"Frets on Fire?"

[garnerb350]

I've seen on a couple of websites of MAMEers who have this on thier cabs....basicly GHero on arcade...and they somehow incorporated the playstation 2 guitars controllers to operate on their PCs...Does anyone know more about this setup, perhaps has it on their cabs, and what steps they did to get theirs running?

[CCM]

http://fretsonfire.wikidot.com/

[sac01]

I have FOF as well as GH3 and guitarzero (aka guitar star) .  I have 2 xbox360 guitars hooked up to my arcade cabinet and they work perfectly.  Pretty much plug and play.  Over the past year, the guitar games have seen more use than the arcade stuff on the cab.

[um3k]

I am using the PS2 guitar on my PC for FOF.  You just need a PS2 controller to USB adapter to plug the guitar in.   The guitar then shows up as a gamepad device.   The 5 frets show up as buttons, the strum up/down becomes one axis on the joystick/hat.  IIRC the whammy bar didn't show up for me, but you don't need it in FOF anyway.

[vputz]

I actually use a cordless keyboard for FoF, which is a bit awkward to hold so I wind up sitting with it upright on my knee... it's a bit more "Zither Hero" that way, but it works.

[Necro]

Just make sure to get the Alarian mod, makes the game 100x better.

[NelsonPJ]

I think the easiest (and cheapest) controller to use is the wired XBox 360 Guitar Hero II controller.  Plug it into your PC (it's a USB connection), let Windows find the driver on the internet, and it will work perfectly with Frets on Fire.  I bought mine on Amazon recently for $15.

A popular "mod" for Frets on Fire is called "MFH", which has recently been renamed "FoFIX".  You'll want to download the latest complete distribution of this mod.  The "mod" isn't really a patch - you're downloading a complete installation (except for the songs).  You can find more information in the forums at:

http://www.fretsonfire.net/forums/

These forums appear to be run by the same group that runs the wiki mentioned in a previous post.

[Epyx]

In my opinion Frets on Fire and Guitar Hero are as close to the spirit of the old arcade games as you can get with todays games.  Games that rely on hand eye coordination/patterns to master and reward you based on how good you are.  If you were good enough that one quarter lasts you a long, long time. Same goes for these games.

As for the controllers as others have mentioned you can use the Xbox360 guitars or the Playasia units.  Another great cabinet game imo is Ultrastar. I know during poker night after a few beers this game is a hoot singing old 80s tunes...

[dmworking247]

Just make sure to get the Alarian mod, makes the game 100x better.

I agree with this totally, this mod (also known as FoFx, FoF MFH mod, etc) supports multiplayer and is 100x times better than the original FoF project.

Find it, and information about getting songs, here: here at http://www.geetarfreaks.webs.com

Regarding putting a Playstation 2 guitar into your PC, all you need is this:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.789

Extremely simple & cheap... no fiddling about.

[crashwg]

This thread has inspired me to check out FoF again.  You see, I messed with it a while back and I seem to recall what put me off was that if you missed a note, the song didn't change.  Perhaps there was some option that I was missing or something but whatever it's in the past...  So now when I'm messing with it for the second time I see that it's programmed to do one of two things, a) cut all sound if you miss a note until you get another or b) play an alternate song file at the same position.

The first of the two is crappy for obvious reasons like you loose the beat of the song.  The second isn't quite perfect either the way I've seen it implemented in the few songs I've acquired.  You see, there's a .bat file that contains this:

Code: [Select]

echo off
@echo COPY
for /r %%a in (.) do (
@echo %%~na
cd "%%a"
if not exist song.ogg copy guitar.ogg song.ogg
)
cd..
@echo END COPY
Which seems to just make a copy of the song at a lower volume so when you play the game and miss a note the song just get's quieter.  (This is based on what I hear not what the code means, I don't understand that...  )  It would be nice if there was an easy way of removing just the guitar, but I imagine that's too much to ask.  I have come across a song that implements the switch better Freezepop's Get Ready 2 Rock plays all but the guitar when you miss a note.

Perhaps it's just a matter of looking for better songs/song packs that contain "guitar" and "song" tracks custom made rather than making them yourself with a .bat...

[Necro]

Crash, if you have GH or RB (pretty much any of them) you can 'rip' the songs from the DVD/CD the game is on and use them.  These definitely have the sound drop out when you screw up a note.  The songs in those games, from what I know, are either put together from master tapes where the guitar can be isolated or are re-recorded specifically for the game to accomplish the same thing.

[garnerb350]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses...the information will help me allot!....I downloaded the program and I had a lot of bugs...kept on crashing...Runtimes errors etc...I haven't had time to do research on correcting it...I've been busy compiling  my jukebox and watching the baby while the wife goes shopping...when I have more time, I will look more into it...I appreciate the responses...you guys rock!

[cool69rtcharger]

Sounds like you are having better luck then I have ever had with that program... i can't even get it to start. Every time I have opened it it crashes when it starts to load.

[NelsonPJ]

Are you running a "mod" version?  From what I understand, you don't want to run the "base" version because they tend to be buggy.  Try the "FoFIX" (aka "MFH") mod version as listed in this thread:

http://www.fretsonfire.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25040

This mod is a full installation - you don't need the "base" release.  I've had good success on my old PIII 933MHz with WinXP in my arcade cabinet.  I'm running the latest FoFIX 3.030 with the included "Megalight" theme that has reduced graphics.  I get occasional glitches, but it's definitely playable.  I'm sure if I had a slightly newer machine, I'd have no problems.  If you poke around the wiki listed earlier in this thread you'll find suggestions to improve performance, and the reason for common crashes, etc.

[garnerb350]

I believe I downloaded the base version....I just googled 'Frets on Fire" and went to the page and dloaded it...I just now dloaded the FoFix and when I get home later today i will try it...