mame2003-plus: hundreds of new games, improved input, features, new bugs - now with runahead support

akafox

@mediamogul well it has to be that way with mame a lot..but emulation in general.
With updates comes breaks..that is they update it to fix or improve it and then they break something else. So you go to an older version that worked.

I would prefer to use "native emulators" myself but RetroArch is updated frequently and a big community around it. They do have separate cores for some emulators which is nice. At first I was not using mame cores because I could not get into the dipswitch menu..that is a must for some games..but then it was fixed.

On the other hand I have a system here that i have four versions of an arcade emulator on just to get things to work. I have standard mame..then I have FBA..then advmame 1.4..then Fast MAME..it's a single core 1.4ghz with 384 Mb of DDR ram and a 40Gb (IDE) HHD...so it's slow...but the different versions of mame allow me to run almost everything..yes even KI and MK at full speed.

But back to topic...
umm..I have a dumb question embarrassed
so this core here what exactly is it? I have been watching it for sometime..and I gather it is a version of mame (core) to get games to play..or run better (in a nutshell) I do want to try it out..any value on it over the mame 2003 core over all?
guess i need to break down and try it out huh? lol it is in the retroarch get hub page right?..or downloadable from the retroarch gui?

mediamogul

@akafox said in mame2003-plus: 250 new games, new input system, new features, new bugs:

so this core here what exactly is it?

lr-mame2003-plus 'backports' features and fixes that were added later than the 2003 version of MAME (0.78). These additions include new playable games, as well as fixes to issues that were exclusive to the RetroArch port, such as the inability to play Midway MCR games, which was not an issue with the original MAME 0.78. So, basically it adds a grab bag of good stuff from later versions of MAME and puts it all into an older incarnation of MAME that is know to perform well on low-end hardware like the Raspberry Pi.

akafox

@mediamogul ah okay that makes sense just like advance mame did with the cps3 game and a few others...never updated [to a newer version] or "used newer roms" just "updated the code" to run newer games..but same base..(one ting I like about advance mame...).

Too bad MS didn't do that with DOS and Windows 3.1..but that's a debate for an entirely different forum xD

Thank you for your informative answer..I will defiantly look into it! :D
Is there any place there is a list of the roms that work? (retropie wiki maybe?)
I tried the mame2003-midway core one time but was told the main core absorbed that hack/fix but this core is not "just midway" roms I take it..

mitu

@akafox said in mame2003-plus: 250 new games, new input system, new features, new bugs:

Is there any place there is a list of the roms that work? (retropie wiki maybe?)

The Changelog has the list of new additions. Check out the 1st post in the topic and the project's github page for more details.

grant2258

it was me that fixed the midway games on mame2003 and mame2003 plus they work on both cores now

mediamogul

@grant2258

And you should be commended for it. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say thank you. Those particular titles are among the cornerstones of retro-gaming and video game history in general.

Riverstorm

Here's an updated list of the ROMs that are new or updated in Plus. New means they are exclusive to only Plus and updated means at least one ROM has been added, removed or modified in the set and is now different. The rest of the games are 100% identical to 2003 (roughly 4,548). I don't have a handy way to convert them back to their full names but I think it's still a useful list.

This list doesn't include fixes for existing ROMs but many of those changes have been merged into 2003. Also there's quite a few custom OST's that have been added that work with parent and clones which are really neat and I believe more will be add down the road.

@grant2258 did some work on the last custom OST that has FLAC support which allowed the samples to be reduced in size by almost 50%. I think FLAC support is a step in the right direction for modern day.

Also @markwkidd did some work to improve vector game support. It's not equal to AdvMAME standards but it's been much improved over 2003.

He also did some work on the Retropad abstraction layer challenges. So "ghosting inputs" have been cleaned up and the ability to do <NOT> mappings has been improved. So you have more input interfaces and some new retropad layouts.

@grant2258 did made some changes to neogeo.zip BIOS file names so you have the ability to merge multiple BIOS file versions of equal name different hashes into one neogeo.zip. Basically you have the ability to use one neogeo.zip file for both cores or possibly 3 cores like FBA too but I haven't tested 3 yet.

Also several minor improvements for games behind the scenes like getting into 'F2', etc. have been fixed.

I am sure to be missing some highlights but to be fair to 2003. It does have 2 games not supported in Plus. I can figure it out if it's important but they weren't major games if I remember.

Also the other day I was messing with After Burner and Outrun and I found 2003 to be smoother and I was able to pull off a barrel roll in 2003 After Burner but I couldn't do the same in Plus. I have no idea why. So basically I use 2003 as a benchmark or for contrast if something isn't working correctly in Plus.

Plus is a great core and if it has a favorite game or feature not supported in 2003 it's definitely worth checking out.

Games new to Plus (133 games):

1943mii.zip
acpsx.zip
airattck.zip
airattcka.zip
arescue.zip
asurabus.zip
avengrgsj.zip
backfire.zip
baryon.zip
bbbuster.zip
boogwing.zip
boogwinga.zip
brapboysj.zip
bsharkjjs.zip
bublbob1.zip
bublboblp.zip
cabala.zip
cabalus.zip
cabalus2.zip
candance.zip
ccastlej.zip
chainrec.zip
charlien.zip
countrb2.zip
crswd2bl.zip
cutefght.zip
darkmist.zip
dblewing.zip
ddream95.zip
deluxe5.zip
denjinmk.zip
dietgo.zip
dietgoe.zip
dietgoj.zip
dietgou.zip
dkongx.zip
dogosokj.zip
downtowj.zip
dreamwld.zip
drgnwrld.zip
dynagear.zip
esckidsj.zip
fixeighb.zip
gaialast.zip
ghostlop.zip
glasskr.zip
gnbarich.zip
gunmast.zip
hachamfb.zip
hcrash.zip
hcrashc.zip
hedpanicf.zip
hedpanico.zip
hookj.zip
hoops96.zip
hsf2a.zip
hvysmsh.zip
hvysmsha.zip
hvysmshj.zip
ikari3nr.zip
inyourfa.zip
ironclad.zip
joemacr.zip
joemacra.zip
kbash2.zip
killbld.zip
kof2001.zip
kof2002.zip
lasthope.zip
lethalen.zip
magdrop.zip
magdropp.zip
matrim.zip
mchampdx.zip
mchampdxa.zip
midresbj.zip
msgogo.zip
mslug4.zip
mslug5.zip
multchmpk.zip
mwarr.zip
nslasherj.zip
nslashers.zip
olds.zip
olds103t.zip
osman.zip
packbang.zip
pktgaldj.zip
pktgaldx.zip
plegends.zip
pnyaa.zip
progear.zip
progearj.zip
pturn.zip
puzlstar.zip
pzloop2j.zip
ragtime.zip
ragtimea.zip
riot.zip
rockn2.zip
rockn3.zip
rockn4.zip
rockna.zip
rolcrush.zip
rotd.zip
sabotnba.zip
samsh5sp.zip
samsho5.zip
sbishi.zip
sbishik.zip
sengoku3.zip
skullfng.zip
skullfngj.zip
sonicbom.zip
suprridr.zip
svcboot.zip
swatpolc.zip
tangtang.zip
teetert.zip
tgm2.zip
tgm2p.zip
thoop.zip
vasara2.zip
vasara2a.zip
vbowl.zip
vbowlj.zip
vmetal.zip
wbmlvc.zip
wcvol95.zip
wcvol95x.zip
wingforc.zip
zintrckb.zip
zupapa.zip

Updated from 2003 to Plus (39 games):

alcon.zip
avengrgs.zip
bloodwar.zip
bonkadv.zip
brapboys.zip
bubbobr1.zip
bublbobl.zip
bublbobr.zip
cabal.zip
chinagat.zip
countrnb.zip
esckids.zip
fireshrk.zip
fjbuster.zip
gtmr.zip
hachamf.zip
hedpanic.zip
hydrap.zip
hydrap2.zip
jdredd.zip
jdreddb.zip
multchmp.zip
mustache.zip
nbajamex.zip
neogeo.zip
omega.zip
rockn.zip
saiyugou.zip
samesam2.zip
samesame.zip
shogwarr.zip
slapfigh.zip
tdragon.zip
titlef.zip
tmekprot.zip
vimana.zip
vimana1.zip
vimanan.zip
winspike.zip

grant2258

The analog problem was fixed yesterday

Riverstorm

@grant2258 said in mame2003-plus: 250 new games, new input system, new features, new bugs:

The analog problem was fixed yesterday

Thanks, I just updated from source and they perform identical now.

gizmobjb

I can't get most of the chd games to work. Is there a trick to get them running. I have them in the arcade folder with the roms, and they are each in separate folders with names matching the rom names.

AndersHP

It seems Timber doesn't save hiscores?
lr-mame2010 does, but lr-mame2003-plus doesn't..?

Stuart2773

@Riverstorm @markwkidd @grant2258

if there any chance of a title screen/intro graphics fix on AfterBurner & Afterburner II ?

i checked them in lr-mame2016 and they seem to be fixed

thanks.

grant2258

what exacly is missing from the afterburner

grant2258

ost samples have been removed from the dat too many people think they are missing samples when they have the mono set.

Riverstorm

@gizmobjb said in mame2003-plus: 250 new games, new input system, new features, new bugs:

I can't get most of the chd games to work. Is there a trick to get them running. I have them in the arcade folder with the roms, and they are each in separate folders with names matching the rom names.

CHD's do work and you're putting them in the correct location. You might try running them through ClrMamePro with the DAT to verify you're using CHDv3. They have to be a specific version to work.

@AndersHP - Maybe @grant2258 would know how to tell if a game has hiscore support. I tried it also and it doesn't save in Plus. Even looking at the current hiscore.dat I don't find a Timber entry. Maybe it's an NVRAM setting.

@Stuart2773 - I am using a Pi 3 running RetroPie 4.3 and both games play the intro fully with no graphical issues.

Riverstorm

@gizmobjb - It might also be worth mentioning if you're using a Pi as your platform the CHD performance is anywhere from a miss to slow motion play. The Pi just doesn't have enough oomph to make them playable really.

Stuart2773

@grant2258 said in mame2003-plus: 250 new games, new input system, new features, new bugs:

what exacly is missing from the afterburner

@riverstorm said in mame2003-plus: 250 new games, new input system, new features, new bugs:

@Stuart2773 - I am using a Pi 3 running RetroPie 4.3 and both games play the intro fully with no graphical issues.

heres what it looks like in lr-mame2003-plus:-

heres what the same romset looks like in lr-mame2016:-

the build im using is Pi 3 running RetroPie 4.4

mame 2016 shows the correct colors when playing the game unlike 2003-plus which shows a blue background on the intro screens on both afterburner & afterburner 2 instead of the black one on mame2016 & lr-fbalpha

gizmobjb

@riverstorm thank you. Everything is correct, no chd missing or incorrect versions when I scan. Maybe they will start I just need to wait longer since I am on a pi3. The folders just need to match the rom name so I got that right.

Riverstorm

@Stuart2773 - I see what you're saying. I have the same deal with the blue background. I opened an issue here. I think it will take one of the core programmers to fix the issue if it can be fixed.

@gizmobjb - Right the CHD folder and ROM need to match but not necessarily the CHD itself. I was using Area 51 for testing and it only takes about 10 seconds before the intro screens should start. It shouldn't take to long.

gizmobjb

@Riverstorm Area 51 is the only one I got to work. Are you able to test the others.