Best MAME frontend?
I haven't really been into arcade games for a while, but there have been a few that I've been wanting to play lately. I liked MAME32, but it seems to be somewhat outdated, as it didn't have all the games listed that I wanted to play. I don't really came for MAME Classic's UI, since there doesn't seem to be an option to set controller inputs for all games instead of doing it manually for each.
There's absolutely an option to do standard controller inputs across all games.Originally Posted by Sudo
That option has been standard across all MAME 32 releases for years, and it's still included in all UI releases.
Just start a game, hit tab, and the first controller input option should be the "universal" one. The one that says "Inputs - for this game" are game specific.
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I depends entirely on what you want to use it for. For Mame cabinets I use Mamewah. It's tricky to set up but does everythign I need it to and more. For just playing games on my PC I use the built in text front end on the newer console mames.
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Thanks, I hadn't realized that. I may just stick with MAME Classic since I've gotten that issue sorted out.
I don't use it anymore, but man, I used to be in love with Ultrastyle. You could set it up to be a "jukebox" on its menu screen, picking randomly from a directory of whatever MP3s you liked. New wave all the way, baby! It was amazing customizable. I don't even know if it's compatible or actively supported anymore.
You'll still likely have to tweak certain games, as even some of the "universal" stuff can get screwy on games that have a ton of specific buttons (usually the 4 player games, or games with a lot of analog controls) but if you spend a bit of time setting up your universal controls you can get all the heavy joystick/button stuff out of the way for all of the games you have running.
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As I said in this thread (different subject)...
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If you're on an arcade machine MaLa is the frontend I like the most.
hmmm...
I was on the avsforums and a gentleman was showing off his new setup. 50" 3D Plasma from Samsung, with 3D glasses, control panel with numerous programmable LED's, and a 6 Terabyte HTPC. Most importantly he showed off a front-end that was remarkable and I thought I'd point you guys to it. I believe you have to register to download it (haven't tried yet).
It's called Hyperspin-fe and it seems to be the real deal...
http://hyperspin-fe.com/
And for the gentleman's MAME setup...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1063742
I really like using Mala, it's a frontend for all emulators. The only problem I found with it is it's a pain to exit other emulators besides MAME. And also the interface only utilizes 12 buttons, so you can only program the 12 buttons it recognizes and none of the other buttons you may have on your control panel.
holy crap thats amazing
Heck, I would PAY for a front end that good.
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That spinning front-end looks a LOT like the commercial "ultracade" units that were legally licensed for arcades about 5 or 6 years ago (maybe even a bit older) ...
... if they're not derivitave of the code from those, they're totally inspired by them.
Very very nice looking interface.
"And the book says: 'We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us.'"
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MameWah for Windows, Wah!cade for Linux.
That front end is The Shit.
That guy's emu rig needs more cowbell.
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holy hell!!! these days it takes a lot to impress me but that is SICK. so smooth/professional-looking. wow...simply wow.
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Found this looking for setup on my HTPC... Mamewah's download page down?
I've been through two or three front ends on my Mame cabinet and I hate having to go through complicated (or worse, manual) setup configurations. I installed Mala last weekend and was really impressed. It took me less than five minutes to get it up and running and it does everything I need in a front end. I am only using it with MAME right now but I see that it supports other emulators. If you are having trouble setting up a front end you might give this one a shot.
I actually took a stab at making my own front end a while back. I wanted it to configure itself and build all its own lists automatically so that's what it does. It worked really great during testing with a handful of roms. Then I threw a full MAME rom set at it and it took like 15 minutes to load. Oh well, back to the drawing board.
That's a nice setup, but it's so overboard with emulation and ROMs I'm suprised there aren't comments on the legality of his rig. I don't mind the custom work that goes into homemade MAME and arcade machine cabs, but sometimes what they are emulating just plucks a nerve.
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