MiSTer Attract Mode

[Mellified]

We've got a beta release of the MiSTer Attract Mode script. This is an expanded version of the work mrchrisster and I did on an Arcade-specific Attract Mode. Several console cores have been added!

Try a preview here:
https://github.com/mrchrisster/attract_mode/releases/

[Neocaron]

Oh my god! I was talking about just that yesterday when we played a bunch of games on the Mister with a couple of friends! This is great! Can we change the timer? This is amazing work really! Bravo!

[FoxbatStargazer]

You can change timer length in the included ini file.

[metalfacemark]

All running, looks good!

Anyway to add mute option for running in attract mode?

[pbsk8]

is this a script to play random games? Do we have to install every .sh in optional folder?

what does lucky mode do?

[LamerDeluxe]

is this a script to play random games? Do we have to install every .sh in optional folder?

what does lucky mode do?

Lucky mode was my idea for just starting a random game. It is a nice way to discover games you haven't played yet or forgot about.

[jca]

Question regarding the optional scripts:
If I want to just cycle thru the arcades and set
corelist="arcade"
in the ini file, do I still have to have the optional Attract_Mode_Arcade.sh script installed?
More general question: what are these optional scripts about?

[mrchrister]

the optional scripts are meant as an alternative to the ini, for people who don't want to edit any files.
So short answer is no, you don't need the optional scritps to only display arcade games

[Mellified]

For those not familiar with Github, here's a link to the main page - which has information answering many of your questions.

https://github.com/mrchrisster/attract_mode

[Mellified]

All running, looks good!

Anyway to add mute option for running in attract mode?

Unfortunately no. Several arcade cores have dip switch options to enable or disable the sound during the "demo mode" - when no one is playing. But if you don't want sound your best bet is to disable the volume via your TV or in the MiSTer OSD. Press F12, left, and adjust the volume sliders from there.

[Mellified]

Question regarding the optional scripts:
If I want to just cycle thru the arcades and set
corelist="arcade"
in the ini file, do I still have to have the optional Attract_Mode_Arcade.sh script installed?

If you set the corelist to just "arcade" you don't need the optional script. It does the same thing. You always need Attract_Mode.sh for any of the optional scripts to function though. Note that if you limit the corelist in the INI it affects Lucky_Mode.sh as well.

is this a script to play random games? Do we have to install every .sh in optional folder?

More general question: what are these optional scripts about?

The optional scripts are optional! They break down this way:
Attract_Mode_system.sh - these limit Attract Mode to selecting games from a single system (core).
Lucky_Mode.sh - selects a random game - exactly like Attract Mode - then stops, so you can enjoy the random game selected.
Lucky_Mode_system.sh - these limit Lucky Mode to selecting games from a single system (core).

[jca]

Thanks for your answers. During lunch time I had the opportunity to test it, before your answers, I changed the ini file with corelist="arcade", pathfs="/media/usb0" and no optional script -> it worked.
As I understand it the optional scripts are for people who don't want to edit the ini file: if for example they want to cycle only between Genesis and SNES they can just place Attract_Mode_Genesis.sh and Attract_Mode_SNES.sh in the Scripts directory.
Regarding usb the readme seems to imply that only NTFS can be used: the drive can be formatted ext4, NTFS, exFAT, even other FAT; the case sensitivity only applies to ext4 and NTFS.

[Mellified]

Thanks for your answers. During lunch time I had the opportunity to test it, before your answers, I changed the ini file with corelist="arcade", pathfs="/media/usb0" and no optional script -> it worked.
As I understand it the optional scripts are for people who don't want to edit the ini file: if for example they want to cycle only between Genesis and SNES they can just place Attract_Mode_Genesis.sh and Attract_Mode_SNES.sh in the Scripts directory.

It's not just people who don't want to edit the INI. "I want to cycle through Genesis games over breakfast, SNES games for lunch, and Arcade games for dinner." Changing the INI file multiple times a day would be tedious, so you can use the single system scripts instead.

Regarding usb the readme seems to imply that only NTFS can be used: the drive can be formatted ext4, NTFS, exFAT, even other FAT; the case sensitivity only applies to ext4 and NTFS.

Noted. I'll improve it.

[MrSniffles]

Love the idea, but sadly doesn't seem to be loading anything for me. It seems to pick a game (SNES and Megadrive so far), boots up a core, and then just sits there with the OSD displayed. I'm all up to date via update all. Any ideas?

edit: when it picks an arcade core, that works fine.

edit: not massively convinced its downloading mbc?

[pubjoe]

This is wonderful. Thank you.

I don't suppose there's a way to have this launch at start up?

I put it on a few hours ago and it's still running now. I encountered the Mister crash bug after 2 hours or so with the default 2 minute setting. I had trouble starting Mister back up afterwards but I can't be sure if that was related (I'm still playing around with a new set up).

[Mellified]

edit: not massively convinced its downloading mbc?

It downloads to /tmp/ if a path to mbc isn't specified in the INI. That directory is cleared when you cold reboot or power cycle the MiSTer. mbc loads all the cores and games - except for arcade MRAs. So if it works for anything non-arcade the script is downloading mbc.

Note thing I noticed today is the script may be assuming the ZIP name. Following up on that.

[Mellified]

I don't suppose there's a way to have this launch at start up?

Not built in currently. It's just a script, so the Linux side could start it up. That would make it tough to get out of Attract_Mode though!

I put it on a few hours ago and it's still running now. I encountered the Mister crash bug after 2 hours or so with the default 2 minute setting. I had trouble starting Mister back up afterwards but I can't be sure if that was related (I'm still playing around with a new set up).

The crash is a bug in MiSTer, which is being investigated. If you power cycle the MiSTer then the files Attract_Mode downloads should be removed automatically. They're stored in /tmp/, which is only in-memory.

[Mellified]

We added a new feature to the script I think folks are going to love. While Attract Mode is running you can wiggle the mouse to stop cycling. We're hoping to add keyboard and joystick support as well, but this is a proof of concept. If you want to help test grab the most recent file here:
https://github.com/mrchrisster/attract_ ... ct_Mode.sh

This will be added to a future release as well.

[Mellified]

We added so many features to Attract Mode lately we decided it's levelled up to Super Attract mode!

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