FE Suggestions

[Havok]

I've installed a couple of front ends, and I still haven't found what I'm looking for. I am hoping someone here can suggest a couple of different front ends to mess with that may meet my needs.

I plan on building a cabinet with multiple USB hot swappable control panels. I am thinking of 4 or 5. They will be built for more of a "pure" experience as I remember, i.e. actual buttons just for my favorites like Phoenix, Asteroids, 7 button layout for fighters, Star Wars yoke, Steering Wheel for Spyhunter, etc. I just want to avoid the whole frankenpanel thing.

With that in mind, I would like to have a graphical front end (not something that looks like it belongs in Windows, although I will be running XP) that gives me the ability to select the different control panels, perhaps with a jpeg of the panel, and then have a list , or marquees of just those games that will work with the installed panel.

One FE that I really like is Ultrastyle, but would I be able to do this with that, and also any other suggestions?

** - Edit:  Also would like to be able to run Daphne stuff - **

Thanks!

[AlanS17]

I'm just waiting for HC to chime in on this one...

*ducks and covers*

[SpamMe]

Not sure there are any frontends that will do the work for you, as far as creating lists based on your particular modular control setups (though I may be wrong). Many of them will, however, allow you to create multiple favorites lists that would do the job, though the lists themselves may have to be set up manually.

[Bones]

I'm just waiting for HC to chime in on this one...

*ducks and covers*

I am sure once he has finished tripping geriatrics at the old people

[youki]

You shoulld be able to do that already with AtomicFe.

You can create Config file for each panel type , you build a "menu" to select it using my "Multiconf" features.

Then at the start of Atomic you can select the panel one the menu , and then select game using this panel.

Not sure about your USB stuff.. but if each panel works like a Joystick , a mouse , a spiner, a trackball or a keyboard , it should work.

[Lilwolf]

My frontend can do that.  you can switch between control panels, have it update your encoder,  and update the keyboard definition (in case you don't have them programmed to the same button).  Plus the games listed are different. 

Works pretty well, but I haven't uploaded the new version to the website yet.  I'm still hoping to get inspiration to spiff up the default skin.

oh yeah... different skin per control panel also.

but take note.  I don't think it would work well on low end systems.  Mine is a 2ghz and it works fine.  I haven't tried it on slower. 

Anyway, hopefully next weekend I will get a chance to upload it.  I might upload a beta sooner...

[Havok]

Sweet - thanks for the info Youki and Lilwolf.

Lilwolf - what's your FE? (sorry - I don't know... <bows humbly>)

No prob about the pc, I'm running a 2Ghz Athlon XP.

Also, I am thinking of using the GPWiz - any support for it?

P.P.S. - How about Daphne support?

[Lilwolf]

Its going to be renamed.  I used to be JFront.   But I've rewritten it twice since the last release (1 was 100% 3d that was REALLY cool and just started to look REALLY good... but then I moved it to my cabinet and found that it ran at 60fps on my development machine with a geforce2mx and ran at 2fps on any ATI video card   dumb I know not to check it on my cabinet.  Anyway dropped it. 

I've moved all the 3d features I liked into a 2d frontend. 

Yes it has daphne support (through Howards wrappers) or it used to, I can't remember the last time I tested it.  DL and SA are games that you have to forget about and play for a few days solid once a year.  And I haven't really touched it since.

[AlanS17]

Does that mean it's Java-based. Would we need the JVM installed?

[Lilwolf]

yup, its java based.  It only requires the jre (java runtime env)

[Havok]

Anyway, hopefully next weekend I will get a chance to upload it.