Groovymame + Powerstrip + Vmmaker Configuration

[Sanctity]

Hello All!

This is my first post ever and it may be a topic already beaten down into the ground so hang with me on this! I had put my MAME cab project aside for quite some time and woke up one morning about a month ago as if I had some epiphany and here I am ready to configure my PC up and shock this beast alive... but I am going to need some guidance through this process and what better place to start than here! I have searched the net and come across many forum posts all over but I just have not been able to really find what I am looking for and most of the information that I do find sounds like complete Chinese to me (consider me a noob at this kind of thing), so I am probably going to need somebody to explain all of this in idiot terms (just don't be too harsh!). 

Here is the complete setup:

    Dual core PC running Windows XP 32 bit SP3 (fresh install)
    ATI Radeon X600XT graphics card (with Calamity's CRT_Emudriver 9.3 1.2a already installed)
    GroovyMAME 0.148u2 Windows 32bit
    VideoModeMaker and ArcadeOSD
    Powerstrip
    Vision Pro 19" arcade LCD (http://na.suzohapp.com/monitors/49260310.htm)


I have everything installed but I just need some help fine tuning everything and getting everything to interact together like they should. I have a general idea on how to use VideoModeMaker already, and I am using MALA as a front end right now just until I get everything configured up and then I will switch to Hyperspin but at this moment I am just focused on getting Powerstrip, GroovyMAME, Vmmaker, and my LCD to work together as intended. I also am able to use MAME no problems so my issues are purely configuration oriented. I have found other posts regarding the same exact monitor and setup that I am using but it still seems kind of gargled to me and I am still left scratching my head so hopefully somebody can help me with this setup! Pretty much I am going to need to know what my MAME.ini and vmmaker.ini should look like as well as my Powerstrip settings. I installed Powerstrip but what exactly I am supposed to do with it is foreign to me and I am assuming that it plays a vital role in getting my resolutions right for MAME.

I know that I am not going to get the most perfect native resolutions with this LCD but I do want to get as close as I can with a sharp picture that doesn't look all stretched or fuzzy, and I am hoping you experts out there can shine some light on all of this for me. Thank you greatly in advance of all of your help! I am not going to attach any ini's or any other details to this first post but rather I will attach any items as they are requested. Please help me get my machine configured so I can enjoy this awesome piece of furniture in the living room!! If you need any further details or information just let me know!

Thanks again!

S

[Calamity]

Hi Sanctity,

Well, CRT Emudriver, as its name suggests, is just meant for CRT monitors, so there's no use in it if your monitor is a LCD. It won't harm however, so just leave it there by now. But this means you don't need VMMaker at all, etc. No use for native resolutions either: LCDs are fixed resolution devices.

Basically you'll want to run GroovyMAME at your monitor's fixed native resolution, and do the stretching by software. Then use Powerstrip to tweak the timings to match the originals.

This is achieved by using the following options in mame.ini:

monitor lcd
powerstrip 1
lcd_range 54-61

That's all. Now set the Windows desktop at your monitor's native resolution, whatever it is. Make sure Powerstrip is up and running, and launch GroovyMAME.

An out-of-range warning on your monitor's OSD may indicate you need to adjust the usable range (lcd_range option). My suggested settings will only work with a LCD monitor which supports variable refresh rates.

Good luck!

[Sanctity]

Calamity,

Thanks for the quick response! it is good to know that I do not need most of those things and that will make it easier to configure for sure! Could you possibly give me a quick lesson on how to tweak my timings with Powerstrip? I have very basic knowledge of the program and I am really unsure about how to go bout messing with the timings. Also, I changed my mame.ini with the setting that you gave me and even after setting my LCD to the native resolution the picture is greatly stretched and just doesn't look good at all (very pixelated). Is this how MAME should be displaying from here on out? Here is my mame.ini... thanks again for the help!

Code: [Select]

#
# CORE CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
#
readconfig                1
writeconfig               0

#
# CORE SEARCH PATH OPTIONS
#
rompath                   roms
hashpath                  hash
samplepath                samples
artpath                   artwork
ctrlrpath                 ctrlr
inipath                   .;ini
fontpath                  .
cheatpath                 cheat
crosshairpath             crosshair

#
# CORE OUTPUT DIRECTORY OPTIONS
#
cfg_directory             cfg
nvram_directory           nvram
memcard_directory         memcard
input_directory           inp
state_directory           sta
snapshot_directory        snap
diff_directory            diff
comment_directory         comments

#
# CORE OUTPUT DIRECTORY OPTIONS
#
hiscore_directory         hi

#
# CORE STATE/PLAYBACK OPTIONS
#
state                     
autosave                  0
playback                 
record                   
mngwrite                 
aviwrite                 
wavwrite                 
snapname                  %g/%i
snapsize                  auto
snapview                  internal
burnin                    0

#
# CORE PERFORMANCE OPTIONS
#
autoframeskip             0
frameskip                 0
seconds_to_run            0
throttle                  1
syncrefresh               0
sleep                     1
speed                     1.0
refreshspeed              0

#
# CORE ROTATION OPTIONS
#
rotate                    1
ror                       0
rol                       0
autoror                   0
autorol                   0
flipx                     0
flipy                     0

#
# CORE ARTWORK OPTIONS
#
artwork_crop              1
use_backdrops             0
use_overlays              0
use_bezels                0
use_cpanels               0
use_marquees              0

#
# CORE SCREEN OPTIONS
#
brightness                1.0
contrast                  1.0
gamma                     1.0
pause_brightness          0.65
effect                    none

#
# CORE VECTOR OPTIONS
#
antialias                 1
beam                      1.0
flicker                   0

#
# CORE SOUND OPTIONS
#
sound                     1
samplerate                48000
samples                   1
volume                    0

#
# CORE INPUT OPTIONS
#
coin_lockout              1
ctrlr                     
mouse                     0
joystick                  1
lightgun                  0
multikeyboard             0
multimouse                0
steadykey                 0
ui_active                 0
offscreen_reload          0
joystick_map              auto
joystick_deadzone         0.3
joystick_saturation       0.85
natural                   0
joystick_contradictory    0
coin_impulse              0

#
# CORE INPUT AUTOMATIC ENABLE OPTIONS
#
paddle_device             keyboard
adstick_device            keyboard
pedal_device              keyboard
dial_device               keyboard
trackball_device          keyboard
lightgun_device           keyboard
positional_device         keyboard
mouse_device              mouse

#
# CORE DEBUGGING OPTIONS
#
log                       0
verbose                   0
update_in_pause           0
debug                     0
debugscript               
debug_internal            0

#
# CORE MISC OPTIONS
#
bios                     
cheat                     0
skip_gameinfo             0
uifont                    default
ramsize                   
confirm_quit              0
ui_mouse                  0

#
# CORE MKChamp OPTIONS
#
disable_hiscore_patch     0
disable_nagscreen_patch   1
disable_loading_patch     1

#
# CORE SWITCHRES OPTIONS
#
modeline                  1
monitor                   lcd
orientation               horizontal
connector                 auto
interlace                 1
doublescan                1
cleanstretch              0
changeres                 1
powerstrip                1
lock_system_modes         1
lock_unsupported_modes    1
refresh_dont_care         0
dotclock_min              0
sync_refresh_tolerance    2.0
frame_delay               0
lcd_range                 54-61
crt_range0                auto
crt_range1                auto
crt_range2                auto
crt_range3                auto
crt_range4                auto
crt_range5                auto
crt_range6                auto
crt_range7                auto
crt_range8                auto
crt_range9                auto

#
# WINDOWS DEBUGGING OPTIONS
#
oslog                     0
watchdog                  0
debugger_font             "Lucida Console"
debugger_font_size        9

#
# WINDOWS PERFORMANCE OPTIONS
#
priority                  0
multithreading            1
numprocessors             auto
profile                   0
bench                     0

#
# WINDOWS VIDEO OPTIONS
#
video                     d3d
numscreens                1
window                    0
maximize                  1
keepaspect                0
prescale                  1
waitvsync                 0
menu                      0

#
# DIRECTDRAW-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
#
hwstretch                 0

#
# DIRECT3D-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
#
d3dversion                9
filter                    0

#
# DIRECT3D POST-PROCESSING OPTIONS
#
hlsl_enable               0
hlslpath                  hlsl
hlsl_ini_read             0
hlsl_ini_write            0
hlslini                   %g
hlsl_prescale_x           0
hlsl_prescale_y           0
hlsl_preset               -1
hlsl_write               
hlsl_snap_width           2048
hlsl_snap_height          1536
shadow_mask_alpha         0.0
shadow_mask_texture       aperture.png
shadow_mask_x_count       320
shadow_mask_y_count       240
shadow_mask_usize         0.09375
shadow_mask_vsize         0.109375
curvature                 0.0
pincushion                0.0
scanline_alpha            0.0
scanline_size             1.0
scanline_height           0.7
scanline_bright_scale     1.0
scanline_bright_offset    0.0
scanline_jitter           0.0
defocus                   0.0,0.0
converge_x                0.0,0.0,0.0
converge_y                0.0,0.0,0.0
radial_converge_x         0.0,0.0,0.0
radial_converge_y         0.0,0.0,0.0
red_ratio                 1.0,0.0,0.0
grn_ratio                 0.0,1.0,0.0
blu_ratio                 0.0,0.0,1.0
saturation                1.0
offset                    0.0,0.0,0.0
scale                     1.0,1.0,1.0
power                     1.0,1.0,1.0
floor                     0.0,0.0,0.0
phosphor_life             0.0,0.0,0.0

#
# NTSC POST-PROCESSING OPTIONS
#
yiq_enable                0
yiq_cc                    3.59754545
yiq_a                     0.5
yiq_b                     0.5
yiq_o                     0.0
yiq_p                     1.0
yiq_n                     1.0
yiq_y                     6.0
yiq_i                     1.2
yiq_q                     0.6
yiq_scan_time             52.6
yiq_phase_count           2

#
# VECTOR POST-PROCESSING OPTIONS
#
vector_time_scale         0.0
vector_time_period        0.1
vector_length_scale       0.9
vector_length_ratio       4.0

#
# PER-WINDOW VIDEO OPTIONS
#
screen                    auto
aspect                    auto
resolution                auto
view                      auto
screen0                   auto
aspect0                   auto
resolution0               auto
view0                     auto
screen1                   auto
aspect1                   auto
resolution1               auto
view1                     auto
screen2                   auto
aspect2                   auto
resolution2               auto
view2                     auto
screen3                   auto
aspect3                   auto
resolution3               auto
view3                     auto

#
# FULL SCREEN OPTIONS
#
triplebuffer              0
switchres                 1
full_screen_brightness    1.0
full_screen_contrast      1.0
full_screen_gamma         1.0

#
# WINDOWS SOUND OPTIONS
#
audio_latency             2

#
# INPUT DEVICE OPTIONS
#
dual_lightgun             0


[Calamity]

Hi Sanctity,

You don't need to tweak any timings with Powerstrip, GroovyMAME does it for you, provided it detects Powerstrip is running and you enable the -powerstrip option.

"Pixelated" is how low resolution games are supposed to look on a high resolution device as a LCD. Then of course there are some CRT emulation filters you can apply on top. The state of art of this is called HLSL filters, the bad news are you won't be able to run those with your card. I believe you can still add some old-school .png filters in MAME without HLSL, do some research on this.