Going to the auction and I'm going to get ........

Lucky ? Well nothing is for sure when it comes to auctions. But starburst does have some good deals, even some steals ! My number one goal is an empty machine for MAME. For this I don't want to pay more then $50. Id also like a second cabinet, this would be for an XBOX project I'm thinking about. If there is a good deal to be found I'm not opposed to it, but its not the main reason for the visit. Its often you can get a good game in a decent machine for $50. There are often (in my opinion) good deals for under $100. But sometimes that difference from $50 to $75 is enough to put me off. Not really a cheap thing, more an issue of this game will be inside my MAME. Do I really need this 300lb box ?

Ill let you know how I make out.

Mortal Kombat Mess

I resumed my MAME testing the other night and its going well. Ive got to the "S" section of the list. I expect to be completed in a day or so. Once I'm done I will print it and save it as a reference guide. My notes include things like (a) weather or not the title works on both XBOX & MAME (b) and problems the games has. So if a game notes "missing chd/rom" I would indicate that beside it. I also make personal notes like "flicker" or "choppy image." A slew of Midway games have this problem. In fact the entire Mortal Kombat franchise and NBA JAM franchise are really slow and "choppy." It was just brought to my attention that, that could very well be a video card issue. Stupid me only tested Street Fighter II: Rainbow as a basis for weather or not the video card worked. When it didn't I was quick to return it within the allotted 10 days. None the less it makes sense, slow video = slow video card. I don't know what my on board video is, but I do plan on trying to find out. None the less I will complete testing, noting all video troubles I have. Once completed purchase a new card and continue testing.

More Testing

Ive resumed my MAME testing. As said id like to go through all my "favorite" ROMS and record my findings. Simply put indicate weather or not the games works on XOBX & MAME. I'm also making notes regarding its game play. So if the game runs slow that would be noted. I plan on printing it out and leaving it beside the MAME machine. Speaking of which the auction is this week. ( 5.31.8 )

Ive got up to the "S" section of my list. Its late, I'm tired, so ill resume later.

Testing Has Started

As noted my video card was a bust! I think that deciding to use "Street Fighter II: Rainbow" was a poor choice. None the less whats done is done. With that out of the way I've decided to keep the computer as is.

I've decided that I'm going to keep my MAME machine (when built) as simply that...a machine for MAME. Other emulators and games will be played via one of my 6 XBOX's which I will load with the emulators & Rom's.

Now I'm begging the process of testing each game in my favorites list. Noting if it does or doesn't work. If it works on XBOX, and noting any flaws I see. For example "Street Fighter II" Rainbow" has choppy audio. or "Arch Rivals" was missing CHD's. All my results with be gathered and saved on an Excel spreadsheet.

I don't know that it really serves any "real" benefit to recording these results, but I plan on leaving a copy next to the machine. People can use this as a reference when selecting a game.

One of the other things I did was take my time and go through ROM lists for NES,SNES,N64,and TURBO GRFX 16. I selected all the games I like and saved them as "favorites." I don't think I will go through these and test them (as I will for MAME) but I do plan on adding them to a favorites folder. Or perhaps simply loading these ROMs and only these ROMs when setting up the XBOX.

Video Card Update & Testing

I installed my video card today and began the process of testing MAME. The 1st thing I noticed was I was unable to use "Direct 3D" with the new video card. None the less I began the testing process, again using "Street Fighter II : Rainbow." Graphicly I dont know that I noticed any improvement with the new card vs. my onboard video. The main issue was some "choppiness" while playing certain games. When I fired up SFII: Rainbow the problem persisted with the new card installed. In retrospect I dont think it was a wise choice to base my tests on a "hacked/bootleg" game. Not only that I really dont recall how the game played in the arcade. Was it faster then the other Street Fighters ? I've decided to remove the card and return it.

Ive hooked up the joystick a friend lent me, and started testing the games. I plan on testing every game in my favorites and recording my findings on a spreadsheet. I want to record my findings for MAME on PC & my MAME on XBOX. Perhaps some games wont work well on PC, but do on XBOX. Or perhaps some games might not even be on the XBOX,etc.

When im done ill post the document here for download if needed by anyone.

Video Card Has Been Purchased

Went out to Kennedy Road (here in Scarborough) which is a great source of computer parts,furniture,and miscellaneous gadgets. I was looking for some hard drives for my three new XOBX's. The first store the guy was a real jerk...so I ended up walking out. I then went to factory direct (www.factorydirect.ca)on the same strip. I picked up 3 160 IDE HDD & a video card for my MAME.

I was having a few issues with MAME, the video for some games was really "choppy." With the computer being a P4 with 1 gig of RAM it was safe assume the integrated video card was the issue.

Needless to say I was able to pick up this video card today. I plan on testing it tonight and Ill post the results.

MAME on XBOX... and other stuff

As I said I am still very much interested in MAME. I fully intend on seeing this project through. The pros are far greater then the cons. And even if its just one more "cool" thing in the house, so be it !

Recently I dug out my MAME for XBOX , I had a custom list I had created for my other MAME project and decided to test out the games. The majority of games worked well, others not listed, and some simply not working. But all in all I was pleased with the outcome.

A rather large portion of the classics I enjoyed could be played via my XBOX on my 42" wide screen........ Nice ! Now like many others have said there really is something about playing the oldies the way they were meant to be played. But none the less this was a great alternative.

I recently purchased three modded XBOX's with DUOX2 mod chips & the Cromwell bios. In addition to this I was able to obtain two extra mod chips. I now have six XBOX's.

One is a limited edition, clear green, HALO XBOX with upgraded 80 gig hard drive. The other your standard run of the mill XBOX, however I have painted the "X" white and installed a 180 gig western digital hard drive. My third remained bone stock with the cosmetic mod, in this case I painted the "X" green. The other three are at this point stock with the exception of the mod chip. I intend to perform a cosmetic mod to all three & upgrade all the hard drives.

The plan was to have an XBOX for every TV in the house, but even at that I only have 4 TVs. With that said two XBOX's would be left unused. This gave me an idea, use one of the leftover XBOX's as a primary emulator machine. I had wanted to install NES,SNES,N64,SEGA,etc onto the computer and run via the MAME machine. But fealt I would be better served to leave that space on the computer as it would be needed to network all the XBOX's. Not only that, but all data that had to be moved in and out of the XBOX's would need to done via that computer.

With that decided my plan is as follows :

Continue with my build of the MAME machine using my existing computer. The machine will be used to play MAME only and operate with MAME32 contained on a P4 computer (now MAME UI). My next bright idea was (is) to purchase another empty cabinet at the next auction. But this cabinet would be used to contain one of the six XBOX's. The only difference would be all my ROM sets & emulators would be stored directly on the XBOX hard disk. And in turn the XBOX would be contained inside the actual cabinet itself. I'm not going to get really fancy here, in reality the XBOX itself will be stored behind the coin door. The controllers will be either (a) wireless or (b) removed for game play via the coin door when the XBOX is powered on. I will remove the existing monitor and replace with a suitable TV for game play.

Once all the elements are in place I will consider weather or not to begin cosmetically altering the machine. Be it a new coat of paint, some decals, upgrading the sound system,etc. I have to realize my limits, and cost is a major factor. I figure as great as it is to play a real arcade classic and in real arcade way...there is no real loss playing Mike Tyson's Punch Out via an XBOX joystick.

I think this project is well within my means, and will be rather simple to pull together. I have the XBOX and all I need is the empty cabinet. I can purchase that at the next auction (May 31st, 2008) for $50. Nothing fancy, just another cool addition to the games room that people can enjoy with ease.

Video card quest . . .

MAME is still on pause for me ....time is just that hard to come by. But I'm still excited, and I still want this badly. I've decided Ill need a new and better video card. Local clear out retailers carry some older stock, and I should be able to get one for about $20. My video is inboard (attached to the motherboard) and seems to lag when playing certain games. Talking to people and reading up on MAME requirements a P4 (which I have) should be more then enough. Yet I continue to have problems with certain titles. With that said this purchase seems be the next logical step.

I still fully intend on testing every game is my custom ROM list. I want to make sure they play OK, and perhaps do any tweaks/configurations that are required. Once that is done the process of moving into the cabinet can begin. I believe that I will be able to set up custom button layouts for every title in MAME, however to really get the feel it would be required that all components be installed into the cabinet.

The goal is to get a cabinet at the next auction, May 31st... same day as my wrestling trip to Bolton.

These are the objectives I look to tackle in the very near future, but for the most part MAME is still on pause. Just not enough time ........... perhaps this weekend to come I can begin testing the games........who knows !