Beter Weather = Less Time

I was (and still am) so excited to build my ultimate MAME machine. I think this will be a fun project, a project that will get some good use, and be well worth the money invested.

However the project did stall when I was unable to obtain an empty cabinet. That is a very important part of what needs to be done. There were some decent ones @ a local auction, and going over the prices they went for a fair amount . However when you factor in delivery the value is removed.

With that said not having that very important part limits at this time what I can do. So with the weather getting better, more things to do, less time in the house I think MAME will remain on pause for a bit.

I plan on trying to test each and every game on my custom ROM list. I want to make sure they play well and don't lag, etc. This will take some time, but it is the next step.

No doubt it wont be a one time shot, it will mean multiple trips to the office but it is a required step !

MAME on Pause

This weekend was busy ! Went to the auction on Saturday & kick @$$ wrestling show on Sunday. Spare time has been hard to come across so MAME has been on pause. I plan on making some time this weekend.

Auction Was A Bust !

I went to the local auction, as I do about every 7 weeks (aka : whenever they have it).

I was looking for any good buys for my collection, but mostly wanted a decent "shell/empty cabinet" for my MAME project. I took down the results, but I'm having scanner issues. You can check out http://www.vidiot.ca/ for the results of this & past auctions. Anyway the auction was decent, and the prices fair (in my opinion) . Given my situation now even a $25 increase in the bid is enough to turn me off. Why pay for Street Fighter II when Street Fighter II is in my cabinet ? If the price is right, its a different story.

I don't have a van or truck or trailer for that matter. I enlist the help of a friend and give him $50/60 for his time, gas, effort, etc. Its a steal really, he told me he doesn't make a thing. He just does it cause he is a good guy. (Thanks Andrew !)

There were a bunch of Capcom fighters at this auction, many in Midway cabinets. I learned that midway cabinets are just too fricken big ! I cant get them in the house. They were scratched off the list right away. There was a really nice Capcom vs. SNK but it went for more then I wanted to spend. Again, I have this title in my ROM set and space really is an issue. Was the same issue when it came to a Neo Geo 4 slot with 4 carts.

All in all it put me in a weird situation, paying $60 for delivery on a $25 cabinet. Why not just wait til the next auction and hope that I can get another addition to the collection + the cabinet ? I decided that was best, I would wait I'm in no rush. So I'm hoping that next time I can pick up a steal like the 4 player Blitz 99 for $75 and my shell to continue my project.

I will note they had some decent empty cabinets there, 2 player, 6 buttons per side, possibly Dynamo (which are great, they fit in my house), mostly black exterior & marquess. All of which went for $25-50. Mind you that does tend to be the average, and I'm sure that will be the case next auction.

www.cgcc.ca help me out !

As I mentioned I frequent www.cgcc.ca, its a great source of info for a novice like myself.
When I noticed these MAME problems I thought id post on there.
Ray B (of cgcc) posted for me the settings he uses on his older version of MAME. So I'm hoping to give it a shot tonight. Ill post my progress

MAME test in alternate computer & edits

Because of the issues I'm having & my limited knowledge I think the best thing to do is test MAME in my other computer. If the ROM works its then safe to say its the machine not the ROM ! I don't know when ill get around to this, I would think on the weekend. Speaking of which, this weekend I hope to pick up a cabinet to house this project.

Ive also made some edits to steps 5,6, & 7.

• my custom ROM set has been completed


• Ive begun the process of "obtaining" the required CHD's

Some progress...... sorta !

So I've located CHDs and I hoping they will work with my build. They aren't the CHDs for v.124 (which I'm using) but I cant locate the CHDs for v.124 ! so why not try ? the worst case they don't work & I keep looking.

I've completed my custom ROM set, now I need to begin testing the games. I was fooling around with video options but some of the games (Street Fighter series) still play "choppy."
I'm running a P4 with 1700GHZ , the video + audio are built into the main board. I do have a free AGP slot and I'm leaning towards adding a new card.

That's it for now, I will post more as I make progress.

Video Issues

This MAME thing has consumed me....well not fully, but when I have time I like to get up there and tinker. As I noted I had some issues with the video "clipping" and in turn the audio did the same. I did manage to get the games to display full screen, and I lowered my CPU resolution to 800 x 600. Not really sure if that helps but I just thought these are old games, I'm sure they don't have "stellar" graphics and don't need a high resolution. By lowering the resolution I figured I wouldn't (if anything) take away from the look or feel of the game.

There are a ton of video options in MAME, I really didn't know where to start. Contained in the "help" section was some info that directly relates to my issues. First and far most it talks about the speed of the computer. I'm using a P4 1700GHZ .... from what I read that is more then enough. My video card is built in, and perhaps it isn't up to snuff. I think I'm going to try some games in my other CPU and see how that goes. If they work on a newer,better,faster machine then I know its the machine and not the actual ROM itself. Lastly Id look into purchasing a new video card in the hope to resolve my video issues.

Perhaps one thing I was doing wrong was doing my test based on "Street Fighter II: Rainbow" which onto itself is a hack of the original. None the less I plan on making a trip up to my office soon, finishing my custom ROM set & testing the games.

Video card Issues & custom ROM set

The process of creating my custom ROM set inst hard, but it isn't easy. It takes time to go through the games, select the ones you want, research the ones you aren't sure about,and test em to make sure you do indeed like them.

I like fighting games, the Street Fighter series stands out TO ME as one of the greatest of all time. I'm also partial to Mortal Kombat, and NEO-GEO fighters. MAME has tons to offer, so what I do is open Google in one tab and KLOV (www.klov.com) in another. As I go through the list from A to Z I look @ the flyer or title and determine if I think Id like it. If I think I would I Google it and/or check it out on KLOV.

Again its not the fastest process, but its the best way I can think to get that fully customized ROM set that is me !

When showing a friend the other night what I'm doing, I fired up "Street Fighter II : Rainbow Edition" but noticed both the video and audio were choppy. I'm by no means Mr. Computer but I'm guessing my on board video card isn't up to snuff. I'm hoping to replace or simply just add an AGP 128MB video card, I'm hoping this will resolve my video issues.

Other games I tested like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" played without any issues.

Step 5, 6, & 7

Step 5 : Transfer Remaining Data

There are a few elements to MAME, be it artwork,flyer's,marquees,cabinet pics,etc.
Once I moved over the ROMS I placed the remaining data in the required folders.

Step 6 : The Custom ROM Set

MAME has so much to offer, all the games from your childhood available with the push of a button or click of a mouse. Its great to bring these classics as you remember them right into your home office, family room, basement, or wherever you choose to enjoy them. My objective is to build a full size arcade style cabinet to give me that feel I'm looking for. With that said, 6000 + games to pic from can be rather daunting, or even take sometime just to find the ones I want.
I have decided to customize my "favorites" and select only games I know I like & enjoy. When my MAME loads up I will be able to select from this list of personal favorites, however the other games are still available.

** I've now gone through MAME and using Google & KLOV I've completed my customized ROM set. In the weeks to come I am going to begin testing the games for performance issues **

Step 7 : Locate the CHD's

Some games required additional storage in there original state, games like Killer Instinct reallied on an internal hard drive. MAME is still able to play these games, however you need a CHD. For a few games on my list I will require CHD's. I'm now on the quest to locate them.

** I've mannaged to locate the CHD's for another build of MAME. I don't know that they will work on my build, but since I cant find them CHD's for v.124 I thought I would give this a try. That's the final step to my custom ROM set **

Step 4

Transfer the ROMS :

Not much to say here, haven't had much time to do anything. I did manage to get into the office (where my computer is) and move the Roms into the correct folder. Next step will be to move the remaining parts of Mame, be it cabinet pics, marquess, etc.

Step 1 & 2 & 3

DISCLAIMER :

** if your day begins at 5am and goes strong through 11pm perhaps its best to not use the computer if your feeling tired. feeling tired can result in doing things wrong, and in turn twice**

STEP 1 : Format The Computer

I started lastnight by formating my computer, simple right ? Well I was tired, wasnt really paying attention and created a partition. When all was said and done I wouldnt have the space for the games & music i'd want. So I had to do this twice, the second time was a charm ! apx 70 gigs of free space remain.

STEP 2 : Transfer Mame Software + Roms from Cpu to External

I had to take Mame and the roms from my newer,faster PC and but them onto my external HDD. From there I would be able to (1) store them (2) and transfter them to my older,dedicated Mame cpu. This step, despite taking some time went ok !

Step 3 : Install MAME

This was a botch ! There really is nothing to the install of mame ! one click your done..I mean you have to configure it..but the install itself is easy. Once I did the install I moved over my roms.
Well being that it was apx 1am @ this time I installed Mame onto the extrnal HDD, and ended up moving the ROMS from one location on the external to another ! this was a b**ch!
I just ended up dumping that entire folder, installing Mame on the correct drive on my PC. I will begin to move the roms on thursday. (as I have some much earned free time)

Baby Steps

not much to say here, ill try and outline what I'm doing & how I'm doing it.

got an old p4 with 19" nec crt monitor, 80 gig hdd, and decent video card.
this will be the brains of the mame machine.

i was able to "obtain" MAMEui32 & matching rom set.
Ive also downloaded MaLa for the front end.

Ive backed up all my data, mostly about 20gigs of music & plan to format the pc & begin the installation of MAME.

In The Beginning

So to re-cap :

• i got into buying full size arcade games
• i know very little about them
• the wife hates it
• i dont know that i have the money to get "everything" i want
• i dont know that i have the space to get "everything" i want
• ive decided to go with MAME

with all things considered, space, time, money,knowledge,etc I've decided to TRY and build a MAME cabinet. So this is where I stand, this is what I'd like to do. Im hoping that I can pull this off....ill need a lil help from www.cgcc.ca but I think I can do it .

The Choice To Mame

Again Ill say sorry if my posts seem a lil inconsistant, or if I dont finish a thought. Im going to try and log in @ work and do what I can. (which I shouldnt)

So I begin . . . .

My last trip the auction was a success, I managed to leave with three games. Not really games I wanted per say, but three games none the less. I came to a realization, I might not EVER get the games I really want, I might not be able to pay for them,I might not even have the space for them.

With that said I thoght MAME could be a great alternative, everything I want in one place !
(kinda like Wal-Mart ...if thats your thing) If come to a realization of sorts, some people (myself included) tend to get more involved with what we are collection,how much of it we have,whats its worth,etc. Not really putting a thought into weather or not we use it or for that matter enjoy it.

Like having a collectable in the box ! that could be your thing, but in this day in age, with a global market, where you can find goods in China, Australia,India, etc is it really that rare ? Do you enjoy it less if its out of the box on display ? does the value go down ? would you not be able to sell it, etc ?

I myself got caught up in buying clothes, sneakers (50 pairs), and dvds (700 +). Clothing ive never worn,shoes Ive never had on, and movies I never watched. These things take up space, but granted nowhere near the space that 300 lb, 6 feet tall mahcines would. And with that the idea to build a MAME machine was born.

Where the mission begins ....

I caught a bug some time ago and its sorta consumed me. The wife hates it, it takes up money and space, and for a short while it was all I thought about.

I started getting into old arcade games, the 6 feet tall, 300 + lb monsters some of us palyed as kids. I had just purchased my 1st house (@ 30) an 1800 square foot, new construction, soon to be dream home ! I had always wanted a games room, in fact I wanted to live out all my dreams in this new home. (within reason)

Anyway ..... so I started going to local auctions trying to build this "dream." My first purchase was a neo-geo 2 slot machine with bust-a-move ! the following month I picked up WWF Wrestlemania & SVC: Chaos both in Midway Cabinets. They didnt fit in the house and I later sold them. There were a few months where the auction was a bust and I got nothing.
Recently going to the auction I picked up a 4 slot neo geo, a SCI, and a Tekken 3.

When I got home the wife went nutty ! I was filling up "our" basement with "junk!."
She doesnt really care I think she just likes to complain. She wanted bust-a-move & I think it was a good way to break her into this.

So now I have my house, the begginings of a games room, a new hobby, limited (very limited) knowledge, and a complaining wife. There is a great site www.cgcc.ca the guys there have been a real help. I ask alotta questions and the provide alotta answers, they are smart, willing to help, and a great comunity.