Mame4Droid released!

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

http://code.google.com/p/imame4all/

Apparently the guy who did iMAME4All for the iPhone just ported it over to Android 2.1 and above (posted it about 14 hours ago, from the time of this post.)  It even has native support for Honeycomb tablets!

I'm at work right now and don't have a proper romset (I have .36 and it needs the GP2x .37 set) but I did get a couple of roms to run (Strider and Final Fight) and they run great on my Transformer, and as far as I can tell, the program is SIGNIFICANTLY more accessible than TigerArcade or any other "mame" apps on Android ... which more or less only run NeoGeo and CPS2...

Between this and using PS3 controllers wirelessly, man, things are just getting so GOOD! 

[markronz]

You can use a PS3 controller wirelessly now on the TF?  How do you do that?  I am still using my Wiimote with classic controller, but I hate having to use the two controllers like that.  I'd much rather just use a single controller like the PS3.  So let me know how you do that please!

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

You can use a PS3 controller wirelessly now on the TF?  How do you do that?  I am still using my Wiimote with classic controller, but I hate having to use the two controllers like that.  I'd much rather just use a single controller like the PS3.  So let me know how you do that please!

Well, you've caught me out in that I haven't *personally* tried it yet (you currently need root access, which I admit is a little beyond me right now...) but these guys seem to have it down on most devices: http://www.dancingpixelstudios.com/index.html

Apparently there's also a wireless version of the Wii Classic controller made by Datel that doesn't need a Wiimote attached. That's here: http://us.codejunkies.com/Products/Wii-Wireless-Retro-Controller___EF000622.aspx

... actually, now that I see that, I might just go that route.  That controller looks pretty svelte, and my only complaint has been that the Sixaxis is a little awkward to carry around (like, in a coat pocket or something... I always try to pack really light, hence the TF.)

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

damnit... now that I'm looking a little closer, that Datel controller seems to have disappeared into the ether.  Amazon doesn't even have it. Crap.

[markronz]

Oh, yeah, I guess I knew there were solutions out there if you wanted to root your Transformer.   I just don't want to have to do that.   They were able to get the Wii controller to work, so it stands to reason that they should be able to get the PS3 to work some day.  We'll see.

One word of warning, should you ever find your all in one Wii Classic controller, the current Wii controllers for Android can get a little weird if they are not official Nintendo controllers you're using.   For instance I purchased a Nyko wiimote, and the wii connector programs on Android would not work properly with it.   It would connect, but only half of the buttons worked, and even the ones that did, didn't map out to the right buttons.   However, I traded this Nkyo device (which works fine on a real Wii) with my parents official Nintendo Wiimote and it works just fine.  I'm a member over at www.transformerforums.com and there have been others there that reported similar experiences with 3rd party controllers.  Not saying it 100% won't work, but that there's a chance it won't.

Anyway, getting a bit off topic here!   Very excited theres another, hopefully better, MAME option on Android now!  Thanks for letting us know!

[ark_ader]

Hopefully it supports my Zeekey 

[equlizer]

Other programs already support the Zmote and have for a while now.  Wiimote controller and Bluez IME come to mind.  The one for the wireless ps3 controller (sixaxis) is called sixaxis and you can download the program to see if it works before you pay for the driver.  Safe bet, be rooted with a custom firmware

[RoyalScam]

I've just tried this on my Droid X and I gotta admit it's pretty cool.  The touch screen controls are probably OK for someone who's used to them, I however am hamhanded. I installed Wiimote and using a Wii controller via bluetooth played a game of Pac-Man and it worked well.  OK so the small screen was a bit much for me, but the app works well. I'm thinking it'd be better suited to an Android tablet.  While playing with it, I couldn't help but think how neat it would be to have a bluetooth KeyWiz or I-Pac interface so that we could create our own controller setups for use with such devices.  I'll bet that there's going to be an Android enabled TV in the future the OS seems to be popping up everywhere these days.

Regards,
Scam

[Q*Bert_OP]

I'd have to jailbreak my iPhone to use this 

[equlizer]

Grab an icontrolpad for your apple products then

[jimfath]

Emulation is great. The touch screen controls on my Droid 2 were hard to get used to.  

I started using the arrow keys on my keyboard. Touch screens are not my friend.


EDIT: I disabled the joystick and button animation and the controls started responding a LOT better. Not perfect as there's not texture to keep inputs consistent but it was noticeably better.

[wp34]

Pretty cool.  How soon till we start seeing questions posted like "what phone do I need to run NFL Blitz?"

[SammyWI]

I have it running on rooted Nook Color running Cyanogen mod.  Works pretty well.  Seems pretty well suited to a tablet.  The touchscreen controls work better than I expected, but still pretty limiting.  Easy to miss pressing the controls with no real buttons or stick to feel.  Quite a few games don't work but many do.  I may need to mess with the rom set some more.  

Getting my MAME fix during toilet time has never been easier!  I give it a thumbs up.

[dfmaverick]

TMI

[ark_ader]

Works great on my Galaxy S.

Had lots of issues trying to get the romset I have for the Dreamcast Mame4All, and my relic DOS .35 romset.  It appears to like a .37 flavor.  Lucky I had one set in my archive, and the emulation is 99%.  The 1%, could be with the phone or an installed app.

Now to find my Zeekey....

[SammyWI]

Got a .37 romset and working great with more classics.  I wonder if the touchscreen controls can emulate a trackball or analog joystick?

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

Anybody here got MK2 working?  It seems to force-close MAME4droid every time I try to run it (and honestly I don't remember if MK2 was even playable back in that version of MAME anyway!)

I haven't installed v.1.1 yet... that's my next attempt.

[markronz]

I have a similar experience with the Mortal Kombat games.  So I'm guessing they just don't work in Mame4Droid.

[BadMouth]

Anybody here got MK2 working?  It seems to force-close MAME4droid every time I try to run it (and honestly I don't remember if MK2 was even playable back in that version of MAME anyway!)

I haven't installed v.1.1 yet... that's my next attempt.

Did MK2 even work in MAME .037?

[Paul Olson]

Looks like there was preliminary support for the game in .35b5, but from the notes, it doesn't sound like it was very playable until quite a while later.

It still closes in v1.1. The author notes that he is going to add more features, including native wiimote support. That will be nice. The classics are really hard to play with the touch controller. I had a pretty fun game of Juno First though, so it is definitely playable for some games using the touchscreen.

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

I have a similar experience with the Mortal Kombat games.  So I'm guessing they just don't work in Mame4Droid.

Yeah, MK1 works fine on my TF, but MK2 and MK3 do not.

Did MK2 even work in MAME .037?

Like I said, I have no idea... I'm not even sure where I'd begin to look. 

Gotta say though, having what we DO have now is pretty amazing. I'm actually enjoying just booting up games and watching the attract modes play on my TF. 

Wish there was a way to shoe-horn Garou:MOTW into the mix, but at least that's playable in TigerArcade...

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

MK2 also crashes on my Droid 3.

First thing I noticed was how odd the NeoGeo start up sound was. Until someone attempts to port a newer version, I doubt this will be addressed.

Now I just need to find a compatible bluetooth gamepad.