LEDBlinky - Arcade LED Control software and Animation Editor (
v8.2)
Version 8.2
-
Added Pixelcade Ticker mode; Scrolls RSS feed(s) when front-end screen-saver is active.
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Added Pixelcade Continuous Cycle mode; Cycles between custom text and image or animation when a game is active.
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Added GRS tos428 Restrictor integration; Set tos428 Restrictor (for Sanwa joysticks) to 4-way or 8-way based on active game.
- Modified to search for hi2txt data files in <mame>\hiscore folder (in addition to \hi and \nvram folders).
- Added hi2txt data folder override setting.
- Fixed bug when lighting LaunchBox/BigBox button assigned to the keypad asterisk (star) key.
- Fixed bug in GameEx plugins which prevented Pixelcade from displaying Game Name during screen-saver mode.
- Fixed bug when comparing LEDBlinkky.exe and Settings.ini versions for beta build releases.
- Included msvcr100.dll with RocketBlinky installation to allow the app to run on Windows 11.
- Moved UltraStikTest and ServoStikTest apps to \jdr folder.
Version 8.1
LEDBlinky
-
Added integration for CoinOps and RetroFE front-ends.- Added "Game Pause" (16) and "Game Unpause" (17) commands. These commands should only be executed while a game/emulator is active.
- Modified manual "Set LED Port" command (14) so that the specified port(s) will not be affected by a running animation.
LEDBlinky Controls Editor
- Moved "LEDBlinky" menu option under a new "Test" menu and renamed to "Test LEDBlinky".
- Moved the "Test Single LED" and "Test RGB LED" selection lists from the Edit Controls window to a new "Options" menu under Test menu.
Version 8.0
LEDBlinky:
- Added feature to run external applications on LEDBlinky events.
- Added Serial communication protocol for LEDBlinky Output System.
- Modified how Start and Coin button voice actions are determined; Voice actions can be defined for individual games using the Controls Editor (RocketBlinky does this also). If no voice action is defined, the default values "Start Game" and "Insert Coin" will be used. The default values can be manually overridden in the Settings.ini file, under [GameOptions].
- Modified to better handle "stuck" joystick signals from Ultimarc joysticks.
- Modified to include debug data for controls with no input codes defined. This should help the LEDBlinkyTroubleshooter app provide better information.
- Modified to display 'New Version Available' messages on the splash screen. Other critical messages may also be displayed.
- Updated RocketBlinky Base.xml file to include data for LaunchBox and updated values for other FEs.
LEDBlinky Config
- Modified to save on exit when LEDBlinkyInputMap.xml is not detected and user answers "No" when prompted if the the control panel has any LEDs.
- Added "Use Default Start/Coin Voice Actions For All Games" option. With this option enabled, any custom voice actions defined using the Controls Editor (or RocketBlinky) will be ignored. This can be used to replicate the voice action logic prior to the 7.3 update.
- Added "Messages" to main menu. Under Messages there are two options; "Check Now" to check for any messages, and "Check at Startup" to toggle the feature (on by default).
- Added "Support Key" under "Help" menu. The support key may be required to resolve some support issues.
- Modified to confirm LEDBlinky.exe version matches settings.ini version.
- Modified "About" menu option to additionally display LEDBlinky support applications versions.
- Removed "Enabled" from "Enable Cabinet LEDs" checkbox.
- Removed "Enabled" from "Enable LEDBlinky Output" checkbox.
- Removed "Enabled" from "Enable Pixelcade" checkbox.
- Fixed error when enabling Cabinet LEDs and no LED controllers are active.
LEDBlinky Controls Editor
- Modified to allow setting "Voice Action" value for Start and Coin buttons. If not set, the global default value (as defined in settings.ini) will be used.
- Added feature when using the "Copy ROM/Game" option; if the destination emulator has any unknown games (same as from the "Import Unknown Games" list), the "ROM/Game" name field will include a drop-down list of the unknown names. This can be useful when copying a known set of controls to a new (unknown) game.
- Renamed "Name (Voice)" to "Voice Action" on New/Edit Control form.
- Added P1_PEDAL, P1_PEDAL_EXT, P2_PEDAL, P2_PEDAL_EXT, P1_PEDAL2, P1_PEDAL2_EXT, P2_PEDAL2, and P2_PEDAL2_EXT as selectable when adding new Player 1 and Player 2 controls. Note, this is not included with any upgrade, only from a new install.
- Modified for MaLa FE to use mame.xml and Controls.ini files when specified in LEDBlinkyConfig (settings.ini). If either file path is not specified, then values will be used from MaLa.ini.
LEDBlinky Animation Editor
- Modified Color Transition dialog to set Starting and Ending Color drop-downs to blank when associated "Use Current" option is checked.
- Fixed a couple typos.
LEDBlinky TroubleShooter
- Modified to better handle regional date formats.
- Modified to display "No Emulators were run..." message in the text panel rather than a pop-up message. This makes scrolling through sessions easier.
- Minor update to message when control has invalid debug data.
Version 7.2
LEDBlinky:
- Added feature to optionally speak MAME high score values at Game Start and Game Pause. This is a MAME only feature.
- Added feature to optionally display high score values on the Pixelcade marquee. This is a MAME only feature.
- Updated to support Pixelcade LCD displays.
- Modified to handle command parameters that include a tilde character (~). Any tilde in the command parameter will be replaced with a space. This will allow ROM/Game and Emulator/System names to include tildes.
- Fixed issue where LEDBlinky would display the ROM rather than the Game Name on Pixelcade.
LEDBlinky Configuration Wizard
- New application for creating the LEDBlinky Input Map and setting basic configuration options using step-by-step questions.
LEDBlinky Config
- Added option to speak hi-score value on Game Start.
- Added a global option to "Strobe LEDs With Speech" for Game Name, Game High Scores, and Game Start Text. Note: Individual options to strobe when speaking Game Start Name and Game Start Text have been removed.
- Added "Hi2txt Folder" on MAME tab.
- Changed "Mame Config Folder" to "Mame Folder" on MAME tab.
- Controls.ini and MAME.xml fields on MAME tab are now visible when FE is MaLa. This allows overriding the value in the MaLa.ini file.
- Reordered fields on MAME tab.
- Moved LEDBlinky Output System options to their own group on the Misc Options tab.
LEDBlinky Animation Editor v7.2
- Modified to allow re-selecting the Input Map file when it is not found for an existing layout. This handles the case when the .lay file or \LEDBlinky folder is moved.
Version 7.1
LEDBlinky:
- Added plugin and integration for Attract-Mode FE.
- Added support for game controllers (joysticks) when detecting button press for "Speech Abort" and "FE Speak Controls" features.
- Improved FE support for game controllers (joysticks).
- Modified to light ports based on GameEx joystick values for up/down/left/right.
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
Configuration
- Added Attract-Mode FE options.
- Added support for game controllers (joysticks) when selecting button for "Speech Abort" and "FE Speak Controls" features.
Controls Editor:
- Added Pn_BUTTON11 and Pn_BUTTON12 to new button list for all players.
Version 7.0.4
- Added option in Controls Editor to configure any emulator to ignore GameQuit commands. This is a work-around for front-ends that incorrectly send a GameQuit command immediately after launching a game.
- Added 64 bit plugin for GameEx (LEDBlinky_GX64.dll).
- Added 64 bit plugin for PinballX (LEDBlinky_PX64.dll).
- Modified LEDBlinkyTroubleshooter to correctly identify MAME emulators using new Controls Editor MAME/Not-MAME configuration option.
Version 7.0.3
- Added
Pixelcade integration. Pixelcade is an LED Marquee for Arcade Machines.
- LEDBlinky now installs and/or upgrades with setup package rather than zip file.
- RocketBlinky included as optional installation component.
- Fixed bug with NanoLED 60 port firmware.
- Modified command-line parameter to default to FEStart (1) when no parameters are specified (new installs only).
- Modified to correctly light buttons for latest version of LaunchBox/BigBox. This will also light player 2, player 3, and player 4 buttons when configured in BigBox.
- Modified to allow lighting the FE Controls and running the FE Active Animation at the same time. Prior to this these options were mutually exclusive.
- Modified to allow for multiple MAME Output values (Controls/LED Ports) for each output signal (LED0, LED1, etc).
- Modified to work with I-PAC Ultimate I/O in gamepad mode.
- Added option in Controls Editor to configure any emulator without "mame" in the name to be considered MAME. Inversely, any emulator with "mame" in the name can be configured as Not MAME.
- Modified to handle MAME Output values with spaces in the name.
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
Version 6.6
LEDBlinky:
- Modified to use minimized data for mame.xml to improve startup performance.
- Added support for Ultimarc NanoLED controller. Note; the NanoLED firmware may require an upgrade for LEDBlinky to correctly identify the hardware. Please contact Ultimarc for the latest NanoLED firmware.
- Included the Controls.ini file with LEDBlinky installation.
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
LEDBlinky_GX:
- Added option when GameEx is configured to run a random game from the screen saver.
Version 6.5
LEDBlinky:
- Added <Audio Animation> to FE Start-up Animation selection list.
- Added option to not speak joystick up/down/left/right actions.
- Added option to include always active controls when Demo Game Controls is enabled.
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
Animation Editor:
- Added Copy and Paste functions.
- Added Set Color/Intensity functions for all frames or current frame to end.
- Added feature to view a grid of the entire animation.
- Added option to display LED Name under each LED when in Animation Edit mode.
- Many other enhancements and bug fixes!
Version 6.4
- Added LEDBlinky Output System. LEDBlinky can broadcast output data over TCP or UDP protocols for consumption by custom or third-party hardware to light LEDs.
- Added support for LaunchBox Controller values (in addition to Keyboard values).
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
Version 6.3
- Added full support for LaunchBox and BigBox front ends.
- Added Color Adjust feature. This allows a global offset value (+/-) to be applied to individual ports so that color variations between buttons or other illuminated controls can be fine-tuned.
- Modified to identify mame.exe version and for version 0.176 and later, if necessary update mame.ini to enable legacy Output System.
- Modified to work with latest versions of mame and mame.xml.
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
Version 6.2.2
- Added support for HyperSpin with RocketLauncher.
- Added option to use ROM/Game name as default for speaking the game name when a ROM/Game is not defined in the Controls Editor or a Name (Voice) is not specified.
- Recompiled with latest UltraStik 360 function library required to detect newer UltraStik 360 firmware.
- Modified Controls Editor to import MAME games from mame.xml version 0.162 and later.
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
Version 6.2.1
- Added 'NoClear' parameter to Animation Start and Stop commands.
- Modified to support MAME.xml version 0.162 and later.
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
Version 6.2
- Added native support for PinballX
- Added new command line option to manually light the controls for a specified game.
- Updated PacDrive32.dll via Ultimarc. Provides better performance for Ultimarc controllers.
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
Version 6.1
- Added option to speak and blink the start and coin buttons on game start.
- Added option to speak and blink the FE Controls on startup.
- Added option to run the FE start animation for a single loop or a variable time specified in seconds. This is useful if you need to sync the LED animation with a FE video animation.
- Added variable Game Start delay in seconds. This option will add a delay after the FE game start event before LEDBlinky runs the configured Game Start options.
- Added option to load MAME configuration files (mame.xml, controls.ini, colors.ini) at start-up rather than when the emulator (MAME) is selected for the first time.
- Added new command line option to manually set one or more ports. So you can custom control the LEDs via batch or script file.
- Improved performance when loading animation files.
- Improved default voice actions when speaking HyperSpin controls; added pause after "Player 1..." and "Player 2...".
- Other minor enhancements and bug fixes.
Version 6.0
- Added support for the Ultimarc iPAC Ultimate I/O LED control hardware.
- Added support for the Wolfware Tech Howler LED control hardware.
See the
readme file for the complete list of updates.
Downloads, Features, Screen Shots, Demo Videos, Installation and Configuration Information, Support, and all things LEDBlinky can be found on the LEDBlinky.net website.