Question about MAME32

[TxGlenn]

Is MAME32 an emulator itself or is it just a Windows UI for whatever version of MAME you have running behind it?

And is MAME32 the same thing as MAMEUI?

Thanks

[Hoopz]

MameUI and Mame32 are the same thing.  Mame32 was re-branded as MameUI. 

MameUI is a version of Mame that has a front end built in.  If you run MameUI, you don't run another version of Mame too.

Some people run MameUI from a front end, but thats being redundant. 

[TxGlenn]

Thanks Hoopz.

I am reading a bunch about different versions of MAME and about people complaining that this version worked better than that version and also about some games not working on newer versions of MAME or increased PC power needed to run the latest versions, etc.  But when I look at the "versions releases" I do not see MAME32 mentioned...?  Where or how does MAME32 fit into the version releases?

Sorry for the newb questions but I'm trying to get my arms around this.  Thanks

[Hoopz]

If I understand your questions, each new version of Mame introduces new code (fixes, improvements etc) that affects the speed of certain roms (games).  They have made various changes to how Mame runs in certain versions that has had noticeable changes to the way the games perform on various systems.  They changed the sound code in one release, introduced artwork changes in another etc.  A game that ran "well" on someone's computer before the change may have been adversely affected after the change.

I guess the sweet spot for your system will depend on what types of games you want to play and finding a version that runs well on your PC.  If you like the classics, some say get an older version of Mame and roms.  If you like newer fighters, get a more recent version.  If you like Golden Tee, get a version after it was added.

The reason that Mame32 isn't mentioned is because it's just a front end for regular Mame.  Nobody bitches about Mame32 because they just ---smurfette--- about Mame itself (not that it's right to complain). 

My suggestion as you try and figure out what you need is to use MameUI (new name for Mame32) to see what games run well on your pc.  It's easier to configure than most of the other frontends.  Once you figure that out, you can get everything set before you move on to another front end (if you go that route). 

That make any sense?   

[TheShanMan]

Stated differently, any speed issues, game-specific bugs, emulation inaccuracies, etc. for a particular version will generally be the same in straight mame and mameui because mameui is nothing more than straight mame with a user interface added.

Now for me, my cabinet's pc is powerful enough that it has zero problems running any of the games I care about, so even though I'm mainly interested in the classics, that's what I go with. Hoopz could very well be correct, but I'm not sure why people interested in the classics tend to go for older versions, unless their hardware is just old and incapable of handling the newer versions.

From the standpoint of obtaining the roms you are interested in, it's always easiest to use the latest version. If you don't, you either need to find roms that are specifically described as being for your version of mame, or you have to find out if the roms which are described as being for some other version of mame will also work with yours.

[TxGlenn]

Yea that makes sense.  

So with each new release of MAME do they release a corresponding version of MAMEUI?  So I could pull up my MAME32 and look for a version number and that would be the same as the DOS version?

[TxGlenn]

Now for me, my cabinet's pc is powerful enough that it has zero problems running any of the games I care about, so even though I'm mainly interested in the classics, that's what I go with. Hoopz could very well be correct, but I'm not sure why people interested in the classics tend to go for older versions, unless their hardware is just old and incapable of handling the newer versions.

TheShanMan -
In researching all this for the cabinet I'm building, I found an article that talks about how some new ROM dumps on classic games (Donkey Kong in particular) take alot of PC to power them (the article was talking about the sound which no longer needed samples which may be the reason).  I am interested in the classics (my whole project is due to my desire to relive Donkey Kong again) but thought I'd like to try new stuff as well.  On my current version of MAME32, the sound is messed up but I read where it could be a processor speed issue on the latest DK dump.  In any event, I ordered a new PC to put in the cabinet...I am just trying to figure stuff out/get things going on my regular (older)computer and the DK sound was an issue for me.  At first I couldn't hear the girders falling as Kong stomped on them nor could I hear Mario running.  I added the sample and could hear the sounds but the girders sounds were out of sync.  I have since read where I shouldn't need the sample file any more which got me trying to figure out which version of MAME I am using and ..well, here I am trying to figure it out.

Thanks for the help!

[Hoopz]

Yea that makes sense. 

So with each new release of MAME do they release a corresponding version of MAMEUI?  So I could pull up my MAME32 and look for a version number and that would be the same as the DOS version?

Yep, that's what they do.  Your version of Mame32 will match a command line version or DOS version etc.

[u_rebelscum]

So with each new release of MAME do they release a corresponding version of MAMEUI?

Depends what you mean by "they".  MameUI is a separate project by different people than MameDev that does Mame.  So each time MameDev has a new release of mame, the mameUI crew release a corresponding MameUI release.

Minor point, but important to know in some cases, like if you start reporting bugs to mametesters.  Also, it's good to post that you're using MameUI vs Mame if you ask settings questions, as the answer will differ on changing them with the UI or from the commandline/mame.ini file.  And the version number helps the helpers too, as some options have changed and some problems fixed or popped up..

[TheShanMan]

TxGlenn, DK is my #1 too from the time I was a kid. I play multiple games daily on my cab, and it runs perfectly in 0.125 with a new but not top of the line system I built in January (I spent about $200 on the PC hardware). And no, you won't need samples in recent versions of mame.