Coin Entry for Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back (MAME) ??

windale

Some games on lr-Mame2003 you cannot insert coins or use the Mame menu, Star Wars is one of them. It was reported on the compatibility list a long time ago, I don't know how rbaker managed to do it.

csetera

@windale Would one of the other emulators work? If so, can I enable for just the failing games?

windale

@csetera said in Coin Entry for Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back (MAME) ??:

@windale Would one of the other emulators work? If so, can I enable for just the failing games?

lr-mame2010 and AdvanceMame support Star Wars and TESB but I don't know if they work or if they use the same version of the roms. I've never tried those emulators.

rbaker

@csetera I have gone back and dug into the depths of my install. Here is what I found.....

I am using the arcade folder so 90% of my roms are based on 0.78 and the default lr-mame2003. However, there are some games which use Advmame for the fancy vector features. Now in there is star wars and it works perfectly BUT it is not running on 0.78 and lr-mame2003. I selected it to run on mame4all (not lr) and I have no idea why, maybe it was because that was the only one that I could get it working on when I first set it up. @windale is quite right, when I tried to launch it on lr-mame2003 using the 0.78 rom, it launched ok and I could insert a credit no problem but then the sound bar appeared when I hit the trigger to start the game and I couldn't get rid of it. These are the roms that I have for mame4all:

starw.zip (6k)
starwar1.zip (9k)
starwars.zip (46k)

They present the user with these options:

Star Wars (Bootleg of Galaxy Wars) - this is not Star Wars
Star Wars (Revision 1) - this is Star Wars and works.
Star Wars (Revision 2) - this is also Star Wars and works.

I configured mame4all by using tab to enter the config menu. On that game, I use the mame defaults on the ipac which is 5 to insert coin. To start, you press the fire button (trigger in the game).

If you want to post a config you can use pastebin but the relevant section of my config is this:

input_player1_a = "alt"
input_player1_b = "ctrl"
input_player1_y = "space"
input_player1_x = "x"
input_player1_start = "num1"
input_player1_select = "num5"
input_player1_l = null
input_player1_r = null
input_player1_left = "left"
input_player1_right = "right"
input_player1_up = "up"
input_player1_down = "down"

input_player2_a = "s"
input_player2_b = "a"
input_player2_y = "q"
input_player2_x = "k"
input_player2_start = "num2"
input_player2_select = "num6"
input_player2_l = null
input_player2_r = null
input_player2_left = "d"
input_player2_right = "g"
input_player2_up = "r"
input_player2_down = "f"

With this, you can play Star Wars on Mame4all.

csetera

@rbaker I attempted to use lr-mame2010 to run this. It flashes red for a second and then goes to a MAME2010 menu. I did switch ROMs (in theory) to match the required version for this emulator, but it doesn't seem to be working. Sounds like maybe I should try MAME4ALL?

rbaker

@csetera Yes, 0.37b5 set. Have a look

. Not easy to control with a standard arcade stick!

csetera

@rbaker Well, that works... as you say, it is really tough to control though. Are you using the lr version or the non-lr version? It seems like your performance looks better in the video that I was seeing when I got things running. If I'm already going to be trying to tweak the configuration anyway, I can consider giving up the common libreto configuration if it helps with performance.

Now I'm wondering if it would be possible to map the analog stick on my F710 as an actual analog input rather than as a virtual DPad. That would certainly be helpful to controlling if possible.... Off to do some more reading :-)

Thanks for the help thus far!
Craig

rbaker

@csetera I'm on a Pi3, not overclocked but am using the non-libretro mame4all. So you have to configure the controls by using TAB. It has a great perofrmance but you forfeit all the benefits of retroarch etc. like scanlines, shaders, common controls. I recall the original game had those special handle type controls with rotate and forward and back so I guess that is why it is difficult to control with a standard stick. On my config above, that file is for retroarch emulators and I have the standard mame setup which is 5 for insert coin and 1 for start. For Star Wars, you have to pull the trigger to start. So to configue mame4all, I just presed TAB and went through the process with a keyboard attached but pressed my arcade controls accordingly.

There is a thread on it here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75995.0

It goes in at number 1 for the most difficult game to play on mame due to the controls:
http://arcadesushi.com/classic-arcade-games-you-cant-play-easily-on-mame/

windale

@rbaker said in Coin Entry for Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back (MAME) ??:

It goes in at number 1 for the most difficult game to play on mame due to the controls:
http://arcadesushi.com/classic-arcade-games-you-cant-play-easily-on-mame/

That top 7 is 3 years old and nearly all those games are easily playable in MAME on other platforms. The Pi just doesn't have as good emulation. Star wars shouldn't even be on that list. On PC etc. you can control it with the mouse/trackball which is actually better, and Android MAME you can use the touch screen.

dankcushions

@windale said in Coin Entry for Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back (MAME) ??:

@rbaker said in Coin Entry for Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back (MAME) ??:

It goes in at number 1 for the most difficult game to play on mame due to the controls:
http://arcadesushi.com/classic-arcade-games-you-cant-play-easily-on-mame/

That top 7 is 3 years old and nearly all those games are easily playable in MAME on other platforms. The Pi just doesn't have as good emulation. Star wars shouldn't even be on that list. On PC etc. you can control it with the mouse/trackball which is actually better, and Android MAME you can use the touch screen.

mame2003 and advmame supports mice/trackballs. mame 2003 supports analog controllers/touchscreen (advmame too, possibly)

windale

@dankcushions said in Coin Entry for Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back (MAME) ??:

mame2003 and advmame supports mice/trackballs. mame 2003 supports analog controllers/touchscreen (advmame too, possibly)

Yes, but Star Wars etc. in lr-Mame2003 you cannot insert coins (thread title).

dankcushions

@windale

mame2003 and advmame supports mice/trackballs. mame 2003 supports analog controllers/touchscreen (advmame too, possibly)

if it works for star wars, it seems like a solution.

csetera

@dankcushions I finally ended up using mame4all (not libretro version). I used the in-game configuration to set up the analog joystick on F710 and it seems to work pretty well. I see there is more tweaking I can do in terms of sensitivity, but I can see that analog is working in this configuration.

So, at this point, I need to do some tweaking, but mame4all gives me a working emulator that accepts coins as well as works with the analog stick.

Thanks for everyone's help!
Craig

windale

@csetera I think it's best to use ADVMame for ALL vector games. I recently tried it and the resolution is a lot higher making the vector look crisp, and mouse/analogue works with all appropriate games.