Mala starts NullDC but not the game chosen

[Duhjoker]

After adding a few easy emulators i decided to gove nulldc another try and got it to work on my mame computer. It works fine and can play games but when i try to start a game through mala the NullDC comes up but never triggers the game. I have to start it manually start it using the mouse.


   Does any body know what im doing wrong?

[FalcoZX]

I haven't used NullDC but I'm assuming it's similar to Demul. You can't just launch a game in the same way you can with MAME. You have to load the game through the emulator to play it. You might want to look into running an ahk script to launch games. Sorry that I can't be of any further help, but I'm sure if you google a bit, you'll find the exact method to launch games through MaLa.

[BadMouth]

Isn't the whole point of a front end that it launches the games for you?

I had NullDC set up on my old system and it launched games.
It's been years though.  I still have a backup image, but it will be tomorrow night before I have time to look at it.

IIRC, the main thing was in the nulldc config file, you had to set it up to launch a default image.
....and at least on the version I was using, default had to be misspelled. 
When you have it set up properly, games will launch in Mala, but not when you try to launch them from the emulator.

I also remember having the config file set to read only for some reason.

All confusing, but it does work.
I will post my config file tomorrow night.

EDIT: see this thread
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122388.msg1300229.html#msg1300229

[DrakeTungsten]

I don't know about Mala, but with my FE, I have a batch file configured to run NullDC (I think because I don't get video if I run it directly from the FE, but that's a FE-specific quirk), which gets passed the rom name as an argument, and runs this command:

nulldc.exe -config ImageReader:defaultImage="%1%"

%1% would be the rom name. This works fine for me. I use NullDC 104r50. And I also have my config file read-only, but I don't think for reasons relating to your issue.

[Duhjoker]

Hyperspin WTF.

   Ok ive been trying to get hyperspin running all day and its been one long flying goose chase. Ive tried two different tutorials. The first is by a dude on youtube and has me looking for hyperlaunch, a file that must not exist any more because the links go to places to download but no download exists.

The second has me downloading rocketlauncher but to get it to work i have download an incredible anount of BS like network frame 4.0 which has been trying to install for an hour now and the bar hasnt moved. Then i had to find amd install a couple other things and still no luck.

  Does any body know of a current tutorial with files that exist and are currently downloadable?

[BadMouth]

nulldc config file attached (as plain text file)

Mala command line is:

Code: [Select]

-config ImageReader:defaultImage="%path%\%rom%.%ext%" -fullscreen=1
Hope that helps.

[Duhjoker]

Well i got everything all fubar'd now!!!  The version of rocketlauncher i have is a new version not yet tutorialized and i cant figure out how to add emulators and rom paths. Ive tried several different things and luck.

Not only that but now i cant get mala to work correctly.

   If anybody knows how to enter the emulator and the rom path please point it out.

[Duhjoker]

nulldc config file attached (as plain text file)

Mala command line is:

Code: [Select]

-config ImageReader:defaultImage="%path%\%rom%.%ext%" -fullscreen=1
Hope that helps.

Ok so i open the file and make sure it resembles this and it should work?

[Duhjoker]

Sorry buy you will need to tell me how to do the command line thing as i have no idea what to do there.

   And ive noticed the numbers in the configs files seventh line are different than mine and i saw another config with an even diffrent set of numbers. What do they specify?

[BadMouth]

Sorry buy you will need to tell me how to do the command line thing as i have no idea what to do there.

People are only willing to invest so much time in trying to help you.
You lost me at all the Hyperspin stuff.

You originally said you were using Mala.  I gave you the command line that goes in the command line box in Mala.
I gave you the config file.  If a setting other than file paths is different in your cfg file, then that could be the problem.
Sometimes you just have to experiment to learn how things work.

   And ive noticed the numbers in the configs files seventh line are different than mine and i saw another config with an even diffrent set of numbers. What do they specify?

If you're referring to autostart = 1, then that means autostart is turned on.  autostart = 0 would mean autostart is disabled.
autostart means the emulator automatically launches a game when it is started.....the thing you're trying to get to happen.

[Duhjoker]

I do appreciate the help you guys have given me.

Yea Hyperspin is crap. I was happy with mala but someone said hey try HSFE and like an idiot i tried. Its way to buggy, you have to download way more crap and configuring the joysticks and buttons is horrible and needs yet another program to fo it.  Its supposed to full of options but from what i can tell, try anything but HSFE.

Any im gonna stick with mala dince it does have the options and so on.

Sorry i meant the RTC numbers. On the seventh or eighth line.

All right so just let me make sure im gonna do this right. Open mala find the command line, type the command you hooked me up with then change the config file to match the one you supplied.

Again thank you!!!

[Duhjoker]

On the nulldc games, when you download them you of have to extract the files from the rar. The first after that always gives you the CDI. Do i need those other Rar files? How can i place them together so they can all be seen on mala and not just the specific folder you have to map each cdi to.

[Duhjoker]

You are aweesome. I changed the command line and what needed to  changed in the config file and it starts my games from mala. Thank you for that.

   Now im gonna try to change some layouts to match my emus!!

[Duhjoker]

Will the command line you gave me above work also with my psxfin emu when starting from mala. It seems to be doing the same thing nulldc did

[BadMouth]

Will the command line you gave me above work also with my psxfin emu when starting from mala. It seems to be doing the same thing nulldc did

No.  Never used psxfin.

[haynor666]

A bit off topic but...

Anyone had success starting Shooting Love 2007 in nullDC ? Works fine in DEmul and Makaron but not in nullDC.

[Duhjoker]

Wish i could help you, ive use nulldc but so far as i have the right file it works. Emulators can be tricky, try downloading the file from another site then unzip it and extract the file and try that.

[haynor666]

The same files (dat and lst) works in Makaron. DEmul uses mame set (different files) and also works.

[Duhjoker]

Ok null dc uses cdi and some gdi. They come zipped so you will have to extract the files which will all be in .tar. Once thats done extract the first .tar for each disc, that will extract the .cdi file then just use normal boot in nulldc and point it to your cdi file. Should start right away after that.

[haynor666]

No DuhJoker, nullDC uses .dat and .lst files for naomi emulation. Probably those files are created by joining several files into one big file.

Resolved - I manually joined all 4 rom dumps (most recent) and renamed to sl2007.dat then edited ending lenght to corrected one. Game now boots correctly but hangs on notice screen. Seems to be badly emulated in nullDC :/

[Duhjoker]

Sorry i mis-spoke. NDC games as .RAR files that have to be extracted then the you have to extract the first RAR from those which gives you a cdi.

When i first started with nulldc i was using naomi and chankfast with it and no luck. Im just running Nulldc straight up now and it works fine but only with cdi or gdi.

[BadMouth]

I've actually never seen anyone using NullDC for Naomi emulation.

Why do you wish to run a game in it instead of just using one of the other emulators?

[Duhjoker]

Here's a link to the non-Naomi version of nullDC........... If this is rule five let me know and I'll fix it but I thinks it's open source.

https://code.google.com/archive/p/nulldc/downloads

It will be under the Naomi version, all you have to do is make a folder for it and unzip the contents into that folder. That's it no installation. Then find the bios and download some iso's and unzip them like I said above.

The file types are .............

   .cdi, .gdi, .mds .nrg

[haynor666]

nullDC exists in two versions - Naomi and Dreamcast. It uses dat and lst files only for naomi emulation. Dat files are either linked roms in one file or decrypted gdroms. All files that I downloaded and tested (mostly shmups) works fine in nullDC, only Shooting Love 2007 does not work. Hovewer this exact dat and lst works in Makaron so my guess is that nullDC does not use correct decrypt key for Shooting Love 2007 (actually it was redumped in mame in version 157).

[Duhjoker]

Have you tried the mame version of the game?

[haynor666]

I manually joined all 4 rom dumps (most recent) and renamed to sl2007.dat then edited ending lenght to corrected one. Game now boots correctly but hangs on notice screen. Seems to be badly emulated in nullDC :/

Those are latest mame roms.