Other FE that are as easy as MaLa?

[AE35]

Hi all!

Can anyone recommend another FE that are as easy and good-looking as MaLa?

I know there's a lot of threads, but I really need something easy,that will work with
mame32

Thanks!

Nicholas

[gamecreature]

Mala works with Mame32. Is that your only requirement?

[AE35]

Yes it is, but I need something else than MaLa

[gamecreature]

Start here. http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Front-Ends

[Howard_Casto]

I've gotta ask.... what is everyone's obsession with mame32?


You guys do know that it is exactly like mame right?  The only difference is all of those check boxes in the settings are stored as a mame.ini and mame32 can't always output all the text files needed to run a fe.  You can put mame and mame32 in the same folder and they'll share each other's settings, depending upon the build. 

[Havok]

AtomicFE can't be beat when it comes to ease of setup. The plug and play modules are unique to his front end. When you load up a module, all you have to do is put the roms in  the Atomic directory under \plugnplay\* module name *\roms and you're done - fire up the front end and start playing!

Check it out HERE

Youki is also very active here to support you in any questions you may have. Good luck!

[loadman]

Can anyone recommend another FE that are as easy and good-looking as MaLa?

What are you up to AE35?   

[AE35]

 

I have to try something else!! No matter WHAT I do, the games are pushed to the far right
or left of the screen and running like sh*t when I run them through MaLa. Reinstalling MaLa
or Mame or both at the same time doesn't help. Running from Mame 32 is perfect.

I'm wasting my life trying to find errors and faults in all my stuff, and I'm tired of it. Now I
want to try another FE, and if that works, so be it. Just sad that the 'layouts' in AtomicFE
is so nasty looking, and every single one has stretched screenshots...

[youki]

Just sad that the 'layouts' in AtomicFE
is so nasty looking, and every single one has stretched screenshots...

Just on option in AtomicManager.exe , on the "Options" tab , check the checkbox "Keep aspect Ratio for snap..etc ".

If you don't like layouts , take your favorite one from other front end and adapt it to Atomic using the
AtomicLayoutEditor.exe

That's very easy to do a layout for Atomic now.

[AE35]

ARGH!!!

Just tried Atomic(which seems VERY VERY good), but the problem is the same.

Some games are shifted to the side/distorted/running with hickups....but when
started through Mame32, they run perfect.

How on earth can that be???

[youki]

Seems to be a problem of mame config.

Did you try to use directly your mame32 from the FrontEnd  (not the built in one)? 

[Havok]

When you installed the command line version of mame, did you run mame.exe -cc after doing so?

[AE35]

Seems to be a problem of mame config.

Did you try to use directly your mame32 from the FrontEnd  (not the built in one)? 

Sorry, I am to stupid to understand what you mean

I point the FE to the Mame32.exe in the Mame32 folder...eh.

Havok, same goes for your post. I only use the Mame32, if that's what you mean

[youki]

With AtomicFE , did you use a Plug'n Play module or you did your own configuration?

Are you using an ArcadeVGA as graphic cards? or a Standard VGA?

[ahmer]

I've gotta ask.... what is everyone's obsession with mame32?


You guys do know that it is exactly like mame right?  The only difference is all of those check boxes in the settings are stored as a mame.ini and mame32 can't always output all the text files needed to run a fe.  You can put mame and mame32 in the same folder and they'll share each other's settings, depending upon the build. 

You are Right...

Users does not know the difference b/w mame and Mame32.Unfortunately they know about FrontEnd!

IMO Configuring Mame32 with a FrontEnd is totally Foolish...Lost of Ram Resources...

[loadman]

Seems to be a problem of mame config.

Did you try to use directly your mame32 from the FrontEnd  (not the built in one)? 

Youkki is right.

I can see you are frustrated but the problem is obviously with your mame config file not Mala or Atomic. 

NOW LETS FIX IT NOW! TODAY!
Then once Mame is working you can worry about what FE suits you best.

First. Can you confirm what version of mame you have set withe your FE (Mame.exe or mame32.exe) It should not really matter I just need to know

1)Check these settings in Mame.ini or mame32.ini (use notepad to open/edit)

(If you don't have this file you will need to go to a command prompt then change to your Mame (or mame32) directory and run   mame.exe -cc (or mame32.exe -cc)  to create this file. If this is too hard for you tell me what version of command line mame you are using and I will e-mail you the file)


Check the settings  I have below:
You will have more entries than this I'm just listing the relevant ones:

### mame.ini ### or ### mame32.ini ###

### Windows video options ###
autoframeskip           1
frameskip               0
waitvsync               0
triplebuffer            0
window                  0
ddraw                   1
hwstretch               1
resolution              auto
refresh                 0
scanlines               0
switchres               1
switchbpp               1
maximize                1
keepaspect              0
matchrefresh            0
syncrefresh             0
throttle                1
full_screen_brightness  0.00
frames_to_run           1
effect                  none
screen_aspect           4:3
sleep                   1
rdtsc                   0

### Mame CORE video options ###
norotate                0
ror                     0
rol                     0
flipx                   0
flipy                   0
debug_resolution        auto
gamma                   1.00
brightness              1.00
pause_brightness        0.65

### Mame CORE vector game options ###
antialias               1
translucency            1
beam                    1.00
flicker                 0.00
intensity               1.50


### Mame CORE misc options ###
artwork                 1
use_backdrops           1
use_overlays            1
use_bezels              1
artwork_crop            0
artwork_resolution      0
cheat                   1
debug                   0
# playback              <NULL> (not set)
# record                <NULL> (not set)
log                     0
oslog                   0
skip_disclaimer         1
skip_gameinfo           1


Option 2
If all that is too much for you then I will do it for you. How you say?
E-mail me screen shots of your mame32 settings screens. In particular the display/advanced/ and direct 3d settings. Also send me your mame.ini file (or mame32.ini) . I will then send you back mame.ini (or mame32.ini) to match your mame32 settings. I need to know what version of mame32 you are using too
Send to:
backwash@optusnet.com.au

Take the offer, its a good one   :-) 

[AE35]

Loadman, thanks!!

You were right! it wasn't the FE's, but the ini file. Changing them from inside Mame32 wasn't enough,
I needed to change it from Mala(never had to before), and everything snapped!

Thanks a lot for your offer, I hope I can take you on the word later!

Please keep in mind, it wasn't to put Mala down, I just needed to try something!!

Nichols

[loadman]

Glad to hear all is working.

MaLa does have that built in 'ini' changer (as you discovered) but you can also edit the .ini file manually in notepad.

I don't care which FE you use  I just wanted you to understand where the problem lay

Cheers

[payment_due]

I've gotta ask.... what is everyone's obsession with mame32?


You guys do know that it is exactly like mame right?  The only difference is all of those check boxes in the settings are stored as a mame.ini and mame32 can't always output all the text files needed to run a fe.  You can put mame and mame32 in the same folder and they'll share each other's settings, depending upon the build. 

I think the issue is that it supports more 'stuff' than regular command line MAME.  For example, I have a version of MAME32Plus because it supports more BIOS for the NeoGeo, specifically speaking the UniverseBIOS for NeoGeo.

At least that's my reason for using it.  I also sometimes open MAME32 itself so I can check certain things, or refresh my gamelist, etc.