The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Software Forum => Topic started by: bent98 on April 29, 2008, 05:30:26 pm
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http://hyperspin-fe.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=38
FYI to everyone who is not beta testing, you can checkout progress.
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I must say that progress is moving along at a nice pace... I am really looking forward to working with the new particle system.
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Very impressive BBB! :applaud:
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That second video is awesome, I love how each game has it's own theme. :notworthy:
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Unless someone else does the work and releases packs, there's no way I'd put that much into it myself.
Mamewah is fine for me.
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Unless someone else does the work and releases packs, there's no way I'd put that much into it myself.
Mamewah is fine for me.
There are a couple of us creating game themes for HyperSpin right now. BadBoyBill, Billpa, and myself. We are cranking themes out at a fairly steady rate, but there is no possible way we are going to be able to do them all. Right now I am creating themes for the mostly played games on my cabinet and requests every now and then. My graphic skills aren't the best and I'm currently learning Illustrator and Flash right now. But I've been able to create some very nice themes.... I'm sure once this is released to the public there will be interest in creating themes for it. Hopefully we can get a nice little community of theme builders going shortly after release. Thankfully in the mean time a default theme can be used for games that don't have a theme created yet.
Even at this point in beta the front end runs great... I honestly like it better then MameWah, but still use Maximus as my primary until a couple more tweaks are done on HyperSpin. HyperSpin will eventually become my primary front end...
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I must say this has the best eye candy of all the frontends I have used or seen. Even one in this project is really talented,
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Awesome looking frontend. Is this frontend going to support the ledwiz?
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Holy Schmollie!
Those MAME (the only program I run on my machine anymore) screens look frigging killer!
A project like this makes me want to upgrade my machine again!
I applaud everyone that is working on this extremely professional looking front end...
Take care and good luck, this looks soooooo promising!
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I'm impressed by the tons of work that has been done for artwork.
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Coming along nicly, Hopefully its finished by the time my cabinet is finished. Ive played with all the frontends and I havnt even played with this one yet and like it more.
Few questions but.
1. Emulator list, I have a webdesign and graphic design background so this wont be to hard at all if its possible. But will I be able to edit my own logos like N64,VECTREX, etc to add simply to the spin wheel, as I will be running around 15 different emulators. Which is another question is there any limit on the amount of emulators you can throw on?
2. What will the games lists look like without themes? Because I will be having a couple thousand games for each emulator im not going to run custom themes on that part. So im interested what does the spin wheel games look like with no themes. If you know what I mean. Will it show just the name of the file instead of "NO IMAGE AVAILABLE" like the last theme?
Cheers.
:applaud:
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Look like this is the most ugly FE I ever have seen :-P.
..... Just kidding, its look very awesome :D.
I just hoping it support mala plugins, so I can use my U360 joystick (directly why I use MALA). Otherwice this could been done something due using a *.bat file to programmering the joystick when run the emulator.....
The only other request I elsewice have is I want to see a general Jukebox theme, that can been used to launch a jukebox application of your own chooice, example launch it directly from the wheel or such.
Otherwice Nice work :applaud:, I just hope it run nice in 640x480 as well.
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Coming along nicly, Hopefully its finished by the time my cabinet is finished. Ive played with all the frontends and I havnt even played with this one yet and like it more.
Few questions but.
1. Emulator list, I have a webdesign and graphic design background so this wont be to hard at all if its possible. But will I be able to edit my own logos like N64,VECTREX, etc to add simply to the spin wheel, as I will be running around 15 different emulators. Which is another question is there any limit on the amount of emulators you can throw on?
2. What will the games lists look like without themes? Because I will be having a couple thousand games for each emulator im not going to run custom themes on that part. So im interested what does the spin wheel games look like with no themes. If you know what I mean. Will it show just the name of the file instead of "NO IMAGE AVAILABLE" like the last theme?
Cheers.
:applaud:
You can change any of the artwork, any. And you can specify default artwork per emulator/system. The wheel image unfortunately will not show the name of the file. I asked about it and he was working with trying it but he said he hated the way it looked, felt it destroyed the way the wheel looked compared to his vision for it so he instead displays the name of the game and manufacturer year at a definable spot in the theme. He hopes to have wheel images for all the us games by release. He is cutting the sprites from the title screens of the games for use on the wheel. Neo Geo Pocket is done so far.
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Awesome looking frontend. Is this frontend going to support the ledwiz?
I believe the fe will be able to launch an app before starting a game - that would give it limited LED-Wiz support via LEDBlinky.
What it really needs is a plug-in interface or at least the ability to launch external apps for these events:
fe start/quit
screensaver start/quit
game start/quit
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You can change any of the artwork, any. And you can specify default artwork per emulator/system. The wheel image unfortunately will not show the name of the file. I asked about it and he was working with trying it but he said he hated the way it looked, felt it destroyed the way the wheel looked compared to his vision for it so he instead displays the name of the game and manufacturer year at a definable spot in the theme. He hopes to have wheel images for all the us games by release. He is cutting the sprites from the title screens of the games for use on the wheel. Neo Geo Pocket is done so far.
Ok thats fair enough, Jesus thats alot of work but it would absolutly rock! I may have a look at cutting out all the Megadrive images for the wheel as they will be the game thats most played if he needs a hand and no ones working on that system yet :)
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A big part of making Hyperspin universally successful will be user help in getting artwork done.
If enough people get together to collaborate, it could be really special.
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Unless someone else does the work and releases packs, there's no way I'd put that much into it myself.
Mamewah is fine for me.
Dude, thats the second time you have come in on a HS thread and talk about how you wouldn't use it and you would stick with Mamewah. We get it, ok? It's not for everyone and its obviously not for you.
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I just hope it run nice in 640x480 as well.
It will run in almost any resolution without much additional work. All of the themes are created at 1024x768 as default. The images scale based on your resolutions. I run at 800x600, but all of the themes that I have created are at 1024x768. They look just as good in lower resolutions as they do at the default resolution.
As far as a plug-in system for Led-Wiz and similar products, I believe that BadBoyBill has stated that it is a possibility eventually. More than likely it will not be part of the initial release as the backend is still being written and we have not had a chance to see what it can do yet.
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Unless someone else does the work and releases packs, there's no way I'd put that much into it myself.
Mamewah is fine for me.
Dude, thats the second time you have come in on a HS thread and talk about how you wouldn't use it and you would stick with Mamewah. We get it, ok? It's not for everyone and its obviously not for you.
I have nothing against it. It looks completely freakin' awesome and if I hadn't already spent all this time setting up my current frontend, I'd probably wait for this one.
There's nothing wrong with someone pimping their favorite FE. I in no way trashed HS at all. I pointed out that I'm too lazy to do the work myself. (Not to mention my cab only has a 733mhz in it anyway)
You're the one getting their panties in a bunch over someone not using this FE, not me.
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:o ......I think I'm in love....
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Looks really nice, good work!
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:o ......I think I'm in love....
With who? GinsuVictim? ;D
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:o ......I think I'm in love....
With who? GinsuVictim? ;D
Yeah, that's what I was wondering.
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I'm impressed by the tons of work that has been done for artwork.
+1. This frontend is all about the artwork. I wonder how big the download size will be considering each theme might be 5 megabytes or more. Even compressed, there might be a gigabyte of data there.
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I'm impressed by the tons of work that has been done for artwork.
+1. This frontend is all about the artwork. I wonder how big the download size will be considering each theme might be 5 megabytes or more. Even compressed, there might be a gigabyte of data there.
I don't think any of the themes will be included with the main download of the application. We have a place setup where you can download each individual theme and might make theme packs that contain several themes. Currently my HyperSpin folder is a little over 400mb, but that is with 20+ themes plus videos. I also have lots of un-necessary files in my Hyperspin directory that I've been using for theme creation. The main .exe file is only 3.4mb and average size that I'm seeing right now with themes is about 4mb.
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If you use one layout by game.
If you have a full rom set of mame , i don't know exactly the number of different s games but ,it could be something like :
4Mb x 6000 games = 24 Giga?
Of course, i don't think somebody will do that. ;)
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If you use one layout by game.
If you have a full rom set of mame , i don't know exactly the number of different s games but ,it could be something like :
4Mb x 6000 games = 24 Giga?
Of course, i don't think somebody will do that. ;)
Heh, I would if we had the artwork... I've got 2tb of space on my cabinet right now and not really worried about space. Hell the complete EmuMovies collection is about 45gb...
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Hey everyone, thanks to those that like what theyre seeing.
Just to clear a few things up:
Theme size: Very small, average theme is less than a meg.
Why your seeing the large size is because of emumovies. Not necessary to use those but is a plus, just
like with any other FE. Themes are just artwork, like your box arts, titles, etc.. You should see really to
much difference in overall size of your artwork if your already using such things.
Using themes: You DO NOT have to use themes to make the system work. Its just an added bonus if you choose to
use them. Look at the third video down for NGPC. There are not individual themes, just some emu
movies, some boxarts and a default theme. You can make HS work with your existing artworks.
The only drawback currently is wheel images which we are working hard to produce. Im just about
done with the NES set and it didnt take me to long, expect to see full sets of wheel images as HS
matures. I made that video just to show people that you can run it without individual themes yet still
make it look good. And if you do have a theme it will override your default layout and animate in,
then when you go back to a game using the default settings then that will animate back in.
Emumovies: We currently have a deal with emumovies to host our special video sets that match up with all the artwork we produce and wheel images. Eventually youll just be able to go to the site, download your images, and get your emumovies, install your emu and be good to go.
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I take it the front end will not work with a vertical monitor set up as you would need to create the themes?
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If you use one layout by game.
If you have a full rom set of mame , i don't know exactly the number of different s games but ,it could be something like :
4Mb x 6000 games = 24 Giga?
Of course, i don't think somebody will do that. ;)
Yeah, the individual game skinning seems like it'll work great since I'm the type that cuts down the 6000 games to something like 200. It would be completely impractical to work a skin for every obscure majong game in the list as well as the countless others I can't or won't play.
Anyway, great looking frontend and (as someone pointed out) if you add LedBlinky and U360 support to the frontend, I'd be all over it. Heck, I might just use it for my regular computer it's that fun.
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Wow you guys are making some awesome progress. I cannot wait to get it running on my Cab, I might finally actually be able to say I am at Cab v1.0 :applaud:
I too would love to see LED Blinky plugin support sometime after release.
Yarb
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Maybe have some generic themes sorted by genre?
Like all fighting games without their own theme has a default fighting game theme.
Shooters, racing games............ Mah Jong
This way you could have a full mame romset, yet still have a little variety when cycling through them games.
This FE looks great, and I would definitely consider switching to it
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Hmmm, not a bad idea... I'll pitch it to the developer and see what he says about it.
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Curious,
With the wheel style game list system in Hyperspin (for mame game lists), how is each individual game title (name) graphic generated? Is is a fancy font system being used, or is the artwork created for each game title. I gather it may be the first option, as it would be crazy to generate the artwork for each game?
Dariusz
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Curious,
With the wheel style game list system in Hyperspin (for mame game lists), how is each individual game title (name) graphic generated? Is is a fancy font system being used, or is the artwork created for each game title. I gather it may be the first option, as it would be crazy to generate the artwork for each game?
Dariusz
From what I can tell they are going through each game and taking a snapshot of the titlescreen then cutting it out. I kid you not. Now do it 3000 times! hehe I think if people are going to go through the effort of doing something like this then I don't see why the graphics can't be used in other FE's as well. Seems like a job the whole community could benefit from not just HyperSpin users. Afterall projects like EmuMovies and Mr Do's artwork are produced to benefit everyone and I don't see why these graphics should be horded for a single FE.
So I guess my question is will these graphics be released as packs that can be used in other FE's? If this is the case then other FE users could help produce graphics for the set also.
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From what I can tell they are going through each game and taking a snapshot of the titlescreen then cutting it out. I kid you not. Now do it 3000 times! hehe I think if people are going to go through the effort of doing something like this then I don't see why the graphics can't be used in other FE's as well. Seems like a job the whole community could benefit from not just HyperSpin users. Afterall projects like EmuMovies and Mr Do's artwork are produced to benefit everyone and I don't see why these graphics should be horded for a single FE.
So I guess my question is will these graphics be released as packs that can be used in other FE's?
They will be released as packs.
I'm the only one making the wheel images right now and its a ton of work. If other people want to contribute in making them then it would be a nice community wide project. But the problem is that I dont think many people would join in such an effort.
The wheel images are being made a specific way and use one naming convention. I am also making dat's to match the wheel images used which also line up with the boxart and video packs to. Basically I'm not doing every game. Just US and EU for consoles.
You know as well as I do that once theyre on my download page people are gonna do as they wish with them anyways.
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They will be released as packs.
I'm the only one making the wheel images right now and its a ton of work. If other people want to contribute in making them then it would be a nice community wide project. But the problem is that I dont think many people would join in such an effort.
The wheel images are being made a specific way and use one naming convention. I am also making dat's to match the wheel images used which also line up with the boxart and video packs to. Basically I'm not doing every game. Just US and EU for consoles.
You know as well as I do that once theyre on my download page people are gonna do as they wish with them anyways.
I didn't know they were available for download. I understand the work involved in doing stuff like this, so the more work that can be spread around the better. If you didn't want the graphics used in other FE's then I wouldn't add support for them in my FE.
I'm very busy at the moment but when (and if) I ever get around to it I'd be happy to rip some logo's to add to the packs. Obviously I would be reluctant to do that if they were only allowed for use in HyperSpin. People get very protective over their FE's but I'd hate to see the arcade community split just because new FE's are being made.
IMHO There is plenty of room to share graphics without taking away from your hard work and the great FE that HyperSpin is. Since there is already a tonne of work been done to create cpanel's, snaps, movies, marquee's etc. It would be a shame to start restricting use of graphics now. Just my opinion but your welcome to decide what you want to do with stuff created by the HyperSpin community. In my opinion it's up to you, and just because you can download stuff from your website doesn't make me feel at ease to use them how I please.
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First.. WOW! even better then the first preview.
Please forgive me if its been asked, will this work on Vista64?
AWSOME progress!
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First.. WOW! even better then the first preview.
Please forgive me if its been asked, will this work on Vista64?
AWSOME progress!
I have had no problems with Hyperspin on 64 bit OSes, cant specifically remember now if I tried it on Vista64, but it works just fine on XP64 for sure.
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I didn't know they were available for download.
They are not available for download yet but they will be eventually.
It would be a shame to start restricting use of graphics now. Just my opinion but your welcome to decide what you want to do with stuff created by the HyperSpin community. In my opinion it's up to you, and just because you can download stuff from your website doesn't make me feel at ease to use them how I please.
I have not read anything about anyone restricting the use of graphics. Where are you getting this idea from?
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I think if people are going to go through the effort of doing something like this then I don't see why the graphics can't be used in other FE's as well. Seems like a job the whole community could benefit from not just HyperSpin users. Afterall projects like EmuMovies and Mr Do's artwork are produced to benefit everyone and I don't see why these graphics should be horded for a single FE.
No one is talking about hording graphics. Where is this notion coming from?
While true in the classical sense, a 'horde' of graphics is being created as a result of HyperSpin by the HyperSpin community, but from the above post, the word "horded" has a very negative connotation to it. These images are being custom made and in most cases they are being created from scratch. They are NOT being ripped out of snaps/titles/artwork/emumovies/marquees or the like. They are being hand drawn and in some cases vectored by hand from scratch. I know this is the case with most of the MAME themes; it may or may not be the case with console themes and artwork.
Why the acrimony?
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I run hyperspin on vista x64 and I am pretty sure BadBoyBill runs it on vista x64 too so no issue there.
I believe for the consoles that they are being ripped from the title screen images.
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I have not read anything about anyone restricting the use of graphics. Where are you getting this idea from?
I don't think it's fair to assume there isn't a restriction so that is why I am asking the question. If I remember correctly when I mentioned that Khameleon will probably end up including an importer for the HyperSpin skin format BBB seemed upset by it. I am just trying to be considerate by asking if there is permission to use them in a context outside HyperSpin.
No one is talking about hording graphics. Where is this notion coming from?
While true in the classical sense, a 'horde' of graphics is being created as a result of HyperSpin by the HyperSpin community, but from the above post, the word "horded" has a very negative connotation to it. These images are being custom made and in most cases they are being created from scratch. They are NOT being ripped out of snaps/titles/artwork/emumovies/marquees or the like. They are being hand drawn and in some cases vectored by hand from scratch. I know this is the case with most of the MAME themes; it may or may not be the case with console themes and artwork.
Why the acrimony?
I think your being a little hypersenstive (pardon the pun) to the word horde. By the use of it I mean "keeping it to yourselves" as in not making it available for others to use. There is nothing negative to it and I think your being defensive for no reason. I did not mention the snaps/titles/emumovies collections as being the source of the ripped artwork, but was making a parallel to the artwork as being freely available for everyone to use. As users of HyperSpin will use that artwork, so are users of other FE's. There are no restrictions of the use of said artwork. So my question is, will the artwork such as the logo's and/or other artwork produced by the HyperSpin community be available in the same vein as these other artwork projects or limited for use in HyperSpin only. That was my (what I thought) valid question. There is nothing bitter in my meaning or tone in asking that.
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Honestly, I don't see why anyone would want to "horde" images and keep anyone else from using them on any of their projects. Not a single one of us own the rights to any of these images we are simply ripping/modifying them (sometimes hand drawing) for our use. I personally say if anyone wants to use the images then more power to them. Hopefully, in return these people wanting to use them will also help contribute to the overall collection(s). We all have common goals here, so why not share our knowledge and resources for the benefit of the whole BYOAC community? Now, once someone starts selling these collections.... That is a whole different story.
Hell we are using Circo's EmuMovie collections and re-encoding them to .flv for our specific use. Circo is going to host our .flv collection and will be available to anyone that has access to the EmuMovies FTP. Anyone will be able to download them for their own uses... I don't see them being specific to HyperSpin.
Now as far as Khameleon is concerned, I have mixed feelings about it... It's not just about ripping images. It's ripping whole designs that other developers have created. However, it will never be as near as good as those front ends it is "borrowing" designs from. You know the old saying... Jack of all trades, master of none.
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I take it the front end will not work with a vertical monitor set up as you would need to create the themes?
I just read on the Hyperspin web site that it is horizontal only. I would love to have this on my vertical cab, but I guess I will have to have it only on my horizontal cab.
To everyone involved in this project: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:
AWESOME JOB SO FAR!!!
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Honestly, I don't see why anyone would want to "horde" images and keep anyone else from using them on any of their projects. Not a single one of us own the rights to any of these images we are simply ripping/modifying them (sometimes hand drawing) for our use. I personally say if anyone wants to use the images then more power to them. Hopefully, in return these people wanting to use them will also help contribute to the overall collection(s). We all have common goals here, so why not share our knowledge and resources for the benefit of the whole BYOAC community? Now, once someone starts selling these collections.... That is a whole different story.
The more that word "horde" is being thrown around here the uglier it sounds. I'm starting to see it was clearly a bad choice of words.
Anyway I'm glad to see someone sees things the same way I do! I totally agree and I don't see it as a one way street either, everyone can pitch in to create graphic sets so coders can concentrate on coding. To be honest I didn't even know there were graphic artists around here willing to help out. I guess it takes something really impressive like the HyperSpin video to motive people into action.
Hell we are using Circo's EmuMovie collections and re-encoding them to .flv for our specific use. Circo is going to host our .flv collection and will be available to anyone that has access to the EmuMovies FTP. Anyone will be able to download them for their own uses... I don't see them being specific to HyperSpin.
Circo's done a hell of a job to create the EmuMovie collection and I take my hat off to him. I'm not sure about the .flv format being a common one, as HyperSpin is the only FE that uses it AFAIK. But still great to hear Circo is happy to host.
Now as far as Khameleon is concerned, I have mixed feelings about it... It's not just about ripping images. It's ripping whole designs that other developers have created. However, it will never be as near as good as those front ends it is "borrowing" designs from. You know the old saying... Jack of all trades, master of none.
I'm not sure if I agree here. Khameleon imports many other FE skins so I don't see a problem with it. I have no personal interest in writing an importer for HyperSpin skins even though my engine can pull of the same level of animation. Before HyperSpin came along Razor was the first FE to have Flash animation capabilities so I was already going in that direction. But since HyperSpin has come along I've had to re-evaluate where I want to take it as I think as far as the most animated FE goes HyperSpin has that pretty much covered.
I also want to say that I really support HyperSpin and think Bill has done a great job on it. I know he supports my work also so it's a mutual respect. Since I do respect him and the work being done, I want to make sure it's clear what is acceptable use of the artwork.
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Well overall I'm not really sure my true feelings about the whole art situation, since of course I'm putting alot of work into making my FE look good. But really its all gonna be out there anyway, theres no point in arguing over who uses what. People will all know where the themes come from. I'm all about supporting eachother mutually if we can benefit from others to. When it becomes a one way street, then I might start to have mixed feelings. Yes we might use art as a reference to what we make or change things around to suit the themes needs, but its still a whole heck of alot of work. I've seen some pretty nice themes for some other FE's but I want HS to be different and will never use those works and make my own. We will continue to make our own themes because thats what we want to make us different. If others want to use it in theyre FE, then I can't really say much, thats up to them. We all should really work together for our own and eachothers benefit.
For the Vista users yes it works on vista 64. And for the horizontal question, yes its only horizontal, its pretty much because the way the themes are made. I probably wont be adding vertical support.
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You must have been posting at the same time as me Headkaze, and yes I support your FE and the other things you have given to the community like CPWiz. Which I still have to look at by the way.
Before HyperSpin came along Razor was the first FE to have Flash animation capabilities so I was already going in that direction.
Dude don't make me break out my 1st edition of Hyperspin from years ago. Hehe:)
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I think your being a little hypersenstive (pardon the pun) to the word horde.
Good one! I like puns :)
The more that word "horde" is being thrown around here the uglier it sounds. I'm starting to see it was clearly a bad choice of words.
I appreciate you saying this and that you did not mean for your tone to be bitter. In a similar vein, I did not mean to come off as hypersensitive (:)) nor misconstrue your posts.
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Dude don't make me break out my 1st edition of Hyperspin from years ago. Hehe:)
Lol I didn't mean to sound like I was the first to do it. But I admit it was a shock to see another FE using Flash animation. The difference is though I don't use flash I wrote all the animation routines in DirectX from scratch using Flash as my inspiration. So as to the first person to do it it's obviously you because you released a beta and I haven't ;)
I think we are on the same page which is good, and as I said I want to take Razor down a different road and I certainly don't want to be a HyperSpin clone. The animation engine helps but it's not what makes it unique anymore. So as any other creative person like yourself would do, I'll be trying a different angle. Maybe I'll be an inspiration for you ;)
As for the artwork, well I have made quite a collection of png's myself which was alot of work. I don't really see skins the same way I see logos and characters. I think skins are a personal expression that should stay that way for the medium they were created for. But logo's and things like that I think are something worth sharing and working together on. That being said I personally wouldn't mind if Cakemeister wrote an importer for my skin format. In fact I'm sure I would help him out if he asked. I just think that is what he wants to do with his FE and I support him on that.
BTW I think it was quite amusing that we both mentioned a "one way street". Hehe so again we are definately seeing eye to eye here. I don't want people taking my hard work and expecting nothing in return. Communities should not work like that.
My bottom line is I want people to get along and enjoy doing what they do. Things like CPWizard and LEDBlinky are purposely written to support any FE. And I really like how it bridges the invisible barrier people seem to make when it comes to FE's. I like to think we can all get along and contribute together. Sounds gay I know but it's how I feel (maybe I was a hippie in a past life or something) lol ;)
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I like to think we can all get along and contribute together. Sounds gay I know but it's how I feel (maybe I was a hippie in a past life or something) lol
Hippies use a 'Razor'? :laugh2:
But Seriously .. Great attitude, In the spirit of the hobby :cheers:
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Hippies use a 'Razor'? :laugh2:
Obviously not to shave! ;D
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was the first FE to have Flash animation capabilities
Atomic 0.13 was able to use flash animation as background. It was more experimental , i have removed it from later version. Because i used the Flash ActiveX , and it caused me some integration problem considering the direction i wanted to go with my layout engine. So i think, there is always the possibilité to convert the Flash Animation as AVI and use it as background or elsewhere.
Concerning the discussion you have abour re-using the graphics work in other front ends.
I think the problem with hyperskin is that it seems to repose (for now) only on graphics and talent of skinner. The identity of this FE are the Themes.
If other more etablished Front End , use the artwork to produce almost the same visual results. it could slow down the success of this FE. That could unmotivate badboybill and that could stop him to produce Artworks.
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This FE looks INCREDIBLE for a reasonable number of games...but I can't imagine trying to run a full set with it. MAYBE a couple hundred games at max....
I'd love to see what the "GENERIC" theme would look like... perhaps a "SHOOTERS", "SIDE SCROLLERS", "PUZZLE", etc type of generic themes?
I can only imagine the huge undertaking it would require to do a custom layout for EACH MAME game....I thought doing a video for them all was impossible though and it was pulled off!
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The generic theme can look like whatever you want it to. An easy thing is just to use the main theme that is used for the main wheel. Like for atari you have that pacman, that background, the logo and the video. You can specify those as defaults in the atari folders and then for any atari games that don't have a custom theme it will display that stuff. So you can easily run a full set and have it all look nice. It's smart enough to not animate it in over and over again too. So if you go through ten games in a row that don't have a custom theme it just keeps the stuff where it was instead of animating it in each time you go to a new game without a theme. Then when it comes to a game with a theme it animates the theme in, and then if the next game doesn't have a theme it animates in the default theme for that system again. The genre themes haven't been created yet but that stuff is being worked on, there is also going to be manufacturer themes too like midway, capcom, namco, and so on.
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Yes it is a pretty huge undertaking to create themes for every game. Although I seriously doubt we will have one for every game...just the ones in demand.
The majority of artwork is created in Illustrator. We trace bitmapped images of the original arcade art. There is no exact format to any theme. Some you will notice use side art, cp art, marquee art, original design art or (in most cases) a combination of several. It really depends on what looks good.
Some of the work I am doing will make its way into local arcade for people that want to repro art for their cabs. However, I am not super anal with some of the art I recreate (ie not exact replica of original) so I am reluctant to upload all my vector drawings. Plus, some designs are just representations of several pieces of arcade art.
It boils down to time. I won't spend several additional hours on a design just so it can be deemed a replica of the original art. I want to crank out as many themes as I can...especially since there is currently only 3 of us who work on art. Hopefully this will change, and I can assume that when HS goes public...there will be more people stepping up to create quality themes. The key word here is "quality". Bill is setting a high standard for the look of this FE and I think thats what initially motivated myself to donate my time to design themes for HS.
So I understand both sides here. I have no problem with people using art that I have created for HS as long as it is not abused.
In response to Frizzle...yes I believe generic themes would be great! It would allow more people to use HS without the limitations of missing themes to certain games. I believe we are already talking about it right now so stay tuned.
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This FE looks INCREDIBLE for a reasonable number of games...but I can't imagine trying to run a full set with it. MAYBE a couple hundred games at max....
Actually, it isn't that bad at all... Right now navigation is limited to up/down a game at a time, but more options are being worked on as we speak. I think Bill's original plan was that this front end to be used with less then a couple hundred games, but it runs just fine with a complete set. Each theme is loaded when you stop the wheel on the theme, so memory foot print is quite small. Once you move the wheel the Front End clears the current theme except the background and then waits till you select another game and loads the theme for that game. Loading is very fast, no loading or scanning screens at startup or anything like that.
I'd love to see what the "GENERIC" theme would look like... perhaps a "SHOOTERS", "SIDE SCROLLERS", "PUZZLE", etc type of generic themes?
We are currently discussing ways to be able to do generic genre themes. For MAME it is rather straight forward, but for other consoles it is much more difficult since this information really doesn't exist in existing dats. We are using the NO-INTRO system for rom naming, but will have to update the dats with genre & manufacture information.
I can only imagine the huge undertaking it would require to do a custom layout for EACH MAME game....I thought doing a video for them all was impossible though and it was pulled off!
It is a massive undertaking, but it will be completed.... eventually. I'm sure the community will help out once this is released to the public. I personally have been learning Illustrator and Flash just so I can create themes for this front end. Even with my limited knowledge I have been able to take artwork from Localarcade.com and convert them into HyperSpin themes. I have cranked out about 7 to 8 game specific themes. Ms. Pac Man was my first and I think it turned out great. I have since done Crystal Castles, Mortal Kombat, Q*bert, Mario Bros. (my personal favorite theme so far) and Galaga. I have a couple others that I am working on right now as well. Once this is released to the public I am hoping we can start a nice little graphics community and pump out themes and graphics on a regular basis.
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Circo's done a hell of a job to create the EmuMovie collection and I take my hat off to him. I'm not sure about the .flv format being a common one, as HyperSpin is the only FE that uses it AFAIK. But still great to hear Circo is happy to host.
I'm a bit new when it comes to video formats, but can .avi files be rotated and re-sized on the fly?
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I imagine, just a guess mind you, that its more a matter of the flash program or whatever it is that hyperspin is being written in is best able to handle flv. Plus then you don't have to worry about codecs and such.
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Another idea would be to create a theme for each manufacturer....so when Atari titles come on the Atari theme comes up...same for Capcom, Williams, etc.
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...There is also going to be manufacturer themes too like midway, capcom, namco, and so on.
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Another idea would be to create a theme for each manufacturer....so when Atari titles come on the Atari theme comes up...same for Capcom, Williams, etc.
Already in the works.
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Would it make sense to do a beta public release to generate more public artwork submissions?
Brad
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He plans to sometime semi soon, I think he wants to get at least the backend tool completed and the manufacturer/year/genre info in place. Right now everything is configured using ini files and such. He probably wants to implement certain other things too. I'm not him so I can't really speak for him but it works pretty well as is and I could see it doing ok in a public beta as soon as the backend tool is finished.
I agree as soon as this thing has a public beta the themes will probably take off.
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How about a theme randomizer?
I think we're going to see a lot of different themes for the same games. Perhaps we can make it possible to include several themes for one game, and every time you scroll to that game it randomizes which theme you see. Even with the genre/manufacturer themes.
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Well the backend is coming along very well, I got to play with it for a while today, just waiting on a few things from that and to get some documentation built up and well be ready for a public release. The main reason I didnt to a public beta was I didnt want the forum to fill up with tons of feature requests and maintain focus on helping me find things already wrong with it. I think most of the guys did a good job of this.
In the mean time if anyone is interested in helping out and/or wants to beta test for now then feel free to contact me, the fastest way would be on our forum via PM. Just let me know how you want to chip in. You will then have access to our downloads section with all the files you need.
Thanks.
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PM Sent
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Just a quick question will the U360's work on this FE? Or is this something you will add later? And by the way, I love it, and I can't wait to throw it into my cab! Thanks for all of the hard work!
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I'm not sure if anyone on the team has U360's, so we aren't sure how they operate. I might be ordering a pair in a couple weeks. If they require a plugin to work correctly then that might be added further down the road.
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They work as standard joysticks, however to use the mapping feature, you either need a plugin or set the newer versions of MAME to auto map it.
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Thanks guys, I just wanted some clarification... very cool. Keep up the good work!
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They work as standard joysticks, however to use the mapping feature, you either need a plugin or set the newer versions of MAME to auto map it.
Hey GinsuVictim - can you elaborate on how MAME can automap the u360? Is this the case where the u360 is configured as an anolog stick and MAME handles the rest?
edit: Never mind, I found this thread (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=79135.0).
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Glad you found the answer, because I didn't have one for you. Mainly because I use Mame .84, which is before the automapping came into existence.
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Yeah see if "Fatfingers" can collaborate with you he did the pluggin for MaLa.. Which is a main reason why I use MaLa because i have Ultimarc's U360's and his pluggin automatically maps depending on game.. i.e. if its qbert it will restrict to only diagnals at 45° respectivly pacman 4-way, galaga 2-way, star wars analog etc.. This FE has alot of eye candy which I love .. MaLa seems to not like "mahjong" on my game list those aparently crash, and circo's movie previews seem to crash on certain ones.. i find that MaLa is stable when i remove all video previews, and take out all "mahjong" games from my list which is fine with me. I would like to see a Stable crashless FE that can include fatfingers pluggin, with this eye candy ! count me in once that happens.. But i'm the type of gamer who likes to have a list of 7,xxx games list for MAME.
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Yeah see if "Fatfingers" can collaborate with you he did the pluggin for MaLa.. Which is a main reason why I use MaLa because i have Ultimarc's U360's and his pluggin automatically maps depending on game.. i.e. if its qbert it will restrict to only diagnals at 45° respectivly pacman 4-way, galaga 2-way, star wars analog etc.. This FE has alot of eye candy which I love .. MaLa seems to not like "mahjong" on my game list those aparently crash, and circo's movie previews seem to crash on certain ones.. i find that MaLa is stable when i remove all video previews, and take out all "mahjong" games from my list which is fine with me. I would like to see a Stable crashless FE that can include fatfingers pluggin, with this eye candy ! count me in once that happens.. But i'm the type of gamer who likes to have a list of 7,xxx games list for MAME.
Far as I have heard, Mala is pretty stable already - sounds like you have other issues if your system is crashing so much. Or, try another front end and see if it crashes with those things enabled...
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Yeah see if "Fatfingers" can collaborate with you he did the pluggin for MaLa.. Which is a main reason why I use MaLa because i have Ultimarc's U360's and his pluggin automatically maps depending on game.. i.e. if its qbert it will restrict to only diagnals at 45° respectivly pacman 4-way, galaga 2-way, star wars analog etc.. This FE has alot of eye candy which I love .. MaLa seems to not like "mahjong" on my game list those aparently crash, and circo's movie previews seem to crash on certain ones.. i find that MaLa is stable when i remove all video previews, and take out all "mahjong" games from my list which is fine with me. I would like to see a Stable crashless FE that can include fatfingers pluggin, with this eye candy ! count me in once that happens.. But i'm the type of gamer who likes to have a list of 7,xxx games list for MAME.
Far as I have heard, Mala is pretty stable already - sounds like you have other issues if your system is crashing so much. Or, try another front end and see if it crashes with those things enabled...
Indeed :cheers:
:soapbox:
This comment annoyed me a bit... I personally don't care what FE people use but you want to be very sure of your facts before making a comment like that in a public forum.
MaLa has a few minor bugs, as this has been reported at this forum by some users, I am looking into that............ but note there that are many more MaLa users not having issues at all.
I agree with Havok's view you might want to try another FE or MaLa on a different set-up before coming to a conclusion. ;)
OK I am over it. ;D
P.S. Hyperspin is looking nice ;)
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By the way, for those of you who have asked, the latest version of LEDBlinky will work with Hyperspin as it stands, but only for MAME. It can also automap the u360.
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I certainly enjoy MaLa and i was previously using Mamewah, which to be honest wasn't the easiest to set up with all the ini files, I made the transition over because of the U360 pluggin. Only on MAME does it act up, I have SNES, NES, AND N64 Video previews all working flawlessly, load fast and don't crash/ maybe circo used different codecs on them. End of the day I would like to see these "packs" from hyperspin implement there way into MaLa, with more stability. Any word on if ALL of these games will get these wonderful eye candy ? all 3500 Parent ROMS etc.. not just the top 500?
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Any word on if ALL of these games will get these wonderful eye candy ? all 3500 Parent ROMS etc.. not just the top 500?
We are working on it, but creating the themes is time consuming. No way in hell is our army of 5+ people going to be able to create several thousand themes. We have about 30 themes complete, but we will have to get a serious group of people dedicated to creating themes. Eventually we will have themes for every game, but that could be years away from obtaining.
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I will be contributing on the themes here soon. I have a bit of a setback as I lost my ArcadeVGA card somehow and that has delayed what I was doing. It doesn't keep me from doing themes but I had a goal to get the cab to a certain point before I started my themes as I wanted to test them with the arcade monitor too and tweak from there.
I guess I will just have to order a new one. :(
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Has there been any recent WIP developments with the Hyperspin FE, be great to hear on this forum. Hanging out to try the FE when it released.
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Has there been any recent WIP developments with the Hyperspin FE, be great to hear on this forum. Hanging out to try the FE when it released.
You'll most likely find out the latest news over at the FE's forum. No news has been posted lately but theres lots of things in store for a public release. Theres a couple big reasons why its not public yet and were taking care of those things behind the scenes right now. If I were to release it now things would be get pretty disorganized pretty quick, people will be jumping in creating themes amongst other things and were just not set up to recieve that yet. It didnt really hit me until the beta testers started creating themes that I realized that my site and server is just not properly set up yet to handle what I'm trying to build as far as downloading, submissions, and overall ease of use. Theres a little to think about here, including theme naming, who's approving the submissions, how theyre being downloaded, how the backend tracks the themes so users know if they have the latest stuff or not, will my site be able to handle all these downloads, multiple submissions for any one game, theme installation, etc... etc... This is probably our biggest hold up right now and are all being worked on.
Besides that from what I'm hearing the FE works great, runs games fine, and is very easy to setup and learn how to use. All the major bugs are fixed, you can move about different genres easily via the new genre menu's, the backend has just been revamped by spiderstyle and works very well to setup your emu's, lists and settings. Theres a couple small but reasonable gripes that I'm writing in also before release, like navigating lists quicker.
So I cant say any for sure timeframe but were working daily, and making alot of good progress, and I'm recieving a ton of outside help on getting things pushed along.
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You might have already thought of this, but you should consider offering a torrent for downloading. The people here would probably be glad to seed it (I know I would, I am really looking forward to the release) once it got going and it could take a large load off of your servers.
It looks great so far. I am a software developer in training (CS student at Purdue) and I know how much it takes to create a really good project like this. Thanks for all your hard work!
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I will be contributing on the themes here soon. I have a bit of a setback as I lost my ArcadeVGA card somehow...I guess I will just have to order a new one. :(
Or you could try soft15khz.
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So soft15Khz can do the same thing as tha AVGA card with a regular one.
Is there a faq somewhere about it?