drewjbs

I found a solution for those having issues with audio device detection and crashing, thought I'd share if anyone needs it. This is done by installing a virtual  audio device that can be switched to before game start, then switched back to your default HDMI audio after the game loads to get sound from the game properly. So no headphones or audio cables needed. The whole process is done via AHK script (v1.1 - https://www.autohotkey.com). This is for the STAND ALONE version of the game so demulshooter is used. 

You will need to download 3 windows utilities.

VB-Cable (requires installation)

NirCmd (command line app)
SoundVolumeView (command line app)

#NoEnv
#SingleInstance Force
#NoTrayIcon
SendMode Input
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%

; ========================= CONFIG =========================
SindenPath       := "D:\Gun Build\Tools\Sinden Lightgun PVZ\Lightgun.exe"
GameFolder       := "D:\Gun Build\Roms\TEKNOPARROT\Plants vs Zombies\Sega\Shell"
ShellExe         := "shell.exe"
DemulShooterPath := "D:\Gun Build\Tools\DemulShooter\DemulShooter.exe"
NircmdPath       := "D:\Gun Build\Tools\Nircmd\nircmd.exe"
SoundViewPath    := "D:\Gun Build\Tools\Nircmd\SoundVolumeView.exe"
HDMI_Device      := "2 - AVT GC573"
DelaySeconds     := 10

; === Updated with correct window title from Window Spy ===
GameWindowTitle  := "PvzCore"
; =========================================================

; Close old instances
RunWait, taskkill /f /im Lightgun.exe,, Hide
RunWait, taskkill /f /im Shell.exe,, Hide
RunWait, taskkill /f /im DemulShooter.exe,, Hide

; Start Sinden Lightgun
Run, %SindenPath%

; Switch to VB-Cable so the game loads properly
RunWait, "%NircmdPath%" setdefaultsounddevice "CABLE Input" 0,, Hide
RunWait, "%NircmdPath%" setdefaultsounddevice "CABLE Input" 1,, Hide

; Start DemulShooter
Run, "%DemulShooterPath%" -target=arcadepc -rom=pvz,, Hide

; Launch the shell with correct working directory
SetWorkingDir, %GameFolder%
Run, %ShellExe%, %GameFolder%

; Wait for game to fully load
Sleep, % DelaySeconds * 1000

; Switch audio back to HDMI
RunWait, "%SoundViewPath%" /SetDefault "%HDMI_Device%" all,, Hide

; ====================== FOCUS FIX ======================
; Keeps the PvzCore window focused at all times (fixes trigger losing focus)
SetTimer, KeepGameFocused, 250   ; Check every 250ms - fast enough for lightgun

KeepGameFocused:
    IfWinNotActive, %GameWindowTitle%
    {
        IfWinExist, %GameWindowTitle%
            WinActivate, %GameWindowTitle%
    }
Return
; =======================================================

; ====================== HOTKEYS ======================
F12::
    SetTimer, KeepGameFocused, Off
    RunWait, taskkill /f /im Shell.exe,, Hide
    RunWait, taskkill /f /im Lightgun.exe,, Hide
    RunWait, taskkill /f /im DemulShooter.exe,, Hide
    ExitApp
Return

~Esc::
    SetTimer, KeepGameFocused, Off
    RunWait, taskkill /f /im Shell.exe,, Hide
    RunWait, taskkill /f /im Lightgun.exe,, Hide
    RunWait, taskkill /f /im DemulShooter.exe,, Hide
    ExitApp
Return

Putting the portable postgres folders in game folder worked, thanks for the link!

2018 is crashing for me right before loading... my DB is setup correctly as all other previous ones work just fine. Any ideas?

Error message before crashing

On 1/11/2026 at 1:36 AM, nosoucy62 said:

attention !

si vous avez déjà un lecteur E avec des données il y a un risque.....

Correct, if you already have a physical drive assigned E then this script is not needed. You can simply install your game there. This is for PC that has a C drive (OS) and maybe a secondary drive D.. which is very common for most emulation builds. I will update my post. 

On 1/10/2026 at 3:49 PM, jackotz91 said:

Hi

to me the normal version of KOF XIII Climax doesn't work yet. Did you try with the Nesica version?

**UPDATE** This script is only for PC's that need a virtual E drive. If your PC already has an assigned E drive you do not need this, it could cause conflicts. 

Nesica version confirmed working with latest TP. TTX2 version does not. Win11 here. Must be run from E drive. Here is a script that creates virtual E drive before game launch... edit paths as needed. You also need to edit game location in KingofFightersXIIIClimaxNesica.xml to the root of E:\ (E:\King of Fighters XIII Climax). This AHK script exits clean and does not make any permanent changes on host PC. 

#NoEnv
SendMode Input
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%

; === Your real parent folder (the one that CONTAINS "King of Fighters XIII Climax") ===
; After subst, E:\King of Fighters XIII Climax\ will point to D:\Roms\TTX\King of Fighters XIII Climax\
RealGameParentPath := "D:\Roms\TTX"

; 1. Remove any old E: mapping (safe even if not present)
RunWait, subst E: /D, , Hide
Sleep, 1500  ; Give Windows time to release it

; 2. Create virtual E: drive pointing to D:\Roms\TTX
;    → TeknoParrot will see E:\King of Fighters XIII Climax\game.exe = real files
RunWait, subst E: "%RealGameParentPath%", , Hide
Sleep, 3000  ; Important: Wait longer for drive to fully register before TP checks

; Optional debug (uncomment once to test in a CMD window that opens):
; Run, cmd /k "echo E: should now exist && dir "E:\King of Fighters XIII Climax\game.exe" && pause", , , NewPID

; Launch TeknoParrot (your profile now points to E:\...)
Run, D:\Emulators\Teknoparrot Gamepad\TeknoParrotUi.exe --profile=KingofFightersXIIIClimax.xml

~Esc::
    Process, Close, game.exe
    Sleep, 800
    Process, Close, TeknoParrotUi.exe
    RunWait, taskkill /im "TeknoParrotUi.exe" /F, , Hide
    RunWait, taskkill /im "game.exe" /F, , Hide

    Sleep, 1200

    ; Remove virtual E: drive (important to avoid conflicts later)
    RunWait, subst E: /D, , Hide
    Sleep, 800

    ExitApp
Return

Anyone getting this error when selecting Time Attack levels in Target Bravo stand alone?

Wave Score Attack - Raid NVD

Also how do I get rid of the white blocks in the center?

can someone re-post a working dump... dump from virus-man crashes before game start for me.

* nevermind, virus-man updated the archive.. all working now

15 minutes ago, juice said:

could anyone post the a working zip for cobra world ,thanks

You need a second zip file cobrataw.zip that contains - NM00021 CBR2, Ver.B a026081331195a.bin

Grab the archive HERE and extract the CBR2 bin. From this bin file create a zip archive and name it cobrataw.zip, place it with the other zip. 

6 hours ago, magicray1028 said:

i found the fix for the slowdowns, disable force vsync in cxbx video settings.

 

a few notable bugs i found

 

Vsync disabled , maintain aspect ratio off, exclusive fullscreen on, intel 14700K and rtx 4070 , not running as admin, bezel off.

 

hod3 

- aim is perfect

-Zombies seem to die in slow motion and some lags during transition scenes.

- trying english version causes a crash before the first cut scene

 

Vcop3

- some slow downs when sprites are shot

- in 4:3 ratio, aim is offset on the sides, this bug is also present in the old cxbx

- in fullscreen ratio aim is perfect except on the right, its offset . on the left its fine.

 

Ghost Squad

- in fullscreen 16:9 or 4:3 mode , aim is also offset on the right . 

 

overall huge step in emulating these systems. let me know if theres any other testing you guys want me to do! thanks hippo! And especially thanks argon for always helping fix bugs and add features so quickly.

 

Still no luck for HOTD3 for me... still very slow, Hippopippo mentioned this build was developed on Win10, I am running Win11... maybe there are issues with Win11

1 hour ago, joe555 said:

Try setting as admin 

Set cxbx.exe run as admin, still 5-10 fps maybe... any other suggestions?

Resolution set to default/native

Maintain aspect ration on

Tried with and without bezel
 

2 hours ago, cor094 said:

I had an issue where if I set up vcop3 to Freeplay and other test menu items, then launch Ghost Squad, all my vcop3 changes, calibration, etc are lost. So, I ended up just making a copy of the emulator folder for each game (but kept the "roms" folder only in one). So, that also makes separate bezels easy since you have separate folders. If not for that issue, I'd probably swap the bezel on using ahk.

Yep that is what I ended up doing... the emulator is very small in size so having 3 instances is no big deal. Games run fine except HOTD3 is very low FPS for some reason. AMD with integrated Radeon graphics.. I guess that must be the issue. 

3 hours ago, cor094 said:

Here's some bezels I've made for the Chihiro gun games. https://pixeldrain.com/l/cWb8FvSH

Thanks for sharing, you know how we can assign these bezels per game using one instance of reshade?

5 hours ago, argonlefou said:

Not at the moment, those 2 keys are hardcoded in DemulShooter, this was mainly a 'test' setup

 

I don't know when/if there will be a 'Cxbx' page on the GUI with key selection, etc ...

 

Untill then, maybe you can try tu remap Q to O with a simple AHK script ? 

Depending on how RetroShooter driver is sumulating keypress, it might work

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion.. AHK remapping works great.

@argonlefou Is there anyway to change the P1 and P2 'action' assignments? (you set default to O and P respectively)
For Sinden we change keys but for RetroShooter you cannot assign any inputs. In this case I would assign Q or one of the directionals

Maybe its an AMD issue.. this is Ryzen7 with built in Radeon graphics. 

On 1/25/2025 at 6:37 AM, joeplay said:

Confirmed, connect some speakers to the audio input on the motherboard and the game starts. Once the game starts you can disconnect them. This is necessary for shell.exe to start.I don't know if this will be fixed in the future.

 

And another thing, when you get killed, the game goes to a black screen and there's no way to start over without quitting and restarting it.

Yes the same, headphone jack required... stuck at black screen once player dies. 

Are these black question marks suppose to be onscreen?

On 1/25/2025 at 9:14 AM, Holly said:

But i must connect headphone to motherboard to do work It or not? Tia

Yes it was crashing for me on a MiniPC, I simply plugged in a headphone jack wire only into the headphone jack input (and it boots up)

Hope to see this get fixed with a patch. 

Revisiting this game.. I did have it go fullscreen ok with lossless scaling now I get an error.. but if I do click on the game it fills screen but the tracking is way off I assume do to the scale/resolution.

Anyone have a working solution for this game?

Anyone have clear logo and TP style logo

Great release, anyone have a TP style logo?

@argonlefou This started popping up on game start for Drakon recently, never did before. I can close it after starting game and using gun crosshair to hit the clear button, but would rather have it not display at all. Have you seen this before and do you happen to know how to get rid of it completely. The game is hooked properly and the aiming works great.

Flying Tickets crashes for me on startup, however rebooting PC it will start 1 time... then crash anytime after that. Anyone else have this issue?

Going through my TTX section.. the NesicaLive game Exception seems to be broken. It launches with Jconfig/Nesica Unlocker but I get an error shortly after game start (game music still going but this error window pops up)

This game is very cool and I do not see any other versions (not that I know of), also TeknoParrot does not support this. It is worth preserving this one.

On 8/16/2024 at 3:57 PM, argonlefou said:

 

I got the same screen on a laptop with a Bluetooth adapter seen as COM3 and COM4 by windows.

Looks like the game found those COM port interresting, but something hangs out and the game run into an infinite loop

 

I solved it by either disabling those COM port material, or renaming it in windows after boot

 

You can also install DemulShooter plugin, this should get rid of the screen (and you should be able to play normally without DemulShooter even with the plugin installed)

Thanks, using DemulShooter fixed the problem

So right after Drakon Realm Keepers launches the unity logo fades to gray screen... then crashes. Anyone know of a fix? Running AMD