MAME resolution problems

[yugffuts]

Hello,

I searched the forum, and wasn't able to find anything like this problem, although I would imagine I'm not the only one experiencing it.

I just got my AVGA installed, and working with my WG monitor.  Some games look fine (SF2, Killer Instinct), other games are stretched out to fill the screen, like Burgertime.  If I turn HW_Stretch on in the mame.ini, Burgertime looks good, but then other games look terrible.  To sum up:

With HW_Stretch on:
Vertical games like Burgertime are correct.
Ms Pac/Donkey Kong/Contra have some kind of mirroring going on at the bottom of the screen.
Bottom of most Midway games (NBA Jam, WWF Arcade, MK) are cut off

With HW_Stretch off:
Vertical games like Burgertime are stretched to fill the screen.
Bottom of most Midway games (NBA Jam, WWF Arcade, MK) are cut off

Is there some setting I need to use in order to display each game at it's correct (or close) resolution?  If there is another thread that I can't find, I would appreciate a link.

Specs:
Celeron 1.8 Ghz proc
512 MB ram
AVGA card
WG 25" monitor

Thanks.

[Orclord]

Have you run a auto resolution program ??

These produce an .ini for every game.

Gavin Benson produces one and so does Minwah.

http://mamewah.mameworld.net/ in the downloads section.

http://www.ultimarc.com/avgainst.html 3/4 way down the page.

[yugffuts]

I ran an auto-res tool last night, and it corrected most games (DK, frogger, Burgettime, etc) but also screwed some up (Such as Street Fighter 2).  I deleted the ini's that were wrong, and now most games are running properly.

However, I still have the problem with MK, NBA Jam, and Wrestlemania Arcade.  The easiest way to describe it is that you can't see the Mortal Kombat characters feet, because the bottom of the screen is collapsed.  Is there a way to fix this?

Thanks.

[Circo]

The auto res tool is not perfect.  When you have HW Stretch on it pretty much makes the AVGA worthless.  Before I got my billabs monitor which supports 1024x768 (which is the resolution that I use for most verticle games, I had two mame installs.  #1 install was for Horizontal Games and with that I had HW Stretch off.  #2 was for vertical games and withthat I had HW Stretch On.  That is the best way that I could ever figure out how to do it. 

[yugffuts]

I figured this out, so I'll post what I did.

I noted each game that was having problems, and went into each games *.ini file (which were created by the auto-res tool), and adjusted the resolution down.  I made sure to keep the same refresh rate and stay as close to the aspect ratio as possible.  Now, all of my games display correctly.

[Fuzzguitar]

Isn't that pretty much the technique you're supposed to use the res tool for?

I haven't had much chance to check it out yet.

[squirrellydw]

If I am using the AVGA card HW stretch should be off and I should use a res program and it should fix the Contra mirror effect correct?   I was told that the minwah res tool works the best.  I am using MaLa as my FE.

[shorthair]

From what Andy told me, it doesn't matter if you write your own ini's, cos the resolutions the AVGA is capable of are the ones it'll do. That's why, for example, anything below 240 isn't supported; it's covered by that resolution.

Yes, hwstretch off. However:

1) you'll still need to use the monitor OSD to size games. You'll have to find resolutions per game that coincide with other games' resolutions.

2) vertical resolutions aren't hard to find; except for odd games, like Strikers1945 or something, most are selectable within the avga's parametres. This is why I use Mame32, cos it's easily accessible, particularly in a graphical format. And though some say there's a performance hit if using an FE, I haven't seen it. However, if you'd rather use cmd mame, use mame32 to set and test ini's, and then copy your ini files over to the cmd mame directory. And there's no reason to have different versions of mame for different game settings. That's why they have discrete settings, yo. In a case like this (native resolutions), the majority of global settings aren't relevant.

Supplemental: some games require different resolution settings depending on the orientation of your monitor. And, in some cases of vertical monitor orientation, image sizing via the OSD is still required.

[squirrellydw]

OK, so HW off.  Anyone know off hand how to fix the Contra issue?  It looks like a mirror at the bottom and when you jump down to the bottom I can't see it, it's cut off.

[shorthair]

<holding hand> It means the resolution is wrong. Try several.

[squirrellydw]

thanks, now how and where do I adjust it at?  Sorry still new to some of this.

[shorthair]

Adjust what?

[squirrellydw]

how do I pick/adjust the resolution for a game

[ahofle]

Read the docs for your emulator.

[shorthair]

And read the wiki on emulation and stuff. Some things, like Mame, are kinda buried - not how I'd organize it, but I don't have final say - but they're there.

[CheffoJeffo]

not how I'd organize it, but I don't have final say

Given your inability to organize words into sentences, I suspect that is probably a good thing. 

[shorthair]

That you respond directly semantically to an arrangement of mine self-argues. STUFF. (coom oon, noogie noogie....)

[CheffoJeffo]

That you respond directly semantically to an arrangement of mine self-argues. STUFF. (coom oon, noogie noogie....)

Q.E.D.