The 2006 DP MAME League Starts Friday!!!

[Jibbajaba]

The first round of the opening tournament will start sometime this friday. I will be e-mailing everyone with the game selection as well as posting it here on DP, so make sure that you are on the mailing list. Right now, I have the e-mail addys of less than half of the entrants. Send an e-mail to mameleague@gmail.com to get on the list.

Once you recieve the game selection and have downloaded the ROM from the official league web site, you will have until Monday night to submit your high score. The rules and details will be included with the first e-mail, and will be posted on the web site.

Chris

------------

The next tournament will start on April 21st, so if you didnt get in on this one, then the next one is right around the corner!

This tournament will start on Friday. Please get an e-mail to mamleleague@gmail.com so that you are added to the mailing list.

------------

This year's MAME competition will be done by holding a series of tournaments. Think of how professional tennis or golf works. We will have tournaments on a regular basis, and there will be a rankings list to rank all of the players who participate. People can come and go as they want, but regular play will be needed in order to keep you near the top of the rankings list, which is where you will need to be if you want to compete in the 18th Annual Digital Press MAME League World Championships. But basically this means that you don't have to be a part of the action from Day 1 to enjoy things. If you are watching from the sidelines and think that it looks like fun, then you can sign up later.

So I am just going to start the sign-ups for the first tournament now. This will be the way it works. This is going to be an open tournament. If you played in the MAME league last year, then just tell me that you want in and you will be in. If you are a MAME league newbie, then you have to pay a 500 meseta entry fee, which will be directly applied to the prize pool for this tournament. After this tourney is over, I will have invitational tournaments and open tournaments. In the invitationals, there will be no entry fee but players will be invited to compete based on their ranking. In the opens, EVERY player will have to pay an entry fee, which will vary from tourney to tourney, as will the amount of the prize pool.

I am limiting the first touney to 32 people. Remember, you can sit out the first one and jump in later if you want.

First Prize: 5000 meseta
Second Prize: 2500 meseta
Thrid Prize: 1000 meseta

So far I have the following people signed up:

1. Scooterb
2. InsaneDavid
3. Mr. Foodmonster
4. Dragonmaster Sam
5. S1lence
6. mgriff
7. Queen of the Felines
8. Ze_ro
9. HardcoreGamer
10. neuropolitique
11. Gapporin
12. Pantechnicon
13. DDCecil
14. The_4th_Survivor
15. Dr. Morbis
16. Fergojisan
17. Slip81
18. dcescott
19. hep038
20. blissfulnoise
21. n8littlefield
22. NE146
23. ahamilton0953
24. jcheatle
25. njiska
26. Acidic_Pain
27. Lady Jaye
28. Vectorman0
29. keiblerfan69
30. Kitsune Sniper
31. dojosky
32. Oobgarm


Chris

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For those of those who don't know, here are the threads from last year:

Official tournament thread (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=59720)

Discussion thread for Tournament (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=59821)

Speaking of last year's festivities, I believe that the winners are still owed some of their prizes. :embarrassed: Was the DP schwag ever sent out? I think some of the mini-prizes didn't make it out the door either. PM me if I owe you something.

Chris

[phreak97]

i'm interested..

[scooterb23]

Oh hells yeah!

I'm in for this all the way.

MAME ON!! *apologies to Joe*

[InsaneDavid]

Hell yes I'd be ready for another MAME league. Can I please ask that we keep the MAME version install around where it was last time or even the same version (v0.95) as the more releases that come out, the more dissolved the platform exclusive ports become, and the heftier the requirements get. Hell, I still use v0.76 / v0.77 for the most part - although I know that's archaic. LOL

As for the prizes, no problem at all - I can demagnetize my harddisk on my own. ;) ...have done so since too. :embarrassed:

[Jibbajaba]

Hell yes I'd be ready for another MAME league. Can I please ask that we keep the MAME version install around where it was last time or even the same version (v0.95) as the more releases that come out, the more dissolved the platform exclusive ports become, and the heftier the requirements get. Hell, I still use v0.76 / v0.77 for the most part - although I know that's archaic. LOL

Sure, but does that mean that everyone has to use 0.95? Like, can someone else use the latest version or will that cause a problem? I can make sure that all games used will work on 0.95...

Chris

[Mr.FoodMonster]

The 4th place victor from last round is also in!


(Yeah, thats right, I'm proud for being the 3rd loser)

[DragonMaster Sam]

I had fun last year, and I definitely want to be in it this year.

[s1lence]

Count me in. :D

[InsaneDavid]

Hell yes I'd be ready for another MAME league. Can I please ask that we keep the MAME version install around where it was last time or even the same version (v0.95) as the more releases that come out, the more dissolved the platform exclusive ports become, and the heftier the requirements get. Hell, I still use v0.76 / v0.77 for the most part - although I know that's archaic. LOL

Sure, but does that mean that everyone has to use 0.95? Like, can someone else use the latest version or will that cause a problem? I can make sure that all games used will work on 0.95...

Chris

It should still be alright unless you try to run something crazy like Sega Model 2 stuff (which most can't run anyway). Somewhere around the v0.80's (v0.88 I think) the romset changed somewhat - remember in the last one when some people couldn't get X rom to run if they got it from elsewhere? Probably was an older build of the rom they were trying to run. v0.95 should be a happy medium, support for the latest romset libraries (pretty sure they haven't changed since the big alteration) concerning anything that would be selected. On the other side, if someone's running the latest version it shouldn't make any difference.

[mgriff]

count me in on this...

[Pantechnicon]

I'll join. So I send the entry fee meseta straight to you, Jibba?

[Queen Of The Felines]

I'm in again!

Kristine

[Jibbajaba]

I'll join. So I send the entry fee meseta straight to you, Jibba?

Yes, please.

Chris

[Ze_ro]

/me donates

--Zero

[HardcoreGamer]

I R In.

[neuropolitique]

I'll give it the old college try. but without the drinking. or studying.

[Jibbajaba]

Everyone, please also sign up for the MAME league mailing list. You can be on the list whether you are actually competing in this tourney or not. I send out the games and submission reminders, etc. You will also be notified via e-mail when sign-ups for subsequent tourneys are going to occur. Maybe I'll just type up a weekly newsletter with some fake news sprinkled in.

Like I said, ANYONE can be on the mailing list. Please send an e-mail to:

mameleague at gmail.com

Chris

[Gapporin]

I'm in like Flint.

[evil_genius]

im interested. i have no clue the way it works but will read up on it tomorrow when im sober. :-P

[DDCecil]

Yes, I'd like to join (again)!

[The_4th_Survivor]

I'm up for it.

I'll dust off my PC controller and see if it still works. ;P

[The_4th_Survivor]

Okay, my 500 meseta is in your bank, JibbaJaba.

So what happens next? I want to play! ^_^

[InsaneDavid]

I'm up for it.

I'll dust off my PC controller and see if it still works. ;P

That's a good point, order your Taiwanese (excuse me Chinese Taipeian) PlayStation family to USB conveter boxes NOW. LOL Or pull out the nice SlikStik setup. :evil: Or get your keyboard ready. :)

[Dr. Morbis]

I'm in like Flint.
...and I'm in like Flynn, Errol Flynn.

Are all the heavy-hitters from last time back? Where's that Beat 'em and Eat 'em avatar guy?

Looks like I'll be doubling the trophy count in my inventory :P

[InsaneDavid]

I'm in like Flint.
...and I'm in like Flynn, Errol Flynn.

Are all the heavy-hitters from last time back? Where's that Beat 'em and Eat 'em avatar guy?

Looks like I'll be doubling the trophy count in my inventory :P

............................................crap. LOL

[fergojisan]

Dr. Pushy is IN!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dr. Morbis is in too. Fuck.

[Gapporin]

Dr. Morbis is in too. Fuck.

ROFL

[The_4th_Survivor]

I'm up for it.

I'll dust off my PC controller and see if it still works. ;P

That's a good point, order your Taiwanese (excuse me Chinese Taipeian) PlayStation family to USB conveter boxes NOW. LOL Or pull out the nice SlikStik setup. :evil: Or get your keyboard ready. :)

You know, it's ironic you mentioned one of those game control-to-PC converters, since I just ended up buying one for my cousin to use on his PC. They work pretty well, but I prefer to sticking with an actual PC compatible controller.

The one I use now is the older model Gravis Exterminator Digital/Analog pad. I fell in love with this particular controller not just because of it's price, but because it has 17 different buttons which can be mapped to any configuration. It also has a cool digital crosspad and nice analog stick. I actually lucked out on it when I found it for only $3.00 (boxed & used, but in near mint condition) at the local Goodwill Thrift store.

That was also the same day that I bought some complete, classic 'black box' NES games such as Super Mario Bros. and Slalom for $4.99 each.

Not a bad haul. :)


Anyway, let's bring the games on! I'm ready.


*checks to see if MAME still works.


lol

[InsaneDavid]

I'm up for it.

I'll dust off my PC controller and see if it still works. ;P

That's a good point, order your Taiwanese (excuse me Chinese Taipeian) PlayStation family to USB conveter boxes NOW. LOL Or pull out the nice SlikStik setup. :evil: Or get your keyboard ready. :)

You know, it's ironic you mentioned one of those game control-to-PC converters...

I get full capibility with the PS Family - USB conveter, windows sees it as a pair of 12 button 4 axis pads.



*checks to see if MAME still works.

They'll more than likely be a download link provided for a compatible version of MAME, MAME32 v0.95 looks to be the base again.

[NE146]

Are all the heavy-hitters from last time back? Where's that Beat 'em and Eat 'em avatar guy?

I'm here bro.. and too bad I can't really play because this purebred child of the arcade (yeah I was that kid walking around the b&w games and Space Chaser) is motivated enough to kick your ass this time! LOL

j/k of course.. ;) Hey.. I'd really love to play. But yknow what's going on.. I'm friggin moving cross country from Seattle to Charlotte in April. Right now my apartment is in shambles as I struggle to pack & sell furniture, etc. It's going to be pretty crazy. Eventually of course I'll drop off the net for a couple of weeks as well. I just can't commit.

Maybe when I'm settled down I'll join in sometime mid May! :)

[lostchild]

count me in - but I run MacMAME... that a problem?

[slip81]

Sign me up. I got reamed last year, but it's still fun to try :)

[Jibbajaba]

I'm in like Flint.
...and I'm in like Flynn, Errol Flynn.

Are all the heavy-hitters from last time back? Where's that Beat 'em and Eat 'em avatar guy?

Looks like I'll be doubling the trophy count in my inventory :P

AHAHAHAH. Now you can all eat your livers!

Chris

[Jibbajaba]

count me in - but I run MacMAME... that a problem?

Nope, one of the players last year used MacMAME. 500 meseta to join, though.

15 spots left, guys!

Chris

[n8littlefield]

I'm in - do us newbies give the 500 directly to you?

[Jibbajaba]

I'm in - do us newbies give the 500 directly to you?

Yes.

Thanks

Chris

[dcescott]

count me in please, never done this before, please direct me to a faq about the tourn, yes I'll read this thread too. Thank you!!

[Jibbajaba]

count me in please, never done this before, please direct me to a faq about the tourn, yes I'll read this thread too. Thank you!!

Read the first of the two links that I posted in the OP. I am going to write up a FAQ and rules sheet, and whip up a quick web page that we will use for the league.

Chris

[dcescott]

thanks I'll read it promise!
donated 500 to you as well about 5 minutes ago.

[Hep038]

Count me in.

[blissfulnoise]

I'll give it a whirl. 500m being sent.

[n8littlefield]

Just did my 500 as well. Sounds like fun!

[HardcoreGamer]

I'll be using MAMEoX, as this PC SUCKS.

Will there be a problem?

[Jibbajaba]

I'll be using MAMEoX, as this PC SUCKS.

Will there be a problem?

You can use any build or version of MAME that you want as long as it can play the EXACT ROM that is supplied to you, and can take screen captures (although you can also take a screen cap with windows). I will supply you guys with the ROM along with a copy of the version of MAME that I will be using. If you guys want to use other versions of MAME then it will be up to you to make it work properly.

Still have slots left! Get in now before it fills up!

Chris

[jcheatle]

Well, it sounds interesting and I'd like to give it a try, but uh... I never quite figured out the "earning meseta" thing other than posting (yes, I read the FAQ but I still wonder how people with a handful of posts have thousands of meseta) so... anybody feel like fronting a guy some? Yes, I'm looking for virtual handouts. I'm such a loser. :( And if not, well uh... disregard this I guess.

[NE146]

ok I signed up :P I figure I'll get in a game or two and more later :)

One thing I wanted to say.. I know we were going for an 'original' unknown game kind of vibe last year, but how bout a little more presence on the mainstream ones this time around to mix it up a bit? I mean there's nothing wrong with having a high score shootout on Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Frogger, or Joust (amongst many others) for example. There's a reason why those are classics! :D

[ahamilton0953]

submitted my info too=) ROCK ON! I'll probalby get killed but hey, it will be fun none the less.

[Jibbajaba]

ok I signed up :P I figure I'll get in a game or two and more later :)

One thing I wanted to say.. I know we were going for an 'original' unknown game kind of vibe last year, but how bout a little more presence on the mainstream ones this time around to mix it up a bit? I mean there's nothing wrong with having a high score shootout on Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Frogger, or Joust (amongst many others) for example. There's a reason why those are classics! :D

Since the league will be in the format of small tournaments, I am planning on having tournaments have different themes and whatnot. So if I wanted to do some obscure games, then there would probably be an obscure game tournament. Similarly, I may have a Namco, Taito, or Atari-only tournament, or tournaments for which all of the games came from the same year, etc. Thisd way people know what kind of games are going to be involved, and they can decide right then whether or not they want to participate in that particular tournament. But like I said, if you want to stay high up in the rankings, you need to play in as many tourneys as you can. (But it will also be no big deal to skip some when life gets in the way).

More information will be available once I write up a FAQ.

Chris

[ahamilton0953]

keep us all posted!

[Jibbajaba]

Here is the start of the FAQ that I am working on. If you have questions that are not covered by this, please post them so that I can answer them.

Also, most of you are not on the mailing list yet. Please send an e-mail to mameleague@gmail.com and get on the list!

-----------------------------------------------

Digital Press MAME league FAQ, v. 1.00
Last revision: March 28, 2006

Q: What is the MAME League?

A: The MAME league is a competitive league based around the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. Players compete by playing arcade games using MAME and obtaining high scores.

Q: How can I sign up for the MAME league?

A: If you are not already part of the league, you should send an e-mail to mameleague@gmail.com so that you can be added to the MAME League mailing list. I will send out e-mails the day before sign-ups for open tournaments begin. You can also wait for sign-ups for an open tournament to begin and sign up at that time.

Q: How does the MAME league work?

A: In the same style as professional tennis or professional golf. There will be ongoing tournaments, some of which will be opens (anyone can play) and some will be invitationals.

Q: How do you decide who plays in invitationals?

A: Some will be based on rankings (top 16 players, for example), others not. For instance there may also be "Newbie" tournaments".

Q: How do the rankings work?

A: Rakings are based purely on scores. Every player's score is cumulative. Every score that you submit is added to your point total, which is the sole factor determining your rank.

Q: Doesn't that ranking system give an unfair advantage to someone who did extremely well on a high scoring game?

A: No. All scores are normalized before they are added. For every round played, the top player's score is set equal to 100, and every other player's score is calculated as a fraction of that high score. Thus every game played has equal weight.

Q: How long are tournaments?

A: This depends on the number of players in a tournament. The more players a tournament has, the more rounds that must be played. The length of time given to each round may vary by tournament, but expect the average tournament to run 2-3 weeks.

Q: Are there prizes for the winners?

A: Meseta will almost always be given away to the top three winnners. In addition to that, however, material prizes will be given out in some tournaments.

Q: IS there a standard version of MAME that will be used?

A: All ROMs will be tested on MAME32 version 0.95. You may use any MAME version that you like as long as the ROM that is supplied to you works.

Q: Where do we get the ROMs? Can we use our own?

A: No. All ROMs will be made available for download from the league website. You are to use those ROMs, and not another version.

Q: How do we submit our scores?

A: All scores must be submitted to mameleague@gmail.com by the chosen deadline. When you submit your score, you need to include your Digital Press nickname, your score, and a screenshot showing the score you obtained.

Q: What are the rules concerning gameplay? Can we use continues?

A: All games are to be played using one coin only. Once your game is over, you must start over if you want to better your score. Generally, only games that do not carry over your score on a continue are used. DIP switch settings for each game will be posted and are to be followed as well.

Q: Can we play the game more than once?

A: Yes. Play the game as many time as it takes for you to get a score that you are happy with. Once you feel that you have done as well as you can, get a screenshot of the score, and submit it.

Q: Can I submit more than one score?

A: No. Once you submit your score, you are done with that round. Additional score submissions for that game will be ignored.

Q: What if I forget to turn in my score on time? Can I turn it in late?

A: Turning in a late score is unfair to the players who turned them in on time. If your score has not been submitted by the deadline, then you will receive a zero.

Q: What kind of controllers can we use?

A: You can use any controllers that you like. Keyboard, gamepad, arcade stick, etc. USing any kind of turbo or slowdown effects is considered cheating, however.

[jcheatle]

Thanks to the generosity of fergojisan, count me in. He officially gets half of whatever I win... which will probably be zero, but it'll be fun! Payment coming your way now, Jibba.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I'm in! Here comes your stinkin' meseta... :P

Time to get schooled it seems :D YAY!!!


Thanks to the generosity of fergojisan, count me in. He officially gets half of whatever I win... which will probably be zero, but it'll be fun! Payment coming your way now, Jibba.

If I don't win you can have half my winnings OK. :) It's fun to divide by zero :P

[Vectorman0]

I'm in! Here comes Vectorman! 8-)

[InsaneDavid]

Great FAQ, looks like pretty much everything is covered thus far. :)

[keiblerfan69]

Well sign me up. Do I just PM you the 500 meseta.

[Kitsune Sniper]

My carpal tunnel hates you.

I'm in, if there's still spots.

[Oobgarm]

I'll take a spot if there's one left!

[TheSmirk]

Bah! Just missed this one.......April I suppose then :)

[Gapporin]

I'll take a spot if there's one left!

Only if you change that unnerving Kirby avatar. LOL

[dcescott]

I second that, that is as bad as the 1UP avator! Shame on you!

[Jibbajaba]

So that is Kirby getting a stream of piss in his mouth then?

I was hoping that I was just seeing something dirty where there was nothing.

Chris

[Jibbajaba]

Please note the updated information at the top of the first post. Thsi is the last time I will be posting in this thread, so if you have any questions please PM me and I will answer them. Otherwise, be on the lookout for an e-mail from "2006 Digital Press MAME League" sometime on friday.

PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THE MAILING LIST IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO!!!

Chris

[fergojisan]

Just in case anyone's still reading...

Can anyone recommend a decent gamepad for under 30 bucks? I had a Sidewinder, but it crapped out on me in the middle of the last MAME tourney. I had to finish up with my old PSX looking pad, which is very old and not very functional anymore (and it actually plugs into the GAMEPORT! @_@ ). If not, where would be the best place to look for one? I have Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, Staples, TRU, Game Stop and EB close by. Thanks for any input!

[DragonMaster Sam]

I have a Saitek 880, and it works pretty well.

[n8littlefield]

I use a dual shock 2 and a $10 Radio Shack PS2 to USB adaptor. It works really well - and if you already have the PS2 pad it's a pretty cheap investment.

[InsaneDavid]

Just in case anyone's still reading...

Can anyone recommend a decent gamepad for under 30 bucks? I had a Sidewinder, but it crapped out on me in the middle of the last MAME tourney. I had to finish up with my old PSX looking pad, which is very old and not very functional anymore (and it actually plugs into the GAMEPORT! @_@ ). If not, where would be the best place to look for one? I have Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, Staples, TRU, Game Stop and EB close by. Thanks for any input!

Cheesy $8 grey market PlayStation family to USB2 connector box. I can't find the one I use anymore but it used to be crazy common. It's just a transluscent little box with a PS family connector on each side and a short USB2 cord attached. I picked mine up off of eBay years ago. Windows sees it as a pair of 12 button 4 axis gamepads and since the box has the chip inside I can hotswap controllers and windows is never the wiser - always thinks something is connected.

I haven't used the ones sold in the US at retail stores or the triangle shaped ones so I can't say if they're good or not in my personal experence. However make sure you get one that's plug and play as my cousin ordered one that required special drivers and it was a bitch to get set up.

[dcescott]

I'm on a mac and bought an ishock at a thrift store for 3 bucks. I programmed to use the directional pad, but it can be programmed to use both analogs, like for karate champ or robotron 2084.
Wal mart has a few. There's a cheap 12 dollar one there. It's sized like a small xbox controller with a retracting cord, usb. I do hate wal mart but it's right behind me.

[dcescott]

Easy question
I have never tried it but I have a usb/xbox adapter, does that work in mame? I am using the latest macmame (103u I think) to be up to standard with mame32. It was released in Jan06.

[InsaneDavid]

Easy question
I have never tried it but I have a usb/xbox adapter, does that work in mame? I am using the latest macmame (103u I think) to be up to standard with mame32. It was released in Jan06.

If your OS reads the controls then yes. You should... wait, I swear I've answered this question in the last MAME competition... *goes to look*

Well it wasn't in that thread but I did find it. These directions are for Windows MAME but it should be the same for the most part across the Mac flavors as well...


Hmm.. let's see...

When using MAME32 as well as the good old command line flavor of MAME I simply hit tab in a game, go into the controls for all games (can't remember of the top of my head, you want to pick the controller define that is for EVERY GAME, not just the current one), select the control function, hit enter, press the button on the controller I want to use, and it changes. This should change the default controls for all games, I recommend using Select for P1 Credit. You may also want to go into MAME32, File, Properties, Controllers tab, and make sure "Enable joystick input" is checked. I still use MAME v0.76 so this may have changed a bit but it didn't give me any problems in MAME v0.95 during the DP MAME championship. There should be a default setting to enable joystick input for everything if you find that box isn't checked....

...........

...found it, Options, Default Game Options, Controllers tab, make sure "Enable joystick input" is checked, Analog joystick deadzone should be 0.30 - mouse, lightgun, and steadykey support should all be UNchecked, input layout should be Standard.

Sounds like your device is working fine (try it with a NES emulator or something just to make sure - don't select gamepad or anything, just in the controller redefine highlight the function and press a button on your control pad) but MAME isn't looking to see if a joystick is being used. If you can't get it to work with another emulator (such as NEStopia) the adapter is bad.

Also found a thing I wrote about the specific conveter I use...


I bought one of the cheapy $9 Korean made "PS-USB Dual Player Convertor" boxes off eBay. Just a clear plastic box (mine is green, I've seen lots in blue) with a PS port on each side and a little USB2.0 dongle. It installed some plug and play drivers the first time and now windows sees it as a pair of 4 axis, 12 key gamepads. Even when a controller isn't plugged into the convertor it always reads that there are a pair of 4 axis, 12 key gamepads connected. In other words I can swap controllers on the converter without having to have windows change anything - it simply doesn't know. So it's almost like a passthrough, I've used PS1 and PS2 controllers both digital and analog (when analog is turned on the left control stick replaces the D-pad and the right stick can be configured for other movements - works GREAT for dual stick MAME games) without any problems. These converters really aren't an exact science, anyway, here's a picture of the one I use...

http://www.startoursinfo.com/junk/DP-PSconvert01.jpg

[Jibbajaba]

OK guys I am going to have this thread locked up. Sometime tomorrow I will create the official MAME League discussion thread, and it will have the first round's game posted in it, as well as a link to the ROM.

Good luck!

Chris