How to set up InfoGB?

[tomtuff]

hey, can someone write a n00b guide to get InfoGB working? if it varies console to console, can someone help me then? i have a v4 ps2, FMCB 1.8, and uLE 4.30. i have a usb flash drive, as well. thanks in advance

[dlanor]

hey, can someone write a n00b guide to get InfoGB working? if it varies console to console, can someone help me then? i have a v4 ps2, FMCB 1.8, and uLE 4.30. i have a usb flash drive, as well. thanks in advance

Well, that depends primarily on which InfoGB variant you are talking about.

There is one released by Kaylakaze, with HDD support.
And there is another released by me, limited to MC and CDVD support (CDVD requires modchip or ESR).

The one I released can be stored anywhere and launched from there too, but it will always use an MC gamesave folder named "PS2GB" for storing Gameboy saves and its "INFOGB.CNF" file. The only setup needed (or meaningful) is to create some icon for that folder, which you can do with the uLE FileBrowser command "New Icon" (after browsing into that folder).

You can also edit a saved INFOGB.CNF file in that folder, which is primarily useful for changing the screen display offsets (variables dispx and dispy), or edit the path used for emulator exit (variable boot_ELF). These can be edited either with the uLE TextEditor of by transferring the file to a PC for editing, and then moving it back to the MC again.

Acceptable values for boot_ELF include "mc0:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF" and "rom0:OSDSYS", with the latter being preferable for FMCB users.

Most other CNF variables are better set from the in-game menu (press 'Start' while a GB rom is running to open the popup).

Like I said above, this emulator only supports rom browsing on MC and CDVD, so that's where you have to have your rom files.

One good way of doing this is to prepare a homebrew DVD disc with various emulators and stuff including ROM folders, and then use ESR to boot that disc. Just remember that the primitive browser of my InfoGB supports only one folder level beneath the root directory, so if you want different ROM folders for different types of games, each of those folders must be stored in the root directory, not inside another folder.

Best regards: dlanor

[tomtuff]

hmm cool, thanks. so to make it short and sweet for what i plan to do so you can correct me if i'm wrong:

1. get all my valuable gamesaves from my 64 MB card and put them on flash drive
2. format 64 MB card
3. put InfoGB.ELF into my USB Stick along with a PS2GB folder, containg:
-an icon made with uLE
-all meh retro pokemon games >
4. Copy ps2gb folder to 64 MB card via uLE
5. once ran, INFOGB.ELF (from USB drive) will creat the INFOGB.CNF
6. play teh gamez! xD

thanks

[dlanor]

hmm cool, thanks. so to make it short and sweet for what i plan to do so you can correct me if i'm wrong:

Most of what you said seemed OK, except for point 5 (see below).

Given the small size of GB roms I also think you can have quite a few of them without having to get rid of everything else and reformat, but that's up to you.

Now about your point 5:

5. once ran, INFOGB.ELF (from USB drive) will creat the INFOGB.CNF

That is not how it works. The program will automatically create the folder "mc0:/PS2GB/" and the file "gb.brm" inside that folder, but to save the "INFOGB.CNF" file you will have to open the in-game menu and use its "Save CNF" command for that purpose.

If playing games where you care about saved results, such as RPGs, remember to not end the game just by resetting or turning the console off when you want to stop playing or switch games. Use the in-game menu to go back to the main ROM selector menu. This way you can be sure that the ".sav" files are stored properly in the "PS2GB" folder, so you can continue from the saved position next time.

Best regards: dlanor

[tomtuff]

ok, but just 1 problem:

I am using your revision of infoGB. i load infogb.elf, and then it tells me to hit start button. so i do. all that happens is a big white screen comes up, and i cant do anything

help?

[MidniteAssassin]

This might be a little off topic...
But it seems as if you can only save once, and that any save after that doesn't work...
I was playing Final Fantasy Legend 3, the first time I saved was right before the first boss, and then kept saving and didn't turn the game off till I had 3 robots with pretty much perfect stats(using robots that restore life after every turn is almost makes you feel like your cheating once you get their stats up really high...)
But when I turned it on the next day to finish up the game, it started up right before the first boss!

If there any GB emu for PS2 that uses save states?

[dlanor]

This might be a little off topic...
But it seems as if you can only save once, and that any save after that doesn't work...
I was playing Final Fantasy Legend 3, the first time I saved was right before the first boss, and then kept saving and didn't turn the game off till I had 3 robots with pretty much perfect stats(using robots that restore life after every turn is almost makes you feel like your cheating once you get their stats up really high...)
But when I turned it on the next day to finish up the game, it started up right before the first boss!

Apparently you missed the last section of my recent reply to tomtuff, so I'll quote it here

If playing games where you care about saved results, such as RPGs, remember to not end the game just by resetting or turning the console off when you want to stop playing or switch games. Use the in-game menu to go back to the main ROM selector menu. This way you can be sure that the ".sav" files are stored properly in the "PS2GB" folder, so you can continue from the saved position next time.

So when you are done playing the RPG, just press 'Start' to open the in-game menu, and use the command at the bottom of the popup (quickest reached by pushing the 'Up' button once) which says "Back to the main menu". Once there, do NOT start the same game rom again (sorry a slight bug for that) but choose some other rom file. This procedure ensures that your gamesave will be properly stored. (It always works for me.)

Btw: I'm well aware that this should be improved, but I haven't gotten around to doing it.

When I do get around to it, there will be three changes for gamesave usage:

1: A separate command to store the current internal ".sav" to MC
(So it can be done as you please without stopping/restarting the game.)

2: Automatic save of current internal ".sav" for any command that terminates emulator
(Like when launching OSDSYS or an external elf.)

3: Bugfixes for the cases of restarting a rom directly after backing to menu, and for the case of auto-loading a rom on startup (hand-edited CNF), as both those methods currently fail to use an old ".sav" file.


Edit: Sorry if you saw my first draft of this reply, where I seem to say that my InfoGB revision has full emulator savestates. In fact it does not, though that was my original intention (still is, if I ever get time for it).

If there any GB emu for PS2 that uses save states?

I'm not sure, but I don't think so.

Best regards: dlanor

[dlanor]

ok, but just 1 problem:

I am using your revision of infoGB. i load infogb.elf, and then it tells me to hit start button. so i do. all that happens is a big white screen comes up, and i cant do anything

The white screen is normal, but should only remain for a little while, as the browser initializes, before being replaced by the normal (but primitive) browser screen of the emulator. This consists of a blue rectangle with black borders, much like the initial splash screen, except that the white text rows in the rectangle now show the names of devices (only the top one), folders and files. And there will also be a side-scroller row with some contributor credits in the black bottom border.

If you never get the browser rectangle, even after waiting half a minute (some large MCs are very slow), then something is seriously wrong, but I really don't know what yet, since I never get that problem here.

Best regards: dlanor