Request in FE

[Dariusz]

I'm thinking about this featured which maybe useful to many people, and if so, may be a FE developer maybe able to incorporate it into they FE some day.

I'm yet to be convinced that this is the best way to de it but, I hope I can get you input:

I want to incorporate into my cabinet the ability for a person to put credit (ie. pay credit by inserting coin) at the front end. The FE the gives the a credit to play any game the user selects. But once played, the FE credit is gone (ie -1 one credit (or two if two players is chosen)).

ie. Give the FE the ability to control the crediting.

Thoughts

Dariusz

[GameDork]

That sounds like a neat feature

[Lilwolf]

It wont happen and shouldn't happen.

why?  Its ONLY good for people who want to make money on an arcade cabinet.  

Mame could add this without any real problem... but they are very very vocal in not wanting this.

As far as I can tell... this is 100% a bad bad thing.  I can't see a single use for it that is a real problem.  

Sure it would be kinda cool at home... but how much of a problem is it realling (in a home settings?).  

[Dariusz]

It wont happen and shouldn't happen.

why?  Its ONLY good for people who want to make money on an arcade cabinet.  

Mame could add this without any real problem... but they are very very vocal in not wanting this.

As far as I can tell... this is 100% a bad bad thing.  I can't see a single use for it that is a real problem.  

Sure it would be kinda cool at home... but how much of a problem is it realling (in a home settings?).  

This is defiantly for home use, but I see where you are coming from in the commercial market.

I'm want to create an ideal and as authentic games rooms possible, and that by using 20c coin to play the equipment (ie. pool, arcade...). I wanting to replicate the 80's environment, but by having a bowl of coin that is used to play the equipment.

But yes, from the responses so far, it does sound like a good feature.

[pointdablame]

If you want to use coins, then why does this need to be in a frontend?

Your frontend is just your gamelist.  Start a game and put a coin in for credits.  You can easily hook up the coin door to count for credits within each game.  There is no need for this at all to be in a frontend.

Just my .02

[GameDork]

If you want to use coins, then why does this need to be in a frontend?

Your frontend is just your gamelist.  Start a game and put a coin in for credits.  You can easily hook up the coin door to count for credits within each game.  There is no need for this at all to be in a frontend.

Just my .02

That way you would have to credit up for other emu's like NES or something....

[Minwah]

I can see why it might be nice in a home environment, but frankly I don't really see the attraction.  Like pointdablame I like putting credits in for each game...for one thing if credits were inserted during a FE you would miss out on the attract modes and other stuff for many games.  Console emu's remain free as always...

But this will definately not happen, for the reasons Lilwolf gave...not everyone is as honest as us lot...

(Waiting for HC to pipe up with something   )

[pointdablame]

If you want to use coins, then why does this need to be in a frontend?

Your frontend is just your gamelist.  Start a game and put a coin in for credits.  You can easily hook up the coin door to count for credits within each game.  There is no need for this at all to be in a frontend.

Just my .02

That way you would have to credit up for other emu's like NES or something....

That wouldn't quite be authentic though... would it?  I understand the point, and it's not a bad idea.... I'm just playing devil's advocate here.

I just don't see the point I suppose... why would you want to coin up for a console game anyway?  And if you really want to get technical, you should coin up for time in console games like the PlayChoice games... otherwise you can "coin up" Zelda and play for 40 hours...

EDIT: Plus, if you really wanted, you could link up a button to the coin mech that would serve as "start" in your emulators.  Most emus you use in a FE will have remappable controls anyway, so this would be possible.  Wanna start up that game of Zelda I mentioned?  Hover over it in the game list and put in a coin.... voila.  I still however, don't get the premise.

[arcaic]

I have seen this done in a front end that an aquantaince of mine wrote. It didnt actually require any changes to mame to do it.

As allready mentioned by others I can't see any real need for it unless you are going to build cabs for commercial use and that was in fact the intent with the one I saw.

Cheers

Andy

[Dariusz]

Thanks for your input guys. I personally would not also allow commercial use of such an application, but for personal use I would find it great as I

[Howard_Casto]

Request denied:
    Level 3 security card required for free credits.
       Have a nice day,
       UAC


(Someone has been playing too much Doom 3)

[Dariusz]

Howard,

I gather you don

[Howard_Casto]

What the others have said.  It's a potential legal nightmare.  I actually used it as an example a while back of what you could do via the new controller files...  but it was more of a "wow this new format is cool" thing.  I would never actually do it because what you have done then is setup a free way for pirates to make a pay "mame" machine.  

Controlling the credits at the fe level removes annoycances like lost credits from mame and other emulators when you exit.  In other words it makes it viable and stable enough for a commerical setting.  Bad idea.  BAD BAD idea.

[AlanS17]

Even if 100 people used it within the confines of their own home... somebody somewhere will abuse it. It's not a matter of "if". It's only a mtter of "when". When that person gets caught it gonna suck for the rest of us. So I would rather not enable that possibility. Honestly, just the possibilty that something like that is potentially do-able is scary enough for me.

[Dariusz]

Alan, well put. And thanks for all the replys. I now also agree that its not a good idea.

Dariusz

[)p(]

yes very well put...this always has beem some kind of silent honor code with the fe devs not to add this to our fe's...think about it its so trivial to do...why dont you see it any of the fe's around here  

peter

[btoddkelley]

I am willing to bet that it WILL be done. ( I agree with your reasoning that it would make it really easy to make money off mame, which is certainly wrong.) Maybe not by any of the major FE guys, but someone will do it. If for know other reason than because the issue has been brought to light.

Todd

[mikroman]

I agree with everyone else on this one, however it may be useful for SNES or Genesis emulation.

I'm currently writing my own FE, but this is one feature I won't be adding.  

[Howard_Casto]

Huh?  Those games don't require credits.  Adding the ability to add said credits would not only be nearly impossible, not to mention pointless, but it would cause the EXACT same legal problems.  Think before you post man.  

[mikroman]

Wow, this is becoming a heated debate.  

What I meant was that SNES and Genesis emulation would be similar to the Nintendo Super System and Mega Tech/Mega Play coin-ops. I certainly don't condone piracy and don't agree with people who want to make money from someone elses hard work.

We all have opinions, right or wrong.  

[Minwah]

What I meant was that SNES and Genesis emulation would be similar to the Nintendo Super System and Mega Tech/Mega Play coin-ops. I certainly don't condone piracy and don't agree with people who want to make money from someone elses hard work.

Like HC said, those systems' don't require credits so it wouldn't work without adding the ability for those systems' to use credits, which once again as HC said would be very difficult.

[pointdablame]

What I meant was that SNES and Genesis emulation would be similar to the Nintendo Super System and Mega Tech/Mega Play coin-ops. I certainly don't condone piracy and don't agree with people who want to make money from someone elses hard work.

Like HC said, those systems' don't require credits so it wouldn't work without adding the ability for those systems' to use credits, which once again as HC said would be very difficult.

Exactly... i have to ask.... WHY?   They are console games for a reason.  They don't need credits.  If they did, then Nintendo would have put a coin slot on the NES.  

[SirPoonga]

Hehe, the funny thing is Dariusz didn't even bring up the console thing, GameDork did.

What makes it a bad idea is there is no need for it.  What's the difference if you put in the coin before or after you select the game you want to play to how "authentic" it is?  having something like that isn't authentic at all except for the playchoice type systems which is 90s

If you put the credit in before or after you still would have to put the credit in so how would that change anything?

The other issue is getting that credit sent to mame,  it can be done but not easily.  What would have to be done is the FE would have to wait for mame to start then queue up the credits by sending the keyboard code you have selected as coin.  So you couldn't really hit any other keyy while the FE is doing the key presses.  It could cause a nightmare, at least a lost of credits.

What the others have said.  It's a potential legal nightmare.  I actually used it as an example a while back of what you could do via the new controller files...  but it was more of a "wow this new format is cool" thing.  I would never actually do it because what you have done then is setup a free way for pirates to make a pay "mame" machine.  

HC, are you talking about putting credits in the cfg xml files.  That only works for a couple of games.  Most that I tried it doesn't work anyway.