MAME illiterate

[Ninja_with_ Glasses]

I have never been able to figure out how to work the MAME. The instructions provided always seem like ancient Egyptian algebra to me. Does anyone know of an idiot-friendly guide or video to playing arcade roms on the MAME?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

You're probably using the command line version of MAME which, unless you've been gaming since the days when you had to enter a lot of jargon into the command line of whatever operating system you were attempting to boot a game file up on, can be a daunting task.

I'd recommend getting a GUI version of MAME like MAME32, MAMEUI or IVPLAY

http://www.mameui.info/

Next, get yourself individual roms or a compatible rom "full set" (be warned, the latter will be a pretty large download - worth it but large none the less). I can't link you to any of that, but google around and be sure that the roms/rom set is listed as compatible with he GUI version number of MAME that you're using. Chances are that most games will work regardless of what set you're using, but there's also a chance that many specific games won't work at all.

There are also programs out there that you can run that will automatically audit and make changes to MAME roms/rom-sets to make them more compatible with the version of MAME that you're using, but I don't have a tremendous amount of experience using those, I typically just look for games/sets that are already configured properly.

There are plenty of basic tutorials out there on how to get started ... and while I'm sure that there's something of the sort on these forums, I can't for the life of me find it via on-site search, so here's a nice, straightforward step-by-step guide to get started.

http://emulationunderground.net/smf/index.php?topic=118.0

Now, as far as advanced MAME use, well, it's about as complex as a program like Photoshop. I've been using MAME for well over 10 years and I'm still learning about some of the intricacies of the software.

So, yeah, that should get you started.

Best of luck!

[OldSchoolGamer]

http://emulationunderground.net/smf/index.php?topic=118.0

http://www.shadedjt.com/ArcadeInstructions/Instructions.htm

[Rickstilwell1]

What I can't figure out is how to get MAME working on a modded Xbox. My download must have been bad because all I got was a black screen when I tried to load it.

[Ze_ro]

I'd recommend getting a GUI version of MAME like MAME32, MAMEUI or IVPLAY

I've actually taken a liking to the built-in mini GUI that the more recent versions of MAME come with. It lists a bunch of random games to start off with, but if you start typing in the name of a game (or the short name of the rom set), it regenerates the list to suit what you enter... so you can just type "street" and you'll see a bunch of Street Fighter games filter up through the listing. It's nothing fancy with flyers and marquees or anything, but it's quick and functional if you just want to get into the game.

--Zero

[jb143]

I've actually taken a liking to the built-in mini GUI that the more recent versions of MAME come with. It lists a bunch of random games to start off with, but if you start typing in the name of a game (or the short name of the rom set), it regenerates the list to suit what you enter... so you can just type "street" and you'll see a bunch of Street Fighter games filter up through the listing. It's nothing fancy with flyers and marquees or anything, but it's quick and functional if you just want to get into the game.

--Zero

I like that more than the gui versions as well. It does exactly what you need it to without all the extra bloat. Nothing complicated about it. Just stick the roms in the roms folder, fire up Mame and you're ready to go.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I've actually taken a liking to the built-in mini GUI that the more recent versions of MAME come with. It lists a bunch of random games to start off with, but if you start typing in the name of a game (or the short name of the rom set), it regenerates the list to suit what you enter... so you can just type "street" and you'll see a bunch of Street Fighter games filter up through the listing. It's nothing fancy with flyers and marquees or anything, but it's quick and functional if you just want to get into the game.

--Zero

Oooh, I need to check that out. Didn't know the standard/command line versions have been including anything like that.

Though if a global search is your thing in a listing of 7,000+ roms, the GUI versions will sort/filter exactly like that via the "search bar" and also jump-to a letter with a keystroke or series of keystrokes.

If I want to play Donkey Kong and I'm 3,000 roms away alphabetically I just start typing D-O-N-K and it'll take me right to it.