HyperSpin - why insist on it?

[NLS]

OK sure HS was pretty awesome back then.

Was painful back then as is now. Only now because of huge bandwidth increases, there are ready made sets. OK fine.

Is it still developed? AFAIK not. So it is like Death Becomes Her. I don't get it.

Are there not, way more modern (and full of "bling") front-ends?

Or is it just that HS was so much spread (was it?) that people just can give it up because they are used to it?

I mean, I saw the latest poll and is still second, far from the third (which is also commercial IIRC)...

At least LaunchBox seems to be getting what they (seem to) deserve.

 

[phulshof]

1. Installed base, and switching takes (a lot of) time.

2. Highly active community, especially in the art department. Almost every other front-end uses HyperSpin art and XML files.

3. Tools surrounding HyperSpin to fill in the blanks.

That said: there's plenty of people switching front-ends or installing a second one next to HyperSpin. I myself have never  used it; I switched from MAMEd straight to RetroFE. Then again: HyperSpin never worked on Linux, and I'm a Linux user. :)

[NLS]

I actually expected a higher percentage for RetroFE in the poll.

Seems it ticks many of the boxes.

 

[phulshof]

I think it's relatively unknown, and not as easy to set up as LaunchBox. The modular system I uploaded on the EmuMovies FTP helps a little in that regard. I hope to get started on a Pi3 image soon.

[NLS]

Indeed as it is now, it is more of a geek thing.

Editing .conf files.

It could help itself by making (even external) config GUI.

Also doesn't help much that it actually expects all emulation sh*t INSIDE its own folder structure by default.

 

[phulshof]

2 minutes ago, NLS said:

Indeed as it is now, it is more of a geek thing.

Editing .conf files.

It could help itself by making (even external) config GUI.

Also doesn't help much that it actually expects all emulation sh*t INSIDE its own folder structure by default.

 

 

Well, that last part isn't true; that's just the way I set up the modular system to make it easily portable between disks or USB. You can put the emulators anywhere you want.

[NLS]

It's also what the default config (as downloaded from retrofe.nl) expects.

BTW wtf is with retrofe.nl vs. retrofe.com? I mean it's been years since the original dev made it FOSS and gave it to the guy that made the .nl site (which btw, is worse, the original looks nicer) and still .com doesn't redirect to .nl (as the .nl guy claimed it would happen - so this means the original dev wants to keep it for himself for some reason?)... The whole thing would be a non-issue, but seems that Google finds .com first and .nl is 5th result or something. This definitely doesn't help to spread the project.

 

[phulshof]

Well, I am that guy, and the answer is simple: Emb hasn't been active for quite some time, and doesn't react to my emails either, so I'm just waiting for the domain to expire at the moment. :) While I agree that the new site isn't great, it's the best I can do with my limited knowledge of web design. I've asked for some help, but so far I don't have a good alternative (yet). It's not ideal, but it's the best I can provide at the moment.

 

I had to put something in the default launcher configurations, and since any path in there would unlikely match what a user has set up already, I figured I might as well use the same configuration I used for the modular set up. That way if people don't want the hassle of setting things up for themselves, they can just download the packages I provided. We're currently on better documentation though, so hopefully we'll have more answers for people soon.

 

One of the users was working on a configuration tool, but I haven't seen an update there in a while, so I should probably check what the status is there.

 

RetroFE is F/OSS, so I welcome any and all help. :)

[NLS]

Great to get a reply from the source.

I see it expires in just a month!

For the web page I might be able to help (or guide you a bit on how to use a modern CMS), although as you realized already I am not a fanatic RetroFE user (NOR am I specialized in web design, yet, I can do things to a certain extend). But since it is F/OSS, it needs all our support.

A configuration tool is the way to go. Try to "push" a bit.

 

[phulshof]

I know, I'm patiently awaiting the expiration. :)

 

The current site is a simple WordPress site; I've considered buying a better theme to work from, but perhaps it's wiser to just create one using HTML5 in stead?

[NLS]

HTML5 is the future indeed, but with WP you can do so much already. I think indeed you need a nicer theme (not sure even if you need a payware one).

Would be nice if you differentiated colors a bit from the original site.

 

[noiseprisoner]

On 5/12/2017 at 5:20 AM, NLS said:

OK sure HS was pretty awesome back then.

Was painful back then as is now. Only now because of huge bandwidth increases, there are ready made sets. OK fine.

Is it still developed? AFAIK not. So it is like Death Becomes Her. I don't get it.

Are there not, way more modern (and full of "bling") front-ends?

Or is it just that HS was so much spread (was it?) that people just can give it up because they are used to it?

I mean, I saw the latest poll and is still second, far from the third (which is also commercial IIRC)...

At least LaunchBox seems to be getting what they (seem to) deserve.

 

I tried to stick with HS for awhile and it was definitely a fun project but I kept finding myself going back to GameEx because it is so much easier. Lately, LaunchBox has been my primary FE as it's super easy, looks great, runs stable, and has a lot of support/development. The integration with Emumovies makes GameEx and Launchbox both good choices. I've never tried RetroFE but have heard good things about it as well.

[AV Archivist]

Things were semi-dormant at HS for a bit but it's actually under heavy development right now, and not just in the community/art department (though that's become crazy active again as well, if you've seen our HyperUpdates on Facebook). Dev team is going balls out. Pretty sure I'm giving myself carpal tunnel but we're having fun and it's worth it.

All the issues people have had with HS are being addressed and there's a whole new ballgame on the horizon with HyperAI kiwf'ing Sync and actually making everyone's lives easier. Can't say much more beyond that other than to stay tuned.

 

[lordmonkus]

Just some friendly advice to the devs of HyperSpin and RetroFE.

Make setup of emulators and rom management easy and your frontend will be plenty successful. This is pretty much the sole reason Launchbox has so many users now. With little to no frontend experience a user can have their games with art work up and running in 5 to 10 minutes

[phulshof]

1 hour ago, lordmonkus said:

Just some friendly advice to the devs of HyperSpin and RetroFE.

Make setup of emulators and rom management easy and your frontend will be plenty successful. This is pretty much the sole reason Launchbox has so many users now. With little to no frontend experience a user can have their games with art work up and running in 5 to 10 minutes

 

Actually, you'd be surprised how easy setting up RetroFE can be, especially if you take the modular system setup I uploaded to EmuMovies, but I'm painfully aware that I need to add a menu structure to allow people to configure RetroFE from within the front-end. I'm currently working on a pi(3) version, and in order to reach that group of users I need to update that anyway, so it'll come with time. :)

 

Then again: I'm not competing for users with Launchbox. Unless more developers jump in to help out, I can't keep up with a full-time programmer anyway. :) It's a hobby for me.

[lordmonkus]

That's cool to hear that RetroFE is easy to setup and to be fair I have not tried it and I have no intention of it but who knows what the future holds :)

There is certainly plenty of room for multiple front ends because as good as Launchbox is it is not for everyone for a couple of major reasons. One, it is a paid program to get all the features and two, it can be a bit of a system resource hog.

I hope my post didn't come off as a Launchbox vs other front ends because that was not my intention. I only intended to point out that ease of use for the end user especially for those new to emulation and front ends is a big deal and it's part of the reason that Launchbox right now has so many users willing to pay for that convenience.

[Tinybilbo]

I would be happy to try Hyperspin, except that on Android they require you have an nvidia Tegra graphics chip..

so it works mainly on the Nvidia Shield Tv...

So it only can be run by a small % of users  :-(

[Circo]

6 hours ago, Tinybilbo said:

I would be happy to try Hyperspin, except that on Android they require you have an nvidia Tegra graphics chip..

so it works mainly on the Nvidia Shield Tv...

So it only can be run by a small % of users  :-(

It's primarily geared towards pc users

[Tinybilbo]

I know that it's mainly PC, however  there is a nice version that is available for android, just a very small subset....

It's something to do with the OpenGL drivers that are'nt available for many of the other android GFX  chips.

It does work on the nVidia Shield Tv (Tegra) and can be modded to work with other android boxes if they also have the Tegra chipset.

It just seems a shame to put energy into something that is only available to a very limited group...

Wishful thinking really... 'cos it's very pretty :-)

[Circo]

15 minutes ago, Tinybilbo said:

I know that it's mainly PC, however  there is a nice version that is available for android, just a very small subset....

It's something to do with the OpenGL drivers that are'nt available for many of the other android GFX  chips.

It does work on the nVidia Shield Tv (Tegra) and can be modded to work with other android boxes if they also have the Tegra chipset.

It just seems a shame to put energy into something that is only available to a very limited group...

Wishful thinking really... 'cos it's very pretty :-)

It was developed by a guy who worked on the shield team.  

[Tinybilbo]

22 minutes ago, Circo said:

It was developed by a guy who worked on the shield team.  

Well, That would explain it then!

I just popped over to the Hyperspin forums and the Android thread.

It seems that you need to have the nVidia OpenGL drivers, not just any OpenGL. (My ProBox2 does indeed have OpenGL drivers, but I guess they won't work being AmLogic...)

If I had known that Hyperspin worked on Android, I might have splashed out for the ShieldTV!

As it is I have a cheap Android box and am using ArcBrowser which is very nice to set up...

Setup each emulator (install RetroArch & cores first) and go with default settings and point it to the systems ROMS and it'll scrape the artwork and metadata.

It's just a bit dull...... So I'm in the (slow) process of setting up Advanced Emulator Launcher for KODI (my Android boxes frontend), which can use most of hyperspins assets, and is nicely integrated with the KODI GUI.

I did read somewhere on the Hyperspin forum, that it might eventually be ported to other android chipsets, so here's hoping!!

[Hanzfranz]

I started out with Hyperspin. Now running Launchbox. Much cleaner and easier to use.

[Coleman]

So I am looking for a bit of advice, and this seems like a good place to ask.

I didn't want to hijack a thread, but this has gone from HS to LB to Retro FE... etc.

I'm a launchbox user, and I love everything about it... except the performance of the FE.

I have BigBox, and conceptually it's amazing.  I would be happy to support the system, but it seems that performance is not going to improve anytime soob as Jason is focused on too many other things at the moment.

Is there an FE available that does not suffer in performance, but still offers good visual interface?  

I am set up with Rocket Launcher, and Retro Arch.

 

Can someone recommend a good FE that will serve as a functional setup while I wait/hope for Launch Box to improve performance in a noticeable way?

[phulshof]

So I am looking for a bit of advice, and this seems like a good place to ask.
I didn't want to hijack a thread, but this has gone from HS to LB to Retro FE... etc.
I'm a launchbox user, and I love everything about it... except the performance of the FE.
I have BigBox, and conceptually it's amazing.  I would be happy to support the system, but it seems that performance is not going to improve anytime soob as Jason is focused on too many other things at the moment.
Is there an FE available that does not suffer in performance, but still offers good visual interface?  
I am set up with Rocket Launcher, and Retro Arch.
 
Can someone recommend a good FE that will serve as a functional setup while I wait/hope for Launch Box to improve performance in a noticeable way?

Never having used LB/BB, I cannot compare performance, but I run RetroFE on a Pi3 as well, so performance on most PCs should be fine.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Don]

20 hours ago, Coleman said:

So I am looking for a bit of advice, and this seems like a good place to ask.

I didn't want to hijack a thread, but this has gone from HS to LB to Retro FE... etc.

I'm a launchbox user, and I love everything about it... except the performance of the FE.

I have BigBox, and conceptually it's amazing.  I would be happy to support the system, but it seems that performance is not going to improve anytime soob as Jason is focused on too many other things at the moment.

Is there an FE available that does not suffer in performance, but still offers good visual interface?  

I am set up with Rocket Launcher, and Retro Arch.

 

Can someone recommend a good FE that will serve as a functional setup while I wait/hope for Launch Box to improve performance in a noticeable way?

Having tried all of the frontends out there (hyperspin, maximus, galaxy, gameex, retrofe, etc.) I can confidently say that Launchbox/BigBox is certainly the best all-around program available and I'll continue to use it as I enjoy all of the great features and the fact it's so easy to customize. Having said that though, there are a few faster options available. For me, AttractMode is the fastest of them all. Even with a large collection, it runs almost exactly the same as if you had no collection (of games) at all which is quite impressive in itself. The interface is not quite as user friendly as some of the others, but once you get used to it, it's easy breezy! :)