The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Software Forum => Linux => Topic started by: ulfur on March 03, 2011, 05:25:17 pm
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So I had this old laptop with very limited resources and powed. It's a Dell C610 running a PIII with 256MB of ram.
There's not a lot to be done with this machine in today's environment but I was pretty sure it could run Mame just fine with the right setup.
I set about figuring out how to do it and found that there were indeed a few people that had done similar things even though most seemed to be running it on what seemed to me to be complete overkill considering the job at hand.
Even though there are people out there doing this I didn't find many straight forward guides on the matter and the information seems a little fragmented.
Therefore, I decided I'd compile a short (and simplified) tutorial on the subject in case it might be of some help to others trying to achieve the same thing.
So without further ado:
I went with Ubuntu 10.10 and installed a stripped version without any UI. It's important to go for the alternate installer (http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/alternative-download) version when you download the iso as this will give you a ncurses based installer and the option of installing a command-line only system.
Once I had the OS up and running I installed the Fluxbox (http://fluxbox.org/) window manager which brought along X and all the rest of the components to run a window system.
Once you have Ubuntu up installing Fluxbox is as simple as:
sudo apt-get install fluxbox
You'll also need to make sure you get xinit seperately:
sudo apt-get install xinit
With Fluxbox installed it was time to install Mame. This is also very straight forward once you have the right repository set up. Sdlmame4ubuntu (http://sdlmame.wallyweek.org/repository/) has all the instructions for it written up in a straightforward manner.
Finally I installed the Wah!Cade (http://www.anti-particle.com/wahcade.shtml) Mame frontend/launcher. This was slightly more hassle but a seasoned Linux user shouldn't have to much trouble with it.
With all the pieces in place it was time to configure autologin and have Wah!Cade launch on startup.
To configure autologin simply add
su - <username> -c startxto /etc/rc.local right at the end just before the exit 0 statement.
To have Wah!Cade launch on startup edit ~/.fluxbox/startup. At the end you'll find a statement that says exec fluxbox.
Comment that out and add exec wahcade like so
#exec fluxbox
exec wahcade
And that's more or less it. This of course is a quite simplified guide and you're bound to run into some config issues along the way but they should all be rather minor.
If in trouble just shoot me a line on here and I'll try and help you out :)
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Looks good.
I just installed Lubuntu, wich is a lot lighter then Ubuntu to begin with.
I have set it to autologin and simply added Wahcade to autostart.
Too bad there isn't an recent Ubuntu package for Mess, i had to compile it from source.
Greetz, Ger.
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hello i was wundering if you were still running this setup
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Until now, yes.
I have built in a faster graphics card, a geforce 6800.
This setup is fast enough for all but the newer Mame games, as well as Daphne and Mess.
The older consoles, like Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Nes, Supernes and even Nintendo 64 works fine.
For newer consoles its a bit too slow.
I am currently setting up a newer mainboard; socket 775, core 2 duo E8400 @3,6 Gh 4 Gig ram and a geforce 9500 gt.
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well i am having a small problem with wahcade and was thinking you mite be able to give me a hand trying to set it up a i am getting a joy error and can not find a way around it
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This is a known problem in the current version, you have to add some lines to "filters.py"
Look at this topic how: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,114917.0.html (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,114917.0.html)
You can also use the fork; Mahcade, to be found here: http://www.mameau.com/mahcade/ (http://www.mameau.com/mahcade/)
The launchpad version is the newest, it's still in constant development.