[RESOLVED] Can not run vanilla MAME 0.265 with GameEx 18.64 properly

[u-man]

Hi GameEx-Forum members,

i recently bought a ultra wide LCD panel and wanted to use it for the marquees in my arcade-cab. In this process, i wanted to upgrade/update as much as possible soft and hardware wise, since i did not do this in a very long time. So i installed a fresh Windows 10, GameEx 18.64 and vanilla MAME 0.265. Configured MAME and got it working. I used the setup wizard of GameEx and configured everything for a basic MAME setup there, but unfortunately GameEx will not start MAME with any selected game and currently, i need to start GameEx in a window (not fullscreen), because otherwise i would need a logoff or restart, in case that GameEx stops working after i select a game (which happens everytime currently). From what i remember from the past, GameEx should return to the select screen, if something goes wrong, but it does not and a force quit via task manager is needed.

Lets now get to the real strange things: If i configure MAME as a emulator in GameEx, everything works like it should (including showing marquees, snapshots etc.), but i lose all benefits i would usually have by using GameEx native MAME treatments. From observation, i see that the "update list" process, has serious problems. The updating itself is pretty fast, until it comes to a "creating PinballX" list point. This process takes very long time and after its finished, it returns to the select screen and wants immediately to do the "update list" process again. If i allow this "second" update process, it will never finish and GameEx will stop working. If i dont allow (or skip) this "second" update list process, i have a working list, but it does not show marquees, snapshots etc. and i cant start any game with MAME, so something went wrong here.

Question is, what i am doing wrong here, or is it maybe GameEx. Any help is appreciated.

Cheers, u-man

[Draco1962]

Can you please attach copies of your gameex.ini and log.txt files from right after the error occurs? 

You may also need to make sure that your are not running GameEx, MAME, and any other emulators as Administrator as this can cause some odd behaviors during write back processes.

Thanks!

[u-man]

Hi Draco ,

Thanks for chiming in and helping. I solved this problem and it turned out that GameEx cant decode .mp4 files natively and really needs the LAV Video Codecs , to decode video snaps. Understandable, but i did not expect such odd behaviour, if these codecs are not installed. To defend GameEx... Windows 10, was not able to play the video snaps too. I tested other .mp4 video files and they played fine. So the progetto AntoPisa video snaps must use settings, that neither the OS or GameEx understand and are causing trouble to a degree, where the apps just "hangs".

After nearly a decade not fiddling with emulation stuff, i did get a little bit rusty and muscle memory is long gone, to remember all these fine details (turned 50 this year ). Pretty sure, i will come up with another topic, while in the upgrading process of the arcade cab .

[Draco1962]

Glad you got it sorted! Yeah, LAV has been a requirement for some time now, having replaced Shark007 and others. 

I turn 62 next month, and noticed that I "hide my own Easter eggs" more often than I did 10-20 years ago. We'll muddle through it together, right?