MAME Roadmap

[b3atmania]

Hi,

I need to go out and buy a mobo, CPU and videocard for my cabinet. Common sense is to go for the fastest CPU I can afford. But What about the video card? Recently MAME started using Direct3D API for some things, though not (yet?) for actually using 3D hardware acceleration. In order to make an informed decision on what videocard to get I pose these questions to the forum:

- Is there a technology roadmap for MAME?
- Is there an estimate as to when MAME will use 3D hardware acceleration?
- Is MAME using an abstraction layer for the graphics so OpenGL for FreeBSD or Linux could be used instead of DirectX.
- Am I correct in assuming that getting any AGP 8x card will do if no 3D acceleration is being used? Software rendering just needs to copy things to videomemory really quick right?

Thanks,

BM

PS. I would rather have posted this message to the mame.net forum where the developers hang out, but no matter what I try I am not getting an email to activate my account.

[Tiger-Heli]

I'm not a mameDEV, I saw the Direct3D stuff on the MAME forums and know some of MAME's history.  Search the www.mame.net serious forum for Direct3D and you'll probably know as much as me.

- Is there a technology roadmap for MAME?

I don't think so.  I think whenever Aaron Giles or Haze or SMF decide MAME could use something, they add it in.

- Is there an estimate as to when MAME will use 3D hardware acceleration?

Probably never . . . If you mean when will MAME use 3D instructions to make 2D games draw faster.  I think some of the newer non-emulated games (Blitz '99, Open ICE, San Francisco Rush) may have had some 3d hardware on the game PCB's and MAME may incorporate this.

- Is MAME using an abstraction layer for the graphics so OpenGL for FreeBSD or Linux could be used instead of DirectX.

Don't think so.  Someone asked about using OpenGL and IIRC the reply was Direct3D was chosen for compatibility with Windows and the Ming/GCC compiler.  I also heard Direct3D was only added for a fisheye lens effect in some game, not as a graphics speed-up itself.

- Am I correct in assuming that getting any AGP 8x card will do if no 3D acceleration is being used? Software rendering just needs to copy things to videomemory really quick right?

Well, if you use hardware stretch (-stretch), then you are using some 3D acceleration.  And I've heard better chips have a performance advantage.  ATI is pretty much top dog right now anyway, but have generally had better 2D graphics and better TV out, if that's an issue.  An ATI 7500 or 8500 or 9100 (same chip, different name, different clock speeds) and 32M should be plenty for MAME for years to come.  A faster card would help if you're going to do anything besides MAME with your cab.