[RESOLVED] Revisting the Bezel problem (works in Lite does not in full)

[opjose]

As others have posted I am having the issue where GameEx causes Mame NOT to display bezels but GameEx Lite works just fine.

Chasing the logs the issue is this... though both programs use the same configuration file!

In GameEx, Mame is launched this way

Running: cmd.exe /c D: D:\Emulators\MAME\mame64.exe 1942 -rompath D:\Emulators\Mame\Roms -nowindow -joy -skip_gameinfo -bezel -artpath artworkgameex

In GameEx Lite, Mame is launched this way

Running: cmd.exe /c D: D:\Emulators\MAME\mame64.exe 1942 -rompath D:\Emulators\Mame\Roms -nowindow -joy -skip_gameinfo

I have placed the Bezel Zip files into D:\Emulators\Mame\Roms\Artwork so the GameEx Lite launcher automatically picks them up.

GameEx is explicitly directing Mame to use "artworkgameex".

I have created a folder D:\GameEx\Media\artworkgameex and placed the files there - Doesn't work

I have created a folder D:\GameEx\artworkgameex and placed the files there too - Doesn't work

I have created a folder D:\Emulators\Mame\artworkgameex and placed the files there too - Doesn't work.

How can I fix this for both, and/or where do I place the files?

Thanks for reading and answering.

[Draco1962]

You may want to supply us with your gameex.ini and log.txt files so that we can review them when reporting an issue. Please click on the GameEx How to ask for help link in my signature for instructions on where to find and how to submit them for review. Thanks!

[opjose]

Here are the files.

Note the run command is dissimilar in the two log files, yet both programs utilize the same configuration file.

When I launch Mame ( 1942 in this example ) via GameEx Lite I get the bezels found in the D:\Emulators\Mame\Artwork folder.

When I launch Mame ( 1942 again ) via GameEx I only get the default GameEx bezel.

I have tried placing copies of zip files found in D:\Emulators\Mame\Artwork into the D:\GameEx\Media\Bezel and D:\GameEx\Media\Bezel2 folders with the same result... only the default Bezel appears in Mame when using GameEx (full version)

Thanks.

GameEx Full log.txt

GameEx Lite log.txt

GameEx.ini

[RedDog]

Hello opjose,

After a little bit of testing, I believe I have a solution to what you are looking for.

In the Advance Mame Settings, there is a setting called Use Bezel. When this is set to Use Bezel for Vertical Games, GameEx uses the additional -bezel -artpath artworkgameex command line options which forces Mame to use the GameEx-specific bezel in the GameEx\MEDIA\BEZELV2 directory.

I am not familiar with the ins and outs of what makes the GameEx_Lite version...well lite...but considering the way it is acting, it appears to ignore the Use Bezel setting.

How you can use the bezels in your Mame Artwork directory is to set the Use Bezel option to Don't Use Bezel. Next add a command line option of -artpath <path> to the Mame Options under Advance Mame Settings. When I tested it, I did not need to use the -bezel option. This setup worked fine for me for both the GameEx.exe and GameEx_Lite.exe executables.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

[opjose]

RedDog

Thank you very much, that is a great workaround.

This of course begs the question:

Is there any way to configure things so the default bezel is used for vertical games that lack bezel artwork, while still retaining the available bezel artwork for those that have it?

[RedDog]

I do not believe there is an option within GameEx to say 'use this generic bezel if one does not exist', but perhaps someone else knows a way.

From what I have been able to find, vanilla Mame only looks in the ARTWORK folder for a bezel file that matches the same filename as the rom being run. It does not have an option to use a generic bezel. I did come across a few pages that spoke about the possibility of recompiling the Mame executable to allow for this functionality, but I also could not find a page that confirmed that it actually worked.

What GameEx currently does when Use Bezel is turned on is to create a folder called artworkgameex in the folder that contains the Mame executable. It then renames the graphic file from GameEx\MEDIA\BEZELV2 to match the name of the rom, zips it up with the default.lay file, copies it to the artworkgameex folder, sets the artwork path to artworkgameex and boom, you have a generic bezel.

However, I was unable to find an option in GameEx that would use the generic bezel IF the game did not already have a bezel available. Initially, I thought that you might be able to accomplish the same thing by running a batch file before running mame, but I don't think there is a way to extract the rom name for the batch file to use. Unless someone else more knowledgeable knows a way to make it work, this sort of thing would require an enhancement or plugin.

The only other solution I can think of is to create bezel files for the ones you are missing (not a small project would be my guess). Although, there are others who have taken it upon themselves to make their own bezels. A bit of googling may go a long way if you want to look into this. I actually do not use bezels, but I sill have alomst 900 files in my artwork directory (the downside of being a collector/hoarder?)...so they are out there...

I also came across a Bezel Generator site at Mr Do's Arcade that does not look terribly hard to use:

http://mrdo.mameworld.info/mame_lay.php

[opjose]

Wow thanks... great answer again!

Maybe this could be an option in a future release.

[opjose]

How do I mark the thread as "[Resolved]"?

Thanks.

---

Found it in "Full Editor".

Thanks!

[tthurman]

You can always post your idea in the "Feature and Enhancement Requests" thread.

[RedDog]

Glad I could help.