ArcadeGameSelector 2
AGS2 is a joystick controlled menu program for the Amiga.
What's New
For users of version 1 a number of things have improved:
- AGA and OCS support.
- Subdirectory support, up to two levels deep.
- Configurable screen layout.
- Better control over colors.
- Screenshots are loaded in a background task, keeping the interface responsive.
System Requirements
The minimum requirements for for running AGS2 are:
- 68000 CPU
- 1 MB of RAM
- OCS chipset
- Kickstart 2.0
- A hard drive or CD-ROM drive
iffparse.library
andlowlevel.library
However, games compatibility with the minimum setup will be low. The recommended minimum is:
- 68020 CPU
- 4 MB of fast RAM
- 1 MB of chip RAM
- Registered version of WHDLoad
Installation
Copy AGS2
, AGS2Helper
, AGS2.conf
, AGS2Background.iff
, and Empty.iff
into AGS:
. Copy Startup-Sequence
to S:
for AGS to start automatically. For each game that you wish to run create a script with the commands necessary to start it and give it a .run
extension. You can also add a screenshot with a .iff
extension and information with a .txt
extension.
Place AGS:AGS2 in the Startup-Sequence after SetPatch, Assign AGS: and whatever customizations you need:
C:SetPatch >NIL:
C:NoClick NOCLICK
Assign AGS: SYS:AGS
AGS:AGS2
; Startup-Sequence continues here if no game is selected.
Usage
- Joystick, gamepad, or cursor keys
Up
/Down
to select. Fire
button, CD32Red
button, orReturn
key to start a game or enter a directory.- CD32
Blue
button,Escape
key, orRAmiga + Q
to quit menu.
Subdirectories
Subdirectories that end with .ags
are included at the top of the game list, and they can also have a .iff
screenshot and a .txt
info file. Subdirectories are currently limited to being two levels deep.
Screenshots and Colors
The menu's screenmode, depth, palette, and colors are configurable. By default the screenmode and depth are copied from the background image, and text is rendered with the last color of the palette (255) and the second to last color (254) is used for the text's background. All of these can be configured in AGS2.conf
. When screenshots are loaded the palette is also loaded, so to keep the screenshots from changing the colors of the user interface you can use the lock_colors
options to lock the last colors in the palette.
Configuration
AGS2.conf
allows you configure the following variables:
Background image and screen mode
background = AGS:AGS2Background.iff
mode = $29000
depth = 4
lock_colors = 4
By default depth and mode are automatically copied from the background image, only set them if you wish to override.
Font selection
font = topaz.font
font_size = 8
Menu layout
menu_x = 24
menu_y = 8
menu_height = 30
The menu's width is fixed at 26 characters, plus two characters of padding. With Topaz/8 the menu is 224 pixels wide.
Screenshots
screenshot_x = 304
screenshot_y = 8
empty_screenshot = AGS:Empty.iff
Information text display
text_x = 304
text_y = 144
text_width = 40
text_height = 13
text_color = 255
text_background = 254
Miscellaneous
# Valid options are "quit" or "none".
blue_button_action = quit