Noob Questions

[Albotron2084]

Evenin' All!

I've recently installed attract mode in my two JAMMA cabs using small linux PCs and JPACs. One of the cabs is in horizontal mode, and the other in vertical. This is after several years of running bigger, windows based PCs and MALA. The latter, being ancient, kept seizing up and/or dying :-( As yet, however, the new machines are running very well.

I've also been enjoying attract mode for its clean, no-nonsense front-end, and easy favourites lists - but have hit on a couple of minor niggles. I imagine these are relatively easy to sort out, but I'm afraid I haven't yet got the skillz.

The first is orientation. When I boot the vertical cab, the menus for my different games lists are in horizontal mode. A quick press of P1 button 3 fixes that, but what settings do I need to adjust to make sure the machine starts with the lists in the correct orientation?

Also, there's the volume. There are times of day when the cabs are just too noisy to play with the volume up high. By pressing tab, I can access the menu allowing me to reduce various different types of volume. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to impact on MAME. So, every time I start a game, I have to manually reduce the volume using the buttons-and-joystick based short-cuts. Is there a way of setting a universal volume that will survive resets and shutdowns?

Any tips greatly appreciated.

A

[akafox]

All that can be done using the mame.ini file.

(to create a mame.ini go to your command line and change to the directory of your mame.exe the type:

Code: [Select]

mame -cc you'll find it in your mame folder)

For volume easy fix. In your mame.ini file change your volume settings then save the config.

#
# CORE SOUND OPTIONS
#
samplerate                44100
samples                   1
volume                    0  <--change this from 0 to -32 depending on how loud you want it

As for your orientation that is changed in the ini as well..

#
# CORE ROTATION OPTIONS
#
rotate                    1
ror                       0 <- here
rol                       0 <- here
autoror                   0
autorol                   0
flipx                     0
flipy                     0

I can't give specifics..as all setups are different.

From what I understand you have two different machines one vertical and one horizontal correct? You can change the mame.ini files for each machine. Thus the ini on your horzontal cab you need not change the rotation..maybe just the sound. The vertical cab you need to change both rotation and sound. Easy to do...when you know how.

I will say here though that if a game is flipped "upside-down" at start (rally x comes to mind) you can open your mame.ini..save it as rallyx.ini (thus the rom name) and anything you change on that ini file will only effect that game.

Thus you can set up an ini file for each and every game separately if you wanted to!

If you are using a gui type mame click options --> default game options (it will make and change the ini for you). For a specific game you can right click the game and the choose properties. any changes you make will affect that game only

Here is more information: http://easyemu.mameworld.info/mameguide/mameguide.html for more information on the settings there is a link on the bottom of that page.

[Albotron2084]

Many thanks for the speedy reply Akafox.

I don't have access to the machines this evening, but will certainly try adjusting the master volume on Mame when I do.

With regards to orientation, however, I don't think it's MAME that's the issue. I've already adjusted all of my favourite arcade games, on both the horizontal and vertical cab, so that they start the right way round. The problem is with the attract mode front-end lists - whether they're for MAME, SNES or anything else. They start off preset on horizontal - even on the vertical cab. I can change this easily enough using the CP shortcut once the machine has started up. But I'd prefer for the change to be permanent...

Any thoughts?

A

[akafox]

What layout are you trying to use? maybe I can help out a little better...

[Albotron2084]

Hi again Fox,

Got a PM from Omegaman explaining how to solve the problem.

Adding the line:

fe.layout.orient=RotateScreen.Right;

to each of the offending layout files seems to have done the trick.

Now all of the vertical layouts in my vertical cab start the right way round!

Cheers the now,

A