MAME development: lr-mame2003 Updates

[dquez]

Has anyone looked into adding "autocenter" to the analog control options for lr-mame2003? I end up using mame2010 for a lot of games that had analog controls because mame2003 lacks the "autocenter" feature.

@dankcushions The core input remapping addition was fantastic! Great work. mame2010 needs this too.

[dankcushions]

@dquez said in MAME development: lr-mame2003 Updates:

Has anyone looked into adding "autocenter" to the analog control options for lr-mame2003? I end up using mame2010 for a lot of games that had analog controls because mame2003 lacks the "autocenter" feature.

hmm, what does it do? or can you maybe give me an example game where it's a problem not having that feature? i've not had a problem with the analog games i've tried.

@dankcushions The core input remapping addition was fantastic! Great work. mame2010 needs this too.

cheers! but that was another developer from libretro - hunterk :)

[dquez]

@dankcushions While playing a rom that has analog control the mame2003 Tab menu gets an additional option called "Analog Controls" it is the 4th option after: Input (General), Input (This Game), and Dip Switches. The Analog control option lets you adjust the settings in order to get a digital D-Pad to mimic Analog Controls.

For each axis there are settings for:
Joy Speed
Reverse
Sensitivity

In mame2010 there is an additional setting per axis:
Autocenter Speed

Basically in mame2003 if you push up on you D-Pad it mimics pressing up on the analog stick but when you let go of the D-Pad the emulated analog stick stays in the up position. You have to press down to bring it back to center and if you press down for too long you go past center into a down position and if you don't press down long enough the analog stick will register as slightly up.

In mame2010 because the analog controls autocenter when you press up on the D-Pad the analog control go up and when you let go of the D-Pad the autocenter feature brings the emulated analog stick back to the center position. How quickly it centers depends on the autocenter speed setting. This helps make analog games control much better with a digital D-Pad or arcade stick.

For example in "Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters" if you use mame2003 you press a direction and you will you continue to run in that direction even if you have let go of the D-Pad. In mame2010 you only run if you hold down a direction on the D-Pad. Letting go of the D-Pad autocenters and the character stops moving.

Pretty sure the same goes for Food Fight.

For reticle type shooting games you can turn the autocenter speed to 0 so that the reticle isn't always trying to recenter itself.

That turned out longer than I expected!

[dankcushions]

@dquez thanks for the explanation! that sounds useful but it doesn't sound like something i'd want to do, as it's core mame input functionality and probably quite hard to port between the two versions.

[dankcushions]

17th October 2016

• Fix default controls in American Speedway
  As spotted in the MAME ROW #4 thread

(and then they promptly removed the game from the list of candidates :P)

[dankcushions]

10th December 2016

• TATE mode
  For users with rotatable displays to show vertical games in their native 90 degree rotation, using the full length of the display. See https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-mame2003#tate-mode

[dankcushions]

25th February 2017

• Fixed frameskip caused by B button
  Thanks to @RumblinBuffalo for spotting!
  See https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/8331/lr-mame2003-speeding-up-with-b-button-press

24th February 2017

• Backported a few refresh rate fixes from current mame
  By default these won't be visible, but you can read about the fix and how to see it here, if you care! https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-libretro/issues/75

[dankcushions]

couple of big ones:

• August 2nd 2017
  Mortal Kombat 2/3 (and others?) sound distortion fixed! these games are now fully playable on pi3. this fix was also funded by @GreenHawk84 and @vince-geekcore - thanks both!

• August 5th 2017
  Killer Instinct 1/2 now work on x86 and pi! thanks to @markwkidd - kinst loads, and runs at about 2 FPS on pi3. very unplayable, so be careful what you wish for ;) however x86 users can at least run it, and it should be playable.

[GreenHawk84]

@dankcushions So glad to help contribute to the improvement of Mame on Retropie!

[Riverstorm]

@greenhawk84 said in MAME development: lr-mame2003 Updates:

@dankcushions So glad to help contribute to the improvement of Mame on Retropie!

Thank you good sir and @markwkidd for the new additions and @dankcushions for keeping this thread of enhancements and improvements you've done.

[pjft]

Oh, wow, well done and thanks for the update!

I take it an update from source would sort it out then?

[dankcushions]

@pjft said in MAME development: lr-mame2003 Updates:

Oh, wow, well done and thanks for the update!

I take it an update from source would sort it out then?

yes! you could try via binaries first, as they may have been updated. source will take about 30 mins on a pi3

[MrJordaaany]

@dankcushions Awesome updates, will update when I get of work :)

[MrJordaaany]

@dankcushions When this update says 'sound distortion' fixed for Mortal Kombat 2 and 3. Does it mean how the games are really quiet? I've updated but no difference this end.

[dankcushions]

@mrjordaaany said in MAME development: lr-mame2003 Updates:

@dankcushions When this update says 'sound distortion' fixed for Mortal Kombat 2 and 3. Does it mean how the games are really quiet? I've updated but no difference this end.

no - the horrid distortion and delay that previously happened after ~10 mins of play. volume can be easily adjusted via the service menu: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/lr-mame2003#service-menu

[GreenHawk84]

@mrjordaaany that will never change, the games were designed with a starting volume. You have to adjust that on the actual game options.

[MrJordaaany]

@dankcushions @GreenHawk84 ah I see. Thanks for the info.

[UDb23]

@dankcushions said in MAME development: lr-mame2003 Updates:

this fix was also funded by @GreenHawk84 and @vince-geekcore

Is it possible to request specific fixes to the libretro team by funding ? How?
As you may remember I'd like to have sounds in Deep Scan (Invinco/Deep Scan dual game).
For a Mame developer it shouldn't be complicated.

Thank you all for making lr-mame2003 better and better!

[pjft]

@udb23 have you tested it in MAME 2010 or AdvMame?

[dankcushions]

@udb23 we use www.bountysource.com to post bounties on github issues. this one was fixed by a developer new to libretro, i believe. the power of open source!

however, i think your issue would only be viable if it's working in MAME 0.78 standalone (like the mk2/3 issue was). i think if it isn't, then you're better finding out which version of MAME it does work, first.