spycat

There's a mention here about an issue with carts needing 36K RAM. With a bit of luck it might be sorted in the next MAME build. https://mametesters.org/view_all_bug_page.php

It doesn't seem to be part of the m5_cart sw folder. However, it shows in MAME, so it may be internal, and using m5 -cart1 em_5 may mount it. But the m5_cart xml lists em_5 as unsupported so things may not work.

I use MAME to emulate the Electron cart, cass and flop software lists, and I don't bother with the rom sw list. All 3 share a common platform in LaunchBox: I use default parameters for cassettes and set per-game custom parameters for the cart and flop formats. I don't have too many Electron games installed, so setting things manually is not a big effort. These parameters work fine for me. Cartridge electron -cart1 Cassette electron -ab *TAPE\nCHAIN\"\"\n -autoboot_delay 2 -cass Floppy ADFS format electron -ab "*CAT\n\n\n\n\n\n*RUN !BOOT\n" -autoboot_delay 2 -flop Floppy DFS format electron -exp plus1 -cart1 seds -ab "*EXEC !BOOT\n" - autoboot_delay 2 -flop Note that some disk games may require *RUN instead of *EXEC and vice-versa.

I don't use Steam, but just using 'Assassin's Creed III' and 'Dead Island' as 2 Windows test titles scrapes ok and I get the LaunchBox DB ID #9302 and #3596 respectively and correct images download from the LaunchBox DB for both test titles. So maybe it is to do with Steam. Hopefully a member who uses Steam will help you out here.

Have you looked at your Windows platform's 'Scrape As' value just to confirm it's set to 'Windows' and not something else? If all is ok, can you check that the III part of your 'Assassin's Creed III' title uses the upper-case of i (I) letter and not the lower-case of L (l) one - depending on the font these can look the same on screen but the latter will throw the scraper.

You need one of the 3 bios sets lynx48k lynx96k lynx128k You also need the softlist folder camplynx_cass Default Command Line Parameters are just the bios set name. Once you launch a game you arrive at the Lynx prompt where you need to enter either MLOAD (for binary format games) or LOAD (for BASIC ones). You also need to add the game name as per the camplynx.xml - see MAME's hash folder. Examples (note the required use of case) MLOAD "INVADERS" LOAD "ZombiePanic" The tape plays automatically and once done, MLOADed games auto run. LOADed ones need you to enter RUN at the prompt. If you want to automate things a bit with the autoboot stuff, then you need to give each game it's own custom parameters like lynx48k -ab MLOAD\"INVADERS\"\n -autoboot_delay 2 lynx48k -ab LOAD\"ZombiePanic\"\n -autoboot_delay 2

Are you saying that you want LaunchBox to completely fill the screen like BigBox does? I may be wrong, but I don't think LaunchBox as it comes can do that. A quick workaround is to set your Windows Taskbar to Autohide.

I'm relieved to learn that it's not an error at my end, and I know now how to handle those iffy softlist clashes. @sundogak Thanks for all your help, much appreciated.

I'm still in a bit of a muddle. I've tried out several game snapshots with the LaunchBox Launching ROM File entry pointing to the game in the vz_snap folder, and I'm seeing something odd when I use the parameters vz300 -mem laser310_16k If a snapshot does not have a game of the same name in the vz_cass folder, then the snapshot loads fine. But if the game also exists in the vz_cass folder, then the snapshot doesn't load and TABing into MAME's File Manager shows the snapshot empty and the cassette present and ready for loading. Adding -dump to the parameters get's rid of this anomaly. I've noticed the same thing with other systems that have more than one softlist. With the Sord M5 the game zacbanic.zip exists in both the m5_cart and m5_cass folders. With LaunchBox pointed to the game in the m5_cass folder, the parameters m5 loads the cart version. Adding the -cass parameter loads the wanted cassette version. I may be barking up the wrong tree but it seems to me that MAME is searching the relevant softlist folders alphabetically and picking the first match - cass is before snap, cart is before cass, cass is before flop and so on. Any one else seeing this or is it something not setup correctly at my end?

@GIKAS1 For the snapshots try the parameters vz300 -mem laser310_16k -dump You can omit the full mem parameter if you wish, but then some games may return an invalid image error on snapshot loading. Binary (M) snapshots should auto-run once loaded. BASIC (B) snapshots once loaded need you to then enter the RUN command at the READY prompt.

As the Apple II GS is a computer, try enabling MAME's ui controls before using TAB.

For, say, Asteroids Deluxe you can select the Colour Overlay from the Video Options in-game, but all this appears to do is change the game to black and cyan. You could get the astdelux.lay and invaders.lay files from the MAME source code (src/mame/layout folder) and maybe rework them to include your bezel image. Also see here for something a bit different. Open the link and scroll down to the astdelux and invaders artwork zip downloads - clickable previews are available. https://mrdo.mameworld.info/mame_artwork_ingame.php

Yes, your bezel seems to be 16:9 whereas as you say your screen is 16:10 so that may explain the top and bottom black areas. Glad that you're sorted.

The deprecated element warning and the black bands are two separate and unrelated issues. To get rid of the warning message, in your lay file change line 6 from <bezel element="bezel"> to <element ref="bezel"> and change line 8 from </bezel> to </element>

As of MAME 0.225 lay file background element instances such as for bezels are considered deprecated and that's what's triggering the warning. Things will still work ok with MAME 0.225 to the latest 0.259 but possibly not forever, and the lay file can be updated to get rid of the warning.

By MAME I assume you mean the arcade games. These didn't have artworked boxes like home computer and console games did. They did have advertisement flyers/posters that folk use for front and back coverart, but spines had no meaning as such and any out there are custom made.

You can always source better images yourself should you wish and submit them as replacements to the games database.

If you're on MAME 0.229 and have the 0.229 full romset then you shouldn't have issues unless a particular game uses a CHD and you don't have the CHD set. I assume that KI is Killer Instinct. As well as kinst.zip this game also needs a CHD (kinst.chd) and won't work without it.

You're more than welcome.

@mikejoe The Radio-86RK and Apogee software lists (radio86_cass and apogee) work fine in MAME, but I could not get the Mikrosha software list (mikrosha_cass) to work properly. I'm on latest MAME 0.258, so maybe the softlist I sourced is outdated or just bad. I was able to get non software list Mikrosha games to work using the I and G keys method, see pics for the game Alien Ambush (USSR).rkm

@mikejoe That's odd, unless the Mikrosha clones are different. I have the parent Radio-86RK and the clone Apogee BK-01 installed and they both work fine in LaunchBox. Mind you there are some games that fail, but overall they're ok. It's late here now, after midnight, so tomorrow I'll source the Mikrosha stuff and test it out and get back to you.

Whether you launch a Mikrosha-86RK game directly from MAME or through LaunchBox you will arrive at a screen with a Russian prompt. At the prompt type I and press Return. Enable the MAME UI controls. Press F2 to play the tape. Disable the MAME UI Controls. When the tape has finished playing, type G at the Russian prompt and press Return to open and play the game.

I remember playing around with the P2000T and it's clone P2000M some time ago in MAME. Unfortunately, with only the two bios sets available and without any games to hand (softlist or otherwise) all I was able to do was interact with the system's BASIC screen.

I might be wrong but I've always assumed that you couldn't mix different media formats in the command line for MAME, unless a software system actually required it - for example orion128 -cart romdisk -cass