MAMEwah oddities - Won't launch successfully - Success!

[Roughy]

I've got MAMEwah installed and I do believe my settings are correct--including paths.

[Roughy]

Nothing?  Heh, I'm dying here trying to get it to work; atomicFE worked with zero issue, but there's some aspects to Mamewah that I really would like to use.

Thanks!

[brophog]

Which version of mamewah. What happens when you start mamewah?

[Roughy]

Which version of mamewah. What happens when you start mamewah?

Most recent version--as in, freshly downloaded last night.

When I start mamewah, the screen goes blank/black. There's a brief pause as if it might actually work, then back to regular XP. I check the log and see what I posted above.

This almost makes me wonder if that machine--since it's only a 1.5--might be a good one to pass on and use for either a juke or a barcab later and try upgrading to the 2.4 that I've got sitting next to it.

[brophog]

1.61 or the beta 1.62. "Most recent" isn't a number!

I need a number because mamewah changes everything with every new release.

What video card is in there? Have you tried a lower resolution or a corresponding resolution to your desktop?

Try this as a base test. Set your desktop resolution to 800x600. Set your mamewah resolution to 800x600 and then try it.

Mamewah isn't terribly processor heavy and your 1.5ghz is more than adequate.

[Roughy]

1.61 or the beta 1.62. "Most recent" isn't a number!

I need a number because mamewah changes everything with every new release.

What video card is in there? Have you tried a lower resolution or a corresponding resolution to your desktop?

Try this as a base test. Set your desktop resolution to 800x600. Set your mamewah resolution to 800x600 and then try it.

Mamewah isn't terribly processor heavy and your 1.5ghz is more than adequate.

Fair enough--

I'm running 1.61 (sorry, I should know better, honestly).

I'm running a pretty standard plug 'n' play video card (translation: from another box, most likely an ATI with 64mb or more memory).

I tried lower the resolution to 800x600 and lowering the colors to match--did this about 60 times to make sure I wasn't crazy.  All with no success.

And the only other reason I would consider the other processor is that a) the other box most likely runs a bit quieter and b) a little more speed may make a few other games realistic (as in, I'd love to be able to play Blitz).

[brophog]

You're not playing Blitz unless you buy the PC version.

[Roughy]

I was speaking hypothetically, of course.

[Roughy]

Okay, so here's another thought--Mamewah still isn't working for me.  It's a pain in ---my bottom--- especially when atomicFE worked like no one's business right away.

But I've got a custom set of skins, so I'd prefer mamewah.

If not, any other suggestions?  I'd probably prefer going as much of a UI route as possible.

Thanks!

[RetroACTIVE]

Are you using a custom layout?

Sounds like you are, it looks like it is not setting your display mode appropriately.... the first line of the .lay file sets the video mode ie. resolution and refresh... make sure it is correct...

It should be something like this (for 800x600 anyway):

800;32;60
 600
 0

800x600 32 bit color, 60 hz

[Roughy]

This is just turning into a nightmare for me.

I've tried to utilize the information from RA (above).  I set my monitor to mimic all the settings--and I keep getting the same garbage:

12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM MAMEWAH launched
12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM Cursor scheme: Windows default, Arrow: (None), Wait: (None), AppStarting: (None)
12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM Desktop colour: 9981440
12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM Wallpaper filename: C:\WINDOWS\web\wallpaper\Bliss.bmp
12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM Display mode: 1024x768 @ 1Hz, 16 bit colour
12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM Decimal symbol: '.'
12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM Games list read: mame-0.lst
12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM Mode 1024 x 768 @ 60, 16bit colour not available
12/18/2005 9:37:47 PM MAMEWAH quit

I got that while set in 16bit mode.  Bizarre.

At this point, I think I just F'd up something in the many different files one needs to modify and I may need to start over--which is fine.

In the hopes that someone has any idea as to my own personal hell, here's my mamewah.ini file:

### mamewah.ini (mamewah v1.61) ###

### (Global) Screen-Saver Options ###
delay                       300
slide_duration              3

### Audio Options ###
enable_sounds               1
sound_volume                100
music_path                 
enable_music                1
music_volume                100

### Movie Options ###
intro_movie_file           
exit_movie_file             
keep_movie_preview_aspect   game_aspect
delay_before_movie_preview  2
music_movie_mix             mute_movies
movie_volume                100

### Misc Options ###
layout                      Blue
ctrlr                       
wrap_list                   0
remember_current_game       1
keep_image_aspect           1
refresh_images              0
correct_orientations        horizontal
safe_mode                   0
show_cursor                 0
keyboard_led_states         -,-,-
winipac_file               
mamewah_ipc_file           
lcd_com_port                1
lcd_settings               
exit_action                 choice
app_to_run_on_exit         

### Settings used by MAMEWAH ###
current_emulator            mame
locked                      0
last_ipc 

       

and here's my mame.lay file (which I've gone so far as to rename it layout.lay etc. etc.):

1024;32;60
 768
 0

 1
 10485760
 16777215
True
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 342
 0
 340
 36
True
 1
 0
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 13
 510
 20
True
 1
 0
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 1
 724
 13
 300
 20
True
 1
 0
 65280
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 45
 510
 701
True
 1
 0
 255
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 748
 510
 20
True
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 514
 45
 510
 556
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 328
 40
 320
 277
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 336
 40
 320
 277
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 344
 40
 320
 277
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 352
 40
 320
 277
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 360
 40
 320
 277
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 368
 40
 320
 277
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 376
 40
 320
 277
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 384
 40
 320
 277
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 392
 40
 320
 277
True
 1
 0
 13408512
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 514
 602
 510
 40
True
 1
 0
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 514
 643
 510
 20
True
 1
 0
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 514
 664
 510
 20
True
 1
 0
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 514
 685
 510
 20
True
 1
 0
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 514
 706
 510
 20
True
 1
 0
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 514
 727
 510
 20
True
 1
 0
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 514
 748
 510
 20
 305
 330
 3289650

 1
 10485760
 16777215
True
 1
 3289650
 255
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 5
 305
 20
True
 1
 3289650
 65280
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 32
 305
 225
True
 1
 3289650
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 259
 305
 20
True
 1
 3289650
 13408512
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 281
 305
 45
 337
 260
 3289650

True
 1
 3289650
 255
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 32
 337
 20
True
 1
 3289650
 65280
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 80
 337
 113
True
 1
 3289650
 13408512
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 200
 337
 40
True
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 0
 1024
 720
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 524
 0
 500
 400
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 401
 1024
 87
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 30
 0
 640
 430
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 40
 0
 640
 430
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 50
 0
 640
 430
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 60
 0
 640
 430
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 70
 0
 640
 430
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 80
 0
 640
 430
False
 0
 8421504
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 90
 0
 640
 430
True
 1
 0
 13408512
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 726
 1024
 20
True
 1
 0
 16777215
System
True
False
 9.75
 2
 0
 748
 1024
 20

Bah.  So frustrated.  Pretty certain it's probably minor, too.  More aggravation because of that.

[RetroACTIVE]

Ok... I tried a couple of things... drop the color depth and refresh rate from the .lay file... see if that makes a diff...


I tried this:

1024
768
 0

and it worked fine... all indications (according to your log file):

12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM Mode 1024 x 768 @ 60, 16bit colour not available

point to a bad video mode selection...

[Roughy]

Ok... I tried a couple of things... drop the color depth and refresh rate from the .lay file... see if that makes a diff...


I tried this:

1024
768
 0

and it worked fine... all indications (according to your log file):

12/18/2005 9:37:46 PM Mode 1024 x 768 @ 60, 16bit colour not available

point to a bad video mode selection...

I don't disagree with you; I've tried exactly that--to no avail.  For whatever reason, there's a mismatch happening, even though the XP Settings show it as possible and even when I force the settings.

I did do some more tinkering with gameex (really SLOW, didn't seem to retain settings) and mame32 (ugly, but works well; is there a different link for this beyond the pay-to-play at fileplanet?) and mame32 seems to be working the best for me as far as playing a game and returning, but to be honest...

It's simply not as fast as I'd like it to be for some of the roms I have.  I'm thinking that upgrading to the 2.4ghz machine might be a good option as it has 1ghz+ ram, as well.  Either that or I could go with a different, non-onboard video card solution.

Thanks for your feedback--it's helping.

[RetroACTIVE]

damnnnn... I'm sorry, I thought I had it!  When I first started with mw... that was all I had issues with... If I have any epiphanies... I'll let you know...

[Roughy]

damnnnn... I'm sorry, I thought I had it!

[Roughy]

Bah.

No dice.

Starting from scratch.  Anyone willing to IM me through this?  I'm beginning to think that maybe--since this is a generic, onboard video card, that there's problems communicating.  Maybe I should bust out the GeForceFX 5200oc w/256mb ddr in the closet and put it to work?  Can't hurt, at least.

[Roughy]

Okay, some really good news...

I got Mamewah working!

Sort of.

I noticed in my hardware manager that my video card was still unrecognized.  I had to go through this minor hell with my audio drivers, and fortunately, still have all of my TigerDirect crap lying around, found the CD and installed the drivers.  Suddenly, the computer recognized what was going on and Mamewah launched perfectly, the custom FE and everything.

Looks outstanding!  You can imagine how I sorta lit up and did a fist pump "YEAH!"...

Until I tried to launch a game, and then nothing happened.  So, here's what's happening in the log file:

12/19/2005 7:17:02 PM MAMEWAH launched
12/19/2005 7:17:02 PM Cursor scheme: Windows default, Arrow: (None), Wait: (None), AppStarting: (None)
12/19/2005 7:17:02 PM Desktop colour: 9981440
12/19/2005 7:17:02 PM Wallpaper filename: C:\Program Files\GameEx\black.bmp
12/19/2005 7:17:02 PM Display mode: 1280x1024 @ 60Hz, 32 bit colour
12/19/2005 7:17:02 PM Decimal symbol: '.'
12/19/2005 7:17:02 PM Games list read: mame-0.lst
12/19/2005 7:17:03 PM Layout selected: E:\MAME\mamewah\layouts\Blue\mame.lay
12/19/2005 7:17:03 PM Ctrlr file selected: E:\MAME\mamewah\ctrlr\default.ini
12/19/2005 7:17:10 PM Commandline run: CMD.EXE /c E:\MAME\mame.exe LADYBUG -verifyroms > E:\MAME\mamewah\files\verify {flags=17}
12/19/2005 7:17:11 PM Commandline run: E:\MAME\mame.exe LADYBUG {flags=12}
12/19/2005 7:17:18 PM MAMEWAH quit

So that's what the log says and then nothing shows up on my screen.

Anyone?  Dammit, I'm so close!

[Roughy]

Interesting

[RetroACTIVE]

Glad to see you solved your video mode problem!

What is your rompath set to in mame.ini?

[Roughy]

What is your rompath set to in mame.ini?

E:\MAME\roms

But for some reason, it doesn't show up as that in the log file; just shows the name of the rom itself; no pathing.

[RetroACTIVE]

It won't show up in the log file... mamewah does not use the rompath setting in mame.ini...

You can explicitly specify the command line (adding the rom path) in the mame.ini file using the commandline_format variable.

I don't have access to mine right now, and I don't remember the specifics...

[RetroACTIVE]

Just to be clear... when I am referring to mame.ini I'm talking about mame.ini in the mame directory not mame.ini for mamewah....

sorry for the confusion

[RetroACTIVE]

Mamewah mame.ini should look something like this....

### Execution Settings ###
emulator_executable                E:\Mame\mame.exe
commandline_format                 [rompath]\[name].[romext]

I'm pulling this from my memory... without running it I can't be entirely sure but hopefully it gets you closer...

[Roughy]

Interestingly enough...

When I change my emulator from MAME.exe to mame32p.exe all is well.  Going to go back and try your way...

[RetroACTIVE]

When I change my emulator from MAME.exe to mame32p.exe all is well.

Probably because mame32p.exe has the fully specified rom path in an .ini file somewhere.

[Roughy]

I don't disagree; the problem is that I've gone through every .ini file and all the addresses are the same.

Grrr, WTF?!  At least it's working now.

Although, I suspect I should try and get on mame for better results.

[Roughy]

A "work from home" day saves the day.

I've started from scratch, and probably saved myself a lot of problems.

In fact, dare I say it, it was a pretty quick turnaround to making it right. 

Thanks for all the help; if nothing else, I've gotten pretty familiar with the .ini files and that makes things quite a bit easier as I'm moving into adding other emulators to the interface.  (translation:  expect more questions!)