[mythtv-users] Mythgame setup "docs" and some questions. LONG

Ross Campbell ross.campbell at gmail.com
Sun Jun 5 03:29:15 UTC 2005


On 6/3/05, hary wilke <harywilke at yahoo.com> wrote:it thin on the
> Bare with me as it's a bit longwinded and this is the first
> time i've used XMAME or mythgame so if i'm suggesting something that
> is basic lunacy please point it out. At the bottom i have some
> questions about some of the setup options.

So, if you're new to MAME, check out http://mameworld.net

> post XMAME install setup

download and install gxmame. It's a good non-myth frontend and useful
as well to  test xmame. gxmame is similar to the mame32 GUI for
Windows.

http://gxmame.sourceforge.net

> mkdir ~/.xmame
> cp docs/xmamerc.dist ~/.xmame/xmamerc
> 
> use your favorite editor to edit ~/.xmame/xmamerc
> You need to set some paths in the ### Fileio Related ### section
> rompath                 /mythtv/games/xmame/roms
> snapshot_directory        .
> cheat_file                /mythtv/games/xmame/cheat.dat
> hiscore_file            /mythtv/games/xmame/hiscore.dat
> history_file            /mythtv/games/xmame/history.dat
> mameinfo_file            /mythtv/games/xmame/mameinfo.dat

... or use gxmame to configure these values and verify them afterwards
by editing xmamerc

Technically, the best way to do this is to use the default directories
as defined at buildtime for xmame and then not hardode the patch in
either xmamerc or mythtv

> now it is time to test XMAME before we attempt to get it running
> inside MythTV
> place your ROM in the roms directory you created earlier

or the default directory

> there are plenty of online places to purchase legit ROMs for use with
> MAME. There are also places that will take your old cartridges and
> transfer the ROMs to CDs for you.

and there are a 3 public domain rom sets avilable here:
http://www.mame.net/downmisc.html

> launch xmame with the classic game of choice, gauntlet for me!
> xmame.x11 gauntlet

NOTE: depending on how you compiled xmame, you could have an xmame.x11
or xmame.SDL or xmame.xgl depending on what graphics toolkits are
used. If you have some time, try them and see which one works best for
you.

I like to symlink xmame to whatever xmame binaries I'm using at the
moment, and I like to version the xmame binaries when I update so that
I can roll back to a working one if there is any problem or
compatibility issue with mythtv.

Sometimes, I notice that I need to remove and recreate xmamerc after
upgrading xmame since default options change

> after OK'ing the ownership screen, the info screen and the caveats
> screen. you can start playing.

there are options to disable these that can be set in xmamerc

NOTE also, "OK" can be entered as <left><right> as well

> TAB will bring up a OSD, On Screen Display, which will show you the
> keyboard settings.
> ~ will help you with the volume
> ESC will get you out of it.

Here's the general basic info you need to know to use xmame from the keyboard:

5 = insert coin
1 = player 1 start
arrow keys = movement
left control = button 1
left alt = button 2
spacebar = button 3
esc = exit


> 3. download and place files (artwork/catver.ini/etc..)

and screenshots - these are stored in the 'snap' directory with the
rest of your mame subdirs (NOTE: you need to tell mythgame about where
this directory is in the mythgame config

get screenshots from here:

http://www.classicgaming.com/mame32qa/

unzip into the snap directory

> MAME image downloader     Huh???? old?
yes.. old

> Show game info                show info about the game, ie:year,
> maker, CPU, sound, screen resolution before staring game

for game info , I would delete sorting by year and just use genre

> ok i still have the following questions. most are pretty basic like
> "what does this file do?"
> 
> 1. while editing ~/.xmame/xmamerc there is an option for a
> "snapshot_directory" is this different, or should it be different
> than the "MAME screenshots path" in mythgame setup inside mythfrontned.

the screenshots in mame historically go into a dir called 'snap' for snapshots

> 2. I'm confused about all the paths to files and how they are used.
> such as:
> a. why is there a hiscores path, and also a hiscore file.

per game hiscore files are saved in hiscores directory

the hiscores.dat file defines how individual games store their hiscore
information so that it can be saved to files in the hiscore directory
by xmame

> b. flyers and cabinets.  how are these used? again please excuse the
> newbie here. Are flyers like movie posters, they show up when
> browsing? If so then where does that put screenshots? i guess i'm
> looking for some clarity between the flyers, screenshots, snapshots
> and cabinets. I found a site that is all arcade flyers http://
> www.arcadeflyers.net

mythgame doesn't use the flyers and cabinet files as far as I know,
but many other mame frontends do. Go to htttp://www.mameworld.net and
look at the screenshots for other mame frontends, and you'll see what
I mean.


> c. will history.dat and the hiscores be automatically created?

No. You have to download them. 
history.dat - http://www.arcade-history.com/history_database.php
hiscore.dat - http://www.mameworld.net/highscore/

> 3. MAME image downloader?

just download all of the snapshot zips from the mame32 site above.


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