MAMEWAH v1.62b1 for BETA testing!

[Minwah]

Here's whatsnew:

MAMEWAH v1.62b1 (03/08/05)

Bugs Fixed:

Video mode might not be correctly selected, especially after using run_random_game_and_quit screen-saver (fixed),
Emulator might not have been terminated properly when using run_random_game_and_quit screen_saver (fixed),
Preview movie from an unselected emulator could kick in when an empty list was selected (fixed?).

Improvements / Changes:

Improved 'Select Platform' submenu to default to current emulator,
Improved 'Select Games List' submenu to default to current list,
Renamed 'Exit and Run Application' to 'Exit & Run Application(s)',
Romnames are now always sent in lowercase for maximum emulator compatibility,
Improved game-specific config files,
Merged emulator_executable and commandline_format to form emulator_commandline,
Removed (emulator & list specific) alt_commandline_format_1/2,
Removed game_specific_config_path,
Replaced artwork_x_image_path settings with single artwork_image_paths setting,
Removed WinIPAC specific settings as this can be achieved using new settings (see below),
Added startup_app_commandlines setting for automatic launching of app(s) on startup,
Added exit_app_commandlines setting for automatic launching of app(s) on exit,
Added pre_emulator_app_commandlines setting for applications to be launched prior to an emulator,
Added post_emulator_app_commandlines setting for applications to be launched after an emulator,
Removed app_x_executable, app_x_commandline_format & auto_launch_apps setting as this can be achieved using new settings (see below),
Added general_app_commandline_formats setting for input-activated applications,
Merged wrapper_executable and wrapper_commandline_format to form wrapper_commandline,
Removed lcd_fe_text in favour of using emuname.lcd in lcd_display_file_path (some character codes could not previously be used),
Added {wait} and {nowait} flags...{nowait} can be used to make MAMEWAH execution continue while an application/emulator is running,
Added {autoquit} {noautoquit} flags, for startup_app's & pre_emulator_app's (must be used in conjunction with {nowait}),
Added {quitafter?} flag, to quit a launched app after ? seconds (must be used in conjunction with {wait}),
Added {normal}, {min} & {max} flags to set the windowstate of launched apps/emulators,
Removed rom_folder_subfolders list_generation_method (use rom_folder with no rom_extension instead),
Added 'auto' rom_path, dat_file, nms_file, catver_ini_file and list_generation_method setting,
Improved PC app launching to support game-specific config and all commandline flags,
Updated list generation routine to handle MAME's new 'emulation' and 'graphic' status,
Improved logfile to help diagnose problems,
Added 'maxlogsize' setting to limit size of mamewah.log,
Improved message display while generating a list to make it more obvious something is happening!


More info on how the changed stuff works here, please read before trying:

http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=42521&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1&new=1123066255

[NinjaEpisode]

Ugh....I mean yay!...erm.....uh huh...

Dangit Minwah, I love Mamewah, but I'm scared to death to even think of upgrading it cuz!

Once you get it set and all is running smoothly, I'm afraid if I do this I'll muck up my current setup.  I'll definately be backing up everything first!  I'll give it a go this weekend.

[Onji]

OMG! I cannot believe I have completely overlooked this feature ' run_random_game_and_quit screen_saver' !!! Ive been using a 3rd party app to do this for me, but the main problem i have with it is, when you exit it, you loose focus, and alot of the times the resolution is all screwed up when you exit it.

OK, now that all of that is out of the way. Say I upgraded to this beta (i'm currently using the latest official release of MW) And I do all of the ini changes in the readme etc. When ever this goes out of beta, will upgrading to the official 1.62 from the beta be painless?

Thanks

[Minwah]

Once you get it set and all is running smoothly, I'm afraid if I do this I'll muck up my current setup.  I'll definately be backing up everything first!  I'll give it a go this weekend.

I know what you mean...just make double sure you back it up and you'll be set.  It is not *that* difficult to update your settings, just takes a little time.  I do this stuff manually still myself, probably took me around 10-15 minutes to update my 6 systems and I found a few bugs along the way.

[Minwah]

OMG! I cannot believe I have completely overlooked this feature ' run_random_game_and_quit screen_saver' !!! Ive been using a 3rd party app to do this for me, but the main problem i have with it is, when you exit it, you loose focus, and alot of the times the resolution is all screwed up when you exit it.

These problems are with the 3rd party app, or Mamewah?  Just checking.

Actually, this was pretty much broken before...it would have the problem you describe of not always returning to the correct resolution.  Now it should work great, I've been using it on my cab.  The only problem I have encountered is sound stuttering occasionally when quitting some emulators, but I can't really help this.

OK, now that all of that is out of the way. Say I upgraded to this beta (i'm currently using the latest official release of MW) And I do all of the ini changes in the readme etc. When ever this goes out of beta, will upgrading to the official 1.62 from the beta be painless?

Yes .  I'm now only going to fix bugs that crop up, and nothing else.  Then I'm gonna concentrate on my cabinet's sideart and control panels for a while...