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First MAME cabinet--Questions
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etumor:
Thanks for the info so far.  Testing the performance wouldn't be difficult.  Run any game (I was using Xevious as my test) and notice whether or not is moves slower than when the desktop isn't rotated.  It shouldn't matter whether or not you rotate the game itself -- the problem doesn't seem to be related to whether or not the game is rotated, but rather just whether the desktop is rotated.  But if you want to try rotating the game, the switch to use is -screen_aspect 3:4 (you shouldn't actually need to rotate the game, it should automatically rotate because the desktop is rotated, but if you want to try the switch for that, it is -ror).

As for judging whether or not it runs slower, that's easy.  We're talking about a huge performance problem.  Watch the star that moves across the word "Xevious."  Under normal conditions, this is a smooth movement.  On my system with it rotated, this is choppy and slow.  You couldn't miss it.  If you rotate the desktop, run the game, and you "perceive" it to be running at the same speed, then you aren't seeing the same problem that I am.

My suspicion is that the problem that I'm seeing is related to the nVidia drivers.  It may even be related only to the current version of the nVidia drivers.  If the feature is supported under the ATI drivers at all, then it probably works properly.

Thanks for checking for me.

-Jeff
krick:
OK, back from some testing.

I've got good news, and bad news.

First, the good news:
It doesn't run slower.

Now the bad news:
1) It seems like it might actually run FASTER.  When I compare the speed of the blinking colors behind the Xevious logo on the start screen, it seems like the colors flash about twice as fast when running vertically.  However, while playing, it doesn't seem to be any faster.

2) The colors on the startup screen seem ok, but the in-game colors of the grass and the ships are definitely wrong.  The grass is brown and the ships are more blue than grey.

Why either of these things are happening makes absolutely no sense to me.  The screen orientation shouldn't have an effect on either of these things.

One possible issue MIGHT be that I may have custom resolution settings for Xevious in a config file somewhere.  I ran a utility that configures all the games in MAME to run at the optimal ArcadeVGA resolutions and refresh rates.  I think that it generates different config files based on whether you tell it you have a vertical or horizontal monitor.  It's kinda late for me to get into that tonight but I'll try to look into it tomorrow night sometime.  Though for the life of me, I can't see how resolution settings would have anything to do with the issues I'm seeing.

...
Bill
seibu:
Hey, can I suggest AdvanceMAME with Linux?

Sorry to be so nerdy, but I've got maybe 30% faster than WinXP or 98 on my lowly P3 800. I use a 2.6 Kernel compiled with optimisation for my hardware and run AdvanceMAME with the SVGALIB direct from the console (no X-Windows or anything).

It practically flies off the desk! 60/60 on anything up to and including CPS2, and that's all I'm interested in really. Still need to try some NeoGeo games, admittedly.

Can I also reccommend a proper arcade monitor or SCART TV? You'll save a lot of CPU not having to run fake scanlines and stretching, and AdvanceMAME has the best support for video modes and refresh rates. I was tearing my hair out trying to run Pacland without tearing or broken parallax under XP. Perfect first time under AdvanceMAME, even without hacking the refresh to 60Hz.
Gameboy.au:
If you are still looking for a OS and are stil unsure, have you tried 98lite from http://www.litepc.com/ ?

You can get the free copy and it basically cuts IE outta the OS and lets you trim it down big time.  Very off for a Windows 98 machine, but I have had it running well over 2 weeks (I just leave it on) and all the system resources are fine.  No crashing, nothing.  I have also found that because nothing is really chewing up RAM anymore, that certain games run quicker.

To download a copy and have a look, click http://www.litepc.com/98lite.html and click download preview.  That's all I used and I was very suprised at how well it worked.

Just a suggestion anyway.
rsoandrew:

--- Quote from: krick on June 02, 2004, 07:11:01 pm ---My $0.02 on the OS debate...

XP has annoying product activation.
......
I'm currently using windows 2000 because I hate the XP product activation so much, but I'm considering installing XP Home to get the dual mouse support.

--- End quote ---

Or you could go to this unpublished site for a corportate XP key that doesn't require activation.
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