Author Topic: Favorite Front End (Read 241451 times)

headkaze · « **Reply #240 on:** May 15, 2010, 06:23:02 pm »

Quote from: Dazz on May 15, 2010, 12:35:42 am

If you really think the pinned thread on our forums is skewing results here; I'm more than happy to have that thread removed...

You seem to think I care. I was just making an observation.

Hoopz · « **Reply #241 on:** May 15, 2010, 06:54:19 pm »

Quote from: Hoopz on October 07, 2009, 01:58:35 pm

I would like to keep this thread as focused on the topic if at all possible. The posts about Maximo G+ not withstanding...

This dude seems to have a good perspective on this thread. Can't we all just get along?

loadman · « **Reply #242 on:** May 16, 2010, 06:09:10 am »

Quote from: Dazz on May 14, 2010, 10:28:00 pm

MALA has been around since the stone ages,

Well that is one figure out of all posted I would question.

If anyone cares, I believe MaLa was introduced to BYOAC in 2005. Before that it was a very basic FE based in Germany.

[Late Edit] I should remind you that 'SWINDUS' has done most of the work on MaLa. [/Late Edit]

P.S Good luck to you sir. I really don't care if you have 99% of the users here. I do it for fun

When I am not having fun I don't work on it.

It is a bonus that it suits some others users requirements and I get a kick out of positive/constructive feedback so that inspires me to work on it more.

Sorry for the thread HiJack. I will crawl back into my hole again.

tspeirs · « **Reply #243 on:** May 16, 2010, 09:28:25 am »

Quote from: loadman on May 16, 2010, 06:09:10 am

Well that is one figure out of all posted I would question.

If anyone cares, I believe MaLa was introduced to BYOAC in 2005. Before that it was a very basic FE based in Germany.

P.S Good luck to you sir. I really don't care if you have 99% of the users here. I do it for fun When I am not having fun I don't work on it.
It is a bonus that it suits some others users requirements and I get a kick out of positive feedback so that inspires me to work on it more.

Sorry for the thread HiJack. I will crawl back into my hole again.

Good for you Loadman, and here's hoping it stays fun.

tspeirs · « **Reply #244 on:** May 16, 2010, 09:34:56 am »

Quote from: shateredsoul on May 14, 2010, 01:31:22 pm

Hey tspeirs, I have a question for yah. How easy is it to integrate naomi, aotmiswvae, ps2, dreamcast (via nulldc), and different types of emulators like this? Am I limited to the systems you have added in, or are there easy ways to add in new systems?

I like to keep GameEx questions over at http://gameex.info. So please head over there and ask your questions. Cheers.

To answer this one. Your not limited to anything in GameEx, however that does add a layer of complexity for some systems.

celly · « **Reply #245 on:** May 17, 2010, 02:46:55 am »

You've got my vote Tom! GameEx for me.

shateredsoul · « **Reply #246 on:** May 17, 2010, 09:44:59 am »

I'm all over the place! I can't settle for just one FE.

Draco1962 · « **Reply #247 on:** May 17, 2010, 07:46:10 pm »

GameEx is my preferred, although I will occasionally dabble with a few of the others. That being said, I am willing to bet that there are some, like me, that use several frontends depending on the project it serves. # of users and forum posts is a crude yardstick at best to guage how many people may use a particular FE.

WhereEaglesDare · « **Reply #248 on:** May 18, 2010, 01:47:04 pm »

I really liked GameEx but not I have my button and sticks connected and now I am having issues.

The one feature that GameEx has that I like a lot better than the others in the internet radio player.

shateredsoul · « **Reply #249 on:** June 02, 2010, 10:33:35 pm »

You can install internet radio players in other frontends, some jukeboxes even have that option. Why is gamex's internet radio player so great? (seriously, I'm curious)

Raitsa · « **Reply #250 on:** June 04, 2010, 05:04:59 am »

GameEx is my choice, it does all i need easily and a heck of a lot more, meaning i have disabled most of the GameEx´s functions in my own cabinet

damphon · « **Reply #251 on:** June 12, 2010, 03:31:35 am »

I'm a fan of Hyperspin it feels like a real arcade machine, not like a computer.

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #252 on:** August 12, 2010, 04:41:41 am »

My 2 cents

MaLa is amazing for a free FE, the system requirements and boot speed are second to none!
Loadmans tireless support and constant improvements and praiseworthy, thanks loadman

Hyperspin is the opposite for me, heavy system requirements and slow boot speed
But the results are show stopping - if you have the horsepower and time to set it up right
its probably the most impressive FE

Maximus Arcade, for me this one falls between MaLA and Hyperspin, moderate system requirements
and an acceptable load time for a visually impressive FE. Maximus's real strengths, for me at least, are its
very easy configuration, global 'quit emulator' key binding and excellent community support.
Its just so clean looking! Look at it gleam

I haven't had time to check out any others, but I intend to when I do have the time.

For me right now, and a lot of this is down to my target PC.

1) Maximus Arcade
2) MaLa
3) Hyperspin

Its so nice to have so many quality choices for Front Ends, I hope they all enjoy the success they rightly deserve

Dazz · « **Reply #253 on:** August 23, 2010, 04:05:11 am »

Quote from: jimmy2x2x on August 12, 2010, 04:41:41 am

Hyperspin is the opposite for me, heavy system requirements and slow boot speed
But the results are show stopping - if you have the horsepower and time to set it up right
its probably the most impressive FE

Slow boot speed? What kind of speeds are you looking at? With the intro video turned off, I can have HyperSpin loaded and running within 8 seconds after launch. The 8 seconds is with complete wheels, images and text. If your setup was taking longer on a decently specc'd machine then you're running into something else causing the longer boot times. Perhaps invalid character in the XML files, incorrectly named or rogue file or something similar. We have also noticed slow downs/lag happening if you have some USB control devices plugged in or if you have Windows Defender Realtime scanning turned on. Windows Defender seems to be trying to scan every image that's loaded in HyperSpin upon launch and that definitely slows the launch speed. Other than those issues there should be very little boot time with HyperSpin as it doesn't scan or query other databases for game lists. It uses XML which is loaded dynamically as you navigate the wheel.

I've been a Maximus user for about 7 years and Maximus has always had one of the longest boot times out of any Front End. It has to go through a scan process upon each launch which can last up to 30 seconds depending on how many systems you have setup. Not having the ability to add emulators other than the "supported" emulators greatly crippled MA for me. Not to mention the lack of support and development from the developer was the final straw for me as a user. I'm not sure where you get "Excellent community support" from unless you are considering the BYOAC forums for support. If so then yes, there is good support here. However, there is NOT any support or community involvement by the developer. However, with that said, MA is still a good front end, especially for beginners. I still have it installed and load it up every 6 months or so, but I don't use it on a regular basis like in the past.

I also used Mala and MameWah for a while as well before settling with Maximus long ago. Both are great at what they do, but both are basic front ends. Both have very quick loading times that are slightly faster than HyperSpin by perhaps 3 or 4 seconds. Both will run on very low system spec's.

GameEx is also very nice front end and it is fairly easy to setup for beginners. I tried using it on my MAME cabinet, but it was too Windows like. If I was running a HTPC then I would definitely consider it to integrate into HBMC or Windows Media Center for a seamless environment.

headkaze · « **Reply #254 on:** August 23, 2010, 05:12:06 am »

Quote from: Dazz on August 23, 2010, 04:05:11 am

GameEx is also very nice front end and it is fairly easy to setup for beginners. I tried using it on my MAME cabinet, but it was too Windows like. If I was running a HTPC then I would definitely consider it to integrate into HBMC or Windows Media Center for a seamless environment.

Here is a theme I made for GameEx recently based on a MaLa theme. Does it look too "Windows like"?

jimmy2x2x · « **Reply #255 on:** August 23, 2010, 05:20:25 am »

Very nice!

Clean and clear

PsychoMikey · « **Reply #256 on:** October 01, 2010, 05:05:08 am »

Finaly took the step to setup HyperSpin with all the bells and whistles.
Once you get your rom's renamed correctly it's very easy to use.

AWESOME!!

janX · « **Reply #257 on:** October 31, 2010, 11:16:42 am »

Quote from: shateredsoul on May 17, 2010, 09:44:59 am

I'm all over the place! I can't settle for just one FE.

Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx Maximus Arcade HyperSpin GameEx

Hey shateredsoul, Fancy meeting you here

I'm the same way. No one front end seems to have everything I want or need, so I tend to like different front ends for different reasons. My problem is I don't have a cab so I use my PC as a multimedia machine which is why I look for so much in a frontend.

My current vote is Maximus Arcade just because I have it set up so well on my PC, but I'm loosing interest, as MA is no longer being updated.

My vote may change soon to HyperSpin as it has a huge community behind it, it's very visually appealing with themes and is pretty versatile for adding content.

Once HyperSpin is set up 100% odds are my vote will change to GameEx a few months later

as GameEx seems more suited for someone who is looking for a more multimedia based frontend like me, but I haven't done much on this frontend yet.

Oh if only I could take all my favorite features from each frontend and put them into one. Yep, I'm picky

So expect my vote to change from year to year.

If anyone has suggestions for a multimedia frontend please let me know.

shateredsoul · « **Reply #258 on:** October 31, 2010, 02:03:20 pm »

Hey Janx, yup I still think maximus arcade is a great frontend. I think I just grew bored with the limitations. Hyperspin gives me a lot of freedom. As long as I can figure out the code, I can add it in.

I do think that gamex would be better for a multimedia theater center, hyperspin is great on the arcade though. Oh by the way do you still need to take a look at my script? I just realized it needs a lot of work still. I hadn't fully tested everything.. my main issue is getting the controls to work with all systems. I'm probably just going to use xbox 360 controllers w/ n64, dreamcast, ps2, and gamecube.

ahmer · « **Reply #259 on:** November 08, 2010, 02:55:25 pm »

My all time favorite is Mamewah due to its classic layout.
For Modern Friends AtomicFE is good.

JenkNZ · « **Reply #260 on:** November 23, 2010, 10:07:24 pm »

i like the 'mame.exe' only thing it needs is to be able to scroll through games with joystick. is there any FE like that? all text no setup?

MagicManPA · « **Reply #261 on:** January 01, 2011, 11:32:00 pm »

Of the few that I have tried, I decided on Mala. Very easy to use & does what I need it do. I don't need 100 fancy bells & whistles. I just want to pick a game & play.

Now if I could figure out why it won't save a gamelist for any emulators outside MAME I'd be golden.

kaptainsteve · « **Reply #262 on:** February 23, 2011, 03:08:22 pm »

Here's my observation;

Q. Which of these frontends actually works with the latest mame?
A. Almost none. They either don't install (Ultrastyle, Mala) or have serious bugs (loss of focus issues in both Mala and Arcade Maximus). If you think this is not so, just try your favorite with the latest mame and see.

The problem is that the frontends get too complicated, then bugs find their way into the software and they can't be kept up with.

I am sticking with Ultramame.

Why? 4 reasons.

It can be accessed completely from the control panel. It installs. No bugs. It works.

Kaptainsteve

Dazz · « **Reply #263 on:** February 23, 2011, 10:37:04 pm »

Quote from: kaptainsteve on February 23, 2011, 03:08:22 pm

Here's my observation;

Q. Which of these frontends actually works with the latest mame?
A. Almost none. They either don't install (Ultrastyle, Mala) or have serious bugs (loss of focus issues in both Mala and Arcade Maximus). If you think this is not so, just try your favorite with the latest mame and see.

The problem is that the frontends get too complicated, then bugs find their way into the software and they can't be kept up with.

I am sticking with Ultramame.

Why? 4 reasons.

It can be accessed completely from the control panel. It installs. No bugs. It works.

Kaptainsteve

I hate to say this, but it sounds like you don't know what you are doing... What version of MAME are you trying to use?

All front ends should work perfectly fine with the latest MAME. I personally use HyperSpin and we have no issues at all running the latest MAME. I have also tested Maximus Arcade using the latest MAME and have no issues with focus. I haven't used MALA in a long while, but I don't see why it would have any issues with the latest version of MAME.

Celsius · « **Reply #264 on:** February 23, 2011, 11:15:58 pm »

Using Mala and mame...no installation problems and works perfect

shateredsoul · « **Reply #265 on:** February 24, 2011, 12:19:04 am »

Yeah, i've had no issues with hyperspin or maximus arcade either. W hyperspin you just have to make sure you have the right xml to match your set, maximus arcade scans it for your.

Either way, whatever works for you!

kaptainsteve · « **Reply #266 on:** February 24, 2011, 10:08:12 am »

I've installed Max Arcade and it runs fine except when you hammer the player 1&2 keys simultaneously to exit a running game then I get the Maximus black screen of death and then a loss of focus problem where you have to restart the pc to fix it?

I've experienced the same problem with another frontend upon exiting yet when i use simply mame32, I do not get the problem. This makes me believe it's a problem with compatibility with my op sys (or something like a driver or my ipac) and the front-ends.

Install mame 141, RUN a game, then exit by hammering the P1&2 buttons and see if you experience this too.

Thanks.

P.S.

Funny, but I thought that maybe using a stripped down xp was the problems so I just reinstalled a completely new OEM XP and Maximus Arcade, and upon exiting the first game, got the same error as above/always. This is with compete all-round fresh installs. There is definitely a major bug in that frontend.

So, I just installed Mala and got this crash log;

2011/02/25 23:06:14.48 Error: Exception Message: Scan line index out of range, Object Function: LoadPicture, Exception Class: EInvalidGraphicOperation, Object Class: TTimer

Firebat138 · « **Reply #267 on:** February 24, 2011, 12:27:31 pm »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29

Dazz · « **Reply #268 on:** February 26, 2011, 07:21:51 pm »

Quote from: kaptainsteve on February 24, 2011, 10:08:12 am

I've installed Max Arcade and it runs fine except when you hammer the player 1&2 keys simultaneously to exit a running game then I get the Maximus black screen of death and then a loss of focus problem where you have to restart the pc to fix it?

I've experienced the same problem with another frontend upon exiting yet when i use simply mame32, I do not get the problem. This makes me believe it's a problem with compatibility with my op sys (or something like a driver or my ipac) and the front-ends.

Install mame 141, RUN a game, then exit by hammering the P1&2 buttons and see if you experience this too.

Thanks.

P.S.

Funny, but I thought that maybe using a stripped down xp was the problems so I just reinstalled a completely new OEM XP and Maximus Arcade, and upon exiting the first game, got the same error as above/always. This is with compete all-round fresh installs. There is definitely a major bug in that frontend.

So, I just installed Mala and got this crash log;

2011/02/25 23:06:14.48 Error: Exception Message: Scan line index out of range, Object Function: LoadPicture, Exception Class: EInvalidGraphicOperation, Object Class: TTimer

Your issue isn't a MAME 141 issue.... This has nothing to do with MAME at all. This is definitely an issue with either your OS or even your hardware. What keyboard encoder are you using? IPAC?

kaptainsteve · « **Reply #269 on:** February 27, 2011, 07:08:46 pm »

Dazz, thanks for your help and not calling me stoopid this time, believe me or not, I appreciate it. I may be stoopid, but I don't like being reminded of it in a public forum.

I think it's a prob btwn the frontends, possibly mame, and the xp. I've now ruled out Ipac. I thought it might be the P1&2 shift esc combo pattern but after assigning a single key to the esc function I still get the hang up after the Max Arcade screensaver exits a game (at some point, I haven't caught this happening live, it's always when i'm out of the room) . With the reassigned keys I don't have the problem escaping running games and getting the BSOD though.... I think this is something that happens when the mame exits a running game.

So, when the pc just sits with Max Arcade on and it goes to screensaver mode, then at some point I get the BSOD. If you exit the emulator w/a right click you come back to the FE, but it is out of focus meaning you can't click it from the control panel. YOu have to restart the pc to bring it back to normal.

I've installed windows clean, and a clean mame (I use the mame with the interface in it - MameUiHi )and max arcade and still can't out run the problem.

It could be the version of mame I run too. I run MameUiHi and maybe if i ran a straight mame w/out the built in gui I'd eliminate this problem? I havent' tried this yet. It's the only option I have left until I get a new power supply for my other pc w/the better video card....

I take that back, the reassigning of keys didn't work either. I just exited RallyX and got the BSoD....

Another tidbit... I installed the regular mame.exe and started up Max Arcade and got the focus issue without having a chance to get mame start or get involved??? I ran Max Arcade, entered Rally X, started the game, hammered on the esc key, and it crashed Mame, Max and the desktop (lost the task bar)...

Dazz · « **Reply #270 on:** February 27, 2011, 09:51:44 pm »

Ya, my first reply to you was a bit harsh. I just saw that coming in and immediately blaming MAME or the FE's for issues is discouraging to the new users that would be checking out this thread. I was just playing defense so the newer users wouldn't get discouraged. Hell, I even went back and installed Maximus Arcade after 2 years of not using it to verify that it worked with the new version of MAME. Being part of a software design team it's discouraging for people to blame something on software when its obviously not the software that's causing the issue. So, my apologies.

If you are getting a BSOD, it shouldn't have anything to do with the FE, MAME or anything. BSOD's are almost always caused by hardware. Your issue sounds like it is RAM related. You might want to run your RAM through MEMtest and let it test for errors. http://www.memtest.org/

Your IPAc shouldn't be causing the system to BSOD unless you have corrupted drivers. Make sure that your all of your system drivers are updated. You may also want to update the firmware/BIOS on your motherboard if it's an older one.

I would suggest moving away from using P1 & 2 as exit though. I had P1 & 2 set to exit on my cab as well, but this causes issues when you have 2 people playing a game. If both people die and have to re-start and hit start at the same time it will kick them out of the game.

kaptainsteve · « **Reply #271 on:** February 28, 2011, 04:19:56 pm »

Sorry, I didn't mean Blue, I meant Black Screen of Death.
Whooops....
No, the hard drive's fine.
There's some conflict going on that occurs exiting the running games when you hammer the esc keys...
I'm still working to figure it out... we'll see.
I'll get back on it.

Hoopz · « **Reply #272 on:** February 28, 2011, 06:50:13 pm »

Check your Windows sticky keys or the ease of access keys (whatever it's called now). Make sure Windows isn't doing something wonky based on the key presses.

Run command line Mame instead of MameUI. That should be one of the first things to try. Eliminate the MameUI frontend altogether and see how it does.

Or, the alternate route, is to test em all in Notepad and try various key combos to see what causes the issue. 1 player buttons v. it happening on two player games.

Or, reprogram the Ipac to use non-normal keys. But that would be time consuming and a last resort.

kaptainsteve · « **Reply #273 on:** March 10, 2011, 03:48:14 pm »

I installed game-ex and Mamewah, and they both work great and there is no more conflict. Whatever it was I think it has something to do with the ipac and multiple/simultaneous button pushes with certain FE's cause conflicts when exiting a playing mame game. But with MameWah, things have straightened out.

My vote for favorite is now MameWah.

I use a cabinet, mamewah's simple and easy.

It boots right into the mame game menu, you just select a game and play, perfect.

It also has all the options you need for a cabinet type instal and to hide windoze.

Perfect, and thanks MameWah!~

BobA · « **Reply #274 on:** March 22, 2011, 03:02:46 pm »

I used to use emuloader quite a while ago. I see that it has been updated.

nickynooch · « **Reply #275 on:** March 24, 2011, 10:32:35 am »

kaptainsteve · « **Reply #276 on:** March 26, 2011, 10:30:52 am »

Thanks for the reply.

But, no I don't have both screensavers on.

I just switched to Mamewah and absolutely no more problems.
Mamewah is exactly what I want and no more, so I'm very satisfied with it.

I just wish I've used it earlier. I think it was the only one I've never tried. I don't want tons of set-up complication and onscreen menus to navigate and wait to load. I just want mame games easily accessible on my Arcade cabinet. MameWah does the trick.

Two thumbs up.

Thanks.

Steve

BELLcadia · « **Reply #277 on:** April 01, 2011, 04:40:14 pm »

Maximus Arcade is the only FE I have tried at this point. But I really like it. I would like to try hyper spin but all I hear is it is hard to set up. Plus my comp might not have enough horse power to run it. I have a Intel P4 3.0 mtz dual core with 2 megs of ram. Is that enough? I did not know MA had a screen saver 2.

wol-nz · « **Reply #278 on:** April 06, 2011, 12:48:52 am »

I've used a very simple and clean cut FE called mGalaxy - so basic no mods but it is what i need http://www.mgalaxy.com/
Wish i had the time to give HyperSpin a shot tho.

Hoopz · « **Reply #279 on:** April 06, 2011, 08:54:59 am »

Quote from: wolwol on April 06, 2011, 12:48:52 am

I've used a very simple and clean cut FE called mGalaxy - so basic no mods but it is what i need http://www.mgalaxy.com/
Wish i had the time to give HyperSpin a shot tho.

I've added it to the list. Thanks for letting me/us know about it.

As always, if there are others that need included in the poll, please post them and I'll edit the poll appropriately.


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What Front End are you using?

Author Topic: Favorite Front End (Read 241451 times)