Daphne 1.0+ setup for MameWAH

[Zebidee]

A few people have asked me how I set up Daphne for MameWAH, so here it is at last

It is easy enough to generate a list by romnames, but this is ugly  and I didn't like the default game options you are stuck with.

What wanted was to have proper game names in my lists , not just rom file names.  Also, I wanted to load the same game options each time, eg free play, number of lives etc.     So what I did was to:

- create a "daphne.dat" file to include descriptions & some other info;
- create a set of "[romname].bat" files for Daphne games (in "bats" folder);
- assign this "bats" folder as my Daphne roms directory;
- create a "rundaph.bat" to load the .bats from MameWAH (ie "rundaph.bat [romname]"); and
- generate a MameWAH games list by "rom_folder_vs_dat_file" method.
- start game with "c:\daphne\rundaph.bat [name]{nodosbox}{safelaunch}"

This gives a much more attractive interface and flexible Daphne interface.   

** What you need to do is: **

- Setup Daphne 1.0+ normally using the DaphneLoader, internet connection and legal DVDs.

- download and unzip the attached Daphne.zip into your Daphne folder.

What this does is put a a "daphne.dat" and a "rundaph.bat" into your Daphne directory, as well as a "bats" folder with a .bat file for each Daphne game.

- Move any folders under "vldp_dl" (eg ace, lair, lair2, tq) into "vldp" (you might want to do this on another machine [your cab] or simply make copies, as the Daphne Loader looks in the "vldp_dl" folder when you download updates).  Alternatively, you can edit the .bat files for these games to look in the "vldp_dl" directory.

You will need to edit your Daphne.ini for MameWAH (I included mine as an example).  You will also need to change any drive/folder references in all the .bat files to reflect your own setup.  The attached files assume you have setup Daphne on "c:" and in "c:\daphne".

That's it!!!

 

PS - I don't have Thayer's Quest, so this game isn't included in the setup files attached! Sorry! 

[Marky_1979]

Thanks mate this will help loads of people including me great guide im off to set it up now

[patrickmaher]

Alternate method for having proper names appear in MameWah is to use it's nms file feature. You make a text file with the display names and the rom names. Then you add a line to the daphne.ini file with the path to the nms file.

jcrouse has a premade nms file and a daphne.ini that shows how to use it.

To have different command line parameters for each daphne game you should be able to use game specific ini files which would be located in the \mamewah\config\daphne\game\ folder and be named romname.ini, where romname is the name of the rom that ini file is handling.

[Zebidee]

Ah, I hadn't seen jcrouse's latest update on new Daphne, thanx!  .nms files are good for simple command lines, but not really good for what I am doing with Daphne as the commands were complex.

[edit - I just checked jcrouse's site again and I see that his setup is still for old Daphne]

Using .nms files, you spend a lot of effort for a lesser outcome.  You still must make a .nms file, and a separate MameWAH .ini file for each game.  You are just making .ini files instead of .bat files, and they are only good for MameWAH.

Using a .dat file is a better way because you can add other game information like controls/buttons, manufacturer, date etc, as much as you want really.  You can also call rundaph.bat from pretty much any other front end, not just MameWAH.  To play Space Ace (or whatever), the way you want it, simply go to the command prompt, daphne directory, and type "rundaph ace".  You can also run Space Ace if you double click "ace.bat" from windows explorer, or launch it from a shortcut.

[lindart]

Thanks for doing this. I've got it set up perfectly with your files, but am having trouble getting the different roms to work. For example Super Don Quixote and Super Don Quixote shortened version. I made bats for the different versions of the different roms and they show up in Mamewah, but when I go to play them, they quit back to Mamewah. Only your original bats will play. I know the bats I made work, though, because if I open them up they play the correct version of the game. Any suggestion?

[FrizzleFried]

...felt I had to post a pic of my slightly modified Daphne MAMEWAH layout...

[Zebidee]

Thanks for doing this.
...
Only your original bats will play. I know the bats I made work, though, because if I open them up they play the correct version of the game. Any suggestion?

Sorry - overlooked this thread for a bit.  What you need to do is also update RUNDAPH.BAT and DAPHNE.BAT

If you want to add another daphne game later, or another version, here is what you do (using Thayer's Quest as an example):

- use notepad to open an existing batch file (in the BATS folder) and save as the new game-name, eg "THAYER.BAT"
- edit the bat file by cut/pasting from the DaphneLoader's command line viewer utility.  SAVE new bat file again.
- open "RUNDAPH.BAT" (in your daphne directory) and add the following (example) line at the end of the condition IF statements:

         IF "%1" == "thayer" bats\thayer.bat

You'll also need to add the new game into the DAPHNE.DAT file, like this:

- edit DAPHNE.DAT in notepad, and add something like this at the end:

      game (
      name thayer
      description "Thayer's Quest"
      year ?
      manufacturer ?
      )

- regenerate the Daphne games list in MameWAH.

That should do it!   

[Zebidee]

...felt I had to post a pic of my slightly modified Daphne MAMEWAH layout...

Cool!  Much better, more Ooomph!

[Zebidee]

I just got asked by a member for the "daphne.zip" file again, as it seems to have disappeared from the forum server. Here it is again, however I can't guarantee it working with the latest versions of Daphne as I haven't tested it (I'm still running an version from a year or more ago on my cab).:

[Kevin Mullins]

The problem is downloads or "saves" from the forum aren't working correctly at the moment, which is probably why someone asked for it again.
And I just tried it again and it didn't work. (using Firefox 3.0.7)
But it's not just your file.....



And for those that may care - no, I'm not installing Opera or any other browser as the "fix" to this issue, it is a known issue that needs addressed.

[Zebidee]

Sirwoogie is currently looking into the issue ....

The problem is downloads or "saves" from the forum aren't working correctly at the moment, which is probably why someone asked for it again.
And I just tried it again and it didn't work. (using Firefox 3.0.7)
But it's not just your file.....



And for those that may care - no, I'm not installing Opera or any other browser as the "fix" to this issue, it is a known issue that needs addressed.

[moonchilddave]

Any chance someone could upload it to another server and post the link so we could download the file, as it's apparently still not working?  Filesden, Mediafire... somewhere, anywhere, Bueller???

[Zebidee]

I'll repost the file here tonight (that should work?), and if that doesn't work will host it somewhere else and link to it.

[Zebidee]

OK, I've attached daphne.zip again. Let me know if there are any more problems.

[Kevin Mullins]

Failed for me ...... Firefox 3.0.11

The download count goes up, but it doesn't actually happen.
Still a site issue I think.

[moonchilddave]

Yep, same thing here... doesn't work on Firefox 3.0.11 or Safari 3.2.3, looks like a board issue.

[Zebidee]

The hi-score uploads & pics still work, so there must be something going on.

I changed the extention and uploaded it as a .txt file. Try downloading this and renaming it to daphne.zip.

[Encryptor]

The hi-score uploads & pics still work, so there must be something going on.

I changed the extention and uploaded it as a .txt file. Try downloading this and renaming it to daphne.zip.

No that doesn't work either. Saint is working on the issue. Hopefully it will be fixed soon before I forget all the stuff I want to download.


Encryptor

[Zebidee]

I'll post it up again tonight - my work firewall won't let me do much from here.

[Encryptor]

I'll post it up again tonight - my work firewall won't let me do much from here.

You'll have to post it on Rapidshare or something similar until they get the forum software fixed properly. Uploading it here will do no good until they fix it.


Encryptor

[Zebidee]

Try downloading it from here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/245331778/Daphne.zip

Let's see how that goes!

[Encryptor]

That worked great. Thank you.


Encryptor