bkenobi

Haven't tried it, but it looks like it may be possible to save videos using savevid.com. The conversion would require a second step and be dependent on what format that website saved it in.

You may need to get a hacked .exe (or a patch for the original) for the game depending on if it has a disc check. Unfortunately, that's not something that can be discussed here. Fortunately, there are lots of places to find that kind of file. If you create an image of the disc, you probably won't need to get a hack as it will be using the original disc, it's just on the HDD.

So then it's cheaper to buy a cabinet and board set than it is to buy a PC capable of playing them?

I was just reading the details of the MultiMAME application. That thing looks really cool, but pretty intense learning curve for a newbie. If anyone has some experience with it, I would love to see what you've done! The MAME_Loader is far simpler and lacks the list building capabilities. There was another thread within the last month that discussed the desire to put Daphne directly in the MAME list. You can kludge something together with MAME_Loader and some work with the database, but it's not very friendly. From the description of the capabilities of MultiMAME, it sounds like it's possible to have it generate a list.xml file with the desired content (including PC games if desired...). I don't want to dump a bunch of time into another program if it doesn't do what I think it does (I'm both lazy and short on time ), so if anyone can at least comment on the capabilities, that would be helpful for me and possibly others as well!

I know there are a lot of people who have asked the question "can GameEx look in subdirectories" MANY times. We always tell them "Nope". Recently I've been telling people to use the ln command after reading about it. Well, I never really looked into it much until yesterday. It doesn't work exactly out of the box. As a result, I thought I would provide a brief discussion on how to accomplish having your original files in subdirectories for maintenance but appear in a flat directory structure format for GameEx AT THE SAME TIME! For this example, I used Circo's EmuMovies MAME set as an example. In this case, I wanted to keep the original structure of the files on the computer so that when I update the set down the road, I just have to copy the original file structure from the torrent rather than seeing what I have first, then copying extra gigabytes unnecessarily (over the wireless connection to the cabinet). His torrent has the following structure: MAME EmuMovies 125 Beta Set ->MAME SQ --->Artwork ----->Full ----->Cropped --->Horizontal --->Vertical ->MAME HiQ --->Artwork ----->Full ----->Cropped --->Horizontal --->Vertical I personally am only planning on using this for my previews in GameEx, so I only have the MAME SQ set. I don't like the look of cropped artwork, so I don't have that either. Thus, my structure is as follows: "Nope". Recently I've been telling people to use the ln command after reading about it. Well, I never really looked into it much until yesterday. It doesn't work exactly out of the box. As a result, I thought I would provide a brief discussion on how to accomplish having your original files in subdirectories for maintenance but appear in a flat directory structure format for GameEx AT THE SAME TIME! For this example, I used Circo's EmuMovies MAME set as an example. In this case, I wanted to keep the original structure of the files on the computer so that when I update the set down the road, I just have to copy the original file structure from the torrent rather than seeing what I have first, then copying extra gigabytes unnecessarily (over the wireless connection to the cabinet). His torrent has the following structure: MAME EmuMovies 125 Beta Set ->MAME SQ --->Artwork ----->Full --->Horizontal --->Vertical Files exist in the Full, Horizontal, and Vertical directories. I want to have these put in another folder and appear to be a single set. If there is artwork in a game, then I want it used. But, I want vertical games to be pulled from the vertical directory since GameEx forces the aspect ratio of the video to match the game. So, here's what I did: 1) Go get Link Shell Extension. This is a tool that makes creating links to files a lot easier than pretty much any other method I tried. You will probably need both the program and the vs2005 libraries that are available in the download area. Install vs2005 file first, then the main program. 2) Create a destination directory where everything will be put when you are done. I am using one called 'MAME'. 3) Create a destination directory to put the linked files. I created a 'ln' directory in Full, Horizontal, and Vertical. 4) Go to the directory 'Full'. Select all files (ctlr - a). Right click and select "Pick Link Source". 5) Go to the link destination directory, right click, select "Drop Hard Link". You can also right click drag to do the same thing. 6) Repeat 4-5 for Horizontal and Vertical. 7) Now, move all hardlinks from the Horizontal\ln directory to MAME. 8) Move all hardlinks from Artwork\ln to MAME. Tell Windows to replace all files. 9) Move all hardlinks from Vertical\ln to MAME. Tell Windows to replace all files. 10) YOU'RE DONE! You can now delete the temporary directories if you want. This will work for anything you want to keep multiple directory structures. I suggest you read the documentation on these links prior to using them to understand what they are, but basically, you have just created a second link to the file on the hard drive. If you delete the new link, the old one exists. If you delete the original one and keep the new one, you basically moved the file to the new folder (the file will remain on the hard drive). This method gives you multiple copies of the link without having to store duplicate data! You can do the same thing for your media library, roms, pron , etc. If you have a bunch of directories, you might find it easier to script some of this.

The monitor you are using apparently isn't MultiSync (most arcade monitors aren't). You have Windows and the MAME game you are loading running at the same resolution and refresh rate however it appears you have GameEx running at a slightly different setting. There is an option somewhere (use the setup wizard to search for it) that says something like "GameEx will not change screen resolution -- True/False". If you set this to true, things *should* work smoother.

Yeah, I was planning on checking it out last night, but it got past my bedtime...I guess that's obvious after reviewing the contents of the archive I uploaded .

If you do it that way, be aware that it won't automatically update if you adjust your controls. If you change anything in the MAME config, you will have to regenerate the CP image in the artwork directory. If you adjust the default controls, you will have to remake ALL images. I personally am opting for keeping CPWizard running in the background since my config isn't 100% stable ATM.

Catlist (not cavlist) is used to provide a list of categories in MAME32. If you want categories in GameEx, you need to get catver instead/in addition. Catver is in a different format and includes the information for when a game was introduced into MAME. And yes, you definitely need this file if you plan on searching for games by categories instead of just by name. What is CPSketcher? You probably need to adjust your button config in MAME in order to use the CP the way you want. When in MAME, press 'TAB' and select the first item (default controls) and adjust the controls as desired. If you find a game that doesn't work well with the default controls, you can use the second item (game specific controls) to override the default ones.

You sure about TOSEC being wrong? I've heard that they are some of the best sources available for some stuff. For example, apparently they use the game's release date from either the MFG, SEGA, or the game disc itself. I haven't done a lot of review, but the game names are different depending on the market they are released into, so while in the US it may be callled "Capcom vs. SNK", it may be "Capcom Vs. SNK - Millennium Fight 2000 Pro" or "Capcom Vs. SNK - Millennium Fight 2000" in other markets yet be the exact same game.

I was just playing Assault for the first time after realizing (from another thread) what Right/Right, Left/Down, etc. mean. I can play it just fine, but I was curious what things were supposed to do according to the controls.ini (as displayed via CPWizard). Anyway, when I fire it up, it doesn't say anything for P1 joystick and only one thing for P2 joystick. I haven't looked too far into it, so it's possible it's a problem with the controls.ini file. I'm posting my default.cfg, assault.cfg, and the mame setup for CPWizard just in case. I'll probably look at the other files later on, but it's too late for tonight. Assault_Error.zip

The current version of MAME recognizes around 7000 roms. If you have 1300, your set is definietly older than 2004 (that's the oldest data I have available). There have been MANY MANY changes since then, so it wouldn't surprise me if you are limited on your available roms.

It can be, but GameEx currently doesn't send the hook for it. I expect that Tom will have that in a near term future release. CPWizard is very stable and with all the people using it, HK has an excellent base for finding bugs. So far, there haven't been but a couple found and he's resolved them very quickly. I wouldn't avoid using CPWizard for fear of issues...it's simply awesome!

The throttle shows up in windows as the z-axis usually. If you leave the throttle all the way open, it will think you are pressing that direction when you start up. There may be other things that do it, but I've noticed this in GameEx on my racing cab (the pedals are x- and y-axis for a hacked game pad). As a result, I disabled joystick input (otherwise it would race up/down the list for no apparent reason).

They usually provide a compatibility list. If your card is on there, it should fit. Now, what they say "fits" may not be easily fits, but the holes should line up. There are 2 types of vga coolers though. You can go with the type that replaces the OEM HSF, or you can go with one that attaches to a expansion bracket next to the card. The first type should provide better cooling, but they cost a lot more. The second cost a lot less and they are universal, but you get what you pay for. I've replaced the fan on one card when the stock one died and it did fit, but it wasn't a nice fit. On the other hand, I just purchased the cheapest thing I could on the day I needed it, so if you order online, you should be able to do better.

You might consider one of the after market coolers for the video card itself. Btw, what is the ambient temperature in the room? Since it's summer, you will definitely see the worst system temperatures now (unless you have A/C). The hotter the ambient temperature is, the less effective cooling you will get. If the air you are using to cool things is hot, then it can't absorb much heat so you must increase the flow rate or cool the cooling air in some other way.

NFL Blitz? No, that game runs really slow on most machines short of a quad core box. I think all seattle based games are a problem. Actually, pretty much all CHD based games don't run that well either.

Press the coin button in MAME...

I'm pretty sure Capcom vs SNK was released on DC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia1oRdThyHE

It's probably due to the hide desktop option. I don't run on dual monitors, so I can't say for sure though. Try turning it off and see if that helps. Other people here do run that setup, so if that doesn't work, I'm sure someone else will be able to suggest another option to try!

Speedfan is free and it does pretty much all of this as well. Taking the side off the PC could actually make heat problems worse... Without getting too geeky, the problem is the airflow. You need to get good airflow to convect the heat away from hot components. By opening the side of the case, you can actually slow down the flow over those components (if the case is designed well) and result in stagnant hot air cooling your equipment. What I did was to take the side off the case, installed 2 fans aiming at the motherboard (the motherboard faces the back of the cabinet), installed cardboard "sealers" around the edge of the case, and added a flexible metal duct that connects to the back of the PSU fan and the top vent on the cabinet. Effectively, I am forcing flow over hot components and using the PSU fan to suck that hot air out of the case and directly up and out of the cabinet. I'm sure there are better ways to do this, but this was the cheapest and quietest way I could come up with on a shoe string budget (I already blew the rest of the arcade fund by then).

I highly recommend CPWizard over the built in CP Viewer. It does require a bit of time invested to build the custom control panel, but then the benefit is apparent immediately!

Yeah, "D:\GameEx\Vids"... Can you play those videos through GameEx in the media player/jukebox thing?

First, make sure that you are running the same version of MAME as your romset. If you don't have the same (or a similar) version, you likely will have most of the games show up with different check sums from what MAME expects. If you want to remap your controls in GameEx, you need to turn on custom controls and set them to the appropriate key values. The easiest way to do this is to launch the config wizard and search for "custom input".

So it looks like GameEx isn't finding a video in the "C:\GameEx\Vids" directory that is in a format it can handle.