Mala vs Mamewah vs AtomicFE

[papaschtroumpf]

Haven't been on the forums for a while, my cabinet being mostly "finished", but I have two things that aren't working right:

1) the johnny5/AHK script still hickups often. I mostly came here to see if there was a newer version/better solution
2) the movie screensaver in mamewah almost always crashes eventually. I had posted a while back and MinWah said it had to be in the codec support, but hte movies will play fine a number of times and eventually cause an error in mamewah, crashing it.

While I'd feel like I'm letting MinWah down in some way, I'd be willing to try another FE if it meant that my cab would be more stable. Atomic FE was too young last time I tried it and didn't work out for me. I might give it another try, but it seems that the new craze is Mala. I just couldn;t find a good post about what's different between Mamewah and Mala except easier configuration (personally the INI files in mamewah are not an issue for me, although I wish they didn't change format between every major release ) but people keep mentionning Mala having "other features I wanted" without ever specifying what they might be.

Is there a ahandy comparison of features between FEs? Failing that, can people that chose one over the other explain what features made them decide?

I have no need for external LEDs, LCDs etc... really MAMEWAH would be perfect without the crashes, although I might like slightly updated" graphics. support for other emulators and PC games is a must, as is johnny5, as are movie previews and hopefully screensavers

[gamecreature]

Have you checked the wiki? http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Front-Ends

[papaschtroumpf]

hehe, nice! Thanks. Still curious about what made people choose one over the other.

[gamecreature]

Well I tried most of them and I just sort of grew fond of how easy it was to set up Mame in MaLa. I also liked the features in the layout tool. Since I'm primarily using this for Mame, MaLa fit the bill for me. Other folks have different priorities, so their preferences may lean a different direction.

[loadman]

There is no reason why you can't have all 3 set-up on your cab while you decide which one works for you the best. I use MaLa on my cab but I have 'MaLa' and 'MameWah' and 'Atmoic' set up on my main PC right now (just for fun) or am I weird? 

Anyway..
* Yes check the Wiki
* Try all the FE's. There is no best one. Just what is best for you and your emu gaming needs

I have no need for external LEDs, LCDs etc

Just in case you missunderstood, that is just an 'option' in MaLa.

Is there a ahandy comparison of features between FEs? Failing that, can people that chose one over the other explain what features made them decide?

Sounds good in Theory. It can be subjective. Just try them all as I say and ask a question on the forum if you need to.

hehe, nice! Thanks. Still curious about what made people choose one over the other.

I used to use 'GameLauncher' but that is no longer actively supported.
The three you mentioned all have great features and support. For me It came down to mala's rotation, and LED/LCD hardware options.

[papaschtroumpf]

There is no reason why you can't have all 3 set-up on your cab while you decide which one works for you the best.

yes, time. to really set things up porperly and make sure all the features work it takes quite a bit of time, which I'd rather spend playing

[loadman]

There is no reason why you can't have all 3 set-up on your cab while you decide which one works for you the best.

yes, time. to really set things up porperly and make sure all the features work it takes quite a bit of time, which I'd rather spend playing

You can have a basic MaLa and Atomic set-up in minutes and you already know about mame-wah.  Have a go!

You are going have to do some homework to make valid decision   

[headkaze]

The amount of posts on here about Mala, Atomic and MameWah don't indicate their popularity at all. In fact one might suggest the amount of posts are relative to the amount of bugs in them (just kidding fellas!).

GameEx is also a popular FE, but it has it's own forum so everyone posts over there. If all the posts about GameEx were made in here you would probably think it's the best FE too (if the amount of posts indicates their popularity in your opinion).

But these sort of threads are really unecessary because you have (1) the coders and (2) the fans of most FE's who frequent this place, and you will always get different opinions on which one is the best. Quite often the advice is from someone who has only tried one FE anyway, so how can they give you a fair comparison?

My advice will be to listen to loadman..

* Yes check the Wiki
* Try all the FE's. There is no best one. Just what is best for you and your emu gaming needs

Saves any potential for this thread to turn into a "my FE is better than yours" argument.

[Havok]

Let's keep the posts about the FEs in perspective: Most of the posts about AtomicFE are Youki adding new plug and play modules, better layout editor, etc. Most of the posts about Minwah and Mala are new users trying to figure them out. All three are rock solid. (I know you said just kidding, but you did mention it...)

Don't get me wrong about Gamex - I tried it, and it does have a lot of cool features, is very slick, well supported, and extremely well documented. However, IMO not suitable for an arcade cab - it looks too Windows Media PCish.

[gamecreature]

You really have to do your own research on this subject. The wiki is a great place to start. I've lost track of all of the FE's I've tried. Some worked, some didn't. Some looked great, some... eh, not so much. But really, what works for me may not necessarily work for you. Look at them, try them (you're not going to lose anything by trying them - it's just software, not an OS) and see what works best for you.

[loadman]

Yep sounds like we all agree

Most of the posts about Minwah and Mala are new users trying to figure them out. All three are rock solid. (I know you said just kidding, but you did mention it...)

Yeah there are a few posts about MaLa at the moment. It does not mean it is the best OR it has the most bugs.

FYI Most English speaking persons prefer to post their questions here rather than using the German MaLa forum.

PS. Mala users should consider taking a look at the German forum via a translator occasionally, as there are some good posts and you may just learn someting new about MaLa  :-)

I use this

[97thruhiker]

Thanks for the translated link.  I was checking the page out a couple of days ago and never got back to it to have a translated.  As previously mentioned in this thread I'm sure all of these frontends are great in their own respect.  Additionally, I'm sure I've sounded like a fanboy in a couple of other posts in reference to MaLa.  I'm just excited to actually have a frontend working.  I have tried just about every frontend out their with poor results (not the frontends fault, just my own incompetence).  Unlike most of the people here my background is not in computers (I did learn how to program in basic on my Apple II back in the early 80's  ).  I did not own a computer again until 1999.  As a result I have been spoiled by the Windows GUI.  Anything outside of that I seem to bog down so I welcomed the ease of use provided to me by this frontend.

[headkaze]

Don't get me wrong about Gamex - I tried it, and it does have a lot of cool features, is very slick, well supported, and extremely well documented. However, IMO not suitable for an arcade cab - it looks too Windows Media PCish.

This is what I mean by people giving out misinformation. GameEx is fully skinnable! Take a look at this screenshot and tell me that looks too "Windows Media PCish". GameEx is updated alot, so if you've tried it a few months ago chances are it's changed alot since you last used it. The default theme does indeed look like MCE this is because it was originally written as a MAME plugin for MCE. But it has expended way beyond that into a fully featured FE. Rather than bag GameEx and give users wrong information about a FE, just tell them to go to the wiki and make up their own mind. Saves these threads turning into heated arguments.

[Havok]

Don't get me wrong about Gamex - I tried it, and it does have a lot of cool features, is very slick, well supported, and extremely well documented. However, IMO not suitable for an arcade cab - it looks too Windows Media PCish.

This is what I mean by people giving out misinformation. GameEx is fully skinnable! Take a look at this screenshot and tell me that looks too "Windows Media PCish". GameEx is updated alot, so if you've tried it a few months ago chances are it's changed alot since you last used it. The default theme does indeed look like MCE this is because it was originally written as a MAME plugin for MCE. But it has expended way beyond that into a fully featured FE. Rather than bag GameEx and give users wrong information about a FE, just tell them to go to the wiki and make up their own mind. Saves these threads turning into heated arguments.

Still looks Windows Media PCish to me. (Different colors, though)

What other skins are available? Or, do you leave that up to the user?

I'm not bagging it - I gave you quite a few props, but I also gave my OPINION. Where is the wrong information? I absolutely believe that, and as such is correct! However, in addition to stating my OPINION, I did say this:

I tried it, and it does have a lot of cool features, is very slick, well supported, and extremely well documented

   - Is this information incorrect in some way?

Granted, it has been about two months since I tried it, so maybe you have lots of new skins that change the look and feel of Gamex. Is this the case?

If I am not mistaken, the original post requested why we chose one FE over another. I gave my OPINION, and why...

[headkaze]

Still looks Windows Media PCish to me. (Different colors, though)

Your entitled to your opinion by all means, but it's when you state something about a FE that is untrue that cheezes me off - that's my opinion. I don't get how you can say GameEx looks like MCE when it's using a different theme is beyond me. "Different colors"?? Are you blind, the only thing the same as MCE is the animated selector bar. GameEx can import MameWah layouts and look exactly like MameWah if you want, so how does GameEx turn into an MCE look alike when it's using a MameWah layout? Do you think MameWah looks like MCE? Your argument makes no sense.

GameEx can also have snaps for the background, or full motion video. I can assure you my cab running the Soul Calibur theme looks nothing like MCE - apart from the selector bar, which you can choose to be non-animated and with a solid colour (just like MameWah) if you like.

If you were a GameEx user, you would potentially be aware of these features, but clearly your are not.

What other skins are available? Or, do you leave that up to the user?

I've made two skins, and other users have submitted their own skins. It's all on the GameEx site if you wan't to know what ones are available.

I'm not bagging it - I gave you quite a few props, but I also gave my OPINION. Where is the wrong information? I absolutely believe that, and as such is correct! However, in addition to stating my OPINION, I did say this:

Fair enough, but your opinion that it looks like MCE is a little wack IMHO. I guess your entitled to call an apple an orange, but clearly it is not. The day you start calling MameWah an MCE look-a-like is the day I might start believing your not just bagging GameEx.

[Havok]

"Different colors"?? Are you blind, the only thing the same as MCE is the animated selector bar.

That big ass START screams Windows to me...

However, your other points are valid  - with the skins (most of which seem to still look a bit MCE-like, just basic re-arranging with different backgrounds) you can change it to look non MCE. I would just like to see more unique built in skin options right off the bat. We aren't all graphic artists.

So, I retract my earlier statement, and I would say with a good skin, this would make a good front end.

But.....

Free vs. nagware is a tough one.

(By the way, I don't use Mamewah either)

[papaschtroumpf]

Free vs. nagware is a tough one.

I didn't mean to start a flamewar. I must say I had never looked into GameEX because ofthe nagware, that just immediately drops it off my list, same for commercial programs.
I had looked at a few of the others that offered the kindof features I wanted, I tried installing DK a few years ago and hardware compatibility issues of some kind (I think), Kyamera is not being developped actively... so I didn't mean to say that the three I mentionned were the best in any way, but that they seemed to be the best fit for my needs.

I still haven't found the time to mess around with this, probably not going to happen this weekend, and I'm on a business trip next week. Maybe I can try and set them up on the laptop while on my trip...

[Circo]

I have been so busy on the emumovies project that I have not had any time to install any other front ends.  I do have one question about mala though.  I use a 4x40 lcd to display the different controls used for different games/emulators.   MameWAH uses .lcd files to send instructions to the display.  Does Mala do the same thing?  The reason why it is so important is that I have spent countless hours creating those .lcd files for the different systems/games and it is not something that I could or would want to start over on.

[swindus]

MaLa sends the instructions/text on the fly to the lcd. You just have to create some line/screen templates with placeholder and MaLa will replace the placeholder for you when selecting/starting a game.

Here is the list of all placeholder (in german but I think you can understand) you can use:

Game values (Standard Mame Informationen):

- Buttons (~g_buttons): Anzahl der ben

[loadman]

I do have one question about mala though.  I use a 4x40 lcd to display the different controls used for different games/emulators.   MameWAH uses .lcd files to send instructions to the display.  Does Mala do the same thing?  The reason why it is so important is that I have spent countless hours creating those .lcd files for the different systems/games and it is not something that I could or would want to start over on.

Gents I will start a new thread on the topic of 'LCD and Mala' if that is ok? If replies related to that can be taken there please 

[cpetzol2]

No one mentioned Atomic FE, so I thought I would put in 2 cents. Its one of the only Front-ends that is fully scriptable with VBScript. I personally find this useful since I am using my arcade in a public scene, and need some special functionality that some FE hit close to, but not quite.

[Goz]

What do you mean you use your arcade in a public scene?

[edge]

Oh no... 

[youki]

Public means just that various peoples use it.

[Bill Mote]

That big ass START screams Windows to me...

My wife and I have had this same discussion.  It goes something like this, "Hey babe.  Don't you think that girl on TV looks a little like Tammy from the old neighborhood?"  Then she says, "No.  Why?"  "I don't know.  She just reminded me of her."  "Oh.  So you're thinking about Tammy huh?!"  "No.  Not at all.  It was just the way she caught my eye that it reminded me of her."  "So, you think she looks like that?!"

You get the point ...

dot

[Buddabing]

What do you mean you use your arcade in a public scene?

He means he his charging money for his frat house buddies to use his machine.

Look at his previous posts.

[cpetzol2]

I did mention charging money in previous posts, but what I was referring to was the amount of people that will be using it. My arcade is not sitting in a public bar, it is just sitting in a really big frat house, where a lot of people play it.

I needed an interface that was very very simple to use, and requires no knowledge at all, since most of the people who will play it dont know what an emulator is and will probably be drunk. At first I tried to use Atomic FE to manage some credits, but youki has done a nice job of preventing that. It was beyond me on how to make Atomic FE manage credits so I have given up on using AFE for that, but I like how if there is something that people find confusing about the interface, I can try to change it so it is less confusing. I find the scripting capabilities of the layout editor very nice.

Sorry, I didnt mean to turn this into an ethics debate.