Backdrops in mame2003-plus

Clyde

@Riverstorm I enjoy talking to people from around the world, too. It's one of the amazing possibilities of our time. 😎

Care to share screenshots of Spy Hunter and Sky Diver along with any useful setup information?

Riverstorm

@Clyde - My screenshots with overlays clip the overlay for some reason but it's fine if there's no overlay. I don't think RA accounts for the overlay correctly. The good is there's nothing to it. Just download any pre-0.106 artwork (there's a dedicated section) from Mr. Do's website and copy it into your /home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/mame2003-plus/artwork folder and run the game. No configuration required!

EDIT: I don't know if we can post links here for Artwork or if so I can link you to the correct page.

UDb23

@Clyde @Riverstorm
I’m on a business trip in uk. Almost back at 100% after my short but tough influenza (@clyde thanks the exact term used here). Seems all your knocking on wood helped, thanks :-)
Seems also you had a nice discussion on flu etc; couldn’t read thru all of it yet.
Thats how to make a real viral post? Lol

For the moment just a quick reply.

The only new testing I also did while ko was on skydiver.
It works as @Riverstorm already found out, meaning works out of the box with mrDo’s artwork ( discontinued).
Not checked yet if the game area ratio is actually 4/3. Anyway it looks well and I can make the overlay for it to cover the black sidebars (based on high res bezel scan).
LEDs: before each jump a letter appears randomly; if the jump is successful (inside the target area) that letter will be lighted on. If you light them all you get a bonus if I remember well.

MAME history’s data state that MAME v 0.78u4 implemented sounds. Mine does not have sounds so it seems 2003plus doesn’t include the additional code.

UDb23

Additional on skydiver: clouds are low res; already made them in vectors therefore creating a new bd zip that includes the high res clouds.
As said in the BD sheet the clouds are on top so l’d prefer to create a RA overlays including those and just let .art system manage the leds. Leds graphics could be improved also but takes more time and not sure if it’s worth it.

@Riverstorm could you kindly update the sheet with your precious testing info (if not already doing it)?
Btw you mentioned it gets really cold in your area in winter and you have limited number of sunny months; northern US ?

UDb23

Riverstorm

@UDb23 - Glad you're feeling better. Ok, thanks for the explanation on Sky Diver and how the letters work. It's been to long. I was having a lot of fun with it last night though but missed the damn pad more than I hit it. Practice makes perfect. When testing I use a monitor quite often as it's close to the PC so I missed the no sound. I would like to play it with sound as it's actually still pretty fun.

I filled in a good number of games in the spreadsheet but you might need to clean up the notes they way you like so you can understand them better.

Lunar Lander, Spy Hunter and Turbo look great too, check them out you won't be disappointed. All could use some overlay love.

I have a hard time knowing if it's 4/3 (Sky Diver) due to the BD throws off the numbers and enlarges the game area. On my monitor it's 1280 x 1200 which is a 16/15 ratio.

I am in the Northern US (we call it the Upper Midwest). I can get to the Canada border in a few hours drive. If you heard of Mt. Rushmore I am close to that National Monument. Lot's of wide open spaces, country and blue sky in all directions for miles. Population density is pretty low here but I like it. Great place to raise a family, low crime and smog free. You can walk safely at night. ;) For big cities Minneapolis, MN would be the closet drive. Then Chicago, IL would be the next closet population wise.

Riverstorm

@UDb23 @Clyde - I opened an issue here on no audio in Sky Diver to see if it's an easy fix and could be implemented.

Riverstorm

Grant already added audio to Sky Diver you just need to update from source, he's quick! :)

Clyde

@Riverstorm said in Backdrops in mame2003-plus:

Grant already added audio to Sky Diver you just need to update from source, he's quick! :)

@grant2258 @Riverstorm Thanks!

Riverstorm

@UDb23 - I added all the clones to the spreadsheet so the game count is up to 91. I added the parent name to the comment field for clones that aren't immediately obvious by the name. Space Invaders has a lot of clones. I tried to add them alphabetically but I think a bit of cleanup might be needed throughout the spreadsheet.

@Clyde - Yeah it's better with sound, yay Grant! ;) He's looking into adjusting the volume if possible on the start it's loud then it's ok once game play starts.

markwkidd

If anyone is feeling bold, and in the mood to compile, I have added backdrop support to mame2003 "classic" on a trial basis. No automatic copying of artwork or anything like that, just the functionality.

Riverstorm

@markwkidd - It looks good. I tested Omega Race and Space Invaders. Just a heads up for 2003 users. I did loose some core settings and had to redo my vector settings, re-enable warnings, overlay multiplier, etc. Maybe backup or jot down your settings first.

markwkidd

@Riverstorm Thank you for the report from pi land!

UDb23

I recreated the skydiver backdrop with high resolution LAMPs and clouds.
Also gave the LAMPs a more realistic look (colors in line with the actual cabinet).
On a 1080p display the game area (including LAMPS) is 1152x1080; the original artwork from MrDo is only 1018.
Also created a dedicated overlay.
This is the result:

RA overlay resolution is OK @1080 while .ART LAMPs and clouds are shown in low res (!).

Pull request for artwork to be included in m3plus already sent.
Overlay available in the Repo.

Big thanks to @grant2258, @Riverstorm and @markwkidd for sound implementation !

@grant2258 : I updated today from source to get the sound; after update:

I can no longer enter RGUI (issue only in skydiver - core freezes, reboot necessary)
Gamepad controls now default to the left analog stick instead of dpad; is that on purpose ?

UDb23

Almost forgot: also made a launching image
alt text

Riverstorm

@UDb23 - Sky Diver looks great. Grant was banned a week or so ago so I have no idea if he sees pings anymore and he can't reply. You'll have to post on the Github Plus page to talk to him.

Also the issue you're having is a nightmare for me too. See bounty thread discussion here. If you get a chance can you test vector games? Vector games seem to allow entering RGUI ok but not non-vector games.

mitu

@Riverstorm said in Backdrops in mame2003-plus:

@UDb23 - Sky Diver looks great. Grant was banned a week or so ago so I have no idea if he sees pings anymore and he can't reply. You'll have to post on the Github Plus page to talk to him.

No, he/she was not banned - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/user/grant2258. Why would the account be banned ?

Riverstorm

@mitu - I am 99% sure he was banned from his last thread post. Did it get lifted which is great news! It's a he! ;)

mitu

@Riverstorm You're right, there was a ban - but his account doesn't appear to be banned now (https://retropie.org.uk/forum/users?section=banned).

Riverstorm

@mitu said in Backdrops in mame2003-plus:

@Riverstorm You're right, there was a ban - but his account doesn't appear to be banned now (https://retropie.org.uk/forum/users?section=banned).

Thanks for the news, that's great to hear! I don't have access to that section of the site, so normal users can't view who's been banned?

Also I just have to say the sheer number of posts from you is staggering. You're pretty amazing with all the help you provide. I have read many of your posts that have helped me with several things.