A few questions from a newb about Mame frontends

[Arcadeslasher]

Hello,

I'm in the process of building my own Mame cab and I have just a few questions about frontends.

1. What's generally considered to be the best all-around frontend for Mame when using a cab? Also, which version of Mame should be used with that frontend?

2. I've tried installing most of the frontends from Mameworld, but they all require me to install a load of other files and the whole setup process confuses the hell out of me. Can anyone guide me through the process of installing their preferred frontend?

Thanks all!

[Buddabing]

This question gets asked quite frequently, but I don't see it in any of the sticky threads.

You didn't say what operating system you use. Since you are a "newb", I'll assume you use Windows. 

The answer is: There is no best front end for Windows Each front end has good and bad features about it, even MAME32.

The latest versions of the frontends that are actively maintained should support any version of MAME. Some have more trouble than others with versions of MAME after version 0.84.

Yes, some front ends require a bunch of external DLLs. That's the price you pay for developing with Virtual Basic.  Each front end should have documentation regarding what external DLLs you need. Some have installation programs which install the DLLs for you.

Here are some front end programs you can try. By no means is this a complete list.

MAMEWah
Game Launcher
Dragon King
3D Arcade / Emulaxian
Kymaera
MAME32
EmuLoader
ArcadePic

[IMMark]

I would say, Mame32...if you are new and want easy and good.  You could be playing your favorite game in 5 mins.  If you want a really cool "arcade" style cabinet, then I would say Mamewah.  It takes a lot more to get everything set up, but when you are done, you have a front end that can run multi emulators and give you a unique arcade experience

[mms332]

Mamewah is imo the most popular around here. It is very stable and enjoys lots of user support. You can find many skins for Mamewah. Dragon King is the more fancy of the bunch. The current build however is very buggy and requires lots of patience and luck to make it work. DK seems have trouble reading its own ini files and game lists. Sometimes a simple change in the ini file will send it crashing. If you get frustrated easily then stay away from DK.

[the3eyedblindman]

Go with Mame32, even people like me can set it up, and it doesnt look half bad, not as bad as people on these boards make it sound. Im running it with large fonts on a television screen and it looks great.

[Minwah]

Im running it with large fonts on a television screen and it looks great.

I bet it still looks like Windows though, that is most people's gripe with MAME32.

[the3eyedblindman]

IF your talking about the taskbar and the overhead bar, then yes. But its not a Big deal, gets the job done, and easy to use.