MAMEWAH v1.5 Released (at last)!

[Minwah]

MAMEWAH v1.5 (07/09/04)

Bugs Fixed:

Using '&' in 'Emulator Title' or 'Game List Title' would result in title being incorrectly displayed (fixed),
Hitting exit button with 'Default Exit Button Action' set to 'Give Choice' would not work (fixed),
Hitting exit key >once would play exit sound >once (fixed),
Artwork sizes/aspect ratios may have been incorrect with certain layouts (fixed),
Images may not have been displayed if files were present in the image folder, with the same filename but different extension (fixed),
Sounds may not have been played if files were present in the image folder, with the same filename but different extension (fixed),
Some external screensavers may have caused MAMEWAH to return non-fullscreen and/or without focus (fixed),
Hitting keys while waiting for game list refresh / custom list generation may have (unwanted) delayed effect (fixed),
Windows 98 sound issues (fixed?),
Apparently random Run Time Error 62 caused by corrupted FAV, FTR or CFG files (fixed?).

Improvements (/Changes):

Removed 'Artwork #1 Filename to Replace with Romname' option,
Removed 'Task Switching' option,
Removed About box,
Revamped options menu entirely, removing most options except navigation options and list generation / filtration features,
Added 'Find Game' option for easily searching out games,
Improved options menu refresh to reduce (remove?) flickering while scrolling,
Added broadcasting giving MAMEWAH's main form caption in the format 'MAMEWAH - Emulator Title: Game Description (ROMNAME)',
Replace 'debug.log' with 'mamewah.log', to record games launched, reason for (cleanly) quitting and (some) errors encountered,
Replaced 'emu?' file system (layouts, configs, lists, ctrlr files, filters & favorites) to new 'emuname' system,
Updated /e commandline switch to accept emulator name,
Replaced .CFG file system with new .INI system, which will auto-update with future versions of MAMEWAH,
Removed 50 emulator limit (to 32,767!),
Removed 50 game list limit (to 32,767!),
List-specific sounds may now be used,
Added two new List Generation Methods to work with MAME v0.84+ ('-listinfo' removed from MAME),
Added ability to 'filter' lists with no filters available, in order to remove (clone) [rom info] - just hit 'Generate Custom List using Filters' to apply it,
Made old 'Display Clone Info' feature custom list specific,
Added LCD display support,
Emulator-specific .SCR screensavers may now be used,
Emulator-specific music can now be used,
Added 'Max Favorites' feature for custom lists,
Added movie support for screensaver, intro/exit movies and game movie previews,
Created a new ctrlr ini file input system to handle more events, mulitple input mapping, simutaneous key/input presses, mouse & joystick support,
Menu lock 'hold for 3 seconds' removed (use multiple inputs instead),
Removed Default Exit Button Action option (due to new input system, see below),
Added several hotkey/input shortcuts - see \mamewah\ctrlr\default.ini for full details,
Added 'wrap_list' feature which enabled wrapping of the games list & options menu while navigating,
Probably some things I have forgotten - see the new \docs folder for documentation.


http://mamewah.mameworld.net

Have fun, I'm putting my feet up for a few minutes...  


Edit: just to add, this is v1.5 which for once means something...half of the code is brand new, I have the other half to go.  Since so much has changed be prepared for some bugs...

[walls83]

**shakes his money maker**

NICE Im so happy.  thanks for all the hard work Minwah.

[Onji]

you....are....the....man!

thanks so much!!

All we need is mamewah setup to be updated and we're set!

[clanggedin]

Can't wait to update at home!!

I didn't see Trackball Support. Is it not included in this release?

[Minwah]

Can't wait to update at home!!

I didn't see Trackball Support. Is it not included in this release?

Created a new ctrlr ini file input system to handle more events, mulitple input mapping, simutaneous key/input presses, mouse & joystick support,

Forgot to mention the amusing if a bit disappointing co-incidental removal of mame's ctrlr.ini files, at roughly the same time as I nicked the idea  

[DaemonCollector]

SWEEET!!!, im gonna go install it right now

[darktemp]

What a HUGE list!  I can't wait to finish my cab now

[SpamMe]

With the new emuname.ini structure instead of emu?, how do I go about putting emulators in a specific order (Mame, then consoles by year, then pc/miscellaneous)?

Edit
Really do love the new input setup though. Next/previous letter and mouse support are wonderful!

[pointdablame]

Awesome!!

I have so much work to do here at school though, who knows when I'll get time to play with it *sigh*

Thanks MinWah, I'm sure its great.

[greywolf22]

Fantastic!!  Thanks Minwah, getting ready to install it right now!  Thanks for all your hard work and an awesome FE.  

[JoeB]

Is there an easy upgrade path for people like with with lots of emulators and directories already configured?

[walls83]

No its brand new install with all the changes you have to start over.  But as minwah says prolly the last time you will have to do it.

[clanggedin]

WOW, this just went from "What a great Front-end for beginners" to "Holy Cow - you need to do your reading to run this front-end".

I did notice when I set up the movies that they are not expanding to cover the whole area of the screen shot. Maybe I didn't see the field to change the ratio or something.

Plus I didn't read any docs  

I really like what's been done though.

[arcadecab]

Tried the new version.  Anyone else get a Runtime Error '52' message?  Something about a bad file name or something.  I have the layouts setup as I did with the previous mamewah--it seemed from the readme that the layouts basically stayed the same.  Any ideas?  Minwah?
Thanks.

[walls83]

Is Mr. Butler making a new mamewah set up?

[Ted_Striker]

God now I don't even have to play games on my cabinet.  I'm just standing there with a big dumb grin on my face as I spin the trackball through the list........ whoooooooooooshh...

Great damn job.  Thanks for the effort.

[KevSteele]

It's 3:30 in the morning here and I'm tempted to fire up the MAME cab and get configuring.

Wonderful news, Steve!

Kevin

[paigeoliver]

Does it do vertical natively yet?

Heck, DOES ANY Windows frontend with the ability to shut down the computer on close do vertical?

Oh, and I am specifically talking about frontends with reasonable system requirements, as the computer in question is a 300 or a 350 mhz, so no dragon king or 3Dfe or anything like that.

[Minwah]

With the new emuname.ini structure instead of emu?, how do I go about putting emulators in a specific order (Mame, then consoles by year, then pc/miscellaneous)?

Well the emulators should appear in alphanumerical order, based on the 'emuname'.  Since the emuname is only used for internal purposes (you can make the emulator_title whatever you like), you could use names such as:

1mame.ini
2fusion.ini
3zsnes.ini

...to get them to be displayed in that order.

[Minwah]

No its brand new install with all the changes you have to start over.  But as minwah says prolly the last time you will have to do it.

Correct.  I know it's a pain to reconfigure (since I've had my cab I realise just how much), but after this version you'll never have to do it again

[Minwah]

WOW, this just went from "What a great Front-end for beginners" to "Holy Cow - you need to do your reading to run this front-end".

I did notice when I set up the movies that they are not expanding to cover the whole area of the screen shot. Maybe I didn't see the field to change the ratio or something.

Plus I didn't read any docs  

I really like what's been done though.

Heh, right...it's not at all difficult to configure IMO, but it certainly requires that you know what you're doing to do it...

I think you're right about the movies, in mamewah.ini the 'keep_movie_preview_aspect' option doesn't seem to make any difference.  I guess this is bug #1! - EDIT: Fixed

[Minwah]

Tried the new version.  Anyone else get a Runtime Error '52' message?  Something about a bad file name or something.  I have the layouts setup as I did with the previous mamewah--it seemed from the readme that the layouts basically stayed the same.  Any ideas?  Minwah?
Thanks.

When do you get the error?  Have a look in \mamewah\mamewah.log - see if there are any errors logged in there...

The layouts are the same, unless you use emu/list specific ones, in which case rename eg emu1.lay to mame.lay etc.


EDIT: While fixing some small bugs, I did encounter this run-time error.  From what I can gather it occurs sometimes if there is no valid image (or possibly movie) file in the specified folder.  Email me if you are still getting the error - I think I have fixed it so I will send you the fixed version to try...

[Minwah]

Is Mr. Butler making a new mamewah set up?

I believe so...give him a break tho, I think it might take a while!

[Minwah]

Does it do vertical natively yet?

Heck, DOES ANY Windows frontend with the ability to shut down the computer on close do vertical?

Oh, and I am specifically talking about frontends with reasonable system requirements, as the computer in question is a 300 or a 350 mhz, so no dragon king or 3Dfe or anything like that.

Sorry not yet  FWIW the next half a version I have to do includes a new backend, and new graphics engine which will be able to rotate.  Just don't ask me when...

[clanggedin]

Minwah,

Should I download Mamewah again today to get a version that has the movie problem fixed??

I played more with it last  night and it on ly takes a few minutes of looking at how things are laid out to get a good idea of making filtered lists and adding emulators.

Great work again.


Hey, I have noticed that in Windows XP the screen will change resolutions before it opens opens Mamewah completely. It doesn't do this in .97. Thought you should know.

[Onji]

Hey, I have noticed that in Windows XP the screen will change resolutions before it opens opens Mamewah completely. It doesn't do this in .97. Thought you should know.

Ive noticed this also, it doesnt launch as immediately as it used to, no big deal, just an annoyance.

[simplygriff]

Schweett!!!

I can't wait to try this out.  Unfortunately it may be a while though.  I just moved this weekend and my arcade set-up had to be dismantled.  Right now the only videogame I have to play is Super Mario Bros. on my GBA.

Thanks Minwah!
-G

[MoonDog]

WOW, this just went from "What a great Front-end for beginners" to "Holy Cow - you need to do your reading to run this front-end".

I just installed the previous version a few days ago and then switched to 1.5 last night.  It seems the .ini format is much easier for me to use.  The whole product seems easier to set up, but that is probably just because it took me a little while and a bunch of re-reading to get the previous version working and now I have a better understanding of the configuration.

I started setting my my game lists last night and stopped to show my wife this cool front end that will make it easier for her to find and run the games she likes.  Well, she saw Frogger and we ended up playing for the next hour.  I guess I'll get back to setting up those lists another day.

This is the only FE I have installed, but I don't see any reason to look anywhere else.  Great job Minwah!!!  

[GGKoul]

Trackball Support... WOOHOO!!!

[Minwah]

Should I download Mamewah again today to get a version that has the movie problem fixed??

<snip>

Hey, I have noticed that in Windows XP the screen will change resolutions before it opens opens Mamewah completely. It doesn't do this in .97. Thought you should know.

Don't re-download as I haven't uploaded a fix yet (probably won't for a few days so I can fix some other stuff).

Yes I will try to change the order of the stuff on initialisation.  Basically this has to do with a) checking / updating the config ini files, and b) initialising DirectInput etc.  Hopefully I should be able to clean it up a bit...

[mahuti]

Seems that the new version doesn't work with my VNC server

Maybe I just need a new server.

[greywolf22]

Hi Mahuti,

I used VNC last night without any difficulties after I installed 1.5.  What types of problems were you running into?  Not sure if it's the version that I'm using, or I just wasn't trying to use VNC the way you were using it.

[tapnout]

I have been trying to setup mamewah 1.5 all night. I got it running. But  i turned off my computer to take a break and when i turned it on again i got an error message. It said "run time error" with a bunch of numbers after it. And on the bottom it said "Automation error". Anybody know what wrong? I"m using win98 and the latest version of command line mame.

[Minwah]

I have been trying to setup mamewah 1.5 all night. I got it running. But  i turned off my computer to take a break and when i turned it on again i got an error message. It said "run time error" with a bunch of numbers after it. And on the bottom it said "Automation error". Anybody know what wrong? I"m using win98 and the latest version of command line mame.

Without saying what 'bunch of numbers' you saw I can't give you an answer...some more info like when the error occurred would help too.

[hulkster]

congrats on finally making a mamewah version with 27 numbers after the decimal point  ....but anyway, i installed it on my pc (not the cab, but just a regular pc with xp on it) and i tried to run it but got an error (at work so cant pull it up right now) and then i lost my task bar at the bottom of the screen.  it just disappeared.  i could hit the windows button on my keyboard to bring up the start menu, but thats it.  i just logged off and then logged back on, and it was there again.  anyway, i have service pack 2 installed....does it not work with sp2?  just curious.  im not going to install it on my cab until thats all worked out though

[stiffarmleft]

congrats on finally making a mamewah version with 27 numbers after the decimal point  ....but anyway, i installed it on my pc (not the cab, but just a regular pc with xp on it) and i tried to run it but got an error (at work so cant pull it up right now) and then i lost my task bar at the bottom of the screen.  it just disappeared.  i could hit the windows button on my keyboard to bring up the start menu, but thats it.  i just logged off and then logged back on, and it was there again.  anyway, i have service pack 2 installed....does it not work with sp2?  just curious.  im not going to install it on my cab until thats all worked out though

I have the exact problem using XP without sp2.  The error is "runtime error 339  mscomm32.ocx or one of it's dependencies not correctly registered a file is missing or invalid".  I found that particular file on the net and copied it to my system folder to no avail.  I tried it on my computer at work and had the same issue, so now I am sitting here without a taskbar.

[Minwah]

I have the exact problem using XP without sp2.  The error is "runtime error 339  mscomm32.ocx or one of it's dependencies not correctly registered a file is missing or invalid".  I found that particular file on the net and copied it to my system folder to no avail.  I tried it on my computer at work and had the same issue, so now I am sitting here without a taskbar.

Don't worry, just restart your PC and the taskbar will come back.  My downloads page instructs to download/install the system files...sounds like you didn't do that...

FWIW sorry about the disappearing taskbar...there are a couple of bugs (aside from the above, which isn't really a bug) that will cause this to happen - I've fixed one of these and will fix the other asap...

Edit: Hulkster: let me know what error you get...I'm hoping it is a Run Time Error 52...

[stiffarmleft]

I have the exact problem using XP without sp2.  The error is "runtime error 339  mscomm32.ocx or one of it's dependencies not correctly registered a file is missing or invalid".  I found that particular file on the net and copied it to my system folder to no avail.  I tried it on my computer at work and had the same issue, so now I am sitting here without a taskbar.

Don't worry, just restart your PC and the taskbar will come back.  My downloads page instructs to download/install the system files...sounds like you didn't do that...

FWIW sorry about the disappearing taskbar...there are a couple of bugs (aside from the above, which isn't really a bug) that will cause this to happen - I've fixed one of these and will fix the other asap...

Edit: Hulkster: let me know what error you get...I'm hoping it is a Run Time Error 52...

[Minwah]

If anyone's had problems getting their images to display, please see this thread:

http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=5037&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

stiffarmleft: not sure what you intended with your last post, did you fix it OK?

[stiffarmleft]

If anyone's had problems getting their images to display, please see this thread:

http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=5037&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

stiffarmleft: not sure what you intended with your last post, did you fix it OK?

oops sorry, everything's cool, I just wanted to say that I'd gladly give up my toolbar for Mamewah,  I fiqured it was something I did wrong as not many others had this problem. thanks again:)

[simplygriff]

Don't know if I missed it but is there a way to have the list start over when it hits the bottom?  SO you could spin the trackball and it would just keep going?  I know there was talks about this back when you were asking people what they wanted.
-G

[SpamMe]

I think that's wrap_list 1 in the mamewah.ini

[simplygriff]

Ah.  So I did miss it.  Cool!
-G

[tapnout]

This is what it says:

 RUN-TIME ERROR '-2005401480 (88780078)':

                       AUTOMATION ERROR
             

I have been trying to setup mamewah 1.5 all night. I got it running. But  i turned off my computer to take a break and when i turned it on again i got an error message. It said "run time error" with a bunch of numbers after it. And on the bottom it said "Automation error". Anybody know what wrong? I"m using win98 and the latest version of command line mame.

Without saying what 'bunch of numbers' you saw I can't give you an answer...some more info like when the error occurred would help too.

[tapnout]

Oh forgot to say that this happens when i try starting mamewah. I can't even get into the program itself.

[froggerman]

Any chance you could explain how to use the new LCD option in version 1.5? Do we have to generate a list? What is the lcd_fe_text option used for.

I apologize if I missed this documentation.

Cheers.

[Minwah]

Oh forgot to say that this happens when i try starting mamewah. I can't even get into the program itself.

Did you install the system files (system.zip at my site)?

[Minwah]

Any chance you could explain how to use the new LCD option in version 1.5? Do we have to generate a list? What is the lcd_fe_text option used for.

I apologize if I missed this documentation.

No problem, I was hoping someone would ask (I haven't tested it due to a lack of LCD screen).

In mamewah.ini, edit these settings:

lcd_com_port (place your serial (COM) port no. here)
lcd_settings (place settings here*)

* baud rate (110/300/600/1200/2400/9600/14400/28800/38400/56000/128000/256000), parity ([e]ven,

• dd, [n]one, [m]ark, pace), data bits (4-8), stop bits (1, 1.5, 2) - eg 9600,n,8,1 (this will vary depending on your screen etc.)

In your emuname.ini (eg mame.ini):

lcd_display_file_path (place your lcd file path here*)
lcd_fe_text (text to display while in the FE, eg 'MAME - Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator')      

* This is the location of your LCD files; basically text files (with .lcd extension) for each game, containing text you wish to be displayed when the game is launched (& any additional characters required by the screen for carriage return etc.)

eg puckman.lcd:

PuckMan - 4-way joystick

Making the .lcd files is down to you...I know some of you guys were working on an app. to create these files using a combo of controls.dat and mame -listinfo information.  I'll try and find the thread...

When in the FE, the lcd_fe_text for the selected emulator will be displayed on the lcd screen.  When you launch a game, the corresponding .lcd file will be read and the contents sent to the screen via com port lcd_com_port.  Quitting the game will reset the lcd to lcd_fe_text.

If anyone has an lcd screen, please test it for me - I'd like to know if it works  

[tapnout]

Oh forgot to say that this happens when i try starting mamewah. I can't even get into the program itself.

I downloaded the system files and installed system.bat. It worked the first time i tried to play with mamewah, but after shutting down and powering up again ive been getting that error message and not being able to enter mamewah at all.

[Minwah]

I downloaded the system files and installed system.bat. It worked the first time i tried to play with mamewah, but after shutting down and powering up again ive been getting that error message and not being able to enter mamewah at all.

Try systematically removing things from your mamewah.ini or emuname.ini.  What I mean by this is lets say it could be an image causing the problem, so delete eg your 'Artwork #1 Path'.  Maybe a movie is causing the problem so remove your movie path, etc...

Sorry I can't be more specific, but those Automation Errors are b@stards - they don't give me much to go on...

[tapnout]

I downloaded the system files and installed system.bat. It worked the first time i tried to play with mamewah, but after shutting down and powering up again ive been getting that error message and not being able to enter mamewah at all.

Try systematically removing things from your mamewah.ini or emuname.ini.  What I mean by this is lets say it could be an image causing the problem, so delete eg your 'Artwork #1 Path'.  Maybe a movie is causing the problem so remove your movie path, etc...

Sorry I can't be more specific, but those Automation Errors are b@stards - they don't give me much to go on...

OK this is wierd. But it works again. The only thing i did is switch CP's that i was using. It works when i use my IPAC4 with my newly built CP. But when i use it with my x-arcade it does that error thing. Anyway i'm not to worried about it now since the x-arcade was a temp CP anyway. Thanks for everyones help

[Minwah]

OK this is wierd. But it works again. The only thing i did is switch CP's that i was using. It works when i use my IPAC4 with my newly built CP. But when i use it with my x-arcade it does that error thing. Anyway i'm not to worried about it now since the x-arcade was a temp CP anyway. Thanks for everyones help

That is wierd...I can't think why that would make a difference to be honest (as far as your PC's concerned the X-arcade and IPAC are just keyboards).

I think I have seen this error occasionally if MW tries to display a PNG which is bad (or any image for that matter).  It is possible that by co-incidence you just haven't selected the game with the problem file...kindof a guess but let me know if it happens again...

[wj2k3]

Minwah,

I am not getting a "choice" when I shut down MameWah.  Tried "shutdown" too.  It just closes to Windows.

Maybe I have something else weird going on. Does this work for you?

Everything else is working great so far.  Awesome Job!  Have not had a chance to use the movie features, but will in the near future.

Also,  did not relize that you added support for LCDs.  I have one at home and will hook it up and try it out.

Again, Great Job!

wj2k3

[Minwah]

Minwah,

I am not getting a "choice" when I shut down MameWah.  Tried "shutdown" too.  It just closes to Windows.

Maybe I have something else weird going on. Does this work for you?

Everything else is working great so far.  Awesome Job!  Have not had a chance to use the movie features, but will in the near future.

Also,  did not relize that you added support for LCDs.  I have one at home and will hook it up and try it out.

Are you exiting with Escape?  The 'exit_action' only applies when exiting using the menu.  To alter the exit action when using the exit key, look in \mamewah\ctrlr\default.ini, and alter this section accordingly:

EXIT_WITH_CHOICE      
EXIT_TO_WINDOWS         "DIK_ESCAPE"
EXIT_AND_REBOOT      
EXIT_AND_SHUTDOWN

Let me know how you get on with the LCD stuff

[tapnout]

congrats on finally making a mamewah version with 27 numbers after the decimal point  ....but anyway, i installed it on my pc (not the cab, but just a regular pc with xp on it) and i tried to run it but got an error (at work so cant pull it up right now) and then i lost my task bar at the bottom of the screen.  it just disappeared.  i could hit the windows button on my keyboard to bring up the start menu, but thats it.  i just logged off and then logged back on, and it was there again.  anyway, i have service pack 2 installed....does it not work with sp2?  just curious.  im not going to install it on my cab until thats all worked out though

I have the exact problem using XP without sp2.  The error is "runtime error 339  mscomm32.ocx or one of it's dependencies not correctly registered a file is missing or invalid".  I found that particular file on the net and copied it to my system folder to no avail.  I tried it on my computer at work and had the same issue, so now I am sitting here without a taskbar.

I had that same problem also. I downloaded the system flies from the mamewah site. Installed the system.bat file and it fixed that problem.

[Thread Killer]

Does anyone else's screen turn gray for a split-second when cycling between 2 emu's that have different layouts?

[Thread Killer]

Added ability to 'filter' lists with no filters available, in order to remove (clone) [rom info] - just hit 'Generate Custom List using Filters' to apply it

How does this feature work? I've tried creating a list with clone info on, deleting its .ftr file, changing display_clone_info to '0', and then going to Options > Games List Options > Generate Filtered List, but it doesn't have the desired effect.


Am I misunderstanding the point of this feature, or is it there to remove the clone info from an already-customized list?

[Minwah]

Does anyone else's screen turn gray for a split-second when cycling between 2 emu's that have different layouts?

I'll have a look into this...

[Minwah]

How does this feature work? I've tried creating a list with clone info on, deleting its .ftr file, changing display_clone_info to '0', and then going to Options > Games List Options > Generate Filtered List, but it doesn't have the desired effect.

Am I misunderstanding the point of this feature, or is it there to remove the clone info from an already-customized list?

Is this for MAME or another emulator?  display_clone_info should be on 0.  For MAME, since there *are* filters available, you need to alter one (eg the clone filter) then back out.  If you don't actually want to filter out any games then just cycle a filter around to what it was originally.  For non-MAME emu's, you should just be able to just hit 'Generate Filtered List...' and it should filter off the bracketed stuff.

[sofakng]

Awesome new version minwah!!

How do you enable mouse input in MAMEWAH to scroll the games list?  My trackball and spinner both aren't working...

Also, are layout files from the previous version still compatible with this version?

[simplygriff]

Look in the mamewah.ini file.  Near the bottom change the input by mouse from 0 to 1.
-G

[sofakng]

I don't have anything like that in my mamewah.ini file.  I've installed the new version of MAMEWAH clean so I know this isn't a problem being caused by an older version...

I've also tried adding:   "input_by_mouse                 1" to my mamewah.ini file but that didn't work either.

I've attached my mamewah.ini if you want to take a look...

[Thread Killer]

How does this feature work? I've tried creating a list with clone info on, deleting its .ftr file, changing display_clone_info to '0', and then going to Options > Games List Options > Generate Filtered List, but it doesn't have the desired effect.

Am I misunderstanding the point of this feature, or is it there to remove the clone info from an already-customized list?

Is this for MAME or another emulator?  display_clone_info should be on 0.  For MAME, since there *are* filters available, you need to alter one (eg the clone filter) then back out.  If you don't actually want to filter out any games then just cycle a filter around to what it was originally.  For non-MAME emu's, you should just be able to just hit 'Generate Filtered List...' and it should filter off the bracketed stuff.

It's for MAME, and I'm trying to go through all of my games and add them individually, so that US-regioned clones (when possible) are the only ones listed for their respective game. I'm doing this because these games would often be filtered out due to their non-parent status.

The difficulty is that while in MW 0.97, adding a game from the main list to a custom list would also remove the clone info, that data is retained in the new version (regardless of whether or not display_clone_info is on.) Because of this, I've reversed the process---rather than adding games while browsing the main list, I'm creating a filtered list and then deleting all of the unwanted games. I want to display the clone info initially to help with the pruning, and then remove it once the list is finished.

When I try cycling a filter option to its original value, it just reloads all of the games that meet the criteria, even if I had deleted them from the list earlier.

In the next version, would it be possible to allow for clone data to be stripped from a game's title when it is added individually to a list with display_clone_info turned off?

[pointdablame]

input options are in the ctrl folder.  there is a default.ini file in there with all the input options... mouse, lightgun, etc.

Change those to 1, save and you'll be set to go.

[Onji]

Quick question Minwah. I may be overlooking this, but where do you specify in which order you want your emulators to appear in? Thanks

[sofakng]

input options are in the ctrl folder.  there is a default.ini file in there with all the input options... mouse, lightgun, etc.

Thanks!  That worked perfectly.

One more (and last..) question:  When I "Generate Games List", I seem to be getting games I don't even have.  When I go to play them I see the DOS box popup for a split-second and I can see a bunch of "NOT FOUND" messages, then it returns me to MAMEWAH.

Am I doing something wrong?  I'm using the defaults in the new version of mamewah...

[Minwah]

In the next version, would it be possible to allow for clone data to be stripped from a game's title when it is added individually to a list with display_clone_info turned off?

Yeah I'll try to add that - guess I overlooked that before...

[Minwah]

Quick question Minwah. I may be overlooking this, but where do you specify in which order you want your emulators to appear in? Thanks

See Reply #18 of this very thread

[Minwah]

One more (and last..) question:  When I "Generate Games List", I seem to be getting games I don't even have.  When I go to play them I see the DOS box popup for a split-second and I can see a bunch of "NOT FOUND" messages, then it returns me to MAMEWAH.

Maybe you have the rom zips, but some aren't up to date for the MAME version you're using?  Double-check your list_generation_method is 'rom_folder_vs_listxml' also...

[sofakng]

You were right... I have a ton of .zip files that have missing roms.... Because of this they are showing in the games list but they are broken...

Now all I need is to figure out ClrMamePro...

Thanks for the help!

[sofakng]

Yep, everytime I think I'm out of questions I come up with another one...

This time I'm trying to get my PC games to work.  (more specifically, Guilty Gear XX Reload, Pro Pinball Timeshock, and Pro Pinball Big Race USA)

I've created "Pinball.ini" in the ini folder.  I've editted the following lines:

rom_path                                  C:\Emulators\MAMEWAH\links\Pinball
rom_extension                             lnk
list_generation_method                    rom_folder
emulator_executable                       PC

I've created shortcuts (.LNK) files in the above directory.  

When I load MAMEWAH, I can select my new emulator called "Pinball" but there are no games listed.  When I go to the Games List Options, I have the option to "Generate Filtered List" (instead of "Generate Games List"), but when I select that I don't see ANY of my .LNK files.

What am I doing wrong?

[ray_slup]

Shoud I use the new version of Mamewah if I use a older version of Mame (55)?

[Minwah]

When I load MAMEWAH, I can select my new emulator called "Pinball" but there are no games listed.  When I go to the Games List Options, I have the option to "Generate Filtered List" (instead of "Generate Games List"), but when I select that I don't see ANY of my .LNK files.

Somehow you have selected a custom list...you need the main list, so make sure you have a pinball-0.ini.

[Minwah]

Shoud I use the new version of Mamewah if I use a older version of Mame (55)?

Yes, but you'll need to change the list_generation_method for MAME to 'rom_folder_vs_listinfo'.

[Onji]

Quick question Minwah. I may be overlooking this, but where do you specify in which order you want your emulators to appear in? Thanks

See Reply #18 of this very thread

Ack!, sorry about that

[simplygriff]

input options are in the ctrl folder.  there is a default.ini file in there with all the input options... mouse, lightgun, etc.

Thanks!  That worked perfectly.

One more (and last..) question:  When I "Generate Games List", I seem to be getting games I don't even have.  When I go to play them I see the DOS box popup for a split-second and I can see a bunch of "NOT FOUND" messages, then it returns me to MAMEWAH.

Am I doing something wrong?  I'm using the defaults in the new version of mamewah...

Doh!  Sorry about that.  I shouldn't have replied if I didn't know exactly what I was talking about.  I didn't have the .ini's in front of me.  Sorry again
-G

[Silver]

froggerman: did the lcd support work? I was planning to test it but I've not had any free time at all lately to hook up my lcd again.

There are a couple of apps knocking around for the LCD file generation. You can get mine at:
http://www.silverfoxy.plus.com/
Although they are somewhat imperfect due to there be a lack of accurate button information in mameinfo.xml. ControlsDat Project has it perfect but not for all the games. This app genereates best possibile descriptions from both. (I hope)

EDIT: New Web Address
 

[bigle]

i've installed the new version and gotten it functional (great job by the way) but i'm having some problems fine tuning it.

in the old version i was able to have games listed only by their names in my custom lists.

ie arcanoid instead of arcanoid (world)

i tried disabling long names in the mamewah ini but that didn't work.

it's not a big deal but it makes things look cleaner so if anyone has any idea how to do this i'd appreciate you letting me know.

thanks

[Minwah]

in the old version i was able to have games listed only by their names in my custom lists.

ie arcanoid instead of arcanoid (world)

i tried disabling long names in the mamewah ini but that didn't work.

it's not a big deal but it makes things look cleaner so if anyone has any idea how to do this i'd appreciate you letting me know.

It's basically the same...your custom list ini file (eg mame-1.ini) should have:

display_clone_info                        0

...in it by default.  When you generate a filtered list the clone info will be gotten rid of

[clanggedin]

OK.. I've been getting a runtime error ever since I setup the entrance audio in Mamewah. If I try and navigate through the menus by pressing player 2 button I get a 'Runtime Error 91'

If I wait until the sound is done I don;t get the error, but if I try and navigate I will get it 7 times out of 10.

I also cannot get zsnes to generate a list in Mamewah. I have zsnesw.ini and zsnesw-0.ini I didn;t have to change anything in the first ini and all I did was use the mame-0.ini and rename it. I have other emulators working, but I cannot get this one to generate at list. It never gives me the option to generate the main list, just to create a filtered list.

What am I doing wrong???

[froggerman]

froggerman: did the lcd support work? I was planning to test it but I've not had any free time at all lately to hook up my lcd again.

There are a couple of apps knocking around for the LCD file generation. You can get mine at:
http://fp.silverfoxy.plus.com/SilverSoftware.htm
Although they are somewhat imperfect due to there be a lack of accurate button information in mameinfo.xml. ControlsDat Project has it perfect but not for all the games. This app genereates best possibile descriptions from both. (I hope)

 

Sorry Silver,

Things have been super busy at work the past few days. I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Thanks for the link to your program, I will good my LCD display up again and give it a try.

Cheers.

[Minwah]

1) OK.. I've been getting a runtime error ever since I setup the entrance audio in Mamewah. If I try and navigate through the menus by pressing player 2 button I get a 'Runtime Error 91'

If I wait until the sound is done I don;t get the error, but if I try and navigate I will get it 7 times out of 10.

2) I also cannot get zsnes to generate a list in Mamewah. I have zsnesw.ini and zsnesw-0.ini I didn;t have to change anything in the first ini and all I did was use the mame-0.ini and rename it. I have other emulators working, but I cannot get this one to generate at list. It never gives me the option to generate the main list, just to create a filtered list.

1) Interesting...I had been getting a Run Time Error 91 a few times...I *think* I have fixed it - please could you email me for a WIP version to test it out?

2) You have a custom list selected (somehow)...go Select Custom List and pick the top one.  You should then be able to 'Generate List'...

[clanggedin]

you have been PMed

[bigle]

in the old version i was able to have games listed only by their names in my custom lists.

ie arcanoid instead of arcanoid (world)

i tried disabling long names in the mamewah ini but that didn't work.

it's not a big deal but it makes things look cleaner so if anyone has any idea how to do this i'd appreciate you letting me know.

It's basically the same...your custom list ini file (eg mame-1.ini) should have:

display_clone_info                        0

...in it by default.  When you generate a filtered list the clone info will be gotten rid of

maybe i'm not asking this right.  i made 5 custom lists (classics, fighting, strategy, sports, misc) each with about 20 games and then turned off displaying the main list.  i made the custom lists by adding games to them from within mamewah.  i didn't use any filters.  currently the games display as pac-man (midway) or pengo (set 1 rev c) when i would like them to display as just pac-man or pengo.  i got this to work in the old set up but have no idea how.


also, i am getting a run time error 445 occasionally when i try to start mamewah as i'm trying different things in my ini files.  i have to escape out and restart.  this isn't that big of deal right now but i won't have a mouse once i put everything in the cab.  any idea what i'm doing to cause this?

[Minwah]

maybe i'm not asking this right.  i made 5 custom lists (classics, fighting, strategy, sports, misc) each with about 20 games and then turned off displaying the main list.  i made the custom lists by adding games to them from within mamewah.  i didn't use any filters.  currently the games display as pac-man (midway) or pengo (set 1 rev c) when i would like them to display as just pac-man or pengo.  i got this to work in the old set up but have no idea how.


also, i am getting a run time error 445 occasionally when i try to start mamewah as i'm trying different things in my ini files.  i have to escape out and restart.  this isn't that big of deal right now but i won't have a mouse once i put everything in the cab.  any idea what i'm doing to cause this?

Ah, sorry, the display_clone_info 0 option is broken when adding games one-by-one - it will be fixed next release.

You're the third to mention RT 445 to me...but I'm not sure what causes it yet.  Any info you can give me on when exactly it happens would be helpful...

[bigle]

Ah, sorry, the display_clone_info 0 option is broken when adding games one-by-one - it will be fixed next release.

You're the third to mention RT 445 to me...but I'm not sure what causes it yet.  Any info you can give me on when exactly it happens would be helpful...

ok, well then i guess i can stop messing with that.

i usually have the rt445 error when i first try to launch mamewah (clicking on the .exe from the mamewah folder) after turning on the computer (old pIII 800).  i have to hit escape to get out, then i can usually run mamewah without any problem after that.  only the one time did i get the error a couple times in a row.  sorry i can't provide any more info but i'm not that computer savvy.

[Minwah]

i usually have the rt445 error when i first try to launch mamewah (clicking on the .exe from the mamewah folder) after turning on the computer (old pIII 800).  i have to hit escape to get out, then i can usually run mamewah without any problem after that.  only the one time did i get the error a couple times in a row.  sorry i can't provide any more info but i'm not that computer savvy.

No worries, that might help track it down.  I am nearly ready for the bugfix release, so please post if the problem persists in the new version...

[liquid8]

for the problem with no option to generate a list, you may be having the same problem i did. Make sure in your emulator ini, you have it set to current_list       0

[froggerman]

If anyone has an lcd screen, please test it for me - I'd like to know if it works  

Hi Minwah, I have tested this the best that I can at the moment and I was not able to get this to work. I am also having problems creating the lcd files, but that is another matter.

I updated the mamewah.ini and the mame.ini files as you suggested. I created a single file 1942.lcd and then tested. I don't get anything on the lcd screen. I tried copying the file 1942.lcd to com1: and that worked fine. I have run out of things to try for the moment. Can you suggest anything else?

Cheers.

[froggerman]

froggerman: did the lcd support work? I was planning to test it but I've not had any free time at all lately to hook up my lcd again.

There are a couple of apps knocking around for the LCD file generation. You can get mine at:
http://fp.silverfoxy.plus.com/SilverSoftware.htm
Although they are somewhat imperfect due to there be a lack of accurate button information in mameinfo.xml. ControlsDat Project has it perfect but not for all the games. This app genereates best possibile descriptions from both. (I hope)

Hi Silver,

I have time now and I tried to get you little application to work. I was not able to get things to generate. I download and installed the support files, the controls.dat and generated the listinfo file.

I get 2 errors and then the program runs to completion but it does not create any LCD files. I will try to attach the 2 screens below.

[Minwah]

If anyone has an lcd screen, please test it for me - I'd like to know if it works  

Hi Minwah, I have tested this the best that I can at the moment and I was not able to get this to work. I am also having problems creating the lcd files, but that is another matter.

I updated the mamewah.ini and the mame.ini files as you suggested. I created a single file 1942.lcd and then tested. I don't get anything on the lcd screen. I tried copying the file 1942.lcd to com1: and that worked fine. I have run out of things to try for the moment. Can you suggest anything else?

Damn  I was pretty sure it'd work alright...other than checking the settings are right (COM port etc.) there's not much else you can do.

I'll take a look thru the code when I get chance...it's gonna be pretty tricky for me to fix without a screen to try it on tho.

[froggerman]

A simple suggestion is to connect another PC to your serial port. Use the Hyperteminal application on the second PC. Anything that comes out of the serial prot will dispaly on the second machine. You don't have to worry about any formatting just get a string to be displayed.

I am at work at the moment but the values I used were com1  and 19200,8,n,1. If I remember correctly the specification for com1 was just the nubmer 1. I don't know if it makes any difference but my lcd files are in the path d:/mame/lcd. Also I never saw the 'front end' text, which I enclosed in single quotes 'MAME - Multiple Arcade Machine Emulation'

If you have anything you would like me to try, please let me know.

Cheers.

[Minwah]

A simple suggestion is to connect another PC to your serial port. Use the Hyperteminal application on the second PC. Anything that comes out of the serial prot will dispaly on the second machine. You don't have to worry about any formatting just get a string to be displayed.

I am at work at the moment but the values I used were com1  and 19200,8,n,1. If I remember correctly the specification for com1 was just the nubmer 1. I don't know if it makes any difference but my lcd files are in the path d:/mame/lcd. Also I never saw the 'front end' text, which I enclosed in single quotes 'MAME - Multiple Arcade Machine Emulation'

If you have anything you would like me to try, please let me know.

I suspect you have it all right...you don't need the quotes around the FE text tho.

Good idea btw, I didn't think of that (I've not done any serial comms stuff before).  I don't have a serial cable tho, I'll try to get hold of one...

[froggerman]

Just remember you need a crossover cable, or a modem eliminator cable, when connecting 2 PCs together and you are not using modems. Sometimes you can get a modem eliminaotor plug and just put that on the end of a normal serial cable. Too bad you can't drop by the house, I would give you one. You are just too far away!

[Minwah]

Just remember you need a crossover cable, or a modem eliminator cable, when connecting 2 PCs together and you are not using modems. Sometimes you can get a modem eliminaotor plug and just put that on the end of a normal serial cable. Too bad you can't drop by the house, I would give you one. You are just too far away!

OK, thanks

[Silver]

Aha - apologies Minwah for not getting round to testing that LCD stuff as promised...

Right i finally have some spare time tomorrow, so I will get the LCD up and running to test, as you say Minwah if anything isn't working it will almost certainly be easy to fix - theres not much to go wrong at all....

 and froggerman - I will take a look the problems you are having. First guess is that there have been some slight alterations to the xml code from the controls.dat project - I know they completely changed the "online generation" system after I wrote the program, and I have not had a chance to take a look. Incidentally, does it error if you only use the mamelistinfo.xml?? I will test all this myself tomorrow anyway, but just trying to get a feel for it.


Cheers

[Space Fractal]

It seen that it MAMEWAH cannot execute batch (*.bat) files, but "only" support *.lnk and *.url files?

Do a wrapper exists (like that one for VPinball), so I can execute batch files (wich I use with few emulators to start these roms)?

Little Bug: In mamewah/ctrlr/default.ini, you forgot to tell users, it only support uppercase letters. If I try to use a lowercase letter, that control will not work (why dot to automatic convert it to uppercase?).

I'm using the laster (otherwice great) MAMEWAH 1.5.1.

[Silver]

Ok I've not got the LCD support working in Mamewah. I'll try and few more settings and email Minwah and see if we can figure it all out - I'll take a look at the LCD gen program too....

[wj2k3]

I am unable to get the LCD support to work either.  (not complaining, just trying to help)

I didn't get an opportunity to set up my LCD yet but I did hook a cable from my COM1 to my COM2.  The ran Hyperterminal on COm2.  

I am able to copy my sample.lcd file to COM1 and have it show up in hypertermianl, but not through MameWah.  I will keep trying different settings.

Awesome program though!!!

-wj2k3

[froggerman]

In mamewah.ini, edit these settings:

lcd_com_port (place your serial (COM) port no. here)
lcd_settings (place settings here*)

* baud rate (110/300/600/1200/2400/9600/14400/28800/38400/56000/128000/256000), parity ([e]ven,

• dd, [n]one, [m]ark, pace), data bits (4-8), stop bits (1, 1.5, 2) - eg 9600,n,8,1 (this will vary depending on your screen etc.)

I notice in your list of baud rates that you do not include 19200. Is this just a typo or do you indeed not support that baud rate. The settings that I tested for the LCD panel were 19200,8,N,1

I am just wondering if this had anything to do with the problem I am having.

[Minwah]

I notice in your list of baud rates that you do not include 19200. Is this just a typo or do you indeed not support that baud rate. The settings that I tested for the LCD panel were 19200,8,N,1

I am just wondering if this had anything to do with the problem I am having.

Good spot, I think I just missed 19200 off the list - it should work.

[Silver]

In mamewah.ini, edit these settings:

lcd_com_port (place your serial (COM) port no. here)
lcd_settings (place settings here*)

* baud rate (110/300/600/1200/2400/9600/14400/28800/38400/56000/128000/256000), parity ([e]ven,

• dd, [n]one, [m]ark, pace), data bits (4-8), stop bits (1, 1.5, 2) - eg 9600,n,8,1 (this will vary depending on your screen etc.)

Make you sure you enter them as 19200,n,8,1 and not 19200,8,n,1 ..... I thought that was the problem at first....

I notice in your list of baud rates that you do not include 19200. Is this just a typo or do you indeed not support that baud rate. The settings that I tested for the LCD panel were 19200,8,N,1

I am just wondering if this had anything to do with the problem I am having.

[Silver]

@froggerman:

I've traced the problem in program down to the superscript '3' character on "Alien³: The Gun" - it's causing the MS Sax XML parser to scream obscenities....

A quick fix would be to remove the entry for this game from the controldat.xml, although I will work on a fix for this and others asap...

[froggerman]

In mamewah.ini, edit these settings:

lcd_com_port (place your serial (COM) port no. here)
lcd_settings (place settings here*)

* baud rate (110/300/600/1200/2400/9600/14400/28800/38400/56000/128000/256000), parity ([e]ven,

• dd, [n]one, [m]ark, pace), data bits (4-8), stop bits (1, 1.5, 2) - eg 9600,n,8,1 (this will vary depending on your screen etc.)

Make you sure you enter them as 19200,n,8,1 and not 19200,8,n,1 ..... I thought that was the problem at first....

I notice in your list of baud rates that you do not include 19200. Is this just a typo or do you indeed not support that baud rate. The settings that I tested for the LCD panel were 19200,8,N,1

I am just wondering if this had anything to do with the problem I am having.

Thanks for the pointer. I had to look at it about 3 times before I could see the difference. Problem is that I didn't look at that as I am used to always entering 8,n,1. n,8,1 just seems backwards to me. I will check this out when I get home.

Cheers.

[froggerman]

@froggerman:

I've traced the problem in program down to the superscript '3' character on "Alien³: The Gun" - it's causing the MS Sax XML parser to scream obscenities....

A quick fix would be to remove the entry for this game from the controldat.xml, although I will work on a fix for this and others asap...

That is a simple fix. I will give it a try tonight.

[Silver]

Or an even simpler fix which keeps the game info in is simply to change Alien³ to Alien3...

(And I am not making ANY comment as which is actually correct, as there seems to have been a debate about including stylized names in Mame before. It just doesn't work in my program, despite people claiming that superscript works correctly in MSXML 3.0 and 4.0. I'm using 4.0 in VB6 and it's falling over. Short of using a 'proper' XML parser - any suggestions out there?)

Silver

[froggerman]

Well this if very frustrating. I removed the character after Alien, it was something like &0179; I actually changed it to just a 3. I still get the same 2 errors. What did you use to edit the file? I tried it with both Notepad and Wordpad.

I also checked my LCD configuration settings. Despite what i said earlier, I actually had the correct information entered.

So basically I am still no further ahead.

[Silver]

re:LCD prog

Hmmmm, when I viewed  the controls.xml I had an actual superscript ³ visible... which i then removed. I used wordpad, but you must not save it in RTF or anything - just plain text. It is occurring to me that we could be encountering issues about how windows is dealing with this character inside wordpad - what version windows are you using and is it in English etc...etc..?

 I've had less time than I'd like to properly sort this out, as it seems I am currently tied to the M$ parser issues... If you completely remove the entry for alien3 from <game romname="alien3"......> all the way to </game> do you still get the error.

re:Mamewah LCD support

No one appears to have got this working yet, but MinWah is on the case (as ever) and there will be some testing done within 12 hours.... ;-)

S

[Silver]

Ok, interesting.

1st off, @froggerman. The &0179 character is what comes up in mame's own listinfo for me, using the command line: mame -listinfo > listinfo.xml
However, the error you were getting comes from the controlsdat.xml which when downloaded from the controlsdat project has the proper ³.

2ndly, I think on preliminary research (although I am probably opening myself up to some 'xml noob' abuse here) that if an xml file contains characters that are outside the ANSI 0-127 - which ³ is - then they should(?) have an encoding flag in the 1st line of the xml indicating that they contain special characters. For example the first line of the controlsdat.xml is:

<?xml version='1.0'?>

However, if I change this to:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-16"?>

AND save it as "unicode" file - then it will parse perfectly and generate a ³ no problem.

Anyway, I'm sure its a limitation with the parser to some extent, as you can't just change the encoding flag and not the file format as it will say "can't change encoding" when trying to parse.

Can anyone enlighten me as to whether the XML file should contain this flag, or is it simply rubbish parsing?

[Silver]

Woops, sorry for all the posts (off-topic too!) but just to say that you don't need to edit anything in the controls.dat xml file - simply open it in wordpad, then save it but select type as "unicode". This new file will be bigger, and parse correctly.

S

[froggerman]

I will give this a try. I was indeed looking in the wrong file, which explains why the result didn't change.  

[Silver]

Well this thread should probably be left alone (finally!)

Just to say that the parsing bug has been resolved, and controls.xml is now being encoded in UTF by the controlsDat team removing any parsing errors. (hurrah). So everything should work perfectly out-of-the-box, or straight from download anyway....

[Silver]

Just wanted to let you know that I've updated my proggy again after a rather glaring oversight - I was ignoring all the clone games from controlsDAT (as they only have info on the parents) - so you know get control info on another 1000 or so games.... (!)

Few other additions too.

Mamewah still hasn't released his bigfix version which includes the LCD support working - but if you are desperate I'm sure he can send you a working exe if you email him. Otherwise I'm sure it won't be long.....

Cheers,
Silver

[Rahzel]

Still doesn't support multiple rom paths..  

I havn' t cried in so long until now. Anyways, keep up the good work minwah, I know one day you'll add this feature  

[Minwah]

Mamewah still hasn't released his bigfix version which includes the LCD support working - but if you are desperate I'm sure he can send you a working exe if you email him. Otherwise I'm sure it won't be long.....

Yes, sorry I was meaning to post about it...

It will probably be a little while before I release the next bug-fix, as I just got an Xbox    That said, I am steadily fixing bugs and so far its going well...email me for the LCD-fixed version...

[Minwah]

Still doesn't support multiple rom paths..  

Sorry, no...but if you're using MAME you *can* use multiple rom paths, by using the verifysets_vs_listxml (or listinfo) list_generation_method .  For other emulators you'll have to wait for v2...

[soslo]

Minwah - you are the minMAN!

1.52 is sooooooooo much better than .9x....Thank you for saving me hours of my life in setup & configuration