Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Main => Software Forum => Topic started by: Bonecollektor on August 27, 2013, 08:59:41 am

Title: LED Blinky & GameEx is pissing me off!
Post by: Bonecollektor on August 27, 2013, 08:59:41 am
So after several failed attempts to get led blinky (lb for short) to work with Maximus Arcade I decided to switch over to GameEx and I'm glad I did! GameEx so far has been a great FE and has worked great setting up all the roms and emulators. The problem I am having is:

LB will run with GameEx but, will not light game controls (and i have been searching and trying this site for days).

Things I have noticed about LB:
1. Debug files will not generate properly (even though it is checked along with verbose in "misc" tab of ledconfig
2. LedTroubleshooter isn't working either unless i manually start ledblinky.exe but, even then it tells me the data cannot be used because verbose was not enables (even though it is)
3. MapMameOutputs doesn't capture any data

In GameEx i have used the pluginmanager and selected and configured the Led(something). Now i did read on this forum that LB has to be put into the plugin folder of gameEx, is this correct? Because i have also seen where LB was supposed to be extracted to C:\LEDBlinky.

Things I have noticed about gameEx
1. I haven't unlocked the full version yet but plan to this week but, sometimes during the boot screen (with the delay timer) i'll get down to 1s left and it locks the computer. I have no idea on this one.
2. When i boot a mame game and i'm playing well if i push the button to go back to GameEx sometimes it takes me back to GameEx and other times it shuts GameEx down completely. I'm thinking this is just a button mapping issue (i hope lol)

I'm not at home but, can post the versions to everything later. This software was just downloaded and installed 2 nights ago so whatever the latest download is for GameEx and LB are that's what I'm using. (I also let GameEx download all the emulators).

Please help. I don't want to spend any more time on this. I want to finish this damn cabinet.
Title: Re: LED Blinky & GameEx is pissing me off!
Post by: arzoo on August 27, 2013, 11:39:45 am
If no debug files are generated, then GameEx is not launching LEDBlinky. First, make sure you have LEDBlinky installed correctly - the files should be unziped into the GameEx plugins folder. This will create a LEDBlinky folder with a path something like this:
..\GameEx\plugins\LEDBlinky
Next, refer to the GameEx documentation on how to enable the LEDBlinky plugin (it's been a while and I don't recall what is required).

You can check the GameEx log (..\GameEx\LOG.log.txt) and search for LEDBlinky to confirm it the FE is launching the plugin correctly.

I'm not sure what file you are referring to called MapMameOutputs?
Title: Re: LED Blinky & GameEx is pissing me off!
Post by: Bonecollektor on August 27, 2013, 01:44:30 pm
That's what I thought. Dang it! Lol i'll give that a try tonight after work and see what i come up with. What's weird is I didn't notice LB not launching because i was still getting all my other light patterns to work with the FE. But, when i was just messing around in Windows i started LB and then found out i could open the troubleshooter (whereas before it would just crash). But even doing it this way didnt log any info into a debug file but like you said probably because it wasn't in the plugins folder.

Oh and I was referring to the MapMameOutputs.exe
The utility that records mame controls so that you can add them to your controls file (or whatever it is lol).

Anyway, thank you for your help. I'll give this a shot soon and keep you posted with my results. Thanks again! Much appreciated!
Title: Re: LED Blinky & GameEx is pissing me off!
Post by: Bonecollektor on August 27, 2013, 07:17:27 pm
Didn't work.  :angry:

I put the LEDBlinky folder in the GameEx\Plugins folder as you described and still nothing.

I checked the GameEx log and it says that it is launching the LCD\LED plugin ok but, i never see anything showing LEDBlinky.exe launching.

I've checked the settings listed here:
http://www.ultimarc.com/pacdrive.html (http://www.ultimarc.com/pacdrive.html)
In the section for PACDrive with GameEx and everything seems ok.

It still will not generate a debug file. I give up. :cry: :banghead:
Title: Re: LED Blinky & GameEx is pissing me off!
Post by: arzoo on August 27, 2013, 08:46:30 pm
I checked an old GameEx log and this is what I see:
Code: [Select]
15:29:39.5  11/5/2011:  Loading PlugIns
15:29:39.5  11/5/2011:  Loaded Plugin:"LEDBlinky" Version 4.0.0 By Arzoo
15:29:40.4  11/5/2011:  PlugIn: "LEDBlinky" Initialized OK
15:29:40.4  11/5/2011:  Using Plugin System Version: 1.3

If you're not seeing something similar then it would still seem like GameEx is not configured correctly to run the LEDBlinky plugin.

You can also try the SimpleLEDTest.exe app (in the LEDBlinky folder) to confirm that your LED controller is detected and the LEDs are wired up.
Title: Re: LED Blinky & GameEx is pissing me off!
Post by: Bonecollektor on August 27, 2013, 09:32:44 pm
I know my leds work because i can light them up using the simpleledtest and they work when i boot gameEx.

My log file looks nothing like that though. All it says is the generic statement that the lcd/led plugin was loaded. I have to be missing something somewhere.
Title: Re: LED Blinky & GameEx is pissing me off!
Post by: Bonecollektor on August 27, 2013, 09:34:59 pm
Is there another file i am supposed to configure? Like an .ini file or something?
Title: Re: LED Blinky & GameEx is pissing me off!
Post by: arzoo on August 27, 2013, 09:42:57 pm
Is there another file i am supposed to configure? Like an .ini file or something?

Not that I know of.

I haven't used GameEx is a while but as I recall all you need to do is unzip LEDBlinky into the plugins folder and run the plugin manager to enable the plugin. Maybe you can post a question on the GameEx forum.
Title: Re: LED Blinky & GameEx is pissing me off!
Post by: Bonecollektor on August 27, 2013, 10:51:26 pm
 :applaud: holy crap i found it! So the problem (was me of course) was that after you put LEDBlinky in the plugins folder i didnt notice that it created a new entry in the pluginconfiguration.exe interface! I was still looking in the generic lcd/led spot.

So after i noticed the new entry i checked the box and ran GameEx and the troubleshooter is now working and the buttons are lighting up like they are supposed too!

Thanks for your help on this...I was getting really irritated lol!

Now i just need to finish the mic input/jukebox setup lol! Thanks again!