Layouts: some links.

[gatordad]

I am now trying to tweak mala, could you guys share some bookmarked favorite sites that have mala or mamewah layouts to browse through.
I found some on
http://www.cpviewer.emuchrist.org/downloads.htm
and here
http://localarcade.com/screenshotarchive/skins.htm
I was wondering if there were any more collections from other sources.
Regards
GD

[loadman]

You could try a search at this forum (software section) for MaLa layouts.

There have been a few really good ones since the MaLa Website was last Updated.

[gatordad]

You could try a search at this forum (software section) for MaLa layouts.

There have been a few really good ones since the MaLa Website was last Updated.

Thanks
Here are a few that I found

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62620.0

http://www.webwonderland.net/arcade/zebra_layouts.php

I remember stumbling across another collection of mamewah layouts some time ago (about 4 pages) but I can't find it again, and I did not bookmark it.
If you guys have anything else please post a link.

[gatordad]

Another Pretty good one
http://www.marcianitos.org/tutoriales/mamewahcfg/mwdisenos.htm

[gatordad]

I keep finding reference to Timoproductions but his site has gone away. Anyone have a copy of what was there.

[unclet]

John has tons, just click to get the "complete sets"

http://www.emuchrist.org/cpviewer/mamewahlayouts.htm

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

John has tons, just click to set the "complete sets"
http://www.emuchrist.org/cpviewer/mamewahlayouts.htm

I had no idea there were that many good looking MAME Wah skins out there - wow. Thanks for the heads-up, everybody! I am definitely going the MAMEWah route for my cab.

[loadman]

You could try a search at this forum (software section) for MaLa layouts.

There have been a few really good ones since the MaLa Website was last Updated.

Thanks
Here are a few that I found

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62620.0

http://www.webwonderland.net/arcade/zebra_layouts.php

I remember stumbling across another collection of mamewah layouts some time ago (about 4 pages) but I can't find it again, and I did not bookmark it.
If you guys have anything else please post a link.

I found more:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=72576.0

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=71427.0

[Arcade Freak]

hi guys,

just a quick question...i am still new at this but are these frontends screen shot?

Is so, can they be used with any back end...like perhaps mame32?

thanks
calude

[unclet]

calude

just a quick question...i am still new at this but are these frontends screen shot?

Is so, can they be used with any back end...like perhaps mame32?

A "frontend" is an application which will allow the user to interface with Mame (or any other emulator) without having to deal with the emulator directly.  The "frontend" applications available currently also allow many other features to be perforned (ie: displaying game screen shots, displaying game videos, allowing specific commands to be executed before the emulator starts, etc... etc...)

Now, a "MameWah" layout file is specific to the "MameWah" emulator.  These files contain "MameWah" specific protocol to inform the emulator exactly where certain layout features should be displayed on the screen (ie: where is the box which contains the game screen shot positioned on the screen, where is the rectangle to be displayed which contains the marquee image, where is the box which has the game list to be displayed on the screen, how big are all of these boxes,  etc... etc....)

Now some frontends (ie: MALA .... maybe more?) offer a MameWah layout converter which will convert MameWah layout protocol into MALA layout protocol.  Once this is done you then have a MALA layout file to be used in MALA.  Pretty easy really.  Provide the MameWah layout file as input and the MALA converter generates an output file for you I believe.


Ice Cream Jonsey

John has tons, just click to set the "complete sets"
http://www.emuchrist.org/cpviewer/mamewahlayouts.htm

I had no idea there were that many good looking MAME Wah skins out there - wow. Thanks for the heads-up, everybody! I am definitely going the MAMEWah route for my cab.

Just to let you know, MALA has a MameWah layout conversion tool which obviously converts a MameWah layout to a MALA layout.    Extremely easy as well.    I mention this since MALA was a lot more easy to set up than MameWah was for me.

I just wanted to make sure you were not simply picking MameWah as your FE just because there are a lot more "MameWah" layouts available.   Of course, MameWah is a nice application so if you want to use it no problem ..... I just thought I would mention you could convert the MameWah layouts into MALA layouts easily.   That is what I did and many other people as well.

[Arcade Freak]

wow unclet...

so what you are saying (i think) is that i can use mala as my FE with mame32. Which that does makes it easy to pick the game i want to play and also makes it easier on the eyes. Then to add some flash, i can then add mamewah to mala to make it even better.

IS THAT RIGHT? i hope.

cheers,
calude

[RetroACTIVE]

Just to let you know, MALA has a MameWah layout conversion tool which obviously converts a MameWah layout to a MALA layout.    Extremely easy as well.    I mention this since MALA was a lot more easy to set up than MameWah was for me.

I just wanted to make sure you were not simply picking MameWah as your FE just because there are a lot more "MameWah" layouts available.   Of course, MameWah is a nice application so if you want to use it no problem ..... I just thought I would mention you could convert the MameWah layouts into MALA layouts easily.   That is what I did and many other people as well.

I second that... I've been a die-hard MameWah user for 3 years... then decided to re-vamp my machine using Mala and I got it running so quickly... I was very surprised.  Layouts convert in a snap.  I like the way Mala provides some gui interface to its configuration file system... speeds things up considerably... plus it gives you some insight into the configuration system when you start poking around and tweaking things manually.

[Arcade Freak]

can any one second that motion. am i right by saying what i have said with mame32 as backend, mala as FE and mamewah as being the gui for everything.

if i am not correct can some one please correct me as i am not sure any more what software is for what.

if not then, i have mame32 and i really need a nice but easy FE? can some one point me in the right direction.

thanks
calude

[gatordad]

can any one second that motion. am i right by saying what i have said with mame32 as backend, mala as FE and mamewah as being the gui for everything.

if i am not correct can some one please correct me as i am not sure any more what software is for what.

if not then, i have mame32 and i really need a nice but easy FE? can some one point me in the right direction.

thanks
calude

All front ends provide navigation of games for the cmd line version of mame, or other emulators via cmd line.
Mame32 is a variation of mame with a integrated frontend.
With mame32 you do not need a front end as its there already.
Mala, Mamewah and Game EX are front ends that hides your windows enviroment and provides navigation via arcade controls.

It sounds like you are just starting off just as I was several short months ago.
I highly recommend reading the wiki
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Main_Page
and Saint's Newbie guide on the this sites Main Web page, It should give you some direction.
Buy the book "Project Arcade"and read it before starting to build anything,  that should be enough to get you addicted.

[Arcade Freak]

to late i am already addicted....

and besides i have already finish my first cabinet. i bought a used one back in july last year, gutted it out as it was still being used as 1 game only...then i got a load of mame emulators and was told to use mame32 to play them...dismattled the pc, modified the cabinet to take a full CRT 19 inch monitor, place the pc components inside the cabinet loaded everything, purchase a keywiz for the interface and i am up an running, now i am trying to twike it and make it nicer and easier for my kids to use it. mame32 FE is not very friendly and to much reading for a child. so if i could have a full GUI interface it would be much better but i want it to be adaptable to mame32.

any suggestions?

thanks...cheers
calude

[unclet]

your glad I am not that busy again at work today ..... 


My overall description to make sure you understand some things first

Without a frontend you would need to start the emulator and game manually by typing something at the prompt in a command window:

C:\)  mame (options) (more options) (more more options) pacman.zip

People would rather simply select a song from the list and have the game start for them automatically, so they use frontends.   A frontend(FE) is a nice GUI interface (nice window which pops up) which allows the user to configure a bunch of options, presents a game list to the user which they can scroll through and (once a game is selected) will interact directly with the emulator (ie: mame) and start the game for you.

Most frontends are separate from the emulator.   For example, MALA is a frontend which can interact with the MAME emulator ..... these are two separate things.   MAMEWAH is another frontend which can interact with the MAME emulator ... and these are two separate things as well.

When you use a frontend like MALA or MAMEWAH, you will need to indicate which emulaor you are using (ie: mame).  The "official" mame command-line emulator is simply called "mame.exe".   You would start a frontend (MALA or MAMEWAH) and then point the frontend to the emalator you want to use (ie: mame.exe).  This is how an emulator gets associated with a frontend.

Now .... "Mame32" is kind of unique in that it is a frontend "and" an emulator rolled into one application.   "Mame32" takes the official "mame.exe" and changes it slightly (?) so the Mame32 frontend functionality can be integrated into it.   "Mame32" is explicitly used for playing games through mame.exe.     As a result, when you start "Mame32", it already knows about the "mame.exe" emulator.   Thing is, "Mame32" is specific to the "mame" emulator only so you can not play Nintendo, Sega, Playstation emulator games on it.   Also, in my opinion, the look and feel of Mame32 simply does not look as nice as the "next generation" frontends developed over the past couple of years.

So, what I would recommend is get yourself a next generation frontend  like Mala, AtomicFE, GameEx or MameWah.  However, keep in mind a lot of people believe MameWah to be a real beast to set up for the first time (me included) since everything is done manually by editing files by hand.   The other frontends provide nice little GUI interface window screens which you can simply click on options easier (in my opinion).

Once you have a frontend picked out to use then download the official mame.exe emulator to use with your frontend.  No need to use "Mame32" anymore since you are no longer going to use that as a frontend, so better to stay with the "official" version of mame now.


Now .... to respond to your question

so what you are saying (i think) is that i can use mala as my FE with mame32. Which that does makes it easy to pick the game i want to play and also makes it easier on the eyes. Then to add some flash, i can then add mamewah to mala to make it even better.

You can use MALA as a frontend with the official "mame.exe" (not mame32.exe).  Configure MALA to work with Mame (and as many other emulators as you like).  Then instead of simply using the MALA "default" display (ie: the big moon picture) you can download some MameWah "layouts" (not MameWah emulator), convert these layouts to be used by MALA (by using the MALA layout converter which comes with the MALA emulator you downloaded) and then associate these layouts within MALA to specific emulators you have configured in MALA.

To make things real easy you can simply follow my "How-To MALA" guide:

http://unclet.arcadecontrols.com/MalaInfo/MalaEmuSetup-HowTo.doc

If you choose MALA, then follow my guide and you should understand stuff a lot better.   It even explains how to convert a MameWah layout to a Mala layout (if I am remembering correctly) and tell you how to set up tons of stuff in MALA.   At first it takes you through setting up "official" mame.exe and then tells you how to assign layouts and stuff.   MALA is extremely easy .... do not be scared.   As long as you have all the files you need, you are golden.

Oh yeah, when MALA starts, you might need to right click on your mouse to get to the "Options" menu.   This is where the configuration for each emulator takes place.   There are a lot of options provided by MALA, but do not get frustrated ..... many options is actually a good thing.   Also, my guide just shows you what you need to get everything configured and working for basic stuff.   Sometimes "basic" is good as well   

Hope this explains stuff better for you  ... good luck   

mame32 FE is not very friendly and to much reading for a child. so if i could have a full GUI interface it would be much better but i want it to be adaptable to mame32.

Yes, Mame32 was very nice to have 7 years ago, but frontends have evolved tons and everybody I now know use one of these newer frontends (Mala, AtomicFE or GameEx).

You do not need to use "Mame32" anymore.   You actually should use the "official" version of "mame.exe" when using the newer frontends.

[torcer]

I use a modified version of the Zebra one that someone linked - I fell in love with Mala's "Tree" Structure option once I figured it out, it makes for a really clean FE.   

[Arcade Freak]

hi unclet,

would like to thank you a million...you have explained it very well and i will attempt this change over this week-end hope it go's smooth.

i assume that i can still use the same rom's that i presently use...correct?

also, i was told that i have a full set of Rom's is there a way of knowing that for a fact and were can i get more games.

The mame.exe, will it except other games also?

cheers,
calude

[unclet]

I have not updated my ROMs in a long time, but I used ClrMamePro to verify what I had was update to date.   You would need to ask around about it though since I have not used it for a very long time.

Here is the tutorial I use to go by ... perhaps it is the still useful:

http://www.mameworld.net/easyemu/clrmameguide.htm

[Arcade Freak]

hi unclet,

again thank you for yor explaination. i read over your "how-to-mala" and you wrote that so beautifully that it should be publish in the series "for dummies" because it is written so plainly that if any one as any problems then they need to quite.

i have a question tho...if i want to run only atari games (e.g.) do i needed to install the  everything else?

Then is there a way to also be able to play your plane pc games but be accessible thru mala FE.

Also, would this configuration that you describe work on a 450 Mhz with 512 ram w/os of win 98 SE?

The set of roms that i supposely have (that were given to me) does not have all those emu's. The CLRmame pro that you were describing to me, will that give me all the roms that are supported by those emus. i hope i explained that properly. if not then is there a specific place to go to be able to get the most update games?



cheers,
calude

[unclet]

again thank you for yor explaination. i read over your "how-to-mala" and you wrote that so beautifully that it should be publish in the series "for dummies" because it is written so plainly that if any one as any problems then they need to quite.

Your welcome .... that was the point ... make it easy

i have a question tho...if i want to run only atari games (e.g.) do i needed to install the  everything else?

My "How To" guide shows you how to install a bunch of emulators.  If you just want to install the "Atari 2600", then just do everything in my document related to "Atari 2600". If you just want "Sega Genesis", then just follow the "Sega Genesis" instructions ....   

Then is there a way to also be able to play your plane pc games but be accessible thru mala FE.

Yes there is ..... I found a past post I did before .... here it the good part:

What I did for all of my PC games was simply create a BAT file to start each game.  A BAT file is simply a text file which has an extension of BAT.  Inside this text file are command line statements which change directories to where the game's EXE file is located and then also contains the actual command line statement to start the EXE file. The actual game can be installed anywhere on your computer you want, but all of these BAT files would be stored together in a common location. 

For example --> C:\PCGames\batfiles\(all BAT files go here)

Now set up a new emulator in MALA called "PCGames" and set the ROM path to "C:\PCGames\batfiles\" and set the ROM extension to BAT.

You can name the BAT file anything you want such as the following:

  Perfect Cherry Blossom.bat
  Imperishable Night.bat

When you refresh the "PCGames" gamelist within MALA, then all the games listed will be the names you selected for your BAT files.   Basically, just name your BAT files with a name you would like to see in the MALA gamelist.

For example:
Here is the contents of the "Rogue Squadron 3D.bat" file (only 3 lines):

d:
cd "D:\Emulators\PCGames\Rogue Squadron 3D"
"Rogue Squadron"

When MALA runs this BAT file, the BAT file executes as follows:

1st line)  make the current selected drive to be "D:"
2nd line)  change the directory to be where the Rogue Squadron game is installed
3rd line) Run the Rogue Squadron EXE file


Basically if you open up a command window by the following:

  START/PROGRAMS/ACCESSORIES/Command Prompt


.... then these 3 lines are what would be required to execute the Rogue Squadron game manually.  Placing these three lines in a BAT file and then executing the BAT file just automates this for you so you do not have to type each three lines manually.

Hope this makes sense ...... my explanation is quite long but the actual steps to get all of your PC games working in MALA using BAT files is really quite easy.

NOTE1:  Having separate BAT files for each game allow you to name the BAT file whatever you want.  As a result, since MALA uses the filename of the BAT file to populate the gamelist, you will now have descriptive game names.   Also, if each PC Game you have requires a different way to start them then all of these differences can be inserted into the game's specific BAT file with no problems.
 

Also, would this configuration that you describe work on a 450 Mhz with 512 ram w/os of win 98 SE?

I think the "basic" MALA setup will work on that computer (ie: no running of videos, and "neat" stuff).... but you can always ask the author to be sure.  I run WinXP

The set of roms that i supposely have (that were given to me) does not have all those emu's. The CLRmame pro that you were describing to me, will that give me all the roms that are supported by those emus. i hope i explained that properly.

ClrMamePro will simple verify the current ROM set you have.  I have only ever used ClrMamePro to verify MAME ROM sets.  I have no idea whether it can verify other emulator ROM sets ..... I bet it does though .... you can ask someone else I guess.

Anyway, ClrMamePro will look through all ROM ZIP files and will tell you whether they are valid or whether they are missing pieces.   If you UnZIP a ROM ZIP file you will notice some other them are made up of multiple files.   ClRMamePro checks all these individual files and will let you know what is BAD.   Basically, if ou have a complete clean ROM set, then CLrMamePro will pretty much not show you that much if I remember.

You will need to find other ROM sets yourself.  One of the main rules on this forum is too NOT ask where to find ROMs.   

** I would suggest your edit your previous post and remove the line which asked for that information.  It would be a shame that you get banned when you are just starting out.  Good luck.

[bent98]

http://www.marcianitos.org/tutoriales/mamewahcfg/pinball.htm

Im trying to find that layout. 1024x768 link is broken and 800x640 rar is corrupt.

[unclet]

I would then send a PM to "Mikonos" .....

[gatordad]

Pretty cool mamewah one here
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75213.0

Wow UncleT you have the patients of a saint. Always lending a helping hand.   

I always thought that I could have been a doctor but I didn't have the patients.......


Game ex has some very cool skins as well, is it possible to use the background image from game ex in another FE? 

[gatordad]

A few more over here.

http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=78589&page=0&view=expanded&sb=5&o=&vc=1

[gatordad]

Another nice one

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=69785.0

[gatordad]

Lots here
Mala forum

http://www.arcadezentrum.com/forum/board.php?boardid=64

[loadman]

I've made this post sticky until a few of these are uploaded to MaLaFE.net.

Any Volunteers? 

[Space Fractal]

please remove that sticky...

Just kidding.

I also have to make sure it can show much more cabinets. In some points, it simply auto split up to use one cabinet on each page instead of same lists. Later it would even use use letter links as well to search after a cabinet.

So I have to make sure these pages have been make sure it can been pretty big in the future.

So we want more uploads.

[dungbeetle46]

Layout I just made if anyone wants
cheers

[loadman]

Layout I just made if anyone wants
cheers

Hey,

I like the simple design idea   

The picture frame idea is great.

Not a huge fan of the wall design but that could be easily changed to suit your taste

Nice one

[dungbeetle46]

Thanks Loadman

Heres another I call Black Knight

[loadman]

Nice..

Have you uploaded to malafe.net yet?

I notice you have sent the first one (waiting in the Queue to be posted)

[dungbeetle46]

not yet but will do
cheers

[dungbeetle46]

simple one

[loadman]

Maybe they would be better on the website as a 'Pack' anyway

[Imperator]

I've got a few layouts that I have been working on.
The first one for some reason makes me think of the old Sega Master System game cases.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21912318@N08/2984063425/

[Imperator]

This second one is a more simplistic version of the first.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21912318@N08/2984063443/

[Imperator]

The third is for people using the low res mode.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21912318@N08/2984063441/

[Imperator]

The last one is an update to the Neo Geo layout I've been working on for a while.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21912318@N08/2984063431/