Update: AttractMode Plus 3.0.6 for Apple Silicon and ArcadeFlow Theme

Update December 2023: Please be sure to head for version 3.0.7 on the official GitHub site (see my December 2023 post), as these here have codesigning issues. Thanks!

Update 17 September 2023: AttractMode Plus 3.0.6 for Apple Silicon is here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YbPK_sQodnHLzIN6eY0WyXxkqNfp8ORa/view?usp=drive_link

Please report on any problems, many thanks.

Update 15 September 2023: HOTFIX of AttractMode Plus 3.0.5 for Apple Silicon is here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qrJL4TlR-qJwq7hg8isoYVGnx1jiIP2Q/view?usp=drive_link

Recent changes in Homebrew again caused Attract Mode 3.0.5 to no longer work. Just to be clear: The image should be self-sufficient, i.e. it should not depend on Homebrew and any changes in there.

Thanks to the unknown user for the feedback in the comments, and happy to receive feedback.

Update 14 August 2023: AttractMode Plus 3.0.5 for Apple Silicon is updated, as the July version had a problem with Homebrew dependencies, this one should work now flawlessly.

Release notes: https://github.com/oomek/attractplus/releases/tag/3.0.5

And I forgot - if you want to compile this on your Mac, it's easy, provided that you can work in the Terminal: 

- download this file as a raw file: https://github.com/oomek/attractplus/blob/master/util/osx/self_build_macos.sh

- make the sh executable: chmod 755/Users/xxxxxxxxxxxxx/Downloads/self_build_macos.sh

- launch self_build_macos.sh (by dragging into the Terminal; the script should then build and also self-sign the app, which can the run on your Mac, but on no other Mac; by this you can avoid the above app signed with my dev certificate)

Enjoy!

Older news from 13 June 2023:

Happy to report that AttractMode Plus 3.0.4 compiles nicely on Apple Silicon. With the tiredless help of the developers, I compiled a native Apple Silicon binary and codesigned it. It is available here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GM_gx5Fy06hxjhE7ZDGMQWPrfsO3fpo_/view?usp=sharing

Attract Mode Plus (AM+) vs Attract Mode

While developers tell that AM+ is mostly in line with the upstream version of Attract Mode, the Plus version seems to provide enhanced layout functions, which you can test with a Layout Theme called ArcadeFlow - as this layout requires AM+ to run. The layout is maintained by zpaolo11x, who also enables AM+ for MacOS environments - that alone is worth testing this layout!

ArcadeFlow manages to impress

Disclaimer: I did not manage to explore all the functionality of ArcadeFlow, but the following was already very impressive to me. It's definitely worth a try! 

Contrary to many other AM layouts, ArcadeFlow is vertically oriented

So let's head for the setup.

Download the latest release (as of this writing v 16.1): https://github.com/zpaolo11x/Arcadeflow

Website with tons of further info:

https://zpaolo11x.github.io/Arcadeflow/

Unpack the layout in an own directory here: $HOME/.attract/layouts/ 

Launch AM+, go into the settings by pressing TAB -> head for Displays and choose the emulator, for which you want to use the layout, then choose AttractFlow (or the directory name of your choice).

Quirk in Apple Silicon: If you end up with an empty list, then restart AM+ altogether.

While the layout is quite self-explanatory, I would like to mention these peculiarities of the theme:

1. Layout Options are within the layout, not with the AM+ options

By going up with the joystick, you enter the dedicated ArcadeFlow Utility Menu with a plethora of options, which I was not able to fully digest so far :-).

   So please do not expect any Layout Options in the AM+ menu.

2. By default, Select launches a Contextual Menu of ArcadeFlow consisting of five white icons

Middle - launches the game
Up - game-specific options
Right - add to favorites
Down - History (if history is activated within ArcadeFlow)
Left - tags

3. By going all the way down, ArcadeFlow jumps swiftly from letter to letter etc. - also very handy.

More could follow here, should I find further interesting options. But already with this, I believe that this layout is very much worth a try.

Happy to receive your feedback on these new applications! Enjoy!