Couple MAME questions

Dan1300 · 19 Nov 2020, 02:30

As I hunt for the Star Wars Arcade and a few other ROMs I have noticed MAME also has additional versions like: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/28500/how-to-run-mame-v0-224/8.
As far as I understand I can use MAME in experimental and that should cover the .224 ROMs. Will it cover the .221 ROMs? I think so but I would like a verification on this.

I also found .161 ROMs and the closest would be lr-mame2015 (.160) so would that even work for those ROMs?

Finally for lr-mame and mame it says "same as MAME version". Does this mean I can drop whatever MAME version of ROMs and it should work? Or what does that specifically mean.

As always, thanks for your time.

mitu · 19 Nov 2020, 04:32

@dan1300 said in Couple MAME questions:

Finally for lr-mame and mame it says "same as MAME version". Does this mean I can drop whatever MAME version of ROMs and it should work? Or what does that specifically mean.

No, it means you need the ROMset for that version of MAME. As opposed to the other MAME versions, it's not pinned to a specific date and ROMset version

MAME Version: MAME has monthly versioned releases, there is no single version. Version 0.221 was released for May 2020, 0.222 for June 2020, etc.
Installing from binary will probably get a version that's a little behind the current MAME, installing from source will always get the latest monthly release.

As far as I understand I can use MAME in experimental and that should cover the .224 ROMs. Will it cover the .221 ROMs? I think so but I would like a verification on this.

Chances are most of the ROMs will work, but the versioning doesn't work like this. A higher version doesn't guarantee compatibility with previous versions for all ROMsets, since each released version can have changes - a new ROM dump is released, ROM files could be renamed, etc. More details in the official MAME docs or https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Arcade/.

Clyde · 19 Nov 2020, 09:22

This has also been discussed recently at great lentgh in this Thread. From there about MAME in experimental:

@clyde said in How to run MAME v0.224?:

lr-mame will install the current MAME version, so it will move on to higher rom sets as time goes on. Its installation script will compile the source code from https://github.com/libretro/mame, which seems to be at version 0.225 at the moment.

dankcushions · 19 Nov 2020, 09:26

@dan1300 also note that the more recent a version of MAME you choose, the less well it will likely perform (more accurate emulation, etc) if you are using a low powered devices (raspberry pi, etc)

Dan1300 · 19 Nov 2020, 23:08

Can I ask if their is a working copy for a few games because I am striking out at every place I try.

They are fighting Arcade games like Killer Instinct, Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter, Tekken Tag and Dead or Alive. I am also looking for the Star Wars Trilogy/Arcade one.

I am waiting on an update to see if fbneo ones will work now I updated it. Didn't work prior, no surprise there...lol.

With all that is mentioned I have gone through all ROM sets I am aware of.

Now can I re-compile(?) the non-merged ROMs into the version I need? I am guessing yes but want to clarify before I head down this rabbit hole. I know it's a deep one. Can I use my home cpu to do the compiling? I have 32 GB RAM so that won't be an issue.

IanDaemon · 19 Nov 2020, 23:25

@dan1300 The arcade titles you mentioned are resource heavy and have been known to give people problems.

dankcushions · 20 Nov 2020, 00:21

@dan1300 said in Couple MAME questions:

Can I ask if their is a working copy for a few games because I am striking out at every place I try.

we cannot link you to games, and you cannot ask. please read the rules. you need to acquire the entire sets for MAME versions. if you start looking for individual games you will have a bad time, and almost certainly not get a version appropriate for the subset of MAME/fbn versions retropie supports.

They are fighting Arcade games like Killer Instinct, Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter, Tekken Tag and Dead or Alive. I am also looking for the Star Wars Trilogy/Arcade one.

on a pi, you can basically forget most 3d type games via MAME. performance will be dreadful. try console versions on the appropriate emulators.

I am waiting on an update to see if fbneo ones will work now I updated it. Didn't work prior, no surprise there...lol.

fbneo has a romset version for which it will support everything. if it doesn't work (as in, boot), you're using the wrong romset version. i don't believe it supports any of the games in your list above, anyway.

Now can I re-compile(?) the non-merged ROMs into the version I need? I am guessing yes but want to clarify before I head down this rabbit hole. I know it's a deep one. Can I use my home cpu to do the compiling? I have 32 GB RAM so that won't be an issue.

you can and there's documentation for that but there's very little reason to do that when it's so much less effort to just locate the complete romset collections for recommend MAME emulators for retropie.

Dan1300 · 20 Nov 2020, 14:18

@dankcushions Thanks.

Dan1300 · 20 Nov 2020, 15:06

@dankcushions said in Couple MAME questions:

we cannot link you to games, and you cannot ask. please read the rules. you need to acquire the entire sets for MAME versions. if you start looking for individual games you will have a bad time, and almost certainly not get a version appropriate for the subset of MAME/fbn versions retropie supports.

That's why I asked if there were working copies anyone knew of. For example, Joe says, "PSX has a working copy of Soul Calibur" so I know I need to hunt it down there. What I wrote was vague so this should clarify.

dankcushions · 20 Nov 2020, 16:15

@dan1300 from your list

Killer Instinct = n64 version with mupen64plus-gliden64. not sure well it works, but that's as good as it's likely going to get on pi.

Soul Calibur = dreamcast version. redream/flycast should do this fine

Virtua Fighter = try lr-yabasanshiro. i seem to recall this not being terrible on the 32x also.

Tekken Tag = no ps2 emulator for pi, so it's mame or bust. performance will be bad.

Dead or alive = surely fine on lr-pcsx_rearmed.

Dan1300 · 20 Nov 2020, 16:31

@dankcushions Thanks. Looks like I need a couple new systems.

YFZdude · 20 Nov 2020, 17:23

@dan1300
Killer Instinct (arcade) was ported to Killer Instinct (SNES)
Killer Instinct 2 (arcade) was ported to Killer Instinct Gold (N64)

I see many people refer to the N64 version but if you want the original KI game the SNES version should work well on the Pi.