Author Topic: Favorite Front End (Read 240742 times)

wp34 · « **Reply #360 on:** February 24, 2015, 09:44:28 am »

I played a little with Attract Mode last night and am very impressed so far. It is pretty easy to configure and I like that I can use a text editor to make changes and setup emulators.

tkersting · « **Reply #361 on:** February 24, 2015, 10:33:41 pm »

MaLa. Using it on a old penguin 4 and it runs fine.

Garetmax · « **Reply #362 on:** February 28, 2015, 01:26:40 pm »

Voting for GameEx

tthurman · « **Reply #363 on:** March 01, 2015, 07:10:34 pm »

Cast my vote for GameEx as well.

stevodevo · « **Reply #364 on:** March 02, 2015, 08:33:22 am »

Cool thread... I built my arcade back in 2004 but only really 'finished' a few years ago...

Mamewah all the way. Not sure but I think it was the new kid on the block when I was building and had all the hype. I've never heard of most of these but maybe I'll give them a try someday. My only gripe with Mamewah is that it relies on a ton of config files that can get a bit tricky to manipulate and upgrading to new versions is a bear.

My 7 yo uses it regularly so no problem with it being kid friendly. Thanks Minwah!

Minwah · « **Reply #365 on:** March 03, 2015, 12:28:47 pm »

Quote from: stevodevo on March 02, 2015, 08:33:22 am

Cool thread... I built my arcade back in 2004 but only really 'finished' a few years ago...

Mamewah all the way. Not sure but I think it was the new kid on the block when I was building and had all the hype. I've never heard of most of these but maybe I'll give them a try someday. My only gripe with Mamewah is that it relies on a ton of config files that can get a bit tricky to manipulate and upgrading to new versions is a bear.

My 7 yo uses it regularly so no problem with it being kid friendly. Thanks Minwah!

No problem, glad you are still happily using it!

It certainly doesn't have the bells and whistles that some of the newer FE's have, but that doesn't bother me too much. I always run my cabinets at 15khz on CRT's (384x288 in frontend max) and am quite happy to have a simple layout so it works well.

I am currently working on a computer / console emulator system so have been configuring several emulators (7 consoles and 6 or 7 computers) so can feel your pain on the configuration side of things!

zabrin · « **Reply #366 on:** April 26, 2015, 04:31:32 pm »

I am going to have to say GameEx. I just find it so easy to use and setup. It is now the only FE I use. I like the Steam integration which is why I switched from Hyperspin.

Just my .02...

Z.

stigzler · « **Reply #367 on:** April 27, 2015, 07:08:12 pm »

Shouting out GameEx too. Depends what you want, I suppose. GameEx is great for a beginner and once you get into it - you can get more advanced with it too - using supplemental scripts etc. What attracted me to it when picking my first front end was how customizable it is. That's ultimately what put me off hyperspin - all the videos/demos of it looked mainly the same - flashy but generic.

Again, before being shot down - depends on what you want. Kinda view Hyperspin as the Apple of Frontends - you get an attractive looking end product that's universally recognized. GameEx, on the other hand, allows you to tinker a great deal. Also, very regulalry updated + dedicated team around it. I'd recommend it especially to people who know they are going to end up wanting to take it apart, see how it works and mod it to how they want it to look.

Haven't used the others - so dunno about them! (oh, apart from tinkering with that 3D arcade FE ages+ages ago - that was pretty funky).

tma · « **Reply #368 on:** May 12, 2015, 06:38:53 am »

Yay! HyperSpin
Took a bit to figure out but well worth the effort.

thomas

Phreakwars · « **Reply #369 on:** July 15, 2015, 06:08:04 am »

I would have voted Hyperspin, I do indeed like it alot. I did a custom compile of mame for it a couple years ago and installed it on my son's laptop and he just loved it. I actually haven't gotten around to trying the newest version of it yet but I have downloaded it to play around with it.

But anyways... I voted Atomic FE. I kind of like the way the Atomic Studio lets you configure things to your liking. I tried a couple of the other ones, but they seemed to just give me a headache for the most part.. Perhaps I'll go back and give them another look. I do see there are ALOT of FE's listed, many that I have not even heard of, so I will for sure look into some of these other ones. But, I've already put alot of effort into how I have configured Atomic FE so far, so I really don't see myself scraping that project to take on a whole new one for the cabinet I am in the process of building.. What's funny, is back in the day (Windows 98), my 2 fav's would have been ArcadeOS, and Tim Eckel's Arcade@Home.

dr.prodigy · « **Reply #370 on:** July 17, 2015, 07:00:50 am »

I, of course, vote for FEEL, even if it's not in the list

Hoopz · « **Reply #371 on:** July 17, 2015, 07:53:27 am »

Quote from: Hoopz on September 24, 2008, 08:55:42 pm

Finally, if someone points out that a FE hasn't been included, it can then be added to the Wiki. In the words of Michael Scott, win-win-win.

Let me know if another FE needs added.

Quote from: dr.prodigy on July 17, 2015, 07:00:50 am

I, of course, vote for FEEL, even if it's not in the list

Poll updated. I've not been active on the Boards in a few months but if someone would have sent me a PM, I could have updated the OP before now.

dr.prodigy · « **Reply #372 on:** July 17, 2015, 01:21:06 pm »

Hi Hoopz, thank you very much, as a voter and of course as FEEL developer

You've been really fast, even if I didnt follow the "official procedures" (sorry for this!)..
Thank you!

keilmillerjr · « **Reply #373 on:** July 20, 2015, 06:59:39 am »

Quote from: Hoopz on July 17, 2015, 07:53:27 am

Poll updated. I've not been active on the Boards in a few months but if someone would have sent me a PM, I could have updated the OP before now.

FEEL was announced to the public here on the forum almost exactly one month ago. A few months ago we didn't know about FEEL. It's a good addition to the list. I love new development.

Hoopz · « **Reply #374 on:** August 25, 2015, 08:24:33 pm »

Quote from: dr.prodigy on July 17, 2015, 01:21:06 pm

Hi Hoopz, thank you very much, as a voter and of course as FEEL developer
You've been really fast, even if I didnt follow the "official procedures" (sorry for this!)..
Thank you!

Sorry, I took your OP as being passive aggressive. I was cranky and realize it wasn't your fault. Thanks for posting about your FE and I hope it's going well.

Elaphe · « **Reply #375 on:** October 04, 2015, 10:49:59 am »

My vote goes to EmuLoader because it can work both as a very powerful and massive game manager and database and also as a traditional frontend, as simple as you wish. In any case, it's extremelly easy to setup and that's a great advantage. It's true it's not arcade-cabinet oriented in the looks and the controls, although I have fixed some of these lacks with the use of AutoHotkey. The support offered by its author and the constant evolution and updates makes it better every day.

Soundwave · « **Reply #376 on:** October 10, 2015, 03:44:20 pm »

I like GameX. I have it set so that when it boots, you can hear the audio ambience of an arcade room, kinda helps set in the mood. Just takes a lot of time to get it set up. Plus it can show cabinets, marquees, flyers..etc

Ian · « **Reply #377 on:** December 15, 2015, 07:33:12 pm »

I am really really really liking MGalaxy. It works very nice.

jtslade · « **Reply #378 on:** December 15, 2015, 07:47:02 pm »

Quote from: mamefreak2 on October 12, 2011, 11:10:10 am

Can't comment on the other front ends but I just started using Hyperspin and I can't say enough good things about it. I'm not a computer guy and there are definitely some tweaks here and there that you learn along the way but overall it's pretty easy to learn and the front end ....,

Side note, mamefreak2 just finished getting Hyperspin setup 100% this week.

I'm only 7 years in on one of my cabs and still tinkering with it.. Maybe someday it will be complete..

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

jtslade · « **Reply #379 on:** December 15, 2015, 07:52:27 pm »

MGalaxy does look pretty straight forward. Should be good for parties with a short list, or maybe if you can lock it to only favorites

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ian · « **Reply #380 on:** December 15, 2015, 10:56:52 pm »

Quote from: jtslade on December 15, 2015, 07:52:27 pm

MGalaxy does look pretty straight forward. Should be good for parties with a short list, or maybe if you can lock it to only favorites

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep, it's incredibly simple. either do a favorites list which is easy or just alter the database. Either way I have all my videos and emulators playing with in a couple of days. No issues and it's very simple to navigate.

someoneelse · « **Reply #381 on:** February 24, 2016, 07:31:37 am »

MaLa for a CRT Cab, due to the perfect support for cabs with automated rotating monitor (Quadro Games Jumbo) and because of RetroGUI with its built-in abstract control panel display(Players, Buttons & Controls).

My old setup (for LCD) was Hyperspin, but I would use GameEx these days if I still had a LCD setup.

ArcadeBliss · « **Reply #382 on:** March 31, 2016, 04:55:15 pm »

Need to add AttractMode to the list: attractmode.org. Great and flexible frontend

Hoopz · « **Reply #383 on:** March 31, 2016, 04:58:02 pm »

kaptainsteve · « **Reply #384 on:** July 07, 2016, 02:54:50 pm »

Can you still vote?
I've changed and now I am an AttractMode convert.

http://attractmode.org/

ppv · « **Reply #385 on:** July 07, 2016, 07:53:34 pm »

Quote from: wp34 on February 24, 2015, 09:44:28 am

I played a little with Attract Mode last night and am very impressed so far. It is pretty easy to configure and I like that I can use a text editor to make changes and setup emulators.

First FE I tried that I got up and running within an hour. Really impressive. If only skin building was easy though!

ArcadeBliss · « **Reply #386 on:** July 08, 2016, 02:45:28 am »

Quote from: ppv on July 07, 2016, 07:53:34 pm

Quote from: wp34 on February 24, 2015, 09:44:28 am
I played a little with Attract Mode last night and am very impressed so far. It is pretty easy to configure and I like that I can use a text editor to make changes and setup emulators.

First FE I tried that I got up and running within an hour. Really impressive. If only skin building was easy though!

True. Skin building is ulyra flexible even to the point that i mage custom menus nit natively available in the frontend. You shoud visit the themes section of tge AM forum, there have been some awesome themes lately. Even one that emulates a comic book.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Soundwave · « **Reply #387 on:** October 24, 2016, 11:17:20 am »

Anyone looked into Launchbox lately? They put in a lot of really attractive features in their new versions. I'm trying to figure out if it's better or equal to GameX, need to find a feature comparison list.

Toni · « **Reply #388 on:** November 17, 2016, 02:19:10 pm »

I am using Atomicfe as my frontend. The postive things with atomicfe is that it is easy to configure, most emulators works good on it. It has good looking layouts, so the good thing is its simplicity and nice interfaces.

I recommend atomicfe to people who want a simple frontend to set up

yotsuya · « **Reply #389 on:** November 17, 2016, 05:52:48 pm »

Quote from: Toni on November 17, 2016, 02:19:10 pm

I am using Atomicfe as my frontend. The postive things with atomicfe is that it is easy to configure, most emulators works good on it. It has good looking layouts, so the good thing is its simplicity and nice interfaces.

I recommend atomicfe to people who want a simple frontend to set up

Agreed.

8BitMonk · « **Reply #390 on:** November 17, 2016, 10:17:33 pm »

Not sure if anyone else noticed (maybe I missed the memo?) but Hyperspin updated their site and has a new series of tutorial videos that are very professionally done.

Titchgamer · « **Reply #391 on:** November 18, 2016, 04:48:26 am »

Quote from: 8BitMonk on November 17, 2016, 10:17:33 pm

Not sure if anyone else noticed (maybe I missed the memo?) but Hyperspin updated their site and has a new series of tutorial videos that are very professionally done.

Didnt know that but its about time they did!!
Great FE but a ---smurfette--- to set up for the first time!!

aqsmorningview · « **Reply #392 on:** February 03, 2017, 09:19:55 am »

ok does anyone have a video or something on how mameui turns into a front end?

SNAAKE · « **Reply #393 on:** February 08, 2017, 11:26:48 am »

hyperspin for windows

attract mode for pi even tho its not as smooth

I like emulation station for PI too..it may not look that fancy but everything works and smooth

Gh0sty · « **Reply #394 on:** February 17, 2017, 03:43:59 am »

Launchbox.
2017 I completely changed to LB, its the mosty easy to setup FE, it grabs automaticaly all the Media stuff for you,
and if you like you can even use Hyperspin Game Videos (Game Theme's), just a click and you get everthing from EmuMovies.

aqsmorningview · « **Reply #395 on:** February 24, 2017, 12:53:28 pm »

im probably just gonna make my mameuifx my front end,its clean and to the point.yes its not flashy but i just neede something to come up instead of my windows desktop so it feels like an arcade and not a computer.

djrobx · « **Reply #396 on:** March 11, 2017, 02:02:45 am »

I'm completely blown away by AttractMode. I thought I was stuck with Mala for my 3 sided cab, but I was able to duplicate what Mala did very quickly with AttractMode's plugin system. In fact AttractMode even was able to load the customized theme I did for Mala, but without all the weird transparency artifacts.

Not that I used my Mala theme for long, there are some absolutely gorgeous AttractMode layouts. Really brilliant stuff.

But best of all, this is OPEN SOURCE, meaning that we'll always be able to evolve it or fix it as needed even if the author loses interest in the project.

DronttiEdvard · « **Reply #397 on:** March 11, 2017, 11:35:29 pm »

Is there any front end that lets you browse by game series or genre ignoring the platform it is made for and not just by emulator and a-z. I'd like to see all games in lets say mario universe under one menu. All fighter games under one etc. It would be nice to have favourites for game series too so that there is no fillers inbetween

stigzler · « **Reply #398 on:** March 12, 2017, 06:29:04 am »

Quote from: DronttiEdvard on March 11, 2017, 11:35:29 pm

Is there any front end that lets you browse by game series or genre ignoring the platform it is made for and not just by emulator and a-z. I'd like to see all games in lets say mario universe under one menu. All fighter games under one etc. It would be nice to have favourites for game series too so that there is no fillers inbetween

You can do this via GameEx with this plugin:

https://www.gameex.info/forums/files/file/537-custom-lists/

DronttiEdvard · « **Reply #399 on:** March 12, 2017, 09:24:34 am »

Looks like lots of work to do all that manually but I guess it is just the price I need to pay for it


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What Front End are you using?

Author Topic: Favorite Front End (Read 240742 times)