116 replies to this topic

[Mark Wolfe]

I'd like to move the discussion from http://www.atariage....-free-mcboothd/ to THIS forum because it is more on topic.

here is where we are discussing COINOPS, the best emulator ever created in my opinion.

[Mark Wolfe]

BritneysPAIRS, on Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:47 AM, said:

Ill be releasing CO5, its done now....we will just discuss features vs time for me to do them and they will decide a balance.....its great to see a nice community actually....its why I do this stuff....

do you guys want alot of features? added or released the new pack with over 300 new games....some new systems....700 arcade games are faster or control better now as well....most big games are playing really well now... whats your guys thoughts....at the moment this will be with the working group but since you have been community like.....have your say it will be factored in and ill get back to you

ummmm

upgrading new FAN builds
nes_gamename.zip
gb_gamename.zip
gbc_gamename.zip
gba_gamename.zip
need to be moved into there new folders (this was done to test I could move around cores to make foldering easier and will soon request expactly how to folder things)

videosextra etc are now not used....

videos is used and the screensaver is from that
then videos1 videos2 videos3 videos4 you can load stuff but the screensaver wont work....so you will need to mve all your videoextas two folders worth of xmvs into videos and the videos will play....everything else is just load FAN 4 over the top.....

[Mark Wolfe]

Mark Wolfe, on Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:06 AM, said:

sorry BP if this is a repeat of what I said in a PM, but I figured I'd take it public since you are asking publicly:

features or ideas for coinops:

1. some sort of side app that verifies and re-names roms with the name scheme for coinops + the 42 character limit for fatx . this would alleviate the issue I have with having to have the full builds all the time. I'm sure it would help others too. I already have a complete romset for just about everything roms have been released for but the problem is with the xbox 42 filename size limit and the special name scheme for coinops it makes it next to impossible to use those roms. additionally this app could also copy or move the roms to the specific folders they need to be in.


2. internal update system. coinops checks when connected to the internet if updates are available. coinops updates internally and spits out a text file OR even an xml file that can be fed to the rom re-namer if more games have been added. I am willing to put my money where my mouth is on this and offer server space for the feature. if it winds up costing money I will help raise it and donate to it myself


3. 128MB RAM support . for those of us of who have a 128MB ram xbox, I'm actually going to get one with an upgraded CPU as well, I'd like a build of coinops that takes into account the extra ram and gives me more games that can not run otherwise.


edit: I'd be happy to help with documentation, administration, research, whatever else you need. I know there are others here who are also interested in helping out, like you said, we have a great community here and we LOVE classic games and emulators, especially this one.

[Mark Wolfe]

BritneysPAIRS, on Wed Aug 22, 2012 1:14 PM, said:

...to fix anything up just copy any standalone over the top it has all files and folders and will bring it up to that build....all the empty folders are there due to the fact you might just put on CoinOPS 4 R10...

BP: I just wanted to respond to one of the points you made the other day.  this is actually one of the thorns in my side regarding coinops and I know for a fact I am not the only one.

I do get there is a difference between various releases but that is part of the problem, when you're dealing with either a bug fix or a version update say between R1 to R2, you should organize the files differently.  the fact is you can't just take the update and drop it on top of your build because of all the empty folders. not knowing which folders are empty unless you look in them is tedious.

you have to stop thinking about this in terms of a few people you talk to in chat and think of it in terms of hundred if not thousands of people who will download and use it.  you can't talk to all those people so you have to start configuring your releases so even the stupidest person like me can understand it and use it.

if it were me, here is how I would do it, regardless of the update, it can be a bug fix or a real update or whatever:

any files or folders that need to be copied to root directory have in a folder called: COINOPS-ROOT [NO other files go in this, nothing that will break coinops if it is copied to root of a full build with roms]

any directories with stuff in them are named for the folder they go in to .

this would alleviate the need for half the files you include in your updates and releases unless they are full builds. and even full builds should be separated into one that is for a standalone use that someone would add games to OR one that people will use to update their existing build.

Edited by Mark Wolfe, Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:59 AM.

[Mark Wolfe]

BritneysPAIRS, on Thu Aug 23, 2012 1:18 PM, said:

ive looked at it and it does look now and supports 128meg properly...if it can it will put it all in mem

that's great!! so no special modifications on specific games?  what about games that can't work on 64MB at all but can work on 128MB? I have seen a few posts on your forums and you mentioned previously you would find a list for me of supported games that only work on 128MB

[ghsqb]

Subscribing to this thread.
I learned about CoinOps because of Marks post here on AA, and I am just waiting to see how he makes out with the SATA adapters and the release of CoinOps 5 to send him a few machines to mod.

The more I've learned bout CoinOps the more impressed I've been.

Definitely looking forward to playing around with this.

[Mark Wolfe]

thanks for your support and confidence. all that will come together in the next few weeks to be sure. everyone on my mod list is waiting on CO5. the sata adaptor thing is a matter of waiting on stock to arrive, I actually made another order for 10 boards because the first order has not shown up yet and I think it got lost.

[Domino8282]

Also subscribing to this thread... That's funny that you are also contemplating the 1.4GHz/128MB upgrade Mark. I take it you're planning to use Trusty from xbox-scene? I contacted him also about the upgrade and have been debating whether to do it. On one hand, I'd love a bleeding-edge system (as bleeding edge as an original Xbox can be), but I'm a little worried about having to patch original Xbox games and having some games glitch out or run fast (due to the CPU upgrade, not RAM).

Also you've probably seen some of the posts from people who own Trusty Xboxes and their issues with heat dissipation. I believe he has updated his cooling solution to mostly fix the problems people were having, but it still requires some modification (cutting away the metal frame around the HDD I believe) to fit the heatsink/etc. So I dunno...

Anyway - back to the topic of the thread - I totally agree that an automated upgrade system for CO would be the cat's pajamas. Other than that, my only feature request would be improving on the ease of searching for games or sorting. I find it a little overwhelming to see the entire list of every game all at once, even though you can sort by system and jump to different systems in CO. I would almost prefer to have a main menu where you choose the system (some nifty pic/logo for each one) and then after selecting a system, browse the games for that particular system. Would be even nicer if we could further sort the games by genre (action, shooter, RPG, etc).

So to be clear - you open CoinOPS and are presented with a grid listing all the different consoles and arcade cores. You decide you feel like playing Atari 2600 so you select the 2600 logo. That brings you to a specialized Atari 2600 menu which shows various genres (shooter, strategy, RPG, board games, racing, etc.). You pick racing and see a list of all Atari 2600 racing games with video previews (the frame of the video happens to look like an antique TV hooked up to a heavy sixer) like Pole Position, Indy 500, etc.

Anyway I know everyone likes things a little bit different, that's just my vision.

On another note, I'm so sorry to see all the drama you've had to deal with BP... It boggles my mind that people can be so childish when we're just chatting about a hobby we all love. I do hope you continue developing for original CO and Dragon and that you are able to get some of those trolls on your forums to get a life and find some other way to amuse themselves!

[Mark Wolfe]

@domino:  I am getting it from trusty, but I will only use THAT xbox for special stuff like coinops. if I want to play regular xbox games I'll do that on a dif box

I like the sorting idea, where you can choose to sort by what console you want to play FIRST. I thin coinops could have a variety of methods by which it could filter and serve up games that one could set in a preference panel or something. cool idea.

I have a very large build of CO4, I don't really find it to be that overwhelming to search for stuff. I like being able to skip to the beginning or end of whatever platform and you can speed through by holding the trigger button, etc. but I think as many different ways that people could think of to filter would be great to have incorporated provided BP can get it in there.

[mclebron23]

ghsqb, on Thu Aug 23, 2012 1:47 PM, said:

Subscribing to this thread.
I learned about CoinOps because of Marks post here on AA, and I am just waiting to see how he makes out with the SATA adapters and the release of CoinOps 5 to send him a few machines to mod.

The more I've learned bout CoinOps the more impressed I've been.

Definitely looking forward to playing around with this.

I've been told that games lag when using a 1TB HDD with a SATA to IDE connector. Can anyone confirm this?

[Mark Wolfe]

mclebron23, on Thu Aug 23, 2012 5:39 PM, said:

I've been told that games lag when using a 1TB HDD with a SATA to IDE connector. Can anyone confirm this?

read some of the comments under this youtube video:


it seems that lag is not an issue if you use the right cables and install correctly. there actually is lag with the IDE HD anyway, in fact it takes a lot longer to boot up with the larger hd, but once it does it is fine. I think the problems people report are with people using the wrong components or doing something wrong when the make the upgrade.

[Mark Wolfe]

funny thing about this new forum thread, I'm getting questions that should be in the install thread, while this thread is for coinops talk, not upgrade talk  LOL... I guess I can't win no matter what I do  

anyway, it is no big deal but if folks would keep THIS thread focused on just the software aspect of things and anything in regards to installation, upgrading, moding all be posted in the marketplace forum thread, but like I said it is no big deal, ask away...

[mclebron23]

Just read the comments, sounds like it works like you said. Nice.

[Mark Wolfe]

mclebron23, on Thu Aug 23, 2012 7:44 PM, said:

Just read the comments, sounds like it works like you said. Nice.

fingers crossed. I still want to try for myself and test it. there are so many adaptor boards out there, it could be some folks are using one that causes lag, who knows. I actually ordered from three different vendors for three slightly different types of boards so when they come, i can really give it a good test

[BritneysPAIRS]

quick though for sata drives.....alot make games boot reallt slow due to slow access time

coinops has an advanced option to speed up slow drives..... all you will lose is times played and it wont store meta data.....if it takes 20 secs to boot a snes game use this feature


its the only xbox emu to allow for sata converter issues

[Mark Wolfe]

BP: are ALL SATA drives slower?  or does it depend on the adaptor used?  can you point me to a tutorial or a forum that talks about why it is slow or what you can do about it?  this is the first I am hearing that there is a slowdown other than rumors.  some people report there is no slowdown, others do.. I figured it had to do with the way they installed it or a bad adaptor or something.

[BritneysPAIRS]

some hdds or adpters are slow when trying to read write at a fast speed...ive given a setting to fix that but it removes a bit of functionalisty gui wise....but the games are all good...if you get the hardware right there wont be an issue

[Domino8282]

Yeah different people say different things... If anyone has experience with a direct comparison of equal-sized IDE and SATA drives, I'd be interested to know which is faster under CO. Like I'm curious whether a 500GB IDE drive is faster than a 500GB SATA.

My current drive is only 160GB... Another one of those upgrades I've been putting off until I find out for sure whether there is a performance advantage with IDE or SATA. I really don't need more than 500-750GB, so I could go either way.

By the way, to return to the original topic, BP do you have an idea of approximately how large CO5 Full version will be? There are so many new games I expect it will be much larger than the ~50GB size of CO4 Full, right?

[Mark Wolfe]

my feeling is if you're happy with up to 750GB, stick with IDE. they come as large as 750, if you want 1TB or more, you gotta go with SATA, but you're right, I will indeed test IDE side by side with SATA and see what happens. there already is a slowdown in boot speed with the larger drive, the screen is black when you turn it on after the bios splash... it is sometimes scary  lol but once it boots it is fine.

[BritneysPAIRS]

it wont be to much greater....it doesnt have any more psx so far or xbox games therse kill the space....maybe 60gig....it only has about 500 new games....ill leave the pack writers for more....packs will be mega easy in CO5

[Domino8282]

BritneysPAIRS, on Fri Aug 24, 2012 4:50 PM, said:

packs will be mega easy in CO5

This is great news any chance we'll be able to download them from within CO5 on our Xbox?

[BritneysPAIRS]

nope.....I wont do that stuff its not legal

[Domino8282]

Ahhh sorry didn't even think about that!

[Mark Wolfe]

BP: what about the idea of internal over the internet CO updates from within CO5? so CO looks for an update when it is connected [unless user sets it not to]  no game updates just core.

[Domino8282]

Mark Wolfe, on Sat Aug 25, 2012 10:21 AM, said:

BP: what about the idea of internal over the internet CO updates from within CO5? so CO looks for an update when it is connected [unless user sets it not to]  no game updates just core.

/agree that would be the next best thing to game updates... And then make it super-easy to install game packs by FTPing it in or from DVD perhaps... Or from USB device for those who have USB inputs.