BetaBrite loader

[Lashek]

For BetaBrite Classic (serial version):

There was a recent thread about this that needed to pass the ROM Description (detailed game name) to the BetaBrite program for it to work.

Extract the program into your HyperSpin folder. It must be alongside HyperSpin.exe, HyperLaunch.exe, etc.



Syntax:
hsbetabrite.exe "MAME" "gtmra" "C:\BetaBrite\betacom.exe" "com3 {AUTO}"

Command that gets executed:
C:\BetaBrite\betacom.exe com3 {AUTO}1000 Miglia: Great 1000 Miles Rally (94/06/13)


Parameters are in the following order:
System Name - MAME, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, etc. This is already sent to HyperLaunch

ROM Name - The actual ROM Name of the game in question (without extension, just like what appears in the XML database file). The program opens your database and parses it for the matching ROM Name to get the detailed description that is in your XML. Example provided is from my database.

Program to Execute - Full path to your working program.

Parameters - The parameters to be passed to the program to execute. Please note that if a space is needed between the parameters and your ROM information, you will have to provide the space when calling hsbetabrite.exe, it is defaulted to NO spacing between the parameters and rom info.


REQUIREMENTS:
.NET Framework 2.0
Win 2k/XP/Vista/7


The "System Name" and "ROM Name" are already passed to HyperLaunch. There should only be a need to add the executable definition, as well as the parameters definition in the AHK file, then call it when launching any game.

Please note: This is only ONE PART of the working product, the rest is the AHK portion, which I have yet to write. If some kind soul out there wants to write it up, feel free, I've got a busy plate :(

Also Note: I could not test this personally with beta brite as I haven't got one (anyone wanna send me one? :D), but I did test it with other apps like Notepad, etc. I wrote it to be an "extensible" launcher.

FINAL NOTE: Open Source. I've attached the program, as well as the Visual Studio 2008 .NET Solution. It's a bit sloppy and can be done better, but it works.



For BetaBrite Prism (USB):

BetaBrite Prism is very easy to setup for HS with HL. However, it doesn't use betacom.exe, it uses prismcom.exe and a dll.

Download prismcom.exe and it's dll from http://www.industrologic.com/prissoft.htm and follow the same steps as the classic method. At the AHK portion, change betacom.exe to prismcom.exe and change params from "com3 {AUTO}" to "usb {AUTO}".



If you want to reset the sign on exit of HS, see HyperHQ's "Run on exit" and set it to run whatever file you want with whatever params you want. :)

[Lashek]

AHK Portion, if someone who has a betabrite could test, please do!

If an AHK guru has better suggestions / changes / improvements on this, please post with your solutions! :)

Add/Change the lines in red:


hideTaskbar = true ;Hide the windows taskbar when running emu's.
;WARNING: Make sure ALL your emu's are running fine
; before setting this to true as a precaution.*

daemontools = "C:\Program Files\DAEMON Tools Lite\daemon.exe" ;Mount the ISO.
;WARNING: I am using deamon tools light.
; If you have issue get the latest version of dtools.*


betabright = "C:\BetaBrite\betacom.exe" ; Change this to your BetaBrite console application location.
betabrightparams = "com3 {AUTO}"
; Parameters go above.
enablebetabright = true ; Should Betabright support be active? true or false here :)





;------------------------------------------------------------------------------;
; RUN SYSTEM ;
;------------------------------------------------------------------------------;


;****** Added by Lashek - Force betabrite to update with hsbetabright.exe ******
;****** The loader will parse xml to get the "Description" and display it ******
;For support, see: http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=4078
if (enablebetabright)
{
RunWait, hsbetabrite.exe "%systemName%" "%romName%" %betabright% %betabrightparams%,, Hide UseErrorLevel
}


;**********************************ATARI 2600***********************************





CloseProcess:

if (enablebetabright)
{
RunWait, %betabright% com3 {AUTO}HYPERSPIN
}

Hotkey, %exitScriptKey%, Off
Process, Close, %Executable%
Process, WaitClose, %Executable%
Gui, Color, 000000
Gui -Caption +ToolWindow +AlwaysOnTop
Gui, Show, W%A_ScreenWidth% H%A_ScreenHeight%, BlackGui
return


Remember: BACKUP YOUR HYPERLAUNCH.AHK AND HYPERLAUNCH.EXE BEFORE MODIFYING.

[SophT]

hey lashek thanks for taking this up. When did you become an ahk master too? Find time between aspnet and .net and sql. :P

I'm sure the betabrite people will be happy with this.

[Lashek]

hey lashek thanks for taking this up. When did you become an ahk master too? Find time between aspnet and .net and sql. :P

I'm sure the betabrite people will be happy with this.

LOL. AHK scripting is similar to PHP and any other scripted style language. :)

It's syntax is quite easy to pickup, although I'm far from knowledgeable on it. Just know what I need to get by. =)


As for ASP.NET, I've put that on hold for right now. Work will be sending me to classes on it out of their pocket, so I'm not studying too hard on it at this time.

However, I'd like to know of this works, as the hsbetabrite loader is quite extensible in that it can pass the ROM Description to any program at all. :D

[Invincer]

Hey Lashek!

Thanks a milllion for your work on this!!!!

I will let you know if I can get the scripts working on my sign. As an initial test I tried jjst flat out using your compiled script with the only change being to rename my mame.exe to vmame.exe which is what I have. I put the hsbetabrite in the HS folder and created the betabrite folder for the betacom.exe as you suggested. The initial test though did not do anything to the sign at all. Unfortunately, as you warnd, your script s different than the original annd it hung as I exited 10 yard fight (test game). Could not recover mouse, worked different than instant shelller, so just had to reboot. Will try comparing my working script to your edited one and just put in any sign references. Will post again after testing!!! Thanks!!!

[Invincer]

Well I have tried it a few different ways and nothing happens on the sign. One thing that did happen is the betacom help display opened behind hyperspin. That will normally come up if you just click the betacom.exe file without running it on the commandline and without any parameters.. I don''t know if this helps or not or if it is possible to pass the parameters through hyperlaunch. The betacom.exe is available online at http://www.industrologic.com/betasoft.htm, if you want to download and run it without parameters you can see the hep test message box I am talking about.

Also some other inks that might be helpful/informative...
http://www.autohotkey.com/forum/topic14036.html
http://forums.planetchristmas.com/showthread.php?p=340550

I appreciate all the hep, and will be glad to test and hep on this to get it running!

[Lashek]

Updated the AHK (I'm definitely no guru on it), there was an issue when exiting apps, etc, in my copy.

I have removed the "Exit App" portion, so essentially, this would leave the display with the last game played on it for now.

If another AHK guru can fix the exit portion to work with this, I'd be grateful! :)


Invincer: Sorry about the help screen popping up a lot, it shouldn't do that now. :)

[Invincer]

Well the help menu does not come up anymore behind HS; but unfortunately, it does not seem to work at all. I tried running it with the scrip where you had it above all the emulators and I tried running the line in each of the lines in the MAME section as welll. Does no output to the sign at all though unfortunately. :(

[Invincer]

I copied and ran your syntax in the run line for your first post to see if hsbetabrite is where the problem is... hsbetabrite.exe "MAME" "gtmra" "C:\BetaBrite\betacom.exe" "com3 {AUTO}"

That is NOT the problem because it runs 1000 Miglia: Great 1000 Miles Rally (94/06/13) to the sign perfectly... The problem is somewhere in the AHK script, because the command is not getting from hyperlaunch to the sign when a MAME game is launched :(

Some AHK guru will possibly have to help, I could not even get CPwizard to display before a game when I tried to play around wth AHK before, I know this would be beyond me here. Glad to kep testing ideas thouggh.. :)

[Lashek]

Updated once more after working with Invincer in HyperChat to ensure it works.

Congrats to all BetaBrite users, you now have it working with HS! :)

[Invincer]

YV7A_bOTv_0

[Lashek]

Wow. After seeing that thing in action, now I want to get one. :O

[Beaps]

Anyone know where I can get one of these in the UK?

[Invincer]

Check ebay, there is usually a dozen available at any time. Plan to spend about $100+ on a newer one especially. The BetaBrite classic is what I have. I purchased one with the serial port instead of the USB connection because I had read about the plug in that could write to it in GameEx and the serial one was suggested on BYOAC forums. But although I love my GameEx on my HDTV, the cab kept whispering "HYPERSPIN" to me. I HATED giving up the sign ability though.... now I won't have to!!!

I digress though... the way Lashek's script works it shouldn't matter if you use a serial port or USB and it shouldn't natter if you get the older classic one like I have or the newer Prism one. With the betacom command line you could also have it display an event when the cab starts, when it exits, schedule displays, etc. What I love is the game name ability though... :) Thanks again Lashek (and my sign thanks you as well... Hyperspin rejuvenates it!)

EDIT: Well I just checked ebay for UK ad got squat. Still, there aresome in the USA and many would ship internationally I am sure.

[j5350]

Man, that just gave me the neat idea of putting it behind some smoked glass either above or below the screen. Not sure where it would look the best.

[Circo]

Oh wow I can finally use my beta brite again!!! I have a serial one, so I will try to make the time tomorrow to see if it works.

[Lashek]

:D

There is only one flaw, it doesn't default the betabrite when you start HS. Only when you enter/exit games.

Easy fix though, just send a command such as "betacom com3 {AUTO}HYPERSPIN" or something on startup of HS and voila. :)

[Beaps]

Is this one of them?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320392264042&viewitem=&salenotsupported

[Invincer]

That looks to be a different brand, even though it looks similar. I know it looks awesome, but did you really want to purchase that many of them? :P

http://www.prautomation.co.uk/displays/product_list.asp?MID=29&CID=87
This place seems to sell the Prism model of the BetaBrite signs in the UK. May have to request a quote and I would ask if the software for running it is the same as with the classic... basically would betacom.exe send signals to it correctly the way it does for the classic version...

Lashek: Actually, the way you have it working is perfect. The sign while on continually displays the last message. In GameEx I had set it up to show "Shutting Down" upon exit; which was cool... but then when you booted everything up it still displayed "shutting down" until GameEx started, which was very NOT cool. Using yours, HYPERSPIN stays the default display till in a game and it goes back and stays on HYPERSPIN through exit of HS through shutdown and bootup.

[Lashek]

What I meant was initial startup of HS would show a blank LED screen until you enter/exit a game with the way it is setup currently. This is because of HyperLaunch being the prime updater of it all instead of HS itself.

However, what you COULD do to make it "universal" is a startup script that runs with system startup (if in a cab), then a shutdown script that closes windows as well as displays a "Good bye" message or something when doing everything.

Or, you could use the HyperSpin Startup / Exit program approach, and set it run betacom.exe with the "com3 {AUTO}HYPERSPIN" parameters on startup, and change parameters to "com3 {AUTO}GOOD-BYE" when exiting. (Easily done right now without need of additional programs if you use HyperHQ or edit the ini's)


I'm just looking at the flaws in what's there now and pointing out ways around it for those that are interested in this, or those that want a "more complete" experience so-to-speak. :)


[edit]
This is assuming the betabrite clears out the last message displayed. If it has internal NAND that keeps everything stored and reloads the last message when it is restarted, this whole flaw is only evident the VERY first time the thing is used, and would still give the "shutting down" issue until HS fully boots. It appears my thinking of the betabrite is wrong, but then again, it's entirely guessing. lol

[Circo]

it remembers the last thing displayed, even when you power it down

[BadBoyBill]

Yo Circo, tell them about the voices you found.

[Lashek]

Yo Circo, tell them about the voices you found.

Voices? Are you hearing things again? We need to get you some medication. :D

[bent98]

I know someone mentioned this should work with the USB version of Betabrite. Has anyone tested with one?

Also If I purchased one on Ebay, do I need to make sure it includes software, remote control or any other accessories to get this to work properly?

[Invincer]

In theory, it should work with the USB version (mine is serial so i can only guess). You really don't need the remote control or software if your aim is to just have it working for games and messages to users playing.. The main thing is to make sure it works with betacom.exe software, because that is how Lashek's script works is by sending information to it so it can feed the text to the sign. Mine came without the proper serial attachment cord which I had to buy separately, but with a USB version, if it works, it should be even easier.

[z011104c]

This is awesome. I have been lurking in the forums waiting to see if a plugin would be made to support betabrite signs and that is the only reason why I have not switched from Mala yet. Well this made my day. Great job and I can't wait to try it out.

E

[bent98]

Is there any benifit to getting a Prism? Will it take advantage of the extra colors the display is capable of?

[Invincer]

I thought about getting a Prism before I got the classic. Originally though, in a thread on BYOAC Headkaze had suggestedthe serial betabrite classic for his GameEx plugin, which was what I was getting it for. In this case, I don't know if it matters. Bottom line is check if at all possible to see if it can accept commands from betacom.exe (link posted somewhere earlier in this thread). If it does, it should work fine. If you can't check, it might be good to know if you could return it if it doesn't work. Oherwise you could use it as a sign with a big colorful LED arrow pointing to your arcade with test saying "this way to MAME arcade".... :) (Don't laugh, I was considering this before Lashek saved the day with this script)

[bent98]

http://www.freeboxjukebox.com/


This Jukebox program supports Betabrite. Would be cool to see it launch from Hyperspin Jukebox theme and work off the Betabrite.

[Lashek]

bent: If you can get jukebox working in HS, it's guaranteed to work.

The hsbetabrite program takes the "game name" that's passed to hyperlaunch, then reads the description of that "game name" and passes it to the beta brite!

So if you're xml was like...



<game name="Avenged 7fold - BatCountry">
<description>Avenged Sevenfold - Bat Country</description>
</game>


Then "Avenged Sevenfold - Bat Country" would be sent to the beta brite.

This "plugin" is versatile to work with more then just games. :)

In fact, any program you use with HS doesn't even NEED betabrite support since this adds it for whatever is in the XML database used :)

[bent98]

Yes, but hyperspin would only launch the program. It doesnt use any XML files for the actual mp3's. Thats controlled by the Jukebox software.

I am not sure how you would get it to work if the Jukebox program doesn't have native support for the betabrite.

[z011104c]

I have a question about the xml database that it reads from. Mainly where it's located, how its parsed, and what makes it stop reading before the next entry. Unless there is a separate xml file for each game but I doubt that is the case. My overall goal is to get this to read the history.dat file from www.arcade-history.com (http://www.arcade-history.com). Then instead of scrolling the game name cross referenced to the rom name it would read the history referenced to the rom name in the history .dat file. The history.dat file has a structure that begins with $info="rom name" and ends with $end.

The only other problem I foresee is parsing out the file by category. The .dat file contains some great categories in my opinion like - Trivia - , - Tips and tricks - , and - scoring - but others like - staff - and - sources - are not that necessary. I also remember hitting the limit of the amount of characters I could send to my beta brite while reading rss feeds. Some of this less useful information may make that happen.

If anyone has any ideas about how I could start with this or any ideas what to look for it would be much appreciated. I'm not a programmer but I have good friends that work for beer. :)

Thanks

[Lashek]

This uses the same database files that HS uses. These are located at C:\HyperSpin\Databases\

The program parses the file until it finds a match, once it finds a match, it reads the description of it and passes that on to the betabrite.com file.

Please see the source code for more information. What you are wanting is possible, but would require such a large amount of work for little gain. I developed this simply for the novelty of what was requested, but it's as far as I'm gonna take it at this time.

Since it's open source, anyone can see how it was done and improve upon it though. :)

[z011104c]

Thanks so much for your reply Lashek that's what I was wondering. I spent so much time working on mala (becasue I already built the Betabrite into my arcade and a plugin was available) that I have not played around with the intricacies of HS yet. What was a novelty to you meant a LOT to me and I'm sure a lot of other users. You have giving me a great start to what I would like to achieve and I thank you for that. If I have any questions about the source I hope it's ok to shoot you a PM.

Thanks again

[Lashek]

Feel free! I'd love to see how other people are doing things :)

[chillinwater]

I loved the video so much I had to buy one. $120 no shipping. Havent received it yet.
I'll do the footwork of converting those ".cs" files from HiToText or ".hi" from Mame, into something BETAbright can use if someone could point me in the right direction of what I need or need to do. If I have to do each game by hand thats what I'll do. (probably just bit off much more than............)

Maybe somehow add the highscore to the Hyperspin\Database .xml's?

[Lashek]

I loved the video so much I had to buy one. $120 no shipping. Havent received it yet.
I'll do the footwork of converting those ".cs" files from HiToText into something BETAbright can use if someone could point me in the right direction of what I need or need to do.

Awesome! Was it from E-Bay? I'm thinking about getting one myself. :)

As for converting, it depends on the format of them. Are they plain text? Do you need a special program to read them? If it's just a simple plain text file, it would be easy to create a "Parser" for them (assuming you have programming experience).



If I have to do each game by hand thats what I'll do. (probably just bit off much more than............)

Maybe somehow add the highscore to the Hyperspin\Database .xml's?

For both of these points, you start getting into extremely high maintenance. What if the high scores change? How will they update? Will you update upon EVERY new high score manually?

You would need a way to "pull" the high score from the game when done (possibly at the end of CloseProcess in the AHK process?), then it would have to rewrite the XML file and change ONLY that games high score value.

This is entirely do-able depending on how the high-scores are stored (this is not my area of expertise).

[EDIT]
You could always ask the author of the high-score system to add betabrite support, but then it would need the game name to be sent back when you nolonger wish to see the high score. If you want it to flash the game name, then high score, you may need to have a background program keep track of this... unless the betabrite has a command to force the highscore to display after the game name....

possibly: betacom.exe com3 {AUTO}Blahgamename\n High Score: 999

With the \n forcing a "new line" to make it go into a seperate window? Not sure, can't test since I don't own one. lol.

[Lashek]

Potential BetaBrite Loader Problem - Easy Work-Around

As you know, you can have multiple XML's (Genres). Now, HSBetaBrite.exe only looks at the MAIN XML file (IE: Databases\MAME\MAME.xml).

Technically, this is how it's SUPPOSED to work since "MAME.xml" is the "All Games" list and you should change lists from the genre menu.

Here's the flaw:
Say you have MAME.xml and Fighting.xml. However, because of the shear size of MAME.xml, you have removed ALL fighting games from it and put them in Fighting.xml to make them more... 'Manageable'. Now, in HS, you load up the Fighting list from your genre menu and select a game.

The betabrite loader fails to find a game and doesn't send anything to the betabrite!

This means I need to work on improving hsbetabright.exe to check through the xml's recursively. The downside of this is processing delay when you have tons of large lists, so I may not even bother with it for that reason.

I find it safe to assume that MAME.xml and other system "master" lists should contain All Games and any filters you want should be seperate xml's, however that's simply my own opinion, which would require no modifying to hsbetabrite.

What do you all think? Should I leave it to whoever needs the feature to add it in? Should I add it in to the current loader? Is it a waste of time for little gain due to the possible "Non-standard" layouts?

[Invincer]

Hey I say add it in! :) We are already seeing some people are making the switch that were waiting because they had the sign and could not use it in HS. The more features available the better. I think most people use it as youy mentioned, one master list, and then genres as subcategories.

I will check the above code to see if it would work when I get home from work. :)

[chillinwater]

Yes from ebay.

I knew it was more than I could chew. Way over my head...for now! I'll still do whatever I can to help if its possible.

For now I would just love to see BetaBright show hiscores after the game info. It would be frosting to see it update immediatley.

I'll be installing and testing it, just as soon as I get it and I'm sure I'll be clogging this thread with a bunch of dumb questions!

[Invincer]

okay, tested the above message betacom.exe com3 {AUTO}Blahgamename\n High Score: 999, and it sends everything to the sign including \n. The good news is it will continually scroll through the whole message so it would do game name, hi score, fireworks, game name, hi score, fireworks, game name, hi score, etc etc...

[chillinwater]

Great News Invincer,

I'm so excited about even the remote possibility that High Scores might work in BetaBrite Loader, that I made this database for Mame.

It lists the games from the mame genre wheel, all Games supported by HiTo text according to HiToTxts "Game Directory" It probably is outdated so I'll research it more and make an updated list.

Im not sure why but not all games pop up with a high score (most do). Maybe because I havent played them yet.

This is cool (to me anyway) because you dont have to go searching for every game that supports HiToTxt and hopefully BetaBrite Loader. It might make any testing you have to do, easier, also.

Heres the link to the zipped .xml if your interested:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9IFG9VW2

[Lashek]

Updated post with information on BetaBrite Prism. Code will be updated soon to recursively check XML's. I have no plans of having it parse Hi Score files as that is not my project and would not be able to provide proper support for it should things change.

[chillinwater]

I've done some more testing with hsbetabrite and have found that when playing games from a wheel that "DOES NOT" use Hyperlaunch, (PC Gaming, Mame w\o hypelaunch, hsbetabrite does not change the betabrite display because all the "params" are set up in HyperLaunch.

I have a work around for DFend Reloaded (dosbox) which I have set up like PC games using .lnk files. and no hyperlaunch.

In DFend Reloaded you can edit the settings for each individual game. In these settings there is a place for extra "helper programs" (startup and exit) where you can place prismcom.exe (usb) or betacom.exe (com3)(serial) and the params. Exactly like HyperHQ's startup and exit programs.

I'm still working on how to create a batch or lnk file to run multiple programs i.e.
[bat]
mame.exe -rom [or] doom.exe
prismcom.exe usb {Auto} start params
wait
prismcom.exe usb {Auto} exit params

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ On a side note: ///////////////////////////////////////////

This script will return the original contents of the Beta Brite Prism Messaging Software,
"SimplEd.exe" to the BetaBrite sign on exit of HyperSpin.

By "original" I mean all the messages you have added or edited in the sign software!
If you havent added your own messages, then it will send the "Default" BetaBrite messages out of the box.

Works with serial or usb BetaBrite signs.

Place the .exe script in the same folder of "SimplEd.exe"
and point HyperHQs'-Startup/Exit, "Exit Program" to the .exe script below, no params needed.
In the script edit the location of "SimplEd.exe" to your location.

If your version of the messaging software is different than below then run AutoHotkeys', "AutoScriptWriter (recorder)" and record a new script for your software.

[BetaBriteRet2Win.exe]


Run, C:\Program Files\Beta Brite Prism Messaging Software\SimplEd.exe
WinWait, BetaBritePrism Messaging Software - 2.2.0.0,
IfWinNotActive, BetaBritePrism Messaging Software - 2.2.0.0, , WinActivate, BetaBritePrism Messaging Software - 2.2.0.0,
WinWaitActive, BetaBritePrism Messaging Software - 2.2.0.0,
MouseClick, left, 323, 465
Sleep, 100
Send, {ENTER}
MouseClick, left, 600, 7
Sleep, 100

[SophT]

why not just 'trick' hyperlaunch into loading PC Games - that's what I do with a dummy executable - but you could even use Lashek's betaloader as the executable. It's really easy:

hyperlaunch


;************************************************* *****PC GAMES*********************

else if (systemName = "PC Games" && executable = "prismcom.exe")
{
hideDesktop()
Hotkey, %exitEmulatorKey%, CloseProcess
Run, %emupath%%executable%
Runwait, %rompath%%romname%%romextension%
Process, Close, %executable%
}


PC Games.ini


[exe info]
path=E:\HyperSpin\Emulators\PC Games\
rompath=E:\HyperSpin\Emulators\PC Games\roms\
userompath=true
exe=prismcom.exe
romextension=lnk
parameters=
searchsubfolders=true
pcgame = false
winstate = HIDDEN
hyperlaunch= true


set path= to where ever the betaloader executable is. and set rompath= to the folder where you .lnk files are.

[chillinwater]

Cool, I'll give it a shot!

[chillinwater]

Hmmm, Looks like hyperlaunch is trickin' me!

The good news is the game name comes up on betabrite, the bad news is it slowly sends me back to the wheel. I'm pretty sure everthing is correct, obviously they're not.
.ahk just like you have it...
hyperlaunch=true
pcgame=false
fullpath to roms=true or false
search sub=true or false
exe=prismcom.exe
roms=lnk
paths are correct
nothing of note in the log.

Except for betabrite, this works fine if:
hyperlauanch=false
pcgame=true

[chillinwater]

Well after f#$$ing around and around with it, I finally found this thread,


http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1890&highlight=pclauncher&page=3


and used this script by Sopht (doesnt look any different than the one you posted above SophT, except for the dummy "PCLauncher.exe":


;************************************************* *****PC Games*********************

else if (systemName = "PC Games" && executable = "PCLAUNCHER.exe")
{
hideDesktop()
Hotkey, %exitEmulatorKey%, CloseProcess
Run, %emupath%%executable%
Runwait, %rompath%%romname%%romextension%
Process, Close, %executable%
WinActivate, HyperSpin
}
It looks like I wont have to get all fancy for DFend Reloaded now as this Should work with that also. Thanks again Sopht!!!

[SophT]

no problem ;)

[Dariusz]

Hi,

Just new to this technology:

What type of LED displays work with Hyperspin. Is it just the one type being BetaBrite displays or are there other manufacture displays which will work also on Hyperspin?

Is there a special requirement to get the displays working on Hyperspin (ie. communication protocol? specification of display? etc)

Any details (list) on the type of displays which can be used with Hyperspin is appreciated.

Thanks

D

[Lashek]

I'm no expert on LED Displays (don't have one myself, yet). I'd imagine ANY LED Display that will work with your PC (provided you can pass a command to it to change text) should work.

hsbetabrite.exe will even support it if you know the parameters. :)

Any other LED Display experts out there that can provide more wisdom then I?

[Chase]

I am having some issues getting this to run.

When I run the command line, it works properly. BUT...when I go into Hyperspin....the test game is still appearing on the BetaBrite....and will not change.

Any ideas?

[Lashek]

Double check to ensure you have added the code properly to the HyperLaunch.ahk file, then compile it with AutoHotKey. :)

[spudgunman]

any update to this in the past years.. I assume that the XML has changed when i run this on a 64bit box I crash out with XML errors and such..

edit after looking at the source, it might be that you have hardcoded the location requirements of some stuff? just wondering ..I can go back and do a recompile if that is all it takes.. before I go to all the work of putting studio on a PC just wondering if this still works with modern romsets and modern hyperSpin??

[spudgunman]

So I found my issue was one of the following (did them all at the same time) find and replace for any & to &amp trick to help parsing, as well as I recompiled the binary with .net3 and removed the working path entry for the executable for betacom.. additionally I just removed the requirement to have that on the command line since its always in the same path as the loader. after these tricks were pulled I have this working 100%...

additionally I ported it into hyperloader 2.0 so that when you load up a game it will send the game name to betabright, then when you exit a game it will return to the "arcade" ready mode. I include here my build of the hsbetabrite
this build is a zip file renamed to .txt I couldn't seem to upload a zip to the fourm (if admin knows what I missed PM me and I will make normal zip)
this binary is 99% the same as the orginal, just has .net3.5/2.0 smarts as well as prints to screen for troubleshooting (orginal commented out debug stuff) I also removed the workingdirectory for c:\\ which was messing up for some reason for me.

additionally there is NO requirement to list the betacom file any more your command line looks like this, this binary expects betacom in the same physical path as the loader etc.

cpmmand line updated ==== hsbetabrite.exe "MAME" "1941" "COM1 {AUTO}"

hyperlaunch 2.x modified script (remember to recompile with proper compiler)

;----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Run Module To Start Launch
;----------------------------------------------------------------------------

;****** Force betabrite to update with hsbetabrite.exe ******
betabrightparams = "com1 {COMPRESSED}{AUTO}"
enablebetabright = true
if (enablebetabright)
{
RunWait, hsbetabrite.exe "%systemName%" "%romName%" %betabrightparams%,, Hide UseErrorLevel
}
(rest of existing code here...)
;----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Post Launch
;----------------------------------------------------------------------------
if (enablebetabright)
{
RunWait, betacom.exe com1 {AUTO}My Arcade,, Hide UseErrorLevel
}
exitScript()

;----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Functions
;----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[jace055]

Hello fellow BetaBrite users!!

Big thanks to everyone who helped make BetaBrite in Hyperspin work!

I have noticed some games work perfect and the name comes across fine. However, some are not centered on the display. For example, Galaga works prefect. Glaxian is always left justified on the display. Am I missing something?

Thanks.