Main > Software Forum
Help w/ Front End
(1/6) > >>
eyal8r:
Hey guys-
I am hosting an 80's party this weekend, and want to have my Mame Cab up and running, with no problems. Everytime I've let guests just 'go for it' they come back to me within 15 minutes with it all messed up- it's jumped out of Mame to XP, the front end is frozen, not working, etc. It doesn't matter how many times I explain it- they always jack it all up and then it's down for the night because I'm busy hosting, and don't have time to fix the machine.

The other problem I've had in the past is keeping my 'favorites' saved in a list. I've gone through the thousands of games before- placed each one into my favorites list- only to reboot and find that the list is empty. Gamex did that to me twice, so I refuse to use it anymore (that, and, the lack of friendly support from them).

So, I need a front end that is DUMMY FRIENDLY for my guests- that I can lock down easily and prevent them from jumping out of the FE and Mame all together. I also need a FE that is clean & attractive- easy to navigate, etc. Free is ALWAYS the preference, too. I'd prefer an FE that is easy to setup and use- will allow the video previews to be played, as well as possibly some background music while navigating the FE.

I see the comparison list here, but without installing them individually and testing them out- I don't know which one can help me with these problems. Can someone suggest one that fits this criteria? I've seen other FEs that everyone really likes- but I can't handle the tough installs and command line stuff. It's gotta be easy for me, too ;) 
Any suggestions???
Thanks!
headkaze:
It's strange to hear someone say "lack of friendly support from them [GameEx forums]". I'm always hearing positive feedback about the support on the GameEx forums. All the people on there donate their time for free and are always friendly and willing to help.

The issues with favorites should be fixed in the latest release. They have been moved into a database and should allow for more customization too.

GameEx as a front-end may not be what is crashing the machine when your friends are thrashing it. Emulators are notorious for being unstable. Sometimes bad ROMs can cause crashing and many other elements are in play. Emulation is never a fail safe sort of thing, there are always going to be hiccups. If you keep up with releases as best you can, you will have less chance of having a buggy version.

That being said, although I actively provide support on the GameEx forums I'm more than happy to recommend other FE's if you think they will do a better job. I havn't played much with other FE's so I can't say whether or not your going to experience more or less stability or lockdown. But I know the general popularity of FE's that people on this forum use.

You won't know which FE is easier for you to setup because you will get all sorts of conflicting advice on here as to which is the best/easiest to setup etc. etc. So I would say go through some of the more popular FE's and try them one at a time and see what takes your fancy.

My recommendations after GameEx are Mala, Atomic, MameWah and Arcade3D.
eyal8r:
Thanks for the reply-
Let me clarify. In the past, I found that IF I ever got a response to my questions on the Gamex forums (which was rare), they were not very helpful- short and lacking details (responses like- 'read the documentation' even tho I DID read it and still had questions). However- that may have been quite a while ago, and I'm very open that things have changed since then. The Gamex FE looked nice and I loved the features- however, it really upset me having to redo my favorites list twice, only to lose them.

I also realize that it's the users that create the FE to jump out and back out to XP or otherwise. I have found the FEs are rarely the problem (Gamex DID crash on me a number of times as well- and that was the FE problem, not my using it). I should clarify that I'm looking for an FE that will be tougher for people to jump out of on accident. I'd like to be able to 'lock it down' better where users can't access the options, windows environment, or otherwise. I'm open to trying Gamex again, but it was just a few months ago I tried it and had those problems.

All in all- I am looking for something that can be locked down easier so my friends can't screw it up too easily when I'm not supervising. Also looking for ease of install.  I'm now looking at Atomic and MameWah- I'll check out Gamex again and see if it's changed drastically in the past 2-3 months...
Thanks for the input!
headkaze:
No offence mate, but I just dug up your one and only thread posted on the GameEx forums (http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=2521&hl=eyal8r) and I don't see how the responses were short or lacking details. You never posted a reply with any more questions after two people posted suggestions to help you, so obviously people assume you've solved your problem. You got a reply in 2 hours after you posted so I can't see how you can expect better support than that. And yes there have been massive amounts of updates since Oct 23 2006 (your last post).
eyal8r:
Ahhh, you're correct, except that I used to post under a different user name. I don't want this to get into any kind of war here, either. It was a while ago, and I said I was open that things have changed since then. I'd like to keep this thread on topic, as well. Is there a way to lock GamEx down a little better so that they cannot jump it out of the environment, or, access options and whatnot? Does it now save the favorites list permanently?
Thanks
Navigation
Message Index
Next page

Go to full version