Separate MAME options for vertical and horizontal games - is it possible?

[MungoBBQ]

I've just installed my new computer with GameEx and ArcadeVGA - however, I really don't like the modelines that AVGA creates for the vertical games when I am displaying them on my horizontal monitor. I kind of like the 640x480i mode better for the vertical games, but the "perfect" modelines for horizontal games that AVGA can create are great of course.

This begs the question - is it possible for GameEx to supply MAME with different options for horizontal and vertical games somehow?

I'd like to be able to say -noswitchres for vertical games, but leave that option off during horizontal games.

Anybody able to help me out here? Thanks!

/M;

[Tom Speirs]

There are tools available that let you set configs for specific games (I dont know whats out there). You could do that and turn off ArcadeVGA support in GameEx.

Alternativly the GameEx way of doing things is to use the MAME Emu map feature, and set up MAME as an emulator, and specify in the MAME Emu Map to use that for vertical games. You can use/import the sample MAME emulator config then just set the paths and add -noswitchres

[Tempest]

I just saw this at BYOAC: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92679.0

  Krick said:

I was thinking that having a dedicated vertical.ini and/or horizont.ini (depending on which way you have your monitor mounted) would be useful so that you could set global settings that apply to all vertical or horizontal games at one shot.

I looked into implementing it in the latest MAME build and you can implement it with just a few lines of code in mame.c down in the section where it parses the ini files...

 /* parse "vertical.ini" or "horizont.ini" */
 if (driver->flags & ORIENTATION_SWAP_XY)
  parse_ini_file(options, "vertical");
 else
  parse_ini_file(options, "horizont");

I'd really like to see this added to the next CabMAME build. SailorSat?

EDIT: I changed horizontal.ini to horizont.ini to make sure that it fits within 8.3 filename guidelines. I also decided that it probably should go before vector.ini since there may be vector-specific options that you want to override one or both of these new ini files. I've submitted it to MAMEDev, but for some reason, I feel that they may reject it.

[MungoBBQ]

  Tempest said:

I just saw this at BYOAC: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92679.0

Wow, that would be sweet - but since I'm not really going to be able to compile my own MAME versions and it doesn't seem likely that MAME devs will add this to core, is it possible to have this simple option added to the next release of GameEx?

Please, please, pretty devs? I'm a paying user and all, and I'll donate again if you fix so I can supply separate MAME options for horizontal and vertical games!

[Tom Speirs]

  MungoBBQ said:

Wow, that would be sweet - but since I'm not really going to be able to compile my own MAME versions and it doesn't seem likely that MAME devs will add this to core, is it possible to have this simple option added to the next release of GameEx?

Please, please, pretty devs? I'm a paying user and all, and I'll donate again if you fix so I can supply separate MAME options for horizontal and vertical games!

Like I said in the reply to your original post, it is already possible via the MAME Emu Map feature. Thats what its for, exactly this.

[bkenobi]

Just a note... If you set MAME up as a second emulator in GameEx, you don't have to have 2 separate directories that take up extra space and add extra complexity. All you need to do is create a mame.ini file for the alternate setup and have the new "installation" in GameEx point to that ini file.

I can't find the switch via google and I don't have a copy of MAME on this machine. Basically, you just call

mame.exe -<whatever the ini switch is> vertical.ini

or

mame.exe

The first will call your vertical games, the second will call your horizontal games (if the default mame.ini is set up that way).

[Tom Speirs]

Just FYI. Im working on updating the MAME Map support to allow an alternate cmd line to be specified instead of an emulator number. Im doing this as it makes sense to use the same code to launch MAME rather than the emulator launch code therefore cpwizard and plugin support will work the same, and it also avoids the need to setup a seperate emulator.

Im also allowing additional roms to be added to the MAME list. eg Dragon's lair 2, Pong etc.

Should be available pretty soon.

[emphatic]

Very nice Tom. This will be very much appreciated.

Emph

[bkenobi]

Cool! That saves a few steps and a lot of maintenance type issues!

[MungoBBQ]

  TSpeirs said:

Should be available pretty soon.

Great news Tom! Thanks a lot!

[emphatic]

  Tempest said:

I just saw this at BYOAC: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=92679.0

Apparently, this is implemented also in the next u build of MAME.

Emph

[Tempest]

  TSpeirs said:

Like I said in the reply to your original post, it is already possible via the MAME Emu Map feature. Thats what its for, exactly this.

Just so you know Tom, I wasn't trying to step on any toes. I saw that mentioned at BYOAC, and found it to be interesting. I thought I would post it in case someone wanted to try it, or something like it. I didn't re-read this thread, I just thought it tied in.

And no, I don't think you had an issue, I just see how you could.

[Tom Speirs]

No worries buddy, I want replying to your post anyway. Im just getting a bit blunt in my messages, probably due to age