AdvancedMame and Disks of Tron

ward614

One of the games that I am particularly interested in getting to work in my build is Disks of Tron, which I played as a kid. Unfortunately, while I can get the game to run in Mame4All, I am having problems getting a version to work in AdvanceMame .94 or 1.4 which is necessary to properly use my mouse as a spinner.

When searching the form, I found this old post (Here) where it is mentioned that it runs in AdvanceMame 1.4, and was wondering if anyone has some suggestions as to how I might get it to do the same for my build.

I have already tried using ClrMamePro to rebuild the rom into both .106 and .94, but both of those did not work.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

mediamogul

@ward614 said in AdvancedMame and Disks of Tron:

I am having problems getting a version to work in AdvanceMame .94 or 1.4

I can't speak for .94 or 1.4, but I have 'Discs of Tron' running very well in AdvanceMAME 3.7, so you might want to try it there.

ward614

@mediamogul How did you update to 3.7? The RPSetup menu offers 3.5, but not 3.7.

Additionally, 3.5 does not seem to work with .106 roms either.

mediamogul

@ward614

How did you update to 3.7? The RPSetup menu offers 3.5, but not 3.7.

When I updated it this morning from binary, it noted that it was installing, then configuring version 3.7. However, I just ran /opt/retropie/emulators/advmame/bin/advmame --version and apparently 3.6 is what actually installs. You may need to update your RetroPie-Setup script.

Additionally, 3.5 does not seem to work with .106 roms either.

It should. I'm running a full .106 ROM set with no issues.

ward614

@mediamogul Which version of the Disks of Tron Rom are you using? Environmental, Upright or Upright Alternate?

Also, did you use the .dat file from https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/MAME? I have been trying every possible rebuild for this rom that I can get my hands on and they are not working.

mediamogul

@ward614 said in AdvancedMame and Disks of Tron:

Which version of the Disks of Tron Rom are you using? Environmental, Upright or Upright Alternate?

I've tested all of them, but I primarily use the environmental to get the synthsized speech.

Also, did you use the .dat file from https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/MAME?

I did, yes. The only thing that might differ is that I took an existing non-merged set and converted it into a merged set. However, any of the three set types should work as long as they're .106.

ward614

@mediamogul I completely reinstalled ClrMamePro and redownloaded the dat files and roms, but the results are the same. The rom doesn't seem to run in any version of AdvMame. I am now trying to update to v 3.6 and see if that makes a difference.

One thing that I did notice when running ClrMamePro was that it created a number of other files in my destination directory names after roms that weren't even in my romset. Do you happen to know anything about that and if it may be indicative of a problem? They were all 1 kb or less while the dotrone rom was much larger.

mediamogul

@ward614

Are you by chance trying to build the .106 ROM set from another version set? If so, that will create problems without using a proper rollback set as well.

ward614

@mediamogul I have been trying to take a more recent set, .154, and rebuild it backwards into .106, but I definitely haven't been using any sort of rollback set. I have just been using the newer roms and the .dat file as inputs.

What is a rollback set and how would I go about using one? I don't seem to recall seeing anything about them in the GetHub instructions page. Am I supposed to be going from an older set and rebuilding into a new one?

ChuckyP

@ward614 a rollback set will have all the past versions of ROMs needed to recreate an older version of MAME. You want to use a full set of ROMs from a newer version and a complete rollback set to end up with a complete .106

mediamogul

@ward614 said in AdvancedMame and Disks of Tron:

I don't seem to recall seeing anything about them in the GetHub instructions page.

That surprises me, but it seems as though you're right. The only mention of any kind of "roll back" is made in passing here. Perhaps the video that is linked there goes over it. To be completely honest, the process is somewhat involved and the rollback set is a pretty large download itself. Not to mention the fact that it can be just as tricky to get a hold of as a premade set, which is what most people end up doing anyway when it's all said and done.

ChuckyP

This is the easiest utility I have used to create a rollback (MAME Set Rebuilder). It is involved, as with everything MAME. But of the options available this one I find the most intuitive. I do however prefer ClrMamePro.

https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/15233/mame-set-rebuilder

ward614

So the best thing for me to do seems to be to try and find a working copy of the rom as part of an already existing .106 set. So far no luck with that, but I can keep looking.

ward614

@mediamogul Ok, so I have tried several sets claiming to be .106 and none of the tron roms there worked either.

I am thinking I would like to change the direction of this and simply see if I can get mouse inputs working in lr-mame2014 or 2000 where the game does run without mouse input. (2003 has flipped graphics). Does anyone know if mouse controls work on these emulators? The gethub page doesn't list them as viable.

mediamogul

@ward614

When you're trying to add the game to AdvanceMAME, are you making sure to also include the dotron.zip parent ROM? Depending on the set type, it may be necessary if you're trying to run one of the clones.

ward614

@mediamogul While I will go and mess around with that idea, I have been unable to get the parent rom to run in advmame either. I assume that it should be functioning in order for the environmental version to have any chance of working properly.

mediamogul

@ward614 said in AdvancedMame and Disks of Tron:

I assume that it should be functioning in order for the environmental version to have any chance of working properly.

Correct. Again, depending on the set type you're using, dotron.zip will need to be present in the same folder for dotrone.zip (environmental) to work.

ward614

@mediamogul At this point, I would be happy to get any version of this rom to work, let alone the ideal environmental one.

I am currently downloading my third set claiming to be .106 and will get all of the Disks of Tron roms in there at the same time. If that doesn't work, I have to assume that the issue is my inability to find a working rom and begin working on getting one of the other emulators to allow my mouse to function.

ward614

@mediamogul Alright, I have completed my download and confirmed that these roms are a correct .106 set with RomCenter and the .106 dat file from the retropie github page.

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After that I added all three Disks of Tron roms to the pi, but still none of them run in AdvancedMame 1.4 or 3.7. They just start up then go back to the emulation station menu.

Are there any other factors that could cause a rom to not run? Is it possible that I have messed up some other file in a way that prevents just one game from running?

mediamogul

@ward614 said in AdvancedMame and Disks of Tron:

Are there any other factors that could cause a rom to not run?

The lack of a BIOS would do it, but I don't think this game needs one. Have any other games been crashing as well, or is 'Discs of Tron' the only game your attempting to run through AdvanceMAME?