NEWBIE questions

[AGGIEZ]

Howdy! I was doing some searching on a PacMan cocktail game for my mother in laws gameroom when I ran across MAME. I'm really interested in making a cabinet of my own but I'm not really sure what kind of skills you need to do a good job. I just have a few questions:

Where do you get the MAME software? I'd like to try it out on my PC first before I go building a cabinet.

What kind of computer skills do you have to have to make this thing work? I'm no hacker by any stretch of the imagination

What kind of electronics skills do you have to have? Do you have to be able to read circuit diagrams? This is the scariest part for me. All those damn wires. Are you all computer programmers or in electronics?

What does the MAME interface look like and how do you get around the 4,000 games and choose one to play with your joystick?

Lastly, I have an older HP Pavilion that I was thinking about getting rid of until I found out about MAME last night. These are the specs:

600 MHz Intel Celeron processor
64 MB SDRAM
Max 256 MB
10 GB hard drive

Not really sure what else you would need to know. Based on that information, is this PC strong enough to run MAME software on it?


For those who respond, thanks for taking the time to help a newbie out!!

[Pete Harcoff]

You can get MAME from the official MAME page: http://www.mame.net/

If you're running Windows, you might want to try MAME32 (http://www.classicgaming.com/mame32qa/), since it has a front-end interface and is easier to use than regular MAME.

You don't need much in the way of computer skills to use it, at least MAME32.  It's just like other Windows programs.  You might need to tweak the settings for good performance, but if you've ever played any computer games, that shouldn't be a big deal.

As far as building a cabinet, I can't comment on anything but building the control panel, but it was really easy.  Wiring the thing was a cinch (no fancy electronic diagrams requires).  You need the right tools (crimper, pliers, wire strippers...).

As far as getting MAME games, you might not want to ask that in the open forum...

[eightbit]

Start at the main page of this site and read the sections that look interesting or relevant to you. Then search the forums for specific questions and if you still can't figure it out come on back but by then you'll be able to ask more specific questions.

[GroovyTuesdaY]

And......whatever you do......DON'T ASK FOR ROMS  - aka :the games you can play under mame.   It sounds like your pretty new here , so let me warn you now, you NEVER EVER ask for games in the forums. lol,
Just wanted to save you a forum beating lol

groovy ~

[paigeoliver]

That computer is more than good enough to run most of the games in Mame, and all of the games that would play properly with Pac-Man controls.

If I was the kind of person who wanted to look for files to download, I would probably search google for their EXACT filenames.

There are several different Mame interfaces available, either the I-Pac from www.ultimarc.com or the keywhiz from groovygamegear.com would both be suitable, and I believe both vendors now stock joysticks and perhaps buttons as well.

[Tiger-Heli]

Where do you get the MAME software? I'd like to try it out on my PC first before I go building a cabinet.

Someone else answered where to get MAME software.  See http://www.mameworld.net/easyemu/ for how to set it up.  The bigger problem is MAME is pretty useless without the game ROMS (files) and they are copyrighted.  There are links to a few ROM sites on www.mameworld.net, or try searching the internet or the newsgroups.  Again, don't ask in public forums, though.

NOTE:  Admins - feel free to edit the above out if it's inappropriate.  I don't want the board getting in trouble.

What kind of computer skills do you have to have to make this thing work? I'm no hacker by any stretch of the imagination

MAME32 is easy to set up, especially following the guides at easyemu.  MAME is easier to set up if you have a DOS or command line background.

What kind of electronics skills do you have to have? Do you have to be able to read circuit diagrams? This is the scariest part for me. All those damn wires. Are you all computer programmers or in electronics?

To bang around on the keyboard, you don't need any electronics skills.  If you want to use real arcade controls, you will want a keyboard encoder, preferably either the KeyWiz from www.groovygamegear.com, the I-PAC from www.ultimarc.com (several variants), or the MK64 from www.mk64.com/ron.  These work for joysticks or buttons.  For trackballs and spinners, you will need a different interface.  See the main page of this site for all the info you need.

What does the MAME interface look like and how do you get around the 4,000 games and choose one to play with your joystick?

MAME32 has an interface.  MAME is commandline only.  You will want a frontend (software).  Good choices are www.mameworld.net/emuloader or MAMEWAH (don't have the link).  There are other ones as well.  

Lastly, I have an older HP Pavilion that I was thinking about getting rid of until I found out about MAME last night. These are the specs:

600 MHz Intel Celeron processor
64 MB SDRAM
Max 256 MB
10 GB hard drive

Not really sure what else you would need to know. Based on that information, is this PC strong enough to run MAME software on it?

That should work fine for the 80's and early 90's games.  Keep in mind some of the games like the Cruisin' series won't run (at playable speed) on a 4 Ghz processor, so upgrading wouldn't help you.  When you learn more about MAME you might try dropping back to MAME 0.36 Final, which was faster than the current version.