Newbie looking for help launching Fix it Felix from MAME Wheel.

[twistedsymphony]

My goal:

This is my fist time using HyperSpin. I'm trying to setup HyperSpin with a MAME only wheel, this build will have about 60 mame games in addition to a single PC game: Fix it Felix (since it's going in a Fix it Felix cab)

My Setup:

I'm running Windows XP on an older Core 2 Duo based system and I'm using a self-compiled command-line MAME with no-nag and high scores.

HyperSpin is setup and working to my liking and has no problem launching MAME and returning back to the menu.

My First Attempt:

I was able to get Fix it Felix Jr to appear on the MAME wheel by editing the XML file and adding it to the list among all the other MAME titles.

Since MAME wont actually run FiF I created a mame.bat file. that looks like this:

@echo off
if %1 == fixitfelixjr.zip (
   c:/fixitfelixjr/fif.exe
) else (
   c:/mame/mame.exe %*
)
exit

HyperSpin is pointed to that file instead of mame.exe If you're not familiar with .bat files that basically looks to see if "fixitfelixjr.zip" is being named as the rom file, if it is it launches the fix it felix exe instead of mame... otherwise it will launch mame and pass all of the parameters that were passed to the bat file.

This Works well for launching... the problem is that when you quit Fix it Felix it gives focus to the task bar in windows and the only way to give focus back to HyperSpin is by clicking on it with the mouse (mame launching through my bat file doesn't have this problem only the FiF exe).

I should also note that I tried running the original program as well as running 2 separate "Wrappers" for Fix it Felx and they all had the same effect where focus would not return to HyperSpin.

My Second Attempt:

I tried installing HyperLaunch but I couldn't figure out how to make it launch Fix it Felix. I got it to launch MAME but it also added a TON of lag... sometimes MAME games wouldn't launch it would just hang on the HyperSpin menu... other times the screen would go black for a few seconds before the game would actually load... I'm not sure if I had it setup wrong or if it was just too much overhead for my PC but launching MAME directly had none of these problems... games would just load instantly.

-------

I'd appreciate any advice or help getting this to work, it's the last piece I need to getting everything functioning properly.

[MacklinB]

This is really easy to do in RocketLauncher with HyperLaunch HQ, although finding out how may not be. If you don't have RL, I highly recommend you grab it straight away. What you've done so far is intuitive - but finicky. This setup has already been well thought out by dozens of people wanting to do the exact same thing, so you might as well opt for the same method:

Launching Fix-It Felix is controlled by the custom ahk script Fix-It Felix Jr Launcher.ahk found at HyperSpin/HyperLaunch/Modules/PCLauncher/Game Scripts/. You will need to edit this file to suit your needs. Most of it defines how the game will look and play, including control remappings and game window options so feel free to edit those. However, one thing you must do is make sure that GamePath points to your Fix-It Felix executable. Easy enough!

This script needs to run through PCLauncher, but associating it to another wheel entirely is very simple - but I'll get to that later.

Next you'll want to add an entry in your PCLauncher.ini (found in HyperSpin/HyperLaunch/Modules/PCLauncher/). This file usually holds the paths to your PC Game executables as well as options for running them. With Fix-It Felix, instead of pointing to an executable, it will point it to the ahk script mentioned. Add the following lines to the file, ensuring that AppWaitExe matches the name of the your Fix-It Felix executable:

[fixitfelixjr]
Application=..\HyperLaunch\Modules\PCLauncher\Game Scripts\Fix-It Felix Jr Launcher.ahk
AppWaitExe=FixitFelixJr.exe
FadeTitle=ahk_class FOCAL Test Shell
ExitMethod=WinClose AppWaitExe

"fixitfelixjr" in square brackets is your game name and will need to remain the same in your MAME XML. You can use whatever you want.

Getting Fix-It Felix to appear in your MAME wheel as simple as adding an Alternate Emulator entry to the Games section of MAME in HyperLaunch HQ. When you add an entry, make sure Game=fixitfelixjr (or whatever you called your game name) System=PC Games and Emulator=PCLauncher. If all is successful, you should be able to see and launch Fix-It Felix from your MAME wheel.

Donnie1979 made a sweet theme for Fix-It Felix, you should check it out here

If you need anything else, feel free to ask.

[twistedsymphony]

Thanks for pointing me toward the PCLauncher I'll give that a look later tonight... I'm already setup with Donnie1979's theme which is indeed fantastic

As for HyperLaunch... I do already have RocketLauncher setup for Mame though it was giving me lots of problems... this is how I set it up

-unzipped to a "HyperLaunch" sub-folder of "HyperSpin"

-ran HyperSpinHQ and pointed the MAME wheel to HyperLaunch instead of MAME by ticking the "hyperlaunch" box.

-ran HyperLaunchHQ included the default mame script and pointed it to my MAME.exe location and rom folder

With this setup when attempting to launch a game from HyperSpin using HyperLaunch:

about 1/3rd of the time the screen would freeze and I would have to ctrl+alt+del and kill HyperSpin and restart...

about 1/3rd of the time the screen would go black for about 5 seconds and then the game would launch, and

the last 1/3rd of the time the screen would go black and then freeze there forcing me to have to ctrl+alt+del and kill HyperSpin, HyperLaunch, and MAME and restart.

I tested this both on my Core i3 laptop running Windows 7 as well as the Core 2Duo Desktop running Windows XP which will be the final machine that this runs on. It seemed to launch mame more reliably in win 7 but even when it works there's a substantial lag from the time you push the button to run the game to the time it actually launches...

exiting MAME has a similar 5+ second lag before it returns to HS

when I run mame directly instead of using HL the game launches immediately and when quitting returns back to HS in the blink of an eye.

I tried wiping out all of the HyperLaunch files, re-downlaoding and unzipping fresh but the results were the same. The only thing I didn't download were the media files but I'm not interested in using HyperPause so I didn't think it was necessary.

Is there a good guide somewhere for RL? It seems that most of the information I could find was pointed to older versions where the screens look nothing like it.

[MacklinB]

Ah I see.

I'm not entirely sure what's causing problems for you when launching MAME games via HyperLaunch, though I'm sure your system specs aren't causing a problem. Do you get a similar outcome running games from other wheels (if you've tried it)?. Would you mind posting your HyperLaunch.log?

A slight pause when exiting MAME and returning to HyperSpin is common, but non-responding applications 2/3's of the time is not.

Visit https://sites.google.com/site/hyperlaunch2/home for a ton of help.

[ghutch92]

Thanks for pointing me toward the PCLauncher I'll give that a look later tonight... I'm already setup with Donnie1979's theme which is indeed fantastic

As for HyperLaunch... I do already have RocketLauncher setup for Mame though it was giving me lots of problems... this is how I set it up

-unzipped to a "HyperLaunch" sub-folder of "HyperSpin"

-ran HyperSpinHQ and pointed the MAME wheel to HyperLaunch instead of MAME by ticking the "hyperlaunch" box.

-ran HyperLaunchHQ included the default mame script and pointed it to my MAME.exe location and rom folder

With this setup when attempting to launch a game from HyperSpin using HyperLaunch:

about 1/3rd of the time the screen would freeze and I would have to ctrl+alt+del and kill HyperSpin and restart...

about 1/3rd of the time the screen would go black for about 5 seconds and then the game would launch, and

the last 1/3rd of the time the screen would go black and then freeze there forcing me to have to ctrl+alt+del and kill HyperSpin, HyperLaunch, and MAME and restart.

I tested this both on my Core i3 laptop running Windows 7 as well as the Core 2Duo Desktop running Windows XP which will be the final machine that this runs on. It seemed to launch mame more reliably in win 7 but even when it works there's a substantial lag from the time you push the button to run the game to the time it actually launches...

exiting MAME has a similar 5+ second lag before it returns to HS

when I run mame directly instead of using HL the game launches immediately and when quitting returns back to HS in the blink of an eye.

I tried wiping out all of the HyperLaunch files, re-downlaoding and unzipping fresh but the results were the same. The only thing I didn't download were the media files but I'm not interested in using HyperPause so I didn't think it was necessary.

Is there a good guide somewhere for RL? It seems that most of the information I could find was pointed to older versions where the screens look nothing like it.

Did you try updating mame to a version newer than 0.146? Also check out my signature for a guide.

[MacklinB]

^ Thiiiis

[twistedsymphony]

I'm running the newest version of MAME: 0.152

I'll check out your HyperLaunch guide, thanks.

[gigapig]

You may have seen this already, but using this wrapper does not require the use the Fix it Felix Jr script MacklinB kindly mentioned.

Just point to the FIFJ.exe

www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?30313-Fix-it-Felix-Junior-has-been-uh-FIXEDG

[twistedsymphony]

I have tried using that wrapper already. it's one of the two wrappers that I mentioned trying in my first post.

it's fantastic in terms of modifying the game for things like freeplay and control mapping, but it doesn't help my focus problem :-/

[twistedsymphony]

Getting Fix-It Felix to appear in your MAME wheel as simple as adding an Alternate Emulator entry to the Games section of MAME in HyperLaunch HQ. When you add an entry, make sure Game=fixitfelixjr (or whatever you called your game name) System=PC Games and Emulator=PCLauncher.

I was able to follow your guide until this step right here... Under "System" the only option it lets me select is "MAME"... similarly "MAME" and "Global" are the only two systems listed on the left hand column...

I decided to check out ghutch92's guide on setting up the "PCLauncher" system

Did you try updating mame to a version newer than 0.146? Also check out my signature for a guide.

I went to your guide here:

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?29481-How-to-install-HyperSpin&p=294281&viewfull=1#post294281

I completed step one but step 2 didn't work:

2.) Now set PCLauncher as your default emulator by clicking on the magnifying glass to the right of the default emulator field and selecting PCLauncher [Global] in the popup window.

the Magnifying glass is grayed out and will not let me select it.

[ghutch92]

I was able to follow your guide until this step right here... Under "System" the only option it lets me select is "MAME"... similarly "MAME" and "Global" are the only two systems listed on the left hand column...

I decided to check out ghutch92's guide on setting up the "PCLauncher" system

I went to your guide here:

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?29481-How-to-install-HyperSpin&p=294281&viewfull=1#post294281

I completed step one but step 2 didn't work:

the Magnifying glass is grayed out and will not let me select it.

You can't change it in global , I'll update the guide to reflect this.

In your case since pclauncher is not the main emulator for the mame system skip step 2. Because of this you will need to highlight your mame system and select the big tab Games -> Alternate Emulators. Click the green + sign. You should get a popup window asking for game. Click on the magnifying glass for that field and select the game that needs the alternate emulator to run (ffjr in your case). To see it in this list, it needs to already be added to your system games' database. Since Fix-It-Felix Jr. should already be in this system leave the system field blank. Select PCLauncher for your emulator, hit the save button and continue the rest of the steps in the guide.

[twistedsymphony]

You can't change it in global , I'll update the guide to reflect this.

In your case since pclauncher is not the main emulator for the mame system skip step 2. Because of this you will need to highlight your mame system and select the big tab Games -> Alternate Emulators. Click the green + sign. You should get a popup window asking for game. Click on the magnifying glass for that field and select the game that needs the alternate emulator to run (ffjr in your case). To see it in this list, it needs to already be added to your system games' database. Since Fix-It-Felix Jr. should already be in this system leave the system field blank. Select PCLauncher for your emulator, hit the save button and continue the rest of the steps in the guide.

ok I did that and following the rest of the instructions I get this error (attached) when I try to launch fix it felix. I looked around for Daemon_tools but couldn't find anything.

Now that HyperSpin is pointing to HyperLaunch instead of MAME I'm once again having the problem where it occasionally locks up when selecting games, or even when it doesn't it hangs for several seconds before launching.

[ghutch92]

ok I did that and following the rest of the instructions I get this error (attached) when I try to launch fix it felix. I looked around for Daemon_tools but couldn't find anything.

Now that HyperSpin is pointing to HyperLaunch instead of MAME I'm once again having the problem where it occasionally locks up when selecting games, or even when it doesn't it hangs for several seconds before launching.

In HLHQ in the big tab Settings -> Main Settings. Here you can turn Daemon Tools off.

As far as the hanging goes, you need to be a little bit more descriptive of what's going on. I can think of multitude of reasons why this might be. To me it's like saying my computer is slow, how can I make it fast?

[twistedsymphony]

In HLHQ in the big tab Settings -> Main Settings. Here you can turn Daemon Tools off.

As far as the hanging goes, you need to be a little bit more descriptive of what's going on. I can think of multitude of reasons why this might be. To me it's like saying my computer is slow, how can I make it fast?

ok with Daemon Tools off I was getting another error about not being able to launch a .ahk file... so I changed the .akh reference in the code MacklinB had me setup in the PCLauncher.ini to my FIFJ.exe instead and IT WORKED... and when I quit fix it felix it goes back to HyperSpin properly.

As for what I mean when it hangs... here's a bit more description:

I can navigate the MAME wheel fine, changing games and what not, everything runs smoothly and responsively. When I deicde I want to play a game I push the select button... however instead of launching the game, HyperSpin keeps playing the sounds and animations as if I never pushed the button... I timed it and it continues to do it's thing for 5 whole seconds... and then after 5 seconds the screen will go black for about 2 seconds... and then the game will actually load.

I realize it's only a few seconds but it makes the whole experience feel... broken. No one likes an interface that doesn't respond to inputs.

If I don't use hyper launch ... the instant I push the button to select a game the HS interface disappears and MAME loads the game in the blink of an eye.

[ghutch92]

ok with Daemon Tools off I was getting another error about not being able to launch a .ahk file... so I changed the .akh reference in the code MacklinB had me setup in the PCLauncher.ini to my FIFJ.exe instead and IT WORKED... and when I quit fix it felix it goes back to HyperSpin properly.

As for what I mean when it hangs... here's a bit more description:

I can navigate the MAME wheel fine, changing games and what not, everything runs smoothly and responsively. When I deicde I want to play a game I push the select button... however instead of launching the game, HyperSpin keeps playing the sounds and animations as if I never pushed the button... I timed it and it continues to do it's thing for 5 whole seconds... and then after 5 seconds the screen will go black for about 2 seconds... and then the game will actually load.

I realize it's only a few seconds but it makes the whole experience feel... broken. No one likes an interface that doesn't respond to inputs.

If I don't use hyper launch ... the instant I push the button to select a game the HS interface disappears and MAME loads the game in the blink of an eye.

post your troubleshooting log, and I'll see if you can knock down the load time without using the fade-in feature.

[twistedsymphony]

post your troubleshooting log, and I'll see if you can knock down the load time without using the fade-in feature.

thanks...I turned on troubleshooting logging in HyperLaunch, then launched hyperspin, selected Donkey kong, returned to hyper spin, launched frogger, returned to hyper spin and then quit.

here are the log files

http://web-nine.com/files/hyperpsin.log

http://web-nine.com/files/hyperlaunch.log

log.txt

[ninja2bceen]

Sorry I'm really struggling here u all.

I'm trying to get FIfj to launch in mame. It runs fine outside of hyperspin but I can't get it to work within hyperspin. I've read various threads on this but still can't get it. What I've done...

Within the pc launcher.ini file, I have saved the following

[fifj]

Application=..\HyperLaunch\Modules\PCLauncher\Game Scripts\Fix-It Felix Jr Launcher.ahk

AppWaitExe=FixitFelixJr.exe

FadeTitle=ahk_class FOCAL Test Shell

ExitMethod=WinClose AppWaitExe

Within the pclauncher game script folder I have the FIfj ahk

Within the mame games ini I have

[fifj]

Emulator=mame

System= pc games

I don't have the game set up as a pc game because I don't want it set up in that wheel so I go to the mame section in hyperlaunch hq and added an alternate emu by unchecking "valid emulator". When I go to the emulator tAb I see mame as the default emulator and I pushed the + to add the name pclauncher and I selected pclauncher.ahk and selected virtual emulator checkbox. Then I go to modules tab and I only see mame ahk. I click it and selected the global settings button. I add a game in the settings tab. I entered within the parameters field the location of the exe for FIfj. When I go to audit the mame wheel I see it's in red still in the mame wheel. When I go to launch the game all I see is the FIfj within the title section of the loading screen. I'd like to see the game description but it does run the pclauncher background I have but then I get an error saying that error waiting for ahk_class, check for the correct version or make sure it runs outside of hyperspin first, turn off fade etc.

What am I doing wrong?

[gigapig]

What am I doing wrong?

You make it hard on yourself not being a platinum member The files are available in my ftp folder, but just this once in a Chrismasy spirit i will send them to you.

With those files you don't need to use the additional script you just point to the exe.

Also in with the files is a settings.exe, run that and setup the controls etc.

Here are the entries you need to add.

PCLauncher.ini

[Fix it Felix Jr]

Application=:\wherever its located\FIFJ.exe Mine is. J:\Fix it Felix Jr\FIFJ.exe

AppWaitExe=

ExitMethod=WinClose AppWaitExe

The Games.ini located in :\hyperSpin\HyperLaunch\Settings\MAME

[Fix it Felix Jr]

Emulator=PCLauncher

System=MAME

See how you get on with that.

[ninja2bceen]

Thanks giga!

[ninja2bceen]

Question I can't see the fifj in my mame wheel though it matches the same mame format. I have hypersearch and if I search I do find it and it runs. How can I get the wheel to display normally?

Note I have display only roms, only wheel, sand only parent in my mame wheel. I tried a different combo and no luck seeing it. Why?

Added exe to extensions and boom FYI it worked

[twistedsymphony]

Question I can't see the fifj in my mame wheel though it matches the same mame format. I have hypersearch and if I search I do find it and it runs. How can I get the wheel to display normally?

Note I have display only roms, only wheel, sand only parent in my mame wheel. I tried a different combo and no luck seeing it. Why?

Added exe to extensions and boom FYI it worked

usually people add an empty .zip file to the mame roms folder as a placeholder to fool HS into thinking there's a rom for it when generating the lists.

[gigapig]

usually people add an empty .zip file to the mame roms folder as a placeholder to fool HS into thinking there's a rom for it when generating the lists.

Yes good point, if your filtering by Roms only it may not show up so you could add a dummy Rom.

Your better off using a modified xml but if you don't have ftp access or find Hypertools a challenge then that's all you can do I suppose.

if you switched to wheels only I bet it would show.

[wivelden]

Hi,

I am sorry to hijack this thread but I have tried to add Fix It Felix to my MAME wheel and I have no clue as to how to do it. I have used Hyperspin before but I don't know what I am doing with HyperLaunch. I have all the required files. Can someone give me a quick guide on how to add it. Thanks

[twistedsymphony]

1. add an entry for fix it felix into your mame.xml file you can name the "rom" whatever you like just remember what you named it because you'll need that information later. lets just call it "fixitjr" for the sake of this guide...

2. create a dummy or empty .zip file named the same as your fake rom name and place this in your mame roms folder... so fixitjr.zip . you can just zip an empty folder, or create an empty .txt file and rename it... doesn't matter as long as the file exists and has the right name. just copy another entry and change the fields to be what you want displayed for fix it felix.

3. you'll want to add a theme, wheel image, and video to the appropriate sub-folders inside the hyperspin media mame folder. make sure these are all named with your fake rom name so fixitjr.png for the wheel, fixitjr.zip for the theme and fixitjr.mp4 for the video.

---now you should have everything you need for hyperspin to show the game in your wheel... lets get it launching it with hyperlaunch ------

4. go to the hyperlaunch modules folder and find PCLauncher... inside there you should find PCLauncher.ini and add an entry like this:

[fixitjr]

Application=..\path\to\my\FixitFelixJr.exe

AppWaitExe=FixitFelixJr.exe

FadeTitle=ahk_class FOCAL Test Shell

ExitMethod=WinClose AppWaitExe

the part in brackets needs to be the same as your dummy rom name, then the application parameter needs to be the path and file name of your fix it felix jr exe or the exe for the launcher you're using (it can be an ahk if you're using an ahk).... AppWaitExe should be set the name of the actual fix it felix jr .exe file (not your launcher).

After adding this entry you can tweak these settings through HyperLaunch HQ via the PCLauncher module settings..

5. load up hyperlaunch hq and select mame from the left hand panel then click on the "games" tab... you should see a sub-tab for "alternate emulators" select that tab and then click the plus button to add a new entry... on this dialog select your fixitjr dummy rom name and set it to use PCLauncher as the system and emulator.

-----------------

that should be it... when you select the mame wheel hyperspin will find the xml entry and the dummy rom so it thinks the game is a real mame game. Then it will match the name to the media you put in the folders so it will appear properly on the wheel. Then when you launch it hyperlaunch will find it located on the alternate emulator list and use the the "PCLauncher" "emulator" to run the game... since it's a PC game it relies on the information you placed in the PCLauncher.ini to determine how to launch and how to close the game game.

obviously everyone's setup is a little bit different but hopefully you understand the basics of what needs to be done.

[gigapig]

Thanks for those directions. I got this to work however the only issue is when launched via hyperlaunch the game screen is pretty small within the FIFJ bezel. When I launch it outside of HL the game screen fills the whole bezel area like it should.

That was why I moved mine back to a PC Games wheel, I never figured out why it didn't fit the bezel when launched for the Mame wheel, even changing the "Delay to resize".

Here are my settings in case you need them.

Why do you have a cross hair?