MAME 0.182 - CP Viewing w/Bezels and Command.dat viewing?

[Necro]

So, after my GameEx install went wonky, I decided that doing a full cab upgrade (software wise) was reasonable since it's been a few years.  So...I've reinstalled a bunch of things and have hit a final wall in getting things all buttoned up.  As of now, I'm running:
- MAME 0.182
- HBMAME 0.182
- DAPHNE (older version, but it works so it's fine)
- GameEx (newest version, paid)
- LEDBlinky (newest version, paid)
- CPWizard (v2.51)

So...the issue I'm having is related to the viewing of Control Panels per game (i.e., that CPWizard would display) and viewing Command.dat info.   Few issues I've encountered are:
- CPWizard won't recognize my U360's as controls. 
- CPWizard won't display at all with GameEx.  Works fine w/just MAME running.  Using L as a show key for it. 
- The Command.dat view in GameEx is somewhat...lackluster. 

Now, I've thought of a few solutions but...I can't seem to find out something that works solidly.  Some ideas, both dropping using CPWizard and just making my current 'pause' button open the MAME menu (normally TAB) and pause MAME at the same time:
- Export images using CPWizard into an overlay or bezel layout and have it be toggleable from inside MAME.  Headkaze has a plugin for this, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to get it working and if I can have the existing bezel work with it. 
- View the Command.dat info per game within MAME itself. I know this used to be in MAMEPlus, but I haven't been able to find something equivalent for v0.182. 
- As another alternative, I'd be happy just showing an image within MAME that I can toggle and calling it something else, but you don't seem to be able to access any art outside of the MAME menu/Game selection screens.  (i.e., once a game is open, you can't access Command.dat, artwork, etc., at all anymore). 

Any thoughts/help people have would be appreciated.  There is one HUGE caveat to all of this (and some of you may remember me because of this even though I haven't been around in awhile) - my cab is a mirror cab.  This severely restricts my FrontEnd options since I have to flip the output.  As of my last check, only GameEx, Maximus Arcade (blech), and AtomicFE do that...GameEx being the best of them for what I need by FAR.  (And I've themed it to do specifically what I want through a few visual tricks.)

[Necro]

Nada?  Feel like every alternative I try is doomed.

[headkaze]

- CPWizard won't recognize my U360's as controls.

All CPWizard does is load up the ini/cfg/ctrlr files and display labels based on what your input controls are. Make sure you don't have ini or cfg files you don't need. I noticed in your log file you had a config for 005 (cfg\005.cfg). Is that needed? If not delete them. Do you have a default.cfg or do you use a ctrl file?

Do you have ini/cfg/ctrl folders set correctly in CPWizard under "MAME Paths"?

- CPWizard won't display at all with GameEx.  Works fine w/just MAME running.  Using L as a show key for it.

Does it show when you run GameEx in windowed mode? Have you tried the "Show Retry" option?

- Export images using CPWizard into an overlay or bezel layout and have it be toggleable from inside MAME.  Headkaze has a plugin for this, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to get it working and if I can have the existing bezel work with it.

This is not much of an explanation as to what part of the process you're stuck on. Can you generate the bezel files successfully? Can you get plugins working correctly? Did you read the "New Bezel Method (LUA Plugin)" section here?

- View the Command.dat info per game within MAME itself. I know this used to be in MAMEPlus, but I haven't been able to find something equivalent for v0.182.

That can all be done via plugins.

[Necro]

HK, thank you so much for your help!  Just so you know, your site, the GameEx forums, and this site - in addition to extensive googling - were what I've done so far to try to answer the below.  I'm keeping at it though.  What is driving me up a damn wall is this WAS working with an earlier version of GameEx, CPWizard, and MAME...

Not recognizing U360s as controls: To clarify, this is to control the menu in CPWizard when it displays, NOT for mapping.  Mapping works completely fine.  However, trying to control CPWizards menu (i.e., that appears on pause/use of the show key) doesn't work.  When mapping the controls in the Edit->Options->Input screen, the joystick isn't recognized at all. 

RE:.cfg's - these seem to have been autogenerated for games I've run since I reinstalled everything. And I use default.cfg.  My control setup are standard MAME defaults controlled via an encoder with two U360's as joysticks.   The default.cfg has only the settings an extra UI select key (i.e., LCntrl) in it. 

CPWizard Won't Display with GameEx:  I've tried with retry on, off, etc.  I've tried with GameEx in windowed mode, but that setting - for some odd reason - seems to not 'take' or it's just looking like GameEx is running normal.  I set windows in the Settings Wizard, exit, run, and it looks the same.  When I go back into the wizard, it is set to fullscreen again.  Somewhat baffled by this as other settings take fine.  I will retry again. Edit: Just tried this again.  Basically, I change the setting in GameEx config wizard, run GameEx, and it goes back to FullScreen.  Won't run windowed it seems.  Tried with and without resolution set and with/without fullscreen windowed mode.  Resolution setting doesn't seem to take either - which is odd.  It says set but it's definitely NOT changing the resolution.  This may be the issue..not sure how.

New Bezel Method (LUA Plugin): I believe I figured this out, but it raised another issue . (And definitely looked at your site.)  What I was thinking was needed was some type of config where the CP bezel files and the existing artwork co-existed and were both brought up together.  After digging in more, my understanding now is you have one or the other and the CP bezel files generated by CPWizard replace your existing artwork files.  I looked for a way to 'merge' the two so you can have the CP layer and other layers be individually toggleable, but I haven't found a way as of yet.  So I have the choice of either display the CPWizard bezels OR the artwork files.  (Also, to answer your question directly, exporting form CPWizard works completely fine for both bezels and image files as far as I understand it should work.)

View the command.dat in MAME: I saw the discussion you and HowardCastro were having - wasn't sure if a plugin existed yet to do this.  I didn't realize the one you linked did that - I'll try it and see! Thanks!  They really need descriptions for the plugins somewhere .    Edit: I actually had this installed.  Completely baffled why it's not showing anything in menus.  Dat's are in Dat folder...just...nothing displayed in either the menu UI or the actual ui once game loaded.

[headkaze]

However, trying to control CPWizards menu (i.e., that appears on pause/use of the show key) doesn't work.

You found a bug introduced since my move from MDX to SlimDX. Please download the latest version.

Resolution setting doesn't seem to take either - which is odd.

Can you make sure you have the latest version of GameEx. There was an issue with Setup Wizard settings not sticking that should be fixed in the latest release.

So I have the choice of either display the CPWizard bezels OR the artwork files.

Yes unfortunately at this time you can only have one or the other. Maybe one day when I get some time I will add the ability to load and display a custom image in MAME. Until then though bezels are the only way.

I actually had this installed.  Completely baffled why it's not showing anything in menus.

Did you check the Plugins menu?

BTW I recently added the ability to show a custom menu in MAME at any time in a script. So you could modify them to show when you pause.

[Necro]

Will update CPWizard and GameEx and see if that resolves the issues.  Thanks for that!  Fingers crossed having the windows setting stick will let CPWizard appear properly.  What's interesting is even when I manually edited the GameEx.ini to say "windowed", it changes it back.   So, the setting 'sticks' from the SetupWizard, but GameEx itself changes the .ini back. 

RE: Bezels & Artwork - I figured.  Was hoping there was a layout xml merger tool .

For MAME & the artwork - so I SHOULD be able to see the history.dat, command.dat, and related info from within mame64.exe's TAB menu when in game?  Because I definitely don't.  My plugin menu has nothing in it when I select it.  I even went so far as to do a clean install of mame (in c:\emulators\mame) to see if that fixed it and it didn't show anything.  Unless it's crapping out due to not being in c:\mame, I'm not sure why it isn't working.  None of those details show in the UI menus either - only the actual art (i.e., cabinets, snap, etc.). 

[headkaze]

So, the setting 'sticks' from the SetupWizard, but GameEx itself changes the .ini back.

In that case you should report the bug on the GameEx forums.

My plugin menu has nothing in it when I select it.

I haven't set up those plugins myself but you should try enabling the "Dummy" plugin to see if you get its menu to show.

Create a plugin.ini file (in the same folder as your MAME exe) with the following:

Code: [Select]

#
# PLUGINS OPTIONS
#
dummy 1
You should be able to see the menu as per the attached screenshots in MAME.

[Necro]

...shoot me.   

So, CPWizard 2.60 fixes the U360 controller issue.  However, now - and this could just be me - L in MAME doesn't do anything.  CPWizard just doesn't respond at all.  I just did a strait install of CPWizard over what I had, tested it using a few games using preview, and then tried in MAME.  No response, nothing.   Attaching my log because there is an error being thrown now I haven't seen before. 

And thanks for the plugin help as well.  They definitely work on my system.  The cheat plugin shows up in the plugin menu and I'll test Dummy as well.  I guess I was expecting the data plugin to actually...show something.  Somewhere.  Maybe it's not supposed to yet - there's little to no documentation on it I could find so who knows.

[headkaze]

There has been quite a bit of refactoring in CPWizard lately so there may be a few introduced issues. Please download and try it again. If you get another exception please post it here.

Also if you're using the MAME Output System (recommended) make sure you have the following in mame.ini:

Code: [Select]

#
# OSD OUTPUT OPTIONS
#
output                    windows

[Necro]

Seems to be working perfectly now - no error. 

Still having the displaying over GameEx issue, hopefully I can resolve that with the thread I started over there.  Thanks for the assistance HK, it is MUCH appreciated.

[Necro]

HK - not sure if you followed the thread over at the GameEx forums, but I resolved the Windowing issue with GameEx and it didn't totally resolve my issue with CPViewer.  Somewhat stumped. 

Basically, CPViewer won't display on top the first time it gets called via a press of L - AND it doesn't seem to pause the underlying game.  Just shows a black screen - but it IS loading in the background and displaying the image somewhere behind the black screen, MAME, and GameEx.  Controls are still passing to it - so it's focused, just not displaying.  So, I can back out of it completely without seeing it and have MAME display again. Now, here's the weird part - if I hit "L" again, it works fine.*  Displays as is expected.  Every subsequent press it seems to work fine as well, except it's not pausing MAME ever.

* - most of the time.  Sometimes it just does the black screen thing and never displays, even without changing settings. 

My setup is pretty basic - Win7, MAME 0.182, messaging system set to windows, using the recommended settings (MAME Output System On, Use Show Key On, Send Pause On, Pause pause off, screenshot on). 

I've tried both fullscreen and windowed fullscreen with GameEx and - given GameEx is ACTUALLY going to windowed fullscreen there's no difference.  With just a window being displayed, CPWizard displays fine overtop the window and all is good - but obviously that isn't a feasible way to run it. 

This may just be my system, vid card, or something else...*shrug* any ideas you have on fixing would be greatly appreciated.  I'm somewhat stumped and just randomly toggling settings at this point.