Last details, question with Advmame high scores and configure & exit white boxes

[Matt68061]

Posted in the main Floob image thread but thought I might ask here as well. I have used the search function but it hasnt turned up my answers. Just trying to put the finishing touches on my system.

Using the latest Floob image with most recent AM updates.   In a cab booting right to Attractmode playing only a handful of the 80's classics.  Everything seems to be playing great with a Minipac and it works flawlessly. Again, just trying to get the last few details figured out.

1. I can not get the high scores in AdvMame (.94) to save.  I am pretty sure that I have the right dat file and also pretty sure that I am just placing the file in the wrong place (folder)? Can someone point me in the right direction? I am sure this is right in front of me but I have placed the dat file and hi folder in several places and nothing seems to work. I am wondering if there is a cfg setting in Advmame but dont know where to set it.

2. Is there a way to disable the "hit any key to configure" box when the rom loads after being selelected from the wheel?  Whenever my young nephews are at the cab they are always pressing buttons which takes them into the menu... Luckily nothing has been messed up yet but it is only a matter of time.  On a related note is there a way to disable the "Continue/Exit" box that flashes up with some roms when quitting a game?  Will attach pics...sorry, cant figure out how to resize them.

Thank you in advance for any help!
Matt

EDIT - figured out high score save...created an advmame file in the BIOS folder and then added my dat file there and that seemed to do the trick... Still working on the prompt boxes.

[akafox]

2. Is there a way to disable the "hit any key to configure" box when the rom loads after being selelected from the wheel?  Whenever my young nephews are at the cab they are always pressing buttons which takes them into the menu... Luckily nothing has been messed up yet but it is only a matter of time.  On a related note is there a way to disable the "Continue/Exit" box that flashes up with some roms when quitting a game?  Will attach pics...sorry, cant figure out how to resize them.

As for the first part..that has to do with the retropie part of the image..and nothing to do with attractmode. That I am wondering myself..and I soon as I find something..anything...I will let you know.

As for the boxes "press left or right..blah blah"..and the exit screen have nothing to do with attract mode or retropie for that matter. It has everything to do with advance mame (the emulator) itself. Advmame is not a libretro core..but a pure emulator. http://www.advancemame.it/doc-advmame

To fix both you edit this file:
/opt/retropie/configs/mame-advmame/advmame-0.94.0.rc
 you can ssh in remotly..you can quit attractmode and edit the file locally on your TV with a keyboard connected to the pi or you can use the retropie menu (in emulationstation) --> configuration editor --> advanced configuration -->
manually edit all non retroarch configurations --> mame-advmame/advmame-0.94.0.rc

once there change these lines:
from misc_quiet no to misc_quiet yes

for the "security exit"
from misc_safequit yes to misc_safequitno

save the changes.


to save your high scores you need to put your hiscore.dat into your /home/pi/.advance folder. (yes a dot . it's a hidden folder)

Out of curiousity why are you using advance mame .94 and not 1.04?

[Matt68061]

Thank you for the replies in both my threads... I will give them a try tomorrow.

As for .94...  It just seems I already had a bunch of working roms for that version.  I dont really even know the difference between the two. Please enlighten me!    (One thing I am wondering if you need samples in 1.04 for example...donkey kong?)

Most all of my experience is in Windows MAME AND Hyperspin....and mostly later versions, like after 144 or something. The whole Linux thing is Greek to me but this ol dog likes learning new tricks!

I am not afraid of compiling a newer set if need be... About the only game even remotely taxing is Metal Slug. Most all are things like Pacman, DK, Galaga, Frogger, etc... And it seems to play them good enough for this project.

But again, if there is an advantage to the newer version I definitely would like to know.

Thanks again...we will see if I can figure these things out... i have my doubts 

EDIT- I did actually find the correct folder earlier this afternoon for the high scores...working fine.  Thanks tho!!

[akafox]

in a sense no there is no advantage. It's the same (but the same goes with official mame too)..if all the games you run work fine then you can leave it...

in the other sense there may be a big difference. Some games may now working (ex street fighter 3 is now playable from advmame 1.5 on..or a game may be fixed..ex..toaplan games are now working and need samples..but they work closer to the way they are suppose to now. Again if you care about the games running correctly..or running at all. then it is worth it.

The other side of this 3 sided coin is that advmame 3.0..and now 3.1 is truly compatible for the raspberry pi..(it has official support from the developer) and the code is tweaked to be more efficient on the pi now..as .094 and 1.4 were..but you were "on your own." These tweaks may actually give performance boosts and be worth the upgrade. Only you can judge that though.

It is usable in the retropie image..but it has to be done "manually". I did it and it works just fine.

The main difference between mame and advance mame is the video output and display settings. Advmame is designed around getting the "correct" display so that the games look right no matter  what monitor, TV, or display you have. Samurai Spirits on a LCD screen looks like crap but advance mame can fix it easily and make it look better (read worse) like it's supposed to look like. Mame itself can do that...but with major tweaking.

More code to load means needing more RAM and CPU. Advmame is based on "old code". Thus less CPU and RAM are needed...great for the pi! However it being "old" you need an old romset..which can be difficult to find and maintain. About the only reason I don't use it %100 even on my PC is because it won't run KI or KI2..something to do with the linux code (thus the pi..however the pi is underpowered for those games)..those games work fine in Windows. And Advmame can be used from the linux frame buffer..thus not needing X (read gui or windows desktop) so it doesn't have the overhead of the desktop chewing up resources that you could be using and getting better performance..again great for the pi. (and yes advmame will run on pure DOS 6.2...The frontend for advmame will run in pure dos mode as well..so yes you can grab that computer from 20 years ago and make an arcade cab out it..don't expect it to run everything of course!..find that in a modern mame! lol)

Basically what i am saying is that whatever emulator you chose to use is not "right or wrong" or "better or worse" just what works for you. Although I have to admit I wish they would make emulators like fastmame again I can run KI and MK full speed on an 20 year old computer the official mame couldn't even do that at the time..again great for the pi)..but I believe on making the most out of what I have..not just upgrading every time I can. With the pi well you have to do that...

(Note I'm sure I am wrong about some things coming from a technical standpoint. This is not written to be accurate..just to be simple and understandable to the people that are not technical )

[Matt68061]

Again, thanks for the excellent and detailed reply!  I am definitely not technical when it comes to this stuff! I can usually find my way thru things after a bunch of online reading and watching. Definitely a bull in a china shop approach!! I kind of laugh when I can turn a simple 5 minute job into an hour long process      But, hey, learning is half the fun.

I am so new to this Rpi thing and am enjoying the journey.  I finally had to see what the hoopla was all about! (Was also tired of the pc in my cab having issues about every third time I turnrd the damn thing on!)

So I sincerely appreciate the guidance from folks like you who take the time to help!

I will keep playing around with everything... Will prob wait on the 3.1 version til there is a bit more info out there.

Now....back to the launching config box 

[dumbangel]

to save your high scores you need to put your hiscore.dat into your /home/pi/.advance folder. (yes a dot . it's a hidden folder)

Just came across this because I am having the same issue. I am also using advmame .94 because all my roms are already custom configured using it. Anyway, does anyone know what hiscore.dat file I would need for that? And I am assuming that I will have to use SH to get this file where it needs to go? Thanks!