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Author Topic: Help getting Game Launcher started...  (Read 3654 times)

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javeryh

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Help getting Game Launcher started...
« on: October 01, 2004, 10:01:28 pm »
I am trying to figure all of this stuff out but I'm not too good with computers yet...  anyway, I like the look of Game Launcher as a front end but I can't get it to work.  Here's what's going on...

In Windows Explorer at c:\arcade I have 2 folders set up.  one is c:\arcade\mame and the other is c:\arcade\frontends.

In the c:\arcade\mame folder, I downlaoded and installed/unzipped mame so there are the various folders in there (artwork, cfg, ctrlr, docs, nvram, roms, samples, snap) and files (chdman, mame, romcmp, whatsnew, xml2info).  I only have about 10 roms in the roms folder.  I can get mame to work by going selecting Run -> command.com -> type 'mame [game name]' but that's about it.

In the c:\arcade\frontends folder, I downlaoded and installed/unzipped Game Launcher so there is the glauncher folder in there (c:\arcade\frontends\glauncher).  Inside that folder is all the Game Launcher files and folders.

When I click on glaunch.exe I get what appears to be the main Game Launcher screen with a heading of MAME Arcade Machines followed by the list of games in alphabetical order. The list starts with 1942 (set 1) and 1943: The Battle of Midway (US), etc. (I don't have either of these roms) but I can't do anything other than use the Ctrl and Alt keys to scroll through the different emulaters supported.

My guess is that I don't have certain files and folders in the proper location but I have no idea how to fix it.  Any help would be most appreciated.  THANKS!!  ;D

ErikRuud

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2004, 01:55:17 pm »
Your Gamelauncher configrations need to be changed.  You are usiong the default configuration which uses a lsit of roms and does not look at what roms you actually have.

Read the documentation and setup your configuration to use a rom folder.

You should also change the glaunch.cfg file tp remove the emulators that you do not have installed.

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javeryh

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2004, 11:38:24 am »
Your Gamelauncher configrations need to be changed.  You are usiong the default configuration which uses a lsit of roms and does not look at what roms you actually have.

Read the documentation and setup your configuration to use a rom folder.

You should also change the glaunch.cfg file tp remove the emulators that you do not have installed.



Thanks - I'll give it a shot...

javeryh

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2004, 03:20:38 pm »
I'm really not good at this...  :(  Can anyone give me some step-by-step instructions on what to do?  Or maybe a bit more detail?  Thanks!

javeryh

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #4 on: October 11, 2004, 04:19:29 pm »
OK.  I've made some headway... I can get gamelauncher to ... um ... launch from windows explorer by clicking the application icon.  When it launches, I know it is reading my roms folder because the list that comes up is the list of 10 roms that I actually have.  The problem is that they are not selectable.  When I use the up/down arrows to try and highlight the game I want to play, it will scroll down to the next game briefly but then return to the game at the top of my list (1942).  HELP!!

Also, when I select 1942 (the only game it will let me play!) the MSDOS window comes up and it lists the folder (c:\...) but then it says "pause" and I have to press another button to actually launch the game.  Is there any way to eliminate this step?  (and the "press 'OK' " step too??) THANKS!!

NickS

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #5 on: October 12, 2004, 04:17:17 am »
OK.  I've made some headway... I can get gamelauncher to ... um ... launch from windows explorer by clicking the application icon.  When it launches, I know it is reading my roms folder because the list that comes up is the list of 10 roms that I actually have.  The problem is that they are not selectable.  When I use the up/down arrows to try and highlight the game I want to play, it will scroll down to the next game briefly but then return to the game at the top of my list (1942).  HELP!!

Also, when I select 1942 (the only game it will let me play!) the MSDOS window comes up and it lists the folder (c:\...) but then it says "pause" and I have to press another button to actually launch the game.  Is there any way to eliminate this step?  (and the "press 'OK' " step too??) THANKS!!

In config file set the debug switch from yes to no.

ErikRuud

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #6 on: October 12, 2004, 09:09:09 am »
Turning off debug mode will get rid of the "Pause".

Most of the "Press OK" prompts can be eliminated from mame by using the skip_disclaimer and skip_gameinfo in the mame.ini file.  To elimate all of the OK prompts, you will need to use a custom compiled version of mame such as NoNameMame or compile your own version.



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javeryh

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #7 on: October 12, 2004, 11:06:32 am »
Turning off debug mode will get rid of the "Pause".

Most of the "Press OK" prompts can be eliminated from mame by using the skip_disclaimer and skip_gameinfo in the mame.ini file.  To elimate all of the OK prompts, you will need to use a custom compiled version of mame such as NoNameMame or compile your own version.

THANKS!  It no longer pauses when I select a game!  I'm not sure where to put the skip_disclaimer and skip_gameinfo in the .ini file though... (I told you I was bad at this)...

Also, do you happen to know why I can only select the game at the top of my list.  Every time I press the down arrow on my keyboard it highlights the next game on the list ad then immediately returns to the top.  As of right now I can only play 1942 using gamelauncher!  Thanks!!!


javeryh

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #8 on: October 12, 2004, 10:50:33 pm »
Anyone know why I can't select the games on my list?  Thanks!

ErikRuud

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2004, 08:59:58 am »
The skip_disclaimers and skip_gameinfo are part of mame, you do not do it from gamelauncher.

Look in your mame directory and find the mam.ini file (or mame.cfg if you are using the dos version)

I have never heard of the keyboard problem you are experiencing.

Can you post the contents of your glaunch.cfg file?
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javeryh

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #10 on: October 14, 2004, 09:50:38 am »
OK, here's my glaunch.cfg file - I hope you can tell me what's wrong...

########################################################################
#
# Overall configuration options

[Main]

# A list of emulators to launch.  There should be a config file in the
# config/ directory for each emulator listed.  The order listed here
# is the order they are displayed.
#   i.e. emulators = mame nesticle callus stella genecyst zsnes
emulators = mame

# If you have problems getting an emulator to run, try setting debug
# to "yes".  Also, check the logs/ directory.
debug = no

# The orientation of the menu.
#   0: Horizontal
#   1: Vertical
menu_orientation = 0

# Screen resolution.  Separate the width and height by a space.  For
# example, to specify 800x600 use this: resolution = 800 600.  If left
# commented out, the default resolution for a horizontal menu
# orientation is 800x600 and the default for a vertical menu
# orientation is 640x480.
resolution = 800 600

# The True Type font to use.
font_file = slicker.ttf

# The size, in points, of the font.
font_size = 18

# Whether or not to use anti-aliasing on the font.  This looks nice, so
# unless you've got a *really* slow machine, I would use it.
antialias_font = yes

# Milliseconds of delay before the screen shot is displayed after moving
# the cursor onto a selection.
screen_shot_delay = 400

# How bright is the displayed screen shot (0 - 100)
# 0 - Black, 100 - full brightness
screen_shot_brightness = 40

# Whether or not to prefer integer scaling factors of screen shots
# over non-integer scaling factors.  If enabled, then integer scaling
# factors will be tried before non-integer scaling factors.  If
# disabled, then non-integer scaling factors will always be used.
# Note that non-integer scaling factors will result in some distortion
# of the screen shot.  It is for this reason that integer scaling is
# enabled by default.
prefer_integer_scaling = yes

# Background music type:
#   0: None
#   1: MP3 playlist
#   2: Compact Disc in CD-ROM (DOS Only)
background_music = 0

# Path to the MP3 playlist file.  Only relevant when background_music = 1.
mp3_playlist_file = ./playlist.txt

# CD Volume (0 - 1000). 0 - Min, 1000 - Max. Only relevant when
# background_music = 1.
mp3_volume = 1000

# CD Volume (0 - 1000). 0 - Min, 1000 - Max. Only relevant when
# background_music = 2.  For some reason the CD is really loud on my
# machine.
cd_volume = 450

# Sound effect volume (0 - 1000). 0 - Min, 1000 - Max.
sound_effect_volume = 1000

# Use software audio mixer (Windows only).  Set to "no" by default,
# but if you get distortion try turning it on as some DirectSound
# drivers have buggy mixers.
use_software_mixer = no

# This path is appended to all relative paths in the per-emulator
# config files.  It is a good idea to at least put the drive letter
# here in case DOS/Windows decides to change it.
path_prefix = c:\

# The number of minutes until the screen saver activates.  Setting to
# 0 disables the screen saver.  The default is 5 minutes.
screen_saver_time = 5

# The text to display when the screen saver is active.
screen_saver_text = Game Launcher

# The delay in milliseconds between the first key press and autorepeat.
initial_key_delay = 250

# The delay in milliseconds between key repeats during autorepeat.
# Make sure this is less than screen_shot_delay for optimal
# performance.
key_repeat_delay = 125

# The delay in milliseconds between the first joystick action and
# autorepeat.
initial_joystick_delay = 300

# The delay in milliseconds before advancing to the next item when
# using joystick autorepeat.  Make sure this is less than
# screen_shot_delay for optimal performance.
joystick_repeat_delay = 125

# Whether or not to show an icon next to games that have a screen shot
# available: "yes" or "no".  Default "yes".
show_screen_shot_icon = no

# Whether or not to use text animations such as smooth scrolling.
use_animations = yes

# The number of screenfuls to page up (or page down) before turbo
# scrolling kicks in.  Set to -1 to disable turbo scrolling.  When
# turbo scrolling kicks in, the smooth animated scrolling is turned
# off, thus allowing items to scroll by much faster.  Default 3.
turbo_scroll_threshold = -1

# The minimum number of items in a menu for it to be considered large.
# Small menus do not trigger turbo scrolling, regardless of
# turbo_scroll_threshold.  Default 100.
large_menu_threshold = 100

# The colors of the menu.  Each color is a red, green, blue triad
# (without commas).  The "fg" colors are the main text colors and the
# outline is the border of the text.

# Default: White = 192 192 192
unselected_fg_color = 192 192 192

# Default: Black = 0 0 0
unselected_outline_color = 0   0   0

# Default: Black = 0 0 0
selected_fg_color = 0 0 0

# Default: Yellow = 192 192 64
selected_outline_color = 192 192 64

# The color of title and sub-title.  Default: White = 192 192 192
title_color = 192 192 192

# Key mappings.  Use integer scancodes in scancode.txt, i.e. A = 1
# Default: Up Arrow = 84
up_key = 84

# Default: Down Arrow = 85
down_key = 85

# Default: Left Arrow = 82
page_up_key = 82

# Default: Right Arrow = 83
page_down_key = 83

# Default: 1 = 28
play_game_key = 28

# Default: Left Control = 98
next_emulator_key = 98

# Default: ALT = 100
previous_emulator_key = 100

# Default: ESC = 59
quit_key = 59

# Default: Space = 75
screen_shot_key = 75

# Skips to next song when pressed.
# Default: G = 7
skip_song_key = 7

# Starts current song over from the beginning.
# Default: D = 4
start_song_over_key = 4

# Joystick button used to play game. Valid values are 0 through the
# the number of buttons your joystick has.
# Default: 0
joystick_select_button = 0

# Which mouse axis to use as an input.  This can be used to allow a
# mouse, trackball, or trackwheel to control the menu.
#   0: No mouse control
#   1: X-Axis
#   2: Reversed X-Axis
#   3: Y-Axis
#   4: Reveresed Y-Axis
mouse_input_axis = 3

# How many pixels of mouse movement are needed to register as one
# line of movement.
mouse_input_threshold = 250

# Choose the animation method to use.  Page flipping results in the
# highest frames per second and smoothest animation, but may not work
# well with some cards.
#   0: Double Buffering
#   1: Page Flipping
animation_method = 1

# This option is only relevant when the animation method is double
# buffering.  Using vsync results in smoother animation, but may be
# slower.
use_vsync = yes

# This option is mainly for debugging purposes.  It allows you to
# disable use of video RAM for animation.
use_vram = yes

# If set to "no", Game Launcher will run in a window rather than
# fullscreen.  This only works under Linux and Windows, but don't use
# it unless you know what you are doing.
use_fullscreen = yes

ErikRuud

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #11 on: October 14, 2004, 01:38:14 pm »
That configuration file looks good.

Is it possible that the key defined as page up is stuck?

Are you using a keyboard emulator(Ipac, KeyWiz, etc)  when this happens?
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javeryh

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #12 on: October 14, 2004, 01:53:04 pm »
Nope.  I'm just on my desktop right now trying to learn how everything works before I actually start building my cabinet and putting everything inside.  The arrow keys work totally fine in all other programs on my computer.  It's driving me crazy!

When I start gamelauncher (I just double-click the .exe file from windows explorer) it loads up fine - my roms are all listed and the top one (1942) is highlighted and by hitting the "1" key I am able to play it.  It's only when I try to scroll down the list that it won't let me.  I actually figured out that if I move my mouse down VERY quickly it highlights all the different games but once the mouse stops moving it always returns to 1942.  It's still impossible to select what I want.  Argh!  Thanks for all of the help so far...  any other ideas?

ErikRuud

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #13 on: October 14, 2004, 02:29:33 pm »
I have no other ideas.  Contact David Dribin.

I used GL for a long time on five different PC's and I never had the scrolling problem that you are describing.
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javeryh

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Re:Help getting Game Launcher started...
« Reply #14 on: October 14, 2004, 05:28:09 pm »
Oh well.  Thanks for trying.  Maybe if I delete and reinstall everything I will have better luck.