Hyperspin Review

[shateredsoul]

thought some people might find this interesting

http://retro-replay.com/2010/07/hyperspin-review/

[Havok]

Bit on the fanboy side - is any product really 100 out of 100?

[Howard_Casto]

Especially considering hyperspin has ZERO list management.  Any FE that doesn't allow you to do at least some list manipulation internally get's a 10 point deduction in my book.

[Dazz]

Bit on the fanboy side - is any product really 100 out of 100?

I definitely agree with you here.  While HS is good, it doesn't deserve 100 out of 100.  We have several flaws that need to be taken care of.  I have several issues with HS that I've talked with Bill at length about.  The ease of setup and game lists being priority.

Especially considering hyperspin has ZERO list management.  Any FE that doesn't allow you to do at least some list manipulation internally get's a 10 point deduction in my book.

I agree, our list management is lacking a bit.  However, saying ZERO list management is a bit harsh.  You can have game lists setup to almost however you want them.  HS probably gives more list options than other FE's, but creating game lists ARE NOT AUTOMATED.  HyperSpin doesn't simply scan your rom directory and create a list based off that like other FE's do. This is mostly due to the additional game information that HyperSpin adds, as well as artwork must be named the same as the rom.  With creative adjustments to the Genre XML files and favorites your game lists can be extremely specific.  Using our HyperList online database you can easily create game lists.  The trick is making sure that your rom sets are No-Intro.org named.

What kind of list management would you be looking for?  Are you talking about being able to add/remove a rom directly from the list?  Or are you talking about navigation on large lists?  Navigation on large lists is quite simple if you have your buttons assigned.  On a game list of 8,000 games I can get to any one game just as fast as you can in any other front end.  Please elaborate on what you mean by "ZERO list management" and I'll see what we can do with upcoming releases. 

As far as customizations, HyperSpin is, by far, the most customizable front end out.  About 95% of the HyperSpin interface can be changed if you know what you are doing.  I actually have a HyperSpin theme that I created that looks almost identical to the default Maximus Arcade skin and I've been working on a MALA clone.

[shateredsoul]

It would be really helpful if you had an option that was something like "add game to list", so you could add games to existing list (then maybe it would prompt you to choose an .exe file.. similar to main menu wizard).

Universal Favorites list

In Maximus Arcade you could really easily make lists for types of games, 2 player games, vertical games, etc.. it would be cool if that was automated in Hyperspin.

It would still be cool to have an option to scan rom folders.  Or at least make an xml list where the rom names are filled out (and the game name could just match the rom name).  This is a far easier place to work from and start editing if you want to add non-supported systems.

[Dazz]

It would be really helpful if you had an option that was something like "add game to list", so you could add games to existing list (then maybe it would prompt you to choose an .exe file.. similar to main menu wizard).

This isn't really something you want the front end to be able to do.  I think this should be kept in the backend system and not something that anyone should be able to access via the front end.  It's the same way in Maximus, except with Maximus you load the FE and then hit a key combination to bring up the settings.  HyperSpin just has a separate application that is used to handle the setup, so the setup isn't accessed by anyone on accident.  Believe me... having a 4 player control panel when I was running Maximus caused all kinds of problems with the button mapping.

Universal Favorites list

This may be coming in the future.  Right now this isn't too difficult to do now in HyperSpin.  Simply create a database with your favorites and in the <exe> tags tell it what system to run when launching that game.  While you wouldn't simply be able to add a game to the favorites like the favorites button does, you can still have a single list of games that you can add to your main menu.

I personally have lists on my main menu for Mario Games and Sonic Games that list all games that were made with these characters for different systems.  I can access my Mario Main menu and launch any game from Donkey Kong (MAME) up to Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii).  Same with Sonic, I can access my Sonic Main Menu and see Sonic games from Sega Genesis, Sega CD, MAME, Sega Game Gear, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast and even Nintendo DS and Wii.

The thing is, with HyperSpin game lists... If you've taken the time to explore how HyperSpin interacts with the XML game database files, you can setup virtually any game list you want.  While it may not be automated and it will take time to do, but it can be done.

In Maximus Arcade you could really easily make lists for types of games, 2 player games, vertical games, etc.. it would be cool if that was automated in Hyperspin.

I beleive that these are options that are being added into HyperList which can be used to create such lists.

It would still be cool to have an option to scan rom folders.  Or at least make an xml list where the rom names are filled out (and the game name could just match the rom name).  This is a far easier place to work from and start editing if you want to add non-supported systems.

I'm actually working on something similar to this on my own.  I'm still learning AS3 and Adobe AIR, so I'm still a way off from having anything near working.  The best thing to do right now is use HyperList from the HyperSpin-fe.com main menu.  

[shateredsoul]

Cool thanks for the responses, I do have one question.  If I make a favorites list using the exe tags, do the games still show up with their themes?

[Dazz]

Cool thanks for the responses, I do have one question.  If I make a favorites list using the exe tags, do the games still show up with their themes?

Yes, but the themes would pull from the folder that you are on.  So, if you are adding a Dreamcast game to your MAME menu the theme for the Dreamcast game needs to be in the MAME themes folder.  The <exe> only comes into play when you hit your button to execute that game.

[youki]

As far as customizations, HyperSpin is, by far, the most customizable front end out.

Surely not.

[Red]

Is there a Hyperspin Tutorial available for extreme noobs?

[shateredsoul]

yes, they have very good walkthroughs on their website and video tutorials that show you exactly how to set it up.

[Red]

yes, they have very good walkthroughs on their website and video tutorials that show you exactly how to set it up.

Great.  Thanks shateredsoul.

[shateredsoul]

If you come across any specific questions you can ask here and I can try to help or ask on the Hyperspin forum

[loadman]

  I actually have a HyperSpin theme that I created that looks almost identical to the default Maximus Arcade skin and I've been working on a MALA clone.

Cool 

[Lilwolf]

btw, with webmame, you can add games to hyperspin through a webpage... plus launch and try them...

Also mention which theme you want it to use if there isn't one that was designed for it.  (ie, SF2CE can use SF2 or SFA if you want).  Also add them to any genre you want.

Trouble is... I think the last version of hyperspin added more options, that broke it... I haven't had time to look into it in the last x+ months