So, who just runs mame on their cab?

[Trnzaddict]

I am considering removing everything but mame on my cab. Keeping it simple. After all the questions posted here, 9 months of setup and spending money on a new pc to run new arcade system games, I'm considering just letting it go and having fun which is what this hobby is about. I don't want to be one of these people that has there arcade cab in a constant software wip. I want to shell and make a youtube vid and PLAY.

Trying to get every single Naomi, Atomiswave, TTX, (Nightmarish) unmamed pc arcade port, Model 3 game, etc. running perfecty using one emu that's better than the other and vice versa and all other tips and tricks has really strained me to the point where it's becoming a hassle more than a hobbie. My wife is starting to worry about me because she said that she can see when I'm setting things up on the cab and things don't go right I get frustrated.

So, who just has mame on there cab and is happy with it?

[MiTKiNG]

I dont think you are going to find anyone in this situation arround here.

Think that one of the great parts of this hobby is to configure! So many people are addicted to configure systems (myself included). Of course I play games but configure hyperspin and emus is funny.

And of course we are not alone in this journey, we can count on with such a great helpful members like djvj, THK, BBB, badelov, brolly, Dazz, blur, etc...

If someone has finished his cab and only could play, they will be building anotherone for sure

Think of it and have fun setting up your arcade machine!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bartymouse]

Hi

I know your Situation very well, i spent much time in finding the best emulator for some machines, too. Maybe you only need someones confirmation, that you do the right thing? So, just do it, it´s your machine! MAME is offering a very big list of ROMS to play, just have fun playing them all!

This friday i invited some friends for an retro-gaming-event. We compete with old games like Donkey Kong and Pac Man. I will simply correct the main menu.xml to show only emulators which are running perfect to show my friends what i´ve built. After the event i´ll correct the main menu.xml back to the original state which many emulators, maybe some of them don´t run correct at all, but that´s part of the hobby for me. Maybe one day they´ll run perfect - maybe they never do

[irondragoon]

I just took 8? systems off mine. No one played them including myself. I have my box to play as well rather than tinker with.

[mremulator]

That's EXACTLY what I'm doing. I just spent a week configuring Hyperspin/MAME for my 205 all-time fav games.

Nothing else, just MAME and maybe Daphne. That's it.

It's going to be running on my new high gloss white/chrome/neon blue cab in my dining room.

[Trnzaddict]

Thanks for the replies. That's the thing as Iron Dragoon stated. With all the thousands of arcade games that Mame can already offer you, I cannot see myself ever playing all of them. So why add more that you know you will never play then on top of that get stressed setting up THOSE games youll never end up playing anyway?

It just sort of hit me last night. But to each their own, I guess.Well since I already spent the countless hours setting it up maybe I'll consider keeping them.

[Trnzaddict]

Thanks for the replies. That's the thing as Iron Dragoon stated. With all the thousands of arcade games that Mame can already offer you, I cannot see myself ever playing all of them. So why add more that you know you will never play then on top of that get stressed setting up THOSE games youll never end up playing anyway?

It just sort of hit me last night. But to each their own, I guess.Well since I already spent the countless hours setting it up maybe I'll consider keeping them.

[Roadrunner]

I was going to just do Mame but I definitely wanted a Jukebox app. That was a must have. Then I added Dreamcast, Playstation, Daphne, Atari2600 and may add Commodore 64. I think they'll all be good for some Retro fun. I'm not going to go all crazy with 200 systems the way some folks do. It just wouldn't get used.

(And holy smokes what a crazy game. Pittsburgh up by 3 goals now. Craziest series I've ever seen... Flyers & Pens just nuts)

[Jumpstile]

I actually don't care too much about playing the games! I just like seeing them work! To me, this hobby is brain food. I am having so much fun getting everything to work -- the best part about it is getting new systems on there! So, I am just the opposite -- I want to see how many systems I can get running and running well. If I have to add more disk space, so be it. Better motherboard and processor? OK! I've already got over 3Tb of disk space on my cab (plus network connectivity to my server) and I have plans to fill all of that up and then some with PSX and PS2 stuff.

- J*

[emb]

I only have MAME in my cab, however I catch myself yearning to play a couple SNES games (e.g Zombies ate my neighbors)

[ratsflif]

I have MAME, Makaron, Daphne and Type X on mine but I have the system boot up to just mame and load up my favorites list. By doing xml editing and using genres I have one menu with all the games. So my favorites list is composed of games from all the emulators and you can still back out to genres to search for and or add games to the favorites list. It is much cleaner, simpler and I don't have to constantly explain to people how to use the cab.

[Mackdaddi]

So, who just has mame on there cab and is happy with it?

Not me. Hell no. My cab has all my cherished games from my childhood and my teens from the arcade and all my favorite home consoles, and I'm in the process of adding a few hundred pinball machines onto it at the moment, just for fun, to see if i can get them to work.

I don't want to be one of these people that has there arcade cab in a constant software wip

In that case, without being facetious here (and i mean that seriously, I'm really not) have you considered that you might have chosen the wrong frontend for your requirements? Hyperspin is brilliant, and very very pretty, but HS version 1.x is by far the most headache inducing front end i have ever set up (no disrespect intended to BBB or any of the dev team), and will probably always be a work in progress for me, at least to an extent.

There are easier options if all you want is to play the games, but if you want the best looking frontend out there bar none and to seriously impress anyone who sees it by saying "i did that", then stick with it. It IS worth it in the end.

For me personally, I will always be tweaking and messing with my cab and hyperspin, and i like that. It's as much about the learning and the journey of getting things to work for me as it is about playing the games. I've learned tons about scripting and compiling and database files and all sorts of stuff just from setting up hyperspin on my most recent cab. I could have easily opted for a different front-end that was simpler to set up early on in the process once it became apparent how much work was going to be involved in getting it working but i stuck with it, and i'm glad i did. ( i do have it backed up on 2 separate hard drives though, just in case anything ever happens to my cab )

....it's becoming a hassle more than a hobbie. My wife is starting to worry about me because she said that she can see when I'm setting things up on the cab and things don't go right I get frustrated

I think you're approaching it from the wrong perspective. If you just want to play the games asap there are other options out there. You can download the "hyperspin project" torrent. It's a huge torrent file, 90 or 100 Gb, but it has everything you need, all the videos, themes, everything, ready to run and named accordingly. You just need to add the roms and switch off any emulators you don't want on the main menu. If you need to pay for access to the FTP to get it, then pay. It's not expensive, and is good value versus all the stress you seem to be under doing it by yourself. You could also look at a different front end for simplicity's sake. There are ones out there that are far FAR simpler to get up and running, albeit not nearly as nice.

I would stick with Hyperspin if i were you though, and keep going but just don't get disheartened when things don't work. Expect it to hit a few snags, and it won't annoy you as much. Just approach it with patience. It's worth it when you get it all working the way you want, and honestly it's not that difficult once you get your head around it. Once you've set up one system the next one is a lot easier.

[Trnzaddict]

Not me. Hell no. My cab has all my cherished games from my childhood and my teens from the arcade and all my favorite home consoles, and I'm in the process of adding a few hundred pinball machines onto it at the moment, just for fun, to see if i can get them to work.

In that case, without being facetious here (and i mean that seriously, I'm really not) have you considered that you might have chosen the wrong frontend for your requirements? Hyperspin is brilliant, and very very pretty, but HS version 1.x is by far the most headache inducing front end i have ever set up (no disrespect intended to BBB or any of the dev team), and will probably always be a work in progress for me, at least to an extent.

There are easier options if all you want is to play the games, but if you want the best looking frontend out there bar none and to seriously impress anyone who sees it by saying "i did that", then stick with it. It IS worth it in the end.

For me personally, I will always be tweaking and messing with my cab and hyperspin, and i like that. It's as much about the learning and the journey of getting things to work for me as it is about playing the games. I've learned tons about scripting and compiling and database files and all sorts of stuff just from setting up hyperspin on my most recent cab. I could have easily opted for a different front-end that was simpler to set up early on in the process once it became apparent how much work was going to be involved in getting it working but i stuck with it, and i'm glad i did. ( i do have it backed up on 2 separate hard drives though, just in case anything ever happens to my cab )

I think you're approaching it from the wrong perspective. If you just want to play the games asap there are other options out there. You can download the "hyperspin project" torrent. It's a huge torrent file, 90 or 100 Gb, but it has everything you need, all the videos, themes, everything, ready to run and named accordingly. You just need to add the roms and switch off any emulators you don't want on the main menu. If you need to pay for access to the FTP to get it, then pay. It's not expensive, and is good value versus all the stress you seem to be under doing it by yourself. You could also look at a different front end for simplicity's sake. There are ones out there that are far FAR simpler to get up and running, albeit not nearly as nice.

I would stick with Hyperspin if i were you though, and keep going but just don't get disheartened when things don't work. Expect it to hit a few snags, and it won't annoy you as much. Just approach it with patience. It's worth it when you get it all working the way you want, and honestly it's not that difficult once you get your head around it. Once you've set up one system the next one is a lot easier.

I think my post is a little misunderstood. I soo know how to set up a system in Hs easily, I have a htpc running close to 50 consoles, I have never had a system I could not run. It is cake for the most part. I was able to set up Daphne first try and that emu is difficult for most people.

Tbh, its the arcade emulators, that stemmed my post, not the way to set them up, or how to set up HS at all, but the compatibility rate, problems with my ATI card with no answers or solutions, etc. Some games need list sorting off, others on if not you get artifacts, it was getting out of hand, especially when theres nothing you can do about it.

Another example I just found out recently is that when I purchase my aimtraks finally, I have to make sure friends don't shoot offscreen a little with demul and model 2 if not the emu loses focus. Also you can only use 1 lightgun in demul. This does not happen with mame.

That's why I was thinking about just having Mame. Everything just works.

[irondragoon]

My new rules:

If I can't make it work on a ps2 controller I won't use the system.

If I never played the system in real life I won't use it.

If I didn't obsess about the system when I was a kid it's out.

If the "system" isn't really a system I will limit the games to a reasonable number. This applies to FP and Mame.

If the video set isn't complete...it's out.

Anything else is hoarding! lol

The big problem I was having was my friends trying to even absorb the menu. Then an hour later it was TMNT the arcade. Jeez, that warrants 1800 selections.

[mesk]

I still dont understand how some people can say HS is the hardest FE to setup.Ive tried them all,and HS is by far the easiest to setup,(even in the pre HL2.xx days)Im never in Hyper HQ,only when I first setup the system.Another FE I was using I was spending more time in the config menu then I was actually playing games!

Having just MAME is great for a cab,(and my actual cabinet just has MAME & Demul) but for my HTPC the more the merrier I say!

[evil eye]

Another example I just found out recently is that when I purchase my aimtraks finally, I have to make sure friends don't shoot offscreen a little with demul and model 2 if not the emu loses focus. Also you can only use 1 lightgun in demul. This does not happen with mame.

Yes, this drives me crazy too. I have to yet to beat any lightgun game in Model 2 because I somehow always manage to shoot somewhere the emu doesn't like and the whole game goes behind HS and is unrecoverable. Why they didn't make that emulator true full screen is beyond me.

[DR9]

TBH the hardest system to configure is Naomi/Dreamcast. Next hardest is configuring a standard controller scheme across multiple systems with some incorporating analog features like flight/racing games.

[emb]

Have you considered having two different HyperSpin installations? One installation contains everything. The other contains your custom list. Start on a clean slate for your custom list.

Whenever you feel like you want to explore new games, startup your full blown installed version. Go old school and use a pen and paper to write down the games/hidden gems to add to your collection from time to time. Add them to your filtered list as your paper gets too long or before your friends come over. Yes, it might start out slow, but it will eventually get easier.

Be agile. Think of it as continuous improvement / integration; like sculpting a statue. Add games in periodically. Try not to feel like you have to add them all at once. There are tens of thousands of games out there. That could take years to test them all, even just the popular ones.

Consider having an autohotkey script launch at startup to monitor if you are holding a key during startup. If that key is pressed, it will launch your full blown hyperSpin installation, otherwise it will default to your custom installation.

Im glad you brought up this problem as I have been in the same boat as you. This is why I only have MAME in my list. I am about to try this method myself. Hopefully my experience will be successful.

...I never thought I would tie in a software methodology into configuring a frontend

[synakcm]

TBH the hardest system to configure is Naomi/Dreamcast. Next hardest is configuring a standard controller scheme across multiple systems with some incorporating analog features like flight/racing games.

I had a pretty easy time with Dreamcast, load XPadder w/ nullDC config, launch daemon tools to mount an image, have nullDC configured to read the drive...and you're good to go.

[gadget2k]

I have MAME, Makaron, Daphne and Type X on mine but I have the system boot up to just mame and load up my favorites list. By doing xml editing and using genres I have one menu with all the games. So my favorites list is composed of games from all the emulators and you can still back out to genres to search for and or add games to the favorites list. It is much cleaner, simpler and I don't have to constantly explain to people how to use the cab.

For the love of GOD would you please (anyone) explain to me a step by step on how to do this. It's been driving me crazy for the last few days trying to set it up. I seen a post on it earlier. But I'm so so lost. Please help me out. I would to have a few my games from different emus on one wheel as my favorite games of all time.

[irondragoon]

For the love of GOD would you please (anyone) explain to me a step by step on how to do this. It's been driving me crazy for the last few days trying to set it up. I seen a post on it earlier. But I'm so so lost. Please help me out. I would to have a few my games from different emus on one wheel as my favorite games of all time.

Make a wheel.

Make a corresponding xml game list for it.

Put the <exe> tag on each game to specify the emulatir to use

Just make sure all your emulators work from Hyperlaunch.

[gadget2k]

Make a wheel.

Make a corresponding xml game list for it.

Put the <exe> tag on each game to specify the emulatir to use

Just make sure all your emulators work from Hyperlaunch.

thanks for the quick reply. But I'm still a noob here. I have a wheel called Favorites that part is done. Now when you say make a corresponding xml game list. Should I make a folder with the roms,isos etc of the games that I want to play inside this folder and use hyperRom2xml to make a game list? As far as the emulators are concern I will just do this to the emus I got working already in hyperlaunch.

OK OK I just did as you suggested as well as my theory and it work YES!

[irondragoon]

You dont need to make a new roms folder. The exe tag will go get the necessary settings from the appropriate settings.ini for the emulator previously setup in hyperhq.

[gadget2k]

You dont need to make a new roms folder. The exe tag will go get the necessary settings from the appropriate settings.ini for the emulator previously setup in hyperhq.

But don't you have to set up a path for your rom folder when you are setting a new wheel? I did not set set up an exe path as I figured that exe's would be in the new wheel xml file. I created the new rom folder because this is only way I figure I could make an working xml file for my new wheel.

[irondragoon]

Not for your favorites wheel. Adding <exe>Nintendo Entertainment System<exe> to a NES game in your Favorites.xml will cause Hyperlaunch to get the ROM path and all other necessary settings from your Nintendo Entertainment System Settings.ini file.