Author Topic: New Frontend (Coming Soon) (Read 60421 times)

Yarb · « **Reply #120 on:** March 24, 2008, 10:45:06 pm »

Quote from: Dazz on March 24, 2008, 01:18:57 pm

I don't think I have ever looked forward to a front end release.... I think I've watched the video at least a dozen times and read this thread daily.

Hey I know what you mean, I've been stopping frames to examine the details in the video. My Machine kinda fizzled a couple years ago because I could never find a front end that did what I wanted, I absolutely HATE the text lists that most use and subbing in Marquees still does not feel right. BBB single handedly rekindled my fire to finish this project and since he released the Video I have finished a new CP I had in the works (With no less than 13 RGB lit buttons, updated all the roms, recompiled mame (0.124 of course, only to have it RECALLED

)

A buddy and I (Mostly my friend) made a lot of custom Marquees to use in Ultrastyle, this allowed the wheel in that FE to work with games that have odd shaped marquees or ones that did not have large enough text to tell what the game was on a miniature marquee. I am very curious to see how BBB is handling individual games in the wheels and launching them. My style was to have a favorites list wherein everything is perfect, all with videos, full history, CP, Cab art etc... (I see it like a museum in a way). Then have a "All Games" list that has any playable game. That way the cab runs as pretty on the FE as it looks in RL but the hundreds of playable games that have yet to be prettied up are still accessable.

BBB Thanks for rekindling my MAME fire

deadsoulz · « **Reply #121 on:** March 25, 2008, 11:33:31 am »

I need this front end like yesterday

I am going insane waiting to try it out.

nipsmg · « **Reply #122 on:** March 26, 2008, 02:00:32 pm »

Keep up the good work. You've got a lot of people salivating here..

I can't wait to get my hands on this for testing.

BadBoyBill · « **Reply #123 on:** March 26, 2008, 04:39:26 pm »

For those looking to test and provide feedback, I think I'll be starting a private beta next week, maybe 10 to 20 people, just for starters, as long as they have time to test and give the feedback. Im working on the second video right now which will be released soon. Thanks.

nipsmg · « **Reply #124 on:** March 26, 2008, 04:56:38 pm »

Well, count me in for applying for testing.

I've just got my cabinet rebuilt and am actually a software developer by trade and have some software QA experience as well, so i'd be happy to help with the testing process. Let me know if you need me

Thanks in advance!

IG-88 · « **Reply #125 on:** March 26, 2008, 05:23:50 pm »

I'd be a willing tester if you need one. I don't know the minimum specs for your FE but I have lots of older computers that I could try it on. I also have one of every release of Windows O/S plus a couple of "lite" versions as well. PM me if you want me to try it.

Yarb · « **Reply #126 on:** March 26, 2008, 06:50:32 pm »

I would be more than happy to help test in any way I can.

Mike

_Iz- · « **Reply #127 on:** March 26, 2008, 07:03:05 pm »

I've been watching this thread with interest and would love to be a tester as well...

btoddkelley · « **Reply #128 on:** March 26, 2008, 09:53:07 pm »

I would be glad to be a tester.

Todd

joebells · « **Reply #129 on:** March 26, 2008, 11:41:53 pm »

yep I would be glad to test also, running vista x64 sp1 so probably different than most on here

deadsoulz · « **Reply #130 on:** March 26, 2008, 11:56:55 pm »

I would like to test as well.

RetroBorg · « **Reply #131 on:** March 27, 2008, 06:40:13 am »

I'm keen.

waveryder · « **Reply #132 on:** March 27, 2008, 10:14:00 am »

Does look good but smells like vaporware to me

Yarb · « **Reply #133 on:** March 27, 2008, 11:07:33 am »

Quote from: waveryder on March 27, 2008, 10:14:00 am

Does look good but smells like vaporware to me

WOW, 6 weeks since he announced it and it is already vaporware? Somebody needs to play some Duke Nukem 2

Mike

paulstevens · « **Reply #134 on:** March 27, 2008, 03:10:50 pm »

Quote from: waveryder on March 27, 2008, 10:14:00 am

Does look good but smells like vaporware to me

It's not vaporware. It is a ton of work. The work (and the wait) will be worth it.

waveryder · « **Reply #135 on:** March 27, 2008, 04:02:35 pm »

I love it! Have you ever noticed that when a new piece of software is announced there are a ton of posts all about how "I cant wait" and "oh I can beta test for you". It only takes some little devil to make a comment about it being vaporware and then they all the comments change to "It will be worth the wait" and "Programmers work really hard give em a break".

Quote from: waveryder on March 27, 2008, 10:14:00 am

Does look good but smells like vaporware to me

This comment was ment light heartedly.....hence the smiley. BBB will im sure release his stuff when ready. I think the real concern that all these. "I cant wait posters" have is that they are concerned the reason for delay and limited beta test is that this frontend aint gonna be free

Ginsu Victim · « **Reply #136 on:** March 27, 2008, 04:07:49 pm »

The frontend sounds great, but I'm not waiting. I'm using MameWAH currently and love it. I don't feel the need to change unless this new frontend really bowls me over.

Once everything is setup perfect on my cabinet, I'm probably not going to change it.

billpa · « **Reply #137 on:** March 27, 2008, 04:15:23 pm »

Quote from: waveryder on March 27, 2008, 10:14:00 am

Does look good but smells like vaporware to me

I actually tested it out last night as I am helping out with some of the artwork. It is definitely NOT vaporware. BBB is putting in a ton of work into this and you can definitely see it. Lots of eye candy (my favorite part), but also really intuitive and surprisingly simple to customize.

The most time consuming part will be artwork for every game. However, I believe once there are more users and designers trying it out, there will be equally as much artwork being created.

Ginsu Victim · « **Reply #138 on:** March 27, 2008, 04:18:27 pm »

Quote

It is definitely NOT vaporware.

What part of the joke did you not get?

Yarb · « **Reply #139 on:** March 27, 2008, 04:28:15 pm »

Quote from: waveryder on March 27, 2008, 04:02:35 pm

This comment was ment light heartedly.....hence the smiley.

Hey I DID get that you were posting lightheartedly, please note the :Grin: smiley on my post indicating a lighthearted response.

Quote

BBB will im sure release his stuff when ready. I think the real concern that all these. "I cant wait posters" have is that they are concerned the reason for delay and limited beta test is that this frontend aint gonna be free

I personally have been trying to provide constructive and encouraging posts because I have seen some NICE front ends die because the programmers get a TON of criticism because their front end does not include a feature or style that someone wants. Each Frontend is the vision of the maker and should remain so. Suggestion posts are great, the programmer can see what people would like and it gives them a bank of possibilities of what they want for their vision. My interest in this project is due to the fact that BBB's vision closely matches what I have been looking for.

As for it not being free I personally think all nice front ends should charge at least a token fee, why is it that I should pay for my Ipaq, hardware, PC, OS, Artwork and MORE but the hard work these guys put into the front ends get little but a few donations? I think you make excellent art and deserved to be paid for it but how do we convince people that a front end is also worth paying for?

Yarb

billpa · « **Reply #140 on:** March 27, 2008, 04:30:36 pm »

Quote from: GinsuVictim on March 27, 2008, 04:18:27 pm

Quote
It is definitely NOT vaporware.
What part of the joke did you not get?

Calm down there buddy. Had this reply open for about 20 minutes because the boss came in to see some work I was doing

Didnt see waveryder's response.

I was assuming he was joking but figured I would squash any notion of this merely being a half baked piece of software. I was pleasantly surprised last night when I tested it out briefly and can't wait for the kids to go to sleep tonight so I can play around some more

Ginsu Victim · « **Reply #141 on:** March 27, 2008, 04:35:13 pm »

Calm down? I just asked a simple question...

As for not seeing the response, I meant that even without seeing it, how could you not tell it was a joke? Seemed pretty obvious...

billpa · « **Reply #142 on:** March 27, 2008, 04:41:21 pm »

Quote from: GinsuVictim on March 27, 2008, 04:35:13 pm

Calm down? I just asked a simple question...

Here's my simple answer...no, I didn't realize he was joking.

There

BadBoyBill · « **Reply #143 on:** March 27, 2008, 04:50:31 pm »

Please dont argue, hey at first when he said that.. I guess I can understand what hes saying in a way, when I first posted that it might be a couple weeks, and now its as someone pointed out 6 weeks, I really was way ahead of myself, now that im ready for private beta soon, I can say that I'm confident we have a functional frontend. It might not have all the superior features yet, but those come with time. For now though, its even blowing me away, and theres alot of great features already. Hey I'm all about free stuff, I would never charge for stuff. Alot of the little mini programs I use to help with day to day problems are free, so I in exchange give back to you guys. I will contribute, and I want others to contribute back for free. Plus theres alot of great artwork people work on for free, that I find useful for this project. Sorry for the delays, I didnt think that it was this much work. But I guarantee you I been very very active on this, and have come along way in those 6 weeks.

waveryder · « **Reply #144 on:** March 27, 2008, 05:18:50 pm »

No offense intended to BBB or anyone else on here. Been gone a while and figured I would make a joke rather than another "your so great hurry up and release" post. $:-\$

Dont worry though my wife doesn't think im funny either

joebells · « **Reply #145 on:** March 27, 2008, 05:31:40 pm »

Quote from: BadBoyBill on March 27, 2008, 04:50:31 pm

Please dont argue, hey at first when he said that.. I guess I can understand what hes saying in a way, when I first posted that it might be a couple weeks, and now its as someone pointed out 6 weeks, I really was way ahead of myself, now that im ready for private beta soon, I can say that I'm confident we have a functional frontend. It might not have all the superior features yet, but those come with time. For now though, its even blowing me away, and theres alot of great features already. Hey I'm all about free stuff, I would never charge for stuff. Alot of the little mini programs I use to help with day to day problems are free, so I in exchange give back to you guys. I will contribute, and I want others to contribute back for free. Plus theres alot of great artwork people work on for free, that I find useful for this project. Sorry for the delays, I didnt think that it was this much work. But I guarantee you I been very very active on this, and have come along way in those 6 weeks.

No need to be sorry your providing us with something

waveryder · « **Reply #146 on:** March 27, 2008, 05:54:34 pm »

lol
Thanks for beautifully exemplifying my point

sp33dy · « **Reply #147 on:** March 28, 2008, 01:54:03 pm »

I'd love to be a beta tester. Got an XP system with Quad Core, 2GB Mem, NVidia GForce 8800 GTS (half Sli mode.. Nope, not got the second card yet).

If you would like me to help, then say.

Lilwolf · « **Reply #148 on:** March 31, 2008, 08:48:17 am »

I can definately understand how a frontend which you think will take a week or two to clean up takes a lot longer. JFront / Animame would be a step from release and 6 months later still be working on it. Mainly because I had an hour to program every day, but 8 hours at work to think of cool new things to add.

btw it looks great! Will you allow for more then one version of mame with different graphics? (ie, maybe a racing graphic for all racing games... select it and only show racing games?) how configurable is it going to be?

Good luck!

mybrainhurtz · « **Reply #149 on:** April 01, 2008, 08:32:58 am »

I forget to check this thread for a week, and of course that is when BBB asks for testers haha... well count me in when the time comes. I have a few generations of computers that I can test on and would love to do my part in bug squashing, so the community can get this great frontend asap.

As far as the question of cost, I have no problem giving back if the product does what I need it to do... especially an innovative project like this one!

Keep up the good work!

BadBoyBill · « **Reply #150 on:** April 01, 2008, 09:57:39 am »

Oops, I should of said please PM me if your interested in testing. I think I'm close to the point for the limit of people for now. Thanks.

Dazz · « **Reply #151 on:** April 01, 2008, 11:26:05 am »

I tried PM'ing you but the PM will not go through. I do want to test.... I was one of the first ones to even ask about it in this thread. I am a beta tester by profession and love testing new pieces of software. I have tested over 50 MMO games and many many more console and PC games. I have also experience in hardware testing from HP, IOmega and several other hardware companies. Would love to help out with this FE.

BadBoyBill · « **Reply #152 on:** April 01, 2008, 12:57:53 pm »

All the Pm's were recieved, even yours Dazz. Thanks to those who signed up. I think theres plenty of people now to help out. If you already had a post before this one asking to test, then just PM me. Thanks.

dntaskwho · « **Reply #153 on:** April 06, 2008, 08:05:08 pm »

BADBOYBILL asked my to state that there are no more sign ups for beta testing. Please don't flame me for this he asked me to do this personally

psychotech · « **Reply #154 on:** April 06, 2008, 09:34:50 pm »

Oh, really?

Well., anyway..

CCL

BadBoyBill · « **Reply #155 on:** April 06, 2008, 09:35:49 pm »

Actually , not to post that here dntaskwho, I meant on my website so that no one signs up after you.

dntaskwho · « **Reply #156 on:** April 08, 2008, 12:06:37 am »

im sorry got confused by the original post i was just so excited about it i must of read incorrectly

Encryptor · « **Reply #157 on:** April 15, 2008, 07:27:33 pm »

Any new news?

Encryptor

Yarb · « **Reply #158 on:** April 15, 2008, 08:22:37 pm »

I was wondering the same thing myself, any word or new Video?

Yarb

brian_hoffman · « **Reply #159 on:** April 16, 2008, 12:16:32 am »

Everything is coming along quite well actually. I believe it may be released sooner than most people may think. I know its been a long wait for the FE and the Videos.. It seems one thing comes up after another. All I can say is Billy is working hard to get everything stable before the main release.. With setting up the various emus and command line issues (That have been mostly worked out)

Just though Id pop in and let you guys know things are moving along.

Happy Gaming


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