[Toadofsky]

I'm not going to ask where to find roms, I know that's frowned upon of course. But I wanted to ask if any of you have experience with MAME and what version you use, and if you know of any places that provide good guidance on running games. Any help is much appreciated.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Originally Posted by Toadofsky

I'm not going to ask where to find roms, I know that's frowned upon of course. But I wanted to ask if any of you have experience with MAME and what version you use, and if you know of any places that provide good guidance on running games. Any help is much appreciated.

All the time. It's the only way I can get my X-Men Vs Street Fighter fix. Especially since the ps1 version was complete shit. As for what version, I think it's MAME UI64.

Running games is very easy, just make sure you have the parent file. For example, a lot of the capcom fighters, the Euro version is the parent file and all other versions are just drivers. So people will download the North American version and can't understand why it won't run. It's because they don't have the parent file as well.

EDIT: And if you wanna run Neo-Geo stuff, you have to have the Neo-Geo bios.

[Toadofsky]

I was using the latest version of MAME, guess I should use MAMEUI 64 if it's easier. I was reading that about the parent files and whatnot. But what's this with the BIOS? What do I do with it? I have a number of BIOS "files" that are for specific Arcade machines, do they need to go into the rom folder as well?

[Emperor Charlemagne]

I have MAME UIFX32, to get my Taito shmup fix. At least until I spring for Taito Legends 2 for the PS2 (waiting on my next paycheck, lol).

From what i understand, all you need is to get the .zip file (as said, the 'parent' file)- don't worry about the bios or anything like that (then again, UIFX32 doesn't have a folder for bios)- you just need to get the MAME ROM (google should suffice) and put it in the ROM folder.

However, MAME is EXTRAORDINARILY finicky and picky- it's annoying in that regard. Some ROM files won't work, and some are incredibly picky as to WHICH zip file is the REAL parent ROM. You have to go by trial and error, and looking around online is your safest bet.

[Evilhead]

Originally Posted by Toadofsky

I was using the latest version of MAME, guess I should use MAMEUI 64 if it's easier. I was reading that about the parent files and whatnot. But what's this with the BIOS? What do I do with it? I have a number of BIOS "files" that are for specific Arcade machines, do they need to go into the rom folder as well?

The BIOS files are only needed to play NeoGeo games. Otherwise each regular arcade ROM should be self-contained. Definitely go for a version of MAME with a UI, as it makes things a lot easier. There are some really slick looking front-ends as well, but they aren't really necessary.

MAME can be a pain to set up at first (monitor settings, mapping controllers, etc) but once you get used to it, it's great. I never use console emulation any more because I always prefer playing on the original hardware, but unless you are some kind of fanatic collector who drops thousands on obscure arcade boards there's no practical way other than MAME that you'd get a chance to play some of these games.

Eventually I'll get around to building a MAME cabinet for my house. This guy has some great designs. I'd love a WeeCade or NanoCade. http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/index.htm

[Level 99]

I've been using MAME since I got the X-Arcade Tankstick. I absolutely adore this thing.

As for running MAME, some games besides NeoGeo DO need bios, but they are found in separate zips/dirs I believe. Since the NeoGeo one is shared by numerous games, it is separated (and I'm fairly sure that's how it works for others).

As for what MAME to use, I've found the best looking and most stable builds to be from MAMEMPlus! GUI. Although definitely questionable because they do some extra acceleration I think, it definitely has work the best consistently through my use. That goes without saying that it has a much easier config menu for a gui, and lots of things come preconfigured such as controller type.

If you're looking to REALLY set up a cabinet, definitely look into frontends so that you don't need a keyboard tray out every time you want to switch games, pause, or mess with the controls. Since my stick has a trackball, I've been tinkering with Hyperspin from time to time. Only problem with these frontends is that some of them don't support more than the stock MAME flavor as a root program.

[BardicKnowledge]

Originally Posted by Level 99

I've been using MAME since I got the X-Arcade Tankstick. I absolutely adore this thing.

Random aside, Stevo's joystick is amazing.

On topic: I'm running MAME32 Plus! Plus! and it works fine for me. I run Kawaks when I'm using GGPO to play Street Fighter online.

[SoloGamer]

X-Arcades are pretty terrible from what I heard. Input lag, cheap parts, and terrible button placement are among the common complaints I've seen. If you're gonna spend that much on a controller, might as well get something decent.

[psychowolf]

I use Mame version 1.33 every version after refuses to play all of the roms in my library

I would suggest a place to go for rom's but due to the rules i shall stay quiet about that.

My version 1.33 can play most of the capcom fighters (marvelvs,xmenvs, etc)
and can almost play tekkan 3 perfectly (the sound echos and some graphics glitches aside)

My suggestion is if you want to use mame get emuloader for a menu so you dont have to deal with mames not that easy to navigate menu.

And i you want to use version 1.33 just shop around for roms till you find a site which work, and normally most will work from that site.

Good luck with getting a mame program to work all roms.
I'm still looking for a working rom of jurrasic park the lost world, if you find one that works let me know.

[K.B.]

Originally Posted by Emperor Charlemagne

I have MAME UIFX32, to get my Taito shmup fix.

Shmupmame.

For the rest of your shmupping fix.