Free play Mode.

[sWampy]

I know a lot of people got all bent out of shape over the CoinDrop program, but I think it would rock to have a version of it that always gave you max credits when starting a game.   I don't really want a credits button on my console, don't want to have to explain hold down player 1 and hit the red button to insert credits to everyone (especially my 3 year) and don't want my friends having to insert tokens to play a game.   I'd like free play all the time, all the games that support free play I have set to free play, but a ton don't have that option.

It looks like the author of coindrop could release a version that always put 5+ credits into a game when it started a game and would completely do away with all the complaints about it being used to make money.

[youki]

AtomicFE did that , when the credit management from the FE was activated.  You could choose freeplay or not.

But for the same reason than the coinDrop program , i decided to not make this feature available at all.

But i should come back soon with this feature , but in another shape  that could satisfied the ones who are against this feature.

Because if i well understood , MAMETeam is not against credit management from a Front End, they are simply against the exploitation of MAME .  So if the exploitation becomes impossible with my new version , it should be ok. I think.

[Havok]

Forget a sec about profit - I would just like a management system built into a front end that allows you to track how many credits were utilized for each game. That's all. Just for fun...

[sWampy]

Time in a game is good enough for me to track.  I wish there was a built in way for mame to auto exit after xx minutes of no key presses, so the times would be closer to accurate, when someone leaves a game up and it stays active for sometimes days.   I'm aware that has been added to some builds of mame, but isn't standard.   I just want super easy to pick/start a game without having to give instructions on how to start a game.   I guess I could just write a service that hits 5 every so many seconds if it detects mame is running and see how well that works.   

[Dizzle]

I was about to post something similar regarding freeplay.  I just recently hooked up my coin door and didn't want coin buttons on my cab anymore either, but I noticed this morning that a lot of games don't have freeplay mode on them.

I heard some people have rigged their coin return buttons as coin up's though... don't know if that's an acceptable solution for ya.

[RayB]

How about setting the games themselves to free play? I know it's time consuming if you have thousands of games, but once it's done, it's done.

[Dizzle]

How about setting the games themselves to free play? I know it's time consuming if you have thousands of games, but once it's done, it's done.

I wouldn't mind doing that, but even when I went into the service menu of some games (I tried Puzzle Fighter and another Capcom game) I couldn't find an option for freeplay.  I may check more thoroughly tonight before I decide whether or not to wire my side coin buttons for something else.

[headkaze]

I know a lot of people got all bent out of shape over the CoinDrop program, but I think it would rock to have a version of it that always gave you max credits when starting a game.   I don't really want a credits button on my console, don't want to have to explain hold down player 1 and hit the red button to insert credits to everyone (especially my 3 year) and don't want my friends having to insert tokens to play a game.   I'd like free play all the time, all the games that support free play I have set to free play, but a ton don't have that option.

It looks like the author of coindrop could release a version that always put 5+ credits into a game when it started a game and would completely do away with all the complaints about it being used to make money.

An easy way to do this would be to create an autohotkey script and assign your P1 and P2 keys to press the Coin1 and Coin2 buttons just before it registers the P1 and P2 keypress. This is essentially how CoinDrop works except it counts the coins and only works if there are credits present.

[RayB]

I wouldn't mind doing that, but even when I went into the service menu of some games (I tried Puzzle Fighter and another Capcom game) I couldn't find an option for freeplay.  I may check more thoroughly tonight before I decide whether or not to wire my side coin buttons for something else.

Hit F2 for Service Mode. Then choose "7. Configuration" option. Then "1. System".

Then it's the very first option. Hit left onthe joystick and it will say "free play".

[Dizzle]

Thanks Ray.. I'll try it again when I get home.
So one way or the other, each game should support freeplay, right?  (either in the MAME menu, or in the games's service menu)

[RayB]

It's pretty much standard for all arcade games to have configurable pricing (including free play). Some you need to go into service menu (F2), others you can just do through Dipswitches.

[sWampy]

While a bunch do, some don't, and the ones that do it's a pain in the butt turning them all on/off if you want to go from free play to non free play cause someone came over and wants to play with your coindoors.   

A program that hits 5 and 1 or 6 and 2 evertime you press 1 or 2, sounds like a good, though not perfect solution, that could be easily turned on or off.

[screaming]

What about games that don't have a start button?

[Dav]

You guys always make everything too hard.  Just run a wire from your coin switch to start 2.  Press S2 then S1 to play a 1 player game and S2 twice for a 2 player game.