MALA

[MARINE1142]

Thinking about useing mala instead of mamewah. Will there be a conflict if both are on the pc but only run one or the other? and on the wiki site there is a hardware pic of a board do you need this to run mala?

[gamecreature]

Both programs can reside on your CPU without causing problems, unless, of course, you tried to run them at the same time - but why would you want to do that?

The hardware is hardware that Mala supports that allows you to send data to extrenal LED and LCD displays. You do not need it to run Mala. Mala will not attempt to communicate with the hardware if it is absent.

[MARINE1142]

I want both on the pc for now so i can see which one i can get config easier and looks good i have mamewah and it looks to have a lot of potential but gets complicated and heard mala is more setup and user friendly. Once i know which one i m going to use i will delete the other. Thanks for the info. also were do you get one of the boards or is there a print with a part list maybe i could build one.

[gamecreature]

Go to http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/ and click on "hardware."

[unclet]

I had MameWah and Mala configured at the same time .... no problem, but I eventually found Mala saved me a lot of time and effort.  Also, Mala had more features which I required in order to use a front end on my cabinet.

PS:  Remember that MALA has a MameWah layout converter so you can use the same MameWah layouts in Mala...... thats what I did since there are some very nice MameWah layouts out there.   

[loadman]

that MALA has a MameWah layout converter so you can use the same MameWah layouts in Mala...... thats what I did since there are some very nice MameWah layouts out there.   

Gamecreatre's custom made layout rocks too! I hope he posts it to Swindus to put on the Mala website: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=54013.msg539494#msg539494

[gamecreature]

Gamecreatre's custom made layout rocks too! I hope his posts it to Swindus to put on the Mala website: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=54013.msg539494#msg539494

You're too kind. I want the Gamecreature layout to be exclusive to my cabinet, but I'm planning on putting together something similar that I'll share with everybody. After that, who knows? Maybe I'll let you folks pick what my next layout should be.

[loadman]

I want the Gamecreature layout to be exclusive to my cabinet

Too Late (see attached)


....Just Kidding   

[gamecreature]

Well, then I guess you won't need this...

[loadman]

..Looking good!

[gamecreature]

It's been uploaded. We'll see how he reacts to it. It's very limited - the transparent window prevents the thing from being scaled and there's no vertical layout. Oh well.

[namedos]

Gamecreature,
It's been uploaded to where?  Thanks.

[loadman]

Gamecreature,
It's been uploaded to where?  Thanks.

To here no doubt.

Give Swindus a day or two to post it on the MaLa website

[MARINE1142]

Just installed mala but now it asks for a mame exacutable what is that and what roms is it looking for

[unclet]

What is Mame?    Yikes.....   Are you saying you have never heard of "M.A.M.E" before ?

[MARINE1142]

Let me start from the beginning. I m useing nes and gen emulators i m not sure what mame rom is. I thought that mame was like a starting point to launch other emulators i did not know you could get mame roms and i dont have any. Running mamewah i just entered the emulator and rom folder and there they were the only one that worked good was the nes but gen did not so i was going to try mala i heard it was easier but now i m lost again.

[loadman]

Mame is 'Multi Arcade Machine Emulator'.  Download from mame.net

Mala is very easy to set-up emulators such as  nes and gen and mame. As UNCLET can tell you and help you. He has great experience with this

But I don't think mala will run without details as to what directory mame and your mame roms can be found. I guess 99% of people want to use mame.

As a workaround for you you could download mame and 1 rom to keep mala happy...... Then set-up nes and gen.

[MARINE1142]

i downloaded mame32 will that work and what is the ext of a mame rom

[loadman]

i downloaded mame32 will that work and what is the ext of a mame rom

YES It will (I think).. I use the windows command line version http://www.mame.net/downmain.html

Download a legal mame rom (aka an arcade video game rom) from here: http://www.mameworld.net/legal.html
You can leave the rom 'zipped' so to answer your question   .zip is the extension
then tell mala what folder it is in.

Then you can start setting up nes and gen

[Ninten-doh]

Gamecreature,
Any chance you created a red version of that skin as well?   
Only thing missing for me would be a spot for the type of control.  Love it though!

[MARINE1142]

Do i use winzip or leave it?

[loadman]

Do i use winzip or leave it?

leave it

You can leave the rom 'zipped'

[MARINE1142]

once i put in the mame execuatable which is mame32 an error comes up that says nocatver.ini file found. download one to use genre information on filter
i hit ok then another error says no controls.ini file found download one to use extended infor on your controls
then another error says no history dat.file found

[loadman]

once i put in the mame execuatable which is mame32 an error comes up that says nocatver.ini file found. download one to use genre information on filter
i hit ok then another error says no controls.ini file found download one to use extended infor on your controls
then another error says no history dat.file found

Yeah don't worry about all that. That is optional. Those messages just pop up once on set-up

[MARINE1142]

ok now mala comes up but i do not a my cp together yet and keyboad does not let me do anything on the screen. I really appreate all your help thank you i would be so lost right now with out your help thanks

[MARINE1142]

also how do i get back to the set up screen to add emulators and rom folders

[loadman]

ok now mala comes up but i do not a my cp together yet and keyboard does not let me do anything on the screen.

Right click to bring up options. Then hit the 'other emu config' tab to start setting up nes and gen

Some help is here
http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/emuconfig.html

Many presets have already been set up for various emu's  (see picture attached) to make it easier

I think this is where you should do some experimenting/ searching for answers and if you really get stuck start a new thread with your question.

[MARINE1142]

once again thank you

[loadman]

Gamecreature,
It's been uploaded to where?  Thanks.

http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/layouts.html

[Havok]

also how do i get back to the set up screen to add emulators and rom folders

Get this:

The BOOK

[unclet]

I do not do this to often ,,,,,, but I was requested by a fellow BYOAC'r .... so I aim to please .... here goes ......


I never install anything in the generic "My Documents" folder or even on my desktop..... since this just does not allow everything to be organized very well in my opinion.

I have installed about 40 emulators in MALA (some listed below along with the emulator I use for the games).

Mame (mame.exe)
Atari2600 (z26)
Atari7800 (mess)
Nintendo (fceUltra)
Sega Genesis (fusion)
Super Nintendo (zsNes)


Some notes before I continue:

Layouts:
MALA is just one frontend which exists to help people start various emulators easily.  There are many other frontends which people use as well (MameWah, GameLauncher, AtomicFE, etc..).  Each of these frontends allow each defined emulator to be associated with a "layout" (background image used by the frontend so the display of the game listings and screenshots\snaps of the individual games can be presented over a nice graphic background.  Some layouts which were created for use in MALA exist at the (http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/layouts.html) site.   Now, MALA also has a "layout converter" (located at the same link) which allows a person to convert MameWah (another frontend) layout files into MALA compatible layout files (ie: allows you to use MameWah layouts in MALA).     Since MameWah has been around longer, there seems to be more MameWah layouts which currently exist on the web than do MALA layouts .... this is why the MALA layout converter was provided.  You can find a lot of nice MameWah specific layouts at "http://www.emuchrist.org/cpviewer/mamewahlayouts.htm"
This site has plenty of information regarding various emulators and was extremely helpful to me.  When you get a better understand of how to configure emulators and what all the lingo means, then I recommend going to that site and looking around a bit to see what it has to offer.  Anyway, after going to this site you should understand what layouts are now.....

Hacked EXE apps\wrappers:
Some consoles, etc.. have emulators which were not built for command line execution and/or did not include arcade-cabinet-friendly key mappings.  In order to make these types of emulators more compatible, the official EXE application was hacked to provide certain "upgrades".  Also for some emulators which were not command line driven, a "wrapper" was created,  A wrapper is a command-line application which interacts with the non-command line application, thus allowing it to be executed via the commnad line.   I do not want to get into specific wrapper verbage here.  Just letting you know that these special wrapper EXE files exist for certain emulators which would not be able to executed in a frontend without the use of the wrapper application.   You can go to jcrouse's site (http://www.emuchrist.org/cpviewer/applications.htm) to see some of the hacked EXE applications.   You can download them and read about what the "enhancements" were.  Some existing wrappers are also on jcrouse's site (http://www.emuchrist.org/cpviewer/commandlinewrappers.htm) for certain emulators.



HOW I DID IT:

The following is the format which I used to keep everything organized:
(I only listed some of my emulators to get you started)

1) Create the following folders:

- "C:\Emulators"

- "C:\Emulators\Mala\"
- "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\"
- "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\Mame\"
- "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\Atari2600\"
- "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\Atari7800\"
- "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\Nintendo\"
- "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\Sega Genesis\"
- "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\Super Nintendo\"

- "C:\Emulators\Programs\"
- "C:\Emulators\Programs\mame\"
- "C:\Emulators\Programs\z26\"
- "C:\Emulators\Programs\mess\"
- "C:\Emulators\Programs\fceUltra\"
- "C:\Emulators\Programs\fusion\"
- "C:\Emulators\Programs\zsNes\"

- "C:\Emulators\RomFiles\"
- "C:\Emulators\RomFiles\Atari2600\"
- "C:\Emulators\RomFiles\Atari7800\"
- "C:\Emulators\RomFiles\Nintendo\"
- "C:\Emulators\RomFiles\Sega Genesis\"
- "C:\Emulators\RomFiles\Super Nintendo\"

- "C:\Emulators\Screenshots\"
- "C:\Emulators\Screenshots\Atari2600\"
- "C:\Emulators\Screenshots\Atari7800\"
- "C:\Emulators\Screenshots\Nintendo\"
- "C:\Emulators\Screenshots\Sega Genesis\"
- "C:\Emulators\Screenshots\Super Nintendo\"



INSTALLING MALA
================================================================
Download the latest version (RC7) of MALA from here (http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/download.html).  Execute the self extracting EXE to a TMP folder somewhere.  After it unpacks everything, then go into the "MaLa v1.0 RC7" folder (which it created) and move all files from within that folder into the "C:\Emulators\Mala\" folder you created previously.

** I believe MALA was created originally just for MAME, so this is why MAME must be configured when you start the MALA.EXE application.  Based on this thread, I believe you already know how to install MAME and configure it in MALA so I will not describe how to install Mame here, however, you might want to consider reinstalling MAME into the "C:\Emulators\Programs\mame\" folder instead.

Also, download the MalaLayoutConverter.exe from (http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/layouts.html) since you will need it later.


OBTAINING EMULATOR FILES
(Note: I will use the Atari2600's "z26" emulator as an example)
=========================================================================

- Download the z26 emulator program and install the program into the "C:\Emulators\Programs\z26\"  folder.  The z26 emulator has a "hacked" version located at jcrouse's site.  I believe I use that version.

- Obtain your Atari2600 ROM file images from somewhere on the internet and place them in the "C:\Emulators\RomFiles\Atari2600\" folder.   Some emulators require the ROM images to remain in a ZIP'd format, others require them to be unZIP'd.  Some emulators require the ROM images to have certain extensions as well.  You will need to read the documentation which comes with the emulator to determine what is required for each (ie: you might need to download bios files or other support files to use in the emulator as well).

- Obtain screenshots (aka snaps) for the Atari 2600.  A great source for screenshots are from the (http://localarcade.com/screenshotarchive/) site.  If you need screenshots for games which do not exist here, then you can usually find them online somehow by searching around a bit.  If you can not find screenshots that you want to use, then the emulator usually has a built in "take a screenshot" option which you can use to generate your own images.

- Optional: Obtain a "layout" set of files associated with the Atari2600.  I went to the
  "http://www.emuchrist.org/cpviewer/mamewahlayouts.htm" site and clicked on the "800 x 600 individuals page" link so I can see all of the "MameWah" specific layout packages which were available.  I found the Atari2600 layout and clicked on the image and downloaded it which was in a file called "atari2600_c.zip".   



CONFIRMING EMULATOR WORKS VIA COMMAND LINE BEFORE ADDING IT INTO MALA:
(Note: I will use the Atari2600's "z26" emulator as an example)
=========================================================================

MALA (as with most other frontends) executes command line applications for you, so you
must first confirm the application actually works via the command line.  This is also advantageous since you can play around with the available command line options an emulator offers to determine which options you might like to use (ie: -fullscreen, -resolution x,y, etc..).

Usually the emulator install files include good documention which details what the command line options are and how they are used.   However, for the Atari2600 (z26) emulator I found that the (http://www.whimsey.com/z26/z26.pdf) document online had a much better explanation.

After deciding what command line options I wanted to use, I executed the following steps to verify the emulator worked for me (actually allowed me to play a game).

1) Opened a command line prompt window (ie: Start\Programs\Accessories\Command Prompt)
2) Changed to the Atari2600 program folder by performing the "cd C:\Emulators\Programs\z26\" command
3) Executed the z26 emulator EXE application with the options I wanted as follows:

    C:\Emulators\Programs\z26> z26 -v8 "C:\Emulators\RomFiles\Atari2600\Adventure.bin"

If the emulator executes exactly how you like it, then you can now add it into MALA.  If it
does not behave how you like it, then try again and play around with some options, etc...



CONFIGURING LAYOUTS IN MALA:
=========================================================================
I set up MALA to store all of my layouts in a separate directory rather than having the layout files all being placed in the MALA install directory, thus allowing the files to be a bit more organized in my opinion.  Here are the options you need to set to have MALA do this ..... (only need to do this one time).

- Double-click on the MALA.EXE application to start it up

- Right click on the mouse and select "Options" to bring up the Options menu

- Click on the "GUI" tab

- Click on the "Layouts" tab

- Set the "Layout Folder" path to be "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\"

- Set the "Auto layout switch" setting

- Set the "Use layout names for directory names" settings

- Click OK and exit the options menu

- Exit the MALA application


Converting a MameWah layout into a Mala layout:

- UnZIP the "atari2600_c.zip" layout files into the "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\Atari2600\" folder

- UnRAR the "MalaLayoutConverter.rar" application into the "C:\Emulators\Mala\" folder

- Start the "MalaLayoutConverter.exe" application

- Click the "Load MameWah layout" button

- Select the LAY file associated with the Atari2600 layout files
  (ex: "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\Atari2600\02atari2600.lay")

- Click the "Save Mala layout" button

- Name the "MLL" file "Atari2600.mll" and save it into the "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts" folder
 
** You can save your emulator MLL file (Mala layout file) under any name you want, but the filename you choose (ie: "Atari2600") must have the same name as the directory name you created to store the emulator layout files in (ie: "C:\Emulators\Mala\layouts\Atari2600\").   Also, the filename you choose must also be the same name you use to configure the emulator in MALA (see below).  This way MALA can take the name of a configured emulator and know exactly which layout is related to it.




INSTALLING NON-MAME EMULATORS IN MALA (I will assume MAME has already been installed):
(Note: I will use the Atari2600's "z26" emulator as an example)
=========================================================================
- Double-click on the MALA.EXE application to start it up

- Right click on the mouse and select "Options" to bring up the Options menu

- Click on "Other Emu Config" tab

- Click on the "Basics" tab

- Click "NEW" button and enter the name "Atari2600", click OK
  (NOTE:  This name must be the same exact name as you used to store your layout file)

- Enter the "Executable" as "C:\Emulators\Programs\z26\z26.exe"

- Enter "RomPath" folder as "C:\Emulators\RomFiles\Atari2600"

- Confirm the "Rom Extensions" field now lists the correct extension(s) of the ROM files

- Click on the "Execution" tab

- Enter the command line parameters ==>  -v8 "%path%\%rom%.%ext%"

- Click on the Options tab

- Enter "Snap" folder as "C:\Emulators\Screenshots\Atari2600"

- Click OK and exit the options menu

- Right click on the mouse and select "Select Emulator" and choose "Atari2600".  You should see the layout image displayed without any games listed yet.   

- Right click on the mouse and select "Refresh game list" and this should produce the gamelist for you.

- Scroll to a game and play.....



HOPE THIS HELPS YOU OUT!!!!

[MARINE1142]

I downloaded gamecreature layout for mala it looks awsome but how do i install it on mala?

[unclet]

I think you should get MALA working with one game first before trying to pretty it up with layouts just yet ...... just my opinion.

[MARINE1142]

Now that i have mala working right can someone tell me how to use that blue layout from gamecreature.

[loadman]

Now that i have mala working right can someone tell me how to use that blue layout from gamecreature.

It's nice isn't it?

1) download the .rar file from here: http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/layouts.html

2) use 'winrar' or similar prog to unpack it the files to your mala directory

3) One of the folders you just unpacked from the .rar file has a font 'slicker' that needs to be copied to your windows/font directory

4) The remaining folders/ files are the 3 versions of the blue layout that gamecreature made . The 3 .mll files and 3 folders need to stay in mala directory (see attached pic 'mala10')

5) Now when mala is run you should have these three layouts to choose from (see attached pic 'mala11')

[NightGod]

Simply awesome write-up. Got me up and running with MALA in no time at all. Got it running with MAME and another emu and skinned. Good stuff.

[unclet]

Yes, I find MALA to be extremely easy to set up ....

[Ninten-doh]

For those of you using Gamecreatures awesome "blue" skin, how do I get video clips to appear in the circle instead of snaps?  My video folder is called "mame\artwork2" if that helps.

If that skin was available in red, the sun would shine, the birds would sing, and a calm peace would fall over the land...or at least northern NJ.   

[gamecreature]

For those of you using Gamecreatures awesome "blue" skin, how do I get video clips to appear in the circle instead of snaps?  My video folder is called "mame\artwork2" if that helps.

It depends on how well versed you are with the layout editor. I don't have it in front of me, so I can't really talk you through it. But in a nutshell, you're going to have to get access to the snapshot window that is hidden behind "custom1" (the transparent cutout that masks the edges of the snapshots). I don't know if there's a way to edit it without moving things around. Assuming you can't, you can either move it aside or (if you don't think you can get it lined back up) rearrange the "z-sorting" so the snapshot window is on top. Once again, I don't remember how things work in the editor, but you should be able to either edit the snapshot window so it gets data from your movie folder or (if all else fails) replace it with a movie window. Then put the custom layer back where you found it and you're done. Easy, right? No? Well, let me take a look at it when I get home. I don't have any movie files to test it with, but I might be persuaded to fix one up custom for you.

If that skin was available in red, the sun would shine, the birds would sing, and a calm peace would fall over the land...or at least northern NJ.   

Yes, and there'd definitely be more singing in the midwest if I got some more donations to my website. Oh, wait a minute, I don't have a donation button on there. Dang, I knew I was forgetting something...

[swindus]

For those of you using Gamecreatures awesome "blue" skin, how do I get video clips to appear in the circle instead of snaps?  My video folder is called "mame\artwork2" if that helps.

Thats not possible. The video display is a overlay display and always in front of all other layout objects. Found no way so far to place the video somewhere in the z-order.

[gamecreature]

Thats not possible. The video display is a overlay display and always in front of all other layout objects. Found no way so far to place the video somewhere in the z-order.

Well you learn something everyday. So, forget what I said up there. Delete the custom and snaps windows and just put the video window in that region (scaled to fit). Viola!

Guess I need to create a different layout for this sort of thing. I've got a couple of ideas. Maybe I should put it to a vote?

[Ninten-doh]

yes, yes you need to create a new layout.   Let's see...

- Should be red themed
- be able to display video clips instead of snaps
- section to display controller type

Oh, this isn't a custom one for me?   

[loadman]

...It made the wiki

http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/MaLa

[Timoe]

I've always been a huge fan of Mamewah.  I know it and can set it up quickly.

But this Mala is starting to look really good to me.

Question:  How much is the LED only hardware in US dollars?

[javeryh]

How does the cocktail mode work?  I have both P1 controls wired to the same spot on my ipac so how would MaLa know which is touched in order to rotate the game menu properly?

[loadman]

I've always been a huge fan of Mamewah.  I know it and can set it up quickly. But this Mala is starting to look really good to me.

Question:  How much is the LED only hardware in US dollars?

Here is an old thread that should answer your question:
Keep in mind that 1 guy is putting these kits together (at the moment) before questioning the price and they are a complete kit to get you running with mala straight away (Included are LEDS, In line RESISTORS and cables)
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=52829.msg522286#msg522286

[loadman]

How does the cocktail mode work?

It will change display orientation (and the game list if you want) depending on what controll is touched (Up/down/left/right/game start)

I have both P1 controls wired to the same spot on my ipac so how would MaLa know which is touched in order to rotate the game menu properly?

yeah no solution to that really unless you upgrade to a 'I-PAC4 Board'.

I have three controll sets. 2 on one side and 1 one the other each with three buttons. A normal I-pac was had enough ports to cover my needs and MaLa cocktail mode works well

Another solution is you can dedicate a separate button to manually change orientation of have the appropriate game list display. See attached screenshot.

[Timoe]

I am very interested in the Mala LED hardware.  Are other LED colors available?  For example: blue or orange?

What is the viewing angle on the LED?  The Luminous Flux if you will.

What about LCD support, can I hook it up to a betabright scrolling marquee?

[loadman]

I am very interested in the Mala LED hardware.  Are other LED colors available?  For example: blue or orange?

I will ask. The LEDS are designed to go in colored Buttons. I also bought a few RGB Leds to put in my white buttons

What is the viewing angle on the LED?  The Luminous Flux if you will.

I will ask. (they are very bright)

What about LCD support, can I hook it up to a betabright scrolling marquee?

If it can handle input using the 'HD44780 controller' protocol like the displays found here

[TheBrokentoken]

This is a great thread that has lots of good info in it.... I had never really considered using MALA before now, but I think this thread has swayed me to it.

Unclet - many thanks for taking the time to write up what you did.... it's a BIG help!!!

[Timoe]

yes, thank you Unclet,

I was up and running on multiple Emu's very quickly and everything worked the first time for me.  It was almost too easy. 

[97thruhiker]

After getting a little help with the layout editor everything is running smooth.  Getting this frontend up and running is very easy (I had it running no problem from the begining, just had issues in the layout editor which have been solved).  By all means if you have had problems with frontends in the past give this a try.  I love the fact that I can run Mame32FX from this frontend also, it makes the whole process really easy.

[unclet]

Thanks for the nice words ..... always willing to help ....... my pleasure.

[loadman]

FYI
Unclet is the author of Jukebox software.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,22.0.html

I have decided to use it as it supports video and is 'simple but solid'

Check it out!

[unclet]

Glad to hear someone is using it .....   

Here is the direct link to the software:  http://unclet.arcadecontrols.com/Jukebox/index.html

[javeryh]

I am running MaLa now but I am having a little bit of trouble with the layout...  I downloaded gamecreature's "blue" and selected it in the GUI tab but the only thing that appears is the game list on the right with no graphics whatsoever... any ideas?  THANKS!!

[loadman]

I am running MaLa now but I am having a little bit of trouble with the layout...  I downloaded gamecreature's "blue" and selected it in the GUI tab but the only thing that appears is the game list on the right with no graphics whatsoever... any ideas?  THANKS!!

Did you create a folder named like your layout (mll) file which holds the artwork (this folder should be in the mala directory)?
....alternatively You can disable the use of folders for layouts in the options dialog (gui->layout->use layout names for directory names) (SEE PIC ATTACHED)  then the artwork can sit in the mala directory (not in a folder)

[javeryh]

I am running MaLa now but I am having a little bit of trouble with the layout...  I downloaded gamecreature's "blue" and selected it in the GUI tab but the only thing that appears is the game list on the right with no graphics whatsoever... any ideas?  THANKS!!

Did you create a folder named like your layout (mll) file which holds the artwork (this folder should be in the mala directory)?
....alternatively You can disable the use of folders for layouts in the options dialog (gui->layout->use layout names for directory names) (SEE PIC ATTACHED)  then the artwork can sit in the mala directory (not in a folder)

I did create a folder named like my layout (.mll) file which holds the artwork in the mala directory.

I have 3 folders in C:\Arcade

Layouts ->  "Blue" was extracted here
Mame -> Mame was extracted here
Mala -> MaLa was extracted to here

The .mll files are all in the layout folder and the path in Mala for layouts is set to here.  Also in the Mala folder I have subfolders named Blue640, Blue800 and Blue1024 with the corresponding files in each.

Any ideas?  Do you need more information?

[javeryh]

Nevermind... I figured it out...   

Next question...

Is there a way to disable the "OK" screen?

THANKS!!

[loadman]

Is there a way to disable the "OK" screen?

I assume you mean MAME rather than MaLa?
 If so it depends what version of mame you are using

[javeryh]

yeah, good point... I'm using .106 right now...

[loadman]

yeah, good point... I'm using .106 right now...

I don't really know about versions that high. I think they changed things

I would suggest starting a new thread specifying what version of mame you have again what what the screens you would like to skip

I just had a look at your website. You cab is looking good   

[unclet]

If my memory is not failing me .... an sometimes it does ......  I think after you select OK for the first time, then you will not be prompted with the "OK" screen again..... I thought this was a one-time thing only.

[javeryh]

If my memory is not failing me .... an sometimes it does ......  I think after you select OK for the first time, then you will not be prompted with the "OK" screen again..... I thought this was a one-time thing only.

It seems you are correct about the one-time only thing... I just fired up Ms. Pac-man again and was not asked.  However, the next screen asking me to "press any key" still appeared (Where's the Anykey?"  ).  If I remember correctly there is a fix for this in one of the config files for mame... but I'm not sure if it was a Gamelauncher thing (the last FE I was using) or a mame thing...

[unclet]

Not sure about that one ..... maybe in the Mame.ini file there is a "skip_xxx" option which could be set or possibly via the command line there is a "-skip_xxxxx" option whihc can be applied.

[javeryh]

yeah, good point... I'm using .106 right now...

I don't really know about versions that high. I think they changed things

I would suggest starting a new thread specifying what version of mame you have again what what the screens you would like to skip

I just had a look at your website. You cab is looking good   

Thanks for the kind words about my cab!  I'm going to dig around here for the answer and if I can't find it I'll start a new thread...

[loadman]

What is the viewing angle on the LED?  The Luminous Flux if you will.

The answer I got from the MaLa Hardware creator is:
I think they have 11000 mcd and 20 degrees angle.

He only supplies the clear ones with the kit but there is no reason why you can't change some LEDS. You can use every LED that can be driven by 5V or less ( with the correct resistor )

[javeryh]

Is there anyway to have MaLa instantly load a preselected game upon bootup?  I plan on having my computer boot straight to MaLa and I'm thinking of taking it one step further...  If I decide to go with some Pac-man art I think it would be cool to have the machine power on and boot straight to Pac-man - is it even possible?

[Timoe]

I believe it is.  I think there is an option for it under the Mame tab if you right click once the FE is loaded.

[loadman]

See attached pic   

[diverdown]

I am muddling my way through MALA, after getting stumped with mamewah and arcadeos.
MALA so far has been a breeze.... looks good too

I have but two questions:

1
Can i run another jukebox rather than the inbuilt mala one? When I try and add another emulator it asks me for rom path etc.  I am using win98 so cant use uncleT's version.
2
I want to have a custom games list. I was able to cut down the supplied list to just my games, except a few (like Simpsons) are not in the supplied list...... how do I create a custom list containing just my roms?

Otherwise gongrats on an ace front end......  just got my arcadevga jpac and ipac this am drooool  So i have to get this working

[loadman]

1
Can i run another jukebox rather than the inbuilt mala one? When I try and add another emulator it asks me for rom path etc.  I am using win98 so cant use uncleT's version.

Yes. There are a couple of ways to do this.
a) Assign a key to launch an external App (Your Jukebox of choice) See attached pic
b) Create a batch file or a windows shortcut to launch the Jukebox app. That way you can have it appear in a gamelist
http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/emuconfig.html
2

I want to have a custom games list. I was able to cut down the supplied list to just my games, except a few (like Simpsons) are not in the supplied list...... how do I create a custom list containing just my roms?

Select ' Only games with Rom' That way the list will only generate a list with the Roms you hold.
http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/mameconfig.html

[diverdown]

Thanks heaps

Wish I knew enough to figure that out for myself

Will do ASAP

[loadman]

Thanks heaps

Wish I knew enough to figure that out for myself

Will do ASAP

A stupid man is one who is too proud to ask a question when they are really stuck.