Maximus78: A7800 Emulator Front End

[+Atarius Maximus]

Current Releases:

 

Release Maximus78 v0.99.32b · (github.com) (4/4/2023) - Bugfix release

Release Maximus78 v0.99.31b · (github.com) (3/2/2023) - Updated for Trebor's ROM ProPack v4.11

Release Maximus78 v0.99.28b · (github.com) (10/6/2022) - Added User's Guide

 

You can always check for the latest release here:  https://github.com/AtariusMaximus/Maximus78/releases/latest.  

 

User's Guide:  https://github.com/AtariusMaximus/Maximus78/blob/master/Maximus78 User's Guide.pdf (This is now embedded in the application)

 

Changes in v0.99.28b

 

• ROM Lists split into a tabbed list of categories based on Trebor’s ROM ProPack rather than just one list, so you don't have to frequently change your directory path.
• Favorites List added.  To add a favorite, right click on a ROM name and choose “Add to Favorites”, or select the option from the File Menu. Favorites are saved in a file named “Maximus78_favorites.sav” in the root of your defined A7800 installation folder.  It can be edited/changed with any text editor, just make sure to use the exact name of the ROM in the list.
• Box Art archive has not changed, however you now may add your own Box Art by adding an image file with the PNG or JPG extension to the boxart subfolder, and it will automatically be recognized as long as the name of the image file is the exact same as the ROM file name.
• In-app Documentation was updated, including an image of default keyboard mappings, in-game options for difficulty switches and button assignments, and the latest version of the A7800 user's guide.
• High Score tab was added.  Up to 27 High scores can be recorded and are saved in real-time so they will be persistent.
• Game Information HTML Editor was added, which will automatically show the associated HTM file that corresponds to the selected game.  If a file does not exist, you can create a new file that will automatically save with the correct name in the GameInfo subdirectory.  This in-game window in the application shows game instruction manuals and screenshots by default, but anything can be added to it. You can easily copy and paste HTML code into it.
• A new screenshots tab was added, up to 6 can be saved per game and will be persistent when closing the app.  Adding and removing to it does not affect your existing image files, a new file is created in the GameInfo subdirectory with the correct name so each image will be displayed persistently.  This will be user-configured, as no existing screenshots are included in the archive that are preconfigured for this new option.
• Many new A7800 options were added to the Edit Menu, and all are persistent when the application is shut down and restarted.  This includes video modes, vsync, triple buffering, etc.
• A recently added launched game list was added to the File menu.  For the current session of Maximus78 it will show the 10 most recently launched games.
• A new window mode option was added to the View Menu.  You can choose a full, medium, or small display.  It's a great option if you want Maximus78 to use less screen real estate when running.
• A status bar was added to the bottom of the window that displays the status of the currently selected A7800 Options.  The status bar can be enabled or disabled from the View Menu.  It will automatically turn off if a medium or small display window is chosen.

 

Steps for Initial Setup

 

You'll need to complete the following steps first to enjoy the full experience of Maximus78 with all of the associated artwork, manuals, help files, and screenshots.  These steps outline the basic requirements to get started, please see the official documentation for more specific information on using and configuring Maximus78.

If you're reading this, you've already downloaded Maximus78.  You can check for updates and for the latest version at GitHub Here:
https://github.com/AtariusMaximus/Maximus78

1. Download the A7800 Windows Package

Maximus78 requires the A7800 Emulator.  Download the latest version from GitHub and unzip it to the folder of your choice.  Below is a link to the Windows version of the emulator.
https://github.com/7800-devtools/a7800/releases/download/v5.2/a7800-win-v5.2.zip

2. Download the A7800 Optional Files

Download and unzip this package to the same root folder location as A7800.  It is located on the Internet Archive at archive.org.

This file includes two subfolders, "bios" and "roms", whose contents should be installed in the same respective subfolders in the A7800 installation folder.  While optional, you will want to download this archive to use all of the features of Maximus78 and A7800.  Note that the roms folder contains an older version of Trebor's 7800 ROM pack, so you'll want to dowload the latest version in the next step.

 

Note that this download package is periodically updated, and all versions of the A7800 Optional Files package can be viewed Here:
Internet Archive Search: a-7800-optional-files

As of this writing, below is a link to the most recent version:
https://archive.org/download/a-7800-optional-files-20220628/A7800_Optional_Files_20220628.zip

3. Download Trebor's 7800 ROM ProPack

This file includes a comprehensive compilation of Atari 7800 Homebrews, Hacks, Demos, Prototypes, and all retail releases in both NTSC and PAL formats.  You can safely overwrite the contents of the ROMs folder with this file if you have an older version of Trebor's ROM pack. It's important to note that all of the screenshots, manuals, and box art are tied to the exact file names in Trebor's ROM Pack, it's important that you do not rename an of the ROM files for Maximus78 to function properly.

 

Unzip it anywhere you'd like, but I'd suggest the roms folder in your A7800 Directory.
http://7800.8bitdev.org/index.php/Trebors_7800_ROM_PROPack

4. Download the Game Information zip file (includes Manauls and Screenshots) for Maximus78.

You can unzip this archive anywhere, however I would suggest creating a "gameinfo" subfolder in your main A7800 Directory.  This archive is available at the same location as the official release page for Maximus78 on GitHub.  You'll need to download all of the files, they are a split archive due to the 25MB file limit on GitHub.

 

Maximus78_GameInfo.zip
Maximus78_GameInfo.z01
Maximus78_GameInfo.z02
Maximus78_GameInfo.z03
Maximus78_GameInfo.z04
Maximus78_GameInf0.z05
Maximus78_GameInf.0z06
Maximus78_GameInfo.z07
Maximus78_GameInfo.z08
Maximus78_GameInfo.z09

The files includes all of the screenshots and manuals for Maximus78. The manuals archive will be periodically updated as it does not contain screenshots and/or manuals for every game in Trebor's ROM pack.

Note that the Game information file includes images of many of the instruction manuals for retail and homebrew releases, and all are displayed with a corresponding HTM file that is also included in the archive.  This HTML file is configured to display screenshots, manuals and in some cases cartridge images within the application, without this archive some features of Maximus78 will not display correctly.

 

The HTM files can be easily edited from within the application if you'd like to make changes yourself.   The current HTM files are very simple and easy to edit, and simply contain links and formatting information to display the included manuals and screenshots.  You can also create an HTM file for any game that does not currently have one.  Simply create a "<filename>.htm" file in the gameinfo subdirectory, where "<filename>" is the exact same name as the ROM. For example, if you have a game ROM named "Dungeon Stalker (v1.42) (2015) (AtariAge).a78", name the HTML file "Dungeon Stalker (v1.42) (2015) (AtariAge).htm".  The HTM file can then link to and display any image that's placed in the gameinfo subdirectory, once edited to do so.

5. Download the Box Art zip file for Maximus78.

 

If you wish to add your own box art to Maximus78, it's a simple process.  Simply place an image file with either a JPG or PNG extension in the boxart subfolder, give it the exact same name as the game ROM file, and it will automatically appear along with the ROM in the application.  For example, if you have a game ROM named "Dungeon Stalker (v1.42) (2015) (AtariAge).a78", name the box art file either "Dungeon Stalker (v1.42) (2015) (AtariAge).png" or "Dungeon Stalker (v1.42) (2015) (AtariAge).jpg" and it will appear automatically.

 

This file includes all of the box art I have available for Maximus78. The box art archive may be periodically updated as it does not contain screenshots and/or manuals for every game in Trebor's ROM pack.  You can unzip this archive anywhere, however I would suggest creating a "boxart" subfolder in your main A7800 Directory.

Maximus78_BoxArt.zip

 

If you try it out and come across any errors, or have any suggestions, please let me know.  

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

 

This code is digitally signed with an SSL Certificate from Sectigo.  Upon installation, you can view the certificate and verify that it is an authentic, virus-free version by verifying it was published by "Stephen Engelhardt".  You will need to install the cert and trust me as a developer.

 

Just in case someone simply scrolled to the bottom looking for the setup package link, here it is again:

Release Maximus78 v0.99.28b · AtariusMaximus/Maximus78 (github.com)

 

[+Atarius Maximus]

Here's some screenshots...

 

Edit:  I'm not going to remove them, but note that these screenshots are old and reference the initial release.  An updated shot is included in the first post.

[Trebor]

Thank you for providing this @Atarius Maximus, it is appreciated.  I did not encounter any issues setting it up on my Windows 10 desktop.  

 

The extras are really nice too.  Manuals look good and the boxes look great!

 

The "shots" though are a bit rough.  Often wrong or missing colors, weird aspect ratios, and many demonstrating graphical issues as if taken from a really old version of the ProSystem emulator or MESS emulator.  

 

To help with this issue, attached are replacement "shot.1" and "shot.2" files named exactly as currently provided in the "Maximus78_Manuals" archives, as well as matching the majority's details: 640x480 res @ 24-bit:

 

Maximus78_ShotsUpdate.zip

 

Respecting suggestions, perhaps a menu option that would modify the command line to include console palette type, or the selection of developer mode, depending on the TV Type (NTSC or PAL) that was already selected, can be added.

 

For the UI, it could perhaps appear as follows:

Set Condition(*) -->
-Warm Palette (Checked default)
-Cool Palette
-Hot Palette
-Developer

 

(*)Interpreted for the command line as follows:
Warm Palette (Default) = If TV Type NTSC then "a7800.exe a7800" | If TV Type PAL then "a7800.exe a7800p"
Cool Palette = If TV Type NTSC then "a7800.exe a7800u1" | If TV Type PAL then "a7800.exe a7800pu1"
Hot Palette = If TV Type NTSC then "a7800.exe a7800u2" | If TV Type PAL then "a7800.exe a7800pu2"
Developer = If TV Type NTSC then "a7800.exe a7800dev" | If TV Type PAL then "a7800.exe a7800pdev"

 

Another thought is maybe, if possible, the option to load an external *.a78 file from any location, without it having to appear in the list.

[+Muddyfunster]

I keep getting an unhandled exception when I try to change the ROM path.

 

Will try a reinstall.

[Trebor]

Came across a couple of small items.  The two screenshots being leveraged for "Xenophobe (NTSC) (Atari 1989)", references the screenshots for "Super Huey UH-IX (NTSC) (Atari) (1989)" instead.

 

Also, regarding the screenshots for Super Huey, they are named as: "Super Huey UH-1X (USA).shot.1.png" and "Super Huey UH-1X (USA).shot.2.png". 

 

It would probably be best to update the names to "Super Huey UH-IX (USA).shot.1.png" and "Super Huey UH-IX (USA).shot.2.png". 

 

Additionally, all screenshots (Shot 1 and Shot 2) are in *.png format except for two games: Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest (CrystalQuest_Shot_1.jpg, CrystalQuest_Shot_2.jpg) and Astro Blaster (Astro Blaster (USA).shot.1.jpg, Astro Blaster (USA).shot.2.jpg).  The replacement screenshots provided are all in *.png format.   For consistency, changing the screenshots format for the aforementioned games to match all the other titles listed may be best here too. 

[+Atarius Maximus]

18 hours ago, Trebor said:

Thank you for providing this @Atarius Maximus, it is appreciated.  I did not encounter any issues setting it up on my Windows 10 desktop.  

 

The extras are really nice too.  Manuals look good and the boxes look great!

 

The "shots" though are a bit rough.  Often wrong or missing colors, weird aspect ratios, and many demonstrating graphical issues as if taken from a really old version of the ProSystem emulator or MESS emulator.  

 

To help with this issue, attached are replacement "shot.1" and "shot.2" files named exactly as currently provided in the "Maximus78_Manuals" archives, as well as matching the majority's details: 640x480 res @ 24-bit. Maximus78_ShotsUpdate.zip

 

Respecting suggestions, perhaps a menu option that would modify the command line to include console palette type, or the selection of developer mode, depending on the TV Type (NTSC or PAL) that was already selected, can be added.

 

For the UI, it could perhaps appear as follows:

Set Condition(*) -->
-Warm Palette (Checked default)
-Cool Palette
-Hot Palette
-Developer

 

(*)Interpreted for the command line as follows:
Warm Palette (Default) = If TV Type NTSC then "a7800.exe a7800" | If TV Type PAL then "a7800.exe a7800p"
Cool Palette = If TV Type NTSC then "a7800.exe a7800u1" | If TV Type PAL then "a7800.exe a7800pu1"
Hot Palette = If TV Type NTSC then "a7800.exe a7800u2" | If TV Type PAL then "a7800.exe a7800pu2"
Developer = If TV Type NTSC then "a7800.exe a7800dev" | If TV Type PAL then "a7800.exe a7800pdev"

 

Another thought is maybe, if possible, the option to load an external *.a78 file from any location, without it having to appear in the list.

First, Thank you Trebor!  I appreciate the feedback and you fixing the screenshots.  I pulled those screenshots from various locations, I personally made very few of them.  I agree that the aspect ratio is off on many of them.  They are presented as part of an HTML file that loads with the manual, and the HTML itself has a hard coded aspect ratio for each shot that may be wrong for some of them as I reused the same HTML source when creating the file for each game. It was in the interest of time that they weren't fixed initially, I can go back through and make sure that they are all perfect.

 

Adding those additional options to the command line as well as adding the option to directly load an a78 file could be added fairly easily, I'll work on adding that soon.

 

Steve

[+Atarius Maximus]

18 hours ago, Muddyfunster said:

I keep getting an unhandled exception when I try to change the ROM path.

 

Will try a reinstall.

 

Sorry you're having trouble.  Adding proper error handling is on the to-do list for the future, so it would hopefully tell you what the problem is rather than just crashing the application.

[+Muddyfunster]

3 minutes ago, Atarius Maximus said:

 

Sorry you're having trouble.  Adding proper error handling is on the to-do list for the future, so it would hopefully tell you what the problem is rather than just crashing the application.

No worries  I'll be able to spend some time on it later. Will update.

 

[rra]

8 hours ago, Atarius Maximus said:

 

Sorry you're having trouble.  Adding proper error handling is on the to-do list for the future, so it would hopefully tell you what the problem is rather than just crashing the application.

I had a similar issue initially.   It fixed itself when I set the A7800 emulator path first, then I went back and secondly set the Game ROM path.

[Trebor]

10 hours ago, Atarius Maximus said:

First, Thank you Trebor!  I appreciate the feedback and you fixing the screenshots.  I pulled those screenshots from various locations, I personally made very few of them.  I agree that the aspect ratio is off on many of them.  They are presented as part of an HTML file that loads with the manual, and the HTML itself has a hard coded aspect ratio for each shot that may be wrong for some of them as I reused the same HTML source when creating the file for each game. It was in the interest of time that they weren't fixed initially, I can go back through and make sure that they are all perfect.

My pleasure. It may have been overlooked, but I already went through all the screenshots, created new ones, and posted them for download.  They are free to use and include with the Maximus78 distribution, if so desired.

 

11 hours ago, Atarius Maximus said:

Adding those additional options to the command line as well as adding the option to directly load an a78 file could be added fairly easily, I'll work on adding that soon.

Awesome! 

[+Atarius Maximus]

1 hour ago, Trebor said:

My pleasure. It may have been overlooked, but I already went through all the screenshots, created new ones, and posted them for download.  They are free to use and include with the Maximus78 distribution, if so desired.

 

Awesome! 

My new build includes all of the Palette Options and an option to launch an external ROM, as you had requested.  I've also added some window mode options for full screen, ROM list and box art only, and a small display with only a half-sized display list of the ROMs in the selected path.  

 

A few more things - I added a status bar display to the top right of the screen that shows all of your selected options at a glance, and added a few more registry keys that save the status bar setting (on or off) and the window display mode so they will reappear the same way the next time you launch the application.

 

With that said, I still need to update all of the HTML files for the screenshots so the aspect ratio is correct, some further bug testing to make sure the new options all work correctly, and add some error checking to hopefully at least cover the path assignment issue as mentioned by MuddyFunster and rra.  I'm going to hold off on posting the new build until probably this weekend at the latest.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Steve

[Trebor]

Excellent and thank you!

 

If it also would be fairly easy to add, down the road, could the following option also possibly make it into Maximus78:

 

Video Output(*)-->

-Basic (Checked default)

-CRT

-CRT Deluxe

-Super Eagle

-HLSL

-HQ2x

-HQ4x

 

(*)Interprets at the end of the command line as follows - minus quotes:

Basic = "-bgfx_screen_chains none"
CRT = "-bgfx_screen_chains crt-geom"
CRT Deluxe = "-bgfx_screen_chains crt-geom-deluxe"
Super Eagle = "-bgfx_screen_chains super-eagle"
HLSL = "-bgfx_screen_chains hlsl"
HQ2x = "-bgfx_screen_chains hq2x"
HQ4x = "-bgfx_screen_chains hq4x"

[+Atarius Maximus]

1 hour ago, Trebor said:

Excellent and thank you!

 

If it also would be fairly easy to add, down the road, could the following option also possibly make it into Maximus78:

 

Video Output(*)-->

-Basic (Checked default)

-CRT

-CRT Deluxe

-Super Eagle

-HLSL

-HQ2x

-HQ4x

 

Yes, I already added video modes to my latest build.  The only issue is that the video mode needs to be set to bgfx in the a7800 config file first.  I had it set to auto and had to figure out why the video modes weren't working.  Editing the a7800.ini file from within the application is already implemented, but if you don't know what to change or where to look it's pretty hard to know what to do.  I could enhance the config file editor to make it easier to change that setting (and others) but that's a pretty time consuming task and won't be done soon.

[+fdr4prez]

On 9/12/2022 at 5:28 PM, Atarius Maximus said:

The application requires .NET Framework v4.8, so it’s Windows 10 or later only. 

I have Win7 and I have .Net Framework v4.8 installed

 

So can I use your front end?

[Trebor]

8 hours ago, Atarius Maximus said:

Yes, I already added video modes to my latest build.

Fantastic... thank you again!

8 hours ago, Atarius Maximus said:

The only issue is that the video mode needs to be set to bgfx in the a7800 config file first. 

Under more recent versions of A7800, including the latest (v5.2), "video bgfx" is the default under a7800.ini.

8 hours ago, Atarius Maximus said:

Editing the a7800.ini file from within the application is already implemented, but if you don't know what to change or where to look it's pretty hard to know what to do.

Great point.

 

To ensure the video mode function is being set properly for all, leveraging the earlier example, the following additional CL info can be added:

 

Basic = "-video bgfx -bgfx_screen_chains none"
CRT = "-video bgfx -bgfx_screen_chains crt-geom"
CRT Deluxe = "-video bgfx -bgfx_screen_chains crt-geom-deluxe"
Super Eagle = "-video bgfx -bgfx_screen_chains super-eagle"
HLSL = "-video bgfx -bgfx_screen_chains hlsl"
HQ2x = "-video bgfx -bgfx_screen_chains hq2x"
HQ4x = "-video bgfx -bgfx_screen_chains hq4x"

 

In the instance someone's system may struggle with bgfx, perhaps a "Compatibility" setting underneath the "Basic" option could be listed, which places just "-video d3d" at the end of the CL instead.

 

8 hours ago, Atarius Maximus said:

I could enhance the config file editor to make it easier to change that setting (and others) but that's a pretty time consuming task and won't be done soon.

Understood.  If/When further enhancing possible options under Maximus78 is on the table, attached is a list of available CL options for A7800.  Many of which are somewhat advance, a few that are Arcade specific suited (As they are inherited from MAME), but perhaps some that may be useful for a considerable number of users.

 

Thanks again for this frontend - it is appreciated!

A7800 Options.txt

[+Atarius Maximus]

8 hours ago, fdr4prez said:

I have Win7 and I have .Net Framework v4.8 installed

 

So can I use your front end?

Actually it looks like you can as long as you have SP1 installed.  I looked up the page to download the offline installer for .NET Framekwork 4.8 on Microsoft's site, and it lists the operating systems below as compatible.  I have no way to test it on Windows 7 or 8 as I no longer have PC's that run that operating system.

 

The .NET Framework 4.8 (Offline Installer) supports the following operating systems:

Client

• Windows 10 Version 1809

• Windows 10 Version 1803

• Windows 10 Version 1709

• Windows 10 Version 1703

• Windows 10 Version 1607

• Windows 8.1

• Windows 7 SP1

[+Atarius Maximus]

1 hour ago, Trebor said:

Fantastic... thank you again!

Under more recent versions of A7800, including the latest (v5.2), "video bgfx" is the default under a7800.ini.

Great point.

 

To ensure the video mode function is being set properly for all, leveraging the earlier example, the following additional CL info can be added:

 

...

 

Thanks again for this frontend - it is appreciated!

A7800 Options.txt 22.57 kB · 4 downloads

Thanks for the additional information Trebor.  I will look at adding the additional options in future builds.  I'm enjoying working on this, it just takes a lot of my free time.

[+fdr4prez]

1 hour ago, Atarius Maximus said:

Actually it looks like you can as long as you have SP1 installed.  I looked up the page to download the offline installer for .NET Framekwork 4.8 on Microsoft's site, and it lists the operating systems below as compatible. 

 

Thanks, I'll give it a show when i am done with my current business trip.

 

1 hour ago, Atarius Maximus said:

I have no way to test it on Windows 7 or 8 as I no longer have PC's that run that operating system.

Sure you do; well maybe you could... You said you are doing a VM for Win10, so you should be able to do a VM for Win7, no?

[+Atarius Maximus]

23 minutes ago, fdr4prez said:

 

Thanks, I'll give it a show when i am done with my current business trip.

 

Sure you do; well maybe you could... You said you are doing a VM for Win10, so you should be able to do a VM for Win7, no?

You're correct, I should have rephrased that to no "quick and easy" way to do it.   I could install Win 7 as a VM from scratch, maybe I'll do that for testing purposes sometime soon. 

 

Edit:  There's no ARM build of Win 7, so I'd have to install it as a VM on a different older computer.  It's possible, just another moderately time consuming task.  

[+Atarius Maximus]

Just in case anyone would like to try it out, here's the latest mostly untested build.  

 

It adds:

• Video Mode selection
• Palette Mode selection
• Status Bar (off by default)
• Window Modes (small, medium, full)
• Direct external ROM Launch from file menu

I still need to add error handling, fix the screenshot aspect ratios, and add Trebor's new screenshots to the official zip download.  I'll also review other advanced A7800 settings that could be added.

Maximus78_v0.99.15b.zip

[Trebor]

The new version is working great!  Awesome work! 

 

It may be better to cut out the explanation note under a few of the options, as in one case the entire note does not even fit, and IMHO, looks cluttered. 

 

Also, it seems the word "Palette" after "Set Developer Mode" may have been a typo (?):

 

There could be some space saving by removing the separation of "Set Palette" from the "Select TV and Video Options", removing the separate section of "Select Palette Colors" and just change the label of "Set Palette" to "Set Palette Colors" instead. 

 

Down the road, these additional options would fit nicely under the "Select TV and Video Options"...

 

Set Stretch -> 

-On [CL: -keepaspect 0]
-Off (Default) [CL:-keepaspect 1]

 

Set Window Mode ->
-On (Default) [CL: -window 1]
-Off [CL: -window 0]

 

Set VSync ->
-On [CL: -waitvsync 1]
-Off (Default) [CL: -waitvsync 0]

 

Set Triplebuffer ->
-On [CL: -triplebuffer 1]
-Off (Default) [CL: -triplebuffer 0]

 

 

Regarding the screenshots, maybe a unified naming convention can be set.  Maxmius78 could use the ROM name followed by .shot 1 and .shot 2. 

 

For example, "Ballblazer (NTSC) (Atari-Lucasfilm) (1987).a78".  Screenshots recognized are "Ballblazer (NTSC) (Atari-Lucasfilm) (1987).shot 1.png" and "Ballblazer (NTSC) (Atari-Lucasfilm) (1987).shot2.png"?  Or something along those lines.  This would allow others to create their own captures for ROM titles currently missing screenshots.

 

In connection with the 'View --> Window' section, is it possible to swap placement of the box captures and screen captures in the layout of Maximus78? 

 

Subsequently, perhaps having 'View--> Window --> Medium' displaying the two screen captures one on top of the other, along with 'A7800 Command' and 'Defined Directory Paths' section below it.

 

Then, for 'View--> Window--> Full' it adds the available boxes and manual captures on the scrollable rightmost side pane.

 

Could Maximus78 possibly support multiple ROM paths?  As it works currently, either all ROMs have to exist in the same folder/directory, or the user needs to keep changing ROM paths when referencing the PROPack to play either Retail games or Homebrews.  Another change to play Hacks; another change for Utilities, etc.

[+x=usr(1536)]

Very nice!  It reminds me a bit of QMC2, which I've been using as a MAME frontend for years.

 

Not a Windows user (at least, not for desktop stuff) so probably won't be using it unless it makes it to other platforms, but if that ever changes I certainly will give it a shot

[+Atarius Maximus]

2 hours ago, Trebor said:

The new version is working great!  Awesome work! 

 

It may be better to cut out the explanation note under a few of the options, as in one case the entire note does not even fit, and IMHO, looks cluttered. 

 

Also, it seems the word "Palette" after "Set Developer Mode" may have been a typo (?):

 

There could be some space saving by removing the separation of "Set Palette" from the "Select TV and Video Options", removing the separate section of "Select Palette Colors" and just change the label of "Set Palette" to "Set Palette Colors" instead. 

 

Down the road, these additional options would fit nicely under the "Select TV and Video Options"...

 

Set Stretch -> 

-On [CL: -keepaspect 0]
-Off (Default) [CL:-keepaspect 1]

 

Set Window Mode ->
-On (Default) [CL: -window 1]
-Off [CL: -window 0]

 

Set VSync ->
-On [CL: -waitvsync 1]
-Off (Default) [CL: -waitvsync 0]

 

Set Triplebuffer ->
-On [CL: -triplebuffer 1]
-Off (Default) [CL: -triplebuffer 0]

 

 

Regarding the screenshots, maybe a unified naming convention can be set.  Maxmius78 could use the ROM name followed by .shot 1 and .shot 2. 

 

For example, "Ballblazer (NTSC) (Atari-Lucasfilm) (1987).a78".  Screenshots recognized are "Ballblazer (NTSC) (Atari-Lucasfilm) (1987).shot 1.png" and "Ballblazer (NTSC) (Atari-Lucasfilm) (1987).shot2.png"?  Or something along those lines.  This would allow others to create their own captures for ROM titles currently missing screenshots.

 

In connection with the 'View --> Window' section, is it possible to swap placement of the box captures and screen captures in the layout of Maximus78? 

 

Subsequently, perhaps having 'View--> Window --> Medium' displaying the two screen captures one on top of the other, along with 'A7800 Command' and 'Defined Directory Paths' section below it.

 

Then, for 'View--> Window--> Full' it adds the available boxes and manual captures on the scrollable rightmost side pane.

 

Could Maximus78 possibly support multiple ROM paths?  As it works currently, either all ROMs have to exist in the same folder/directory, or the user needs to keep changing ROM paths when referencing the PROPack to play either Retail games or Homebrews.  Another change to play Hacks; another change for Utilities, etc.

I appreciate the detailed suggestions and feedback, Trebor, and happy to hear you're liking what you see.  Everything you mentioned is possible in one way or another, yes, and I can look at putting those ideas in place.  You're filling up my task list (in a good way), I'm going to be busy! 

 

I also wasn't really happy with how the edit menu looks, and those in-menu notes were really for my own reference as I was testing.  It can get a bit tedious with options that can't be used together, making sure the right options are checked and/or turned off, and that the command line is correct for every possible option.  The more I add, the more difficult it is to test all of the combinations as I might miss one.

 

I would like to create HTML files for each game in your ROM pack, as the name of the referenced file is hardcoded in the app, at least for the games that currently have screenshots or manuals defined.  Once the HTML file name is set, anyone can change the links in that HTML with any image file names they want as long as the name of the HTML file itself doesn't change.  I've got about 5 hours of work into just updating HTML files this evening, all of the aspect ratios are now correct.  Regarding the naming conventions for image files (and the png vs jpg format), I didn't initially put much thought into that as I thought they would simply be supporting files for the app that no one would really look at or use.  That is something that I could of course do, it's just less fun than working on the app, as it's just mindlessly renaming files and changing over 100 HTML files (which isn't even close to all of the games yet).

 

Filling a single list box with the contents of multiple paths could be tricky (although I will try), maybe a tabbed window for the ROM path list letting you assign different paths to different list boxes would work.  Some of these things I wish I would have thought of at the beginning, retrofitting some of those things takes longer than starting off with these things in mind.  My original thought with ROMS was that I was just going to put all of them in a single folder for this app, but I guess not everyone would want to do that.

 

Swapping the locations of the box art and the screenshots/manuals areas would be the easiest thing you've asked me to do.  The only issue is that due to the aspect ratios of what I'm displaying in those boxes the sizes can't change, so the A7800 command/directory path box would then move to the lower right corner.  Since I'm mentioning that, there is room to add another tab or two to that box, if you can think of anything useful that could be added there. The box of course isn't very large. 

 

I'm glad you shared that screenshot, as my screen doesn't look the same - I don't see the bolded text and the notes that don't fit on the menu.  I'll likely just set the font to the windows default, as I was playing around with different fonts and sizes.  I chose the size of the application because of the resolution of my laptop, 1366x768.  It's nearly full screen on my laptop.  Resizing/Maximizing and is tricky to implement with vb.net as the contents of the window need to resize too, and I'd rather just avoid it.  Hopefully that resolution will work for the large majority of people that would like to use this app.

 

Overall, I see this application taking a pretty long time to finish and make "just right".  It's a fun diversion, and feedback like yours is just going to make it better.

 

Steve

 

[+Atarius Maximus]

2 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Very nice!  It reminds me a bit of QMC2, which I've been using as a MAME frontend for years.

 

Not a Windows user (at least, not for desktop stuff) so probably won't be using it unless it makes it to other platforms, but if that ever changes I certainly will give it a shot

Thanks!  I can't port the current version of the app to a different platform as it's very Microsoft-centric, unfortunately.  The only apps I can port from Visual Studio easily are C# console-only applications, and this is written in vb.net.  It's within the realm of possibility that I could write a MacOS version from scratch using XOJO as I'd love to have their cross platform support, but the biggest obstacle is price.  It costs $400 USD for a cross-platform license, and I'm not making any money from this application. 

[Trebor]

9 hours ago, Atarius Maximus said:

Once the HTML file name is set, anyone can change the links in that HTML with any image file names they want as long as the name of the HTML file itself doesn't change. 

Perfect. 

9 hours ago, Atarius Maximus said:

Regarding the naming conventions for image files (and the png vs jpg format), I didn't initially put much thought into that as I thought they would simply be supporting files for the app that no one would really look at or use.  That is something that I could of course do, it's just less fun than working on the app, as it's just mindlessly renaming files and changing over 100 HTML files (which isn't even close to all of the games yet).

Having the ability to allow any file name and either/any format is allowed, is even better than a unified approach.  The unified approach idea was more along the lines of making it easier to add screenshots; however, from what you stated, that is covered in spades already.  Now having a better understanding of how the image support has been implemented, if anything, my idea would make things less convenient and more difficult all around.  

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Swapping the locations of the box art and the screenshots/manuals areas would be the easiest thing you've asked me to do.  The only issue is that due to the aspect ratios of what I'm displaying in those boxes the sizes can't change, so the A7800 command/directory path box would then move to the lower right corner.  Since I'm mentioning that, there is room to add another tab or two to that box, if you can think of anything useful that could be added there. The box of course isn't very large. 

The idea for the swap was more for thinking what may be desirable from most to least.  The A7800 command/directory box, IMHO, falls under the more desirable category and leaving it in the middle is probably best, visible with the "Medium" view, as the relocation to the lower right corner would require the "Full" layout in order to see it. 

 

Viewing boxes on the the other hand, didn't seem to be typically as much wanted or practical, in comparison to screenshots of the game. From there is where the idea of placing the screenshots in the middle "Medium" view, instead of requiring the largest display of "Full".

 

If moving the screenshots to the "Medium" view, means consequently relocating the A7800 command/directory box to the right, requiring a "Full" view, it may be best to leave the current layout in place. 

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I'm glad you shared that screenshot, as my screen doesn't look the same - I don't see the bolded text and the notes that don't fit on the menu.  I'll likely just set the font to the windows default, as I was playing around with different fonts and sizes.  I chose the size of the application because of the resolution of my laptop, 1366x768.  It's nearly full screen on my laptop.  Resizing/Maximizing and is tricky to implement with vb.net as the contents of the window need to resize too, and I'd rather just avoid it.  Hopefully that resolution will work for the large majority of people that would like to use this app.

If curious, the capture was taken under a desktop running Windows 10 @ 1920x1080.