Offically Starting the MAME Project - Need some help.

[audiomidiman]

Ok, I believe I have the computer I'm going to be using for my MAME project and here are the specs.

450 Mhz Pentium 2
NVidea RIVA 128 Video Card
Adaptec UW SCSI Card
8 GB UWSCSI Seagate Drive
8 GB IDE Western Digital Drive
320 MB Memory (128 + 128 + 64)
LincSys 10/100 LAN Card
Avance Logic, Inc. Sound Card

For the OS there is Windows 98 Second Edition on there and I have a CD so I can do a fresh installation. However, I do believe I have a copy of Windows 2000 that I can get from work (I actually think we had a license for the computer that I took so I can technically have it).

What should I update first on the machine? Leave 98 on this machine seeing it's only going to be running MAME or Upgrade it to Windows 2000 (I have access to Windows 2000 Server Edition if you guys think that might be stronger). SCSI Drive or IDE Drive? Originally the machine booted off the UW drive however when I moved the machine to a better case I installed the extra IDE drive in it. I'm thinking that I could load the OS, Drivers and MAME apps onto the main drive and then load the ROMS on the second drive. However, I'm also thinking of using the second drive as a backup drive and either Mirror it or just have Ghost RUN every time I do an update to the machine and Ghost before the update and Ghost after. Right now the machine wants to boot off the IDE drive so I'll be unplugging it to force everything on the IDE drive. 8 GB should be plenty of space.

I would prefer to leave it as is and only upgrade  things if needed. I'll probably consider getting a newer machine later on when I find a good deal on one with XP or find a more powerful machine w/ Windows 2000.

Here are some questions on the actual MAME that I can't seem to figure out on my own.

1) Advanced MAME is a good front end I'm being told what should I run as the MAME guts? I will most likely be running old school vertical games (Dig Dug, Centipede, Pac Man, Galaga, Mr. Do, etc.)

2) Is the RIVA 128 Video Card good enough? If not, what is an inexpensive upgrade I should move too?

3) I can get two Unused original I-Pac's for $45 (or one for $25 but my friend will be making one or I will be making a small cabaret sized one for my dad). Are these just as good as the new ones? Or should I just spend the $39 for the newer style? Should I leave it Serial for compatibility issues or USB better?



4) Which version of MAME should I use to avoid MAME stealing processing power?

5) Not to sound stupid but I have access to a pretty unused 19" Viewsonic (several years old but was only used for 2-3 weeks for a few trade shows) or possibly a 21-22" older CRT. If I mount it vertical can I tell windows that it's mounted vertical? If not can I tell MAME to do it?

6) Anything I'm missing w/ MAME?

I'll have more questions and will keep sifting through the posts to get answers to my own questions.

Thanks!
Bill

[ahofle]

I used to have a 450 P2 and played those classics with no problem.  You probably want an older version of MAME however (v0.36 seems to be a good choice).  Your video card is fine (upgrading it will probably not get you much improvement).  Used IPACs should also be fine, assuming they work.  You can tell MAME to rotate your games if you mount the monitor vertically (check the documentation for the command line switches).  Not sure about windows though.

[yugffuts]

I believe windows requires a video card with specific drivers to do rotation.

ArcadeOS Frontend can rotate, though, so even if windows is sideways, you'll still be able to play 

[pmc]

If it were me, I'd start with Win98-SE on that P2 before messing with W2K. You don't need all the overhead of an operating system for what you want to do. 98 will get you booted into a FE and will run MAME. That's all you need.

I'd stick with the hardware as is, do a clean OS install, and install an old MAME (consider a version compiled specifically for the P2). If it all runs well enough (and it should), you don't need to mess with the hardware at all.

-pmc

[tranq]

It might be helpful to make a sticky for the following:

...mine is the stock Intel integrated chip set.  In Control Panel, I select the graphics icon, and the fourth tab from left is 'rotation'...


http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=61829.0

[audiomidiman]

iRotate doesn't seem to work for me on my 98 box w/ similar configuration at work. But, I'll try it on my computer at home. As far as an older MAME compiled for the P2, where should I look for this? I would like to have the machine to boot into MAME and have an easy way for people to navigate to the game they want to play. Would this require a from end? Or would MAME32 work ok?

Thanks!

[ahofle]

http://www.mame.net/oldmame.html

Remember you'll need an older ROM set for that version (you will most likely get errors if you are using a current romset with an old version of MAME due to missing/added/updated roms).  You'll need a front end for those MAME versions as they are just the command line executables.

[leapinlew]

iRotate doesn't seem to work for me on my 98 box w/ similar configuration at work. But, I'll try it on my computer at home. As far as an older MAME compiled for the P2, where should I look for this? I would like to have the machine to boot into MAME and have an easy way for people to navigate to the game they want to play. Would this require a from end? Or would MAME32 work ok?

Thanks!

It's worth it to get a FE working. I had Mame32 working at one point, but a good front end makes all the difference. I use MALA now, but I've used Mamewah and it's good too.

[audiomidiman]

iRotate doesn't seem to work for me on my 98 box w/ similar configuration at work. But, I'll try it on my computer at home. As far as an older MAME compiled for the P2, where should I look for this? I would like to have the machine to boot into MAME and have an easy way for people to navigate to the game they want to play. Would this require a from end? Or would MAME32 work ok?

Thanks!

It's worth it to get a FE working. I had Mame32 working at one point, but a good front end makes all the difference. I use MALA now, but I've used Mamewah and it's good too.

Ok, I'm having a slight issue figuring out how to get frontends working. Do I need to get MAME working first then load MALA or Mamewah to work in the frontend? Or can I just load MALA? MALA looks really nice I'm just trying to grasp how to get the software working. I'm the IT guy at my work so I know SBS 2003, XP, 2000, 98 and 95. I even run SCO UNIX on one of our servers. However at home and when I'm doing design at work I run osX. I've only run MacMAME and MAME32 but I want to get a frontend working.

Bill

[pmc]

As far as an older MAME compiled for the P2, where should I look for this?

I'd start with a stock version of MAME and only explore an alternate compile if you discover that you need the performance boost. When I was running an AMD K2, it was worth using an alternate compile. But that was a few years ago and YMMV. Google around for binaries or compile yourself (you want the i686 flag enabled). I found a 0.36 binary here.

After searching around a little, I'm more and more thinking you shouldn't bother with this unless you need to.

-pmc

[leapinlew]

iRotate doesn't seem to work for me on my 98 box w/ similar configuration at work. But, I'll try it on my computer at home. As far as an older MAME compiled for the P2, where should I look for this? I would like to have the machine to boot into MAME and have an easy way for people to navigate to the game they want to play. Would this require a from end? Or would MAME32 work ok?

Thanks!

It's worth it to get a FE working. I had Mame32 working at one point, but a good front end makes all the difference. I use MALA now, but I've used Mamewah and it's good too.

Ok, I'm having a slight issue figuring out how to get frontends working. Do I need to get MAME working first then load MALA or Mamewah to work in the frontend? Or can I just load MALA? MALA looks really nice I'm just trying to grasp how to get the software working. I'm the IT guy at my work so I know SBS 2003, XP, 2000, 98 and 95. I even run SCO UNIX on one of our servers. However at home and when I'm doing design at work I run osX. I've only run MacMAME and MAME32 but I want to get a frontend working.

Bill

SBS?! Yuck.

Alright Bill... if your an IT guy this shouldn't be too bad. I'm assuming windows.

1. Go to Mame.net and download an older command line version of mame.
2. Download Mala. (I'm not sure how well it will work with your system specs, but give it a shot)
3. Install mame and test it with a few roms to make sure it's working.
4. Install Mala and the first time you run it, it will ask you to configure it (point to the exe for mame and the location of the roms).
5. Run Mala and it should list your games.

[audiomidiman]

iRotate doesn't seem to work for me on my 98 box w/ similar configuration at work. But, I'll try it on my computer at home. As far as an older MAME compiled for the P2, where should I look for this? I would like to have the machine to boot into MAME and have an easy way for people to navigate to the game they want to play. Would this require a from end? Or would MAME32 work ok?

Thanks!

It's worth it to get a FE working. I had Mame32 working at one point, but a good front end makes all the difference. I use MALA now, but I've used Mamewah and it's good too.

Ok, I'm having a slight issue figuring out how to get frontends working. Do I need to get MAME working first then load MALA or Mamewah to work in the frontend? Or can I just load MALA? MALA looks really nice I'm just trying to grasp how to get the software working. I'm the IT guy at my work so I know SBS 2003, XP, 2000, 98 and 95. I even run SCO UNIX on one of our servers. However at home and when I'm doing design at work I run osX. I've only run MacMAME and MAME32 but I want to get a frontend working.

Bill

SBS?! Yuck.

Alright Bill... if your an IT guy this shouldn't be too bad. I'm assuming windows.

1. Go to Mame.net and download an older command line version of mame.
2. Download Mala. (I'm not sure how well it will work with your system specs, but give it a shot)
3. Install mame and test it with a few roms to make sure it's working.
4. Install Mala and the first time you run it, it will ask you to configure it (point to the exe for mame and the location of the roms).
5. Run Mala and it should list your games.

I had best correct myself. I do 50-70% graphic design & Marketing and 30-40% IT work. We have an external firm that does anything I can't handle. When you say command line this is a version that works via DOS through Windows 98? Do I need to compile it?

Thanks!
Bill

[leapinlew]

No. no compiling needed.

[audiomidiman]

Thanks. Tonight I'll be disconnecting the IDE drive so I can reformat the SCSI drive and load a fresh copy of Win98 SE onto the SCSI drive. Then from there I need ton configure the OS and the IDE drive so it doesn't boot on that drive (or try). After everything is running smooth and all the software updates are installed I'll then load an older build of MAME and then test to make sure that MAME is running. When I know MAME is running I'll try Mala or Mamewah.

Now what I'm a little confused about is obtaining older ROM's. So, if I downloaded TONS of ROMS about 6+ months ago they most likely will not work? Where can I find older versions of the ROM's? Or can I build them?

Another question and/or concern. If after I get Win98 running w/ iPac and finally have a cabinet and controls going I decide I want a newer Dell (lower end) w/ Windows XP. Is it fairly easy to move everything over including my configurations? These being MAME settings, Mala Settings and i-Pac settings.

Thanks!
Bill

[pointdablame]

You can use ClrMamePro to fix your roms and roll them back to a former version.  Download it here

There's a good tutorial for using ClrMame on EasyEmu.:  Here's the link.

[leapinlew]

Try the roms first. Lots of times they'll work just fine.

[audiomidiman]

If I get an iPac (seems almost identical to the newer iPac2) is there a way to wire a trackball? Does anyone sell a USB Arcade Style Trackball?

Bill

[pointdablame]

If I get an iPac (seems almost identical to the newer iPac2) is there a way to wire a trackball? Does anyone sell a USB Arcade Style Trackball?

Bill

The Ipac2 is the 2 player model and the Ipac4 is the 4player model.  AFAIK, there wasn't a first Ipac that was replaced by the Ipac2.. its not an upgrade.  It refers to the number of inputs and amount of players your panel can use.

The Ipac does not have inputs for a trackball.  You either need an Optipac which can do it, or a minipac which integrates the functionality of an Ipac and Optipac on one small board.

Happ sells USB ready trackballs.  A number of vendors here can sell you them as well (for less than Happ prices) Go look in the Vendor forum.

[leapinlew]

If I get an iPac (seems almost identical to the newer iPac2) is there a way to wire a trackball? Does anyone sell a USB Arcade Style Trackball?

Bill

Ok Bill... not that I don't want to help, but.... these questions your asking are very basic. You'll benefit yourself and everyone if you first purchase and read Project Arcade by Saint (he's the guy who owns this site) Here is a link to the book:

Project Arcade

In addition, you can read info at the wiki. Here is a link to the wiki:

Wiki

Now, to answer your questions. The Ipac is meant to handle keyboard inputs - you can't really wire your trackball to it. Several places sell usb trackballs. There are vendors here at BYOAC (Divemaster is who I've dealt with) and several vendors online (Happs and Groovy Game Gear)


Did you make a project announcement? I'd love to see what your working on.

[audiomidiman]

Sorry about the basic questions. I am pretty much just setting up the computer and getting all my controls in place. I'm still looking for a cabinet and deciding if I want 1 set of controls or 2 sets of controls.

I'll check out those links and consider buying that book.

Thanks for everyone's help so far and I'll get the project posted under the project announcement section of the forum.

Bill

[leapinlew]

Sorry about the basic questions. I am pretty much just setting up the computer and getting all my controls in place. I'm still looking for a cabinet and deciding if I want 1 set of controls or 2 sets of controls.

I'll check out those links and consider buying that book.

Thanks for everyone's help so far and I'll get the project posted under the project announcement section of the forum.

Bill

Sounds good Bill. I don't want to scare you away - I just wanted to give you more sources for information.

[fixedpigs]

heck...your local library might have the book...mine did...!

[audiomidiman]

Thanks for everyone's input so far. leapinlew, I ordered the book from Amazon for $11.60 thanks for informing me about it. I'll continue to get my 98 box running this weekend and try and get MAME working w/ a Front End. From there I start looking for a cabinet harder. While I'm looking for the cabinet I'll read the book and work on getting all the games that I want into MAME.

Can't wait to find a cabinet but I will take my time on the project to make sure everything is done right and that I don't settle on anything. For example, I'm pretty sure I just want a two player setup w/ switchable 8 way / 4 way joy stick and 6 buttons. However, I would hate to 95% done and decide that I need a trackball and Spinner "AFTER" I already have the controls built and a CPO installed.

Thanks again and when I get the MAME and FRONT END working I'll post my "PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT" w/ details.

Bill

[steveh]

I would recommend making your cp swappable.  even if you dont plan to do it now.  later on if you decide you want a trackball and or a spinner you could just pop the old one off and pop a new unit on.

[Sensei]

I myself found putting in a trackball very helpful.

Yes, it's handy for some games but when troubleshooting in Windows, installing/configuring new programs and anything else outside your frontend.....having a mouse/trackball avoids a lot of frustration.

Yes a USB trackball adds to the cost of an arcade but they're useful, great for some games and....well....they look cool.   It's something people notice when they first look at your cab.

Ok....vain...I know....so I'm human.