Hey BB....

I only included the next-to-last version in the CutFile Creator pack I released because for all of the systems I covered, that's the one I had been using. I didn't release any cutfiles or creators for MAME in my upload. Unfortunately, MAME (CoinOPS/FBL) cutfiles were just going to be too much work for me in the end. I'm completely burned out on the XBox work now man.

So... here's hoping you guys can figure out an easy way to make the creators so that if things are updated in the future that they can be re-spawned whenever games are added.



Thanks a ton for all of your help these last few years BB. Your hours spent coding stuff I'm too impatient to ever learn saved me literally hundreds or even thousands of hours of tedious manual labor. If only we had been working together 4 years ago, I probably would be wrapping up my work sometime last year.

Truly, thanks again for everything you've done,
~Rx

BombBloke,

I think this can work for you...
http://mindcaster.tripod.com/mame/gamelist.txt

Maybe it is easy to turn it to something like (filtering the unnecessary info)
#Real Game Name1@romname1;
#Real Game Name2@romname2;
#Real Game Name3@romname3;
...
and use it on the Shortcut Creator.

What do you think?
What else do you need?
I am like a open door to help on this.

Another suggestion regarding MAME:

In my case I have a large collection of flyers. This is easy to get around, there are many compilation of flyers available on the internet. Since MAME rom names and flyers are 100% compatible to each other due to the internal mame naming system, Shortcut creator is a guaranteed success --- but now comes the tricky part.

To have the directory with the shortcuts to be image-cached on XBMC we need TBN files, correct? At the moment those TBN need to be manually created somewhere else, or then the user should just point to the original PNG files (since they are all gathered together on a same directory [like F:/icons]) and keep the things UN-CACHED. So my idea is:

- The user runs GenerateDirectoryListing.py on the ROM list
- The user obtains the listing.txt
- The user copy the listing.txt to inside the flyers-or-screenshots directory
- The the user runs a new .py file - something like: GenerateTBNfromListing.py - and this script creates a new folder and make a copy with only the necessary image files (pointed by the listing.txt) with extension renamed to thumb.

Bingo! Now we have shortcuts with TBN for MAME flyers (or even shots) without the need of manually picking a flyer for each game and renaming to TBN. And also, this avoids the user to have the full 3000 flyers directory duplicated inside the Xbox with 3000 images renamed to thumb.

If you are out of time (or have no interest on this) I will bulk-rename all my 3000 flyers to TBN, create the shortcuts again, run the XBMC, and - after all files have been cached - I will rename the TBNs back to PNGs.
=D Easy move too.

Maybe it will be easier to to that than to bother you, ha ha...
=D

And one final point - I am no big fan of having cuts using the screenshot of a game, but yesterday I was curious to try with some Xport Emulators... however, I can't proceed due to Xports screenshots directory format.

How complex it to modify the script (or add a Xport parameter on the Config) to, at the moment of pointing to the shots dir, having a extra addendum with the game name (that cames from listing.txt) as a subdirectory in the screenshots path? I do basic PHP... and with some extra time maybe I could modify the java by myself (maybe maybe maybe maybe), but for sure this is much more simpler for you.

Thanks again, man.
And don't need to worry much about this.
Its only ideas.

Cospefogo.

Hey guys!

I think I am mistaken about the XBMC caching thing.
It looks like XBMC caches everything, not only the TBN files.

I was having the wrong impression about the caching system because
everytime I open one of my CUTS folder (with around 850 cuts inside)
XBMC presents a dialog saying "reading media info", or something like
that.

But it is already reading FROM cache... I got a dialog just because
the directory has sooo many files.

=D

Cospefogo.

The CUTs themselves don't get cached, at least, I'm pretty sure they don't. For example, if you change the label tag in a CUT, XBMC should notice this even if you don't change the CUT filename. I think.

(Compare this to XBEs, where the labels are cached - if you use a title editor outside of XBMC to rename them, XBMC won't notice unless you wipe your programs database or rename the program folder).


I'd have no trouble parsing that, but there are a couple of problems. First, I'm not sure it's complete - is this because MAME lacks support for all the missing sets? For example, I notice a whole bunch of child and encypted sets missing, same as in the last document I dealt with... Ideally, I'd be able to account for every game for every emulator that "has" to use certain ROM naming conventions. If no single list deals with them all, I'll compile a bunch of smaller lists together to make a complete version for use with all such emulators.

The other issue is that it's only dedicating 32 characters per game title. If a game needs more then that, it simply crops the text...


This would indeed likely be the easiest way - a variation would be to create a copy of your image set, rename the whole lot to TBNs (ren *.* *.tbn), then dump the fliers in with the CUTs. You can then simply delete the image copies once caching is complete.


Hmm! To memory, the Xtras screenshot packs were initially stored in the same way XPort screenshots are handled - You'd have a folder for the system, then a sub-folder for each game, with numbered images inside.

I'd implemented a way to use the CUT Creator with the Xtras, but eventually they were changed to a completely different system (which didn't need any special treatment at all). I never removed the compatibility code though, as I'm not one to throw stuff out.

Anyway, tell the CUT Creator you're embedding thumbs, and point it at the the XPort folder for the system you're dealing with (eg, E:\Screens\GBA, or something like that, can't remember off the top of my head). Tell it you're using an Xtras pack, and the Xtras image to use is whatever the the emulator calls the first screenshot (I'm pretty sure the default option will be correct for this).

That should do the trick.

Mister Bomb Bloke,

I understand your point regarding the Mame thing, no problem.
It is really true, the list is faraway to be complete.

Anyway, thank you very much for your attention on my questions.
And thanks for the tips... I am working down here now to manually
adjust my cuts names.

Regards,
Cospefogo.

So I realised the (easy to find) official MAME source would probably be a suitable alternative to the X-Box port. Yes, yes, I know - sometimes my genious astounds even myself.

So now the app includes its own game list file, which covers about 8500 sets. I imagine it can guess the rest (eg, the decrypted sets, which, as Kenshiro mentioned, aren't recognised by MAME for who knows what reason). I'm kinda getting the impression at this point that anything FBL/FBA/whatever supports, MAME supports, so I doubt there's any need to go hunting for more titles. Though I still don't consider myself an expert on the subject.

Including regional + child set info in with the game titles is optional.

Yes BB, I agree with you.

Regarding the old conversation about decrypted sets, bootleg sets, clones, versions and so on - Me, Myself and I - really do not care about them. I remember Kenshiro spoke about this in the past saying that he loves to have all available versions of a game, every single rom, update, parent, clone, etc etc.

My vision is different - having ten different Street Fighter Alpha 1 in my romset it annoying. I like to have just "A GAME/ONE GAME" to just "PLAY IT". Ha ha ha... Please don't get my wrong, I am not trying to be rude (English is not my main language.)

So, when I suggested a MAME document was just to - at least - help a little for the people who are creating Mame shortcuts. In my opinion, even as a incomplete documento list, it already saves A LOT of time on the manual renaming labor.

I understand your professional vision of the situation - avoiding at maximum to offer a incomplete feature - but I think that having half/incomplete automatic renaming on MAME is better than have no automatic renaming at all...

Cheers!!
Cospefogo.

Hmm, I think you mistundestand me... I posted another version of the CUT Creator, which now has full automatic naming as far as MAME ROMs are concerned. Plus the ability to "guess" a few child sets that MAME doesn't support.

I dunno whether that covers all other emulators that identify games using archive filenames, but I would expect it does.

Since I couldn't find a complete "MAME document" online, I created my own based on the MAME source code.

Ha ha... Yes I did!
Sorry!


I will check it right now!
Thanks!

C.

Hey BB!!

There's nothing else to wish on this world!
Your program worked like a charm.

Every SINGLE MAME SHORTCUT game is now perfect named
on a blink of an eye! Good as gold! Thank you very much!!

I just need to inform a tini-tiny bug however: the program
hangs up and present a error on your parsing routines on
one single MAME game --- Street Fighter 1 (rom name: sf.zip)

I think it is due to the 2 letters only for the rom name.

Anyway, I skipped this game and everything else was great.
RessurectionX should check this...
I bet he will love.

Cospefogo.

Correct. I've uploaded a fixed version. Thanks for the heads-up.

Cool just noticed the last few posts. Nice work BB.

Can you load in the gamebase for c64 the same way?

Couple other systems might end up causing problems to I assume. Like amiga, etc or most of the systems that work from a gamebase. Might want to ask madmab if they are working from a certain gamebase on the amiga's upcoming release if so that info would be handy to.

That is if it would not be to much effort for you to do.

Most of the effort involves working out where to get complete "gamebase" lists from - I wasn't even aware those systems used them.

I got a few of the c64 xbox gamebase versions but I think madmab has all of them or most anyway. I remember him having a thread a while back listing the available versions. He listed the ones he had and the ones he was looking for. Don't remember what he had but I remember his set was more complete than mine. I will try to get a hold of him and see if he can get them to me for you or if you talk to him before I do ask him about it.

The amiga I don't know about I have read something to the extent that they developed there own type of file for it so I have no idea if it will work from whatever gamebase dat they are working off of or not. I think the amiga has a few different options as far as gamebases go. They created there own type of file so the game loading and disk swapping was configured automatically. They did this so the games are more easy to play and don't require to know how to operate an amiga to get the games to run. Alot of people don't use this emulator because of this.

Here is the thread I was talking about

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=713034

Regarding the C64. Isn't there a script included in the Xport release to convert the artwork ? I remember using it to convert my gamebase64 V5.

The amiga. I think you won't be bothered by the names because my set is originally based on gamebase amiga. Except I have merged floppy versions in one zip (i.e you find regular and trainer version for a game like battle squadron). And we now have hard drive installed versions. So in the set, games are available in two versions: game.zip (adf) et game hd.zip (whdload). For both format, every CRC was entered in a configuration database so you just have to mount your files and run. Today, Winuaex has become very easy to run and I think we have more features than gamebase offers.
Regarding the actual gamebase amiga on PC, I think it won't be updated anymore and as I used the latest...

I dont remember if the amiga names were very veiwable like the c64 rom names are. I lost my amiga set years ago and dont remember. If so will you all be using rom names or game names as the rom naming convention? If you use rom names as the naming convention and they are like c64 without the gamebase or mame when rom names are used then the cut files will not come out right. And if that is the case then the gamebase name will be needed to make good cut files.

Without using gamebase on the c64 if you just launch the files you cant tell really what the game is by the rom name. So when the creator goes threw and names the cut files it will use the rom name. Which means unless you know what rom name matches what game then cut files wont do any good you will just be guessing at pictures as to what your playing.

If BB can load in c64 gamebase like he did mame dat files to get them to work then the c64 will have perfect cut files based off of the gb64 display names.

I just don't know what is going on with your project enough to know if the amiga will have the same issues. They are related so I figured they might.

There is originally one naming convention on Amiga and it's TOSEC. This wasn't useful for the xbox so I used game names like they do in gamebase. Except mine is closer to the Rx xtras standard.

Today there is no issues with the names because I took the time to rename everything. Look at my signature.

And concerning the C64, it's the same as Amiga. Originally TOSEC and then gamebase 64. They did the renaming job before so I don't think there are issues with games. At least I remember having no problem to import my gamebase in Vice64X.

Friends,
Two images of the result of BombBloke's software work in full action:





I still can't believe...
MAME shortcuts with perfect names on it!
AU-TO-MA-TI-CAL-LY!

Regards,
Cospefogo.

Lovely. I want all of this.

And we use the same skin.

Wow! That looks very nice Cospefogo.

Are you using AmyFever high quality flyers there?

Have you resized them, or left them at their original size?

Oh, and Waal, which skin is that?

Hey BigBy,

No, they are regular 222 x 315 pixels flyers right from www.arcadeflyers.com.

And the skin is my custom xTV:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?t=74958





Regards,
Cospefogo.

I tried your XBMC skin, but I couldn't take a screenshot, as the screenshot save popup was not displaying correctly

Here's this though:

Hey Bigby,

There is no screenshot popup in xTV.
In my case I just press right thumb and the shots go the the XBMC defined folder for screenshots.

Regards,
Cospefogo.

Added another game title file for C64. Thanks to MadMab for supplying me with the list. If you want to use it, replace the default MAME "Game Titles.txt" file with the C64 version. It's derived from the GB64 v07 database.

Said database also included information regarding screenshots. It seems it expects you to filenames for these that don't match either the game archive files, nor the game titles. Hence all of these screenshot paths are included in the new game title list file, and you can opt to use them when embedding thumb paths in your CUTs.

Note that if you have a large percentage of covered C64 screenshots/CUTs/game archives, you'll need separate folders for each of the three file types, or you'll run into trouble due to the FATX limitation of only 4096 entries per folder. You'll probably want to use "GenerateDirectoryListing.bat" to generate the listing file (instead of "GenerateDirectoryListing.py"), as the batch can easily handle multiple sub-directories of games and the python version can't.

The main reason why I didn't just merge the new C64 game list with the MAME one is to make it easier to update these lists later, if need be. I might code up a more elegant solution for selecting which title list to use later. Really I just find interface coding to be boring.

I've done minimal testing on the screenshot path handling, and no testing on the new title list, but they're simple changes so I'm fairly sure they'll work as advertised.

I just noticed this now. Nice work guys.

Any way that somebody could provide a link to the entire cutfile pack (for MAME), or if there isn't one made, explain to me (using quotes of previous discussions if necessary) the way to most easily do this?

Thanks,
~Rx




BTW...

I've got a program I think was from you BB... it was called "_SORTER.exe". Do you remember anything like that? I don't have instructions saved anywhere on it and I can't remember what it was created to do.


EDIT: Come to think of it, that probably wasn't your file BB. I don't think you made any .EXE files, did you? I wonder where I got that and what the heck it is. Whatever it is, it doesn't work (just gives an error saying that there are no files, or something like that).

Hey BB... Just a few more questions.

Is the Shortcut Creator the only thing you've updated since around March?

The newest version of the Cut Creator is on your first post now, right?


I'm putting together a collection of useful programs while working on Xtras or just general good things made for the XBox, with all things legal at this site so I can include it with a description in the first post of my thread. I may need some help from you establishing which programs are and aren't legal. I don't want to put anything up against the site rules. I already know the WMV to XMV converter is out, but I was thinking about things like the xbpartitoner and Qwix.

Thanks,
~Rx

Sorry about the delay, I hadn't been checking the boards at the time you posted these.


Use the file "GenerateDirectoryListing.bat" to create a list file covering a full MAME set, and it'll spit out a full CUT set.


I did write this, but I can't quite remember the specifics of what it was wanted for.

Say you have a folder filled with files, all lumped in together. You have another file, "listing.txt" (as generated by my CutCreator), which contains a folder structure for them all to be placed in. This creates the folder structure and moves the files for you, organising them according to the list file.


Yes to both.


The general rule of thumb is that if it runs on the X-Box, it's probably not allowed - very few exceptions. XBPartitioner runs on the X-Box, for example, and isn't allowed (compiled using the XDK).

PC apps are subject to whatever their license is. Qwix is fine, for example, as users aren't expected to pay for it.

It works great and is awesome .Thanks heaps Bomb Bloke

Program doesn't seem to work when run under Linux. It asks all the questions and appears to be working but nothing shows up in the Output directory.

Dunno if it's supposed to work under Linux. I was using Win XP when BombBloke was making the changes, and I assume, so was he.

I've tried Ubuntu myself, but I just don't like it. I hate being one of those "corporate guys", and I'm aware that there are many things that Linux users enjoy inherently that Windows users don't get to enjoy, but the whole layout seems too much like Apple products to me. I really just don't know how to navigate it at all and I get bored before I learn anything.

It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. It took a LONG time for me to make the jump from Windows '98 to XP, and even though I admit it's so much better after you get the hang of it, it takes a long time for me to accept these things. Windows 7 is even better after using it on the net book I got with it installed, but I still haven't made the leap of installing it on my 2 PCs.

Just like Apple, there seems to be loads of things that just won't run on Linux that does on Windows. My brother is always telling me how superior Apple products are to PC stuff, but then again he doesn't build his own PCs and cannibalize parts like I do, he doesn't have 4 TB of storage on his PC which is hugely upgradable if I want to spend the cash to do it, and who writes viruses for something that lies on the fringes when there are so many prime targets using the same system?

Totally besides your original point, but Apple isn't immune to viruses. It's just that the hackers put about as much thought into hacking Apple products as the casual gamer did into buying the 3DO or the NeoGeo when they cost three times as much as the mainstream systems.



I guess to summarize.... BB probably thought the same way. If he's still around, perhaps you could ask him if he knows anything about Linux himself and could re-invent the wheel so it works on Linux too. Short of that, I know Ubuntu makes it easy to install multiple OS's. Just install an XP partition when you want to use his stuff.

Later,
~Rx

Well, he wrote it in Java, so it should just work on Linux anyways, but doesn't. Doesn't run under Windows emulation either. I just said screw it and wrote up my own script to create the cut files myself.

I haven't been on Windows in over 12 years.

Hehe....

You're much more awesome than me!



Be careful around here though..... Some might call you a hack for making something work for you even though it didn't before.

I, however, tip my hat to you.

Good show, man!