Windows 10 + FCEUX + Python >=3.5.x

[Vader]

I would be eternally grateful if there is a step by step guide on how to get FCEUX and gym super mario brothers working on windows 10.
Thank you

[Christian Kauten]

I've studied and defined installation instructions for both Python and FCEUX below.

Python

Ensure your installation of Python is available in your windows PATH. This can be accomplished on installation - using either Anaconda or vanilla Python installer - by ticking the Add ... to my PATH environment variable option. If you've already installed Python, you'll need to manually adjust your PATH.

1. click the Start Menu and type Advanced then click View advanced system settings.
2. click the Advanced tab, then click the Environment Variables... button
   • Anaconda (User)
     1. Under User Variables select Path then click Edit
     2. Click New then add the path: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Continuum\anaconda3
   • Anaconda (System)
     1. Under System Variables select Path then click Edit
     2. Click New then add the path: %SYSTEMROOT%\ProgramData\anaconda3
   • Vanilla Python: TODO
3. Open a Command Prompt and verify that running python spawns the interactive Python shell

FCEUX

1. Download FCEUX for windows and unzip the contents into %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\FCEUX
2. click the Start Menu and type Advanced then click View advanced system settings.
3. click the Advanced tab, then click the Environment Variables... button
4. Under User Variables select Path then click Edit
5. Click New then add the path: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\FCEUX
6. Open a Command Prompt and verify that running fceux spawns an FCEUX window

EDIT: cleanup formatting

[Christian Kauten]

Unfortunately, I overlooked the communication medium between the Python process and FCEUX's Lua interpreter. Because this system is currently using named pipes - a Unix exclusive feature - support for Windows is nontrivial. As seen below, the mkfifo command doesn't exist on Windows. There are Windows alternatives for named pipe-like support (in Python at least, not sure about Lua), but as I have no use case for this system on Windows I wont be seeking to implement this functionality. Anyone with experience using named piped on Windows is welcome to implement the functionality and open a PR, however.

C:\Users\XianLordOfWorlds\Downloads\gym-super-mario-bros-master\gym-super-mario-bros-master>python play_human.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "play_human.py", line 69, in <module>
    play(env, keys_to_action=keys_to_action, callback=callback)
  File "C:\Users\XianLordOfWorlds\AppData\Local\Continuum\anaconda3\lib\site-packages\gym\utils\play.py", line 116, in play
    obs = env.reset()
  File "C:\Users\XianLordOfWorlds\AppData\Local\Continuum\anaconda3\lib\site-packages\gym\wrappers\time_limit.py", line 44, in reset
    return self.env.reset()
  File "C:\Users\XianLordOfWorlds\Downloads\gym-super-mario-bros-master\gym-super-mario-bros-master\gym_super_mario_bros\nes_env.py", line 237, in reset
    self._start_emulator()
  File "C:\Users\XianLordOfWorlds\Downloads\gym-super-mario-bros-master\gym-super-mario-bros-master\gym_super_mario_bros\nes_env.py", line 108, in _start_emulator
    self._open_pipes()
  File "C:\Users\XianLordOfWorlds\Downloads\gym-super-mario-bros-master\gym-super-mario-bros-master\gym_super_mario_bros\nes_env.py", line 179, in _open_pipes
    os.mkfifo(self._pipe_in_name)
AttributeError: module 'os' has no attribute 'mkfifo'

[Christian Kauten]

The 3.0 release (coming in the next 30 days) features a brand new backend emulator (nes-py) that should be fully windows compatible. I haven't tested this yet, but will get around to it when the 3.0 release is closer to completion. Will report back with results soon.

[Christian Kauten]

Version 3.0 is live. I've not tested windows compatibility, but it should work assuming your python instance can communicate with a C++ 14 compatible compiler.

[Christian Kauten]

As of 3.0.5, Windows is officially supported! Checkout the installation notes over on nes-py (the new emulator that 3.0 runs on). You basically just need to have Visual Studio >=14.0 tools installed. Closing issue.