Mame vs the real thing

[Jox43w]

How close is mame to been arcade perfect? I havent played a real machine for years although iv ownd a couple of neogen aes's can you tell the diffrence with the naked eye?

[Ginsu Victim]

With an arcade monitor, it's spot on in the visuals. Get the right control setup and you're golden. Just use the version of MAME appropriate for your computer and the correct romsets.

[FrizzleFried]

Depends on the game...most raster games from the 70s to mid-to-late 90's plays identical to the arcade (save for the controls which is dependent on the game).  Mame does VECTOR games OK with high-res displays (or awesomely if you build a Zektor Vector MAME cab).

For the most part,  if the game you're thinking of doesn't have special controls,  is a raster game,  and doesn't use 3D graphics,  you're looking at a pretty damn close comparison.  If it DOES have 3d graphics,  you still can get damn near identical to the real thing,  but you're going to need horsepower under the hood.

SOME claim trackballs/spinners have a "lag".  I claim their are smoking rock or haven't configured MAME properly or something because I am pretty sensitive to lag and I don't notice ANY lag.

[Jdurg]

It depends on the complexity of the hardware the game is using.  A simple game that has no custom chips, very simple and well documented circuitry and no protection schemes is probably emulated 100% perfectly.  E.G. it is impossible to tell the difference.  Games with custom processors, complex protection schemes, and/or poorly documented hardware are probably pretty damned accurate, but not perfect.  CPS1 is a good example.  That system is emulated probably 99% perfectly, but there are still some "oddities" caused by the hardware setup or assumption on how it works.

[TOK]

The speeds differ a bit on some games... In shooters, believe it or not, the real versions are often easier because they suffer more slowdown than MAME. I have compared two original shooters that I own directly with MAME... Twin Eagle II and P47 Freedom Fighter. MAME runs slightly faster on both of them with a P4/2ghz. I don't think the emulation speed is off, I think there are spots where the original hardware chokes and the PC doesn't.

Whats funny is that the slowdown is very well emulated in some games. Defender models the original hardware slowdown when you smart bomb or have too many enemies on the screen (both slowdown and enemy warping elsewhere) very well.

[Zobeid]

Whats funny is that the slowdown is very well emulated in some games. Defender models the original hardware slowdown when you smart bomb or have too many enemies on the screen (both slowdown and enemy warping elsewhere) very well.

Life Force (i.e. Salamander) is a game where I've noticed a lot of faithfully emulated slowdown.

[Havok]

Mame need not apply for anything that has force feedback...

[DJ Infinity]

Depends on what game you are trying to run. Me personally I have gone out and bought the actual boards for the games I like. Example the Blitz series. Even running a 64 Bit OS and having my computer which has a E6850 Core Duo OC'd to 3.8 you can't play with things like fog on. Also the emulation is not accurate 100%. But for things like NeoGeo, CPS2 & 3 it's very cool. 

[Ummon]

I've found the games I've come across have played (control feel/response, game sequence, etc) differently. Gyruss, Pole Position, DKJr (slightly), Bubbles. There were differing qualities or combinations of them depending on the game.

What are you wanting to know, really?

[Jox43w]

I just really wanted to know if they look as good as the arcade. Iv played a few ports samsho kof etc on the ps2 and they are know where near arcade perfect and playing mame on my pc with no arcadevga makes them look terrible im hoping the arcadevga will make me smile! I dont suppose anybody has or could post some snaps of any sam showdown kof any kind of beat em ups up? The only pics i can find online are all mame pc screenshots in horrid resolutions!

[styxx]

I just really wanted to know if they look as good as the arcade. Iv played a few ports samsho kof etc on the ps2 and they are know where near arcade perfect and playing mame on my pc with no arcadevga makes them look terrible im hoping the arcadevga will make me smile! I dont suppose anybody has or could post some snaps of any sam showdown kof any kind of beat em ups up? The only pics i can find online are all mame pc screenshots in horrid resolutions!

ArcadeVGA with PC monitor, for me it's a big no,no...when I bought my AVGA2 tried it first in my desktop before installing it in my cab, and what a big crap it was, the graphics are just to sharp on a PC monitor, you would be better off with a normal card and a good scanline config.
ArcadeVGA are made for Arcade monitors, and with that, most of the games are almost pixel perfect.

For me the only good console ports of arcade games are the Neo Geo AES  

[Ummon]

I just really wanted to know if they look as good as the arcade. Iv played a few ports samsho kof etc on the ps2 and they are know where near arcade perfect and playing mame on my pc with no arcadevga makes them look terrible im hoping the arcadevga will make me smile! I dont suppose anybody has or could post some snaps of any sam showdown kof any kind of beat em ups up? The only pics i can find online are all mame pc screenshots in horrid resolutions!

It depends on your monitor, then. If using an arcade monitor and either an avga or soft15 with mame then yeah they'll look the same. If using a 27" multisync, they'll look similar but as the lines scanned are thicker not exactly the same. They're native, though.

[paigeoliver]

A lot of the feel issues may lay in the controls you are using.

Gyruss I believe used a Monroe joystick, which was a great stick for moving around in circles.

Bubbles had a joystick that used a tension spider, other sticks always feel different.

Pole Position being analog means that the analog settings are probably not correct and need adjustment (they almost always do).

I've found the games I've come across have played (control feel/response, game sequence, etc) differently. Gyruss, Pole Position, DKJr (slightly), Bubbles. There were differing qualities or combinations of them depending on the game.

What are you wanting to know, really?

[telengard]

Depends on the game...most raster games from the 70s to mid-to-late 90's plays identical to the arcade (save for the controls which is dependent on the game).  Mame does VECTOR games OK with high-res displays (or awesomely if you build a Zektor Vector MAME cab).

For the most part,  if the game you're thinking of doesn't have special controls,  is a raster game,  and doesn't use 3D graphics,  you're looking at a pretty damn close comparison.  If it DOES have 3d graphics,  you still can get damn near identical to the real thing,  but you're going to need horsepower under the hood.

SOME claim trackballs/spinners have a "lag".  I claim their are smoking rock or haven't configured MAME properly or something because I am pretty sensitive to lag and I don't notice ANY lag.

It might not be lag but there are some issues w/ analog controls (specifically spinner and trackball games) and MAME regarding resolution etc.  I spent a lot of time looking into this.  For instance, I have a few Happ's trackballs and they in no way behave like the same ones in the arcade.  Crystal Castles, Centipede, Tempest, etc.

I live close to Funspot and compare often.  They just aren't the same IMO.  I don't keep up to date w/ every MAME release so it may be better now.  I think I'm running .110 or around there in my cab.

I agree with the rest though.  Mame comes real close on raster games w/ a nice multi-sync arcade monitor.  Vector games looked nice on my PC monitor w/ the artwork but that slow decay and bright dot is missing (Asteroids).

I think really everyone's idea of "how close to the real thing" is relative.  Some folks play Robotron w/ Happ supers and enjoy it.  I can't play it with anything but Wico 8 way leafs.
Same for Defender, I tried playing it with a 2 way micro-switch joystick.  Doesn't feel right.  Same w/ the position of the reverse button.

The again maybe I'm at the extreme end of the scale.   

~telengard

[CheffoJeffo]

For me the only good console ports of arcade games are the Neo Geo AES  

Dreamcast ...

 

[Ummon]

A lot of the feel issues may lay in the controls you are using.

Gyruss I believe used a Monroe joystick, which was a great stick for moving around in circles.

The Gyruss actually had some really worn out Happ universal stick or something. The fire button was almost toast, too. I still happened to get I think my highest score up to that time, but it felt different. Especially the display frames seemed slightly different.