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Frontend Questions
chadius:
So my cabinet is finally approaching completion, and the control panel is done, SO, after years of only using Mame32 on my PC I think it's time to setup a good FE.
I will be using mame and a handful of other emulators (for nes, atari, etc..).
I would like the interface to be attractive and professional looking.
I've downloaded all the preview avi's, so I want support for those.
Something that is easy to setup and VERY easy for someone to just jump on my cab and use.
And finally something with great game list support. (see below)
I'd like to be able to navigate to games a couple of different ways: The typical hierarchical tree structure (select emulator, select game), and through different lists (horizontal games, trackball games, sports games, all time favorites). I don't mind if I have to setup these different lists manually over time, as long as they are easy to jump between and navigate for the end user on the cab.
I don't have u360s, so a remapping feature isn't needed. (but maybe in the future?)
I don't have an LED whiz, so support for that won't be needed.
I've downloaded and taken a look at AtomicFE and MameWAH, the learning curve seemed pretty steep, and I couldn't get them to do quite what I wanted (that was probably my own ignorance though).
So, I'm thinking MALA? Is that what you guys would suggest considering my wants/needs? Or should I dig deeper into AtomicFE, or MameWAH, or buy Maximus or something else entirely?
Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for your feedback.
-chad
Circo:
MameWah - Great but hard to set up and little documentation
Mala - Easier to set up but has some issues with videos at the moment
GameEx - What I am currently using, very easy to set up and currently my favorite but I do suggest getting the full version which is $20 but well worth it in my opinion.
Atomic - The only one that I have not tried but I have heard very good things.
Cakemeister:
I'm going to do something that I've never done before, namely recommend a frontend application.
There are four critical components to a frontend application. There's the graphical presentation to the user, of course. But you also need a game list generator, a config program, and a skinner. In my humble opinion these applications should be separate.
There is one frontend which has more stuff you can do with skins than any other I have tried, has a great skinner program, is fast, is currently being worked on by the developer, and will run on just about any combination of hardware you care to throw at it. That frontend is Atomic.
My only two complaints about Atomic are that 1) it is not open source, 2) the skins are binary files and can't be edited by hand.
spystyle:
Mala!
http://mala.arcadezentrum.com/
unclet:
Swindus is working on a new MALA version (RC10) which I believe is focusing on resolving the video and screensaver issues. You can find the "RC9 beta2" floating around these boards if you want to try the newest MALA versions out there.
I use MALA and think it is incredibly easy to set up. It really depends what your tastes are and what you want from a frontend.
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