RetroPie forum home
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Home
    • Docs
    • Register
    • Login

    FBA vs. MAME

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion and Gaming
    final burn alphmame2003
    349 Posts 39 Posters 229.8k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • DarksaviorD
      Darksavior @danielmewhouse
      last edited by Darksavior

      @danielmewhouse Right, we're talking about right now and what the pi can run. I know the history. I've been using emulators since 98 or something. As of right now available for the pi, fba has more advanced emulation than mame2003. I have a pi2 and pi3 and I make sure the games run fullspeed on my oc'd pi2 first. The accuracy will require more power, and that's when I resort to mame2003. It depends on the game.

      Oh, getting complete romsets is so simple these days with a quick google search, it's less hassle to get the whole set and later dig through it to get the games I want.

      danielmewhouseD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • danielmewhouseD
        danielmewhouse @Darksavior
        last edited by danielmewhouse

        @darksavior said in FBA vs. MAME:

        Oh, getting complete romsets is so simple these days with a quick google search, it's less hassle to get the whole set and later dig through it to get the games I want.

        This morning I found a website that provided the right roms for mame2003 individually, and actually works!!! 😁 Even Super Street Fighter 2 turbo worked!!! This game is my "Eleanor" (like Nicholas Cage's 60 seconds movie). Every time I try this game, or it's incompatible with the emulator, or the game speed and difficult adjustment just doesn't works. The game stills faster than Flash and harder as hell šŸ˜…

        It's no use!!! Take this!!!

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • arcadez2003A
          arcadez2003 @barbudreadmon
          last edited by arcadez2003

          @barbudreadmon said in FBA vs. MAME:

          I think @gamez-fan posted a list of games that are better in fba not long ago.

          Oh that was just a small list of Toaplan games, if was to create a list of all the games i know perform or are emulated better in FBA Vs ole MAME i'd be here all day :D

          Arcade Addict

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • AndersHPA
            AndersHP @UDb23
            last edited by

            @udb23 said in FBA vs. MAME:

            Global "best core" for roms file is available here.

            Is there any DAT files that sort by this list? So one could build a MAME collection and an FBA collection of roms, and gather them to have the ultimate romset?

            Or how do you guys do?

            My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
            My Gameboy

            danielmewhouseD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • DarksaviorD
              Darksavior @UDb23
              last edited by

              @udb23 From a quick look, I'm already seeing some errors. Like rtypeleo runs full speed on mame2003 and not quite well on fba. I've been testing my ~200 arcade games lately, and I can provide corrections when I'm done.

              UDb23U 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • UDb23U
                UDb23 @Darksavior
                last edited by

                @AndersHP , @darksavior said in FBA vs. MAME:

                I'm already seeing some errors

                My activity so far was just collecting the info provided by @Pussyfoot.
                Next step I would like to add any required/suggested setting (per game); e.g. specific dip switch and/or controls config.
                In parallel of course it is important to test if the list actually is correct; so more than welcome if you already can provide fixes.

                No ideas on specific DAT files yet; open to suggestions.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • danielmewhouseD
                  danielmewhouse @AndersHP
                  last edited by

                  @andershp said in FBA vs. MAME:

                  @udb23 said in FBA vs. MAME:

                  Global "best core" for roms file is available here.

                  Is there any DAT files that sort by this list? So one could build a MAME collection and an FBA collection of roms, and gather them to have the ultimate romset?

                  Or how do you guys do?

                  @AndersHP If you just put your roms at mame-libretro and FBA folders, you'll get two arcade options on system menu, one for Mame and other for FBA. The only problem is how to know what game plays better with what emulator. After this, just organize the games ok the respective emulator folder and presto!!!

                  It's no use!!! Take this!!!

                  UDb23U 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • UDb23U
                    UDb23 @danielmewhouse
                    last edited by

                    @danielmewhouse Even easier: move all wanted roms into the "arcade" folder and assign each rom to be launched with the "best" core.
                    Point is you also need the right rom version for that "best" core. That's why @AndersHP requests corresponding DAT files, if I understand correctly.

                    AndersHPA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • AndersHPA
                      AndersHP @UDb23
                      last edited by

                      @udb23 said in FBA vs. MAME:

                      @danielmewhouse Even easier: move all wanted roms into the "arcade" folder and assign each rom to be launched with the "best" core.
                      Point is you also need the right rom version for that "best" core. That's why @AndersHP requests corresponding DAT files, if I understand correctly.

                      Yup, that was the idea. No idea if DAT files are easy to make though..

                      My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                      My Gameboy

                      D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • D
                        dudleydes @AndersHP
                        last edited by dudleydes

                        @andershp This is how I could go about moving roms into the arcade folder and assigning each rom to be launched with the best core. I have tested the commands (see here and here) but I haven't gone this process as a whole.

                        1. Use the rpie_arcade_best_core.xlsx spreadsheet to create .txt files for each emulator, lr-mame2003.txt, lr-mame2010.txt, lr-fbalpha.txt etc. These text files should contain a list of roms with their .zip extensions.

                        EDIT: I have noticed @Pussyfoot has placed his lists on pastebin which means the text files can be downloaded using wget as below:

                        wget -cO - https://pastebin.com/raw/6wAYWALb > mame-libretro.txt
                        wget -cO - https://pastebin.com/raw/8JLHcq8x > mame-advmame.txt
                        wget -cO - https://pastebin.com/raw/LG43KZs7 > lr-fbalpha.txt
                        

                        Note the lists don't differentiate between emulators for a system, e.g. lr-mame2003 and lr-mame2010 or which version of advanceMAME.

                        1. Decide the default emulator for the arcade folder. eg lr-mame2003. These roms will be copied last.

                        First we will copy roms to the romset-specific folder, eg fba, so that we can create entries for /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulators.cfg. This is the file that stores the emulator assignments other than the default. This will make sure the roms will launch in the appropriate emulator without having to use the runcommand menu to assign an emulator for each individual rom. First, create a backup of /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulators.cfg.

                        1. Place the .txt file in the same folder as the romset and then use the following command to copy the roms:
                            cd /path/to/fba-romset
                            xargs -a lr-fbalpha.txt cp -t /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/fba/
                        
                        1. Now use the following command to create entries for lr-fbalpha in /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulators.cfg:
                            ls -1 RetroPie/roms/fba | sed -e 's/\.zip$//' -e 's/_//g' -e 's/^/arcade_/' -e 's/$/ = "lr-fbalpha"/' >> /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulators.cfg
                        
                        1. Copy the fba roms from the fba folder to the arcade folder. It's probably easiest to do this using Samba or STFP rather than the command line.

                        2. Repeat for other emulators other than the default, lr-mame2003.

                        3. Finally copy the lr-mame2003 roms to the arcade folder with the command:

                            cd /path/to/0.78-romset
                            xargs -a lr-mame2003.txt cp -t /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/arcade/
                        
                        1. Test roms are using the correct emulator.
                        AndersHPA MortalWombatM 4 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 3
                        • AndersHPA
                          AndersHP @dudleydes
                          last edited by

                          @dudleydes Dude, you rock. This is what I'm talking about.
                          Will do, way to go.

                          What if I wanted to make specific launching-images for the fba roms, then?
                          Say, default launch image is a MAME related, I then have to copy and rename a [fba-romname]-launching.jpg file for all the fba core games?

                          My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                          My Gameboy

                          D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • D
                            dudleydes @AndersHP
                            last edited by

                            @andershp I guess you could use the runcommand-onstart script as it has a preconfigured variable for the emulator, $2. I haven't played around with launching images or runcommand-onstart scripts so I'm afraid I can't be more helpful.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • AndersHPA
                              AndersHP
                              last edited by AndersHP

                              @dudleydes said in FBA vs. MAME:

                              xargs -a lr-fbalpha.txt

                              Just tried this in MacOS terminal, with my roms-USB plugged in, since it took me several minutes on the pi for just 5 test files (even though it worked brilliantly like you said!).
                              But apparently, xargs -a is not an option here, different language? Is this doable on Mac or should I just leave the pi overnight, copying files?

                              My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                              My Gameboy

                              D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • D
                                dudleydes @AndersHP
                                last edited by

                                @andershp According to the Linux man page for the xargs command, the -a flag does the following :

                                -a file, --arg-file=file
                                Read items from file instead of standard input.

                                It appears that xargs in MacOS doesn't have this option.

                                I found the xargs command on Google and it worked on my Linux PC so there may well be better ways of doing it. After another search, I have found another way of copying files from a text list using the cp command so hopefully it will work on MacOS.

                                Here are the commands to copy the fba roms from the list on pastebin:

                                    cd /path/to/fba-romset
                                    wget -cO - https://pastebin.com/raw/LG43KZs7 > lr-fbalpha.txt
                                    cp `cat lr-fbalpha.txt` /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/fba/
                                
                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • DarksaviorD
                                  Darksavior
                                  last edited by Darksavior

                                  @UDb23 K, here's my short list of corrections since I hand picked my arcade games. I used stock Pi3 speeds with the crt-pi shader at 1080p. Emulators used are lr-fbalpha and lr-mame-2003. Some games with slight drops in between might run fullspeed with an OC like cadash. Most hit 40-50fps in fba so I don't think an OC will help those games. Feel free to verify my findings. These are the games that should be changed to mame:

                                  baddudes.zip
                                  cbuster.zip not on the list
                                  boogwingu.zip (I used boogwing.zip)
                                  cadashu.zip (I used cadash.zip)
                                  cninjau.zip (I used cninja.zip)
                                  darius2.zip
                                  deadconx.zip
                                  edrandy.zip
                                  dungeonm.zipnot on the list
                                  gunforc2.zip
                                  gunforceu.zip
                                  hooku.zip ( I used hook.zip)
                                  inthuntu.zip (I used inthunt.zip)
                                  macross.zip
                                  macross2.zip
                                  nbbatmanu.zip(I used nbbatman.zip)
                                  ninjawu.zip (I used ninjaw.zip)
                                  rohga.zip
                                  pulirula.zip
                                  rtypeleo.zip
                                  shinobi.zip has an audio bug where the player's voice cuts out in fba. shinobi2.zip , 3,4 are fine.
                                  uccopsu.zip ( I used uccopsar.zip same game but uncensored in english)
                                  wizdfireu.zip (I used wizdfire.zip)

                                  UDb23U 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • AndersHPA
                                    AndersHP @dudleydes
                                    last edited by AndersHP

                                    @dudleydes think this line should be:

                                    ls -1 /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/fba | sed -e 's/\.zip$//' -e 's/_//g' -e 's/^/arcade_/' -e 's/$/ = "lr-fbalpha"/' >> /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulators.cfg
                                    

                                    Seems to work, though. This is complete gibberish in my eyes! :) Will try in large scale now :)

                                    My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                                    My Gameboy

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • AndersHPA
                                      AndersHP
                                      last edited by AndersHP

                                      Just realized that the above mentioned lists are very much made of US-versions of roms, meaning that since my FBA romset is split, all the US-versions doesn't have their parent ROM, and are useless.. I'm running a Replace "u.zip" with ".zip" on the txt files, and the few roms that actually end with a U gets an error message, that I use to change the txt files back again. Will post the final txt files afterwards, for others to use.

                                      My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                                      My Gameboy

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • UDb23U
                                        UDb23 @Darksavior
                                        last edited by

                                        @darksavior said in FBA vs. MAME:

                                        These are the games that should be changed to mame:

                                        Thanks.
                                        Best core list updated accordingly.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • AndersHPA
                                          AndersHP
                                          last edited by AndersHP

                                          I'd like to challenge the perception that Gyruss is better run on FBA. I see no performance differences, but the sound is better in MAME2003. Less fuzzy.

                                          And in this game, sound is 70% of the experience ! :)

                                          My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                                          My Gameboy

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • AndersHPA
                                            AndersHP
                                            last edited by AndersHP

                                            Allright, here's my contribution, that I used for my setup. Maybe someone find it useful:

                                            Based on @Pussyfoot 's lists, but with no US clones, I've gone for the parent roms as good as I could (to make splitted romsets work also). With @Darksavior 's inputs (and my own regarding Gyruss and R-Type, which I think is better in MAME) some has been moved to the MAME2003 list.

                                            mame-libretro list (updated with no ADVMAME games)
                                            lr-fbalpha list, regular
                                            lr-fbalpha list, NeoGeo roms included (new with input from johnodon)
                                            mame-advmame list (new list with input from caver01)

                                            Also see here how to copy files from complete romsets, to match the txt files. Brilliant work, @dudleydes - these copying scripts really helped!

                                            My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                                            My Gameboy

                                            caver01C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                            • First post
                                              Last post

                                            Contributions to the project are always appreciated, so if you would like to support us with a donation you can do so here.

                                            Hosting provided by Mythic-Beasts. See the Hosting Information page for more information.