jukingeo
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Posts posted by jukingeo
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Ok, there are two skin folders with a skin.ini. Make sure you edit the right one. LowDef is for 480i (normal TV)
I admit there are a lot of color settings in the skin.ini. I never looked deep into it, I just changed all colors in one go. (search and replace all)
What color are looking to change exactly? Maybe I can help...
Are you looking for something like this?
Hello Oldone....just dropping a message to let you know that I got your email and I set up CoinOPs with the screen skin changes above. It looks GREAT! I just need to change the typeface to match, so when you get a shot could you let me know what to set them for?
Oh! I would like to turn off the feature that puts up those two small dots next to the name whenever you log into a game, is that possible? I can just see it now when my cabinet gets full use that the screen will be riddled with all these little dots. I prefer them OFF.
Thanx,
Geo
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yeah you can solder the buttons and stick to the original PCB. google pad hacks and I'm sure you will come up with something to go by.
Hacking an original controller (The large "Duke" controller that was originally released for the Xbox) is best, but the S-Controller will do fine. A couple words of advice though when it comes to analog game support within the Xbox. There are two main problems in this area, the first one is that CoinOPS/MameOX doesn't have great analog translations. I have tried some analog (driving) games that use the stick and triggers for throttles, and with some games the control is all over the place. There is a menu to adjust for the analog sensitivity and speed, but if the game has a problem with it from the get go, it just will not work.
The second issue is with hacking the controllers. I hacked PS2 controllers before and they are not too much different from the Xbox controllers. In most cases removing the stick controls on the controller will render your controller inoperative unless you really know what you are doing when replacing the analog controls. There are two devices called potentiometers or variable resistors on each stick control, if you replace that with an arcade type control, care must be taken to match the EXACT value AND pot throw with your arcade replacement. Failure to do so will result in erratic operation or even a dead pad.
If you are just beginning to hack Xbox controllers, the best thing to do is leave the analog stick controls and the triggers alone and only hack a pad to play digital controlled games.
I know that may seem like you are missing out on quite a few games using the Xbox as an emulator for Mame, but unless there is improved analog support for the Xbox in the near future, it probably isn't worth the trouble to try and hack the analog controls.
However, you get 12 digital access points on each controller. You could also convert the two analog triggers to make two more digital points for a total of 14 points, but since you have FOUR controller ports AND CoinOPs & MameOX are already set up for multiple controller support it is probably best to set up a controller for each set of player controls on your panel. In that aspect you could easily have a 6 button/ 8way joystick configuration for a "Street Fighter" set up for all of your players. With that many digital points available, the Xbox is a formidable Mame gaming machine...and much smaller than your typical PC Mame setup.
But again, the only bad thing is the poor analog support. Hopefully that does change in the future.
Geo
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yes you must use wma...just convert them
Ahhh, I guess it was something simple like that.
As for the loading time problem, I should mention that I am using the stock hard drive which is probably not 7200 rpm speed. However, I am not sure if the HD speed has any relevance as when I click on a game I get about a 'standard' 6 or 7 second wait before it goes to black screen. Then it stays quiet for about 15 seconds or so. The last 5 to 10 seconds of the black screen I can hear the hard drive start to chuckle away and then the "Please Wait" screen finally comes up. The wait here varies too, but it isn't as long as the black out screen.
Should I try an older version of Coin Ops? I am right now on Reignite R5, which I believe is the latest version, correct?
Thanx,
Geo
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should go to loading screen withing a second or 2....some games take ages to load....but will say please wait loading completed for the Larger newer games
It is as I outlined above, the blank screen for me is the longest...usually clocking in at around 20 to 25 seconds. I guess by what you are saying that isn't normal?
Another question,
I am trying to change the music for the background music. I am using standard mp3 files, but they don't show up in the play selection list for background music nor do they play in random mode. I saw that the original music files in place are .WMA files, so do I have to use files in that format?
Thanx,
Geoi
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if I add a splash screen you can kiss goodbye to memory
otherwise when rom is loading I would put the picture of the game thereIt doesn't have to be fancy...a simple set of white words on the black background that says "Loading".
But as of now I don't have any game pictures up, but if that does stay up when the 'blackout' occurs that is a big help. Since I am still setting up CoinOPs, I don't have any screenshots loaded up as of yet.
Thanx,
Geo
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1) To pull up that menu (Cheats, dip switches, etc) you press the Back and White button at the same time.
Ahhhh, it is a combination then...just like with the back button and start. Ok, I will try that out.
Yep, that did the trick. How do you 'blank out' a setting (erase a spot)?
However, by default in CoinOps Reignite the advanced settings are disabled and only Cheats are available because most users don't need them and part of the advantage of CoinOps is that all the button configs are set up correctly and the way you want them.Oh...I have found quite a few games that could use some help in the controls department. For example when I import a game on it's down (outside of the Mame 0.84 set made up for the Xbox), I DO have to make some adjustments with the controls.
Furthermore, there is the issue with analog controls. When I build a cabinet I am pretty much going to use only the digital controls. So for many games I have to set the controls to use the D-pad instead of the analog sticks.
Another reason they are turned off is so people you don't want messing with them can't. To allow some advanced settings in the menu you need to turn on advanced settings at the main menu by pressing start and going to settings.My settings are turned on, but how do you turn them on/off anyway, as you make a good point about people messing with the settings. Once I do get everything set, I most certainly would want to 'lock it down'.
2)My screen only hangs for about 2-4 seconds, then black for about 5 seconds or so before the loading screen.My Xbox is way off that mark. For an older game such as "Rip Off", this is what I get:
1) Main screen: 6
2) Black Out: 12
3) Loading screen: 8
For something newer such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1) Main screen: 6
2) Black Out: 25
3) Loading: 6
I tried out Tri-Sports, another newer game and it has similar results to TMNT.
Then I tried out Wheel of Fortune
1) Main Screen: 7
2) Black Out: 22
4) Loading: 4 seconds
In all my tests, the blackout screen is the longest.
There is no "option" for a splash screen, it would have to be added into the emulator. I don't think it would be too useful though because people that know the emulator know it takes a second to get to the ROM loading stage. Also, a splash screen would show up, but it would still seem to be "frozen" at that stage.That would be OK if it was under 5 seconds or so, but the blackout screen is easily over 20 seconds and it would appear to be that the system is hanging. I guess if there isn't an option to put a splash screen up during this time, I just have to make a notice that the screen will go blank for about 20 to 30 seconds before the loading screen comes up.
It really isn't anything major, but a minor inconvenience it is.
Thanx,
Geo
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Hello All,
I have a couple questions in regards to how to make certain settings within CoinOps Reignite R5:
1) When a game that is already loaded up on screen, how do you pull up the menu that allows you change the settings such as the button configuration, number of coins a game takes, etc? I think with regular PC mame you would push the TAB key for that. I don't know how to get to that in CoinOPS.
2) I have noticed that when you click on a game the game doesn't highlight and sometimes it takes a while for the "please wait-loading" screen to come up. The time lag is enough for one to think that the system is hanging. For example:
When I go through the game list on CoinOPs and then push the button to 'select' the game, the game doesn't highlight at all. There is generally a few seconds pause before the screen goes blank. Now when the screen goes blank there is a good 10 to 15 second wait before the "Loading--Please Wait" message comes up. All of this could have a typical user think that the system is hanging. So what I would like to know is:
a) Would you know of a way to have the game "highlight" when you make a selection?
Could I have some kind of splash screen come up when the game selection goes from the selection screen to the "Please Wait" screen?Thank You.
Geo
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PM sent.
PM Received and answered
.About the faster speed issue, it is possible that you're right, don't have the original board of pacman to compare, I own galaga but in this case the speed is identical.I still have many of these old boards laying around from when I was playing around with arcade games in the past. Sadly, most do not work anymore. At first I wasn't sure about the speed up issue, but with games like Pac Man and Galaga the speed is kind of 'burned in' to my mind. So I will know if something is off. With Pac Man it is obvious both the video and audio are off. The thing is that it is either the Xbox or the MameOX in CoinOPs because I played the SAME rom on my PC and the speed is correct.
So far have I dropped the case but I can compare to another game which I own the board as a "kung fu master / spartan-x" even if the FPS counter is telling me 55FPS in CoinOPS. The Game is faster than the original, it's like time (stretching) tearing , you can check that by looking to the scrolling that it's not smooth at all.I had noticed that too...even on my PC that happens. Many of the late 90's games do it when the screen moves fast. But early games such as RallyX (also moves fast) doesn't do it.
Here and there are some games with flaws with Accuracy but it's very minor, I still enjoy to have such a pimped mame on xbox.It is a minor annoyance, I do admit that. I am hoping it COULD be corrected for, but the reason I mentioned it because I don't know if it can. This is the first time I ran into the issue. As I said above the rom itself plays fine on my PC. My PC's CPU is over 3 times as fast at the Xbox too. So it did get me concerned that it is happening to ALL the games. You say, "no", but I have not checked out Galaga yet. I will probably do that tonight and I will see if there is a speed difference as well. However, I did play Moon Cresta the other night and that seemed to be a bit fast too. Phoenix too is noticeably faster.
Could my CPU clock speed be off in the Xbox?
CoinOPs Combustion, what is your take on this?
Thanx,
Geo
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I think you were misinformed, check this out:
I was looking under Amazon and some of the larger computer supply houses and they didn't have them. But it was around that time that someone said NOT to get a regular adapter but a converter. The converter cost me only $25, so it wasn't a big deal to go that route.
They work pretty well, but you do need to flash your BIOs, but thats pretty easy.How do you flash a video Bios? I only know how to do the 'regular' bios as I had to do that to mod the Xbox in the first place.
any design program(photoshop, indesign,illustrator anything really)...web tool etc will tell you the rgb of a color...its the same as whats in XBMC or anyother xml emulator...I dont see the difference between this and any other EMU xml wise
Oh! OK...I just pulled up "Paint" within Windows and by clicking "Advanced" for the color selection I get a color table and it DOES show the numbers. Great! Now the next issue is what order do you have the values on the lines? In other words which 0-255 is for Red, which is for Blue, etc, etc.
Thanx,
Geo
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@jukingeo
Ah, I see, so you are forgiven to use a LCD.
Getting a new CRT is not easy in my neck of the woods either... But since I work in TV engineering I get good used ones for free.
Do you know there is a VGA Bios patch for the XBOX? That way you dont have to use a converter. I have never used it, but read about it.
Actually the only reason I ended up with a converter is because they stopped making VGA to Xbox adapters. I was told the converter was 'better' as well. Since that was what was available, I went with that. No, I wasn't aware of a bios patch for video. It might come in handy for a permanent cabinet install this way I could use as direct of a connection as possible.
Ok, I got your PM but it did not contain your email address. Can you PM it again?What? I could have sworn I put my email address in there. That is weird.
@CospefogoThanks you for your work at picture perfect aspect ratio on all the emus!
It's a sad thing that one got to have different CoinOps builds for each resolution.. That keeps me scared away right now...
It's like D.O.A said above. But to save you some time, here are the actual values that disable alpha fading:
(does not work for preview videos, just for screenshots)
Body.ScrollArea.SingleRow.Detail.Screenshot.Color.UpperLeft = 255 0 0 0
Body.ScrollArea.SingleRow.Detail.Screenshot.Color.UpperRight = 255 0 0 0
Body.ScrollArea.SingleRow.Detail.Screenshot.Color.LowerRight = 255 0 0 0
Body.ScrollArea.SingleRow.Detail.Screenshot.Color.LowerLeft = 255 0 0 0
Body.ScrollArea.SingleRow.Screenshot.Color.UpperLeft = 255 0 0 0
Body.ScrollArea.SingleRow.Screenshot.Color.UpperRight = 255 0 0 0
Body.ScrollArea.SingleRow.Screenshot.Color.LowerRight = 255 0 0 0
Body.ScrollArea.SingleRow.Screenshot.Color.LowerLeft = 255 0 0 0
Question: My guess is that there has to be some kind of tool out there that lets you select the color you want and then it would spit out the number you need...correct?
Thanx,
Geo
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@jukingeo
Dont tell me you are using a HiDef LCD TV in your cab. That would be blasphemy!
CRT is the way to go dude... But anyway PM me your email address and I will send you the skin files....Close, I am going to use a Dell 15" (or 17") SVGA display. My goal is to make a bar top cabinet that is meant to be moved around. I don't have the space right now to build a large cabinet. So I need something I could sit on a counter/bar top or put on a shelf on the wall. Thus it has to be lightweight and small. So no CRT for this project. That would have to wait until I have room for a full size cabinet.
The reason I mentioned hi-def is because I have to use a converter box for my Xbox to use a SVGA monitor and if you use any mode other than 720i, it just looks horrible. (I am using component output on the Xbox). The monitor I intend to use will be standard 4:3 NOT widescreen. Yes, in that case I would agree, it just wouldn't look right.
Sidebar: This does point out a growing concern though about the future of 4:3 monitors. The other day I was in CostCo (a Shopping Club warehouse) and they only had ONE monitor that was 4:3. All others were in 16:9 format. The TV's were all 16:9. There was nary a CRT in site. I had noticed this for a couple years now that you CANNOT get a CRT TV in the stores anymore. You want a CRT professional arcade monitor? Be prepared to pay through the nose for it.
if someone actualy wanted to spend the time they would find its more way way more skinnable than any other emu on the market....theres about 300 different things that can be positioned...you can remove or add anything one likes....you think I know a feature is locked actually I know your a total newbe and this stuff it as easy as deleting or copying a line to the single screen list...im not aguing if one spends a bit of time they know its not locked.....just takes the want....and not to be pig headedI am guessing that was aimed at me. Well, I DON'T expect to be handed everything on a silver platter, BUT running a business, raising twin boys and trying to make ends meet in this trying economy takes up quite a bit of my time. As it is I am lucky if I see about 5 hours sleep a week. I have even less time to work on my projects. However, I DO still want to work on my personal projects. Also, I JUST come from a long arduous task of modding my XBox and in that regard, much of the information at X-Box Scene is outdated and they have many broken links.
After a couple months of looking (and asking) for info, I FINALLY managed to get it going. When found and loaded up CoinOPs I was surprised that there was NO documentation, no links, no nothing in regards to setting anything up with the program. However, a fellow in another forum pointed out this forum and I signed myself up for it. In regards to changing the skin, I was hoping that changing a skin or some skin options would be a few settings here and there to change (as in XBMC). I didn't know I would need an entire course to do so. So that is why I am asking. And I would appreciate it if you could give a time/sleep deprived guy a break here.
Thank You,
Geo
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Ok, there are two skin folders with a skin.ini. Make sure you edit the right one. LowDef is for 480i (normal TV)
I admit there are a lot of color settings in the skin.ini. I never looked deep into it, I just changed all colors in one go. (search and replace all)
What color are looking to change exactly? Maybe I can help...
Are you looking for something like this?
YES!! YES!! That is it...perfect! How did you do that? BTW, I am using Hi-Def 720i.
Geo
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@Junkingeo
I asked myself the same questions you did. Here is what I found out:
The coloring of the text can be changed by editing the "skin.ini" in the skin directory of CoinOps. Open the file in an editor and things will be almost self explained. The colors are in alpha, red, green, blue format. So white will be 255 255 255 255 and so on...
Ok, I tried changing the colors last night as I have found the skin.ini file in CoinOPs and I saw the set of four color numbers you were talking about above. However, without knowing what the value represents in terms of color, I am 'hunting blind'. But just for the record I did change some values but I didn't see any affect. Naturally I made note of the original values and put them back.
Since it seems like a difficult proposition to fully change the skin, I would like to know if I could at least replace this skin with the one used on the earlier versions of CoinOPS. I prefer the orange lettering because my planned cabinet will be of a traditional Williams cabinet which the primary colors used are black, red, and yellow.
BTW, I have noticed your posts in regards to the vertical skin project thread. How is that coming along? While my first project is planned for a horizontal screen, I KNOW I will want to do a vertical project in the future.
Thanx,
Geo
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Hello all,
I am new to this site as well as CoinOPS. I have CoinOPS Reignite R5 currently running on my Xbox and I initially made a post here in regards to changing skins (which I found out is not such an easy task to do). For the most part I am fine with the CoinOPS skin, BUT the question did come into my mind, what if I wanted to do a vertical only cabinet?
So some quick searches lead me to this thread.
My question is this:
Is the Vertical version of CoinOPS Showcase available for download? I am prepping a second Xbox mod as we speak and I want to temporarily try out a vertical version of CoinOPs. Once I know it works, it will save it for a future Xbox project.
Sidebar: I wanted to setup a vertical PacMan/ Ms Pacman cabinet for my mom as she loves Pac Man. However, I would like to know something else that is not really on topic. Can you slow down the game play? I have noticed that (for some reason) the Xbox seems to speed up the ROMs a bit. I can hear the effects on the music as well. Pac Man for instance sounds and plays faster than the true arcade version. So is there a way to slow this down within CoinOPS?
Thanx,
Geo
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@Junkingeo
I asked myself the same questions you did. Here is what I found out:
The coloring of the text can be changed by editing the "skin.ini" in the skin directory of CoinOps. Open the file in an editor and things will be almost self explained. The colors are in alpha, red, green, blue format. So white will be 255 255 255 255 and so on...
Changing the romlist frame color is done be editing the "sprites-menu-color.png" with a picture editor of your choice. just change the color to whatever you like and save and overwrite the file...
A custom Coinops logo can be done be editing the "backdrop-list.png" with a picture editor...
I figured something like that can be done. From the other responses here it seemed like changing the skin in CoinOPS was nearly impossible, or in the very least, very difficult. But as it stands I am fine with the CoinOPS skin, and changing the color is good enough.
However...
A vertical skin is not that easy. I have no clue. Maybe it will be done in an upcoming release. I hope so at least. I wish for that too.This is a big concern of mine. While my first cabinet project is a plan for a horizontal cabinet, I know one day I want to create a vertical cabinet. Especially since I found out how to boot directly into CoinOPS from turning on the Xbox, going right to a vertical layout with an only vertical game setup WOULD be nice indeed.
You can have a look at my Coinops setup here: http://www.1emulation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=31802Very nice! I see you changed the CoinOPS logo a bit...but equally impressive is that dashboard you are using (the iTunes like icon selection before you clicked into CoinOPS)...what is it?
Have fun with your xbox in your cab. I think it was the right choice.Oh, thusfar it has been great. Just being new to it all I am still working things out and learning the ropes. I originally wanted to use the Xbox with CoinOPS for a Mame cabinet idea, but once I started to play around with XBMC, then a few other applications popped into my head!
skin changing is easy ... I would help but for Combustion the skin will operate alot differenctly and support many more effects and features...I would recommend you post new gui looks as you may get something totally diff looking Combustion will have a new front end GUI that will look alot better than any other build.....Ok, I guess I will just hang on until that version is released.
Thanx
Geo
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Hello all,
I am pretty much new to the Xbox modding community, but after hearing about what could be done with the Xbox in regards to emulation, I immediately took to the Xbox as a replacement for a PC in a Mame arcade cabinet.
After doing much research, I settled on CoinOPS Reignite R5 for use as my 'front end'. I have successfully set up CoinOPS on my modded Xbox and it is running fine. However, what I would like to do now is change the skin.
Overall I like the skin layout the way it is, but the colors bother me. I actually prefer the old "Ignite" list screen in which "CoinOPS" was in orange.
What I would also like to do is perhaps change the CoinOPS lettering entirely and perhaps put a custom name such as "Geo-Mame".
I tried to search for some info on changing skins in CoinOPS, but I turned up very little. Moreover, the original CoinOPS thread for Reignite R5 was shut down to new posts. WHY? So that is why I am posting a new post here instead of there.
So any assistance regarding the editing of CoinOPS skins would be appreciated.
Edit: Oh! Any info on creating a vertical screen skin for CoinOPs would be appreciated as well.
Thank You,
Geo
Replacing the HDD in Xbox Console
in XBOX Hacks [/xbox]
Posted
I have had success with using Auto Installer Deluxe (AID) 4.50. It is an automatic installation disc that you can use to install just about every major application out there. There is also a huge section on backing up. AID will assist in both chip and soft mods.
Do you like emulators? Well, AID is chock full of them. There are also some nice tools too such as DVD2Xbox which will copy your DVD movies to the hard drive. From there you can use a media dashboard such as XBMC (also on the AID disc) to make a playlist of movies.
AID also has FTP capabilities and since it is a self booting disc it is great for system recovery as well (since most Xbox dashboards default to reading the DVD FIRST).
Here check it out:
http://www.aideluxe.com/index.php?title=Au...nstaller_Deluxe
Geo