Does GameEx use Mame32 ini files ?

[E-T]

I am using GameEx and Mame32 and AdvanceMame.

I have a few games that I am having trouble with.

They run fine in Mame32 ( video and trackball all work fine ).

When I run in GameEx the trackball doesn't work in any trackball games even though I have added mouse 1 in all ini files in the mame32 ini directory.

Also Wizzard of War works great in Mame32, but when I run in Gameex the screen goes wierd like for a resoulution my monitor doesn't take. ( a fast scroll with sideways offset ). I changed the resolution in the ini file in Mame32 ini directory but it had no effect.

Does GameEx use different ini or configuration files in a different directory ?

The trackball problem is odd, because the trackball works as a mouse in Windows and I can see it on the Gameex screen but it woun't work with any games.

I had it working perfectly the other day for all games and then it just stopped working ???

I have -mouse in the Mame command line in the GameEx setup so the mouse should be enabled.

Also a side question. What advantage does using AdvanceMame have ? Could that be causing problems for me ? If I want to try without it do I select not to use it in GameEx Setup.

[bkenobi]

AdvanceMAME is useful for people running arcade monitors and TV's. The problem is that the source hasn't been updated in FOREVER. At this point, I would not recommend using it unless you found the vanilla build of MAME was unacceptable for some reason. If you have AdvanceMAME set up and enabled, you will not be running MAME/MAME32 to launch your roms. As a result, some games might not work if they are not compatible with that release.

As far as the mouse goes, there are 2 things that you need to check. First, if you are using a MAME.ini/MAME32.ini file, then get those set up to use mouse 1 (which it sounds like you've already checked). GameEx also can apply arguments when it launches. There are a couple that are set by default that you can find in either GameEx config tool. I personally recommend removing all options from GameEx and setting them in the ini. That way if things launch outside of GameEx, then you know they will also launch with the same options from inside GameEx.

The 3rd thing that you need to do (beyond the ini and GameEx options) is to make sure the controls for the game are set to use the mouse. Once in the game, hit TAB and go to P1 controls (either global or game specific) and change the analog controls to use the mouse axis and set inc/dec to NONE.

Also, when you are trying to figure out what's going on, it can be very useful to check out the "runitgame.bat" file. This file contains the commands that GameEx used to launch the last game. So, if you run a game in GameEx that has an issue, you can drop to windows and view the batch file to see what command it used to run the game. Just looking there should get you the problem, but if it doesn't let us know.

If you want someone to help, post your runitgame.bat and log.txt files. With those two files, we should be able to get you going if you can't find the problem on your own.

Good luck!

[E-T]

AdvanceMAME is useful for people running arcade monitors and TV's. The problem is that the source hasn't been updated in FOREVER. At this point, I would not recommend using it unless you found the vanilla build of MAME was unacceptable for some reason. If you have AdvanceMAME set up and enabled, you will not be running MAME/MAME32 to launch your roms. As a result, some games might not work if they are not compatible with that release.

As far as the mouse goes, there are 2 things that you need to check. First, if you are using a MAME.ini/MAME32.ini file, then get those set up to use mouse 1 (which it sounds like you've already checked). GameEx also can apply arguments when it launches. There are a couple that are set by default that you can find in either GameEx config tool. I personally recommend removing all options from GameEx and setting them in the ini. That way if things launch outside of GameEx, then you know they will also launch with the same options from inside GameEx.

The 3rd thing that you need to do (beyond the ini and GameEx options) is to make sure the controls for the game are set to use the mouse. Once in the game, hit TAB and go to P1 controls (either global or game specific) and change the analog controls to use the mouse axis and set inc/dec to NONE.

Also, when you are trying to figure out what's going on, it can be very useful to check out the "runitgame.bat" file. This file contains the commands that GameEx used to launch the last game. So, if you run a game in GameEx that has an issue, you can drop to windows and view the batch file to see what command it used to run the game. Just looking there should get you the problem, but if it doesn't let us know.

If you want someone to help, post your runitgame.bat and log.txt files. With those two files, we should be able to get you going if you can't find the problem on your own.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info.

I got the mouse to run by going into every ini file I could find ( mame.ini, mame32ui.ini, mame32.ini and gamex.ini ) and making sure mouse was set to 1.

It was missing in the mame.ini even though -mouse was in the command line in gameex.

When you said to remove all options from Gameex what did you mean ? Were you referring to the command line info ?

If so, I can see how this can cause problems ( since my mouse should have been working , but yet it wasn't ).

I am still having a problem with advanceMame with the one game. If I don't use Advancemame, gameex won't run any games. It just comes back to gameex screen ?? I am running an arcade monitor so maybee I need it somehow.

The strange thing is mame32 runs wizzard of war fine and I can select the res in the UI. The problem seems to be the "-device_video_output fullscreen " in the runitgame.bat.

If I take out the -device_video_output fullscreen the game will run but it doesn't use the whole screen.

When I take this line out, I don't have the same video options in the UI. Rather than a selection of all the resulutions ( i have an arcadeVGA card ),

I only 4 setting options. 1X, 2X, 3X, and 4X ??

Since all but one game are working fine, I will leave well enough alone, unless you have some insight for me.

Also, is there somewhere that I can get a list of commands / settings for Mame32, and advanceMame ?

Thanks again for all your help.

[bkenobi]

IMO, I would dump AdvanceMAME. It's really old and uses a different set of commands to run. I would also recommend moving away from MAME32/MAMEUI. GameEx should be able to work with these just fine, but there have been an number of threads that the resolution was moving to the command line version of MAME. I can't say exactly what is causing your problems, but I can point out the obvious...things are very complicated when you have too many versions going at once (which you've already seen).

My suggested path forward would be for you to start from scratch with MAME using HK's MAME compiler to build a custom version (which includes patches to skip disclaimers, adds hi-score support, etc). This *should* work with your monitor and video card just fine, so why complicate things unnecessarily. Just my 2 cents though.

[E-T]

Sorry, I'm a newbie so I didn't fully understand the part about compiling MAME with HK's compiler. Is that so I don't need to use GameEx ?

Can't I use mame with GameEx without compiling ?

Compiling seems to be complicated from a quick view of some of the threads, but if the outcome is worth it I'm game.

Besides, just because it aint broke doesn't mean you can't fix it. Then we'd have nothing to bitch about.

[bkenobi]

Nope, actually compiling MAME will make things run smoother no matter what FE you are using (GameEx or otherwise). There is no reason to use MAME32 or MAMEUI if you are running a FE because it's redundant (you are using the front end's features to pick the game so there's no need to have MAME include that capability too). Compiling MAME is straight forward if you use the MAMEdev's instructions, but it's easy/simple if you use HK's compiler. I suggest you read up on it in the compiler thread in the stickies section. HK has put a step by step process in it (including links to where the files are located). If you have any questions about compiling, we can help with that too!

[E-T]

Thanks for elaborating. Now I understand.

I read a little more into the thread pinned up and you are right HK seems to have detailed it quite nicely.

I will definately give it a go.

Once I compile MAME, I assume I point Gameex to that location and file ?

Also one big question I have is will I still be able to press tab within the game and access video settings and control options ?

Thanks again.

p.s. what does IMO stand for ?

[fRequEnCy]

Once I compile MAME, I assume I point Gameex to that location and file ?

Just copy the new compiled version over the current one and point GameEx to it (I'm sure if you have it working then you already have this done).

Also one big question I have is will I still be able to press tab within the game and access video settings and control options ?

Yes you will still be able to press tab and access the usual settings.

p.s. what does IMO stand for ?

IMO = In My Opinion

[bkenobi]

Thanks frequency!

[fRequEnCy]

Thanks frequency!

Didn't see ya around at the time so figured I'd answer so E-T didn't have to wait. Usually would not answer if I saw ya there.

[E-T]

Thanks guys.

Your help is much appreciated.

[bkenobi]

No problem. I'll take the assist

[E-T]

Just an update on this issue. Last I reported everythign worked great with the trackball in all games.

I had a Buddy over last night to show him my "completed" MAME cabinet.

Of coarse the trackball didn't work and I changed nothing.

I then screwed around, checked ini's, ran Gamex Config then it worked all of a sudden after 3 reboots.

Then this moring, the trackball didn't work. Again no change since I sut her down last knight.

So obviously my setup is unreliable.

I will definately compile MAME with HK's utility this weekend and post back letting people know if this fixed my problem.

I just realized that this thread probably should have continued from my initial topic http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=7037

oh, well. Sorry about that.

[bkenobi]

Ok, so this may be a problem with your controls then rather than GameEx or MAME. Is it possible that you have more than one mouse connected to your system? Windows doesn't handle controller numbering very well IMO. If you start your system up and Windows assigns your trackball as mouse device 1, then you go into MAME and configure everything, things should work fine. If you then reboot the machine and Windows decides this time that the trackball is now mouse 2 (assuming you have at least one other mouse hooked up), then MAME will still be waiting for you to move mouse 1 for it to do anything. If you then remap your controls in MAME, it should work for as long as the computer is on.

In order to see if that's what's going on, the easiest thing to check is going into MAME and mapping the controls. If the mouse number changes, then you have the problem figured out. The solution is a bit more difficult. I can't remember if there is a setting in MAME to treat all mice as if they are the same mouse or not. That's what used to happen before they went to the raw input system.

If that's your problem, you can do one of a couple things. First, you can manually edit the default.cfg file to set up the trackball. You will want to manually edit the line so that it accepts inputs from mouse1, mouse2, mouse3, etc (as many mice as you might have, more doesn't hurt anything). The other choice is to compile MAME and remove the references to the RAW input system. This will default everything back to the way things were a while back. I wouldn't try this method first though...I don't know if anyone has complied this correctly yet (Brian Hoffman was using a version like this, but I didn't hear whether he ran into any problems or not).

[E-T]

Wow, that's a huge help ! I think you nailed the problem.

I use a conventioanl usb mouse sometimes when I'm changing settings, tweaking , etc. but generally I only have the trackball as a mouse. This is probably exactly what is happenning to me and why it works sometimes and not others.

I suspected the mouse thing and tried to disconnect the usb mouse but it didn't help.

I suspect that you are correct, windows does a crappy job of numbering, and who knows what it does when I remove a device. Does it rename the other existing one ? Who knows.

When you made reference to going into MAME and mapping controls did you mean pressing <tab> to get into the UI ?

If so, when I tried this in the past when the trackball didn't work moving my trackball when I was in the UI controls area for Mame, moving the trackball had no effect.

The default.cfg file you are referring to, is it in GameEx, or Mame ?

If I modify the default.cfg file and all works well, IYO should still stay away from compliling MAME ?

Thanks

p.s. just a side question. I was checking out the thread on cabinets running Gamex and I noticed your 2 cabinets. Very nice. Did you make the car driving cabinet from scratch or did you modify an old arcade racing cabinet ? I think that's an awsome idea to get all the old racing games going. Something I think I'd like to do. I'd love to get some details from you especially on the hardware used ( steering wheels, pedals, enterfaces , etc. )

[bkenobi]

I think you should definitely compile MAME on principal if nothing else . I was saying that you might have luck also modifying the RAW code, but I don't know if anyone has tested it enough to say it's safe to do for general usage (safe meaning it won't cause problems running other games, not safe like it will destroy your machine...).

The default.cfg file is located in mame/cfg. This is the config file that contains the information from when you hit tab and modify any general controls. If you modify any controls for a specific game, you will find those located in the mame/cfg/<rom>.cfg file. The files are basically xml (I think they are bastardized xml, but...), so you can edit them with any text editor. If you modify the controls in mame and then edit this file, you can see how mame needs them to be written. I don't remember the syntax off the top of my head, but if you put in "MOUSE_1_XAXIS AND MOUSE_2_XAXIS AND MOUSE_3_XAXIS" for your analog trackball axis, you will be able to use any of the first 3 mouse devices. Repeat this for all mouse controls and you *should* be good to go.

Oh, the cabinets are an Atari Area 51 and an Atari Championship Sprint. I ended up with both for free, so my total cost for them was just transportation! I can give more details about anything you like...just let me know what interests you. FWIW, Tempest also built a driving cab a while back, so he has some good insight especially on the software side of things. I think he's actually put more time into the software on his than I have. There are some tricks that took me a while to figure out, so if you decide to build one, I/we can hopefully help you avoid pit falls!

[Tempest]

One minor correction.

MOUSE_1_XAXIS AND MOUSE_2_XAXIS AND MOUSE_3_XAXIS

Would be:

MOUSE_1_XAXIS OR MOUSE_2_XAXIS OR MOUSE_3_XAXIS

But more likely:

MOUSECODE_1_XAXIS OR MOUSECODE_2_XAXIS OR MOUSECODE_3_XAXIS

[bkenobi]

Yes, that is correct. Thanks Tempest. So use that same technique for YAXIS and any mouse buttons you have assigned.

[E-T]

Well you were right, my trackball only works if I have my mouse also plugged in.

I made the changes to default.cfg as below, but it didn't help.

I added the or mouse code1 or .. mouse code3

maybee my sytax is wrong.

Can you see where I went wrong ?

11<?xml version="1.0"?>

<!-- This file is autogenerated; comments and unknown tags will be stripped -->

<mameconfig version="10">

<system name="default">

<input>

<port type="P1_TRACKBALL_X">

<newseq type="standard">

MOUSECODE_2_ANALOG_X OR MOUSECODE_1_ANALOG_X OR MOUSECODE_3_ANALOG_X

</newseq>

</port>

<port type="P1_TRACKBALL_Y">

<newseq type="standard">

MOUSECODE_2_ANALOG_Y OR MOUSECODE_1_ANALOG_Y OR MOUSECODE_3_ANALOG_Y

</newseq>

</port>

<port type="UI_SELECT">

<newseq type="standard">

KEYCODE_LCONTROL

</newseq>

</port>

</input>

</system>

</mameconfig>

p.s. I got wizzard of war to run by editting advmame.rc and adding wow with resolution settings.

but i did something and now i can't get into the UI with tab ????

[bkenobi]

Are you running AdvanceMAME for your trackball games? I'm not sure, but it's possible it might use a different path to the cfg files. If you use the cfg file above in AdvanceMAME, I don't think anything will work. I'm pretty sure the control names have changed since the last release, so it would likely delete the default.cfg file and give you a blank one if it did try to use this version. That's what I've had happen when I tried to run a really old version of MAME for my rotary joystick games (MAME Analog+). In that version of MAME, the cfg file is not ascii, so it's not editable.

[E-T]

It is hard to know which games are using AdvanceMAME since I have it enabled in the GameEx settings. Probably all games are run through it because when I change the option to use advancemame to "NO" no games run at all through Gameex. They just return to the Gameex screen.

One thing that I neglected to check is if there are specific cfg files for my trackball games, which I suspect there are. I will go into those and see what options are set. I believe game cfg files override the default cfg files so maybe that is my problem. It would make sense because my default.cfg file had MOUSECODE_2.... not 1, and it only works when I have my mouse plugged in which probably gets tagged as MOUSECODE_1. So all my cfg files were created when I had a mouse plugged in.

I will post my findings.

I can see that using all these programs together creates problems. There are so many cfg, ini, default, etc. files to check.

I find it strange that when I disable AdvanceMame in GameEx, no games work.

As always, thanks for your help.

[Tempest]

I think there is some confusion here...

Advance Mame is another build of Mame, just like Mame 32 is a derivative of Mame. There are alot of different builds that individual programmers have so that they can implement features of Mame, that Mame Dev does not support. Unless I'm reading this wrong, you are not actually using the program "Advance Mame". So there is no reason to use the Advance Mame section in GameEx. It has also been recommended by others that you will have less trouble, if you use Mame from www.mamedev.org.

... or maybe I'm the one that's confused.

[bkenobi]

Right, I suggested turning off AdvanceMAME unless you find you really need it. If you have it enabled, all games will be played through that version of MAME and the standard build (be it MAME or MAMEUI/MAME32) will only be used to build your game list. I can't help with AdvanceMAME since I haven't used it in years. If you turn off that feature, you should be good to go.

[E-T]

Well to add to the confusion or clear things up, I did download AdvanceMame ( from the link from Gameex) and have set Gameex to use it and it points to the advancemame directory.

I also have mame32 downloaded ( magically appeared on my PC with Roms ) and i have Gameex pointing to that directory for the MAME stuff ( snaps, roms, ini, etc. )

As to what program is running the games. I assure you, I am confused. Having said that though, when I look at my runitgame.bat file in gameex directory it always uses advancemame as follows:

C:

CD "C:\Emulators\AdvanceMAME"

advmame.exe missile -device_video_output fullscreen -quiet -dir_rom "C:\Emulators\Mame32\roms"

I was very hopefull when I read about the mouse syntax. I tried everything and it doesn't do shit. My trackball only works with a mouse plugged in. Not the end of the world i guess.

I will however try your suggestion on that Mame version.

As I said before, my games don't run if I set the "use advancedMame" in Gameex to FALSE which I find very strange considering I can runn all my games directly through Mame32 without Gameex as a FE.

One huge issue for me now is I screwed up the General UI setting to enter the UI ( ie.e Tab ). It is only screwed up through Gamex ( ie maybee AdvanceMame). If I run a game through Mame32 I can get in with Tab. Do you , or anyone know which file holds this info so I can edit it and get my UI working in GameEx again.

[bkenobi]

The reason your changes didn't do anything is because you still have AdvanceMAME set up to run in GameEx and we were trying to help you get standard MAME going. I didn't realize that was the case. If you turn off AdvanceMAME, it should work. It's possible to do the same thing in AdvanceMAME as with standard MAME, it's just that I wasn't aware that's what we were doing.

So, if you want to use AdvanceMAME, find the cfg directory for that installation and repeat the same procedure we did with the standard MAME default.cfg file. The syntax for your mouse code might be slightly different, but you should be able to follow the same model and get it going.

FWIW, there have been a lot of discussions about this same problem at BYOAC forums in the past (and they probably continue to this day) about how when you unplug your mouse, MAME breaks. Most people seem to just hide the mouse in the cabinet somewhere and move on, but I personally think what we are doing here is more robust in the long run.