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Networked Mame Games?

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Kilroy01:

I misspoke earlier,  according to mame.net...

"the main purpose of the project is to document the hardware (and software) of the arcade games."

In this case, the emulator that makes them playable is documenting the functions of the hardware that was in the cab.  I'm just asking if the "networked" games that were made have been included, as this was a function of their hardware.  I'm not looking for hacked versions of MAME to allow things that were never originally possible.

This question originated as I recently was looking at buying an old dual-screen cab that was intended as just such a set-up.  Just wanted to know if it was possible to set it up using MAME.

tetsu96:

--- Quote from: Kilroy01 on March 22, 2007, 10:36:04 pm ---To clarify my first post, I have already come across MAMEK and Kaillera.  From what I understand, they allow basically two people to see the same game on their individual screens.  I'm talking about the capability such as a racing game where each player sees the race from their own perspective.  Not just the same image on both monitors.
--- End quote ---

Well, for the most part, MAMEDEV wants nothing to do with netplay.  Kalliera and similar are considered as blasphemy to most of the core MAMEDEV.  Chief reason being they add complexity and functionality to games that was not present (it's not just mirroring a display - it's making net code, code to sync the games, handling, etc.  A lot more than you think).

I doubt they all hate it, but you can ask at the MAME forums if you want to shake the hornet's nest.  Easier to just search as they have that chat on the forums every so often anyhow (you're not the first and won't be the last to ask).


--- Quote ---VRF...   I know that the official MAME project is to document video games so that they are not lost over time.  But if that was followed strictly, why make them playable?  Just dumping the roms alone would make them "technically" archived.  MAME is intended to also allow access to these games by making them playable.  In that case, wouldn't emulating the multiplayer feature of these games serve the same purpose?
--- End quote ---

Just dumping the roms archives the games themselves, but not the corresponding hardware.  Further, without being able to run the games, how can the behavor of the games be checked?  Roms aren't always dumped right the first time, and bugs / anomolies in emulation of the core of systems isn't always found until put to gaming.  Strictly speaking they don't need to LEAVE playability in for our sake, but why take it out when it bring so much joy to the masses?

tetsu96:

--- Quote from: Kilroy01 on March 22, 2007, 11:13:20 pm ---This question originated as I recently was looking at buying an old dual-screen cab that was intended as just such a set-up.  Just wanted to know if it was possible to set it up using MAME.

--- End quote ---

Maybe the game wasn't networked.  Some games are dual screen but each screen is for a single player (lode runner comes to mind, others too).  That's all 1 system when it comes to emulation.

Others, like Crusin' USA, are actually seperate systems linked together and I'm not sure what is done in that case (they're using proprietary communications so just implementing "netplay" thru TCP/IP wouldn't be accurate most likely)..

Kremmit:
First, to the people talking about the MAMEdevs not wanting to implement any kind of net play:  I'm sure they don't want to add it to games like Mario Bros or Street Fighter II, as those games didn't have it to begin with.  But I've got to believe that once they start emulating games like Cyber Sled or The Grid, they'll want to tackle this- it's fundamental to the games.  You just can't play a multi-player, multi-POV game with only one person on one computer.  What're you going to do, run around and shoot at the walls?

Multi-monitor games already exist in MAME; like Punch Out! and Darius.  It stitches all montor's views together as one big screen- check MAME's output of these games to see what I'm talking about.  A Windows PC with multiple monitors can be configured to split these screens back up.

There's no reason this can't be done with multi-monitor head-to-head type games, as long as they run on a single set of game boards.  The problem is with games that network across multiple cabs- one solution would be for the MAMEDevs  to find a way to carry the game's native communication protocol over TCP/IP.  It could probably be made to work for computers networked locally, but the lag would probably make in unworkable for 'net play.

The other way to make it work would be to run multiple instances of MAME on one PC, and virtualize the networking between MAME instances.  I don't think current consumer-grade PC hardware is up to that task yet, considering the games we're talking about now are all fairly modern, and slow in emulation already.

Still, it'd be fun- I'd like to play Cyber Sled at home.

vrf:
I was thinking older games. It would be fun to play The Simpsons or Tetris or SFII with another person in another city. Like Xbox Live Arcade.

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