How differently do Jamma boards run than MAME Emulations?

[SpatzST]

I havent been to an arcade in a long time, but theres never been an instance (besides some games just running poorly/lagging...NFL Blitz comes to mind) that I remember running differently or just don't seem to be accurate to the original.  So whats the purpose of a Jamma board?

[PL1]

JAMMA is just a wiring connector/pinout standard that allows you to easily swap one game PCB for another.

Just to be sure we're all talking about the same thing -- when you say "JAMMA board", which do you mean?

1. Original arcade manufacturer (Sega, Atari, Nintendo, etc.) PCB that uses the JAMMA wiring standard.

  or

2. An x-in-1 board (running an old bootleg version of MAME) that uses the JAMMA wiring standard.


Scott

[SpatzST]

Hey, yes PCB board.. That is like the original game correct? Like the hardware that would be found in an original machine? I am a little behind on my definitions

Do PCB boards run better than MAME emulations or am I asking a question that makes no sense? Lol

[yotsuya]

Hey, yes PCB board.. That is like the original game correct? Like the hardware that would be found in an original machine? I am a little behind on my definitions

Do PCB boards run better than MAME emulations or am I asking a question that makes no sense? Lol

Yes, the ACTUAL PCBs will probably run better than MAME Emulations. They may not be more reliable, but they are as the game designers intended.

[SpatzST]

Are there any "good examples" of a PCB that just outright beats it's emulated counterpart?

[ed12]

now i c what's going on here..this is a from a fast search on "google" i did tonight
>jamma-board's<..no where dose it make an refernce to
japan acrade manafcutres ascoaison  so ppl are confused..

to the question
a mame machine is fully coumpter driven >with interface board's< >ipac is a common 1<,

a decatied machine is just that.

jama is the "interface" it is a unverisal for "jama board's"

so in short when u see the term 69in1 jama u must refer to the term as the control interface

ed

[ed12]

wanted to add this correction

>
Description of what JAMMA is:

The JAMMA standard was invented in 1985; any game older than this will not be JAMMA. JAMMA (Japan Arcade Machine Manufacturers' Association) is a standard 56-way connector used on many arcade boards to simplify conversion of cabinets from one game to another. The majority of newer games use a subset of this pinout. Some games (i.e., Street Fighter) which need extra buttons have extra connectors for these additional controls. The JAMMA connector has a .156" pin spacing edge connector (male on the game board).
<

ed

[southpaw13]

Mame is a great reference to try games,but the PCB's are more accurate.  They are 1/60 of a second faster.  No lag!

[adder]

Mame is a great reference to try games,but the PCB's are more accurate.  They are 1/60 of a second faster.  No lag!

agree here.  if you are someone like steve wiebe playing donkey kong on a 'pro' level, i dont think he would settle for mame especially now he is obviously so used to the pcb.  there's also a guy who's a pro galaxian player (EDIT: his name is Gary Whelan) and he says (in the 'gary_whelan_beats_perry_rogers_galaxian_high_score' interview, available via google search) he cant play it in mame as it doesnt quite feel the same (i imagine if mame isnt 100% accurate to the pcb, someone like him is going to notice.. unlike us more casual players)

Yes, the ACTUAL PCBs will probably run better than MAME Emulations. They may not be more reliable, but they are as the game designers intended.

i dont quite agree on the end of the statement. i dont think the guys who designed metal slug or double dragon were very happy when they noticed the hardware couldnt always handle what they were throwing at it, and the games suffered from very noticeable slowdowns. so that's one plus of mame; you can use overclocking and play a large number of games without the unintended slowdown you found on the original pcb's.

[pbj]

Fact - without knowing what's in the cabinet nobody can tell the difference

[yotsuya]

Mame is a great reference to try games,but the PCB's are more accurate.  They are 1/60 of a second faster.  No lag!

agree here.  if you are someone like steve wiebe playing donkey kong on a 'pro' level, i dont think he would settle for mame especially now he is obviously so used to the pcb.  there's also a guy who's a pro galaxian player and he says he cant play it in mame as it doesnt quite feel the same (i imagine if mame isnt 100% accurate to the pcb, someone like him is going to notice.. unlike us more casual players)

Yes, the ACTUAL PCBs will probably run better than MAME Emulations. They may not be more reliable, but they are as the game designers intended.

i dont quite agree on the end of the statement. i dont think the guys who designed metal slug or double dragon were very happy when they noticed the hardware couldnt always handle what they were throwing at it, and the games suffered from very noticeable slowdowns. so that's one plus of mame; you can use overclocking and play a large number of games without the unintended slowdown you found on the original pcb's.

I just threw that last part of the statement on there to finish a sentence.

[jimmer]

They are 1/60 of a second faster. 

This is not a general rule. It's a myth which has now been dispelled.
Check out Calamity's work in the groovymame folder if you need proof.

[jimmer]

  there's also a guy who's a pro galaxian player and he says he cant play it in mame as it doesnt quite feel the same (i imagine if mame isnt 100% accurate to the pcb, someone like him is going to notice.. unlike us more casual players)

I'd be interested to know how much effort the guy put into getting it right on a MAME set up. Galaxian doesn't look like it should be hard to emulate.  That said I'm currently trying to get Galaxian how I like it on my various lcd set-ups, it's proving hard mostly due to the resolution having been tripled by the mame team at some point (anyone got a link to info about that?).

I want it pixel perfect so I've got the choice of 768pixels high which is a bit small on eg 1080 screen  or 1536high on a 1200x1600 (20") which is a bit big.

Groovymame solves these problem for CRT I think.

If you don't have it pixel perfect, say you use MAME default and stretch it vertically to fill a 1080 screen, then you get extra rows and columns of pixels which might be detectable as irregularities in the otherwise smooth trajectories of the chargers.

The above is even before sync problems offer yet more scope for deviations from perfect.

[southpaw13]

Groovy Mame is the only one I use, wish it was updated to 153.

[jimmer]

Groovy Mame is the only one I use, wish it was updated to 153.

You should probably get over to the groovymame subforum.

I don't even use it but I've got groovymame0153.

[elvis]

Are there any "good examples" of a PCB that just outright beats it's emulated counterpart?

http://unmamed.mameworld.info/

[paigeoliver]

Anything vector is better with the real thing.

Anything that uses a mirror and an graphic overlay is better with the real board.

Sega Turbo is better on real hardware because of the separate scoreboard.

Pole Position is better in Mame because your mame cabinet probably works and you aren't scared to death it isn't going to come up every time you turn it on.

All the Deco cassette games are better in mame because you aren't risking a 30 year old cassette tape that MIGHT have a half dozen plays left in it every time you boot the thing up.

Laserdisc games can be better in emulation because it is possible to use higher resolution video than the original laserdisc on some titles.

This may no longer be true, but Berzerk in mame and Berzerk on real hardware seemed to noticeably draw the screen transitions differently. It wasn't that one was better, it was just not the same.