GameEx News

GameEx 11.17

Tue, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Views are now remembered on a per system basis
X files now supported in custom menus
Minor fixes

GameEx 11.16

Mon, 29 Aug 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Additional system asset paths for game music and game tv commercials. You can get these files using the EmuMovies download service.
Improved picture and slide show transitions.
Jukebox Visualizations have also been improved.
Next audio track is now displayed on the now playing scroller.
Audio tag reading is improved
Improved memory management of audio files.
Ambiance correctly stops playing when needed.
Each list now independently retains its own view mode.
Changing view is now quick.

GameEx 11.15

Fri, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Includes the new EmuMovies download service utility. There will be specific GameEx support for the new download service in the future.

GameEx 11.14

Tue, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Fixes ambience playing too early at startup
Latest version of HiToText
Fixes text being truncated at very low resolutions
Fixes freeze issue when viewing artwork full screen and paging
Direct3D X files are now supported for menu and system logos

GameEx 11.10

Tue, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:58 GMT

This release would not be possible without the work from Ben Baker (AKA Headkase) who helped me implement most of this and also tirelessly converted the 3D files.

GameEx now supports 3D Cabinet files as an optional MAME artwork. You wil find a pretty big file on the web site with all the currently available ones. Setup is by just simply setting the path. The GameEx demo also no includes some samples. GameEx will display and animate the 3d models when available.

Id also like to mention that credit for these files should also go to folks working on the 3D arcade front end, which is where they came from in there original format. If you like something a bit different Id recommend checking out the 3D arcade front end. It was very much ahead of its time.

In other changes, there have been a few little cosmetic enhancments here and there and in addition to GameLauncher mode there is a new "Simple" user interface mode which basically hides the menus and give full operation without them. Allowing easy browsing and paging. For people who were experiencing crashes when using the video player and HTML applications, I think I have fixed the issue, although I was never able to recreate it myself. Please let me know. Album artwork no longer displays foder.jpg if it is a system file, allowing correct artwork now to show if your collections is not organised by album.

GameEx database updates

Sat, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:58 GMT

The GameEx emulator databases have an update. There are four new databases:- Amstrad GX4000, Entex Adventure Vision, VTech Creativision and WoW Action Max. These are only small databases with just a few games but they are emulated systems and there is content for them from EmuMovies. In addition where games did not have a description they now have an auto generated description based on the other database fields.

To install the new databases either do a manual install of GameEx setup or download the offline file on the download page.

These new databases and updates are independent of the ongoing database project and neither progress or hinder it.

GameEx 11.09

Sat, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:58 GMT

New optional demo download for new installations which will setup GameEx with a sample of a few systems and media.
Updated and fixed radio stations
Fixes game system biography previously unavailable

ZX Spectrum Adverts

Wed, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Added 800 Sinclair ZX Spectrum adverts to gamesdbase.com

GameEx Most Played

Wed, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:57 GMT

New Most played emulated games page at www.gameex.com

C64 Manuals

Sun, 24 Jul 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Added nearly 200 Commodore 64 game manuals to gamesdbase.com

Games Database

Fri, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:58 GMT

A comments system for games has been implemented at gamesdbase.com

GameEx 11.08

Thu, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Fixes slide shows when using 3d transitions
Fixes DVD playback

GameEx 11.07

Thu, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Fixes window resizing and video/dvd crash affecting some systems. Also fixes MAME list updating finding too many games, and fade out when using 3D transition animations.

GameEx 11

Sat, 4 Jun 2010 00:00:58 GMT

GameEx display libraries have now moved from DirectDraw to Direct3D.

The benefits of moving to Direct3D are quite significant.

- Should run significantly better and faster on any vaguely modern hardware.
- Alpha Blending.
- PNG with transparancy support.
- Fewer driver incompatibalities.
- Proper anti aliased fonts.
- No more reliance on DirectDraw which Microsoft depreciated some time ago.
- Improved and smoother transition effects.
- Fast rotated display support.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Beta test, and a special thank you to Ben Baker (AKA Headkaze) for his help and support with this transition.

GameEx 10.80

Mon, 16 May 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Optimized version of GameEx

GameEx 10.78

Sun, 15 May 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Fixes font being cut off when outlined. Fixes startup crash when using background videos with latest Codec packs. A few optimizations. Themes with single backgrounds (AdvancedGfx=False) working again.

Text to MP3

Sat, 14 May 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Free Text to MP3 Speaker version 2 released.
Improved audio quality and allows conversion of bigger text files.

Free Text to MP3 Speaker

GameEx 10.77

Sat, 14 May 2010 00:00:57 GMT

Fixes crash on startup when using latest codec packs. Fixes incorrectly detecting Windows Media Player as not installed.

GameEx 10.76

Sat, 14 May 2010 00:00:56 GMT

Fixes display issue when using bigger font DPI settings in Vista or Windows 7.

GameEx 10.75

Sat, 14 May 2010 00:00:55 GMT

Fixes Video/DVD description download issue. This would cause GameEx to continuously try to download descriptions.

GameEx 10.74

Fri, 13 May 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Fixes not creating thumbnails.
Reverted to the old method of capturing video by capturing the desktop rather than the emulators window.

GameEx 10.72

Sun, 8 May 2010 00:00:58 GMT

New options to allow turning off visualizations and video thumb view for slower PCs. Fixes issue with screenaver and trackball usage.

Gamesdbase.com

Sat, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Added additional NES music and new Gameboy and Sega Genesis music to gamesdbase.com. Over 1000 new music tracks.

Audio Converter 2.3

Sat, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:57 GMT

Spesoft Free Audio Converter Version 2.30.
Adds conversion from Atari 8-bit SAP files and Sega genesis VGM files

GameEx 10.69

Sun, 24 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Something a bit different for this release. Here is a new game card feature. You can get a game card / tag from the web site to put on any web pages, blog, or forum, and its fed from GameEx.

Similar to GameEx live but personalized and something you can use yourself. To setup your game card go to the web site and go to get game card under the community menu.

GameEx 10.67

Sat, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Added turbo paging. After paging up or down for a while paging speeds up.

GameEx 10.66

Fri, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Added trackball and spinner support. Navigate lists with the mouse.

GameEx 10.62

Tue, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Ambiance will now resume after running an emulator. GameEx will now run without administrator rights. You will need to install GameEx to a folder that does not require administrator rights such as C:\GameEx. This is now the default install path. Fixes path double quotes issue. Fixes font issue at high resolutions.

GameEx 10.61

Mon, 18 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

New theme editor by Headkaze to support the new background images. Thanks!

GameEx 10.59/10.60

Mon, 18 Apr 2010 00:00:57 GMT

Fixes minor ini writing issue. Vastly improved speed of advanced configuration application. Support for AVS video files. Other fixes.

GameEx 10.58

Sun, 17 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

GameEx now has full unicode text and scripted language display support and the Japanese transalation has been fixed. The display corruption/glitch on windows 7 and vista when GameEx is running windowed is fixed. Improved font display when viewing the control panel. GameEx themes now support these additional background images or videos - "EbookBak", "KaraokeBak", "DVDBak", "NewsBak", "SearchBak" and "LibBak".

GameEx 10.57

Sat, 16 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Further improvements to startup time and when restoring the display. Fixes installer issue with karaoke and mounting support. The advanced graphics setting has been removed since backgrounds are now loaded dynamicly.

GameEx 10.56

Sat, 16 Apr 2010 00:00:57 GMT

The main configuration ini file is now stored and operated on in memory. This allows potentially significantly faster loading and operation of GameEx, and also much faster upgrade of GameEx when installing this and future versions. Fixes windows media player and iTunes playlists. Fixes issue when emulator treated as single pc game and the info page is not enabled.

Instant Sheller 0.7

Sun, 10 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

10th April 2010 - Instant Sheller Version 0.7

Added Compatibility with Vista and Windows 7.
On these operating systems the boot screen cannot be changed and neither can the login screen be hidden.
However on Windows 7 The boot screen can be disabled and the login screen background hidden.

Gamesdbase.com update

Sat, 9 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Several updates to gamesdbase.com. Including Intellivision videos and arcade (MAME) PCB's, artwork, commands/moves and in game controls. The only web site to show MAME controls and commands.

GameEx 10.52

Thu, 7 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Thanks to Headkaze and him very kindly giving me the particular code from CPWizard. GameEx is now the only multi system front end to have command.dat support. It is set to work out of the box. In addition this is a slightly optimized version utilising less system and video memory. Several fixes are also included. For the setup package the mounting and karaoke support files are now separate downloads to reduce the size of the install. The system previews have been extended to use images if no videos are available.

For those that don't know what Command.dat is, basically it's a data file which shows you controls and special moves for games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. So should be really nice for fans of the fighting games.

GameEx 10.51

Tue, 5 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Creating video snaps has been improved with on the fly and faster encoding and now producing larger videos. The in game menu now has an option to create a video. Also includes various other fixes.

GameEx 10.50

Sat, 2 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

The freezing issues reported are now fixed. A big thanks to Jeremy (Frequency) for helping me with that. We both put a lot of effort in.

In addition there is a now a new in game menu with gameex that can be called up when running MAME, Daphne and emulators. You can view control panels, artwork and instructions and then either resume or exit the game. This is one of those dream features in a front end, and I intend to extend it in upcoming releases. As always please give your feedback.

The video and DVD player has also had a few user interface improvements.

GameEx 10.49

Fri, 1 Apr 2010 00:00:58 GMT

.net framework 2 service pack 1 is the minimum required framework for GameEx since the projet was upgraded to visual studio 2008 and the installer has been updated to detect and install this. Id also like to point out that windows 98 and ME are no longer supported. I would have personally supported them still, but the development tools I am using do not allow me to. The minimum supported OS is 2000 SP4 and XP SP 2. Its been this way for a few releases but I had not pointed it out. In addition HTML applications are fixed on windows XP, and favorites now also feature the random preview videos.

In other news - in partnershup with Micosoft I have purchased compenents used in Windows Media Center and full TV support is on the way.

GameEx 10.47

Wed, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:58 GMT

This release includes the new MAME Emu mapping utility by Tempest. Making the feature much more powerful and easier to use. Please join me in thanking Matt for his contribution.

For more information see Here

GameEx 10.46

Wed, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:57 GMT

The new emulator preview video feature has been extended for Daphne, MAME and most played. For MAME and most played the videos are unique to the games in the individual lists. In addition background videos now support MP4 and WMV and some of the video code has been updated and may run a little quicker.

Gamesdbase.com updates

Tue, 29 Mar 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Gamesdbase.com has had some substantial design and content updates.

Including a new video player, music playlists, and ZX-Spectrum manuals and audio. Along with some other design improvements including an improved games list.

Please check it out at http://gamesdbase.com and spread the word.

GameEx 10.43

Mon, 28 Mar 2010 00:00:58 GMT

This is a bling release. GameEx now features a video thumb view, allowing multiple game video previews to be displayed. You need a fast PC to make use of it. E.g Quad core. In addition when viewing a list of emulators random video previews for the system are shown continuously.

GameEx 10.42

Thu, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Optimized version. Quicker return from applications and switching between full screen and windowed.
Box art now displays when previewing videos and DVDs on the info page.

GameEx 10.41

Wed, 9 Mar 2010 00:00:58 GMT

The MAME list updating now does a more thorough search for recommended and games in series.
In addition, when updating the MAME list - MAME32 favorites and custom lists are loaded at the start and any games in these lists are now forced to be present, overriding any other filters.
There is a new "remove duplicates/clean list" feature which defaults to on if using a game filter and clones. This produces a clean list of games for MAME, and is more like what I intended from the beginning for GameEx MAME support. Supporting clones but a filtered list.
Video box art downloading was broken and is now fixed.
Another new feature is now GameEx will try to download a description for DVDs and Videos.
When in thumbnail view, video and DVD preview thumbs will be created even if the preview videos setting is off. In addition if it cannot create a preview thumb it will not try again.
The preview videos feature has been extended to allow not previewing for DVDs and large video files (ie HD).
When selecting ebooks, pictures or videos, GameEx will now navigate directly to within the folder if you only have one path setup.
Note: If you are upgrading, the new features are configurable.

CD Ripper 3.9

Sun, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Spesoft Free CD Ripper Version 3.9 Released

Fixes error when using a custom genre.
Fixes issue not finding drives if many are installed.
Lyric download working again.

GameEx 10.40

Sun, 20 Feb 2010 00:00:58 GMT

For registered users:

The ebook and game manual viewer now supports txt files.
Although already supported in GameEx cbz and cbr comic files can now also be used for game maunals for MAME and emulators
Fixes issue where MAME game manual would not show if for the games parent
The package in the setup and the offline installer for ebooks and game manuals has been updated and will need to be installed again for txt file support

Image Converter 2.5

Sat, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Spesoft Image Converter 2.5 released
Allows batch conversion of PDF files
Converts from text files to any format including PDF
Product Home Page

GameEx 10.39

Wed, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Some subtle but worthwhile changes when on a game information page. The video and artwork for the selected game or item will continue to display and play when browsing up and down the info page. The last played date and number of times played is now also shown for MAME games.

GameEx 10.38

Fri, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:58 GMT

New multi-user feature for GameEx. Setup up to 10 users who can have their own theme, game list and favourites. Each user has their own username, avatar and password (optional). Setup accounts for the whole family and restrict game lists for children. All user administration such as adding, deleting and editing users is done using an admin password. You can shutdown the computer directly from the login screen. You can also use Instant Sheller to launch Login.exe at startup for a complete multi-user arcade gaming front end.

Once you login under a user you can either configure the user in GameEx with the Advanced Configuration application or exit and run the Setup Wizard. You must login under the user before you can configure them.

GameEx 10.37

Sat, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Fixes logo drop down selection not updating in Setup Wizard
Fixes error when using the MAME emu map feature with certain MAME versions
Fixes parameters not working when using Also Launch with an emulator
Development has been moved to visual studio 2008 from 2005. Not really relevant apart from the fact the executable is a little smaller and therefore might perform a bit better

GameEx 10.36

Sun, 9 Jan 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Fixes minor bug in the Setup Wizard

GameEx 10.35

Tue, 4 Jan 2010 00:00:58 GMT

Always trying to improve and make setup more accessible in the world of emulation front ends, we are pleased to release GameEx version 10.35.

Featuring an updated Setup Wizard application by Ben Baker, with help and support from Brian Hoffman and Matt (Tempest), this release brings further enchancments and seamlessness in making the download, installation and configuration of retro gaming systems easier than ever before.

Here are the technical release notes for Setup Wizard 2.1.2

'Download Emulators' section will now prompt to import profiles.
You are now always prompted for default paths, database download and emulator download when you import. You can now turn these off using the 'Always Show' checkbox.
Sorting emulators via Name, Category, System and Emulator.
You can now move multiple emulators up and down at once by shift/ctrl selecting emulators in 'Emulator Selection.'
Logos now have a drop down list.
Columns showing all the extra info added to profiles such as System, Category, Emulator, Version, Rating, DownloadUrl, RequiredFiles, Website, Info.
Automatically creates the file structure for you when you import.
POV Joystick support.
Lot's of work remaking the profiles and getting downloads updated (thanks alot to Brian and Matt for the help with this).
Updated logo's for all systems.

Happy New Year.

GameEx 10.34

Fri, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:58 GMT

New wrap around/loop list input setting feature. This was a highly requested feature.
The start menu program group has been reorganised and now looks much better on newer windows versions.
Note: If your upgrading the old start menu items wil not be deleted. You can however just delete the program group prior to installing

GameEx 10.32

Sun, 12 Dec 2009 00:00:58 GMT

Several small bug fixes
Background now fades in when changing when using default display settings
Emulator theme layouts now load after a list change rather than incorrectly before

Audio Converter 2.20

Fri, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:58 GMT

Adds conversion from RA (Real Audio), AU, and ATRAC audio files.
Supports audio files with no or the wrong extension.
Product Home Page

GameEx 10.31

Thu, 9 Dec 2009 00:00:58 GMT

Removed windows media player detection, requirement and install from setup package.
Removed Windows Media Player requirement from Video and DVD Playback. Windows Media Player is now only optionally required for Jukebox WMP mode

GameEx 10.30

Wed, 8 Dec 2009 00:00:58 GMT

Several enhancments to audio visualizations. Windows Media Player is no longer a requirement, and Sonique, BassBox and windows media player plugins are supported. You can select which visualization to show directly within GameEx and additional ones can be added in the media\visualizations folder. Fixes issue where audio would lose sync coming in and out of visualizing, and the whole process is much more seamless. When GameEx shows the currently playing track it will also show a visualization while in the menus. This is also now shown in all modules.
New screensaver mode to suspend the system.
Fixes issue where audio not working after a resume from suspend

GameEx 10.29

Sun, 5 Dec 2009 00:00:58 GMT

Windows Media Player is no longer a requirement in the setup package.
Improved performance of roms in folders

GameEx 10.28

Thu, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:58 GMT

Fixes intermitent startup intro display issue
Improved startup speed
Other minor work