How to change aspect ratio on MAME 160? Using notepad

[rackoon]

Hi guys, I've been messing around with a preconfigured hard drive that came with mame 160. Don't judge, its for my kids and they are not purists like you all.

 I would like to try changing the aspect ratio to fill the screen. It looks like the only place to change stuff would be in the horizontal cng file where they are using notepad. In here I found the OSD video options and the OSD per window options. I haven't done this in hella years, but I think I remember this is where I can change things.

Any old school guys out there remember how this is done?

[baritonomarchetto]

Run mame.exe from command line with the command:

mame.exe -cc

This will create a configuration file named "mame.ini" where all video options can be set via notepad

[Zebidee]

Best to just leave that aspect ratio stuff alone. Kids won't care. Messing with it will make the games look wrong and the kids will enjoy it less. Fat guys will get even fatter, jumps will become impossibly long and moves harder to time.

Games need the right aspect ratio, they were designed that way and it will look wrong otherwise. To quote from Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, "Don't mess with the balance." Sometimes we sit staring out into the black too long and we get lost in it... or some Firefly ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Better to learn to love the black. You are not missing out on anything, you are getting something. It is there for a reason. Glass half-full or even more.

Presumably someone has put a lot of effort in to make it look right, so why fiddle and risk breaking it?

Sorry to be that guy. I don't wanna be the troll-a-hole. 

[Ropi Jo]

Are you just trying to get mame to fill the entire screen?

[Haze]

Just use a more modern version and put some artwork there, it's what most of the modern re-releases do, and even simply modern games where the gameplay style still works better with 4:3

It turns out the kids *do* care, the ones with taste at least.

[Zebidee]

Just use a more modern version and put some artwork there, it's what most of the modern re-releases do, and even simply modern games where the gameplay style still works better with 4:3

It turns out the kids *do* care, the ones with taste at least.

Yes, and using artwork depends on what monitor they are using. So far none specified.

[rackoon]

the monitor is a lg ultragear 32".    I may put a new version mame in drive e and play around with it.

[Zebidee]

Grab a pack of artwork files and use them to fill up the extra screen space left by keeping correct aspect ratios. You can enable the artwork via settings in mame.ini (fairly self-explanatory, under "CORE ARTWORK OPTIONS"). The kids will love it

Get art for free here:
https://www.progettosnaps.net/artworks/