Release [REPO] Pandafe - 0.2.1.4-41df - Update

[Repository]

Pandafe is a sort of "universal" SDL frontend for Pandora games and emulators.

It was written especially for the Pandora, with the following goals:
* browse and run all roms and games from a single program
* specify commandline options for each game via a menu
* be fully configurable and extendable via the program itself
* use only dpad and buttons to do all this (no touching, heh)
* persist data via yaml, for human reading/writing/sharing
Get it from here!

 

[Kumaki]

I am very curious if PanDafe could be updated...make it so that you can launch other programs from it...user specified, by giving the entry a name, and then providing it the path to the program...sort of like lxmed does,  I'd love to see something like that...where you could add new things on your own, customize it...and take out entries you do not actually have...for example, if I did not have Gameboy games at all, I might just want to take out the option for Gameboy, and not have it cluttering my options.

Just a thought.

 

[nuhrin]

Hey Kumaki, thanks for the suggestions.

make it so that you can launch other programs from it...user specified, by giving the entry a name, and then providing it the path to the program...sort of like lxmed does, I'd love to see something like that...where you could add new things on your own, customize it

It is already possible to add your own additional rom-based Platforms, and also Program-based Platforms where the program itself provides the list of games (the ScummVM platform is an example of this). Both of those depend on Program definitions which describe the pnd app(s) to use for the Platform. You can add new Program definitions for any app you have installed, with an optional custom command script to be used to run games.

If I understand you correctly, what you want is a the ability to define a non-app-based Program definition, with a direct executable path (or custom script) to use instead. That custom Program definition could be in conjunction with a rom-based Platform to run roms, or as the basis of a Program-based Platform (which provides its own list of games which it can run).

https://github.com/nuhrin/pandafe/issues/12

It sounds like you are also perhaps asking for the ability to manually add such non-app-based Programs directly to the "Native Platform," so that they show up directly in the game list and get launched directly.

https://github.com/nuhrin/pandafe/issues/13

and take out entries you do not actually have...for example, if I did not have Gameboy games at all, I might just want to take out the option for Gameboy, and not have it cluttering my options.

There is a related issue on GitHub for managing user's Platform preferences distinctly from the Platform definitions. I've added your suggestion in a comment there so I can remember to include this.

https://github.com/nuhrin/pandafe/issues/11

Good suggestions. I'm pretty short on free time these, so I dunno when I'll be able to get to them, but I'll try to fold them in when I'm able.

 

[Kumaki]

Sounds good.  I appreciate this!

Basically, if you have a look at what lxmed does - that is sorta what I have in mind for PanDafe here.

In lxmed, you can remove things, and you can add things - you just give it a name, and specify a path.

So what you might have is a few different categories to place things under....for example, you already have GAMES.

My idea is GAMES - EMULATORS - BUSINESS APPS - OTHER for example.

All your emulators, including MAME, MAME-EX, PanMAME, GnGeo, Temper, etc...would go under EMULATORS (basically everything PanDafe curreently does would go under there.

And you'd have the ability to add other Emulators, if only to launch the emu itself - better if you can also add the ROMS, and direct-launch.  But even if you could launch only the emu itself from there it would be good, because you could uncl;utter your Desktop - which is sorta the point of this.

Under GAMES - would be where you'd be able to add all your Pandora Games you have, for example, Cannonball - which already is loadable from PanDafe, I think...you could add AquaVenture, if you wanted to...you could take out listings for anything you do not actually have installed - basically, I am going for customization abilities!

Under BUSINESS APPS - you could have Libre Office, AbiWord, and so on.

OTHER would be for what doesn't fit anywhere else, totally user-customizable.

And if you can think of any other categories that should be there, great.

I hope I'm explaining well enough basically what I'm after - but if you think in terms of Customization abilities for individual users, you're on the track I'm looking for!

Keep me up-to-date when you get a chance to work on this stuff, I think this would be very awesome.  And it would allow for people to have a quick and easy icon on their desktop to launch many, many things...so that you can have a more unclutterd desktop,

Oh, another Category came to mind - COMPUTERS - and this is where you'd have your MSX, Amiga, Commodore 64, TRS-80 and so on.

 

[ekianjo]

Here's a short review and longer interview of Nuhrin about Pandafe, on Pandoralive:



Continue Reading --->

 

[_wb_]

Nice interview, ekianjo!

And keep up the good work, Nuhrin! Pandafe is really nice, and it deserves more attention!

Now if only someone could lock B-Zar (PNDManager author), pmprog (Tournament Hub), and Nuhrin (Pandafe) together in a room for two weeks, with a couple of PCs and Pandoras and enough pizza and coffee. I want something that like Pandafe can launch stuff in a uniform way (emu or no emu), something that like the Tournament Hub can show C4A highscores and non-installed stuff, and something that like PNDManager can download and install stuff from the repo.

 

[Kumaki]

I like it, WB...but I'd still like PanDafe to be user-customizeable - so that you can add what you do want (just provide a name and path - and you choose the category) - and so that you can also take out what you do not want, or don't have...or just plain don't want to put on PanDafe for some reason.

 

[Klumpen]

I just get

"Pandafe 0.2.2.4. cba 9"

and then it crashes.

What do I have to do to make it run?

I downloaded it several times already.

Got a 1Ghz-unit. Have not found a clue.

greetings

Klumpen

 

[nuhrin]

Hi Klumpen,

I've been out of touch here for a fair bit due to busy life stuff. Sorry to hear you've hit an immediate crash.

This is most likely due to PND scanning issues, for one reason or another.

Try this troubleshooting test:

1. In the pandafe appdata folder, remove (if present) pnd_cache and GameListCache.
2. create a new pnd_cache file containing: []
   from the command line: echo "[]" > pnd_cache
3. start pandafe

In theory, that should allow it to start, though it won't be functional as it will think there are zero pnds present.

Assuming that worked, the problem should be one of:

• incompatibility with your libpnd (if you know what version you have, let me know)
• bug hit during pnd discovery, caused by a specific pnd or PXML breaking basic assumptions made by my scanning code (or possibly libpnd's)

Remove the pnd_cache file again (or rescan within the main menu -- press select) to get pandafe to scan for pnds.

You can/should try running pandafe on an otherwise empty sd card, and/or moving all your pnds to a non-discoverable folder (out of pandora/apps, etc). If that works, you can try moving a few at a time back into a discoverable location until you find the pnd(s) which trigger the issue.

Assuming that is in fact the problem and you track down a specific pnd which causes your crash, let me know and I'll look at fixing the issue.

 

[ekianjo]

Nuhrin, glad to see you back alive here Any target timing for a new version by the way ?