various problems & questions about mame & gameEx

[geodeath]

Hello all!

I am trying to find the "ideal" setup for mame for my DIY cabinet but i am having a couple of problems using the command line options in mame.

my command line string is the following :

-triplebuffer -nowindow -joy -resolution 1400x1050 0x0x32 -effect scan25

i am using my tft's maximum resolution so its in its native mode.

I also tried to use the scan25 effect so i could start comparing the different scanline modes, but every time i try to start a game in gameEx it crashes and goes back to the game list before i get a chance to read what the problem is.

So i created a bat file and used the above command line to run mame32.exe and guess what? It did run. Of course it didnt run any game with the above command, but it didnt compain.

So my question is where is the problem in that? How can i enable scanlines in mame32 .120 through the command line options? Has it something to do with gameEx pointing the artwork files at another folder (artworkpreview instead of the default artwork)?

That was my first question.

Second question and the most noob one too. How can i get to the game information screen? I know that it says "Alt + 1" but for the life of me, i cant see the cabinets, marquees, titles etc etc etc i placed in the mame folders. Any ideas? Its probably a dumb one, but i am at a loss...

Third question. I downloaded mame preview movies from emumovies. However, i noticed that there is a big difference in volume between them. Is there a way to "normalize" the volume through GameEx?

If not i think i ll have to find a batch volume levelling app...

thanks

George

[Brian Hoffman]

Hello all!

I am trying to find the "ideal" setup for mame for my DIY cabinet but i am having a couple of problems using the command line options in mame.

my command line string is the following :

-triplebuffer -nowindow -joy -resolution 1400x1050 0x0x32 -effect scan25

i am using my tft's maximum resolution so its in its native mode.

I also tried to use the scan25 effect so i could start comparing the different scanline modes, but every time i try to start a game in gameEx it crashes and goes back to the game list before i get a chance to read what the problem is.

So i created a bat file and used the above command line to run mame32.exe and guess what? It did run. Of course it didnt run any game with the above command, but it didnt compain.

So my question is where is the problem in that? How can i enable scanlines in mame32 .120 through the command line options? Has it something to do with gameEx pointing the artwork files at another folder (artworkpreview instead of the default artwork)?

That was my first question.

Second question and the most noob one too. How can i get to the game information screen? I know that it says "Alt + 1" but for the life of me, i cant see the cabinets, marquees, titles etc etc etc i placed in the mame folders. Any ideas? Its probably a dumb one, but i am at a loss...

Third question. I downloaded mame preview movies from emumovies. However, i noticed that there is a big difference in volume between them. Is there a way to "normalize" the volume through GameEx?

If not i think i ll have to find a batch volume levelling app...

thanks

George

Wow... hehehe

For the Effects to work you need the artwork for them... Basicly its a PNG with scanlines and it overlays the game.. Im not sure if you have them or if your command is 100% accurate. As I dont emulate scanlines.

Also I know when your doing video stuff you need the -video switch. I believe your command is wrong completly...

As far as future trouble shooting is concerned in the gameex programs group in the start menu you have a Runlastgame.bat Which essentially does all the work for you and recreates your exact config so you can see what the error is. Id also refrence the mame help file for proper usage of the command line parameters..

As far as the game info and artwork etc... did you configure gameex and point to the right locations? In the gameex advanced config under mame settings you can specify what you have.. Once done you should have that available.. As far as the game info youll need History.dat, Nplayers.dat , Catver.ini and I like the cheat.dat and command.dat. This way you can have move lists for your roms.

As far as the snaps go you may want to normalize the audio using a 3rd pary app or just mute them all together.

Ill check into the commands but in the mean time I know there are a few threads here about the scan lines.. Id do a search.

Happy gaming.

Brian hoffman

[enoch]

Since you're using Mame32, just make all the adjustments (global, per game, etc.) in that. Make sure in GE for 'display settings' to set 'resolution' to 'gameex will not change it', and GE will mimic your desktop. Always fondle and fuss with Mame (or in this case 32) by itself, first. Then see if it changes when loading through GE. Incidentally, once the ini, cfg, etc files are set through 32, one can always replace it with vanilla mame.

[geodeath]

the trick with the "run last game" worked like a charm so i know which is the problem in the command line.

However, my question about the artwork, titles, marquess and stuff isnt about CONFIGURING gameEx to find them. It already looks in the correct folder.

I just dont know how to see all these extra files from within gameEx. The keyboard combination this website suggests as the default for this one must be "Alt + 1" which for me, launches the game!

i feel like a noob.

To put it simply: what do you press when your cursor is over a game and you want to look at all the extra files? (cabinets, marquees)

oh and thanks for all the swift replies too!

[bkenobi]

If you turn on the option to view the game information screen, it will open another screen with all that stuff as well as history and some other things.