MAME .66 Released!

[digitalpress]

w00t! I can NEVER get enough MAME.

For a list of the new ROMS, check here:
http://www.mame.dk/changes/66.phtml

[zektor]

Oh no...here I go again :)

[Jorpho]

Still no Wall Crash. Benri dewa nai yo.
________
INFECTIOUS DISEASES ADVICE (http://www.health-forums.org/infectious-diseases/)

[ManekiNeko]

Fun thing to do: use MAME.DK in conjunction with Filemirrors.com. Great way to find the files you're looking for, if you can't get them through IRC or Usenet.

JR

[ubersaurus]

I await the day that Mr Driller gets MAMEd. It is after all a few years old.

[Metrackle]

Definitely better than the last release, but still disappointing (and not to mention still cursed with Tao Taido, Fit of Fighting, and DBZ2).

Rating Legend
5/5 You will die unfulfilled if you don't play this game!
4/5 You need to play this at least once.
3/5 Good game, but not the best.
2/5 So-so. Play if you have nothing else to do.
1/5 Avoid like the plague. All copies of this game's PCBs should have been destroyed while still given the chance.
X/5 Unable to play for various reasons
-*Don't know how to play
-^Not working
-@Don't know language required to play
-#Don't have a lightgun

NOTE: RATINGS ARE TENTATIVE
1944: The Loop Master (Capcom, 2000): A decent game, but rather disappointing. I liked 19XX much better. Pretty graphics and good soundtrack, but the gameplay could be better. 3/5
Ben Bero Beh (Taito, 1984): Stupid game. You play as some fireman/superhero who is trying to save his girlfriend/damsel in distress. Irritating gameplay. 1/5
Vs. Raid on Bungeling Bay (Nintendo/Broderbund, 1985): Awful game. The controls are very irritating, you can only fire one shot at a time (bad when multiple enemies are on the screen), and it's rather easy to get lost, even with a map (which can only be seen at the battleship) 1/5
Don Den Lover (Dynax, 1996): Dynax was still around in 1996 (have no idea if they're still around today)? Frustrating game (othello), but some decent graphics and music. 2/5
Don Den Mahjong (Dynax, 1986): Just another mahjong game... X/5*
Dorodon (Falcon, 1982?):Looks like a ladybug rip-off at first glance, but instead of collecting dots, you have the irritating task of turning the "turn-styles" (lack for a better word) white, sometimes reverting to their original color(s). 1/5
Fantasy '95 (Hi-max Technology, 1995): A rip-off of Fantasia, which is a rip-off of Gals Panic, which is a rip-off of Qix, only this game has men as well as women. Don't get me started on the character select screen (which includes Robert Cop III, Michelle Jackson, Prince Albert, and a mix between Ahhnold and Tom Green). I WILL MUST BE A WINNER! Jesus Christ... 1/5
Gigas and Gigas Mark II (Sega, 1986): Arkanoid rip-offs, only you can select where the ball is launched. A bit frustrating, but not as annoying as Free Kick, and those harder blocks somehow mesmorize me. 3/5
Halley's Comet (Taito, 1986): One of my favorites this release. Save Earth (and eventually the rest of the solar system as well) from the comets. Can get frustrating at moments, but still somewhat enjoyable, and that comet isn't what it seems. 4/5
Hana no Mai (Dynax, 1988): Some erotic hanafuda time travel game. X/5*
Hana Yayoi (Dyna Electronics [Dynax?], 1987): Another erotic hanafuda game. X/5*
Vs. Ninja Jajamaru Kun (Jaleco, 1985): Some ninja game. That ninja looks a lot like a Shy Guy (not as much as the main character in those Ninja Kid games that UPL made). Sort of fun, but gets frustrating sometimes. 2.5/5
Mad Donna (Tuning, 1995): Blasphemy! This looks like a children's game, but it contains nudies as well. Pretty boring game that gets frustrating in a hurry. 1/5
Mad Shark (Allumer, 1993): Just another plain top-down shooter, only when you die, you start over from a certain point. I would say, "Wake me up when Allumer comes up with something original and exciting," but then I might as well have myself frozen for all eternity. Not bad, but could be way better. 2.5/5
Mahjong Studio 101 (Dynax, 1988): Yet another mahjong game. X/5*
Vs. Mighty Bomb Jack (Tecmo, 1986): I don't see why Seanbaby hates this game. Well to each their own opinion, but it doesn't take yellow journalism to change mine. Pretty fun game, yet irritating at points. 3.5/5
Mahjong Derringer (Dynax, 1989): Yet ANOTHER mahjong game, but has a funny-looking pervert and the game seems to run on its own (bug). X/5*^
Mahjong Dial Q2 (Dynax, 1991): Zzzzz.... X/5*
Mahjong Friday (Dynax, 1989): The only interesting thing I found in this game is the goofy looking photographer X/5*
Quiz Channel Question (Nakanihon, 1993): Japanese quiz game that revolves around the news. Seemed very irresponsive (bug), as no matter how many times I pressed the button, it won't respond either way (right or wrong). X/5^@
Rong Rong (Nakanihon, 1994): Shanghai game where you either go on some quest to capture dragons in Rong Rong mode (unsure, as the game is in German), or for just erotic reasons. 2/5
Saru-Kani-Hamu-Zou (Kaneko/Mediaworks, 1997): Very weird Arkanoid rip-off with a twist: there is something (or someone, such as a giant sumo wrestler) crushing your playing field, and eventually you. You must clear the blocks to crush it instead. Some graphical bugs (in battle mode, most of the blocks on player 2's side are invisible, and the characters cover the blocks on both sides), but somewhat fun and has an extremely catchy opening theme. 3/5
Watashiha Suzumechan (Dynax, 1986): Zzzzz.... X/5*^
Vs. Top Gun (Konami, 1987): To me, the poor man's After Burner. 1/5
Triv Quiz (Status Games, 1984): My eyes, the goggles do nothing! Just a few questions asked, then you're done. 2/5 (the only reason why this doesn't get a one is because this game is educational)
Untouchable (Dynax, 1987): Poker. 2/5
Ultra Toukon Densetsu (Banpresto/Tsuburaya, 1993): Very poor beat-em up starring three different models of SD Ultraman. Extremely cheap bosses and enemies, and to me Tyrant, the final boss, is not only the cheapest boss in the game, but also is a rather subtle reference to communism. Programming in this game is so terrible, even the enemies can hurt each other. Another Banpresto "classic" (if your definition of a classic is a product that milks licenses such as Ultraman for all it's worth, which Banpresto is very good at [in fact, some dub them the "Acclaim of the Far East"). 1/5
Vs. Gumshoe (Nintendo, 1986): Strange game where you guide a gumshoe around popping balloons. If being a gumshoe involves getting shot to pop balloons, pecked by various birds, and hit by flying whiskey bottles, count me out. X/5#

[Jorpho]

I await the day that Mr Driller gets MAMEd. It is after all a few years old.

You know, the PC version has been available on Underdogs for some time now.
________
Public british (http://www.fucktube.com/categories/930/british/videos/1)

[zektor]

I am actually still waiting for Threshold. Old game... I would have assumed it would have been emulated by now.

[ManekiNeko]

Good work on those mini-reviews, Metrackle. You've got a nice avatar, too... Dodonpachi kicks butt.
I'd just like to throw in my two cents about Ta-o Taido, since Metrackle only mentioned it in passing. It's quite possibly the stiffest, cheesiest, most illogical fighting game ever created. The characters are predictable and stereotyped beyond belief, and the special move system overloads them with attacks (each character has twenty four different special moves!), yet makes it impossible to use any of them effectively in combat. Man, oh man is THIS ever going on the Fighter's Misery section of my web site.

JR

[vincewy]

I've been addicted to mame for sometime now, it's like drug addiction, when I started emulation with Neoragex, sure, it was cool, but the novelty wears off when you're done all the games.

With mame, it never stops, more and more games are added to the list, including earlier Dreamcast games that are now very expensive to get, back earlier I didn't like to use mame since it was less user friendly, but now, I play mame religiously, not even Magic Engine and ZSNES come close to it, mame gets me hooked for years.

BTW, I recently ran into problem with running newer Capcom arcade games like Tech Romamcer, SF3: 3rd Strike, it'll not come out on available list, even with the newest version of mame, is there a bios for Capcom games required in the rom file to run them?

[roushimsx]

BTW, I recently ran into problem with running newer Capcom arcade games like Tech Romamcer, SF3: 3rd Strike, it'll not come out on available list, even with the newest version of mame, is there a bios for Capcom games required in the rom file to run them?

Tech Romancer requires the ZN2 bios to run; you may be better off runing it in Zinc (http://www.emuhype.com/index.phtml?s=zinc&ss=index)(runs faster since it actually makes use of your GPU).

CPS3 hardware games are unemulated due to encryption that's not broken yet. Don't bother with them.

If you get MAMEinfo (http://www.mameworld.net/mameinfo/) and drop it in your root MAME directory, it'll tell you all you need to know about this stuff (or you can just go to MAWS (http://www.mameworld.net/maws/))

btw - way to go on reviving an oldie but goodie. I strongly recommend everyone plays Raiden for a little bit and then fires up Mad Shark to have a good laugh.

[vincewy]

roushimsx:

Thanks for the tips, BTW, what other bios are necessary to run games, I know, for example, Neo-Geo games require Neo-Geo bios, any other types?

(edit: I researched a little bit, there're quite a few).

In terms of CPS3 games, I'm wondering what types of games are those, Power Stone?

[roushimsx]

In terms of CPS3 games, I'm wondering what types of games are those, Power Stone?

There's only a handful of CPS3 games, and all of them except for Warzard / Red Earth (http://www.system16.com/capcom/hrdw_cps3.html) have been ported to other platforms.

Powerstone is a Naomi-based game (not presently supported in MAME)

If you go to MAWS (http://www.mameworld.net/maws/) and set the genre to "BIOS" then hit "Search", it'll give you a list of all of the BIOS sets you need if you plan on having a complete MAME set.

[Lothars]

Thanks for the link, Joe

great to see that a new version was released :D

[Daniel Thomas]

Alright, here's a question that I've been dying to answer for a long time, and it's related to a wonderfully-written rant against MAME at World of Stewart. These newer releases of MAME keep kicking out older games and rendering them unplayable. Defender, Robotron and Ms. Pac-Man are three good examples of games that no longer play.

Am I supposed to get an updated rom set somewhere? Is there something I'm supposed to do to get these games working again? I know the drivers and such are always evolving, but why mess with the games that already work? Wouldn't it be better to build a new arcade emulator from scratch that's devoted to the more recent, polygon age games?

I'm just wondering if I'm better off with an older version of MAME instead of getting updates.

[Griking]

You guys ARE aware aren't you that this thread was over two years old when vincewy responded to it?

...and for the record, mame is currently up to version .99u2

[Jorpho]

In terms of CPS3 games, I'm wondering what types of games are those, Power Stone?

http://www.system16.com/capcom/hrdw_cps3.html

[roushimsx]

Alright, here's a question that I've been dying to answer for a long time, and it's related to a wonderfully-written rant against MAME at World of Stewart.

Haze wrote a lengthly retort here (http://haze.mameworld.info/2005/08/20/death-to-nerds/) with a followup here (http://haze.mameworld.info/2005/08/23/the-mamedev-cut/)

He is trying his best to rally developer support for Raine and I think if MAMEdev continues to make MAME less and less user friendly then Raine may finally get some more attention. Hopefully it does shift towards SDL and gets ported to multiple platforms, because even though MacMAME is meh, it plays Gigawing and Guwange. :(

Tangent -> emulator support on the Mac is pretty meh



Am I supposed to get an updated rom set somewhere? Is there something I'm supposed to do to get these games working again? I know the drivers and such are always evolving, but why mess with the games that already work? Wouldn't it be better to build a new arcade emulator from scratch that's devoted to the more recent, polygon age games?

For Robotron, in 0.92 they added PROMs to it

Here's the complete WIP from MAMEinfo on it:
* 0.95u3: Changed cpu1 roms addresses from $0-8000 to $10000-18000.
* 0.92: HIGHWAYMAN added proms ($0, $200 - video inversion for cocktail table).
* 0.30: Valerio Verrando added clone Robotron (Yellow/Orange label).
* 0.24: Marc LaFontaine provided drivers for Robotron, Splat, Defender, Joust, Stargate, Bubbles, Blaster and Sinistar. Bubbles doesn't start, and Sinistar do weird things at startup. The other games work very well, though. For this version I provide a set of fonts that can be used to avoid jerkiness in williams games.
* 0.23: Steven Hugg provided a Williams games driver. Stargate, Robotron and Joust are currently supported and playable. However Robotron and Joust have some glitches yet.

p.s. MAWS (http://www.mameworld.net/maws/) rocks :)


...and for the record, mame is currently up to version .99u2

and by .99u2 you mean .99u6, am i rite or am i rite? :)

[vincewy]

In terms of CPS3 games, I'm wondering what types of games are those, Power Stone?

There's only a handful of CPS3 games, and all of them except for Warzard / Red Earth (http://www.system16.com/capcom/hrdw_cps3.html) have been ported to other platforms.

Powerstone is a Naomi-based game (not presently supported in MAME)

If you go to MAWS (http://www.mameworld.net/maws/) and set the genre to "BIOS" then hit "Search", it'll give you a list of all of the BIOS sets you need if you plan on having a complete MAME set.

Roushimsx:

quick ?? again, what is MAWS? Is it in the emulator? I found it quite cumbersome to attach bios within the same folder of roms, if I put all the roms in a CD (ie: #,A,B), chances are, I need to attach all bios, instead I've been extracting the roms and put the bios in it, and rezip the roms to save space. THIS IS THE REASON I need to know the list of roms that require a particular bios, Neo-Geo and PC 10 are pretty obvious, others aren't.

I plan to get all 5000+ roms by downloading, organizing, and attaching bios within a rom if required. Is there a site where someone can just buy those CDs (especially if you don't have much time), if it can't be answered publicly, feel free to PM me.

Vince

[roushimsx]

Hrml, for whatever reason the links aren't really obvious..soo...


Click on me! I will take you to MAWS (http://www.mameworld.net/maws/)


They're a little bolded by default but pretty easy to miss :(

[Jorpho]

quick ?? again, what is MAWS? Is it in the emulator? I found it quite cumbersome to attach bios within the same folder of roms, if I put all the roms in a CD (ie: #,A,B), chances are, I need to attach all bios, instead I've been extracting the roms and put the bios in it, and rezip the roms to save space. THIS IS THE REASON I need to know the list of roms that require a particular bios, Neo-Geo and PC 10 are pretty obvious, others aren't.

That's odd. Last time I checked, just putting the Neo-Geo BIOS in your roms folder (with a name of neo-geo.zip) should be all it takes for MAME to find it and recognize it. Extracting and rezipping should be entirely unnecessary.

[vincewy]

quick ?? again, what is MAWS? Is it in the emulator? I found it quite cumbersome to attach bios within the same folder of roms, if I put all the roms in a CD (ie: #,A,B), chances are, I need to attach all bios, instead I've been extracting the roms and put the bios in it, and rezip the roms to save space. THIS IS THE REASON I need to know the list of roms that require a particular bios, Neo-Geo and PC 10 are pretty obvious, others aren't.

That's odd. Last time I checked, just putting the Neo-Geo BIOS in your roms folder (with a name of neo-geo.zip) should be all it takes for MAME to find it and recognize it. Extracting and rezipping should be entirely unnecessary.

Correct, except I do not organize my complete rom sets this way, with future new games in consideration, I'm putting roms in one CD with just a few letters (ie: #, A,B in one, C,D,E,F in one). I have another set of Neo-Geo roms organized with neo-geo.zip putting in the folder with roms.

[vincewy]

I've just downloaded a bunch of roms, finished A and #, however I came across obstacles of finding (let alone having the time to download) .chd files.

Even if you just download all the games not requiring .chd files, it can take months, I guess I'll just buy DVD rom sets offered from some emulation sites, as time is money (even more so in this case for someone who doesn't have much spare time). I'm thinking about allgameroms.com, has anyone ordered from them? Reliable?

[esquire]

I've just downloaded a bunch of roms, finished A and #, however I came across obstacles of finding (let alone having the time to download) .chd files.

Even if you just download all the games not requiring .chd files, it can take months, I guess I'll just buy DVD rom sets offered from some emulation sites, as time is money (even more so in this case for someone who doesn't have much spare time). I'm thinking about allgameroms.com, has anyone ordered from them? Reliable?

I'm tired of downloading roms and checking them all, deleting old ones. I tink I'm just going to order them too. $29.99 for 10 DVDs is not bad at all, considering all the time you'll spend downloading them yourself.

[roushimsx]

Jesus, don't pay someone to burn the DVDs. Pay $15 and get a usenet subscription, then download them over the course of a day or two.

I hate seeing people charge money for what amounts to bootlegged goods, and I hate seeing people pay them money for 'em. At least with your usenet subscription you also get a near limitless supply of porn for whatever fetish excites you the most. Let's face it, the only thing better than a complete MAME set is a complete MAME set and a few gigs of tentacle rape anime.

Yes, it's good to be the king.

[esquire]

Jesus, don't pay someone to burn the DVDs. Pay $15 and get a usenet subscription, then download them over the course of a day or two.

I hate seeing people charge money for what amounts to bootlegged goods, and I hate seeing people pay them money for 'em. At least with your usenet subscription you also get a near limitless supply of porn for whatever fetish excites you the most. Let's face it, the only thing better than a complete MAME set is a complete MAME set and a few gigs of tentacle rape anime.

Yes, it's good to be the king.

My time is money to me. Why should I spend 2 days downloading roms if I can't done for me for $15 more? It's not like I'm working at Mickey D's flipping burgers here.

As for the other thing, well, whatever floats your boat.

[roushimsx]

My time is money to me. Why should I spend 2 days downloading roms if I can't done for me for $15 more? It's not like I'm working at Mickey D's flipping burgers here.

You're not physically spending 2 days downloading. You're highlighting everything from a to z, hitting "Grab", and checking your download folder that evening to check the progress. Depending on your connection, it'll be done (unless you're stuck on ghetto DSL). Zero effort and next to zero time spent on your part, and you don't give money to some bootlegging assclown.

Considering you'd save $15 and get the stuff a week quicker, I assumed that that solution would appeal to you.

Plus you'd still have another ~30 days of usenet access to use/abuse/exploit, so after you got your complete MAME set you could queue up complete NES, SNES, Genesis, GBA, N64, what-the-fuck-ever sets. Again, no effort, minimal time.

Really, it all depends on how long it takes you to click on a selection, hit shift, scroll to the bottom, click the last item, and then click the "Download" button.

[vincewy]

FYI, I have dialup, can't imagine downloading .chd files even if I have access to them, plus I'd love to keep a rom collection with some artwork on DVD and share them with my buddies here, I'm even thinking about getting Nintendo and Sega DVDs from them

http://www.allgameroms.com/

Now I'm hoping they start offering DVD sets of Sega CD, Saturn, PC-E CD, Dreamcast, and Amiga32 CD.

Another issue of DIY, DVD-+R are sensitive and there's a good chance of getting coasters, unlike CDRs, one coaster will cost you $1. If I don't care about artworks on discs, I can also get them here for less

http://www.us-lazarus.com/rom-burner/sets/index.shtml

[jajaja]

Selling ROMs are lame :\