An arcade game launcher based on Donkey Kong with incentives to play and unlock arcade games. It comes bundled with features and ready to go. You just need to provide your own dkong.zip.
A very short video review - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_RtjCKfJuoo
The latest releases are available to download from below. Refer to the How to Install and Troubleshooting sections.
| Download Link | Version | Operating System |
|---|---|---|
| dkafe_win64_binary_v0.60.zip | 0.60 | Windows 64 bit (x64) systems: 10, 11 |
| dkafe_win32_binary_v0.60.zip | 0.60 | Windows 32 bit (x86) systems: Vista, 7, 8 |
| dkafe_winxp_binary_v0.60.zip | 0.60 | Windows XP only |
| dkafe_rpi4_image_v0.55.gz | 0.55 | Raspberry Pi 4 and 400 only |
The DKAFE frontend system mimics Donkey Kong gameplay. You control Jumpman on 4 familiar stages and have him select which arcade game to launch. Simply walk up to a machine, push "Up" to face towards it, then push "Jump" to play.
The default setup showcases all the excellent Donkey Kong hacks that have been developed by the community along with some new hacks that were made specifically by me for this frontend.
The built-in reward system will payout coins when you play well. Earning coins will allow you to unlock and play more machines.
Coins are awarded after beating target scores (for 3rd, 2nd and 1st prize). Coins will drop from the top of the screen (after returning to the frontend) and Jumpman must do his best to collect them before they disappear off the bottom.
Pauline helps out by providing game information, score targets and unlock requirements as you walk towards an arcade machine.
You begin with 500 coins, and you must collect coins which are thrown by Donkey Kong. You'll be charged 100 coins to launch a game. Be aware of the countdown timer too, if the timer runs out you'll lose 150 coins!
If you're not up for the challenge then it is possible to adjust things and have all machines unlocked and set to free play. Pauline will love it when you beat all the machines though.
The frontend can be configured to launch other emulators and roms.
Jumpman can traverse platforms using unbroken ladders and by utilising hammers (to teleport short distances). Jumpman can drop through an oilcan to quickly warp between barrel, rivet and pies stages.
- An interactive launcher that comes preconfigured to work with classic Donkey Kong roms and hacks.
- A rom patcher that automatically generates hacked roms from the many included patch files.
- Several Donkey Kong hacks and plugins made by me specifically for use with this frontend.
- A custom lightweight version of WolfMAME built specifically for Donkey Kong, and it's clones and bootlegs.
- MAME plugins and scripts that interface with the frontend to add cool features such as score targets, stage practice and a coaching mode.
- A built in music playlist that features 12 fantastic Donkey Kong remix tracks by default.
- Extensive configuration options.
- An optional add-on pack featuring ports and hacks for classic systems (NES, Atari VCS, Colecovision, Intellivision, CoCo3, Commodore 64, BBC Micro, MSX, Gameboy and many more).
- Roms or information on how to obtain them.
DKAFE comes with a default frontend built from various patches of the original dkong.zip (US Set 1) arcade rom. The original rom is required for the patching to work. All patch files are included in the /patch folder.
Credit is given to the original authors below.
- VectorKong
- GalaKong and Extreme Galakong
- GalaKong Junior
- Allen Kong
- OctoMonkey
- Half Kong
- Quarter Kong
- 2NUT Kong
- NoLuck Kong
- DK Lava Panic!
- DK Who and the Daleks
- Konkey Dong
- Donkey Kong Barrels Only
- Donkey Kong Pies Only
- Donkey Kong Springs Only
- Donkey Kong Rivets Only
- Donkey Kong Killscreen
- Donkey Kong Coach
- Donkey Kong Chorus
- Donkey Kong/Crazy Kong Continue
- Donkey Kong Ends (L=01 and L=03)
By Paul Goes - https://donkeykonghacks.net/
- Donkey Kong Crazy Barrels Edition
- Donkey Kong Championship Edition
- Donkey Kong Randomized Edition
- Donkey Kong Freerun Edition
- Donkey Kong Into The Dark
- Donkey Kong Skip Start
- Donkey Kong Reverse
- Donkey Kong On The Run
- Donkey Kong Twisted Jungle
- Donkey Kong Barrelpalooza
- Donkey Kong 40th Anniversary Edition
- Donkey Kong Duel
- Donkey Kong Wizardry
- Donkey Kong RNDMZR
- Donkey Kong Springfinity
- Donkey Kong Barrel Boss
- Donkey Kong Heart Hunt
- Donkey Kong Accelerate
- Donkey Kong Pac-Man Crossover
By John Kowalski (Sock Master) - http://users.axess.com/twilight/sock/
- Donkey Kong Spooky Remix
- Donkey Kong Christmas Remix
- Donkey Kong Remix Demo
- Donkey Kong Springs Trainer
- Donkey Kong Trainer
- Donkey Kong Pace
- Donkey Kong Rainbow
- Crazy Kong Part II 2023 Revision
By Jeff Kulczycki - http://www.jeffsromhack.com/products/d2k.htm
- Donkey Kong 2 Jumpman Returns
- Donkey Kong Foundry
- Donkey Kong Barrel Control Colouring
By Mike Mika and Clay Cowgill - http://www.multigame.com/dkp_arcade.html
- Donkey Kong Pauline Edition
By Don Hodges - http://www.donhodges.com/how_high_can_you_get.htm
- Donkey Kong Killscreen Fix
By Kirai Shouen and 125scratch - https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/6689/
- Kana Kong
By Tim Appleton - https://www.oocities.org/wigglebeat
- Donkey Kong Pac-Man
- Donkey Kong Atari 2600 Graphics
By ChrisP - https://donkeykongforum.net/index.php?topic=1215
- Crazy Kong 117
- Crazy Kong
- Crazy Kong Part II
- Crazy Kong Part II (Alternative Levels)
- Donkey Kong Wild Barrel Hack
- Donkey Kong 2 Marios
- Donkey Kong Naked
- Donkey Kong Hard
- Donkey Kong Japan
- Big Kong
- Donkey Kong on Galaxian Hardware
- Crazy Kong on Scramble Hardware
- Crazy Kong on Moon Cresta Hardware
- Crazy Kong on Galaxian Hardware
- Crazy Kong Spanish Bootleg
- Big Kong on Galaxian Hardware
These plugins add extra features to some roms.
The coaching plugin can help you master the spring and barrel stages.
Click here to watch a video review of DKCoach by GenXGrownup.
The chorus plugin replaces the default samples and music with acapella sounds.
Click here to watch a gameplay video of DK Chorus.
The practice plugin allows you to practice playing a particular stage to refine your skills.
Typically you will be able to select from Barrels, Pies, Springs and Rivets. There is also an option to start the game from level 5.
The continue plugin gives you the opportunity to continue playing when your game would normally be over.
A continue option will appear with a 10 second countdown timer. Simply push the P1 Start button to continue your game and your score will be reset to zero. A tally of the total number of continues made will appear at the top of the screen.
DKAFE comes with my custom lightweight build of WolfMAME named DKWolf, it supports only Donkey Kong drivers (including DK Junior, DK3, Crazy Kong and Big Kong).
It is possible to set up other emulators and roms if you do not wish to use the default Donkey Kong focussed frontend.
Steps to install the default frontend are as follows. Also refer to How to set up.
- Download the latest DKAFE binary release for your version of Windows and extract contents to a folder.
- Run "launch.exe".
- Download the latest SD card image
- Burn image to an SD card (minimum 4GB size) using Raspberry Pi Imager.
- Copy dkong.zip to the /boot partition of the SD card.
- Boot your Raspberry Pi with the SD card inserted.
- The DKAFE install script will ask some questions.
Rotate the display?
Launch DKAFE on boot? (Recommend Y)
Hide startup messages? (Recommend Y)
Hide the Pi taskbar? (Recommend Y)
Hide the Pi desktop? (Recommend Y)
Hide the Pi mouse cursor? (Recommend Y)
Use headphone jack for audio?
Optimise framebuffer (Recommend Y for HDMI and VGA)
Force 640x480 mode on boot?
Map GPIO to keyboard input controls? (Recommend Y)
Disable non-essential Services? (Recommend Y)
Disable networking services (WiFi, SSH)?
Reboot now?
The default set up simply requires that you place dkong.zip into DKAFE's /roms folder. Optionally, you may place dkongjr.zip and dkong3.zip into the dkafe/roms folder.
The frontend will automatically generate a bunch of Donkey Kong roms using patch files which are included with the software.
The application requires settings.txt and romlist.csv to be present in the installation folder. Defaults are provided.
The settings.txt contains the emulator, rom path, controls and other configuration. See Frontend Settings section below.
The romlist.csv contains information about the roms, which game slot they should appear in and how they can be unlocked and launched in the frontend. See How to use romlist.csv below. There are 125 configurable game slots in total.
The frontend is rendered at 224x256 pixels (as per the original Donkey Kong arcade machine) and then scaled to fit the monitors actual resolution.
The OPTION -view "Screen 0 Pixel Aspect (7:8)" is used by default to override MAME's default 4:3 aspect.
If rotating your monitor then you may want to add the OPTION -nokeepaspect to fill the screen.
For Raspberry Pi, refer to Raspberry Pi Notes for information on connecting to a CRT TV via RGB Scart or Composite AV.
Default settings can be changed in the settings.txt file. Some settings can be changed in the frontend settings menu (available at the bottom of the game list or by pressing TAB key).
FULLSCREEN = 1
1 for fullscreen mode or 0 for windowed mode.
ROTATION = 0
Rotates the screen for the duration of your DKAFE session. Set to 0, 90, 180 or 270. For Windows systems only. Pi4 rotation is handled via install script.
FREE_PLAY = 0
1 for free play. If 0 then Jumpman must collect sufficient coins to play a game.
UNLOCK_MODE = 1
1 for unlock mode were Jumpman must score points to unlock games. If 0 then all games are unlocked by default.
CONFIRM_EXIT = 1
1 to display confirmation screen when attempting to exit. 0 to exit without question.
BASIC_MODE = 0
1 for basic mode to switch the frontend gameplay features off. This is equivalent to FREE_PLAY = 1, UNLOCK_MODE = 0 and all interface settings set to 0.
SHOW_SPLASHSCREEN = 1
1 to show the DKAFE splash screen and animation on startup. 0 to skip the splash screen.
SHOW_GAMETEXT = 1
1 to show the game text descriptions when Jumpman faces an arcade machine. 0 to hide the game descriptions.
SPEED_ADJUST = 0
Increase the frontend speed. 0 is normal. If frontend is running slow then try incrementing by 1 until desired speed is achieved.
SKILL_LEVEL = 1
How difficult are the target scores. 1 (Beginner) to 10 (Expert).
START_STAGE = 0
The stage to start the frontend on. 0 is barrels stage, 1 is rivets stage, 2 is pie factory stage.
HIGH_SCORE_SAVE = 1
Save your high score tables for each game.
ENABLE_PLAYLIST = 1
1 to play music files from the playlist folder instead of the regular Donkey kong background music.
'PLAYLIST_VOLUME = 5' Playlist music volume from 0 (minimum) to 10 (maximum).
ENABLE_MENU=1
1 to enable the game list when P2 Start button is pressed to quickly launch an available game via the menu.
ENABLE_ADDONS=1
1 to enable add-on packs. 0 to disable previously installed add-ons.
ENABLE_SHUTDOWN=0
1 to enable system shutdown via the "confirm exit" menu.
ENABLE_HAMMERS=1
1 to enable teleport between hammers in the fronted. Makes it quicker to move up and down platforms.
INACTIVE_TIME = 20
Period of inactivity in seconds before showing attract mode/game instructions.
PLAY_COST = 100
How much it costs to play an arcade machine.
LIFE_COST = 150
How many coins Jumpman drops when time runs out.
SCORE_START = 500
How many coins Jumpman starts out with.
TIMER_START = 8000
Number to start the countdown timer from.
INP_FAVOURITE = 10
Number of minutes gameplay required for a recording to be flagged as favourite.
Default settings can be changed in the settings.txt file.
EMU_1 = <ROOT>/dkwolf/dkwolf <OPTIONS>
EMU_2 = <ROOT>/dkwolf/dkwolf <OPTIONS> -record <RECORD_ID>
EMU_3 = (optional)
EMU_4 = (optional)
EMU_5 = (optional)
EMU_6 = (optional)
EMU_7 = (optional)
EMU_8 = (optional)
EMU_1 and EMU_2 come preconfigured. EMU_1 is used for DKAFE gameplay and EMU_2 is used for "inp" recordings.
EMU_3 to EMU_8 can be used to add more of your own emulators.
ROM_DIR = <ROOT>/roms
The rom directory is set to the DKAFE roms folder by default.
OPTIONS = -rompath <ROM_DIR> -view "Screen 0 Pixel Aspect (7:8)" -video opengl
General arguments can be stored into <OPTIONS> rather than repeating for each emulator.
The special tags <ROOT>, <ROM_DIR>, <OPTIONS> and <RECORD_ID> used above are replaced with their actual values at runtime.
ALLOW_ROM_OVERWRITE = 0
Allow roms in ROM_DIR to be overwritten. Set to 1 when using an emulator that doesn't support a rompath argument e.g. AdvanceMAME.
EMU_ENTER
Optional system command to issue before launching emulator
EMU_EXIT
Optional system command to issue after exiting emulator
REFOCUS_WINDOW = 0
Attempt to refocus DKAFE window when exiting from LUA interface (Windows Only)
These settings relate to Donkey Kong hacks.
CREDITS = 1
1 to automatically insert a coin after launching a game.
AUTOSTART = 1
1 to automatically start the game - if coins are inserted.
ALLOW_SKIP_INTRO = 1
Allow the DK climb scene to be quickly skipped in game by pressing Jump button
SHOW_AWARD_PROGRESS = 1
1 to show award progress when playing game (replaces highscore at top of screen)
SHOW_AWARD_TARGETS = 1
1 to show award targets for 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize when playing game (appears during the DK intro/climb scene)
SHOW_HUD = 1
1, 2 or 3 to enable the HUD to be displayed in the top right corner. Press P2 Start to toggle the data.
1=Targets, 2=Awards, 3=No data, 0 to disable the HUD.
Keyboard controls can be customised in the settings.txt file using the "common name" to identify the key. Refer to this table.
The default controls are aligned with MAME keys as follows.
CONTROL_LEFT = left
CONTROL_RIGHT = right
CONTROL_UP = up
CONTROL_DOWN = down
CONTROL_JUMP = left ctrl
CONTROL_ACTION = left alt
CONTROL_START = 1
CONTROL_MENU = 2
CONTROL_INFO = 5
CONTROL_EXIT = escape
CONTROL_SETTINGS = tab
CONTROL_SNAP = F12
CONTROL_SKIP = s
CONTROL_PLAYLIST = p
IMPORTANT NOTE: The controls configured in the frontend do not apply to the emulator. If your controls are not default then you will also have to configure your controls in the emulator menu (tab).
Joystick controls are enabled by default. Set USE_JOYSTICK = 0 to disable joystick controls.
The up, down, left, right controls are automatically mapped from the DPAD and first detected joystick axis.
Buttons can be customised in the settings.txt file as per the following example.
Button numbers 0-19 relate to the first joystick and 20-39 relate to the second joystick.
USE_JOYSTICK = 1
BUTTON_JUMP = 0
BUTTON_ACTION = 1
BUTTON_P1 = 9
BUTTON_P2 = 29
BUTTON_EXIT = 6
BUTTON_COIN = 7
GPIO input is supported on Raspberry Pi4 and it is my recommended option for interfacing with arcade controls. The DKAFE install script can set this up automatically.
GPIO inputs can be mapped to keyboard inputs in the /boot/config.txt file. The chosen defaults avoid using GPIO pins that may be used with other Raspberry Pi peripherals:
# GPIO to keyboard inputs
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=17,keycode=105,label="KEY_LEFT"
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=27,keycode=106,label="KEY_RIGHT"
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=22,keycode=103,label="KEY_UP"
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=23,keycode=108,label="KEY_DOWN"
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=24,keycode=29,label="KEY_LEFTCTRL"
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=25,keycode=56,label="KEY_LEFTALT"
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=5,keycode=2,label="KEY_1"
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=6,keycode=3,label="KEY_2"
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=16,keycode=6,label="KEY_5"
dtoverlay=gpio-key,gpio=26,keycode=1,label="KEY_ESC"
You can override the default Donkey Kong background music by setting ENABLE_PLAYLIST = 1 in the settings.txt file.
12 Donkey Kong music remixes are included by default for your enjoyment - see thank you section below for a list of the included tracks and their creators. These files can be removed and replaced with your own favourite music tracks in .mp3, .ogg or .wav format.
The "Music Playlist" can also be activated via the frontend settings menu (by pressing the TAB key) or it can be toggle on/off by pressing the CONTROL_PLAYLIST key (p). When music is playing you can skip to the next track by pressing the CONTROL_SKIP key (s).
A default romlist.csv is provided for use with the automatically generated roms (see above).
The file can be configured to launch roms from the default rom directory (by leaving subfolder blank) or from a specified subfolder.
The subfolder is useful when you have multiple roms with the same name e.g. there are lots of hacked versions of dkong.zip. If the emulator supports a rompath argument then DKAFE will launch the rom directly from its subfolder.
If the emulator does not support a rompath (e.g. Advmame) then the rom will be copied over to the main rompath. See ALLOW_ROM_OVERWRITE option. With this approach I recommend the original rom be placed into its own subfolder (e.g. /roms/original) to prevent it from being overwritten.
All roms in the list should be given an emulator number (e.g. 1 for DKWolf, as defined in settings.txt), a slot position (between 1 and 125) and a basic descriptive name. Set the slot position to 0 or 999 if you want the rom to only appear in the menu.
As well as an emulator number, the roms can be given a recording emulator number (e.g. 2 for DK Wolf recordings). This provides emulator details for when the rom is launched in recording mode. Set to zero to disable recording.
If there are multiple entries for the same slot number then the first valid entry will be used. This allows the optional roms dkongjr and dkong3 to become active when they are provided.
The special subfolder name shell can be used when you want to launch a batch file or shell script. Create a .bat or .sh file inside the /shell subfolder. The emulator number can be left blank.
An accompanying icon in .png format should be placed into the artwork/icons folder or subfolder with the same name as the rom. Recommended icon size is 12px wide x 22px High.
An optional add-on pack includes over 150 Donkey Kong ports and hacks for the following classic home consoles and computers.
- Atari 2600
- Atari 5200
- Atari 7800
- Atari 800XL Computer
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Nintendo Gameboy|Gameboy Color
- Super Nintendo
- Famicom Disk System
- Sega Genesis/Megadrive
- Colecovision
- Coleco Adam
- Intellivision
- Tandy Color Computer 3 (CoCo3)
- Texas Instruments TI99/4
- Amstrad CPC
- Sinclair Spectrum
- Tangerine Oric 1
- Commodore 16/Plus4
- Commodore 64
- Commodore Pet
- Commodore VIC-20
- Commodore Amiga
- BBC Micro
- Dragon 32
- MSX
- Apple ][
- Game and Watch
- LCD/Handheld
- MS-DOS (x64 platform only)
- PC (x64 platform only
The console games will appear on the pies and elevator stages. In unlock mode, you must play for a given amount of time to win coins instead of reaching a target score e.g. Play 2 minutes for 3rd prize, 4 minutes for 2nd prize and 8 minutes for first prize.
The default controls have been configured to work with arcade controls. Typically press "Jump" or "P1 Start" to start - ignoring specific keys displayed in the game menu.
The latest ZIP file is dkafe_console_addon_pack_v1.zip
Simply drop the ZIP into your DKAFE folder and then launch DKAFE. The system will detect the ZIP and automatically unpack and install the add-on pack for you.
Add-on games have been optimised to launch instantly on Windows 64 bit machines. For other platforms, the first load will be slower while DKAFE performs an initial optimisation. Subsequent loads will be instant.
Note: The console add-on pack is not currently available for download from my github page. You will need to obtain the latest the add-on packs from an external source.
For the default frontend you should stick with the bundled DKWolf emulator which comes ready to go.
Otherwise, my recommendations are:
- Mame v0.196 to v0.241 from https://www.mamedev.org/ . Rom hacks and lua interface hacks are tested against these versions.
- Wolfmame (for competition/recording) from https://github.com/mahlemiut/wolfmame/releases/
- HB Mame (Dedicated to hacks and homebrew) from https://www.progettosnaps.net/hbmame/
- Mame v0.196 to v0.241 from https://www.mamedev.org/ . LUA interface and plugins are tested against these versions. Mamedev binaries are not generally available for Raspberry Pi so you will have to compile your own. See readme.txt in \dkwolf folder
- Advance Mame from https://www.advancemame.it/download
Requires Python3 (v3.7 upwards) with installed packages from requirements.txt
Pyinstaller can be used to build the application binary.
pyinstaller launch.py --onefile --clean --console --icon artwork/dkafe.ico
See build64.bat (and build32.bat) for Windows build script making use of a Python virtual environment (venv).
See build.sh and Raspberry Pi Notes for building a Raspberry Pi binary.
Refer to dkwolf/readme.txt.
The frontend was developed for my own DIY Donkey Kong arcade cabinet as a replacement for a 60-in-1 board and as an exercise in learning game development and Donkey Kong rom hacking.
I wanted to bring together all the amazing Donkey Kong roms and hacks into one place with an incentive to play them along with tools to aid my own progression (trainers) and .inp recording capability for score submissions.
I would love to get to the infamous killscreen on level 22. My current PB is 513,900 points at level 15.
- Add a test screen for the player controls and a welcome screen to set the initial frontend preferences.
- Create an alternative frontend for vertical arcade games (like 60-in-1 board) with DK, Pacman, Ms Pacman, Galaga, Burger Time, Frogger etc. No roms will be provided.
The Donkey Kong rom hacking resource https://github.com/furrykef/dkdasm
Paul Goes excellent set of Donkey Kong hacking reference material https://donkeykonghacks.net/
Fantastic Donkey Kong hacks from Sockmaster (John Kowalski), Paul Goes, Jeff Kulczycki, Mike Mika/Clay Cowgill, Don Hodges, ChrisP, Tim Appleton, Vic20 George, Kirai Shouen/125scratch.
Feedback and feature ideas from Superjustinbros (Justin De Lucia) https://superjustintheblog.blogspot.com/
The pygame community https://www.pygame.org/
The MAMEdev team https://docs.mamedev.org/
WolfMAME by Mahlemiut https://github.com/mahlemiut/wolfmame
The VRC6 Project by LeviR.star's Music. 4 tracks are included in the default playlist folder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufd9UC2wUpA
Donkey Kong Arcade Theme Remixes by Nintega Dario. 2 tracks are included in the default playlist folder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPT42lfFNMY
DonkeyKong Classic Remix Music by MyNameIsBanks. This track is included in the default playlist folder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDw2goJSi4k
Donkey Kong Remix Music by SanHolo. This track is included in the default playlist folder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kdgB5SRqHw
Donkey Kong Arcade by MotionRide Music. This track is included in the default playlist folder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy0C2a5QEu8
Do the Donkey Kong (Instrumental) by Buckner & Garcia. This track is included in the default playlist folder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK0yLlZ4zsk
Donkey Kong Arcade C64 Remix by Sascha Zeidler. This track is included in the default playlist folder. https://www.c64.com/games/2464
Hammer Time Remix by Mitchel Gatzke. This track is included in the default playlist folder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crhTHJGgFag
Donkey Kong NES Medley by Chiptunema https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnNTVwKzs0o
DKAFE is a free, open source, cross-platform front-end for emulators. It is licensed under GNU GPLv3.
-
Reduce your screen resolution. This will definitely improve performance in the frontend and emulation. Step it right down to 640x480 to see the improvement.
-
In the settings.txt file, change emulator
OPTIONSto use-video gdiinstead of-video opengl -
Disable the music playlist in the fronted settings. The .mp3 decoding might be slowing the frontend down.
-
Increase the speed adjust value in the frontend settings.
-
In the settings.txt file, change emulator
OPTIONSto use-video gdiinstead of-video opengl -
Ensure the DKAFE folder is granted full access permissions.
Please send feedback to jon123wilson@hotmail.com
Jon
