Some AtomicFE Questions

[Neverending Project]

I am taking a look at AtomicFE, have have a few questions about it. I haven't spent too much time with it yet, so forgive me if there are easy fixes.

Issues:

• The videos in my layout are playing too slow. They play fine on their own (AVI files), fine it MaLa, but slow when playing in AtomicFE. I have tried in the default layout, and a new layout I created myself. What should I check?
• My joystick (U360) sends the menu lists all crazy. If I push the joystick the menus scroll and don't stop. The joysticks work fine in Mala, and in game as well.
• In my own layout, I want to have white text for the game list, and red text for the selected item. But when I change the font color for the selected text to red, it appears in the list as red text with a white background (instead of no background, as the rest of the list). Things to look for?
• The selected game in my list appears as a full path, not just the game title. And hence the text becomes really small to try to fit it all in.

Questions:

• Can AtomicFE be configured so a keypress goes to a specific screen, no matter what screen is currently displayed? In other words, I want to be able to have a different hot key for some of my screens.
• Can I configure a layout so a screenshot of my choosing shows depending on what controls are in the game? In other words, can it look into controls.ini, and display a pic of my trackball control panel for games that use a trackball control?

It looks promising, so I hope I can figure out some of this stuff. Thanks!

[youki]

Thanks for testing Atomic.

The videos in my layout are playing too slow. They play fine on their own (AVI files), fine it MaLa, but slow when playing in AtomicFE. I have tried in the default layout, and a new layout I created myself. What should I check?

Click right on your screen, select "options" , then click on the little black arrow at the up right , and select HQ Video tab. tick "HQ Video are used for snap"  and entrer a value for frame each. (try 10 in a first time and adjust according to the result on your screen).

My joystick (U360) sends the menu lists all crazy. If I push the joystick the menus scroll and don't stop. The joysticks work fine in Mala, and in game as well.

Generally when you have that issue it is a problem of joystick calibration. But Atomic joystick support is very basic. To use enhanced feature of Atomic it must be driven by keyboard input (or via jpac, keywiz etc..). So when you have something that is a real "joystick" (i mean windows see it as a joystick), you have to use utility like Joy2key or Xpadder to transform joystick input in keyboard input for Atomic.
And go in "project properties" , "input options" tab and tick "ignore USB joystick" to avoid bad move in the list. (the joystick is ignored only in Atomic, not in the emulator).

In my own layout, I want to have white text for the game list, and red text for the selected item. But when I change the font color for the selected text to red, it appears in the list as red text with a white background (instead of no background, as the rest of the list). Things to look for?

Select the "textlist" objet, go to "font" tab , change text color to white

Go to "general" tab , tick "use dif font size for sel" and click "color font for sel" button and choose red.
click "apply"

Go to "image tab" , click "change image" and give a image that contains only the color you defined as transparent color.
on the same tab, click "change selection" and give the same "transparent" image you defined as image.

Then you should have what you want.

The selected game in my list appears as a full path, not just the game title. And hence the text becomes really small to try to fit it all in.

Fullpath??? what you mean?  Could you write me a game name you see.   or a screenshot?

Can AtomicFE be configured so a keypress goes to a specific screen, no matter what screen is currently displayed? In other words, I want to be able to have a different hot key for some of my screens.

No. It is doable with a plugin, but not done yet.  But there is an option  (i think hidden it is a vestige from old version)  that allow you to choose the screen in a list and go directly to it.

Can I configure a layout so a screenshot of my choosing shows depending on what controls are in the game? In other words, can it look into controls.ini, and display a pic of my trackball control panel for games that use a trackball control?

I have a plugin done but a user somewhere that does that. however it is not complety polished. Otherwise you can use tool like cpwizard .

[Neverending Project]

Thanks youki. I look forward to digging in a bit deeper.

[Neverending Project]

OK, you fixed my issues with the videos and the game list. Thanks! 

New question. I am trying to create a combined gamelist, so I am following your tutorial on your website. I want to combine a master list of MAME games with a list of daphne games. So first I created a screen for the MAME games, and used ROMLister to make a gamelist file to attach to it. ROMLister built me a list of all games without clones, over 3000. I attached it to my screen. Then I created a screen for daphne and added a list to it. Both screens work on their own.

Now I create a third screen and add a list from other screens. When I select the MAME screen I built, all roms show up in the list, not just the ROMS from my gamelist. How do I only add the gamelist attached to the screen?

Thanks again.

[youki]

hum..normally it should show only game that are in the gamelist for your screen (if a gamelist is defined).

Are you sure you selected the right screen?   

Did you installed Atomic patches?

When you run your mame screen (where there is only mame) , do you see all game or the filtered list?

[Neverending Project]

I am running v.20 with no patches installed. I created a gamelist called All Games using RomLister which should not have any clones. It tests fine and I checked the CFG GAMELIST file and it shows the same. Yet when I select this screen to combine with another, all the roms show up. In the attached screenshot, note all the 720 versions in the list. I double-checked my gamelist, and there should be only one.

Any ideas?

[youki]

I'm going to check when i will be back at home. Your files will be very usefull. Thanks.

[youki]

I just noticed you said me you have no patches installed.  it is the reason.  Install the last patch it will solve that problem.(and numerous others...)

Direct link to the patches

or you can find it here :

http://www.atomicfe.com/EN2/download.php

[Neverending Project]

Great, I will install it tonight and report back soon. Thanks again!

[Neverending Project]

OK, that fixed the problem. I have successfully created the combined screen. But for all the ROMs listed that came from the MAME screen it is only displaying the rom name, not the actual game title. Is there a way display the game name on this combined screen instead of the rom name?

[youki]

Ok, i have just checked.

And to change the display name , from the  mixed game list editor you select the game and click "modify /detail" and from here you can modify the display name.

But of course if you have hundreds of game that is not really optimal. And i admit it is a missing feature in AtomicStudio. I will try to code something to improve that for the next patch/version.

[youki]

I have double checked my code, in fact i had already implemented that.  It is just a bug in AtomicStudio.

Try to replace your AtomicStudio.exe , but that one :

AtomicStudio.exe

But you have to reconstruct the mixed list , normally the game title should be set automatically.

let me know if it works for you.

[Neverending Project]

OK, replaced the executable with the new one and all works great now. Thank you!

And while I seem to be monopolizing your time, I have another question. Does the Favorites option keep a Favorites list for each screen, or one master Favorites list that all screens can add to? Or both?

[youki]

My favorites list are one for each screen. There is no global favorites. If you want that you have to your own screen with your favorites coming from all other screens.

[dafelandry]

Dont mean to jack (sorry if u feel i did "Neverending Project") I didnt want to start another topic titled "atomicfe" questions.... but i have two ?'s...

- I am having troubles with my mame roms.... basically any game requiring a CHD is not loading with atomic fe (ex.. area51, killer instinct 1/2..... and yes they work with the same mame i am using with atomic fe just not VIA atomic fe)

- I have made an awesome custom project and i have added music to the main "screen" is it possible to play the song that loads with my first screen all the way through?? (or in another words when i change screens the song stops.....can i just keep the one song playing no matter what screen i am on )

Thanks again Yuki  !!! Atomic Fe has been a dream/breeze just CHD roms have been acting silly and the whole music thing isn't that bad... just smoothing rough edges  

(I am running AFE 0.20 with the patch)

[youki]

- I am having troubles with my mame roms.... basically any game requiring a CHD is not loading with atomic fe (ex.. area51, killer instinct 1/2..... and yes they work with the same mame i am using with atomic fe just not VIA atomic fe)

How do you run a game that use a CHD ? (i mean without Atomic)  Is there something special to do?
Where are located the CHD?

- I have made an awesome custom project and i have added music to the main "screen" is it possible to play the song that loads with my first screen all the way through?? (or in another words when i change screens the song stops.....can i just keep the one song playing no matter what screen i am on )

For now each screen can have its own music , there is no "global" music. That's an option i started to implement for the next version but it still does not work. 

[youki]

Ok concerning the CHD , i checked with a French user there is no problem with.

ex for Area51 :
You have to have Area51.zip in the rom folder
and in a subfolder of the rom folder named Aeara51 , you have to have area51.chd

There is nothing special to do in Atomic.

But check that in your mame.ini , the ROM folder point well to the same rom folder than Atomic.