Brand New to MAME and needing help...

[Eltigro]

Okay guys, took the plunge and downloaded the latest MAME. 0.181 I believe. Anyway, I have multiple questions. I've only gotten one game to work and I don't know how or why. I've tried other games and they all just give me that red error message saying "The selected machine is missing one or more required ROM or CHD images. Please select a different machine." What am I doing wrong? Is there something else I need to download? Is what I'm downloading the wrong version or incompatible with my MAME? Have I got the right thing in the wrong folder?

 

Also, MAME now has MESS in it, so it can emulate consoles, right? How the heck do I get it to do that? I've downloaded some BIOSes and put things where I thought they should go, but I can't get anything to show up on the menu to click on it to even try to start a game?

 

Sorry, I'm completely clueless on this stuff. Haven't done anything with emulators for about 15 years, so all this stuff is new to me.

[Keatah]

Frakking mame bloat gets in the way of proper setup..

Edited January 8, 2017 by Keatah

[Eltigro]

Do I need to scrap the 0.181 and download an older version of MAME? I know there can be compatibility issues when MAME is updated... if so, which one? And am I going to have to try to find a new version every time I download something?

[spacecadet]

Do I need to scrap the 0.181 and download an older version of MAME? I know there can be compatibility issues when MAME is updated... if so, which one? And am I going to have to try to find a new version every time I download something?

 

Not every time, but too often in my experience. I used to love MAME and I still dabble with it every once in a while, but IMO the whole project is slowly collapsing under its own weight. I think around the time of 0.36 was when I was really into it; had most of the available ROMs and had everything set up really nicely. Somehow I lost my MAME directory, so I had to start over. I think I had it installed in some kind of documents folder instead of program files, and just deleted it by mistake when I upgraded my computer.

 

Anyway, I'm on 0.180 now and it definitely seems like a bigger pain than I remember. Not wanting to download things piecemeal but also not wanting like 30GB in a full romset, I downloaded a romset from an older version of MAME that was smaller, since I only care about games like pre-1990 or so anyway. And yeah, a whole bunch of them just don't work, even with the right BIOS installed.

 

Get MAMEUI64 and with that you can at least audit all your ROMs, and it'll tell you how many of your ROMs really have problems.

[mr_me]

Do I need to scrap the 0.181 and download an older version of MAME? I know there can be compatibility issues when MAME is updated... if so, which one? And am I going to have to try to find a new version every time I download something?

No, 0.181 is fine. If you are using windows, mameui64 has a nice interface. See the Mame Gorf topic for one recently updated file [http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260595-gorf-on-mameproblems/?p=3663162]. For console emulation press tab to bring up the menu for loading cartridge roms. Are you having trouble with older games or newer games? Give us some examples.

Edited January 9, 2017 by mr_me

[Eltigro]

I have downloaded roms for 1943 Kai, Dig Dug, Metal Slug 5, Golden Axe and Double Dragon. The 1943 one is the only one I can get to work. All the others just have that message I put before about missing a rom or CHD image when I try to load them.

 

As a side note, I downloaded Launchbox thinking maybe it would help or something... I got it to see 1943, Metal Slug 5, and Dig Dug, but it won't see the others in the same folder. And Metal Slug 5 and Dig Dug still won't boot up.

[mr_me]

All those games load and play here and I'm using an old 0.153 rom set with mame 0.181. Although a couple of them have known issues they still load and play. Since you're using Windows, mameui64 does make things a little easier. http://www.mameui.info/

[Eltigro]

Okay, what do you mean by "0.153 rom set" and where can I get that? Is it a whole bunch of arcade roms that were made for version 0.153? And I tried downloading that file from mameui but it had some 7z extension or something that my computer couldn't open.

[mr_me]

7-zip is fairly popular for file compression/archiving. http://www.7-zip.org/

 

I think the mame 0.153 rom set is a set of roms that someone packaged together when that version of mame came out. These sets can be 30to50 GB large. If you do a google search now for a "mame rom set" you'll probably find a more up to date set (eg. https://archive.org/details/MAME_0_161_ROMs). Or you can download them individually at one of those rom file sharing sites.

Edited January 9, 2017 by mr_me

[Eltigro]

Okay, finally got mameui64 to working. I moved my rom for 1943 over and it works. I moved a rom for 1941 over and it doesn't. A window comes up that says:

 

buf1 NOT FOUND (tried in 1941j 1941 1941j)

ioa1 NOT FOUND (tried in 1941j 1941 1941j)

prg1 NOT FOUND (tried in 1941j 1941 1941j)

rom1 NOT FOUND (tried in 1941j 1941 1941j)

sou1 NOT FOUND (tried 1941j 1941 1941j)

yi22b.1a NOT FOUND (NO GOOD DUMP KNOWN) (tried in 1941j 1941 1941j)

 

Any ideas? I also downloaded Metal Slug Super Vehicle 001 and put it in and it wouldn't work either. With a different set of things not found. I tried a different Dig Dug, no go, different set of things not found.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Mame not found errors = mismatched versions between rom and version of Mame being used, how many times must this be mentioned?

Edited January 9, 2017 by OldSchoolRetroGamer

[Eltigro]

Mame not found errors = mismatched versions between rom and version of Mame being used, how many times must this be mentioned?

 

 

Okay, so I download version 0.164 of mame for the dig dug game that says "Dig Dug (rev 1) ROM M.A.M.E. - Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator/MAME 0.164 ROMs" on the page at Emuparadise and it still doesn't work and doesn't even bring it up in the list.

 

Neither will Metal Slug, which also said "0.164 ROMs" on the page.

 

Neither will 1941, which also said "0.164 ROMs".

 

So if I'm trying to use version 0.164 of MAME on games that are supposedly "0.164 ROMs", and they still won't work, then what am I doing wrong?

 

EDIT: and the 1943 still worked fine

Edited January 9, 2017 by Eltigro

[Keatah]

Tell us the paths and folders where you have the stuff installed.

[mr_me]

I just downloaded a file called 1941.zip. It has all the files you've listed missing except the last one. I think Mame thinks that one last file is unavailable anyway. Does your 1941 container file have the missing files you've listed?

 

With some sets, common files can be shared between container files to save space rather than duplicating files. In some cases its possible a missing file is in a different container file. Some sets might duplicate the files so every container file is complete. I haven't really looked into it much since I've had little trouble running games.

 

Again I'm using a complete 0.153 rom set (30GB) with mame 0.181, with a handfull of manually downloaded update files.

 

Mameui64 will tell you what is wrong ie. missing files. Check that you have the files it says are missing.

Edited January 9, 2017 by mr_me

[Eltigro]

Right now, I just have a folder named "mame" on the desktop with all the files extracted to it. The roms I download from emuparadise I put in the "roms" folder in the mame folder. I'm just wondering if there's something else I'm supposed to be putting in that folder? I see things for BIOSs every once in a while, and they say things like "you need this for the rom to work" but I haven't seen anything saying where to put those and the 1943 seems to work without anything extra.

[Eltigro]

I just downloaded a file called 1941.zip. It has all the files you've listed missing except the last one. I think Mame thinks that one last file is unavailable anyway. Does your 1941 container file have the missing files you've listed?

 

With some sets, common files can be shared between container files to save space rather than duplicating files. In some cases its possible a missing file is in a different container file. Some sets might duplicate the files so every container file is complete. I haven't really looked into it much since I've had little trouble running games.

 

Again I'm using a complete 0.153 rom set (30GB) with mame 0.181, with a handfull of manually downloaded update files.

 

Mameui64 will tell you what is wrong ie. missing files. Check that you have the files it says are missing.

 

No, mine doesn't seem to have any files named those. Where did you get yours and I'll try that file.

 

Here's where I got mine: http://www.emuparadise.me/M.A.M.E._-_Multiple_Arcade_Machine_Emulator_ROMs/1941_-_Counter_Attack_(Japan)/10882

[mr_me]

Okay. So you downloaded a file called 1941j.zip. On that page it tells you that file has a parent file called 1941.zip. It shares common files with the parent file.

Edited January 9, 2017 by mr_me

[Eltigro]

Okay. So you downloaded a file called 1941j.zip. On that page it tells you that file has a parent file called 1941.zip. It shares common files with the parent file.

 

Excellent. That made that one work. Now let me go look at the others and see if there are similar parent files. Thanks!

[Eltigro]

Okay, I think I've got the hang of the arcade games. Downloaded and successfully played Joust, Defender, Frogger, Raiden, Space Invaders, Berzerk, Moon Patrol, Bosconian, and several others. (By "successfully played" I mean that I got them to run and respond to controls... I didn't get very far in any of them...)

 

Now the question is, how do I get console games to work? MAME now has MESS in it, so it should work for consoles, right? I downloaded an NES rom, but can't figure out how to access it to see if it works. I've also read that I have to load a rom dump or bios or whatever for the NES. Once I find one (which I haven't yet, so if anyone has any leads...) where do I put it? Does it just go in the same "ROMS" folder that everything else has gone in so far?

 

Edit: Oh, looks like I might have figured it out. Got the rom to run. Now to check out other consoles.

Edited January 9, 2017 by Eltigro

[fujidude]

I think archive.org is offering some complete sets, and if I recall correctly offer a torrent option so you can easily pick and choose what to get.

[Cynicaster]

Looks like you've figured out your MAME problems, but I think it's still worth emphasizing the following, for any other MAME noobs that might discover this thread:

 

- MAME "roms" are very different from console cartridge roms. Console cartridge roms, once obtained, are guaranteed to work on functioning emulators for the corresponding console. I've still got the same sets of Atari 2600 and NES roms I downloaded in the 90s, and they still work fine everywhere I try to use them (i.e., they don't need to be updated.)

 

- MAME "roms" sometimes do need to be updated to match the version of MAME that is being used. No need to explain why, just know that this is true.

 

- due to the above point, the most headache-free approach to enjoying MAME will ALWAYS be to settle on a version of MAME that plays all the games you enjoy (note, most games worth playing have been running great for years), then locate a complete set of ROMS specifically for that MAME version. It will be a lot of data (20-30 gigs) but it's well worth it because a) you will have a bottomless pit of WORKING games to explore and b) having a complete set means you don't need to worry about obscure dependencies and parent roms and missing files and blah blah blah--if you have everything, you have everything, and things just work.

 

- once you get MAME up and running with a complete set of matched roms, there is no good reason to update when new versions of MAME are released. The only reason to do so would be if a new game gets added to the "properly emulated" list that you absolutely must have, but, again, all the good stuff has been running swimmingly for years. I've been using MAME v122 for 6-7 years now and it never lets me down.

[Keatah]

For the curious, MAME ROM sets change for several reasons.

 

1- New dumps become available. And game accuracy improves. Not that the old dumps were faulty. But it's like when Reactor and Gorf were first emulated. The "Game Program" itself was dumped and voila! We had the games up and running. But sound samples were also needed because information in the Votrax chip wasn't dumped. Now it has, and those two games were updated, changed, and now require the Votrax ROM so MAME can get rid of the samples and just synthesize the voices on the fly. Thus a new set of ROMS.

 

2- A project as big as MAME has a lot of people working on it. And sometimes a new and better organization and naming convention is implemented. So ROMS get renamed. The data spread differently across multiple files. Different sizes of the same ROM/Game may be discovered too. Thus a new set of ROMS.

 

3- Like #1, things that were approximated and simulated in early versions are now "computed in real-time" and thus may require additional roms. This applies to color palettes and sound and copy-protection. Usually this is small sized code from a microcontroller or something like the Atari MathBox or suicide chips. Incidentally it is these new "more detailed" features and "emulations" in conjunction with an increasingly modular approach to programming that is causing slowdowns in MAME. Once these little details are hooked in and connected it's more for your CPU to crunch. You can liken it to bloat, but it's bloat with a reason.

 

4- Sometimes multiple ROM chips are combined into one file, or split, to better match what was on the original PCB. Sometimes parent/child associations are bought into focus and cleaned up too.

 

I'm sure there are more reasons, but if you understand those then you're 90% of the way to understanding why it's important to match versions with sets.

 

I also agree with picking a set that has the games you like. And it is very true that you don't need to update with every new release, unless it has NEW GAMES PROPERLY EMULATED that you want. You may even just settle in with one set, and as time goes on pick up new favorites piecemeal, a game here, an update there. If it gets out of hand, roll-em-up like those Windows Service Packs.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Keatah

[mr_me]

Just don't upgrade to the latest mame right away. Let other people figure out the issues first. As previously mentioned the roms don't change that often, and waiting a bit gives time for those that have changed to make their way around. When you do upgrade keep the old mame running. Point both versions to the same roms folder seperate from any mame folder.

 

Edit:

I wouldnt have known about the speech in QBert if I didn't upgrade to the recent mame update.

Edited January 13, 2017 by mr_me

[Keatah]

I have like three versions of MAME going. My main set, and then 2 newer versions to cover a tiny amount of recently fixed games that were recently made ship-shape. Eventually I'll roll'em up into one. But there is no rush because everything is fully operational.

 

Now that most emulators are maturing less baggie-chasing has to be done. And that's a good thing. Think back to the early days. When each new version of MAME would add a significant amount of desirable games each version. First it was 6502 games, then Z80 games, then Atari XYZ system 45 blah blah games, then the dual 68000 games. You get the drift. You wanted each new version then.

 

But with bullshit Point of Sale terminals and Pachinko machine logic being the major highlights nowadays I think most of us here can afford to skip every release. What'll it be next combination locks and ball clocks?

[Eltigro]

I think a big part of this was the adventure and learning and relearning of things. Last time I dealt with emulation that I can remember is back around 2001 or 2002 with an SNES emulator (forgot which one) that I played Sim City on. I was using my work computer and playing around with it on lunch.

 

I just recently got a nice laptop to replace my aging one and wanted to see what it would do. I went from a Dell Vostro 1700 Core2 Duo CPU T7250 with 4GB of RAM and a 256 gig hard drive that weighed about ten pounds, to an Asus with a Core i5-6200 with 12 GB RAM and a 1 TB hdd that weighs about half as much. I know it isn't the fastest thing out there, but it's a pretty damn nice upgrade. Also, it easily handles games like Metal Slug when I wonder if my old one could handle Berzerk!. I mean, I could probably get through the first whole level of Metal Slug by the time the old one booted up!

 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to continuing to learn new things about emulation. As of now, I have emulation up and running for 12 different consoles as well as arcade machines, using three different emulators (more if you count all the different cores in Retroarch) funneled through LaunchBox as a front end. Going from having nothing at all a week ago, I think I'm not doing too bad. I was thinking of tackling Saturn next, but may hold off for a bit.

 

I'll watch for compatibility issues, but everything seems to be working for now. The main thing is that I would find keep finding sources online that reference old versions of emulators with different UIs or different features and was having trouble figuring out where they were on mine. I think there's a lot of stuff out there that assumes you know or already have something. I didn't.

 

Oh... and I can't wait to download emuMasterlock ver 1.02 and get started opening some combination locks on my own computer! lol