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Commodore64 EMU in cabinet
chemame:
ok, this really has me interested now, as it's a good problem that deserves a good solution.
I have a script I wrote at home that solves me T64 / D64 / C64 issue, so it's just a matter of modifying the script to also be aware of VSF and VFL files. Assuming they're all named the same, I should be able to easy make the script find the appropriate files and pass the params to X64 on the commandline.
My scripts are all in Perl though, so my solution will only work for you if you also run Perl. Which, of course, everyone should. ;D
Holy cow, Mamewah 1.62 is nice!
My entire c64 perl wrapper script is now obsolete (was a workaround for problems using "*" as the rom extension for mamewah, as I have .PRG .T64 .D64 etc)
Whatisk, Mister Badger: I am finally able to remove all the perl, make it much more standard... thing is, I am unable to get the c64wrapper to run at work... what is it for? Does it make ESC work for exit or something?
IN ANY EVENT...
Being new to both AutoHotKey and MameWah 1.62, this is what I came up with:
MAMEWAH c64 INI:
### List Generation Settings ###
rom_path [emuexepath]\roms
rom_extension d64;prg;t64;vsf
list_generation_method rom_folder
### Execution Settings ###
pre_emulator_app_commandlines c:\program files\autohotkey\autohotkey.exe c:\temp\arcade\ahk\escape_sends_altX.ahk {nowait}
emulator_commandline C:\Temp\arcade\c64\winvice\x64.exe -flipname "[emuexepath]\fliplists\[name].vfl" -autostart "[rompath]\[name].[romext]"{cursor}
AutoHotKey script "escape_sends_altX.ahk":
Escape::
Send !x
ExitApp ;
return
What I get with this is:
* Mamewah runs my autohotkey script, but does not wait for it to exit before continuing to my emulator
* autohotkey sits waiting to translate ESCAPE to ALT-X (x64 "quit" key)
* x64 autostarts whichever image has been selected, and looks in the fliplists\ directory for a VFL file of the same name as the emulator
* at that point, the image that was mounted by autostart runs automatically, and if I press ALT-N the next image is mounted (autohotkey might be helpful here if you don't have a keyboard handy)
* upon pressing ESCAPE, autohotkey sends ALT-X (then terminates itself), which causes x64 to exit. If you disable x64's CONFIRM ON EXIT, it is a clean exit back to mamewah
So.... you experienced mamewah and autohotkey'ers.... did I miss anything?
Chemame
Mister Badger:
Hey - Good man Chemame. I'd have never come up with that myself. I'm fairly new to this emulation malarchy so it's gonna take me a while to figure out & follow your instructions. I'll download the new version of mamewah and look into the 'Autohotkey' program that you refer to and give it whirl at the weekend. Am I right in thinking that autohotkey's an application designed to work with an Ipac? If so, what are the chances of it working with my minipac? (I'm just being lazy now aren't I?! I should probably have a tinker with it & do some research before asking questions!) I'll post the results back here when I've got my head round it; but as it seems to work on your PC I see no reason for it not to work on mine.
Thanks Chemame
Pete
P.s,
Your right about the wrapper by the way, it is designed to make VICE quit out with the ESC key.
whatisk:
Looks like I might need to look into upgrading to 1.62 of Mamewah as well.
I am still at a loss though as to how the fliplists work. :dizzy: How are they created? I am assuming that a VFL is different to a VSF. Is the VFL just a text file containing names of the images you want to be able to switch between with ALT-N?
I have AutoHotKey and plan on messing around with it this weekend as I would need to include a key for sending ALT-N as there isn't a keyboard easily accessible on my cab.
Thanks for all the input chemame and Mister Badger :cheers:
Edit: Okay, think I have figured it out.
chemame:
Okay, I finally get a chance to give back to the board. It's a nice feeling.
First, for Mister Badger:
you're thinking along the right line with AutoHotKey, but it's not an ipac utility. Actually it can be used to avoid having to mess with the ipac or keywiz programming, especially for simple things like "I need my escape key to be ALT-X". I only just learned that AHK even existed. See this thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=45340.0 or this website: http://www.autohotkey.com/.
Basically, AHK is a tiny app that runs in the background, and while it can do LOTS and LOTS of things, it can also be as simple as in my example, which is "sit and watch for an ESCAPE keypress, and if so, trap it, send ALT-X instead, then terminate AHK". The effect is slick... you press escape, and X64 exits, and so does the single instance of AHK you were running for the escape-->alt-x conversion.
Next, for Whatisk:
Fliplists seem to work like this: mount a disk image to device 8, then select ADD IMAGE TO FLIPLIST. If you want others, them mount another, and ADD it, etc etc. My guess is you're only going to need DISK1 and DISK2, but ymmv of course. Anyway... then SAVE the fliplist, and the next time you load it, pressing ALT-N will cycle through the images. Yes, it appears to be a text file with the names of the images. There's some specific format to it though. It's not JUST a list of filenames, it also associates them with specific devices. There's probably much more you can do with them, I just found exactly what I needed, then stopped.
SO... as I posted previously, between the two of those, you can have X64 load the fliplist (assuming you saved it with the same name as the VSF or D64 or whatever), and pressing ALT-N will mount the second image when you need it. And pressing escape will exit, and there's no need for the wrapper (not that I think the wrapper is bad, it's just a big unknown to me. Again, ymmv).
Modifying the AHK script for ALT-N remapping should be trivial. If you have problems, let me know.
Now, thanks to minwah, I have to spend my entire weekend scrubbing my system to prep it for a 1.62 upgrade. I had written ALL these nasty perl scripts to accomplish what I can now EASILY do with pre- and post- execution calls. Minwah, you rock!
Chemame
EDIT: Mister Badger, I thought I should point out that I've never used VSF images, except for my testing just now to see if my instructions will work for you. Consider me a purist, I remember those cracktros with a great deal of fondness, and I like to see the C64 start up with 32768 bytes free. :-)
Mister Badger:
Yep, I know what your saying Chemame. I too like to see the cracktro's and cool demo scene stuff; I just prefer to keep them aside for watching on my desktop PC - with a few exceptions of course!
The C64 demoscene, though not as 'active' as it once was, is still breathing today. Anyone interested should check out 'Deus ex machina' by Crest and Oxyron; 'Reanim8ed' by Hitmen; 'Throckmorton Device' by Triad; 'One million light years from earth' by Fairlight .... This list could go on & on & on. I download at least one a day. Impressive stuff; perhaps even art. Trust me - if you've got 10 minutes spare, watch one! You'd be amazed at what the 'ol breadbox can do when it's pushed....
Come to think of it, maybe I should set up some demoscene stuff in a mamewah list of it's own ......
Edit : I was going somewhat off topic with the above :blah:, so to get back on track I can now happily report that Chemame's idea does indeed successfully load both a vsf and vfl file up together into winvice through Mamewah 1.62 & will exit happily back to the FE through the autohotkey script\app. I've only done this on my desktop so far and with only the one game, but as I see it all I need to do on my arc machine after installing the new software is remap one of my arcade buttons to the 'N' key or make another A.H.K script to make ALT+N = one of my panels existing buttons. Shouldn't be to hard really.
All I've really done is cut and paste Chemame's .ini and .ahk file and alter the paths where necessary, but I'm still pleased with myself for managing to do the procedure drunk!
Are you getting on okay with it whatisk?
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