mame2003-plus: hundreds of new games, improved input, features, new bugs - now with runahead support
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@markwkidd - Ok, I see why that could be resource intensive but it would be slick if it works well on the Pi. I wonder what console cores are using it. Here's a Libretro link that explains what it is and how to use it.
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There are some posts in these forums you can probably search out -- my sense of the state of runahead on pi is that it's limited but better than many were initially predicting considering the pi cpu.
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The RetroArch developers have said they will add support for MAME artwork files to RetroArch (including backdrops and bezels) if someone will code it.
I've started a bounty for anyone interested: https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/issues/7419
This would be a great step forward for all arcade emulation via RetroArch if it is added.
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@markwkidd said in mame2003-plus: 350 new games, improved input, features, new bugs - now with runahead support:
The RetroArch developers have said they will add support for MAME artwork files to RetroArch (including backdrops and bezels) if someone will code it.
This would be absolutely great !
Actually full Mame .LAY format implementation is probably not that easy as it involves not only overlays and backdrops but also LED implementation, bezels and buttons.
Getting just backdrop support as you proposed (possibly with same .cfg settings approach as currently for LR overlays) would be enough.
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@markwkidd said in mame2003-plus: 350 new games, improved input, features, new bugs - now with runahead support:
I've started a bounty
Bounty increased ;-)
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Added to bounty. I think it would be great to see backdrop support. I know you guys have made some fantastic ones that I would love to see implemented with the bezels. That alone is pretty exciting and further consolidating to one emulator as I use AdvMAME for backdrops now even though they aren't very good.
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@riverstorm said in mame2003-plus: 350 new games, improved input, features, new bugs - now with runahead support:
use AdvMAME for backdrops now even though they aren't very good.
Have you seen this ? Advmame 3.9 has a new function to manage overlays and backdrops in better quality but it also seems this slowdowns roms significantly on the Pi.
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@UDb23 - Nice, I had not seen that one. I'll do some testing once it's released on the Pi too.
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Sorry to side track current discussion, but I just started getting my mame games into retropie. is there any major advantage to switching from lr-mame2003 to mame2003-plus? I'm currently on a Raspberry 3B+ with RetroPie 4.4 on stretch. Just trying to decide if I should upgrade to 2003-plus before I invest too much time configuring the 2003. Is the plus an out-right replacement of 2003, or would i still need the standard 2003 for some fallback?
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@lockescow Have you read the originating post of the topic ? Itt should answer most of your questions.
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@mitu From page 1, plus is capable of back-porting for more rom compatibilities. better speed and functionalities. basically everything is better. my guts say i should switch over to plus. however, retropie 4.4 says 2003 is still the recommended emulator... probably because plus is still considered experimental. Any issues running plus on raspberry 3b+? I didn't see any specific on this particular note.
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@lockescow - You should be fine switching and it works great on the Pi 3. There's definitely more features, to many to list. A recent feature not listed anywhere yet (I don't think) is @grant2258 implemented 4-way joystick support. Basically it ignores the diagonal positions on a 8-way joystick so 4-way games have improved game play. It's really new but seems to be working very well.
Another relating to the first example, two games, Q-Bert and Congo Bongo used 45 degree rotated joysticks and I do something like below from the TAB input screen in MAME. With the new 4-way option toggled on it breaks that setup and needs addressed. Basically you might see things change or need addressing as the core evolves.
Up = Up/Right Down = Down/Left Right = Right/Down Left = Left/UpIf you already have a 2003 ROM set complete Plus is over 99% the same (there's 1 or 2 ROM difference but neither are major titles). In addition you get another 130 or so games which is perfect if among them is a favorite or not if they aren't.
You'll also see improvements/upgrades to some of the existing common ROMs between the cores like Bubble Bobble is more accurate with back ported code and better/newer ROM dumps. If a game is compatible with the code base that doesn't require an overhaul they devs are pretty friendly and will add it whereas I think 2003 will not add any new games for consistency.
It's still experimental so things might change or be improved and it could break your current setup, whereas, 2003 is pretty rock solid and doesn't change much. Maybe code changes but not ROM changes. I would call it a strong point. It's stable, it's better for troubleshooting vs. new features that could break things.
The ROM set will be the same regardless but Plus might add, remove or update ROMs from day to day. It's kind of like recommending a "beta" over a "general release" build but honestly Plus is pretty solid too.
If you like to set it and forget it 2003 might be the better choice but if you're willing to address the occasional break, reconfiguration or ROM set update than Plus offers more features and is still actively being developed on the other hand improvements in one core often make it to the other. Both are solid choices and you can't go wrong with either.
Really the biggest differences are going to be interface options and features, game play is pretty much identical. Get into the core options and poke around a bit. You could load both cores and test with one or two ROMs to get a feel for both to see if one sits well with you over the other.
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The new RetroArch artwork bounty is now up to $150 thanks to a contribution from @thatman84 , thanks!
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@Riverstorm setting up/right ect will also break a normal 4 way joytick working in mame this is not a bug it 4 way joystick behavior thats what the new setting is doing. Use the old setting and you get the problems with all other games you are having. You would need a new setting for 45 degree rotated 4ways or just use the original setting with that mapping. Anything that breaks original hardware working is not a good default you should be picking a setting based on the game your playing. I dont imagine there is a lot of 45 degrees shifted joystick games I could be wrong
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@grant2258 - Yeah I had that configuration for Q-Bert and Congo Bongo before the 4-way change. It's a great way to play those few isometric games a little more correctly-ish.
Anyway after the feature implementation those two games didn't work correctly unless 4-way mode is set to off, which makes sense since you can't move at a diagonal with it on. I would never set direction/diagonals as a default global configuration. The example was more a point about things may change and need troubleshooting in Plus vs. 2003 when deciding on which core to use.
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@riverstorm said in mame2003-plus: 350 new games, improved input, features, new bugs - now with runahead support:
tation those two games didn't work correctly unless 4-way mode is set to off, which makes sense since you can't move at a diagonal with it on. I would never set direction/diagonals as a default global
@Riverstorm no problems ive posted workable solution theory to this for the new 4 way so it can support these games but we will need a list of games and agreement its the best way to do it first its in the github thread
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Here's what I could find for 45 degree rotated games. Their might be more to add though.
Congo Bongo Inferno Jack Rabbit (8-way stick but uses only diagonals for gameplay) TYLZ Q-Bert Q-Bert Qubes -
Public service announcement about romsets
Based on support requests I've handled from the libretro Discord server, there are at least two different bootleg mame2003-plus romset collections now floating around.
It may be that one of these collections is good and reliable but also maybe not. In the meantime I've also moved our romset rebuilding instructions to the official libretro docs: https://docs.libretro.com/library/mame2003_plus/#building-romsets-for-mame-2003-plus
Rebuilding your romsets is the only way to know for sure that you have a good set!
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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT VECTORS
nayslayer has contributed a patch to mame2003 that should fix its longstanding video quality issues rendering vector games. Once the patch is fully working, it'll get ported to mame2003-plus as well. @caver01 I can't resist the urge to tag you, although no worries if you don't have time to take a look right now. :)
If anyone is interested in testing this improved vector quality, rebuild mame2003 from source (not mame2003-plus) and give it a whirl with Tempest, Star Wars, or your own favorite vector game. Edit: You will need to change your mame2003 vector-related core options, as the old un-enabled core options for vectors will still be place even after you build from source.
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The new vector patch is now in mame2003-plus as well -- rebuild mame2003-plus from source for new adventures! I only had a tantalizingly small amount of time to play with the options but things are looking very snazzy!
Here's Tempest at 2x resolution, antialias, and a beam width of 3 (click to see it at full size or you may get aliasing re-introduced by your browser):
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