MAMEWAH, MAME32, frontends, roms....HELP!!!!

[AGGIEZ]

Ok, I'm a newbie to emulation, but after organizing a MAME cocktail cab project for my mother-in-law (I did the woodwork, someone else did the wiring and software), I've got the MAME bug and now I want to tackle building my own. This is all a little bit daunting, but it's so damn fun. I'm not really a computer hacker so some of this is a little scary (I can download files but that's about the extent of it). I'm starting with the software and hopefully in a few weeks I'll be familiar enough with how the software works to start the cabinet.

Here's my first question. What's the difference betweem MAMEWAH and MAME32? I know MAMEWAH is a "frontend", but do I also need MAME32? What's the difference between a frontend and an emulator? I've downloaded MAMEWAH and have all the roms on CD. I'm assuming I need MAME32 or some other emulator for the final piece of the puzzle. If that's the case, what emulator do you recommend and how do I make it all work together?

I know that's alot, but I'm basically asking what software do I need to download and how does it all work together? Thanks in advance!

-Newbie...

[TalkingOctopus]

You need mame (command line version) and mamewah.  Get the official mame build here:  http://www.mame.net/.  

Mame is a commandline program, meaning that you have to type "C:\mame\mame.exe <rom name>" to have it run a game.  

Mame32 and Mamewah are frontends that provide a list of games that can be run in mame.  When select a game, the frontend sends the command to mame which allows you to play the game.  

The difference between Mame32 and mamewah is that Mame32 is a frontend built on top of mame so you only need the Mame32 download to run games.  Mamewah is an external frontend that requires a version of mame to play.  Mamewah is much more suitable for a cabinet.

Good Luck.

[Minwah]

The difference between Mame32 and mamewah is that Mame32 is a frontend built on top of mame so you only need the Mame32 download to run games.  Mamewah is an external frontend that requires a version of mame to play.  Mamewah is much more suitable for a cabinet.

What he said

Although MAMEWAH is preferred for cabinet use over MAME32, you might want to use MAME32 for a while to learn the basics.  If you want to jump right into commandline MAME then I would recommend you check out www.mameworld.net/easyemu

(Did I really almost recommend MAME32??  )