• GameEx now features simple to use ISO mounting support
• To enable it it needs to be selected during install of GameEx. It has been bundled with the install Karaoke option. Just select the checkbox on install.
• DVDs on disk now support ISOs for both the internal and any external player. If using windvd9 as an external player BluRay ISO images will play. You don't need to do anything special to use the ISO support with DVDs on disk. Just set the paths as normal, and ensure ISO support is installed.
• For Emulators its now very simple to have mounting support.
• Assuming your files for the emulator are ISOs just add [-VIRTUALDRIVE-] to the emulator command line setting to tell GameEx it should just mount the image. That's it, no more complicated launch before and launch after scripts.
  • Example: unz.exe -fs[-VIRTUALDRIVE-]
• If you wish to put the drive letter of the mounted image into the command line use [VIRTUALDRIVE] ie without the dashes.
  • Example: powerdvd.exe [VIRTUALDRIVE]:\
• Ive updated all the default emulator configs to use the new in built support.
• The feature also supports BIN and CUE files for emulators.
• Images are automatically unmounted.

• Now has high score support for supported MAME games thanks to Fyrecrypts project. For supported games and if enabled you will see an option on the game info page to show high scores for a game. For more info on the project please see Here on BYOAC. Feel free to get involved in the project. There's a few of us helping out, and Ill be providing some hosting for it shortly. A special thanks to Fyrecrypts, NOP and Headkaze.
• Improved control support when playing videos in the video player. Fixes a key repeating issue, and video skips are now a more friendly 20 seconds instead of 30
• Improved support for displaying GameEx on a secondary display. GameEx will now run in ful screen windowed mode on the secondary display, and continue to be accessible when working on the primary display. Im assuming this is going to be better for everyone, but if it’s a problem for you please let me know on the forums.

• Fixes variable bit rate MP3 slider reversed
• Remembers folder locations

• Just a minor release before I start work on the improved database support
• For snap/video logos videos are now searched for before image files
• Video logos are now supported for custom MAME list logos
• By default the list of emulators will now be sorted alphabetically. This can be turned off in the advanced configuration
• Due to the drastic change in currency exchange rates, the donation/registration price has been changed to US dollars from British pounds

• GameLauncher Mode:
  • Lots of improvements and fixes here. Now supports the favorites, most played, and last played list along with the game information page. A MAME list update can be performed, and the issue with custom mame lists is resolved. The presentation of the list over the background snap or video has also been greatly improved.
• Hiding windows:
  • When hiding the taskbar GameEx will also hide the start button on Vista Systems.
  • When the desktop is set to be hidden, GameEx will also turn off window animations, so launching between games and returning to GameEx is now totally seemless.
  • The Hide Desktop setting is now on by default on new installs.
  • If the GameEx process is unexpectedly ended and the desktop is not restored, GameEx will restore the wallpaper on next launch.
• Smooth as silk:
  • Transitions have been improved. The 2D transition is now a little slower and smoother, and GameEx will load the first snap or video in the next list while the list is off screen. This makes everything look really nice, especially on HD displays.
• Skinning extensibility:
  • GameEx now supports snap/video logos for categories, manufacturers, and years. These should be placed in a folder named 'database' within the Themes logo folder.
  • Transparant (Color Keyed) video logos are now supported. Simply suffix an AVI or MNG filename with '_TRANS' (before extenstion)
  • I look forward to seeing what people come up with.
• Screensaver:
  • The screensaver will now run even if not using MAME.
  • Fixes turn off display screen saver mode
• MAME Support:
  • Extra formatting is performed on the Manufacturer list to group companies together. For example Atari and Atari games becomes Atari. A list update is required.
• Also in this release:
• New GameEx ICON
• Fixes key/joystick repeat issue.
• New cmd line option -glaunch to launch GameEx in GameLauncher mode. There is also a shortcut in the program group.
• Turning off Anti Alias on fonts now does just that and not set it at the system default.

• Instant Sheller 0.51 Released
• Now disables window animations.
• You won't see front ends and applications minimizing and maximizing.
• Link

• CUE support. Create a single file in any format with a CUE file
• Automatically downloads lyrics.

• The speed of loading databases and emulators once cached has been significally improved
• It should have been mentioned in the previous release, but also with this release, the first time a game information page is displayed all emulators and databases will be recached once only. This can take upto 20 minutes, and is due to the new other systems feature. However once cached, access will be quick now.
• The other systems feature has been fixed for when used with .7z and .zip support and is also presented in a better way
• The install now includes the most recent version of Karaoke for DirectX. You will need to install this for zip support
• The Karaoke module now supports bin and zip files

• Fixes rights issue on Vista
• Automatically filters BIOS images
• More responsive
• Only fully working on by default
• Get it here

• Minor updates to:
• Atari 5200
• Atari 7800
• Colecovision
• New databases:
• Intellivision
• Sega Naomi 1 Arcade Hardware

• Convert between over 75 different image formats.
• Transform images with options for resizing, cropping, flipping and rotation.
• Apply effects. Sharpen, Blur, Contrast..
• Adjust Brightness, Hue and Saturation.
• Simple wizard style interface. Convert 10,000's of images or just one in a few clicks.
• Crush your PNG images to the absolute minimum size without losing quality with PNGCrush support.
• Free solution for creating thumbnails, or converting from obscure formats.

• GameEx can now use an external video player
• Foreground images are now supported for the standard modules
• Now supports three custom artwork paths for emulators. Supporting both png and jpg, and also pdf files
• Searching media is now faster
• Fixes emulator artwork not showing if not using a database

• Spesoft Free Audio Converter 1.2 released
• Now also allows conversion of AC-3 files.
• Get it here

• The media library module has been improved to allow viewing a slide show and one click queuing of all audio in a folder
• There is a new setting which is on by default, where GameEx will check for DVD/CD or removable drive insertion, and ask if you wish to play a dvd, cd or browse the contents with the media library upon insertion of the media. Windows may steel focus from GameEx if its set to do things on media insertion so if you want to use this feature where GameEx is pretty much all that's run on the machine then you should turn this off in windows.
• Fixes slide show transitions showing wrongly
• BIOS images are now automatically filtered in the MAME list
• Fixes Mr Driller not playable with Zinc
• Manx TT added to model 2 support
• Fixes back naviation issue when using emulator databases
• Thanks to Flash new ScummVM database and configuration. Note: A manual install is required to get updated databases now and in the future
• Updated to latest Bass audio libraries
• GameEx will now properly resume from a system suspend/stand by
• New options to use an external DVD software for Playing a DVD and DVDs on disk. This was put in place primarily for WinDVD 9 because of its great upscaling features
• Fixes crash issue in Karoake when pressing left or resume
• Other minor fixes
• Please report any issues on the forums

• New touchscreen input setting, for running GameEx in a touchscreen setup. It is recommended to use version 3 or 4 themes when using a touchscreen and turning this setting on
• Fixes surplus snap matching
• Fixes show buttons setting with version 4 themes
• Other minor fixes

This is a major release and would not have been possible without the hard work of Flash (AKA GreatGlash) and Headkaze.

The changes are fully listed below but the two big enhancments are that now version 4 themes have been fully implemented, giving GameEx powerfull skinning capabilites that we would have all liked from the beginning. The Theme Editor has been updated thanks to the hard work of Headkaze. In addition database support has been greatly improved within GameEx and Flash has very kindly updated 90% of the databases with the following been completely finalised - Saturn, Colecovision, PC-FX, Dreamcast, and a brand new Future Pinball database. Flash was also instrumental in fixing and perfecting the database support in GameEx.

• Version 4 themes
• Theme Editor version 2
• Support second image
• Run at any reslution with rescaling
• Convert between all theme versions and resize. The Theme Editor will now allow you to create a new version of and convert any existing GameEx theme.
• Databases
• Includes Flash's new dbases.
• New Biography page when using v3/v4 themes
• When loading databases (for the fist time, prior to caching), GameEx will try an exact match of the rom first before trying with removed brackets and removed version number etc.
• Setting in advanced config to use the name field from the database instead of the formatted rom name. If on this will override a pre set map file.
• Fixes various database issues
• Emulator Groups now fully support databases
• Fixes all known issues with database support
• Fixes/Changes
• Please wait animation now shows when extracting games when using zip/7-zip support.
• Fixes to snap matching
• Several Performance/Caching enhancements
• Fixes bug when pressing maximize button on window for second time.
• Fixes issue where emulator list and database wouldn't use cache when using 7-zip/zip support
• Smoother display/animations on slower systems. Please report issues.
• Fixes Videos/DVD/Karaoke playing on primary monitor when set to run on secondary

As always feedback and requests are actively encouraged.

• New Features:
• Thanks to the hard work of Flash and Headkaze for providing the tools, the first of the updated databases using the new format are in this release. These are for the Sega Saturn and NEC PC-FX
• I realised today that the MAME manufacturer list and filter had really become a useless feature due to the huge amount of MAME games now supported and the data accuracy issues in the MAME XML output. Therefore GameEx now performs formating on the Manufacturer, resulting in less manufacturers in the list and more games grouped under each one as well as fixing the data accuracy issues in recent MAME builds. This results in a smaller list making the feature once again worth having hopefully. An update list is required
• Changes:
• For new installs by default GameEx will not set the resolution to 800x600 but will use the current windows desktop resolution. This is to provide a better initial experience for new users, and should only be a problem on really low end machines set at high resolutions
• There is a slight change to the 2d animations. Hopefully for the better. Feedback welcome
• When choosing the Lite or MAME only option on install, ebooks and search will be disabled. The theme is set at Media Center instead of MCE Glossy
• Fixes:
• GameEx should be more usable in touch screen setups as the issue where clicking the page down error did not return focus to the list from the menu with the default V3 themes is fixed
• Fixes issue where the menu would not be visible after updating the MAME list
• Fixes ICONS only being created on a restart when the first MAME list update is done

• Database naming format matching is now automatic

• Includes Ben Baker's (AKA Headkaze) latest LCD/LED Plugin now featuring support for Ultimarcs latest product, the U-HID
• Initial support for the new database project. With support for new naming fields, ability to select naming type, and new biography page in GameEx
• Emulator list music playlist option now stops playing the music when exiting from browsing the emulator
• Fixes issue where reading audio tags information would hang GameEx on Vista. This affected using the Jukebox in file tag mode and when using emulator specific playlists
• Fixes issue where zip support would only list more than one game in the same zip if there were three or more separate games
• A very special thanks goes out to Headkaze and Greatflash and all involed in the new database project.

• Easy: Convert 10,000's files in a few clicks with its simple wizard style interface.
• Fast: Utilising the best and latest audio libraries along with the .net framework.
• Stable: Handles corrupt and invalid files with ease, keeping track of failed files and notifying you only when the process is complete.
• Powerful: Convert between a wide variety of formats, with options to change sample rate and channels.
• Unique: Convert MOD and MIDI files to any output format without having to pay for other software.
• Advanced: Apply replay gain to all files. Also supports fast CD ripping with automatic tag lookup.
• Complete: Transfers tag information to converted files.

• Spesoft Free CD Ripper 3.5
• Fixes not setting tags for WMA files
• No longer requires admin privileges to run

• Fixes key repeat when returning from viewing artwork/picture
• An Emulator list will recache if the database is updated
• When in Video lists, will now also show box art with V3 themes

• Album and DVD artwork downloading is working again. It needed to be rewritten to work with Amazon's latest API as the older API is no longer active
• In addition album artwork is also now downloaded when GameEx starts playing a new track and for each track played as well as just downloading when viewing a track or album in the list in the Jukebox
• Fixes Gamelauncher theme not loading
• Minor fixes to the fix to emulator list feature
• Theres a new quality setting for eBooks and comics, giving the opporutinity to use a normal quality setting and have them load up faster
• 3D menu transitions can now be used on Vista and with version three themes
• An item has been added to the FAQ which explains what to do if your not getting SPDIF passthrough when playing DVDs

• Now automatically downloads album cover artwork

• This is a major release, and features a new user interface also known as version 3 themes
• The aim is to improve on the initial GameEx interface, offering things such as album and track display, two artwork previews at the same time, and a horizontal menu
• The user interface will be expanded in the future to allow positional skinning and image lists
• Most of the default themes have been changed, but the original version 1 themes are still available
• You can see a video of what this all looks like here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyJZVA2uJQs
• Ben Baker AKA Headkaze has also been working extremely hard and this release contains his brand new ultrastick 360 plugin along with an update to the LCD/LED plugin now supporting BetaBrite USB
• This release fixes horrizontal DVD menu navigation, along with Daphne games not being able to be added to favorites
• When GameEx is windowed, the position and moving has been improved on non Vista Systems

• New feature to use Ben Bakers CPWizard instead of the in built control panel viewer. Yourll find the settings for this under Advanced MAME settings. Please support Ben and his great software.
• When using ZIP support for an emulator, if only one file is matched in the archive the game information page will act as it normally does and will show Play This Game instead of listing the contents of the archive
• When browsing folders, you can now show an image for the folder by placing a folder.png or folder.jpg in it
• Fixes Karoake and video player in some configurations
• Contains Ben Bakers LCD/LED Plugin latest version
• Fixes performance issue with videos/snap videos playing as the background image on Vista or with ATI cards when Videos are set to alpha blend
• Slightly quicker startup speed
• UNC paths are now supported throughout the application

• Only playing favorites in screensaver now also works for emulators
• Fixes not playing videos and Karaoke in some configurations
• Fixes not playing selected playlist when Jukebox set to play at startup
• Fixes aspect ratio of system logos in favorites

• Fixes .lnk files not working in 9.25
• When viewing by system in favorites the system image will now be displayed
• For registered users 7-Zip support has been extended to support zip files. Allowing zip support in emulators that don't support zips
• Flag ICONS are now shown when listing 7-zip goodmerge files on the game information screen
• Fixes memory leak when launching MAME with the Bypass setting turned on. This could stop GameEx working after a couple of days of continuously launching games (eg screensaver). Therefore its recommended to update to this version
• The default game pad exit combination has been changed to also include button 1

• Hugely better performance when GameEx is windowed

• Fixes startup videos
• Fixes left side of GameExtender viewer display not showing
• GameExtender viewer no longer exits with escape key
• New options to start and exit GameExtender viewer with GameEx
• Fixes last played list showing snap of last mame game played in screensaver

• Includes Headkazes latest LCD/LED Plugin. Thanks Headkaze

• Lots of minor fixes and polishing in this release
• When map files are used fixes gameex displaying the rom name instead of the game name throughout the application
• Fixes aspect ratio for video previews
• Fixes issue where creating snaps would only create for the last played games
• Create snaps now also works for goodset 7zip setups
• Startup videos (if AVI, or MPEG) now play on a thread and GameEx continues to startup in the background
• The last played icon on the start page has been changed to show the snap or video of the last played game
• All applications are now signed (I missed a few previously)
• GameExtender viewer has been improved to show status text when connecting, and It will now longer stop responding if it cant connect
• GameExtender Viewer has also been improved to fade in new images
• Fixes GameExtender server not sending control panel image when a MAME game is playing. GameExtender server has also been improved so when actually playing a game artwork will be sent as full scnreen images
• There should be quicker return from games on most systems, due to some additional graphics caching
• Ten more emulator slots in advanced configuration application, and this release fixes the crash when trying to import an emulator without selecting one
• All emulator configs now have Show Desktop on as default
• Fixes Visual Pinball and Project 64 Configs
• The hot key to rotate the display has been changed from TAB to CTRL-TAB
• There are also lots of other small fixes in this release
• Id be very interested to hear peoples experiences with GameExtender on the forum

• No longer requires admin privileges.
• Works on Vista with user account control turned on.
• Installs properly on 64 bit Windows.
• If upgrading you will need to configure and update list again.

• I am very pleased to announce GameEx has partnered with EmuMovies.com, the no.1 source for video game artwork. We have decided to join forces and deliver both products to you at a substancial saving. When you register for the full version of GameEx you will automatically be eligible to purchase EmuMovies products at a 25%-50% saving over the normal prices. For more information on EmuMovies.com please give them a visit.

• 3 X Faster ripping!
• Rip an entire CD in 3 minutes
• Fixes tag issues with MP3 and FLAC
• Ability to use custom Genre
• Less CPU usage when ripping

• Fixes and performance update
• Fixes background videos not playing if the theme has anibak turned on (slightly animated backgrounds)
• Fixes issue where all video previews could be alphablended. Ths might involve a good performance increase on some systems
• Fixes having background videos makes gameex not startup
• Fixes several directdraw erros that could cause gameex to error and finish
• Drawing text to the display has been optimized a little
• An automatic optimisation is performed by GameEx on systems that are running slowly after a period of time to turn off AniBak
• Hopefully GameEx will run on more systems now, and Ill see a few less error reports coming in
• Also contains updated Italian translation by sbaby
• There will also be two new themes available shortly with fixed video backgrounds that will only work best with this release and going forward thanks to the fixes. They will be uploaded shortly. COM and Abyss

Instant Sheller Version 0.50 released

• Now hides login mouse cursor
• Ability to not change shell application
• Upgraded to .net framework 2.
• Get it Here
• Special thanks go to Inigo Montovia for identifiying how to hide the login mouse cursor.

• Another day, another GameEx enhancment
• This version introduces a "last played" module/list. Similar to most played but listing games you played in order of when you last played them.
• There are also updates to the code that handles videos previews. Hopefully for the better, but if you encounter any problems with video previews or snaps please advise
• GameEx will no longer start the screensaver if its minimized. For when you just want to listen to music in a non cab or non HTPC setup.
• The install will no longer overwrite unltrastick.ini

• For registered users GameEx now features a fully functional search feature. Allowing searching of all games and media. The search feature works with remotes, game pads and arcade controls.
• The media library now allows access to ebooks and Karaoke
• The paging arrows are now more inuiitive and display based on the state of the list. They also animate slightly when first shown
• The displaying of the amount of items in the list is now slightly animated when switching between lists
• The number of items is now shown for an emulator or emulator group before accessing the list item
• GameEx will retain the window state after an update instead of being forced into full screen
• Fixes snap videos not being displayed when navigating from most played or favorites
• New setting to lock down GameEx to only work with a single emulator or emulator group. All other menus are disabled
• Fixes emulator music playlist folder when only one file in folder
• Happy Easter

• A maintenance release fixing the following issues:
• Fixes issues when paging down to end of list and only last item in list is displayed
• Fixes themes with custom emulator layouts
• Fixes emulator backgrounds not being displayed when set in theme editor
• Fixes mouse selection for toolbar when windowed in version 2 themes
• Fixes toolbar not displaying properly in version 2 themes

• Spesoft Backup 1.20 released
• Fixes for UNC paths

• Fixes for windows 98SE and ME

• Nologic from the community has been dligently working on expanding the emulator support in GameEx, with various default configurations, loaders and map files. He has taken on the not slight goal of 'getting every emulator to work in GameEx'. This release contains all his work to date and with this makes it a lot simpler to setup over 135 different systems. Thank you Nologic.
• Also contains Headkazes latest LCD/LED plugin, which is probably the best of its kind out there. Thank you Headkaze
• This release should also fix GameEx not running on windows 98 and ME

• Console Classix recently released their new classic video game front end interface
• The software project was designed and developed entirely by Spesoft

• Fixes GameEx minimzied when coming out of standby
• New instructions image path for emulators
• Can now specify a single image file for emulator controls
• Includes Headkazes LCD Plugin 2.4
• Special thanks to Headkaze for help with this release.

• Spesoft Backup 1.10 released
• Various fixes and enhancements.
• If using 1.00 its highly recommended you upgrade

• Improved display initialisation and reinitialisation routines
• Should fix issue with setting wrong resolution when returning from game
• Over half a second faster return from screensaver and MAME

• A fairly nice update featuring some new features
• MAME Bezels are no longer a registered version feature
• New feature to display game information and rating bezels for the screensaver. This looks really nice, and you can thank Headkaze for this.
• Updated model 2 support to work with latest version. GameEx will also detect whether to use the multi cpu version automatically
• IMPORTANT: Older versions of the model 2 emulator prioir to commnad line support are NO longer supported. GameEx will detect an old version at startup, and exit with an error to that affect if it finds one.
• Basic control panel support for emulators has been implemented. You can specify an image folder for control panels now. If GameEx finds an image based on name, you will get a view controls option on the game info page, and same as for MAME GameEx will show the image for 9 seconds when launching a game. I don't forrsee expanding on this much, and if you want better control panel support I recommend using Headkaze's CPWizard.
• When playing radio stations GameEx now shows the track/title information when available
• Should fix array bounds error on startup when using GameLauncher mode
• Fixes theme editor menu/info positioning issue
• I'd like again to thank the GameEx community for al there hard work and support, and wish you all Happy Holidays

• Japaense language translation by Takemi included. Many thanks for working with me in implementing unicode support in GameEx
• Fixes setup overwriting the ultrastik plugin ini file

• Includes Headkaze's LCD/LED Plugin version 2.35
• Updated Italian translation by sBaby
• Thanks a lot

• New Media Library. The Media library brings all your pictures, videos and audio together in one place. It can also be used as an alternative to the jukebox by allowing you to view your music by folder and filename. Registered version feature.
• New jukebox queue mode setting, to allow disabling of queuing tracks when clicked and making them instantly play.
• Initial support for Unicode languages such as Japanese has been implemented
• Fixes picture slideshows not playing when 3d transitions used
• Fixes please wait animation showing in wrong position when display rotated on Vista
• Updated shoutcast radio stations for registered users.

• Fixes for when display rotated

• The GameEx community has been very busy and with thanks to forum members LB11, PimpDaddyStu, BKenobi and NoLogic this release of GameEx contains all new replacement game databases as well as various new ones
• Headkaze has been busy too, and this release contains his LCD/LED Plugin version 2.31 which also includes updated colors.ini thanks to DaveMMR from the BYAOC forums
• Since the databases have come on leaps and bounds I have implemented an addition to when browsing by category so you can now select games based on number of players

• Now includes Ben Baker's (AKA Headkaze) LCD/LED Plugin Version 2. This is probably the most complete plugin of its type in any of todays front ends. Its pretty new and cutting edge, so please report any problems on the forum. Also, please show your support for Ben, maybe donations, and even feedback and recognition goes a long way.
• This replaces the version 1 plugin, so if you were using that you will need to reconfigure
• New input setting, to enable/disable jumping in the lists by keying first letter of items. Useful for certain arcade controls, so it does not happen inadvertedly when pressing a button or control
• New spanish translation by Manual A. Many thanks
• Added Brazlilian Portuguese and Dutch to language selections in Setup Wizard

• Fixes to plugin system. Thanks to Headkaze for indentifying the issues.

• For custom keyboard input, multiple keys can now be assigned to the same function. This is accomplished by edited custominput.ini and seperating multiple key codes with the pipe symbol
• New audio setting for Jukebox startup. It is now possible to disable the Jukebox automatically queuing your entire library and starting playing upon initial loading

• Various minor bug fixes
• Now includes Ultrastik plugin by Oqqalz. Special thanks for this fine contribution

• New Dutch language translation thanks to Bitmind
• Updated Danish translation thanks to Creek
• Updated Italian translation thanks to Sbaby
• Setup wizard 1.83 thanks to Headkaze
• Performance optimisations to Manual/Comic and eBook viewer
• A few general memory optimisations to GameEx. Uses a little less.
• Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this release. You make GameEx all it can be

• Fixes image locking issues with ebook/comic/manual viewer and GameExtender
• Special thanks to Headkaze

• For registered users GameEx now features an eBook and Comic Book viewer
• Supports: PDF, CBZ, CBR, CBT, ZIP, 7-ZIP, RAR and all common image formats

• Fixes launching games and apps that have been exported to Media Center

• Now supports MAME artwork preview images
• Video player now supports files with .mod extension

• Now supports MAME PCB images
• Video player now supports files with .mp4 extension

• Improved alpha blended transitions
• Should fix .net broadcast error when performing auto update
• Fixes not restoring desktop background after auto update
• Fixes background videos/snaps and 3D transitions being slow with ATI cards

• Stability and performance improvements to snap videos, background videos, and videos in screensaver. (Including MNG)

• Spesoft Backup
• Spesoft Backup provides you with a fast, powerful, stable and robust way to allow you to backup changes to a folder to another folder, network location or FTP site. It will also produce a command line to run the job again or automatically for scheduling.
• Read more here

• Updated MNG libraries
• Fixes screensaver not running after playing some MAME games
• Video backgrounds may be slightly faster

• Setup wizard now supports 250 emulators
• Emulator groups can now be placed under emulator menu

• Spesoft Free CD Ripper Version 3.0
• Upgraded to .net framework 2.0.
• Make folder option.
• Fixes FLAC ripping.
• Select Genre from drop down.
• Fixes no Genre.
• Fixes displaying tracks for non audio CD media.
• Now works with Vista

• Fixes Create MAME Videos

• Fixes videos not playing in screensaver with certain Codecs

• Fix to frame skipping. Stops the interface runnig too fast at high refresh rates

• New GameLauncher mode feature.
• This feature completely changes the way the user interface works is controlled and displays. It puts GameEx into a simple game mode, with simpler menus, simpler navigation, sinply navigating through your available game lists. Many of the menus are disabled by turning on this setting, and only games lists are available. Navigation is much simpler with paging by pressing left or right, and button 1 and 2 navigate the available lists. Button3 launches game. Recommended for simple cab setups, where you want to lock things down or its for young children. It also supports low resolutions such as 320X240.
• Small screensaver stability fixes
• GameEx setup will now automatically detect old version of MDAC (Micrsoft data access components), and download and install latest version. This is for Windows 98 and Windows 2000.
• It wont be for everyone, but the Gamelauncher feature turns GameEx into an almost completely different front end. Its like the original GameLauncher app, but with the power and advanced configuration of GameEx. I already credit Dave Dribin for helping inspire me with GamEx, but hats off to the original Game launcher

• New, improved and completely redesigned GameEx web site. The site is now a portal, and aimed at supporting and promoting the GameEx community in a better way
• www.gameex.net

• Patch for faulty ArcadeVGA driver/hardware where the cards are reporting the wrong refresh rate
• Theme Editor 1.81 by Ben Baker (Headkaze) that fixes not being able to select AVI videos
• A few optimizations on Gameex initialization, may possibly start up quicker
• Fixes AVI/MPEG files not playing in screensaver

• New feature: MNG videos now playable in screensaver

• New screensaver mode feature with the ability to have GameEx turn off the monitor/display
• Fixes wrong reolution being set after return from screensaver

• Fix to frameskipping where the interface would run much too fast when monitor refresh rate was above 60

• Fixes setting wrong resolution after returning to GameEx
• For registered users the ability to block keys and mouse buttons via an advanced emulator config file
• Auto update will now restart GameEx if it fails. Completely cab and shell friendly.

• Fixes for oriental/asian systems or any system with a double byte code page

• Reduced size of gameex install by 2mb
• Hard disk space requirements for the install are also reduced.
• Size of default themes download reduced by 2mb
• Fixes autoupdate when set to update at startup
• Fixes detection of controls to not exit screensaver

• Thanks to the best graphic designer I currently know, new not played and live MAME logos by Amos

• New and improved Auto Update
• Fixes the IO error
• Frees up MS Windows to do other things (system friendly)
• Can minimize window
• Can cancel by closing window
• No pause before and after running
• Progress bar when downloading
• Can clearly see install running
• Tells you if an error occurs
• (Auto update is a registered version feature)

• For registered users - live online MAME game lists, GameEx most played, and MAWS hall of fame
• Is it about time you internet enabled your cab?

• Cosmetic fix to menu transitions
• This fix makes things look 10 times smoother when selecting menu items
• I always thought it was because of slowdown in GameEx but not all.
• Improvements to frameskipping. Will now skip up to 20 frames, which is how I discovered the above

• Frees up more memory before launching
• Could fix a few performance and memory problems when launching games on lower spec systems

• Added recent new settings to setup wizard
• New setting to tell GameEx not to reduce CPU usage, if you want full FPS as often as possible

• New MAME Not Played list, listing all the games you have not played in GameEx
• Think its another first.

• Even less CPU utilization

• GameEx now has accurate frame skipping (as opposed to not accurate), and now automatically reduces cpu utilisation based on ticks per frame and refresh rate
• The reduce cpu utilisation setting has been removed from the configuration since its now automatic
• If you really need this setting back, let me know
• Also let me know what kind of CPU utilisation your getting, its on the gentle side to keep the fps up but DO let me know if you get any slowdowns.

• Music track details in taskbar now scrolls
• New features to specify a different folder of music to play while browsing different emulators
• Taskbar stays visible when mouse is over it, so you can see track details (V1 Themes)
• If GameEx cannot play a background video (normally due to missing codecs) it will now not error and display the image instead
• Fixes rom name instead of game name showing on info page when using a map file
• No more command/dos windows are shown.. Ever.. Headkaze will be cracking a beer open!
• Improved startup of MAME and in screensaver also
• Improved bypass disclaimer, will only send keys when it needs to.
• Ambience MP3 will stop (for good) when loading the jukebox
• Possible to exit from MAME game in screensaver almost immediately after its started
• If the jukebox is disabled and your using a playlist folder or file, gameex will retrieve the tags for each track now
• If using a low res aracdeVGA resolution, the control panel will now be completely visible when launching a MAME game.
• After exiting an emulator, the current audio track will be resumed exactly from where it was rather than playing the next track

• New low resolution Ultimarc ArcadeVGA theme included, with suitable settings for running at 640x288 out of the box
• New theme included 'Media Center - Background'
• Various small startup errors fixed thanks to error reporting
• Minor cosmetic fixes
• Fixes to snaps not showing when switching between certain themes

• Improvements to error reporting. Better support when internet access is not available or has limited connectivity.
• In the case there is an error playing a startup video, GameEx will now still continue

• Thanks to the new error reporting (loving this!) fixes an error when switching themes for unregistered users
• I encourage everyone to report your errors. I know with MS it seems its futile, but I can assure you with GameEx its making a huge difference.

• Thanks to the new error reporting just fixed a bug affecting brand new users
• Also found someone trying to hack the registration!

• GameEx now features error reporting
• When an unhandled error occurs, you will have the option to email me the log file. It can be turned off easily, and you can also set it to always submit error reports. By default it will ask.

• External applications now have an also launch setting for launching processes asynchrously. So there now in line with MAME and emulator support
• Fix to disable mouse setting. Now disables mouse wheel.
• In addition new setting to just disable the mouse wheel

• If available control panel will be shown for nine seconds or until key/button press when launching a game
• In game control panel shows and exits much quicker. It also shows a screen capture of the game as the background
• External applications now have options for launch before and launch after

• For registered users AutoHotKey style real time key remapping via an advanced emulator configuration file
• Automatically creates default MAME ROM cfg file before launching a game
• Fixes HTML apps turned off by default on a new install
• Much quicker exit from emulators when using an advanced configuration file

• It may not seem much from these release notes, but theres a lot of code gone into this release
• Finally with help from Headkaze the Sendkeys used in GameEx is now fully stable and improved. It works better and fixes crashes in windows and gameex when sending keys to an emulator from GameEx and when sending keys on exit via an advanced config file
• On the subject of advanced config files, 12 gamepad buttons are now supported, and there's a new section for remapping keys similar to AutoHotKey. Its not quite good enough for realtime gaming but is meant to cover the common issue of when credit and start buttons cant be redefined in PC games, and avoids the need for additional autohotkey scripts in that scenario. Its not far off realtime and does handle simultaneous keys, and Im pretty certain I can get it realtime in a future release

• Support for RMVB Videos (codecs required)
• Fixes Karaoke when VMR9 enabled

• Thanks to Ben Baker:
• Updated fixed model 2 support
• Much friendlier defaults in setup wizard for new installs
• Moving and sorting emulators in the setup wizard retains your favorites
• Model 2 emulator 0.4 games now supported in GameEx
• Fixes issue with loading screen not displaying
• Fixes issue with file names that contain apostrophes
• Improved loading speed when launched from Media Center
• Fixes issue with adding GameEx to Vista X64 Media Center start page
• Much better display quality of themes when shown at different resolutions

• New database driven favorites and statistics. This will improve stability, reliability, validation and integrity of your game data
• The data will be automatically be upgraded, but you will loose any stored video aspects
• This is going to be much better going forward
• There's new viewable statistics in GameEx for registered users and these are also available from GameExtender
• Much faster and enhanced 7-ZIP support, GameEx will only extract the entire archive when launching, in the menu the files in the archive are just listed

• Updated setup wizard thanks to Ben (AKA Headkaze) with more themes to download and added settings for emulators
• Should fix an error on Vista with colourkey at startup
• Now properly places my games on media center start page on Vista x64

• Should fix issue where sometimes minimizes at startup
• Improved key press detection in screensaver. Fixes screensaver detecting input and exiting when there is not any input
• Fixes Karaoke re-enabling Jukebox when its disabled

• Fixes MAME launch before command when in screensaver
• Fixes dialog text colour to be white instead of black in default (media centre) theme

• Updated Media Center theme thanks to Alan (AKA Amos)
• Fixes importing MESS emulator configs
• Should fix hideos.exe not always showing
• Fixes window not returning to correct position after running a game

• Supports MKV Videos (codecs required)
• Upgrading GameEx forces a re caching of graphics. Should fix a few issues
• Emulator groups now properly turn off any databases

• Fixes Karaoke
• Fixes track navigation not working in slideshow
• Fixes two launching emulator stability issues, that address a windows error and gameex closing (not showing gameex log)
• Fixes and improved m4a audio support
• Updated model 2 loader script by Ben Baker for latest version of the emu
• New "Emulator Groups" feature. This allows several emulators to be in one list
• Fixes show info page setting for emulators
• New emulator setting to not have an emulator launched from random game, and not display in most played. Useful if you've set up an emulator to launch a comic viewer or picture viewer etc
• Emulator also launch setting now allows passing of GameEx variables such as [ROMDIR] and [ROMFILE]
• For registerd users: CD/DVD support. GameEx can check for CDs and prompt for insertion. Allowing protected retail games to be integrated into the front end, and allowing access to offline content.
• Fix to autoupdate. Will no longer reset language back to English
• Happy easter and thank you for all your continued encouragment and support. Enjoy!

• Fixes radio station genres not showing
• Fixes GameExtender publisher issuing new user name each load
• In case you didn't notice Gameextender live page now links to MAWS when last played game is from MAME

• Small maintenance release
• Fixes MAMEseries when games in list start with open bracket
• MAME series list update faster
• Fixes screensaver not running after updating MAME list

• Should fix issue when Alt-Tabbing
• New Portuguese (Brazilian) language translation thanks to Cristian Azevedo Magadan

• Improved MAME series support. Now lists all clones
• Fixes a couple of font drawing issues going back several versions

• MAME Series support
• A list update is required

• Improved snap/preview handling. GameEx will use existing image if it's the same and not reload it. It also handles corrupt and invalid images better.
• Fixes wrong game displaying in info text when on game info page
• Should hopefully fix focus sound stopping playing after a while

• LCDPlugin 1.91 thanks to Headkaze
• Fixed cfg xml reading error
• Fixed config bug
• Also if your on dialup and new to GameEx I apologise for all the updates. Its just like that sometimes with the project

• MNG and avi previews wont reinitialize and restart when navigating between list and info page
• Makes things a lot smoother and tighter
• Fixes playing MPEG videos full screen
• Fixes videos previews restarting with the new preview feature

• Now that video previews play a lot better in GameEx, I've implemented what I think is an awesome feature, and that is GameEx can now preview your actual video/movies
• Its on by default, although I recommend it only for modern systems (dual core etc)
• The setting is under multimedia in the advanced config if you don't like it and want to turn it off. Although I'm loving it here!

• New emulator setting to control whether the most played games display at the top of the list or not, as opposed to always doing so before
• Media Center theme now has Vista style sounds. Thanks to the MCESoft Vista Media Center SDK

• VMR 9 support for Videos
• The quality is greatly improved

• All issues since 7.73 should now be resolved.
• Fixes anormorphic video aspect in vista
• DVD and Video aspect ratios are now separate. So you should only have to set the DVD aspect once
• GameEx now remembers aspect ratios for your videos

• Upgraded to .net 2.
• Fixes for latest version of MAME.
• Get it here

• Full video and DVD support in Vista
• Volume control working in Vista
• Windowed mode in Vista Aero is enhanced and no longer shuts down Aero
• Cosmetic enhancments to the user interface when showing game info header, it fades.
• Title toolbar auto scrolls out and hides with V1 themes when mouse not active, when set to always show
• Fixes list issues after selecting play random videos
• Fixes issue with not able to disable screensaver in some cases
• Create snap on thread feature has been removed
• New theme included "Media Center" and is the default
• When playing a video or DVD windows screensaver is disabled
• Full support for HTML apps in Vista
• More responsive when playing videos or dvd's
• The MAME list update is much more system friendly, and will allow you to do other things on your PC while its running, and no black screen when in full screen and alt tabbing out
• Fixes volume control with SlikStik and DirectInput
• Thanks to Headkaze - Theme Editor 1.76. It supports custom layouts for the different modules, but I still need to implement this in GameEx.
• Should fix text being truncated in V2 themes when game list is shown on the left of the screen
• Window Maximize button enabled when GameEx is displaying in a window
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• New settings to change resoluton and refresh rate based on frame rate of DVDs and Videos
• When GameEx is windowed it will now only draw to the screen when it has focus.
• New setting to make the menu text same size as the game text. To turn on in theme.ini use MenuTextSameSize=False. This is a very welcome feature for low resolutions on cabs.
• New theme.ini setting GradientTitleFont=True. And LowerCaseTitleFont. Look at the new Media Center theme for example
• New functionality to be able to stop and start Jukebox with gamepad, keyboard and arcade controls
• 3D transitions are slightly faster and improved
• Updated MCE Glossy theme for widescreen usage
• The GameEx display main loop may run a little faster
• GameExtender server uses less cpu time

• Videos now work in Vista
• GameEx can now play protected windows media videos
• Includes latest version of Ben Baker's LCD/LED Plugin

• Snap preview alternates to another artwork image
• Added folder snap for pictures and videos
• Clock animation when time changes
• Please wait zoom animation
• Fixes not been able to use all game devices to navigate
• Fixes retuning to wrong position in list after exiting screensaver

• Fixes play timer being visable when full screen cmd line option used
• New command line option -hidemouse.
• Get it here

• Vista Fixes and compaitbility updates
• Caching of menu font for quicker startup and return from apps

• For all you theme creators out there, custom layouts are now implemented for emulators. Sorry it took me a while to do this. Have fun, lets see what you can do!
• Should fix any outstanding issues with updating the MAME list
• Snap /PORTALS/0/images/ICONS are now supported for custom MAME lists
• Includes Ben's LCD Plugin 1.68.Beta. Read more about it on the forums.
• Minor updates to the setup wizard and theme editor. Thanks again to Ben Baker for his continued hard work and support

• Fixes catver.ini
• Fixes multiple MAME rom paths
• There is also an offline install for the game manual viewer on the download page

• Fixes and compatibility updates for Windows Vista and 64 bit versions of Windows
• Should now run out the box on Vista
• The Setup and applications have been digitally signed.
• Ben Baker's Setup Wizard 1.74
• Fixes picture and slideshow transitions with latest ATI video drivers and on Vista.
• Asta La Vista.

• LCD/LED Plugin 1.5 Beta
• Ability to have custom MAME lists in MAME32 ini format
• Ability to import MAME32 Favorites.ini
• Fixes .net framework error at startup
• Should fix install exception if your GameEx install is old
• Updated MAME support files
• Fixes issues when using latest versions of catver.ini

• Setup wizard now features a search for setting feature.
• Includes Ben Bakers LCD/LED Plugin
• Plugin system 1.3 with included .net 2.0 source code templates
• Speech plugin now speaks game descriptions
• New plugn - random arcade sound
• For registered users theres a PDF game manual viewer for MAME and emulators
• New setting to disable the game information page at the emulator level
• New setting to have gameex not hide the windows taskbar
• Picture and slideshows now show the GameEx toolbar when the mouse is active
• The progress dialog bar when playing videos and dvds now takes up less screen space
• GameEx should startup and run faster
• Fixes menu crash issue with certain themes
• Fixes games not launching when game information page is disabled in certain configurations
• Fixes display issues with certain fonts
• There's more but that's the main changes

• Fixes issue with MP3 ripping not creating Genre tag