it!