Source Codes....are these in the CHD files?

[jardine]

Just a quick question on source codes for my games. I beleive that some games need this to run. I have searched MAWS to check out which code for which game but am struggling on how to find these codes/files.... are they in the chd files or something different

Can anyone shed some light?

[TheShanMan]

What are "source codes"?

[jardine]

Good Question......i think i ment driver source...let me be a bit more specific.....

In NBA Jam..it requires a driver source midtunit to run (i think) This is where i need help. A friend found some of these drivers for me and got some of my games working...so do all games require this driver to work? and where to find this driver?

[Jdurg]

Good Question......i think i ment driver source...let me be a bit more specific.....

In NBA Jam..it requires a driver source midtunit to run (i think) This is where i need help. A friend found some of these drivers for me and got some of my games working...so do all games require this driver to work? and where to find this driver?

Okay.  I'm getting the hint that you aren't really up to speed on emulation or the software involved in it.     Don't worry, we've all been there.

To run these arcade games, you need an emulator and ROM files.  The emulator is a program that is written by people which takes the data from the Arcade PCBs and allows modern computers to process the data and allow you to play the games.  ROM files are the actual game code that is "dumped" (a fancy computer term for "copied") from the PCBs. 

MAME is an open source emulator written using interchangeable parts called "drivers".  This allows the programmers to not have to copy the same code over and over and over again for each game that is added.  Since multiple games often used the exact same hardware, but different code, to run, the drivers are written for the hardware which allows the code (ROM files) to run.

Drivers are just source code.  Source code is just logic and equations which tell computer hardware what to do.  Take all the drivers and compile them together and you get an executeable.  (In this case, MAME).

I guarantee you that your friend did not search for and find drivers for you.  If he did, then he gave you source code and you compiled MAME on your own, and based upon your questions I find that hard to believe.  What is likely is that your friend found you the ROM files that you needed.

Another thing to keep in mind is that these ROM Files are the intellectual property of the company that created those games.  Unless he got permission from the company to obtain them, the it means that he technically stole them and broke the law.  Since this website/forum does not condone the breaking of the law, nobody here will ever tell you where to get ROM files.  We understand that it's hypocritical to say "it's wrong to download ROMs" as many of us have done so to populate our arcade cabinets, but we simply won't link to sites that distribute ROMs, or tell people where to get them.  The internet is a big place and it's pretty simple to search for and find the files you need.

Good luck.