LEDBlinky for Dummies (Me!)

[Avenger257]

Let me first begin by saying what many of you already know... LEDBlinky is amazing.  The first time I saw my buttons light up (GGG ICE RGBs w/ the drive) I knew I had made the right choice and the hours upon hours of wiring and the extra cost of the LED-WIZs was well worth it... I am humbled by the amount of work people put into this and let people like me use it... thank you Arzoo!

I have some very stupid questions that I hope someone will be able to help me with.  I am sure it is already posted here somewhere but I have looked and looked and I am not finding what I need (or don't understand what it says perhaps?)


1) I have a smart strip and I would like for my computer to power on and have all of the buttons light up to the colors I want (and stay that way for the most part).  How do I do this?  I have mapped all the buttons, I have created animations in the editor, and I have gotten to use some of the animations that are pre-installed but I just can't figure out how to get it so my buttons light up to the colors I want.  My control panel is a four player (plus) and I would like all the buttons for player one to be blue and player two to be red for example.

2) I have created animations and saved them.  Can I move them to a folder to select them in the pull-down menu?

3) Is there a way to have the button be one color and when you hit it be another?  I think there is but I wonder if my set-up cases a problem.  I have four U360s and all of the buttons are connected through them... does that matter and can I set this up?

4) Can someone please explain to me what MAME Output test does?  I keep getting the following error:

Start MAME or MAME32.
Run any game(s) to display Outputs.

00001 MAME Start
00002 Ouptut(0): MVSCR1
00003 Ouptut(12345): PAUSE
00004 00001 PAUSE on
00005 00002 PAUSE off
00006 MAME Stop

and then I get an error box that says "Access violation at address 0000000000 read of address 000000000"


Any help/links would be greatly apprecaited....

[mytymaus007]

HUH

[arzoo]

1) I have a smart strip and I would like for my computer to power on and have all of the buttons light up to the colors I want (and stay that way for the most part).  How do I do this?  I have mapped all the buttons, I have created animations in the editor, and I have gotten to use some of the animations that are pre-installed but I just can't figure out how to get it so my buttons light up to the colors I want.  My control panel is a four player (plus) and I would like all the buttons for player one to be blue and player two to be red for example.

To run your LED animation when the pc first boots up, you can create a batch file and put it in your startup folder. This is the LEDBlinky command to run the animation:
<path>\ledblinky.exe <animation>.lwax

2) I have created animations and saved them.  Can I move them to a folder to select them in the pull-down menu?

Yes, put all your animation files in the \LEDBlinky\lwa folder.

3) Is there a way to have the button be one color and when you hit it be another?  I think there is but I wonder if my set-up cases a problem.  I have four U360s and all of the buttons are connected through them... does that matter and can I set this up?

Sorry - LEDBlinky does not do this. As I recall there was another app created by a byoac member that did this - but you would not be able to use both (LEDBlinky and the other app) at the same time.

4) Can someone please explain to me what MAME Output test does?  I keep getting the following error:

Start MAME or MAME32.
Run any game(s) to display Outputs.

00001 MAME Start
00002 Ouptut(0): MVSCR1
00003 Ouptut(12345): PAUSE
00004 00001 PAUSE on
00005 00002 PAUSE off
00006 MAME Stop

and then I get an error box that says "Access violation at address 0000000000 read of address 000000000"

The MAME emulator software provides output messages which other software apps can use. These messages indicate when a game starts and stops, when a game is paused and un-paused, and any other game specific outputs. For example some classic games flash the start buttons when credits are available - the start button on/off state would be a mame output message. Other games may light specific buttons during game play. For example, Spy Hunter lights specific buttons when weapons become available. Or Q-Bert - a mame output message is used to fire the "knocker". Anyway, in response to your question, the MAME Output Test included with LEDBlinky can be used to identify which (if any) output messages a game is generating. But unless there's a specific game you're trying to configure (like Spy Hunter), there's really no reason to mess with the test app.

Hope this info helps. Post if you have other questions. Also, check out the "Install & Config" doc included with blinky - it can answer a lot of questions about all the features.

One thing you didn't mention in your post is which FE you plan to use?

[Avenger257]

Arzoo... thank you very much for the help.  I have read through the included documents but wasn't sure I understood...

I have set up Hyperspin as my FE but I am thinking that I might need to change?  Don't get me wrong, I love Hyperspin but the reason I say this is because it seems like I would be able to do more (with lighting) with another FE... what is your opinion?

[ivwshane]

What's needed to get spy hunter to light the button when ready? Does ledblinky already handle this correctly or does it involve more setup?

[arzoo]

Arzoo... thank you very much for the help.  I have read through the included documents but wasn't sure I understood...

My documentation skills are not all that good

I have set up Hyperspin as my FE but I am thinking that I might need to change?  Don't get me wrong, I love Hyperspin but the reason I say this is because it seems like I would be able to do more (with lighting) with another FE... what is your opinion?

LEDBlinky has the same features for HS as with most of the other integrated FEs (MaLa, AtomicFE, GameEx, and Maximus Arcade). Even the non-integrated FE's (like MameWah) can use most of blinky's features. So I'd go with whichever FE you like best.

[arzoo]

What's needed to get spy hunter to light the button when ready? Does ledblinky already handle this correctly or does it involve more setup?

You'll need to add this section to the MameOutputs.ini file:

[spyhunt]
LAMP0=P1_BUTTON4
LAMP1=P1_BUTTON5
LAMP2=P1_BUTTON3
LAMP3=P1_BUTTON2
LAMP4=P1_BUTTON1

Also, Spy Hunter is not included in the controls.ini file  , so you should import it using the controls editor and set the correct button colors and voice commands (Weapons Van, Machine Gun, Missile, etc.)

[Avenger257]

Arzoo... thank you very much for the help.  I have read through the included documents but wasn't sure I understood...

My documentation skills are not all that good


Believe me, I am not complaining... what you have done is amazing and I really appreciate you helping me with all of my stupid questions... I've said it before and I will say it again... THANK YOU!

I have set up Hyperspin as my FE but I am thinking that I might need to change?  Don't get me wrong, I love Hyperspin but the reason I say this is because it seems like I would be able to do more (with lighting) with another FE... what is your opinion?

LEDBlinky has the same features for HS as with most of the other integrated FEs (MaLa, AtomicFE, GameEx, and Maximus Arcade). Even the non-integrated FE's (like MameWah) can use most of blinky's features. So I'd go with whichever FE you like best.

I am sure you don't want to say you favor one over the other.... maybe I can ask the question a different way... I notice that Hyperspin doesn't have the same integration that the other FEs have (like the drop down menu for example).  If I was only thinking about the FE that integrates the best (read: easiest) is there one that you would choose?  I am obviously kind of new to this and I know that there are many options with strengths and weakness but I am think that I spent hundreds of dollars on light and it would be great to get to use them in their full capacity... if you can, any direction would be great..

[arzoo]

I am sure you don't want to say you favor one over the other.... maybe I can ask the question a different way... I notice that Hyperspin doesn't have the same integration that the other FEs have (like the drop down menu for example).  If I was only thinking about the FE that integrates the best (read: easiest) is there one that you would choose?  I am obviously kind of new to this and I know that there are many options with strengths and weakness but I am think that I spent hundreds of dollars on light and it would be great to get to use them in their full capacity... if you can, any direction would be great..

I run MaLa in my cab - the original version of blinky only ran as a MaLa plugin. Needless to say, the handshaking between the two apps is tight. But all five of the FEs I listed have the same exact LEDBlinky features. So I'm not sure which drop-down you are referring to?

For my next cab I'll probably try a different FE.