which front end to use? i've been out of the game for a few years

[severdhed]

i recently upgraded the PC in my upright cabinet, and i'm in the process of setting everything back up.  it has been years since i've done anything with mame.  i've got the mame (.0150) with the roms ready to go. i typically have used MaLa in the past because it was easy to work with and configure.   i've noticed that it doesn't seem to be available any more. i copied the mala folder over from the old installation, but i can't get it to recognize my p1 joystick to control the UI. i figured it might be time to see what is currently available

i'm looking for a front end that is easy to configure, and more importantly easy for other people to use. i want to run mame games, as well as a few steam/ PC games. I'm using ultrastiks for my controls.

pc specs:

AMD FX-6200 six core 3.8GHz
32GB ram
80GB SSD
1TB HDD
GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Windows 10 Pro x64


thanks for the input

[nipsmg]

Launchbox with BigBox.   Spend the $20 or whatever it is.  The LaunchBox GUI makes it SUPER simple to configure your platforms, scan your roms, scrape all your images, manage lists, etc.

You can do all of that with other frontends but not that easily.  Their themes are excellent.  It's actively being developed and improved.

IF you want something that looks great AND doesn't make you want to kill yourself setting it up, spend the $$ and get it.  Trust me.

[bperkins01]

+1  - really nice

[meyer980]

I like Attract Mode. I used to use Maximus Arcade 10 years ago or so, but wouldn't recommend it now.

The other posters are right, launchbox is great if you go the paid route. I prefer building my own themes and the free nature of Attract Mode. I tend to like extremely clean/simple looking interfaces, which I haven't had much trouble finding for Attract Mode or making myself.

[severdhed]

Thanks guys. I ended up trying attract mode. I only managed to get it setup with Mame so far. It isn't too bad to get working, other than the horribly long time it takes to find the artwork that I already had in the folders. It took me a while to scroll through 28k games to make a favorites list. I'm going to give it a go on my upright cabinet, and if it works well enough, I'll set it up on my 4 player pedestal, which was also recently updated.

[Alaska]

I use HyperSpin with RocketLauncher. It has programs that will download all of the themes and artwork for your romset BUT is not easy to setup. It takes a bit of messing around, installing RocketLaucher, setting up emulators, etc. With that said, once it is done it looks and works great. I have heard great things about LB and BB though. Might be a safer bet

[keilmillerjr]

Thanks guys. I ended up trying attract mode. I only managed to get it setup with Mame so far. It isn't too bad to get working, other than the horribly long time it takes to find the artwork that I already had in the folders. It took me a while to scroll through 28k games to make a favorites list. I'm going to give it a go on my upright cabinet, and if it works well enough, I'll set it up on my 4 player pedestal, which was also recently updated.

Check out the nofiller tag lists in my attract gitlab repo.

[severdhed]

Check out the nofiller tag lists in my attract gitlab repo.

If I had any idea what any of that meant, I would.

[keilmillerjr]

Check out the nofiller tag lists in my attract gitlab repo.

If I had any idea what any of that meant, I would.

Attract has filters for displays, one of which is tags. I composed a few tag lists. The nofiller tag lists contain top roms chosen here on byoac. Game selection goes from the thousands mame supports to a few hundred of the best.

[severdhed]

Check out the nofiller tag lists in my attract gitlab repo.

If I had any idea what any of that meant, I would.

Attract has filters for displays, one of which is tags. I composed a few tag lists. The nofiller tag lists contain top roms chosen here on byoac. Game selection goes from the thousands mame supports to a few hundred of the best.

That sounds awesome, where do I find this tag list?  I'm assuming it is a file download that I have to save somewhere in the attract mode folder?

Sent from my GM1917 using Tapatalk

[keilmillerjr]

https://gitlab.com/attractmode/attract/-/tree/master/config/romlists/mame

[JohnnyJedi]

save yourself some headaches and get Launchbox with BigBox.. everything its so ez to set up and runs superb, they have all kinds of tutorials at their Youtube for any Emulator you want to run.. and they also keep upgrading their stuff frequently.. i got it and payed the xtra for the BigBox part which is awesome.. you can even get the Launchbox free to use with everything included which is more than enough.. try it.. 

[JRobATL]

I use HyperSpin with RocketLauncher. It has programs that will download all of the themes and artwork for your romset BUT is not easy to setup. It takes a bit of messing around, installing RocketLaucher, setting up emulators, etc. With that said, once it is done it looks and works great. I have heard great things about LB and BB though. Might be a safer bet

I agree 100%. It can be frustrating, but it looks fantastic when it's done, and it's super easy for any of your friends to use once it's done.

[JohnnyJedi]

I use HyperSpin with RocketLauncher. It has programs that will download all of the themes and artwork for your romset BUT is not easy to setup. It takes a bit of messing around, installing RocketLaucher, setting up emulators, etc. With that said, once it is done it looks and works great. I have heard great things about LB and BB though. Might be a safer bet

I agree 100%. It can be frustrating, but it looks fantastic when it's done, and it's super easy for any of your friends to use once it's done.

Ahh I forgot the part of the artwork.. LB/BB does it automatically as well as movie downloads for the games... much easier and automatic.. I didn't go for Hyperspin due to the setup complicity..