MAME advice please

[InfinityFox]

I watched loads of Brads videos and they have been a tremendous help, as have many of the moderators on this forum. I love the community here

But MAME seem such a huge import that I wanted to check a few things before I take the plunge...

My first question is about CHD files.... Is there anywhere I can find a list of current roms that require them rather than putting all the CHD files in the mame folder? Is there perhaps a program that could help in this regard?

I also see a mame importer program at the top of the forum, with no recent posts, iis it correct to assume that the import ability of Launchbox has surpassed the abilities of the standalone importer?

The mame sets are constantly being updated, but is it correct that older sets like 0.177 will work with the latest version of MAME and that you don't necessarily have to updated straight away..

During the import do you just scan the zip files and omit the CHD files?

 

Edited October 26, 2016 by InfinityFox
Added text

[Lordmonkus]

I cannot answer your questions about CHDs since I don't use them.

As far as the importer goes I can only say that the built in Mame importer is much better than it was when that program was made. But also like CHDs I have not used so I cannot say if it does or does not work now.

Mame roms are generally fairly compatible with newer versions of Mame as long as it's not extremely out of date but I will tell you that Mame 178 does have one significant change that makes some of the 177 roms not compatible. Version 178 requires the the Capcom CPS roms has a .key file in them while older versions of Mame didn't so there are some issues there.

[InfinityFox]

Thank you lordmonkus, hopefully we have others who know about the CHD files. I dying to add MAME and might just go ahead and worry about the CHD files later.

I see the are MAME packs that come with artwork/metadata but I'd imagine you'd have to rename a lot of stuff to incorporate it into Launchbox?

I guess it such a huge import that there will be gaps and missing artwork regardless.

Anyway enough waffle and thanks again

[Lordmonkus]

I did 178 romset import a couple of weeks ago and filtered out all the clones, mahjong and video slot / poker games. The total number of games was around 2800 and then after I went through it there were some artwork gaps and some broken games. After cleaning it up a bit I got it down to 2650 games.

[InfinityFox]

Thank you Lordmonkus for the tips, it's all imported now and no problems.

one thing that confuses me and maybe others in configuring the controls, so many button options. I see you can do an overall config or individual configs.

I use a 360 controller and would appreciate a little advice on the best setup. Will a overall config cut it or will some games be problematic

I also remember a config file doing the rounds a while back where some rather nice guy had produced a config file for MAME for up to four 360 controllers and full tank stick config. I see mentions of it on various forums but it's a bit outdated and I think there are compatibility problems will the more recent mame versions.

Im sure this is really easy to set up but in the input menu of mame I see sections for up down left and right but for the buttons I'm not so sure which ones or to be selected e.g. Triggers, shoulder buttons.

Maybe someone has a config file they could share with me and instructions on if the mame.ini needs to be edited, or perhaps a quick tutorial for a Xbox 360 controller.

I just being overly cautious and maybe I'm not seeing the obvious.

 

Thanks guys

[Lordmonkus]

An overall config is good to do for the bulk of your games but some games will need a specific setup. Fighting games and twin stick shooters like Robotron and Smash TV come to mind.