appstrader
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Posts posted by appstrader
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@johnparker007 thinking out load here,
If I CRC32 the FML file that will mean its unique and built with a particular layout so if there are multiple layouts for one rom that will produce a different CRC32 for each Dx layout, etc.
So if the fml hashes are stored against a rom name the different skins can then be associated with the FML hash
Just a case of manually adding a rom name so its clear what it is.
Hope that makes some sense,
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I started on some of the web bits of the online skins basically being able to pull the details of the skin off the net so you can see the details of the skin to decide if you want to download the skin package.
The next section will be the importation of the skin along with building the skin packages and uploading them into the system.
I also have to figure out how I will package the skin and the easiest way to actually build the importation of the packages, not exactly difficult but it just needs to be built.
So this is a quick example of what's in place currently.
Andrew
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Yes already using the rom file for some of the info in there and the CRC from the contained filename is a good shout as someone may change the filename but not necessarily the filename contained.
Bit of a way off but I think its the next section I will be working on as I'm sure there will be multiple themes for all or any roms.
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Great minds think alike !!
I have included a crc for the filename not the actual file its self currently just so the data is generated ready to build the web side,
I have a dedicated server that I have space on currently so yes the idea is to allow the uploading and downloading for the skins which will include all the files, sounds, etc should be simple enough to implement but it will require some web work to build a a custom site and implement all the different things that need to be setup to allow this feature.
Not actually thought about tying it into a forum but I would still have to do some custom web work as this will be bespoke. I like to move back onto web development from time to time specially with a project to work on rather than a quick site.
Might be working on this side of the system sooner rather than later as it will all tie in nicely rather than trying to go back into the skin development.
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Time to start with some animations so you know what the details are for the cab you are looking at, its an old machine so the percentage is static but you can still see the actual game playing percentage.
At this point you decide to play or to move to the next cabinet,
Everything is animated along with the video playing of the BAR X on the right side.
Andrew
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FruitBar 2 - How will it work ?
Finally managed to start bringing all the configuration from settings page into the game play section of the program, this is a milestone really because moving the cabinets as you select one is quite easy in comparison to creating all this background work but without all the settings and cabinet designer it would be quite basic and it certainly wouldn't be 3D as working in 3D certainly comes with its challenges.
I don't think I have finished on all the settings there are more to come yet but its certainly off to a great start.
Now I have two cabinets on the main display it's simple enough to duplicate more cabinets and it should look amazing when all these different cabinet types are shown with the stunning graphics, it's not perfect and it never will be as they will never be real machines but this will certainly look good running on my cabinet.
Long way to go but I can already see the results already.
Thinking a head to viewing the game play of cabinets I was thinking of a video in the background or something but not entirely sure currently, maybe a slide in panel or something so you might start to see that come into play next feel free to post any suggestions you may have.
One bit of good news is you can reuse your graphics from FruitBar 1 if it the images have transparent edges, the images shown are actually from my FruitBar arcade with a 500px width and optimised so file size remain small.
Andrew
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FruitBar 2 still quite basic but this video will help to give some idea of the new cabinet builder within the new FruitBar 2
I picked up the wrong image to start with and then changed it a second time to highlight how simple it is to arrange things, obviously there will be a screen designer too where you can orientate things to where you want them and at what scale not looked at this yet but I will.
So this is the cabinet designer where you basically create your cabinet view how you want it, if you want to show more of the pay tray simple just move everything up, want to change the front door style just load up a new door image.
This should allow for any cabinet design to be created sure it might require some tweak's here and there but I wont know until people start to use it to design cabinets but I think when you view the row of machines with them all being different with door logo's in different places, different heights etc it actually look quite good.
Still thinking over how to share cabinet designs but it should be quite simple, I'm thinking that sharing the cabinet builds will be a few buttons and the program will upload the cabinet build to a site where all the cabinet builds will be located.
Simple enough to implement and I have a server ready to do this so you might see this start to take shape soon,
Still not sure if anyone thinks this is slightly over kill, a cabinet designer is it too complex ? too many buttons and things ?
Just noticed the still image with the reels where the game panel is located, I guess it proves it works eh !
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Started to build the cabinet designer as you can see each section will allow it to be customised to fit, if its a different type of cabinet you simple select the other option as there are only two options currently but I guess you get the idea how this work work
Really simple I guess I will need to create an export option eh !
Finally made it to the weekend its been a long week so this is where the software is at currently I think its starting to take shape a little.
Ignore the main background cabinets they are just quick ones nothing special about them, your looking at the cabinet design in the settings page.
Andrew
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Been busy couple of days but added some more parts to the settings which leads me to ask a question,
It's working to the point I can create the different cabinets and it will save and load all the images and details for all of them so settings is mostly done.
Which leads me to my question.
I have at least two choices I can either stick with one image for the actual main cabinet or I can stick with the different sections and then add the options to basically design the cabinet view in the effect that would allow the sections to be moved if they did not line up like I have shown in the image below.
Basically I would add up, down, left, right settings for the two or three images that make up the main cabinet display, I could go all designer so you could pretty must design the whole shape and layout of the main cabinet display but not today.
The other question is with this type of design interface is it too much to setup ? too complex too much time ?
What's your thoughts?
The good news is I am thinking of every rom having a hash which makes it individual so if I decided to put these cabinet files on a server it would be a simple process to download the cabinet kit and basically import the file so all the cabinet designs don't need to be done over and over it would just be a case of syncing, maybe a little over the top but I know some people like designing things so feel free to give your views on this too.
All the images I use for my cabinet designs are shrunk to a small size which makes the cabinets load really quick and so creating a file online to sync will actually be quite small, the video images would be about a mb or so I wouldn't be expecting the package to be too large but it would contain images, video, sounds and anything else that would be good to build into a cabinet.
Maybe a step to far eh !
Andrew
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I will be looking around option A, it would take too long to recreate every cabinet I was hoping to do something with lighting but not entirely sure that will give a good enough effect although there is light cast over the cabinets I was thinking of adding additional spot lights on a few sections to simulate lights flashing or the other option is doing what is done on a DX but that also will require more work for the setup and not sure more people would bother.
Even though it could just be a case of adding a few images on a larger image along with coords like you would in CSS so not entirely sure but that would be simple to share online, dont really want to go down the route of animating by using a video as I just feel it could be a nightmare with two videos playing on each cabinet so there would be a slight lag loading all the video and you still have the problem of repetitive jumps so it will certainly be an obstacle to look at in some depth.
The more I think of it maybe a CSS type of animation could be a more viable option.
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3 minutes ago, johnparker007 said:
Doing ok ta, and hope you are good too man
Keep up the good work, the 3d cab system looks like a really promising feature!It's a complete rewrite, it's always nice to start with a blank page !!
Once I get things in place working which shouldn't take too long I will then have a play around on making this a little better the flashing displays will be an interesting one to overcome and also how to show the popup attract play video so it blends nicely.
It's all in my head to some degree just have to put into code with the limited time I have available.
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Hey @johnparker007 hope you are well,
I'm going with an easy cabinet design as most of the cabinet will be covered by the images if that makes sense, although its a 3D cabinet I don't think the rear will ever be shown even though its fully rendered just maybe on the attract mode when I generally spin the cabinet before popping up a new selection of cabinets.
In theory I should be able to just change the front bottom section, ie the door and pay tray along with the other images so the parts that are shown will become the new cabinet its not a 3D walk around like ArcadeSim so the sides wont be shown in any detail even though they are rendered.
It's all subject to change of course but you got to start somewhere.
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Anything missing ?
I have sounds, marquee, videos and lots of images for each cabinet view.... not forgetting the floating top image.
This is the new settings page, its not finished yet but its certainly the backbone of the whole program so this has to be right for everything else to work correctly.
Animating the cabinets as you scroll through them is actually the easy bit in comparison to getting all these details correct !
I'm sure I will be adding more tabs as and when needed, so if you think I'm missing anything drop a post below.
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Hey Gary,
The original does not require internet other than to check for updates, this one I am tempted to add a download ability so all the images for the cabinets will auto populate.
But not sure on how this will be funded generally its funded by myself but that is way off.
The original fruitbar is online following the link my signature.
9 minutes ago, MPU_FIVE said:Looks very good... I am following this with interest.
Will I be able to use it on a machine that's not connected to the internet? - (reason i say that is because my Windows 10 PC is for MFME only and i got fed up with Microsoft update keep making my PC lose it's ability to have sound so the internet is 100% out of bounds to it and has been for 2 years - I won't let Microsoft touch my PC again! lol)
Cheers,
Gary.
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I woke this morning with the ideal of why not make things easy, I have always had people that struggle a little with the configuration of fruitbar and because it's now animated in 3D it will get a little harder to manage.
If you didn't know there are lots of additional extra's within FruitBar that most people don't even know even exist what alone use the features but they all require additional configuration no one was really interested in these so I never really exposed the features so they generally sit there unused.
As you know you can use the button to show the jackpot and prices, etc but why not put everything into settings where everything can be configured in one place.
So the new options page will allow all those things and I will be adding sounds in there so maybe the software will have announcement so it will speak the name of the game type of thing or even an intro sound or even both who knows, feel free to give your view.
As you can see I have added an animated cabinet in the settings page its currently rocking from side to side, the images you load update the cabinet images directly so you will see the cabinet update in real time this will allow the themes to be instantly checked that they load ok and you will be able to view the images live on a cabinet without a reload.
There is a logo in the bottom part of the cabinet as well as a top image, middle and door image as this is a casino type of cabinet so it has more sections, I will add another generic type of cabinet where you can load the images into this cabinet also.
I will also add a cabinet logo that was used in the original fruitbar the logo that used to sit at the top above the cabinets, hope that makes sense,
I believe this will type of configuration will make things easy for people to setup the system where previously they may have struggled.
It's a fairly empty settings page currently but give it time it will be loaded.
If you think I missed anything or think I should add something feel free to post it below or drop me a message.
Hope this all makes some sense !
Andrew
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Looks like 3 cabinets it will be although I might add the additional 2 at a later date, this build is going to be a little bit different from the old version...
Not sure you guys will like the next image or not, but it should help make things a little easier for people to configure and maybe explain how things will work
It's never been done before and it probably wont be done again but I'm doing it !
Hopefully post the image later today once I finish it a little more.
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Just playing with the orientation of the machines, making the spacing correct for the animations as the cabinets rock from side to side while there are other effects going on etc, light, flashing panels, etc.
Playing a selected rom is the simple bit but sorting these animations is a bit of a nightmare but i'm getting there,
Not sure what view is a good one so the question is should I do 3 or 5 cabinets?
I think im leaning towards 3 cabinets on the screen at once simply because of the zoom level I would use it would be a waste to use 5 cabinets.
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Just playing a little with a few different things, one being light on the cabinets and some display flashing an attract mode. Cant really use GIF's or a video as this these are fully rendered cabinets hence the lighting and reflectiveness that you would not get with a video or animated gif.
As the cabinets spin they actually block some light on the middle cabinet hence why its colours change,
Still just looking at things currently, how to get the best views, etc
Quite a lot of work to get this working correctly, also remember I can pan and zoom the view to where I want it as this is not a static view and the cabinets will continue to spin, etc in any view I put it at.
So how many different cabinets am I looking at ?
Would I get away with 3 or 4 maybe....?
What's your thoughts ?
I want to drop down a back window of game play or something this will probably be a video with sounds etc, possibly behind the cabinets on the left side, Im thinking a large backdrop at a slight angle maybe so the video thumb will play if you stop on a cabinet for a period of time.
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Been playing around with some idea's for maybe a new FruitBar 2,
Well why not ?
I have thought over the months how to improve FruitBar, do I do a web version or an updated coded version.....
At this stage I have been playing around with creating a cabinet view, sure it would require a few different cabinets but would certainly give everything a different view.
Obviously I can zoom this to any size for portrait or landscape, etc hence why it spins and grows in size.
The important part was being about to animate the view, I might even see if I can add some flashing behind the cabinet view as such so it looks like the cabinet is turned on in attract mode sure it would not flash in the right places but it would give it an animated view and be a focus point.
At this point its an idea, feel free to add your own idea's if you wish.
Just writing this I have had an idea I need to try out......
So feel free to give your views, good or bad at this point its an idea so who knows what can happen !
But I generally work quite quick when I start to write things....
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Anyone have any answer for this one ?
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@bungle I put the site back online and will update the release on the site shortly as I said maybe one or two issues but nothing major but it does include a few extras not in the older version,
I'm sure I will need to write more details on how to do certain things as there are lots of hidden extra's in this one.
If you find an issue let me know, currently running this release in my cabinet so if I find any issues I will probably fix them pretty quick.
The Dynamic address above should be good for a month or so if anyone wants anything from the site you are free to grab it now, that doesn't mean the graphics are available for other people trying to get images for a different frontend, please respect a lot of work went into these images and this software so no stealing !!
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Breaking from traditional view to show that you can simply put things where you want them.
Funny enough the center logo as shown does not allow it to be increased in size as it zooms with the view of the cabinets but I think I might have to add this features, normally these logo images sit above my cabinet views but moved it down for this image.
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37 minutes ago, slotsmagic said:
I've never used a frontend for MFME, so I'll ask a (probably stupid) question
Is this for people running cabinets - if so does it support portrait mode as that is what my current plans involved... or is it aimed at those of us running Windows and looking for a pretty way to load layouts?
Also, I tried going to the website linked in your forum sig but I couldn't get it to work -
There is never a stupid question,
The program has a dynamic layout you place things where you want them type of thing, zoom things how and where you want them.
Want to see touch controls or remove them, see statistics or you don't you just turn things on or off.
There are lots more options than people know it's just a case of setting everything up which does take time.
The later release has a web based side panel where you can place an animated gif, video, etc or basically anything you want too.
So to answer your question you can run it in landscape like my image shows or you can run it portrait just a case of building your own view.
The website, I didn't renew the domain name but the site contains a thousand or so images uploaded by people who use fruitbar as well as my own images used within this program.
The views shown are the actual play screens, sometimes I think people wonder if they are real but that answer is yes they are 100% real no mock ups here.
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My last release kind of went quiet so thought I would ask if anyone had any issues with it ?
Thought I better ask as no one pointed out any issues and its been a few months.
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FruitBar 2 - MFME Frontend.
in Front-Ends
Posted
Im thinking once the title is there the association will be or should be fairly automated, maybe with an approval before one goes live type of thing but apart from that it should be fairly straight forward,
Pain to implement but should work well once its all done.