How to make a dedicated MAME 0.250 Appliance on a Raspberry Pi 4/Pi 400

[nts31180]

No clue if this is related to the program or if it’s the rom’s I’m using.
But getting a large red screen with a bunch of files missing, say (neogeo) after the file name.

Photo attached.
Any advice?

[bbegin]

Hi nts31180,

That's because the ROM you want to launch needs (dependency) a BIOS. In this case, the BIOS it needs is neogeo. You need to get the BIOS file (neogeo.zip) and put it in the same folder as your ROM files (/data/mame/roms).

Hope it helps

[itr4e]

Hi,
got a problem building mame on a Pi4B 4GB with your image
I am making a small 15 inch picade for the kids to play some games on it, especialy pacman  and i have used your image since the kids are small and prefer to be a ro mode.

Basically I have changed the source ui.cpp to have option to disable the warning (no nag) display, modified your mame-update script not do download the mame or extract and used that to build the image

After 5h 45m it fails, see attached picture for that but it doesn't contain any specific error info.

i have seen the make file and will try to enable debug and some other options to see why but was wondering if anyone has an idea as each build takes forever to be done and now with debug will be more.

I have not touched anything else and added only some option to change/cycle one game per day with a script and adding the game to load in the autostart script.

[bbegin]

Hi itr4e,

At first view, it looks like a free-space problem: the root filesystem is a bit tight on space while building MAME. I would suggest you delete your .zip of the source code, once unzipped, as well as the original MAME (rm -R ~/mame0241). Try to continue the build, it should take where the issue was encountered.

Just let me know if this fix the issue. Thanks!

[nts31180]

Hi nts31180,

That's because the ROM you want to launch needs (dependency) a BIOS. In this case, the BIOS it needs is neogeo. You need to get the BIOS file (neogeo.zip) and put it in the same folder as your ROM files (/data/mame/roms).

Hope it helps

Thanks again for all of the help! I've gotten to everything set up (for now), and even gotten to play some games that I haven't seen since I was a kid.
This is an awesome set up!

[bbegin]

Thanks, nts31180! 

@itr4e,

To free some space before the build process, use these commands:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get autoclean

Did you were able to build MAME, yet?

[bbegin]

Just to let you know the availability of the NEW disk image file with MAME 0.242 (please see the original post of this thread for the download link). 

[bbegin]

Just to let you know the availability of the NEW disk image file with MAME 0.243 (please see the original post of this thread for the download link). 

[itr4e]

Thanks, nts31180! 

@itr4e,

To free some space before the build process, use these commands:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get autoclean

Did you were able to build MAME, yet?

Hi sorry for the late reply been pretty busy and just noticed your post.
I did managed to fix it yes, don't recall what I did though.

I also made some changes on my own for simplicity, since it's for the kids and dont want to be complicated but easy enough to change games if needed without menus.
I added a script that reads some files from the boot volume and depending on that it starts the game and the relevant parameters with it, eg rotate, emulator and config.
So it starts only one game and no menu for kids to mess around with
Will do some changes some time this or next month in preparation of summer

thanks for your great work on that

[Bsachetti]

So far, this is my favorite build for my arcade machine.  Very easy to use and works so much better with my I-PAC than Retropie or Batocera. 

Just a couple of items I've been struggling with.

1)  Performance of all vector games -- everything seems to run really well (speeds very close to 100%) except for vector games which are super slow with speeds from  15-25% typically.

2) Advmenu -- this won't run at all.  It seems to get the xml info from the Mame executable and then reports "No video mode available for your configuration.  Try selecting a specific resolution like with -display_size 1280x1024"

Hoping to have someone point me in the right direction on these!  Thanks in advance.

[bbegin]

To set the correct video mode with AdvanceMENU, you should run the AdvCfg binary and set the resolution to the one EDID has detected:

Code: [Select]

./frontend/advance/advcfg

[Bsachetti]

Got advmenu working... thanks!

Any guidance on how to get acceptable performance from the vector games or is this a known issue?

Thanks!

[Substring]

Just FYI, Mame 0.244 broke KMS output, I've made a temporary fix at https://gitlab.com/groovyarcade/packages/-/blob/master/package/groovymame/kms.patch until it's fixed upstream (see https://github.com/mamedev/mame/issues/9852)

[bbegin]

Just FYI, Mame 0.244 broke KMS output, I've made a temporary fix at https://gitlab.com/groovyarcade/packages/-/blob/master/package/groovymame/kms.patch until it's fixed upstream (see https://github.com/mamedev/mame/issues/9852)

Thanks for this patch, I will integrate it for the 0.244 build and hope it will be integrated in 0.245 version of MAME.

[bobbyb13]

I have been waiting to try this since you first posted your project work!

Of course now that I open your github entry I find myself over my head immediately.

Is there any hope I can do this if I have never used Linux before and only have a Windows10 computer?

Maybe I can install virtualbox so I can follow your directions but my skill in dealing with computers and code is very limited!

Your very detailed directions look excellent- and also like a foreign (even when translated into English for me!) language.
 

[Substring]

Just FYI, Mame 0.244 broke KMS output, I've made a temporary fix at https://gitlab.com/groovyarcade/packages/-/blob/master/package/groovymame/kms.patch until it's fixed upstream (see https://github.com/mamedev/mame/issues/9852)

Thanks for this patch, I will integrate it for the 0.244 build and hope it will be integrated in 0.245 version of MAME.

Considering 245 is about to be released and https://github.com/mamedev/mame/pull/9888is still open ... The fix is lame, the original commit that brought the bug is even worse ... I'll let you follow issues to understand why there was a commit that broke KMS. The various fix are totally absurd ...

[PL1]

https://github.com/mamedev/mame/pull/9888is still open

Missed a space between the URL and "is".   
https://github.com/mamedev/mame/pull/9888


Scott

[javeryh]

I have been waiting to try this since you first posted your project work!

Of course now that I open your github entry I find myself over my head immediately.

Is there any hope I can do this if I have never used Linux before and only have a Windows10 computer?

Maybe I can install virtualbox so I can follow your directions but my skill in dealing with computers and code is very limited!

Your very detailed directions look excellent- and also like a foreign (even when translated into English for me!) language.
 

If I can figure this out, anyone can.  Saying I have third grade level computer knowledge would be an insult to third graders everywhere.  You don't need to compile anything - bbegin has done it all for you.  Just need to mount the image on a memory card and then boot up the pi.  You then should connect to wifi using the config file discussed in this thread like 2 years ago.  Everything else is in the instructions and it's trial and error and you can't mess anything up.  Worst you can do is have to delete the image and restart.  Just dive in!

[Jt82]

Hi. I'm looking for help on how to get this working.
Here's where i am.

I have downloaded the file in the first post and installed it to the rPi4. I have booted the pi and got to the service menu. I am able to log in using the standard pi login details.
That's it. I have no idea where to go next. The step by step guide seems overly long for something everyone on here is saying is simple. Am i missing something? Am i supposed to follow each of the steps in the step by step guide? I think it would take me weeks to type in all the code in the guide.

I don't understand where i'm supposed to put the roms. In previous installs i've been able to find the folders if i put the sd card in my pc. When i do this now i don't see any of the usual folders.

There is mention of Samba share but all the tutorials i've looked at explaining this don't explain the error i get when i try to install it. (not using locking for ....etc)

javeryh. above you say connect to wifi using config discussed in the thread 2 years ago. Can you point me to the page on the thread this is discussed please? I've gone back and forth on the thread so many times i think im blind to see the actual helpful parts.

Any help on this would be gratefully received.

[LuckyTiger]

Hi. I'm looking for help on how to get this working.
Here's where i am.

I have downloaded the file in the first post and installed it to the rPi4. I have booted the pi and got to the service menu. I am able to log in using the standard pi login details.
That's it. I have no idea where to go next. The step by step guide seems overly long for something everyone on here is saying is simple. Am i missing something? Am i supposed to follow each of the steps in the step by step guide? I think it would take me weeks to type in all the code in the guide.

I don't understand where i'm supposed to put the roms. In previous installs i've been able to find the folders if i put the sd card in my pc. When i do this now i don't see any of the usual folders.

There is mention of Samba share but all the tutorials i've looked at explaining this don't explain the error i get when i try to install it. (not using locking for ....etc)

javeryh. above you say connect to wifi using config discussed in the thread 2 years ago. Can you point me to the page on the thread this is discussed please? I've gone back and forth on the thread so many times i think im blind to see the actual helpful parts.

Any help on this would be gratefully received.

Jt82, if you use bbegin's premade download, there is very little you need to do. You really don't need the step-by-step guide, just the first post.

After you login, you run the script mentioned in the first post to use the full size of your SD card. I would suggest using an ethernet cable until you are ready to setup WiFi using the information from the linuxhint.com instructions also in the first post. From there, you should be able to connect over the network and add roms without issue or even by physically putting the SD card into your PC.

I hope this helps you get started.

[mallard]

Does anyone have experience running this image with USB boot on a pi 4?

I've had lots of issues running on an SD card. Even when using safe shutdowns, the card seems to get corrupted over time and eventually refuses to boot unless I reflash the image.

Is this an inherent problem with SD cards? Or is it likely that my specific card has issues? Would USB booting fix this, and has anyone been able to flash and boot on a USB?

I'd really appreciate any help.

[bbegin]

Does anyone have experience running this image with USB boot on a pi 4?

I've had lots of issues running on an SD card. Even when using safe shutdowns, the card seems to get corrupted over time and eventually refuses to boot unless I reflash the image.

Is this an inherent problem with SD cards? Or is it likely that my specific card has issues? Would USB booting fix this, and has anyone been able to flash and boot on a USB?

I'd really appreciate any help.

To answer your question, SD cards *do* wear over time as numerous write operations are done.

I took care of this problem, because the purpose of this image is to being used as an "appliance" style: power it on, use it (or not), power it off (or not, in use case of continuous operation). The SD card must *not*  wear over time. That's why I took care to put the system in read-only mode when in normal operation. Only the /data partition is in read/write mode, but the filesystem is adapted to flash (it uses the F2FS filesystem). Additionally, only the occasional writes operations requested by the emulator or the front-end are redirected to this partition. The whole Linux operating system is running in read-only mode. To make changes to Linux persistent (add, update or remove packages, for example), you first need to put the system in read/write mode, with the "rw" command.

Booting from a USB disk will only make it possible to use a magnetic hard disk, instead of flash.

I personally think your SD card is already worn-out, from previous uses or maybe defective.

I recommend use a new micro-SD card (avoid cheapest ones, if possible) and write the image file to it. You shouldn't run in any problem regarding the wear with this image.

I hope this helps.

[bbegin]

Hi all,

It's been a little while since I published a new updated disk image!

I'm happy to let you know the availability of the NEW disk image file with MAME 0.250 (please see the original post of this thread for the download link).

Three (3) new features in this release:
- Sound volume is persistent;
- Automatic single-ROM launch at boot (called AutoROM mode) for dedicated cabinet/game (configure with the "frontend" command);
- No more need to put the system in read/write mode when using the "frontend" command.

Happy holidays! 

[abispac]

Any chance you can make this 15khz compatible, with vga666 and groovymame? Thanks for reading.

[Substring]

If you go groovymame for 15kHz, please get in touch with me. You'd need some kernel patches + patched SDL2 for KMS modeswitching

[Toonces]

That would be awesome! I recently used GroovyArcade 2022 iso to update my main MAME system in a Namco Cyberlead and love it. Being able to use this image with GroovyMame would be awesome. I am using a PJ Pi2JAMMA adapter from PCBJunkie that would be an awesome combo with this image. https://pcbjunkie.net/index.php/raspberry-pi-to-jamma-adapter/

I'm using it with a Pi3B and an older version of Retropie but this image and a Pi4 with the SDArcadeMod_v3f theme looks like it's a perfect match that will give me what I've been looking for.

[javeryh]

Hi all,

It's been a little while since I published a new updated disk image!

I'm happy to let you know the availability of the NEW disk image file with MAME 0.250 (please see the original post of this thread for the download link).

Three (3) new features in this release:
- Sound volume is persistent;
- Automatic single-ROM launch at boot (called AutoROM mode) for dedicated cabinet/game (configure with the "frontend" command);
- No more need to put the system in read/write mode when using the "frontend" command.

Happy holidays! 

Thanks for keeping this going!  I'm about 1 year in using this solution and have had zero issues.  It boots, it plays and it powers down perfectly every time.

[TrevEB]

A quick note for newbs like me.

This image will not work on a Pi 3.
The hardware is different. The software must be written for a Pi 3

FYI
Everything works except Mame.
Once in arcademode the pi reboots to the mame logo and nothing more.

Expansion works,
samba works,
Roms copied over to the roms folder works,
Artwork scrapping works, update works

I've got a pi 4B coming tomorrow so hopefully I'll join the rest of you in Pi4 Bliss

What would be involved in recoding for a Pi 3.
I am doing this for a dedicated warlords cabinet. The emulation is imperfect. Hoping running the current version of mame will solve that.

Thanks

[TrevEB]

No Sound in Mame
Using the current image, I have everything working perfectly, except sound.
The speakers have been tested and working from HDMI or Audio port out headphones, or a USB audio device (3D Sound)
Using speaker-test while in RW mode sound works perfectly.
When I switch to Arcademode all games have no sound.

Is everyone else able to get sound through via the HDMI cable or the audio jack?
There must be some setting in mame.ini or something that I am missing.

Also, while in servicemode. what exactly is the command to run Mame while in servicemode,
mame-launcher.sh = command not found.

[spedinfargo]

Making great progress with this (unlike many other forays into Mame on Pi).

One quick question (typo?):  On my image there is no /data/roms folder and likewise, no \\arcade\data\roms in the Samba share.  When I created one and copied some roms to that folder, Attract Mode couldn't find them.

After tracking down how the .mame folder works, I'm wondering if this is a misprint?  When I copied my roms into \\arcade\data\mame\roms then things seemed to work fine.

Might be a step I missed or maybe this has changed in newer versions of the image?

[Crazy Cooter]

Can you update MAME after using this on a PI4 or would you need to make a whole new image/start over if you needed a newer version of MAME?

[Th3T0ur15t]

Just wanted to add... love this image. The attention to detail is great and 'it just works'.

[Crazy Cooter]

No Sound in Mame
Using the current image, I have everything working perfectly, except sound.
...
Is everyone else able to get sound through via the HDMI cable or the audio jack?
There must be some setting in mame.ini or something that I am missing.
...

Possible fix (solved my issue - I'm using the 3.5mm jack to an external 20w RMS stereo amplifier)
After enabling the 3.5mm output per J_K_M_A_N's post earlier in this very thread http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,162889.msg1747478.html#msg1747478, if I cranked the volume I could hear sounds... barely.

from command line or SSH:
"alsamixer"
Then use up arrow to bring the dB gain to ~0
Initially when I ran alsamixer it showed my headphone (3.5mm) jack set to -57dB -> which is why I couldn't hear anything unless I cranked up to 100% volume.

NOTE: I was in "rw" mode when I did this, then changed to "ro" before a "sudo reboot".  Not sure if that's required or not but it kept the correct settings.

[Thewick]

This is amazing!  I think this might be what I need to justify reverting my arcade build back from PC to RPI, assuming I’m able to get AM plugins for ServoSticks and dual monitor working.  I’m also seeing great performance on some titles that were awful in lr-MAME.  Any plans to port this is RPi5?  Again, amazing work!

[teller]

Hi, is there a new SD card image of your system with the latest MAME v0.261?

[bbegin]

Hi, is there a new SD card image of your system with the latest MAME v0.261?

I am currently building MAME 0.262. I will upload a fresh image once the build is successfully completed.

[Ond]

Hi, is there a new SD card image of your system with the latest MAME v0.261?

I am currently building MAME 0.262. I will upload a fresh image once the build is successfully completed.

Looking forward to the new build. I'm currently running the latest available version on a overclocked Pi 4 B.  Does the screen rotation of the Front End depend on the ROMS loaded? I'm using a monitor in landscape but MAME front end always comes up in portrait view? I must have missed something maybe?    I can edit the mame.ini file for game rotation no problem but the FE not so sure...

[Steve S.]

Also looking forward to the new build.

I have had issues with the 0.250 version and hope the update will help out.

Bbegin, thank you for all the fine work!

[Crazy Cooter]

... Does the screen rotation of the Front End depend on the ROMS loaded? I'm using a monitor in landscape but MAME front end always comes up in portrait view? I must have missed something maybe?    I can edit the mame.ini file for game rotation no problem but the FE not so sure...

Check in your attract.cfg and try changing to/from some of these:
   param                auto_rot 270
   param                default_rot 90
   param                rotate 90

[Ond]

... Does the screen rotation of the Front End depend on the ROMS loaded? I'm using a monitor in landscape but MAME front end always comes up in portrait view? I must have missed something maybe?    I can edit the mame.ini file for game rotation no problem but the FE not so sure...

Check in your attract.cfg and try changing to/from some of these:
   param                auto_rot 270
   param                default_rot 90
   param                rotate 90

Thank you Crazy Cooter. adding this to my list of things to test out.