New Big Blue frontend released

[yotsuya]

I have no use for this particular FE (I'm not running in super hi-def 1080p mode), but I commend you for putting it together.

Personally, I want a LESS HD front end and something that looks more like the ArcadeSD front end:



I want the graphics to look like they are 8-bit generated in real time, and not simply graphic files with transparent backgrounds.

[bulbousbeard]

Big Blue does run at standard resolutions. At 640x480 or less, it basically does look like an SD game on a CRT. I've got a 15khz arcade monitor, and I run this frontend at 640x480 interlaced on it. This is actually one of the reasons I dragged my feet on implementing video previews for so long. Videos don't look like a 16-bit 2D game.

[bulbousbeard]

I have considered putting out a separate frontend that's just the game list, image/video snapshot, background, and foreground layer with the ability to make the background scroll or not, but I haven't got around to it. Big Blue is just my personal dream for a frontend theme.

I think this is the way to go. I need a replacement for MaLa since its not being developed for anymore. Id be down with pumping out a few basic skins.

Really, though, other than Raw Input and multi-monitor support, if that's what you want, aren't you better off with Attract Mode? It seems like that should cover all the bases for a Mala replacement.

The mini-game is really the single thing that distinguishes BB from the other frontends.

[Malenko]

The mini-game is really the single thing that distinguishes BB from the other frontends.

Well attract mode also has a mini game built int (Acctrac-Man) lol    It looks a little too hyperspinny to me, but I guess i can give it a whirl.

[nitrogen_widget]

The mini-game is really the single thing that distinguishes BB from the other frontends.

Well attract mode also has a mini game built int (Acctrac-Man) lol    It looks a little too hyperspinny to me, but I guess i can give it a whirl.

Nah, not hyperspinny at all.
The default theme is really just the front end showing off.
I can run most of the themes on a crappy socket 478 p4 and a geforce mx4000.
I've even had it running on a P3 with 256mb ram on linux with a dedicated video card using one of the plain-jane themes.

Except the ones with CRT shaders.
those needed a newer card from the parts bin or a faster processor.

i'm working on a classic vertical theme right now and it's basically creating a background and mapping out the spots you want lists & different artwork in the theme to show up.
It was overwhelming to me coming from front ends with theme editers like mala & wahcade but i think i'll have something cool eventually.

[bulbousbeard]

The mini-game is really the single thing that distinguishes BB from the other frontends.

Well attract mode also has a mini game built int (Acctrac-Man) lol    It looks a little too hyperspinny to me, but I guess i can give it a whirl.

Ah okay. I didn't realize it was playable. That's awesome! I just installed AttractMode and fiddled around with it a bit. The main things that Big Blue seems to do that it doesn't are the global hotkeys/exit program override, input disabling while launching games for OpenGL programs in Windows, multi-monitor support, and maybe I'm just missing it, but it seems like it only runs a single program as opposed to being able to run multiple programs per game entry (?).

Right now, AttractMode's video transitions seem a little rough to me, too (the screen blacks out when a video loads). Big Blue has a really seamless video transition.

That stuff should all be easy to add to AttractMode, though. If you want a customizable layout, it seems like the way to go.

[bulbousbeard]

Based on what we talked about, I put together a prototype of a customizable Big Blue without the mini-game.

[bulbousbeard]

Spent another hour on this, added animated GIF loading, and pumped out a dozen or so themes.

[keilmillerjr]

Spent another hour on this, added animated GIF loading, and pumped out a dozen or so themes.

I could probably create an awesome metal slug theme. I like where this is going.

[DudeRegular]

I am interested to see how these newer versions would look on a CRT. Also maybe I missed it, but is there an easy way to change the path for the roms (not one at a time)? I see they are set to d:\sdlmame.

[bulbousbeard]

I am interested to see how these newer versions would look on a CRT. Also maybe I missed it, but is there an easy way to change the path for the roms (not one at a time)? I see they are set to d:\sdlmame.

The newer version and the SF2 theme both work fine at 640x480. They support 320x240, but the aliasing starts to get pretty bad at that point. I would say that 640x480 interlaced is the low end.



The "Migration" section of the configuration program is for changing the paths easily. You can just tell it to replace d:\sdlmame with c:\mame or whatever, and you can select which values you want to replace (all or specific values). It's basically just a find and replace for all the config files.

[bulbousbeard]

Here's the latest progress:

[keilmillerjr]

Here's the latest progress:

Looks Rad.

[otsep]

 

[bulbousbeard]

Did some refactoring of the multimonitor support tonight.

Big Blue supports up to 4 monitors now, and it can output each of the following images to a different monitor:

* Snapshot image
* Marquee image
* Flyer image
* Instruction card image

So now you can get a tablet LCD, embed it in your control panel, and have a move list for the game you're currently playing while simultaneously outputting a high resolution marquee scan to an ultra widescreen LCD that you have in your cabinet.

Even though I've given the four image types the labels above, you can output whichever images you want to each screen.

[Typefighter01]

Awesome work man. I appreciate you adding the support, it will be used in an upcoming project that Yvan and I will be announcing in the next week or two. I will download it and play with it this weekend

[Typefighter01]

Hey BB,

Just downloaded Big Blue and I am going to start testing the quad monitor support (I just installed a USB 3.0 to HDMI adapter, so I have 2 monitors at the moment).

At first launch, it is displaying the default Street Fighter marquee you have set up on your favorites list on screen 2, so I know Windows and Big Blue are recoginizing monitor #2, so success so far  . My question right now is, in Big Blue options, the drop down boxes for flyer and instructions list "NONE", "DISPLAY 1", and "DISPLAY 2"...should there not be options for "DISPLAY 3" and "DISPLAY 4"? Let me know when you get a second. Loving how you have everything set up, simple and clean, nice work.

[bulbousbeard]

Hey BB,

Just downloaded Big Blue and I am going to start testing the quad monitor support (I just installed a USB 3.0 to HDMI adapter, so I have 2 monitors at the moment).

At first launch, it is displaying the default Street Fighter marquee you have set up on your favorites list on screen 2, so I know Windows and Big Blue are recoginizing monitor #2, so success so far  . My question right now is, in Big Blue options, the drop down boxes for flyer and instructions list "NONE", "DISPLAY 1", and "DISPLAY 2"...should there not be options for "DISPLAY 3" and "DISPLAY 4"? Let me know when you get a second. Loving how you have everything set up, simple and clean, nice work.

The options in the dropdown are based on the displays that are available on your machine. If you have only two monitors connected, you'll see only display 1 and 2. If there's a third one available, you should see that, and so on.

Also, check out this thread if you want videos, because I made quite a few 60fps videos for Big Blue:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,143732.0.html

[Typefighter01]

Well that solves that...thank you.

[Typefighter01]

Just a small bump and a big thank you to bb  BigBlue does everything I want it to do and does it with a lot of common sense and good programming.

I needed multi-monitor support for my current bartop build and what I thought would be the most difficult part of the build turned out to be the easiest.

Good work 

[bulbousbeard]

I released a new version today:

* Stop video audio when launching a game
* "Official" support for 4 displays
* Fixed some bugs with portrait mode
* Fixed some bugs with 4:3 pillarbox mode that got introduced when I added multi-monitor support

https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/

[crawlingpeter]

Thanks so much for this frontend. I can't wait to check it out. I was about to download the newest version from your site but it directed me to your dropbox that says "BigBlueFrontend-12222014.zip - 2 months ago" and I'm guessing that ain't the newest version! Got a link for the freshest one?

EDIT: NM... found the proper link on the main page. I was on https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/downloads in case you do want to update that link.

EDIT2: Seems really cool so far! First question: is there a way to cut out the shutdown animation and make it close instantly? I will be doing a lot of testing with my configs and that would save a lot of time. Thanks!

[bulbousbeard]

Thanks so much for this frontend. I can't wait to check it out. I was about to download the newest version from your site but it directed me to your dropbox that says "BigBlueFrontend-12222014.zip - 2 months ago" and I'm guessing that ain't the newest version! Got a link for the freshest one?

EDIT: NM... found the proper link on the main page. I was on https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/downloads in case you do want to update that link.

EDIT2: Seems really cool so far! First question: is there a way to cut out the shutdown animation and make it close instantly? I will be doing a lot of testing with my configs and that would save a lot of time. Thanks!

If you press the exit button again once the shutdown sequence starts, it'll immediately close.

[crawlingpeter]

Thanks so much for this frontend. I can't wait to check it out. I was about to download the newest version from your site but it directed me to your dropbox that says "BigBlueFrontend-12222014.zip - 2 months ago" and I'm guessing that ain't the newest version! Got a link for the freshest one?

EDIT: NM... found the proper link on the main page. I was on https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/downloads in case you do want to update that link.

EDIT2: Seems really cool so far! First question: is there a way to cut out the shutdown animation and make it close instantly? I will be doing a lot of testing with my configs and that would save a lot of time. Thanks!

If you press the exit button again once the shutdown sequence starts, it'll immediately close.

Ah excellent.

Would there happen to be a way to import a list generated from RomLister into BigBlue? I don't know of any other efficient way to only have BigBlue display roms that match my control setup. Thanks!

[bulbousbeard]

The Big Blue configuration utility isn't that far behind Romlister (in some ways, it's better--the search is definitely faster). If I just add some more options to filter out the games and catver support, it'll pretty much be the same thing.

[crawlingpeter]

The Big Blue configuration utility isn't that far behind Romlister (in some ways, it's better--the search is definitely faster). If I just add some more options to filter out the games and catver support, it'll pretty much be the same thing.

That is very true! I definitely appreciate the built-in config utility... however, since I have a very simple pedestal, I was needing to filter out quite a few control setups like trackball and wheel, as well as certain categories. Would it be possible to add in at least those two filters? Thanks!

[bulbousbeard]

Yes, I'll look into that, and I'll also contact the Romlister author and see if he has any interest in adding support for Big Blue XML output.

[bulbousbeard]

Big Blue will now restart Windows Explorer when you quit to the desktop if it isn't running. This is for setups that will set Big Blue to replace the Windows shell.

https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/

Did another update tonight (3/23) to clean up some of the multi-monitor behavior. When you select a category in the game list, it now shows the SF2 logo on all screens while loading. Also, if you exit the frontend or try to shut it down while a second player is joining a game, the animation sequence is handled more elegantly.

[bulbousbeard]

Been working on issues with Windows startup and so on.

Try this:

With the old version of Big Blue, Attract Mode, or pretty much any other frontend, put a shortcut to it in your Windows startup folder.

Restart Windows.

While Windows is booting, just keep hammering "asdkjalksdjlksa" or whatever on your keyboard.

Notice how the frontend doesn't have focus. It's because your desktop is grabbing keyboard focus.

I've heavily revamped window creation in Big Blue, and I have really tight control over it now. When BB starts, it will now grab focus regardless of whatever was happening on the keyboard. I noticed this when the kids started hammering the ---fudgesicle--- out of the control panel while the cabinet was booting up. Kids are by far the best testers. They can destroy anything.

[keilmillerjr]

Kids are by far the best testers. They can destroy anything.

[bulbousbeard]

New version released:

   

• Can no longer open multiple instances of Big Blue at the same time
• Big Blue will automatically focus the window on start even if keyboard keys are being pressed when Big Blue is launching.
• Added shell launcher utility; this is for setups where you want to replace the Windows shell with Big Blue; add a shell entry in the registry for BigBlueShellLauncher.exe
• Enable inputs after fade in animation completes

https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/

[bulbousbeard]

New version released:

• Allow remapping of XInput devices in the configuration utility
• Allow mapping of the same keys to different keyboards for frontend control
• Optimizations for Damnd animation on secondary monitors
• Fix mapping of the Alt key in the configuration utility
• More image caching

https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/

[Brian74]

Just read the whole thread, good stuff! I have been looking for something to use in my racing and lightgun cabinet.  Keep up the good work!

[bulbousbeard]

Fixed an annoying error: player 2 could join the game while player 1 was launching a game from the frontend.

https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/

[bulbousbeard]

By request, added a "Free-for-All" option that lets the R-Type ship and Rampage monsters fight endlessly while selecting a game. In this mode, there's no Versus screen, and Player 2 can never get control of the game list. Whenever one of them kills the other, it just endlessly respawns. This is good for bartops and single player setups where there'd be no second player anyway.

[bulbousbeard]

New version released:

https://sites.google.com/site/bigbluefrontend/
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jks74vn56dtl3ud/BigBlueFrontend-06042015.zip

Changes:

• Added sound effect for Rampage monsters slipping and falling
• Added extra frame of animation to foreground fighter punch
• Fixed snapshot flicker effect for high refresh rates (100hz+)
• Rewrote foreground fighter controls to allow the player to punch at variable speeds (oh sweet geezus does it feel good)
• Fixed minute flickering on foreground fighters if player just kept hammering the input
• Fixed shutdown sequence not starting if you initiated it in free-for-all mode while a Rampage monster was dying
• Respawn monsters during shut down sequence before the point of no return in free-for-all mode

[Fuzz]

Super noob here. When launching BB, I can't see the bottom of the screen or the right side. I've tried changing screen sizes, but nothing happens, just can't seem to get it into full screen.