Jump to content

Development Updates


johnparker007

Recommended Posts

Well the tablet arrived it is B quality some scratches on the back and around the sockets but screen is clear and it has so far played everything from mfme that i have thrown at it which is the point i now have a portable mfme solution without shelling out a fortune for a handheld win pc..Haven't found a way to switch between f3 screens without a keyboard seemlessly so playing full screen with the meters on top.Overall i think its a bargain.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, SomeRandomGuy said:

Something is there indeed :) Not quite in yet as it needs to get through code review first, but very likely that MPU1 will appear in this month's MAME

Amazing progress @SomeRandomGuy, some FME firsts happening over there! :)

I've had some other stuff on, but have still been chipping away at the MAME layout builder/config extractor thing... current task is getting the correct number of rows and arranging the MAME text to best make use of the rows, as a lot of existing classic layouts rely on MFME's internal wrapping, along with many different fonts/dimensions, so a slight bugger to figure out:

image.png.5ef72e5cba5dcd935599c2d03ba31576.png

...where the text has no 'hard return' characters but should be spread across several rows, like the 3 row box above.

Have a fuzzy system that pretty much works (apart from a few edge cases to deal with):
image.thumb.png.e672262fa88b59320bebc95392415ef3.png

So I'm on the home stretch with this task I think :)  Need to get string width of a similar font in unity, and then a routine to optimally split up the words and I can switch over to using it.

Edited by johnparker007
  • Like 4

[ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net  |  Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e  |  Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo
[ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665
[ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz
[ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch
[ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis
[ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 14/07/2022 at 23:26, johnparker007 said:

I've had some other stuff on, but have still been chipping away at the MAME layout builder/config extractor thing... current task is getting the correct number of rows and arranging the MAME text to best make use of the rows, as a lot of existing classic layouts rely on MFME's internal wrapping, along with many different fonts/dimensions, so a slight bugger to figure out:

Nice to hear about progress as always! Replicating someone else's text wrapping sounds like a fun thing to do :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Altharic said:

Looks like the reviewers have asked for some changes :o

Standard stuff there really, I wasn't expecting it to get in on the 1st try in the first place. MAME has some code standards to maintain, 25 year old project after all with a lot of tech debt, don't want to be creating more of it :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That also shows the difference between mfme and mame in mfme if it runs great mame its more cycle accurate you can hack some stuff for a while....

While you are here can I ask you to look at Ace Sidewinder it runs with sound on mfme but on mame its mute its like the sound isn't hooked up on the driver.

The manual is on the mecca.

Edited by Altharic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 07/07/2022 at 16:54, jabbathehut said:

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/refurbished-lenovo-tablet-10-use-code-25-off-3960644 

 

I may have bought the last one went off sale quite soon after.For that price and 30 days return can't really go wrong

Nice one! Would love to know if that’s ram or internal memory that’s 8gb so I can compare the market with a better idea of things but as a n00b I’m guessing it’s not ram 

living the dream

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Brand & Model: Lenovo Tablet 10 *Touchscreen. Excludes stylus and keyboard
  • Processor: Celeron N4100 1.1GHz
  • Screen: 10.1"
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Storage: 128 GB eMMC
  • Optical Drive: None
  • Graphics: Intel Corporation UHD Graphics
  • Operating System: Windows 10 Pro (can be upgraded to Windows 11)
  • Wireless: Yes
  • Webcam: Yes
  • Bluetooth: Yes
  • Fingerprint Reader: No
  • Ports: TBC

 

That would be 8gb ram that windows can use and 128gb storage for programs from what I can gather that CPU will run Windows 11 but is dual core so might be a little slow depending on what you plan to do with it 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Altharic said:

While you are here can I ask you to look at Ace Sidewinder it runs with sound on mfme but on mame its mute its like the sound isn't hooked up on the driver.

Well I had a look, you're correct in that the driver has no sound, the code for it consists of a comment saying "?". From a quick investigation it seems that the sound hardware is not very complicated, just one register that controls the frequency of the tone. Problem here is that I don't know what that frequency is or how the sound is exactly generated. That manual is sadly not much help on the technical side of things. Seems like Ace deliberately didn't publish any schematics, and they also had a habit of sanding labels off chips, so a board photo won't help much and tracing your own schematics would be much more difficult. Maybe sometime I could possibly end up with something that sounds close to correct with some experimentation, but not right now, I'll probably end up looking at Black Box or something next.

  • Like 1
  • Awesome 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 16/07/2022 at 09:27, Altharic said:
  • Brand & Model: Lenovo Tablet 10 *Touchscreen. Excludes stylus and keyboard
  • Processor: Celeron N4100 1.1GHz
  • Screen: 10.1"
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Storage: 128 GB eMMC
  • Optical Drive: None
  • Graphics: Intel Corporation UHD Graphics
  • Operating System: Windows 10 Pro (can be upgraded to Windows 11)
  • Wireless: Yes
  • Webcam: Yes
  • Bluetooth: Yes
  • Fingerprint Reader: No
  • Ports: TBC

 

That would be 8gb ram that windows can use and 128gb storage for programs from what I can gather that CPU will run Windows 11 but is dual core so might be a little slow depending on what you plan to do with it 

tbh i have no interest in updating to win 11 at the moment.It works for mfme and thats the main thing for me.

They do seem to become available periodically so worth checking the link every so often .Will add that its quite heavy and also seemingly impossible to find the official keyboard  for it though a blue tooth one would work .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little update on the tool for building MAME classic layouts from MFME classic layouts - progress has been slow due to lack of time, and ominously hot heatwaves :) 

I'm still on the system to build text rows that will render correctly in MAME artwork system, from MFME layouts that rely on MFME internal text wrapping:
image.png.0778e1381b99a5c385b71c59bb24869e.png

So in MAME, I want to draw:

COLLECT
OR ROLL
DICE

...but all I've extracted from the layout is a single string: "COLLECT OR ROLL DICE".  Surprisingly time-consuming to solve but nearly there now!

So I have a rough pixel row analyser that can spot the gaps between rows in the rendered preview in MFME.  So then I know the string is "COLLECT AND ROLL DICE" and that it's spread across 3 rows.

Next I've done a recursive routine that comes up with all possible (valid) combinations of positions for the 2x return character positions to make our 3x rows.  And now I've got a system for storing these permutations, and using the Windows Arial font (sort of looks like the MAME UI font), I can calculate the relative width of the words on each of the generated row combinations including spaces:

image.png.fa98a151a3aa3a2f061cf01376f197c7.png

So the next task is to then analyse the sets, to get the one that has the most even relative width distribution (with potential bias away from final row), and that should be (in this example case):

COLLECT
OR ROLL
DICE

An example of 'wrong' return character positioning might be:
COLLECT
OR
ROLL DICE

...this kind of mis-distribution would look very odd once you get more words:

PRESS
EXCHANGE
TO START THE FEATURE

for example.

In hindsight, there's other ways I could've done this that might have been quicker :)  But I'm nearly there with this approach now...

  • Like 2

[ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net  |  Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e  |  Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo
[ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665
[ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz
[ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch
[ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis
[ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@johnparker007 fantastic work and detailed explanations as always.

excuse the off topicness but please can you add my latest release happy fruits to the arcade when that time is upon us, of course any of mine too but that one has special meaning to me and i don't mind the wait mate just want to get it on the list for the feeling i get inside you see!!

keep rock starring in your mame group

living the dream

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, woodsy said:

@johnparker007 fantastic work and detailed explanations as always.

excuse the off topicness but please can you add my latest release happy fruits to the arcade when that time is upon us, of course any of mine too but that one has special meaning to me and i don't mind the wait mate just want to get it on the list for the feeling i get inside you see!!

keep rock starring in your mame group

I've added to the requests sheet :) 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VtMkjI0R3fnQE3ueasZNUrVk2DltPRjZFSPTPgYVQoA/edit?usp=sharing

If that is 2x adjacent reels for the dual number reels, that currently trips up the converter, so that's a potential blocker.

I'll not be back on ArcadeSim for a while yet, as this MAME layout/config/debug view work is turning into a significantly larger task (as I want to do a much higher quality and complete job of it than the first pass I did back in 2016). 

When I'm back on AS I may initially convert Spidy's JPM Electra cab in the existing MFME+Retroarch arcade with some Impact machines - but the main new work is building a second test arcade, that will be driven by MAME for both fruits and videos (this is all tech yet to be developed, but should hopefully be doable).  These will then have 'instant startup' via save states, and that's where the 'wallet' and multiplayer stuff will be initially developed (using the save states).  Also potential for cross platform further down the road... so much work planned, never enough time :)

  • Like 1

[ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net  |  Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e  |  Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo
[ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665
[ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz
[ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch
[ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis
[ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, johnparker007 said:

I've added to the requests sheet :) 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VtMkjI0R3fnQE3ueasZNUrVk2DltPRjZFSPTPgYVQoA/edit?usp=sharing

If that is 2x adjacent reels for the dual number reels, that currently trips up the converter, so that's a potential blocker.

I'll not be back on ArcadeSim for a while yet, as this MAME layout/config/debug view work is turning into a significantly larger task (as I want to do a much higher quality and complete job of it than the first pass I did back in 2016). 

When I'm back on AS I may initially convert Spidy's JPM Electra cab in the existing MFME+Retroarch arcade with some Impact machines - but the main new work is building a second test arcade, that will be driven by MAME for both fruits and videos (this is all tech yet to be developed, but should hopefully be doable).  These will then have 'instant startup' via save states, and that's where the 'wallet' and multiplayer stuff will be initially developed (using the save states).  Also potential for cross platform further down the road... so much work planned, never enough time :)

Oooh sounds great!! Thanks for the update and fyi it’s just the one horizontal 16 stop reel for the numbers. I have a lot of admiration for the work you’re doing and I won’t be anything less than happy to see your progress on any of your projects :) 

  • Like 1

living the dream

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, woodsy said:

Oooh sounds great!! Thanks for the update and fyi it’s just the one horizontal 16 stop reel for the numbers. I have a lot of admiration for the work you’re doing and I won’t be anything less than happy to see your progress on any of your projects :) 

Ah cool, I've updated the note on the requests sheet, since it's a single reel it should convert ok, but will just have a horizontally stretched reel lamp for the moment :) 

[ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net  |  Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e  |  Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo
[ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665
[ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz
[ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch
[ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis
[ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, johnparker007 said:

Ah cool, I've updated the note on the requests sheet, since it's a single reel it should convert ok, but will just have a horizontally stretched reel lamp for the moment :) 

you sir are a legend

  • Like 1

living the dream

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, woodsy said:

you sir are a legend

You too! :)  I checked your 'Files' section to find an image preview of the Happy Fruits layout you requested, you've made a ton of layouts now, keep up the good work :) 

Everything takes ages, but at some future point I will be back in the position to do a fresh 'new machine' push, and then I'll be able to build more of the Spidy cabs (plus planning to adapt some MPU4 cabs to do Sys 80/JPM SRU) and add more converter functionality, and I'm sure some of your layouts will then finally make it in to Arcade Sim ;) 

Edited by johnparker007
  • Awesome 1

[ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net  |  Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e  |  Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo
[ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665
[ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz
[ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch
[ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis
[ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, johnparker007 said:

You too! :)  I checked your 'Files' section to find an image preview of the Happy Fruits layout you requested, you've made a ton of layouts now, keep up the good work :) 

Everything takes ages, but at some future point I will be back in the position to do a fresh 'new machine' push, and then I'll be able to build more of the Spidy cabs (plus planning to adapt some MPU4 cabs to do Sys 80/JPM SRU) and add more converter functionality, and I'm sure some of your layouts will then finally make it in to Arcade Sim ;) 

Thanks for your positive comments! I really enjoy that I can add to the scene in my own ways, I see your work as the future and that’s why I’m striving to do as high a resolution as possible and of course looks worthy of a place in the heaven on a laptop that is A.S. As for the time I feel that the internet will live on long after I’m gone so being immortalised is my best achievement as the mfme side of things. I really appreciate your explanations and I hope you understand that I am not asking to be a priority etc, just to have it on the lists. Thanks for everything you do 

  • Like 1

living the dream

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, woodsy said:

Thanks for your positive comments! I really enjoy that I can add to the scene in my own ways, I see your work as the future and that’s why I’m striving to do as high a resolution as possible and of course looks worthy of a place in the heaven on a laptop that is A.S. As for the time I feel that the internet will live on long after I’m gone so being immortalised is my best achievement as the mfme side of things. I really appreciate your explanations and I hope you understand that I am not asking to be a priority etc, just to have it on the lists. Thanks for everything you do 

The high resolutions are always much appreciated :) - as they're definitely more future-proof, both in terms of future higher resolution monitors (8k+ etc), plus VR is getting higher resolution eye panels... plus when VR is in, it will be easy to physically lean forward and look more closely at glass artwork.  I do also plan at some point to build in a zoom function for when playing with keyboard&mouse / joypad (so something like the mouse scrollwheel would be used to zoom into the machine a bit).

  • Awesome 1

[ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net  |  Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e  |  Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo
[ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665
[ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz
[ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch
[ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis
[ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, johnparker007 said:

The high resolutions are always much appreciated :) - as they're definitely more future-proof, both in terms of future higher resolution monitors (8k+ etc), plus VR is getting higher resolution eye panels... plus when VR is in, it will be easy to physically lean forward and look more closely at glass artwork.  I do also plan at some point to build in a zoom function for when playing with keyboard&mouse / joypad (so something like the mouse scrollwheel would be used to zoom into the machine a bit).

I guess you're like an artist metaphorically, you see the grand design in your mind and the ability to code allows you to make it a reality like the project is your canvas..

really fantastic stuff, and i totally agree, soon 4k will be standard as things go bigger and better and cheaper too..

 

  • Like 1

living the dream

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...