Custom Front End. Difficult?

[Skribbles]

How difficult is it to built a custom front end for Mame? I'm a mediocre program (mostly in .net) and was thinking that it shouldn't be too tough to build a basic front end that launches the games... launching a Mame rom is simply "mame /rom". Am I missing something?

Thanks

[Mario]

Why build a very simple one when very nice ones already exist, and are much easier to set up than writing your own? Else, how about taking the source from an existing one and modifying it?

Mario

[Skribbles]

I would be lost trying to edit someone else's work and I was just thinking of taking it on as something to do.

[Howard_Casto]

Making a front-end is extremely easy, you just need to master the concept/function of "shell and wait".

Trying to STOP working on a front-end after you realize that you can make it however you want... now that's the hard part. 

[Skribbles]

Making a front-end is extremely easy, you just need to master the concept/function of "shell and wait".

Trying to STOP working on a front-end after you realize that you can make it however you want... now that's the hard part. 

That is what I worry about. I don't want to spend hours and hours on it only to find there is some complex stuff that stumps me in the end.

[Mario]

... I was just thinking of taking it on as something to do.

Ah, understood. Good for you. Good luck with it.

Mario

[demeth]

Wait a couple of days more and there might just be something a bit different on the way in this regard

[Cakemeister]

I would say you should design your own "skin". That would make your cabinet unique. There are a lot of frontend applications, but IMO there aren't that many great custom skins.

[Skribbles]

Do any of the current front ends have any type of support/plugins for iTunes? I'd like to have it double a 'jukebox' and using iTunes give me the ability to control songs/playlists from my phone instead of having to use the controls/keyboard.

[drventure]

The itunes is an interesting idea.

But what you're talking about in that case I believe is a sort of "remote control", where you have Itunes running on your cab, and you use your phone to remotely control what the cab plays.

No idea whether Itunes will do that, but I do know that JRiver media center has functionality like that. I have it running on my server, which is hooked up to an amp driving my patio speakers.

I can use my phone browser to navigate to server:8080 and I get a web interface that can control the copy of media center running on the server.

I'll be doing the same thing with my jukebox build.

[Nephasth]

No idea whether Itunes will do that, but I do know that JRiver media center has functionality like that. I have it running on my server, which is hooked up to an amp driving my patio speakers.

There's an app for the iphone for that. It's been out for a few years. I used to pause itunes on my computer in the basement with the volume clear up and turn it on and off from upstairs with my ipod touch to scare the crap out of the kids.

[wizkid32]

I considered writing my own, but since I don't have a lot of programming expertise, I decided to just go with Hyperspin.  If you do write one, I would love to see it!

[Gray_Area]

Also, I know GameEx supports a lot of stuff in the vein of this.

There's an app for the iphone for that. It's been out for a few years. I used to pause itunes on my computer in the basement with the volume clear up and turn it on and off from upstairs with my ipod touch to scare the crap out of the kids.

It's interesting to note that in futuristic fiction up through the 90s, they just linked up to anything and everything by wanting to, basically. No obvious protocols or security suites. Of course, there weren't any Brands, either.....