Hello Members and Guests!
This guide will tell you everything you need to know about how to download Frontman, change the settings in the game, and hook up guitar controllers. Let's get started.
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Table of Contents
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Installing the Game
There are several methods of installing Frontman. We now have an installer, thanks to derelict. You can also install the game manually if you have Windows Vista, or if the installer doesn't work for you.
The Automatic Installer
This is by far the easiest way to install the game. However, for those who know very little about their computers, there could be trouble later down the road (ex: if your game stops working properly, you must rely on the help section of the Frontman forums). Also the installer only works for Windows XP systems.
To install the game on Windows XP or previous Windows systems, use the following installer:
Installer for Windows XP - Rapidshare - Megashare - Megaupload
To install the game on Windows Vista, use the manual method.
To Install the Game Manually
Step 1: Pre-Requisites
You must first install several pre-requisites, including the XNA Redistributables, DirectX 9.0c Redistributables, and the DirectX Runtime Web Installer.
When asked to restart your computer, click "no" or "restart later."
Step 2: Download the Game
Now you must download the game. To get the latest version, download this file: [http://frontman.qsh.es/Files/Frontman_Beta_6-3.rar].
Step 3: Unzipping the Game
Unzip the files that you downloaded using WinRAR. If you don't have WinRAR and don't want to pay for it, try this user-friendly alternative program: Alzip.
To unzip the files, right click them and choose "Unzip" or an option similar. Unzip the Main Game Files first. Remember where you unzipped them.
Step 4: Test the Game
Now play the game (click Frontman.exe). Frontman should now work. If you receive an error message, try installing the following files: NET Framework 2.0, NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1, Visual C++ 2005, and Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1.
When asked to restart your computer, click "no" or "restart later."
Step 5: To Get Help…
If after following steps 1-3, Frontman did not work, you should have followed the directions in step 4. If so, now try to run the game again.
If the game still gives an error message, use the Frontman forums' help section.
Changing game settings/Config.XML
There are many settings that you can change by opening the Config.XML file in notepad. This section will cover all of the lines you can edit in the config.xml file. We will start at the top and work our way down. We will start each out by telling its valid values.
Pitch Shifting Enabled
"true" or "false"; some computers will not be able to experience the correct sound when using this. Instead it results in a whiny, scratchy noise. If you experience this, you should turn it to false. Default is true.
Compatibility Mode
"true" or "false"; if you find the gameplay too laggy to play, you can change this and hopefully it will run the game smoothly; though, it does create audio problems and is no longer supported by Callisto (the programmer) and may be removed from new versions.
Crowd Volume
Any integer; The volume for the in-game crowd cheering and booing. If you enjoy the virtual crowd then leave this on, otherwise turn it to zero. Default is 30.
Crowd Clap Volume
Any integer; this one changes the volume of the crowd's clapping during starpower. Default is 100.
Screw Up Volume
Any integer; this one affects those sounds you hear when you hit the wrong note. Default is 40.
Miss Volume
Any integer; this is how loud the audio track named guitar.ogg will play when you miss a note. Default is 20.
Song Volume
Any Integer; this one controls the volume of the song.ogg file. Default is 45.
Delay
Any Integer; This delays the notes to the music, allowing a "fix" for certain out of sync songs. It does nothing to help if the song itself is fretted out of sync, but say you play a song and it is consistently out of sync but you are sure the right notes are fretted in the right places, you would enter a millisecond delay value in here. Default is 50.
Sync Tracks ToMs
We aren't quite sure what this one is supposed to do, but it seems to have a slight effect on hammer-on's and pull-off's.
Full Screen
"true" or "false"; this should be self-explanatory, does the game take up the entire screen or just a window. This should be set to true for best performance. Default is true.
VSync
"true" or "false"; if true, syncs the screen vertically so that if the game lags suddenly (ex: no lag when playing notes w/o tails, then the game lags by a few fps when playing notes w/ tails), the gameplay doesn't become choppy. If false, no syncing takes place, however, fps may improve if the software/hardware on your CPU is just right. Just toggle the two and then play multiplayer to see the effects/find out which option works best for you.
MipMapping
"true" or "false"; if true it will allow for faster rendering times and result in fewer artifacts at the price of relatively small amounts of memory. If false, the game will need to generate every single texture it needs at the time it needs it. Default is true.
Resolution
Common ones include 1280 x 1024 and 1680 x 1050 as well as many others, this one should depend on your computer along with whatever mod you're using. Basically, this controls how detailed the graphics being displayed will be. Default is 800 x 600.
Position For Random Song Option
"Bottom" or "Top" or "Hide"; this is mainly a useless option though it could prevent one button push. If you like the game to pick random songs for you just pick Top, otherwise leave it alone. If you don't want this feature to be shown in the song list, select "Hide". Default is Bottom.
Player 1 Lefty
"true" or "false"; when true, the first player's fretbuttons will be mirrored with orange on the left and green on the right. Default is false.
Player 2 Lefty
"true" or "false"; same as Player 1 Lefty except this one makes it so that the second player is lefty. Default is false.
Song List
"List" or "Folders"; if set to "Folders", when you play Frontman, the setlist of songs will divide songs into folders rather than showing every single song in your songs folder. It also makes folders instead of tiers. If set to "List", every single song is shown, and tiers can be made. Default is Songs.
Always Ask For Specific Song Difficulty
"true" or "false"; if set to true, the game will ask you what difficulty you want to play on for each song you select. Default is false.
Song Directory
This is where the songs are loaded from. Default is "\Songs". The variable here can be relative to the starting folder (ex: if the folder where you put your songs is "C:\Program Files\Frontman Beta 6.3\Songs" you can just put "\Songs") or it can be a full folder address if the folder is outside the starting folder (ex: you can write "C:\Documents\Songs").
Hyper Speed
"true" or "false"; if true the ingame fretboard will move much faster. This does not alter the song's actual speed/BPM. Default is false.
Show Solo Progress
"true" or "false"; this feature will display a percentage counting how many notes you hit in a solo with no real hit to performance. This is similar to the feature in Rock Band and will only work in songs with their sections named. Default is true.
Show Remaining Song Time
"true" or "false"; if set to true this will display a timer counting down the time left in the song you are currently player. There is no obvious hit to performance. Default is false.
Player Name
Can be anything; this is the name displayed in high scores for when you complete songs. As of FM Beta 6 Update 3, this can be changed in-game at the highscores screen.
Stage
"Animated2D" or "Video" or "Image"; this controls how the background is displayed during actual gameplay. Default is Animated2D.
Sort Setlist By
"Title" or "Artist" or "Directory"; this controls the order in which songs are displayed in your game's setlist. Title sorts it by the name of the song starting with A and ending with Z. Artist organizes it in alphabetical order by the name of the Artist. Directory organizes it by the order in which it shows up in the "songs" folder. Default is Title.
Setting up Guitar Controllers
Here there are tutorials to use almost all types of guitar controllers.
PS2 Controllers
You need a PS2 to USB Converter to use these guitars. Once they are plugged in, they should appear in Frontman as Gamepad0, Gamepad1, Gamepad2, etc. You can then set the controls in-game. Some types of guitars or PS2 to USB Converters have been notorious for having problems, however.
Rock Band PS2 guitars come with a USB adapter that picks up the guitar's wireless signals, so they can be plugged straight to the computer.
PS3 Controllers
This type of controller comes with a USB adapter which can pick up the wireless signals from the guitar. You should be able to just plug this into your computer and go; however, you can't thrust the guitar upwards to use starpower. You must instead use the select button.
XBOX360 Controllers
These guitars generally work like the PS3 ones. Some guitars however might require a Bluetooth Adapter and a program such as glovepie to map the controls to keyboard buttons.
Wii Controllers
Wii controllers generally demand much more to hook to a pc than other guitar controllers. To hook a wiimote and guitar to a computer, you need a bluetooth adapter and a program called glovepie. There are several guides and tutorials on how to do this, including several youtube videos.
Be aware that some pc's might not have the necessary bluetooth stacks to pick up the wiimote, and that in this case you should shop for a bluetooth adapter that comes with such stacks. One such brand of bluetooth adapter is Kensington.
For more info on how to use a wiimote and/or guitar with a pc, visit wiili.org.
