Easiest Frontend to setup and use for Family

[cm_bush]

I recently took an old computer and reinstalled the OS (xp) so that it will run more smoothly in preparation of making it an emulation box and HTPC for my father. It is primarily going to be used to emulate PS1, but I would like to include other systems as well. Unfortunately, my father isn't the most tech-savvy individual, and I would like this to be as simple as possible to play games and movies on his TV. I am looking for a multi-system front-end with DVD support that is clear, easy on the system reqs, and easy to use and figure out.

Since I have never used a front-end before, I am also looking for a program that is easy to setup and make look professional.I would like thumbnail support or some sort of preview feature for the games, but this is not neccesary and sounds complicated to implement. Also, seamless DVD support would be wonderful, so that his somewhat ecclectic DVD collection could be watched easily. I'm not really looking for advanced features and options, so much as dead simple and clear ease-of-use since they will undoubtedly go unused anyway.


I am using ePSXe 1.9.0 to run the PS1, and will have a selection of other emulators for other systems back to the NES and Master System, (my dad enjoyed these systems as much as we did back then), and if needed I can list them as well.

So guys, can you help me out?

(Sorry to the mods if I have put this in the wrong place, I was unsure of where it belonged.)

[Zaladane]

http://xbmc.org/


There is tons of support and community for this and can be setup to run all sorts of media and games. Has remote control support etc, or you could use a gamepad I suppose too with xpadder (unless it has support for that too) Looks very good with tons of themes and such and can be set up to look like a phone or tablet or a whole bunch of styles and it has all the thumbnail and preview options you could ever hope to use. It's fairly easy to set up too. Tried it out once for the heck of it but that was a ways back - check it out!

[Zorlon]

The easy front end for ePSXe is ePSXeCutor it can create desktop short cuts to the games or you can just use the ePSXeCutor as a direct front end if you like rather than creating short cuts, up to you, but it saves your setup for each game so if a game requires special settings this remembers it for you

Myself I use RomCenter as a kind of front end, though that looks very very basic, if you are wanting a visual front end that is not the one to go for

xbmc is what I use on my xbox as it happens, it very visual based and would work well with most emulators, and ePSXeCutor short cuts

[HaloSlayer255]

Hello cm bush,

Not sure about XMBC as I haven't used it. But for PS1 emulation I use ePSXeQuickPlay latest verison is v0.2b and does have a few glitches to it, CDDA Audio (PS1 XA Audio) is not played, for example Wipeout 3 doesn't play the tracks when used with this frontend. And GPUBladesoft cannot be configured. The internal ePSXe SPU doesn't seem to be recognized either but others should be better.

I think I've heard good things on DSound v1.10? I use the large icons for the game art. If you have say 60 PS1 games and want them alphabetically organized make sure you set them that way first because you cant reorganize them. Once you have everything setup I would backup the settings for ePSXeQuickPlay from the registry. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ePSXeQuickplay is the folder you want to export. Even though it has been tested for 1.7.0 it works with the current 1.9.0. Link to frontend http://www.ngemu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147502

Cheers and good luck,
HaloSlayer255

P.S. Not sure if you've heard of Xebra but I posted http://www.epforums.org/showthread.p...rsion-of-Xebra and other places like TheIsoZone and ngemu on the news as far as frontends for that I have no clue but it only needs the Audio buffer set, and video check everything except Whole Frame Buffer, set all to 0. ePSXe memcards can also be used with Xebra but must be without file extension. More info on Xebra http://forums.ngemu.com/showthread.php?t=140824

[cm_bush]

Thanks all, there is a wide world of front-end software that I have no experience with, so this is all news to me.

I have heard of XBMC, and I will try that. I am just a little daunted by the long list of features and options, and I'm really looking for the simplest, easiest to use option.

I tried epsxecutor earlier, but it seems you have to make individual configurations for each game, and mount them with a virtual drive. If this is correct (as per the only tutorial I have seen), I am certainly not interested. Furthermore, it does nothing for the other systems or DVD playback.

DSound looks promising, how easy is setup and does it load games automatically, or do you have to individually add files and config each title? Also, with ePSXe Quickplay, are there any other bugs that would really degrade the playing experience, besides the missing audio in some games?

I have only heard of Xebra in passing, but from what I have heard it is very accurate on paper, but not yet up to great usability. I have honestly never had a major issue with ePSXe, but I will check it out for the sake of having accurate emulation. Does it experience more severe slowdowns than other emulators? I have an i5-2500k stock with 8gb of RAM and an AMD 6870, and I have not had major issues with lag from either ePSXe or PSX, but if this emulator slows down often or exhibits great amounts of lag during action (as most hardware-faithful emulators do, even with NES and SNES), I can't say I would be compelled to switch.

[Zorlon]

Sounds like you just don't have a clue with ePSXeCutor it does save individual settings as it is needed as there is no single setting that will work with all games, it can be setup to run CD images from a DVD disc if you really wanted it to and no you don't need to mount anything it can load CD images direct to ePSXe

After you have created one config though if you create a new one it will have the same settings so it's not hard to dupe setting for the next game you setup

-loadbin "Path\GameCue.cue" would be needed in the Options tab under cmd line

Xebra is going to be too hard for you to use to be honest, if you have the a good enough system yeah the emulation is very very accurate and full speed, but it's not an easy emulator to use by far

If XBMC is too much for you (once setup it would be the more user friendly but I guess it's not so easy to setup) then just use something very basic like GameBase http://www.bu22.com/ that you ca n get away with just using basic setups

To be honest I don't think you will be happy with anything most front ends do require basic setups for each system and roms storage folder ect to get them up and running and a lot messing is needed if you want icons for the games, though some may have icon pack ect available for them, most come as a blank slate for you to customize to the users preference

I wouldn't keep emulators on a DVD, roms are ok though but emulators use data that needs to be updated and changed so store those direct on your computers Hard drive, the same for the front ends, to be honest you don't need a front end if you setup the DVD to autorun the emulator from the PC HDD, a simple autorun.inf can be created to do that, so if you pop in a DVD with SNES roms and it auto runs the SNES emulator that is already setup to look for the roms on the DVD than that is going to be an easy way for you to have that setup.

If you are using rom sets then Romcenter is a very easy one to use, but you don't get snap shots or anything in there it just lists the games and if it's setup correctly a double click of the game will load the rom into the emulator, Romcenter is more of a rom auditing tool though, so it's used for checking roms against a database

[HaloSlayer255]

As per your question of ePSXeQuickplay, it checks for a path to your PS1 images first then uses your Optical drive. But it will only use your optical drive if the CD Image tab is blank. You could use a few registry files for that though. Like having a config for external drives, create a reg backup of the key in above post, config for optical media by blanking CD Image paths then another reg backup.

You need to specify the plugins and settings to use but you can specify default settings and plugins. Then to use settings for other games that require fixes like Hot Wheels Turbo Racing you can use say P.E.Ops Soft GPU 1.18 plugin and Eternal's SPU since the core isn't working in Quickplay. Also I've noticed that Shadow Master's audio works with ePSXeQuickplay and this is CDDA (XA PS1 Audio) correct? As for the DSound plugin I'd try using the config at http://ks23364.kimsufi.com/psxdata/d...emulation.html

I will admit that a frontend is a bit of work but worth it in the end, just takes a bit of time to setup everything and then good to go

Goodluck,
HaloSlayer255

[Zorlon]

As per your question of ePSXeQuickplay, it checks for a path to your PS1 images first then uses your Optical drive. But it will only use your optical drive if the CD Image tab is blank. You could use a few registry files for that though. Like having a config for external drives, create a reg backup of the key in above post, config for optical media by blanking CD Image paths then another reg backup.

You need to specify the plugins and settings to use but you can specify default settings and plugins. Then to use settings for other games that require fixes like Hot Wheels Turbo Racing you can use say P.E.Ops Soft GPU 1.18 plugin and Eternal's SPU since the core isn't working in Quickplay. Also I've noticed that Shadow Master's audio works with ePSXeQuickplay and this is CDDA (XA PS1 Audio) correct? As for the DSound plugin I'd try using the config at http://ks23364.kimsufi.com/psxdata/d...emulation.html

I will admit that a frontend is a bit of work but worth it in the end, just takes a bit of time to setup everything and then good to go

Goodluck,
HaloSlayer255

Less work needed for ePSXeCutor and works with all the plugins, including the internal ones and because you can create shortcuts you can use those short cuts in most front end software like XBMC and use whatever icon you want to use, providing you know how to change shortcut icons but most windows users should be able to do that, not something that is hard to do but not everyone would know how to do that or where to look to do that, the hardest part is to make the icons, but plenty of free software out there to do that easy enough.

Shadow Master does have CDDA but not so sure that is for music, there are only 4 CDDA tracks and I have seen games with CDDA that are not in-game music, I would guess not as CDDA is broken in the latest version of ePSXe for all plugins except the internal one

If you roll back to 1.6.0 I think it is the CDDA should work with the other plugins as well , there is also a fix patch for ePSXe 1.7.0 & 1.8.0 but so far not for 1.9.0, the patch allows for CDDA to work with other plugins asides from the internal SPU plugin, the CDDA is possibly used in other places, I would need to check that out though first to verify what I have just said

ePSXeQuickplay will possibly work better with 1.6.0 of ePSXe or a patched version of 1.7.0 or 1.8.0 for CDDA games

I can dig out patch info for you if you like, I never really bothered as I don't emulate ePSXe that much anyway and just use the internal SPU plugin, ePSXe is used more of a hacking tool to me than a way to play the games though.



About XA audio...

XA audio is not the same as CDDA audio no, XA is sound used in STR and XA files and container files and uses a special header added after the file is created so the header is part of the CD structure rather than directly on the file, STR files and containers are movie files but still use the XA header for the sound, XA files and containers are just sound files though also having that special header, you do sometimes get containers that have more than just STR and XA files but would also use that header.

CDDA in games for the PSX is commonly used for BGM's but it has been known to be used for SFX, Dubs, Warning not to play in a CD player & just extra's like music that works in a normal CD player, possibly other uses as well that I have yet to find.

[HaloSlayer255]

Less work needed for ePSXeCutor and works with all the plugins, including the internal ones and because you can create shortcuts you can use those short cuts in most front end software like XBMC and use whatever icon you want to use, providing you know how to change shortcut icons but most windows users should be able to do that, not something that is hard to do but not everyone would know how to do that or where to look to do that, the hardest part is to make the icons, but plenty of free software out there to do that easy enough.

Shadow Master does have CDDA but not so sure that is for music, there are only 4 CDDA tracks and I have seen games with CDDA that are not in-game music, I would guess not as CDDA is broken in the latest version of ePSXe for all plugins except the internal one

If you roll back to 1.6.0 I think it is the CDDA should work with the other plugins as well , there is also a fix patch for ePSXe 1.7.0 & 1.8.0 but so far not for 1.9.0, the patch allows for CDDA to work with other plugins asides from the internal SPU plugin, the CDDA is possibly used in other places, I would need to check that out though first to verify what I have just said

ePSXeQuickplay will possibly work better with 1.6.0 of ePSXe or a patched version of 1.7.0 or 1.8.0 for CDDA games

I can dig out patch info for you if you like, I never really bothered as I don't emulate ePSXe that much anyway and just use the internal SPU plugin, ePSXe is used more of a hacking tool to me than a way to play the games though.



About XA audio...

XA audio is not the same as CDDA audio no, XA is sound used in STR and XA files and container files and uses a special header added after the file is created so the header is part of the CD structure rather than directly on the file, STR files and containers are movie files but still use the XA header for the sound, XA files and containers are just sound files though also having that special header, you do sometimes get containers that have more than just STR and XA files but would also use that header.

CDDA in games for the PSX is commonly used for BGM's but it has been known to be used for SFX, Dubs, Warning not to play in a CD player & just extra's like music that works in a normal CD player, possibly other uses as well that I have yet to find.

Cool might have to give ePSXecutor a try sometime. I tried it before but it didnt recognize the plugin directory or I had something setup wrong.

Thanks for the info Zorlon,
HaloSlayer255

[cm_bush]

Thanks for the info guys. As far as ePSXecutor, I have tried it out a bit more, but still have issues. I am curious as to how to setup an initial config for an iso dumped onto my computer, rather than a mounted drive. If I could just get a game going through the frontend, I could really appraise the worth of the program for my needs.

XBMC is the same bag, I have tried the "Rom collection browser" program, but I am at a loss as to how to integrate it with my emulator and rom collection.

As another note, I am not looking to load roms onto a DVD, but to integrate playback of DVD video through whatever program I end up with.

[Zorlon]

Thanks for the info guys. As far as ePSXecutor, I have tried it out a bit more, but still have issues. I am curious as to how to setup an initial config for an iso dumped onto my computer, rather than a mounted drive. If I could just get a game going through the frontend, I could really appraise the worth of the program for my needs.

I have already mentioned that though

XBMC is the same bag, I have tried the "Rom collection browser" program, but I am at a loss as to how to integrate it with my emulator and rom collection.

Not sure what to say about that it's really basic stuff, read the docs if needs be that come with XBMC or look on there site

As another note, I am not looking to load roms onto a DVD, but to integrate playback of DVD video through whatever program I end up with.

XBMC will do that for you

[cm_bush]

Thanks again Zorlon, I appreciate the knowledge and helpful advice you always bring to bear. The visual aid is especially helpful, and I will try to get things going at the next available opportunity. At this point, it is more of a learning experience than anything, as I have no personal use for the program at present.

Regarding frontends in general, after reconfiguring xbmc and getting it running roms, and using Gamebase, I have decided against frontends in general. I find they add complexity instead of taking it away, and using the standalone emulators is the more hassle-free method by and large.

As for Xebra, I have tried it out and I like it. I would not call it "hard to use" as much as "different". It could be considered difficult to implement very well, but from my testing with my favorite games, I found little functional difference between it and other emulators. I admit that it could use a GUI tweak or two, but those things are forgivable. I believe it is an under-appreciated program, with every comment on it that I have seen being positive, but still attaching that tagline of being overly complex or difficult to understand. I believe any competent ePSXe user would be capable of at least running games with Xebra, and running them well, depending on their system. I did.

I will try to test it more thoroughly in the future, though right now I don't see many downsides to using it rather than any other PS1 emulator.