MAME front ends that don't suck

[BeerGnome]

can y'all gimmie some suggestions on good front ends... I'm useing the lataest command line version of mame win

[+FujiSkunk]

Mentioning what platform you use would help.

 

If you're running Windows, I think MAME32 does the job well enough. It manages to organize MAME's umpteen zillion options into fairly logical menus, and if you use the favorites folder to organize your preferred games, navigation becomes even easier.

[BeerGnome]

sorry about that.. I'm using win2k

 

mame 32 works fairly well.. but for some reason doesn't necessarily show all the games I've plugged into the folder

[NE146]

sorry about that.. I'm using win2k

 

mame 32 works fairly well.. but for some reason doesn't necessarily show all the games I've plugged into the folder

 

Refresh (F5). If it doesnt show it, you got bad roms.

 

Or, if you really just want to see everything, click on "All Games" on the left. You'll see em

[+FujiSkunk]

mame 32 works fairly well.. but for some reason doesn't necessarily show all the games I've plugged into the folder

 

Refresh (F5). If it doesnt show it, you got bad roms.

 

And remember, what was a good set in an older version can be declared a bad set in a newer release. That's bitten me several times.

[BeerGnome]

see.. whats bitting my ass is everything is working fine with the command line version, but not witht he same core build under mame32.

I can see how all my pacmame things not showing up (thanks for that link a while back NE ) but a game like bubble2000 plays fine under command line, but doesn't show up at all under 32

 

I've been using MAME for a while and I've always felt that mame32 was kinda the bastard cousin of the dos/command line version.

 

I'm really looking for something that will run the command line version well

[rxd]

see.. whats bitting my ass is everything is working fine with the command line version, but not witht he same core build under mame32.

I can see how all my pacmame things not showing up (thanks for that link a while back NE ) but a game like bubble2000 plays fine under command line, but doesn't show up at all under 32

 

I've been using MAME for a while and I've always felt that mame32 was kinda the bastard cousin of the dos/command line version.

 

I'm really looking for something that will run the command line version well

 

That's strange because I've found the exact opposite to be true. Dealing with the command line version was just a huge pain in the ass for me. I spent more time trying to get a decent front end working than playing games. And even then I found the command line version lacking. I have to give the Mame32 guys props on this too, I left a message on their board about the timing issues I was having with Gorf (it would slow down to a crawl at times) and they fixed it right away. If you're having problems with Mame32 I'd say you either have bad roms or something set wrong.

[NE146]

see.. whats bitting my ass is everything is working fine with the command line version, but not witht he same core build under mame32.

 

Well.. what I'm curious about is what does mame32 say when you audit that particular rom? Just highlight the game that's not working (you have to have be in "All Games" of course), then just hit Ctrl-A.

 

What does it say?

 

-------------------------

As for a front end for the command line version.. have you tried mamewah?

http://www.mamewah-setup.co.uk/html/info_settings.html#MAME

 

I haven't tried it but it looks ok

[BeerGnome]

well.. considering on the certain games I'm concerned with .. lets once again use the bubble 2000 as an example.. the rom package doesn't even show up in all games to be audited.. so it doesn't say anything!

 

its not that the game isn't working, its that mame32 is not even seeing it even if I direct its rom directory search to the mamewin build directory or dump it directly in the mame32 rom folder..

but, I can access the rom directly from the command line.

i'll give it another try of course.. and I thank y'all for your support..

 

truth be known.. I'm setting up anew on a new computer here, but I've been having issues like this for a while, I'm just trying to get shit straight.

 

for me.. mame 32 has been good for general convience, but to actually get something done I have to drop down into command line.

and that general frustration is one of the things thats keeping me from building that standalone mamecabinet

[rxd]

well.. considering on the certain games I'm concerned with .. lets once again use the bubble 2000 as an example.. the rom package doesn't even show up in all games to be audited.. so it doesn't say anything!

 

its not that the game isn't working, its that mame32 is not even seeing it even if I direct its rom directory search to the mamewin build directory or dump it directly in the mame32 rom folder..

but, I can access the rom directly from the command line.

i'll give it another try of course.. and I thank y'all for your support..

 

truth be known.. I'm setting up anew on a new computer here, but I've been having issues like this for a while, I'm just trying to get shit straight.

 

for me.. mame 32 has been good for general convience, but to actually get something done I have to drop down into command line.

and that general frustration is one of the things thats keeping me from building that standalone mamecabinet

 

Actually bubble 2000 shows up fine in my copy of Mame32. However for some reason it runs without sound, while the sound is present in the command line version of Mame.

[Paranoid]

If it doesn't show up at all, it is being parsed as a bad or incomplete ROM package when you scan for ROMS.

 

If it is seeing it, trying to load it, and something is going wrong, the first place I would look at is frame-rate and refresh timing settings.

 

I've had a lot of trouble with the vector graphic games working in one version or variant of Mame32, but not another. Often, if I tweak with the video settings, I can get it to come up on the version I am having trouble with.

 

Which is also a suggestion, have a few different versions of MAME32 on your desktop, all pointing to the same ROM and Sample folders. See if the problem is consistent. There are a few games that are notorious about things like this. Berzerk is one of them. I assume there are others.

[NE146]

well.. considering on the certain games I'm concerned with .. lets once again use the bubble 2000 as an example.. the rom package doesn't even show up in all games to be audited.. so it doesn't say anything!

 

Really? I dunno bub. You sure you clicking "all games"? That should show every single game that your version of mame supports even if you dont have the roms.

 

I mean you could have ZERO roms and it'll show up in the list. Your roms could be all bad and it will still show up. EVERY game shows up even if you don't have them. That's kind of the point of the 'all games' list.

 

What version of Mame32 are you using? Check it out.. my version of mame32 is a little out of date and it shows it in there fine.

Edited February 8, 2007 by NE146

[BeerGnome]

folks...

 

 

FIXED!

 

I must forfeit to user error on this one..

 

mame32 is not sucking and I must now admit that of all the front ends I've brought down.... it sucks the least

 

seems as though the bubl2000.zip I was using as reference, was for some reason not existing on my hardware.. so I somehow erased it from my system and focused on it as the sense of my Ire.

 

Once I re loaded it to a known good directory, it shows up just fine. and plays with out issue.

 

with that said.. where the hell is starwars?