Fba-xxx Launching Roms Directly From Xbmc, Using bookmarks & .cut files (great wide icons too!) Options

[Ebsy]

Hello all, it's been a while!.

Anyway, I recently dusted off the ol' xbox, stuck a new hard drive in there and decided to get my teeth back into the emu scene. I'm impressed with the progress -T- and djohng have made with FBA-xxx and how far XBMC has come in the time I've been away (MC360! ).

I acquired a full set of FBA-xxx 1.28 roms and started looking into the "custom launch parameters" feature that XPort introduced back in the day. Unfortunately there's no definitive source for getting this feature 'up and running' so after a bit of searching and playing about, here's what I've got so far.

First off, there's a python script called Retro-X that allows roms to be launched directly from XBMC and it's quite nice and polished. However, it's only really written for use with XPort emulators as the syntax it outputs includes the full rom path and rom extension in the custom parameter, FBA-XXX does not recognise these parameters and while it launches from the dash, it defaults to loading the first game in the list, regardless of what was selected in retro-x. So, rather than contacting the author of Retro-X and asking him to modify the code, we can take advantage of the .cut files and bookmarks features that are included in XBMC by default. More about .cut files and bookmarks available in the XBMC Wiki here -

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index....s_to_.xbe_files

Tutorial
--------

Say we want to set up Metal Slug to be launched via FBA-XXX directly from XBMC.

Here's how we'd go about it.

1. First, we need to set up the shortcut (.cut) file that XBMC understands. The file is a basic text file and looks like this

CODE

<shortcut>
   <path>f:\emulators\final burn\default.xbe</path>
   <label>Metal Slug</label>
   <thumb>f:\emulator icons\neogeo.png</thumb>  
      <custom>
         <game>mslug</game>
      </custom>
</shortcut>

obviously the <path> tag contains the location of your FBA-XXX xbe, mine is in f:\emulators\final burn\. the <label> can be anything you want. the <thumb> can also be anything you want (I've just used a generic neogeo icon) the <game> parameter only contains the rom name, NO EXTENSION.

2. Now save this file as a .cut file on your XBOX hard drive. I've called it metalslug.cut and saved it in F:\games\neogeo\

3. Now we set up a bookmark, I've used the PMIII skin in XBMC as it's more straightforward. To enable bookmarks, go to settings/skin settings/bookmarks and 'enable bookmark buttons'. Create a new bookmark under 'programs' named 'neo-geo' and 'enable it'. Now, when you return to the programs section of XBMC you'll see your new bookmark displayed.

4. Now we add a source for the bookmark. Click your new 'neo-geo' bookmark and scroll down to 'add source' browse for the folder where you saved your .cut file (F:\games\neogeo\) and XBMC will scan that directory for all your .cut files. A new source named 'neo-geo' will now appear under your new bookmark and when you click this, you should see your new shortcut displayed.



Now when you launch this shortcut it will load Metal Slug directly.

To add other games just add more .cut files that point to the corresponding roms. For example, a Street Fighter Alpha 3 .cut file would look like this...

CODE

<shortcut>
   <path>f:\emulators\final burn\default.xbe</path>
   <label>Street Fighter Alpha 3</label>
   <thumb>f:\emulator icons\ryu.png</thumb>  
      <custom>
         <game>sfa3</game>
      </custom>
</shortcut>

and save it as sfa3.cut to the directory you have bookmarked, XBMC will automatically index it the next time you access the bookmark and you'll be able to launch the game directly. One of the great features of this is that you can set up folders according to genre, so you could have a 'fighters' bookmark containing all your street fighter/king of fighters shortcuts, a 'shooters' folder etc. etc. and you can also create your own icons for the shortcuts.



Here's another example using the MC360 skin, I knocked up some 'wide icons' and in this example I'm mixing the FBA-XXX .cut's with .cut's pointing to regular games backed up on my xbox hard drive. For example, the 3rd Strike .cut looks like this...

CODE

<shortcut>
   <path>f:\games\Street Fighter 3rd Strike\default.xbe</path>
   <label>Street Fighter III 3rd Strike</label>
   <thumb>f:\games\Street Fighter 3rd Strike\default.tbn</thumb>  
</shortcut>

Hope this helps

Edit by Bomb Bloke:
This thread also contains emulation based icons.

This post has been edited by Bomb Bloke: May 18 2008, 10:14 AM

[Ebsy]

Not gonna hang me by the neck anymore then?

[Cospefogo]

Not gonna hang me by the neck anymore then?

Ha ha...
No no! You were right since from the beginning.
I have a problem with myself to get kind of extra-excited over
fresh new about thing related to my hobbies!

I started mumbling about without even test it before.
(c:

By the way, I have a new long row of icons for FBA-XXX.
Will be publishing it soon!

Cospefogo.