i think part of the confusion is that mame-libretro is a rom folder installed in ~/RetroPie/ where you put your roms in for any of the libretro MAME cores. eg, this folder is used for the default lr-mame2003 core that uses the 0.78 MAME romset. however, there is also a 'lr-mame' ("libretro-mame") emulator that is an experimental (not installed by default), that uses the current (or close to) MAME romset.

in any case, put your 0.78 roms in /mame-libretro/, use lr-mame2003, and if you get any issues please post the verbose log as instructed.

@barbudreadmon , thanks for the heads up. Will keep that suggestion in mind in case of any issues.

@tigerzblud See https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Configuration/#default-core-controls-for-all-emulators and pick the controller that resembles yours the most to see how RetroArch "sees" the buttons of your controler regardless of their labelling.

@simonster I did this with advmame 3.9 for robotron, just mapped the controls differently for that game only and I can use both sticks.

@robertvb83 Thank you too for the elaborate answer, I may have similar decoders (if they show up as DragonRise in Retropie), but I never felt compelled enough to test their special ports.

I can absolutely understand your reasons for forgoing the door (yet). That said, I can recommend magnets for the back door. They can be mounted easily, and it would spare you the screwing every time.

The speakers are not that important. I am just curious what parts other builders use. So, you don't have to look them up just for me, but feel free to post their information here if you happen to stumble over it sometime.

I first tried some cheap speakers, too, but then I decided to go for reasonable higher quality and spent 70 € in total for these:

alt text

My mini aplifier even has an output for a subwoover, so I may add one to the cabinet someday. :)

Nicely done

@keithmason if memory serves, if you exit it and then restart it will work fine. it absolutely does work in lr-mame2003 - i coded the dual sticks option :)

I posted a help article that explains how to edit a config file to force Ir-mame2003 MAME games that use trackball or dial control to use the mouse (in this case, Arcade-X Trackball) that may help:

https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/15819/setup-retroarch-to-redirect-mame-games-that-use-dial-and-trackball-to-arcade-x-tankstick-trackball

Also, I would avoid using a USB hub. I used a third party case that used a USB hub and trackball on the X-Arcade would not work. When I plugged the mouse into its own USB port on the Raspberry Pi, the Arcade-X trackball started to work. I still had to edit the config file to get other games to work that used a dial controller (Tempest, Kickman, etc.), but pluggin the Arcade-X Trackball USB cable into a USB hub and not directly into a USB port on the Raspberry Pi caused issued.