Post by FaberfoX on Feb 24, 2020 7:12:08 GMT
I've been working on this for a while, it's not yet feature complete but it's a start and I'm sure some of you will enjoy it.
So, what I'm I talking about?
This is a tool that allows you to build game folders on a USB drive and pick the one you want to show on the carousel, without touching the internal memory at all.
You start it by triggering and update and then selecting which folder you want to mount over the internal games.
To get started, download this file (built using SDL1.2) or better yet, this other file (built using SDL2) and extract it to the root of a USB drive, one that you know works and that, ideally, should be empty.
On first start, it will create thumbnails of each folder and cycle thru them.
I made and initial pack, grouped in folders by their initial letters, using the stock games from my US mini and the 84 extra games from popcorn , taken from this post.
You can shuffle them around, create new folders or add your own games. To add new games, they should be in the same format that's used internally, with a .tsg file in the folder itself, the game inside the games folder, one or more screenshots in the screens folder and a cover in the covers folder.
As I don't have a maxi, I'm not sure if the joystick will work to move around in this version, please report back if it does or doesn't. If it doesn't, you can use WASD on the keyboard and RETURN to select.
Once you're back in the carousel you can choose a different folder by triggering the update again.
This should be considered alpha quality software as it's not yet feature complete, and should be safe to use as the internal memory is kept read only. In case it crashes, turning off and back on you get things back to normal. If all you get is a black screen (shouldn't happen now) press a button or enter and it should mount the first valid folder, and please report back.
Planned features for the near future:
Background music per folder, playing it on the chooser screen
Using a button to regenerate thumbnails for when you add new games to an existing folder (you have to delete the "thumbs" folder for now)
Editing "flags" for games (accurate disk access, default joystick port, etc)
Extracting screens from save games so you don't have to capture them manually
Anything else you'd like me to add, feel free to comment.
Thanks to jj0 for his help and patience on discord, the fake update binary I'm using and the launch script, and to darbyram and spannernick for alpha testing.
So, what I'm I talking about?
This is a tool that allows you to build game folders on a USB drive and pick the one you want to show on the carousel, without touching the internal memory at all.
You start it by triggering and update and then selecting which folder you want to mount over the internal games.
To get started, download this file (built using SDL1.2) or better yet, this other file (built using SDL2) and extract it to the root of a USB drive, one that you know works and that, ideally, should be empty.
On first start, it will create thumbnails of each folder and cycle thru them.
I made and initial pack, grouped in folders by their initial letters, using the stock games from my US mini and the 84 extra games from popcorn , taken from this post.
You can shuffle them around, create new folders or add your own games. To add new games, they should be in the same format that's used internally, with a .tsg file in the folder itself, the game inside the games folder, one or more screenshots in the screens folder and a cover in the covers folder.
As I don't have a maxi, I'm not sure if the joystick will work to move around in this version, please report back if it does or doesn't. If it doesn't, you can use WASD on the keyboard and RETURN to select.
Once you're back in the carousel you can choose a different folder by triggering the update again.
This should be considered alpha quality software as it's not yet feature complete, and should be safe to use as the internal memory is kept read only. In case it crashes, turning off and back on you get things back to normal. If all you get is a black screen (shouldn't happen now) press a button or enter and it should mount the first valid folder, and please report back.
Planned features for the near future:
Background music per folder, playing it on the chooser screen
Using a button to regenerate thumbnails for when you add new games to an existing folder (you have to delete the "thumbs" folder for now)
Editing "flags" for games (accurate disk access, default joystick port, etc)
Extracting screens from save games so you don't have to capture them manually
Anything else you'd like me to add, feel free to comment.
Thanks to jj0 for his help and patience on discord, the fake update binary I'm using and the launch script, and to darbyram and spannernick for alpha testing.
