Boy, it's been a long time since I posted an entry. Today has been the first day that the weather has been warm enough for me to break out the shorts and sit outside, so here I am with my trusty iBook. If I have to spend more time in front of a computer, this is probably the best way to do it.
So much has happened since the last entry. I've added MESS (Multi-Emulator Super System) to the mix, and having it makes thousands more games available to the project. MESS is an emulator for console systems, such as the Atari 2600 right up to the original PlayStation. I've been having some problems getting PlayStation games to work, but that's a minor issue, since I can play any of those games on my PS2. Problem is, there are at least a couple games for the original PSX that I haven't been able to find, or are rather expensive because they're rare and in demand. I'm sure I'll be able to fill those gaps, sometimes by buying the actual game, and one way or another I'll be able to play the games I can't find on an emulator. There are other PlayStation emulators, so even if MESS isn't satisfactory, I should be able to find something that works.
The funny thing about adding console emulators is that recently I started getting rid of some of my old consoles. Systems like the Intellivision and Colecovision are just too awkward to play because of uncomfortable controllers, and others like the Atari 5200 are just difficult to find with working controllers. The main reason, though, has been that I've realized that playing console games in the past has, for me at least, just been a substitute for playing genuine arcade games. Since I was almost never allowed to play games in arcades, console versions of games like PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong and Dig Dug had to suffice. There are certainly a few games that only appeared on consoles that are still fun to play, but in the cases where I can play the original arcade versions, the console port is superfluous.
It has got to the point where even the more recent consoles like the Nintendo and SEGA systems will have to go. I currently have just about every NES game available in Protovision, so my actual console is pretty useless now. That works out pretty well, because I have one of the rarer "top-loading" NES consoles, and it's still in the box, so it should fetch a hefty sum on eBay. I had been debating whether to keep these consoles, but the pointlessness of console ports when true arcade versions are available coupled with the clumsiness of keeping so many old consoles made my decision. The NES, for example, still uses an RF cable rather than standard audio/video cables, so while it will probably still work, the emulator is accurate enough to eliminate any need for the real thing. The result of course is that it's even more important for me to keep the Protovision machine and its data safe and working, but I'd be more upset about losing the arcade games than console ones anyway.
I'm actually going to continue collecting console games, but unlike before, I'm not going to keep a variety of systems around so that I'm always able to test and play them. I do need to make sure that I don't get rid of a console until I have all the games I'd want to play installed on the Protovision UGM, but like I said, if I have the arcade version, a console port isn't gonna make a whole lot of difference. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed playing NES versions of some classic games, but I'm sure a lot of that was not having to hook up the console and plug in cartridges, etc. For the most part, console translations will just be little extras while the main feature will be the original arcade versions. In the grand scheme of things, video games will only be about a third of this machine's capabilities, so games I don't plan on playing much will be the lowest of low priorities.
Well, it's cooled down a bit out here and I'm losing feeling in certain parts of my anatomy, so I'll stop for now. Lots more on the way though, possibly including some more pretty pictures before long. Thanks for reading! :)
3.22.2008
3.08.2008
The simple solution is always the best... (or, "How stupid could I possibly be???")
Well, it turns out my little trick with the persistent profile didn't solve the problems with the controllers after all. The reason I had thought both profiles were active simultaneously was because I thought I had started a two-player game and was able to control player one with gamepad #1 and player 2 with #2. As it turned out, both controllers were using the same profile, so I had hit the Player 1 start button even though it was controller #2. All the controls were exactly the same, so either controller could move player 1.
The part where I'm a complete moron (or at least misjudged how flexible MAME's control options have become) is that after uninstalling the Logitech software and selecting "Enable joystick support" in MAME, both gamepads were recognized independently. DUHHHH!!! 8)
Anyway, there is still one minor issue. Since the second controller isn't in use, it goes into "sleep mode" after a while. When that happens, pressing a button on gamepad #1 (which is going to happen if someone's using it to play a game) ends up assigning that controller as #2. I don't expect that would be a problem if both pads were being used, so until someone comes over and wants to play, I'll just leave the second one unplugged. There's also the possibility that I may be able to deactivate sleep mode, but it's nothing I need to bother with right now.
For the moment, I need to compile a list of games that I would like to play. This will probably be a surprisingly short list, mostly of arcade classics like PAC-MAN, etc. but with a few lesser-known sequels and prototypes thrown in. There will also be some games that never got released on compilations for the PlayStation and other home consoles, but since that's how most of my retrogaming has been done, I'll probably group most of the games as they appeared in those compilations.
Bye for now... I may have more to report later on.
The part where I'm a complete moron (or at least misjudged how flexible MAME's control options have become) is that after uninstalling the Logitech software and selecting "Enable joystick support" in MAME, both gamepads were recognized independently. DUHHHH!!! 8)
Anyway, there is still one minor issue. Since the second controller isn't in use, it goes into "sleep mode" after a while. When that happens, pressing a button on gamepad #1 (which is going to happen if someone's using it to play a game) ends up assigning that controller as #2. I don't expect that would be a problem if both pads were being used, so until someone comes over and wants to play, I'll just leave the second one unplugged. There's also the possibility that I may be able to deactivate sleep mode, but it's nothing I need to bother with right now.
For the moment, I need to compile a list of games that I would like to play. This will probably be a surprisingly short list, mostly of arcade classics like PAC-MAN, etc. but with a few lesser-known sequels and prototypes thrown in. There will also be some games that never got released on compilations for the PlayStation and other home consoles, but since that's how most of my retrogaming has been done, I'll probably group most of the games as they appeared in those compilations.
Bye for now... I may have more to report later on.
3.06.2008
Control(ler) issues...
Yeah, I'm kind of running the "Control(ler)" thing into the ground, but this is just an update on the controller situation....
My wireless controllers arrived yesterday, and they both work well... individually. As was hinted at in at least one review, the Logitech Profiler software doesn't really support two controllers. You can't install it twice, and even though it "sees" both controllers, it works on a "profile" system where each game has its own unique controller profile (useful since different games often have different control schemes that may or may not be editable), but each profile is only active when the game is running, and you only get to set up controls for... you guessed it... ONE controller.
Most owners of these gamepads just uninstall the Profiler software and use the drivers built into Windows XP, but then they're often playing standard Windows games that support gamepads. MAME, as I mentioned before, defaults to the keyboard, and as far as I can tell there isn't any actual gamepad support, unless you happen to have an ancient gamepad that plugs into the old "joystick" port on an equally-ancient sound card.
My solution was to use the "persistent profile" feature, which is designed to compensate for games that the software might not be able to detect. I was almost sure this would mean I'd be back to having only one active profile (and therefore only one usable controller), but surprisingly, both the persistent profile and the MAME profile seem to work simultaneously. Logitech has set up their software so that each game can have a unique profile, and you have to assign each profile an executable (.exe file) when creating it. This presented a problem when I tried to get around the single controller limitation by creating two profiles, because it wouldn't let me assign them both to the same .exe file. I got around that by assigning the persistent profile to explorer.exe (the Windows user interface, which is always running) and assigning a profile with the Player 2 controls to the MAME executable. That way, gamepad #1 is always active, and whenever MAME runs, gamepad #2 will work as well.
There will actually be several different programs installed on this machine, and almost everything will be controlled with the gamepad, but only game emulators will need to facilitate a second player. For any other emulators, I can duplicate the same profile and assign the copy to the other executables, making any needed adjustments if the other emulators need different key assignments. I still haven't bothered with the analog sticks, but I should be able to have them act as a kind of mouse control, which MAME should recognize for games that originally had trackballs, paddle controls, or steering wheels. I actually want to add a PC steering wheel to the setup eventually, but you know... one configuration nightmare at a time. ;)
One follow-up note about my choice of processor for this machine... it was purely a financial decision, since I was buying a bunch of components at once, including a case and cordless mouse/keyboard setup. For the arcade cabinets there won't be a case involved, so I may be able to afford a faster processor for the mini-cabinet. I know I don't want to go under 2GHz, so it may require some saving to make sure I have enough to buy all the components at once. I don't want to have a processor sitting in the box for a month, only to realize later that it's bad and the return period has expired.
I'm pretty sure that a faster CPU would generate more heat, and the case I chose is rather cramped with only a tiny fan (other than the big one on top of the processor and the one for the power supply, if there is one... I forget). The mini-cab will have a lot more space inside and could accommodate multiple larger fans, so that machine may get a speedier chip. It may not be enough to make CarnEvil and Gauntlet Legends playable, and it's not exactly desirable to make any one game only playable on one of the arcade cabinets, but if the money is there for a more up-to-date CPU, I'll probably go for it... though nothing outrageously expensive, I'm still on a budget after all.
My wireless controllers arrived yesterday, and they both work well... individually. As was hinted at in at least one review, the Logitech Profiler software doesn't really support two controllers. You can't install it twice, and even though it "sees" both controllers, it works on a "profile" system where each game has its own unique controller profile (useful since different games often have different control schemes that may or may not be editable), but each profile is only active when the game is running, and you only get to set up controls for... you guessed it... ONE controller.
Most owners of these gamepads just uninstall the Profiler software and use the drivers built into Windows XP, but then they're often playing standard Windows games that support gamepads. MAME, as I mentioned before, defaults to the keyboard, and as far as I can tell there isn't any actual gamepad support, unless you happen to have an ancient gamepad that plugs into the old "joystick" port on an equally-ancient sound card.
My solution was to use the "persistent profile" feature, which is designed to compensate for games that the software might not be able to detect. I was almost sure this would mean I'd be back to having only one active profile (and therefore only one usable controller), but surprisingly, both the persistent profile and the MAME profile seem to work simultaneously. Logitech has set up their software so that each game can have a unique profile, and you have to assign each profile an executable (.exe file) when creating it. This presented a problem when I tried to get around the single controller limitation by creating two profiles, because it wouldn't let me assign them both to the same .exe file. I got around that by assigning the persistent profile to explorer.exe (the Windows user interface, which is always running) and assigning a profile with the Player 2 controls to the MAME executable. That way, gamepad #1 is always active, and whenever MAME runs, gamepad #2 will work as well.
There will actually be several different programs installed on this machine, and almost everything will be controlled with the gamepad, but only game emulators will need to facilitate a second player. For any other emulators, I can duplicate the same profile and assign the copy to the other executables, making any needed adjustments if the other emulators need different key assignments. I still haven't bothered with the analog sticks, but I should be able to have them act as a kind of mouse control, which MAME should recognize for games that originally had trackballs, paddle controls, or steering wheels. I actually want to add a PC steering wheel to the setup eventually, but you know... one configuration nightmare at a time. ;)
One follow-up note about my choice of processor for this machine... it was purely a financial decision, since I was buying a bunch of components at once, including a case and cordless mouse/keyboard setup. For the arcade cabinets there won't be a case involved, so I may be able to afford a faster processor for the mini-cabinet. I know I don't want to go under 2GHz, so it may require some saving to make sure I have enough to buy all the components at once. I don't want to have a processor sitting in the box for a month, only to realize later that it's bad and the return period has expired.
I'm pretty sure that a faster CPU would generate more heat, and the case I chose is rather cramped with only a tiny fan (other than the big one on top of the processor and the one for the power supply, if there is one... I forget). The mini-cab will have a lot more space inside and could accommodate multiple larger fans, so that machine may get a speedier chip. It may not be enough to make CarnEvil and Gauntlet Legends playable, and it's not exactly desirable to make any one game only playable on one of the arcade cabinets, but if the money is there for a more up-to-date CPU, I'll probably go for it... though nothing outrageously expensive, I'm still on a budget after all.
GigaHurts!
Okay, I know it's spelled gigahertz, but this post is all about how inadequate my 1.8GHz processor seems now that I have a nearly complete set of MAME ROMs. Actually, for my purposes, 1.8GHz is perfectly adequate, but some of the more recent games (late '90s and beyond) are VERY sluggish on this machine. Really, that has more to do with the particular game than my processor, since some newer games get much closer to full speed, and others are virtually unplayable.
I won't go into a long explanation of the principles of emulation here (you're welcome), but the important thing to remember is that CarnEvil had a 150MHz CPU, but games like PAC-MAN had 8-bit processors that ran at between 2 and 8MHz. Having to "emulate" a different processor is very demanding on any CPU, and while I know I'd have better luck with a 4GHz quad-core, I don't think it would run every game at full speed, even if CarnEvil was playable. I do kind of regret not being able to play CarnEvil and others like Gauntlet Legends, but I've never actually played CarnEvil and have limited experience with Gauntlet Legends. I really don't think I'll miss either of them, although Gauntlet Legends might be enough to make me hang on to my SEGA Dreamcast.
MAME has a feature that "throttles" the speed of the game, so that it only runs as fast as it did originally. For most of the games I really want to play, if I turn that feature off the game starts running at 2 or 3 times its original speed. That tells me that 1.8GHz is plenty, and I've been dealing with MAME long enough to know that there will ALWAYS be games that don't run at full speed. Being the aging Gen-Xer that I am, I'm lucky because anything I would have played growing up works just fine, and games new enough to be too much for my CPU are typically fighting games, gun-type shooting games, or those Simon-on-steroids dancing games (or drumming, guitar, keyboard, or whatever).
This project will be the most enjoyable when I narrow down the game list to a mere several hundred games that work well and I have an interest in playing. That's when the fun will really start. So long for now, but another post should be coming soon....
I won't go into a long explanation of the principles of emulation here (you're welcome), but the important thing to remember is that CarnEvil had a 150MHz CPU, but games like PAC-MAN had 8-bit processors that ran at between 2 and 8MHz. Having to "emulate" a different processor is very demanding on any CPU, and while I know I'd have better luck with a 4GHz quad-core, I don't think it would run every game at full speed, even if CarnEvil was playable. I do kind of regret not being able to play CarnEvil and others like Gauntlet Legends, but I've never actually played CarnEvil and have limited experience with Gauntlet Legends. I really don't think I'll miss either of them, although Gauntlet Legends might be enough to make me hang on to my SEGA Dreamcast.
MAME has a feature that "throttles" the speed of the game, so that it only runs as fast as it did originally. For most of the games I really want to play, if I turn that feature off the game starts running at 2 or 3 times its original speed. That tells me that 1.8GHz is plenty, and I've been dealing with MAME long enough to know that there will ALWAYS be games that don't run at full speed. Being the aging Gen-Xer that I am, I'm lucky because anything I would have played growing up works just fine, and games new enough to be too much for my CPU are typically fighting games, gun-type shooting games, or those Simon-on-steroids dancing games (or drumming, guitar, keyboard, or whatever).
This project will be the most enjoyable when I narrow down the game list to a mere several hundred games that work well and I have an interest in playing. That's when the fun will really start. So long for now, but another post should be coming soon....
3.03.2008
Control(ler) Freak
It's been a few days since my last post, but I haven't done a lot with the project. Actually, I did take a couple days off, but there have been a couple of significant developments.
The most significant development is that I finally purchased a gamepad for use with Protovision. The best option I could find locally was the Logitech RumblePad 2...
Let me just say that I was thrilled with this gamepad. The "Profiler" software it came with was perfect for MAME, since you can assign each button to a keypress, and MAME uses the keyboard by default. I didn't get a chance to use the analog sticks, but once the buttons were assigned, it worked wonderfully.
As it happens, I found out that there's a cordless version of the RumblePad 2, so I ended up taking the hard-wired one back. I should be placing an order for two of the cordless ones later today (I could only find them online, so I don't want to risk buying just one and not being able to find another one later on). According to a review I read, the cordless version is a bit on the heavy side (the regular one is no lightweight either, since it has motors inside for the "rumble" feature), but a huge plus is that the cordless ones are solid black, unlike the blue/black regular one. Here's what they look like...
That goes MUCH better with the PC case I'm using, as well as the Logitech cordless mouse and keyboard I have, although they won't be used at the same time. I had removed a small cover on the front of the PC case to expose the front-panel USB ports, but now that they won't be needed, I can replace the cover for a sleeker, cleaner look. I'm also considering trying to hide the receivers for the cordless gamepads inside the PC case, but since I have a long cable and receiver trailing out of the back for the keyboard and mouse, I doubt two little dongles (little USB connector thingies) will make much of a difference.
The other HUGE development is that my DVDs containing MAME ROMs arrived today, which is fantastic considering they just shipped on Friday. I'm stuck at work for the moment, but I can't wait to head home and load up the machine with these ROMs. As I probably stated earlier, it pretty much makes my list obsolete, since now ALL the games should be working. Still, I can start from the beginning again and just fill in the titles of games that weren't working before.
The one down side is that I'm probably in for some disappointment when I see how sluggish my 1.8GHz machine is at playing some of the newer games. That should be mitigated by the fact that I really don't give a rip about playing Dance Dance Revolution Super Remix 3000 and a half on this thing. It would be nice to be able to play things like CarnEvil, but being a "gun game", I doubt it will work on my LCD TV. Those games will likely be relegated to my mini-cabinet, and I'll have to find an Act Labs lightgun (or something similar). At least I'll be able to see whether the mini-cab will need a faster processor than the 1.8GHz chip inside the UGM.
Well, that's enough for now... another long-winded blog entry. My head is killing me anyway, so staring at the screen any longer won't help.
The most significant development is that I finally purchased a gamepad for use with Protovision. The best option I could find locally was the Logitech RumblePad 2...
Let me just say that I was thrilled with this gamepad. The "Profiler" software it came with was perfect for MAME, since you can assign each button to a keypress, and MAME uses the keyboard by default. I didn't get a chance to use the analog sticks, but once the buttons were assigned, it worked wonderfully.
As it happens, I found out that there's a cordless version of the RumblePad 2, so I ended up taking the hard-wired one back. I should be placing an order for two of the cordless ones later today (I could only find them online, so I don't want to risk buying just one and not being able to find another one later on). According to a review I read, the cordless version is a bit on the heavy side (the regular one is no lightweight either, since it has motors inside for the "rumble" feature), but a huge plus is that the cordless ones are solid black, unlike the blue/black regular one. Here's what they look like...
That goes MUCH better with the PC case I'm using, as well as the Logitech cordless mouse and keyboard I have, although they won't be used at the same time. I had removed a small cover on the front of the PC case to expose the front-panel USB ports, but now that they won't be needed, I can replace the cover for a sleeker, cleaner look. I'm also considering trying to hide the receivers for the cordless gamepads inside the PC case, but since I have a long cable and receiver trailing out of the back for the keyboard and mouse, I doubt two little dongles (little USB connector thingies) will make much of a difference.
The other HUGE development is that my DVDs containing MAME ROMs arrived today, which is fantastic considering they just shipped on Friday. I'm stuck at work for the moment, but I can't wait to head home and load up the machine with these ROMs. As I probably stated earlier, it pretty much makes my list obsolete, since now ALL the games should be working. Still, I can start from the beginning again and just fill in the titles of games that weren't working before.
The one down side is that I'm probably in for some disappointment when I see how sluggish my 1.8GHz machine is at playing some of the newer games. That should be mitigated by the fact that I really don't give a rip about playing Dance Dance Revolution Super Remix 3000 and a half on this thing. It would be nice to be able to play things like CarnEvil, but being a "gun game", I doubt it will work on my LCD TV. Those games will likely be relegated to my mini-cabinet, and I'll have to find an Act Labs lightgun (or something similar). At least I'll be able to see whether the mini-cab will need a faster processor than the 1.8GHz chip inside the UGM.
Well, that's enough for now... another long-winded blog entry. My head is killing me anyway, so staring at the screen any longer won't help.
2.27.2008
It's 4am again...
Boy, am I tired. I really need to get some sleep, but first a quick blog entry.
I've spent the past couple nights going through all the possible games for the current version of MAME, and making a list of the ones I actually have working. I finally broke down and ordered a set of MAME ROMs off some guy's website, since they're not as easily accessible as they used to be, and current methods of downloading such as torrents and "here's-what-you-need-but-it's-in-15-million-pieces" Usenet posts are just more trouble than they're worth. It also takes a helluva lot of time, and even though I'll be waiting a week or more for the discs, the price was surprisingly reasonable so I couldn't resist.
Just like you never know how much stuff you have until you move, I didn't realize how many games were actually working until I started making a list. I'm missing well over half of the current ROM sets, but I'm only through the "D"s so far and there are TONS of games available. It actually helps break this enormous task down to not have a full set, but obviously having all the files I'm supposed to is the priority.
Believe it or not, I'm trying to be succinct here, so I guess this is it. No pretty pictures today, but a few ideas from past projects are sneaking back into my brain and could help with this one, so more images are surely on the way. I've been thinking that taking every opportunity to customize Windows might be a mistake, because if I adhere too closely to the way Windows works (startup & shutdown sounds, etc.) it'll be a little too obvious that the machine is just running Windows with a facelift. If I can fight the temptation to fill every gap and just leave some elements out, I might have a better shot at achieving the goal of making this thing operate like any other video game console.
Wish me luck, folks... back at you again another time. G'nite! ;)
I've spent the past couple nights going through all the possible games for the current version of MAME, and making a list of the ones I actually have working. I finally broke down and ordered a set of MAME ROMs off some guy's website, since they're not as easily accessible as they used to be, and current methods of downloading such as torrents and "here's-what-you-need-but-it's-in-15-million-pieces" Usenet posts are just more trouble than they're worth. It also takes a helluva lot of time, and even though I'll be waiting a week or more for the discs, the price was surprisingly reasonable so I couldn't resist.
Just like you never know how much stuff you have until you move, I didn't realize how many games were actually working until I started making a list. I'm missing well over half of the current ROM sets, but I'm only through the "D"s so far and there are TONS of games available. It actually helps break this enormous task down to not have a full set, but obviously having all the files I'm supposed to is the priority.
Believe it or not, I'm trying to be succinct here, so I guess this is it. No pretty pictures today, but a few ideas from past projects are sneaking back into my brain and could help with this one, so more images are surely on the way. I've been thinking that taking every opportunity to customize Windows might be a mistake, because if I adhere too closely to the way Windows works (startup & shutdown sounds, etc.) it'll be a little too obvious that the machine is just running Windows with a facelift. If I can fight the temptation to fill every gap and just leave some elements out, I might have a better shot at achieving the goal of making this thing operate like any other video game console.
Wish me luck, folks... back at you again another time. G'nite! ;)
2.25.2008
Dumbing down hi-def...
One more thing before I'm off to dreamland... I mentioned a "scanlines" effect in my last post, and since the images demonstrating the artwork feature didn't show this effect, I figured I'd post a pic of that to better illustrate how different the artwork looks from the game graphics. The gist of it is that with bezel artwork, crystal clear is good, with game graphics, crystal clear is bad. There are a few different effects available in MAME to "downgrade" the quality of the image so it looks like an old arcade monitor, and several variations of each effect. After testing a couple different ones and even trying to make my own, here's the one I thought looked best (click the image to see the effect):
...okay, I'm going to bed now. ZZZzzzzzz.....
...okay, I'm going to bed now. ZZZzzzzzz.....
Some thoughts at 4am...
(NOTE: This post was originally called "Some thoughts at 3am", but I started at around 3:30 and it's now past four. If you're in a hurry, come back to this one later. This is just what happens when I go a couple days without posting.)
Things are going well for now, if rather slowly. I've confirmed that the TV does not need to be switched into 4:3 (square) mode for the emulators, although for most Windows CD-ROM games (Combat, Dig Dug Deeper, etc.) it will. That means that 99% of the time, the TV can stay in widescreen mode, and that's a much better scenario than reaching for the remote every five minutes to switch modes.
Speaking of widescreen, a wonderful new feature of MAME is that it can show images from the original arcade machine alongside the on-screen graphics. For example, I can play PAC-MAN with an effect over the graphics to simulate an old CRT display, but at the same time it will show artwork from the monitor bezel (that's the piece of glass in front of the monitor that often had paintings of the characters on it, instruction cards, or whatever.) On an analog or SVGA monitor, this extra artwork wouldn't be all that realistic because of the limitations of the display (in other words, it wouldn't look much different than the game graphics themselves), but the hi-def TV is very well-suited to creating the right effect. The "painted" artwork is crystal-clear, but the game graphics look genuine.
Here are some example pics... the first demonstrates the full potential of the artwork feature (NOTE: the photos don't show the "scanlines" effect I'm using to make the game graphics look more real. With that effect, the contrast between bezel and game graphics is even more striking.)
...but of course the artwork takes up a lot of space, so the area left for game graphics is smaller. MAME has an option to compensate for this as well... it can crop the artwork so that the maximum amount of space is used for game graphics, and the bezel is only shown in areas that would otherwise be empty. It's perfect for my widescreen TV, since there's plenty of room for artwork on the sides. The end result looks something like this:
...actually, the image above cuts off the sides of the bezel, since it's from a 4:3 display. In widescreen, you can see the sides of the bezel completely... only the top is cut off. To me it's an acceptable compromise, because the game area gets really small without cropping the artwork. Maybe one day when I have a 50" TV I'll be able to play with the full bezel showing, but for now this is fine with me. Obviously there isn't bezel artwork available for every game, since it has to be reconstructed from actual machines that aren't always available or in the best of shape. Also, like everything else involving MAME, it's a volunteer effort among fans of classic games. What has been accomplished is amazing, but it's far from perfect.
My next step will be to download a different version of MAME that has a graphical user interface (GUI) built in. I'll eventually have a "front-end" program running for that purpose, but the top priority right now is to get as many games working as possible. I'm working from a really old set of ROM images (i.e. game files), and the number of games available has more than doubled since I downloaded my current set five years ago. It also doesn't help that a lot of my older ROMs no longer work under the new version of MAME, which demonstrates the value of getting things working and not upgrading myself into obsolescence. There are ways to get all the ROMs in one big package, and I'm looking into that.
The finished Protovision project will actually have a variety of different options when it comes to selecting games. One of them will most likely be a "virtual arcade" where you can navigate through a 3D-rendered arcade environment, go right up to a model of the machine you want to play, and presto! Here's an example pic... the program is called 3DArcade:
...and here's a video clip that better demonstrates what it's like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfmN8PJkLTc
...cool, huh? ;) That part of the project won't be done for a while... a LONG while, because the program is going to require a LOT of customization. I don't want to just use someone else's arcade and move machines around, although that is an option.
What I'll really be focusing on over the next week or so is figuring out which games work and which don't. At the moment, I can only choose games randomly, so once I can scroll through a full list of what I should have and compare it to what's actually working, I can get something accomplished. The problem is that it's SO overwhelming. Like I said before, there are over 6,000 games available in MAME, and that's just the arcade stuff... I haven't even started on all the console games (Atari 2600, etc.)
Well, just thinking about it makes me want to go to bed, so good night for now. With any luck, there will be more to report tomorrow.
2.22.2008
Enter MAME...
I've officially installed MAME and a few ROMs (i.e. games), and things seem to be working quite well. I shouldn't even have to worry about widescreen mode, which is a pleasant surprise. The real bummer was the harsh realization that old games just don't look right except on an old analog CRT. I already knew that, but it was way more difficult than I'd anticipated to get the settings right so the games looked in any way acceptable on my LCD TV.
The next step will be buying an analog gamepad (I have an old digital one that's pretty flaky), and working out the configuration so I can easily play games that originally had a wide range of different controls. In terms of this project, if not life in general at the moment, I'm rather optimistic. Until next time....
The next step will be buying an analog gamepad (I have an old digital one that's pretty flaky), and working out the configuration so I can easily play games that originally had a wide range of different controls. In terms of this project, if not life in general at the moment, I'm rather optimistic. Until next time....
2.21.2008
Gamez R kewl...
I spent most of this evening trying out stacks of old Windows (and DOS) CD-ROM games to see if they'd work. Most of them didn't. No big deal really, I'm not a huge PC gamer anyway. The two I was thrilled to see working were Combat (a 3D update of the Atari 2600 classic) and Dig Dug Deeper (the title says it all). I had never played these games before, since I purchased them when I had the money to buy PC games but no PC powerful enough to run them. Dig Dug Deeper is especially cool, and one feature I love is being able to "surface" and chase after that last creature who runs away after you kill all the others. Ah, sweet victory! ;)
I don't entirely blame Windows itself for the games not running, I mean these are some VERY old games, and PC hardware has changed a lot in the past decade or so. Still, it demonstrates the achilles heel of Windows machines, and the advantage of game consoles. Newer more advanced consoles come out every couple years it seems, but even the older obsolete ones will always be able to play the games that were designed for them. I guess you could say the same for PCs if you didn't update the operating system or change the hardware, and that's where the Protovision project comes in. The idea is to build a machine that won't change, so the games it plays now will still play many years in the future.
I guess this is the best time for me to be doing this project, since those 10- to 12-year-old games that still work under XP came out when retrogaming was at its peak. I doubt we'll ever see as many retro compilations and 3D updates of classic games as were released in the late '90s. If I would have gone with Vista, even more of the older games might have refused to run, so now's a good time to just build a machine and leave it as-is. I'd imagine the emulators (which are the real backbone of this project) would be virtually immune to the problems of off-the-shelf CD-ROMs, although I'm anticipating some minor difficulties with MAME and possibly others, but hopefully nothing that can't be worked out.
Despite the surprisingly small number of successes, I'm really glad I took the time to pull out all those old games. It helped me clear out some clutter, and if nothing else I got a break from designing logo screens to do what this machine was intended for... playing games.
I don't entirely blame Windows itself for the games not running, I mean these are some VERY old games, and PC hardware has changed a lot in the past decade or so. Still, it demonstrates the achilles heel of Windows machines, and the advantage of game consoles. Newer more advanced consoles come out every couple years it seems, but even the older obsolete ones will always be able to play the games that were designed for them. I guess you could say the same for PCs if you didn't update the operating system or change the hardware, and that's where the Protovision project comes in. The idea is to build a machine that won't change, so the games it plays now will still play many years in the future.
I guess this is the best time for me to be doing this project, since those 10- to 12-year-old games that still work under XP came out when retrogaming was at its peak. I doubt we'll ever see as many retro compilations and 3D updates of classic games as were released in the late '90s. If I would have gone with Vista, even more of the older games might have refused to run, so now's a good time to just build a machine and leave it as-is. I'd imagine the emulators (which are the real backbone of this project) would be virtually immune to the problems of off-the-shelf CD-ROMs, although I'm anticipating some minor difficulties with MAME and possibly others, but hopefully nothing that can't be worked out.
Despite the surprisingly small number of successes, I'm really glad I took the time to pull out all those old games. It helped me clear out some clutter, and if nothing else I got a break from designing logo screens to do what this machine was intended for... playing games.
2.20.2008
What might have been...
Okay, so at this point we're using the BIOS power-up image as a test boot logo... time to create the final image. I should mention at this point that the name "Pinecone" comes again from the film Electric Dreams, since it's the brand of computer that "Edgar" was supposed to be in the movie. I had a great idea of recreating the look of flowing text as seen in the film (during the song "Love Is Love") as my boot logo. Unfortunately, I completely forgot that I was limited to 16 colors, and was spoiled by how unaffected my 2-color BIOS logo was by the conversion to a 16-color bitmap.
Speaking of color, I fooled around with a "colorized" version of the Pinecone logo, but I think I like the blue-and-white version better. See what you think...
Doesn't really thrill me, but it was worth a try. It's supposed to be a computer company, not an outdoor clothing store, so it doesn't need to have appropriate coloring. Anyway, I'm extremely proud of the boot logo image, but was terribly disappointed in how bad it looked when reduced to 16 colors. I only had 16 colors to work with back when I started doing computer graphics on the Commodore 64, and even though in this case I could choose any 16 from a palette of 16.7 million colors, it still looked like crap. Here's the original image and the 16-color version:
-sm.jpg)
...you'll probably have to click on the thumbnails for the larger versions to really see the difference, but the second one is the 16-color version, and has a lot of noise in it that is pretty ugly in full-size, believe me.
Oh well, I guess I could use the full-color version as the wallpaper for my back-door maintenance account, so I can look at it while making adjustments to the software, etc. I spent too much time and effort on this image to just abandon it, and I'm certainly not going to show it in only 16 colors.
Don't box me in...
More work has been done on customizing Windows for this project, and it has become obvious that a decision has to be made regarding the proper aspect ratio (widescreen or square) to use. I really don't want to run one of the many "hack" utilities to change the appearance of Windows, and so far I haven't had to resort to that. After a bit of research, I found an undocumented feature of Windows that allowed me to substitute a still image for the animated "Windows is loading" splash screen. Not having any ideas yet, I plugged in an image I plan to use as the initial power-up logo (the BIOS on the Asus motherboard allows a custom full-screen logo) and it worked quite well.
The problem with both the BIOS logo and the boot screen is that they are limited to 640x480 and 16 colors. That means that when shown on my widescreen TV, the image is stretched to fit. I could set the TV to 4:3 mode, but since my Windows settings are 1360x768 widescreen, I wanted to keep it at 16:9. I was able to compensate for the stretching so the 640x480 image looks normal, but eventually I started to realize that most if not all of the games I plan to play were designed for standard 4:3 displays, and some were even narrower at 3:4 (i.e., vertically-oriented games like PAC-MAN and Donkey Kong). Widescreen, it seems, wouldn't do me a lot of good.
Not wanting to waste the processing power of this machine, and trying to keep the number of computers sitting around to a minimum, I'm planning to press this machine into service as a Home Theater PC as well as a game machine, so it will be necessary for it to be widescreen-friendly. The desktop wallpaper isn't a problem, since it can just be cropped according to the Windows resolution. What can't be adjusted are the BIOS logo and boot screen... if I use images that compensate for the stretching of 16:9 mode, they'd look different when the TV was switched to 4:3 mode for games, etc. They're only shown for a few seconds, but minor details like that really bug me.
Strangely enough, it seems I had already solved my problem without realizing it. I designed the following image as the BIOS power-up logo:
...which at full size was 850x480. Scaled to 640x480, it looks like this:
I had always intended it to be stretched for widescreen, but I later realized that at 4:3, it doesn't look all that strange. Helvetica Neue, the font I used, didn't look funny when squeezed, and the composition of the image left a good balance between graphic elements and white space (or in this case, blue space) in either aspect ratio. Even better, the pine branch and pinecones graphic didn't look terribly deformed at 4:3, since who's to say what shape they're supposed to be?
So... it looks like I have my BIOS logo screen. Now for the boot logo. More to come!
The problem with both the BIOS logo and the boot screen is that they are limited to 640x480 and 16 colors. That means that when shown on my widescreen TV, the image is stretched to fit. I could set the TV to 4:3 mode, but since my Windows settings are 1360x768 widescreen, I wanted to keep it at 16:9. I was able to compensate for the stretching so the 640x480 image looks normal, but eventually I started to realize that most if not all of the games I plan to play were designed for standard 4:3 displays, and some were even narrower at 3:4 (i.e., vertically-oriented games like PAC-MAN and Donkey Kong). Widescreen, it seems, wouldn't do me a lot of good.
Not wanting to waste the processing power of this machine, and trying to keep the number of computers sitting around to a minimum, I'm planning to press this machine into service as a Home Theater PC as well as a game machine, so it will be necessary for it to be widescreen-friendly. The desktop wallpaper isn't a problem, since it can just be cropped according to the Windows resolution. What can't be adjusted are the BIOS logo and boot screen... if I use images that compensate for the stretching of 16:9 mode, they'd look different when the TV was switched to 4:3 mode for games, etc. They're only shown for a few seconds, but minor details like that really bug me.
Strangely enough, it seems I had already solved my problem without realizing it. I designed the following image as the BIOS power-up logo:
...which at full size was 850x480. Scaled to 640x480, it looks like this:
I had always intended it to be stretched for widescreen, but I later realized that at 4:3, it doesn't look all that strange. Helvetica Neue, the font I used, didn't look funny when squeezed, and the composition of the image left a good balance between graphic elements and white space (or in this case, blue space) in either aspect ratio. Even better, the pine branch and pinecones graphic didn't look terribly deformed at 4:3, since who's to say what shape they're supposed to be?
So... it looks like I have my BIOS logo screen. Now for the boot logo. More to come!
2.19.2008
Deck the walls...
Not much new to report, since the last post was only a few hours ago. I haven't got very far in customizing the Windows environment, but the most obvious improvement is of course the desktop wallpaper. I set out looking for a "circuit board" design, so that if the Windows wallpaper did appear onscreen, it would look like you got to see the "guts" of the machine. Most photos of actual circuit boards were either low-quality or just plain unattractive. I eventually stumbled upon an image of someone's electronics project, and after some tweaking in Photoshop, I had an image that worked. Here's a scaled-down version of the Protovision wallpaper:
...it's in widescreen format (the full-sized image is 1360x768 pixels) because I have the machine hooked up to a 26" widescreen TV. I'm not sure if the widescreen mode will carry over to the game select menus, etc. but if not I will crop the image and scale it if necessary.
...it's in widescreen format (the full-sized image is 1360x768 pixels) because I have the machine hooked up to a 26" widescreen TV. I'm not sure if the widescreen mode will carry over to the game select menus, etc. but if not I will crop the image and scale it if necessary.
The blog is born...
Well, here we are... where is that, and why, you ask? Well, since around 1998 or so, I've kept a diary of sorts to chronicle my efforts at building various MAME machines. What is MAME? Well, do a Google search for the whole story, but the short version is that it's a wonderful little piece of software that allows most Windows PCs to play literally thousands of arcade games. There are versions of MAME for several other platforms (and yes, Microsoft, there ARE other viable platforms), but to ensure that I'd have access to as many little add-ons, utilities, front-ends (I'll refer you back to Google if you're unfamiliar with MAME front-ends), etc. as possible, I felt it best to go with Windows. I chose Windows XP for a number of reasons, chief among them being all the bad things I hear about Vista, from reports of compatibility problems to complaints about excessive memory requirements, etc. This machine may have to run some older off-the-shelf software, so compatibility with legacy software is a priority.
The decision to go with Windows didn't come easily... I'm a Mac guy, and really can't stand to have a Windows machine in my house, especially since it has recently become possible to run Mac OS X on ordinary PC hardware (Google "OSx86" for details on this). Unfortunately, while the Mac OS is preferable for general computing, creating a dedicated system where the OS stays hidden seems much easier under Windows (I guess that's because so many people have a desire to avoid dealing with Windows and have worked out ways to hide or customize the GUI). PC components have always been my choice for installing in arcade cabinets because they're cheap and can be purchased individually, but if I thought I could get a versatile enough front-end for MAME and MESS (again, Google it) that would run under OS X and sufficiently hide the standard GUI, then I'd go the Mac route.
As it happens I'm stuck with Windows, so here's the machine I put together:
AOpen H360B slim desktop case (pictured)
ASUS P5GC-MX 1333 motherboard
Intel P4 @ 1.8GHz (dual-core)
2GB RAM
250GB Western Digital SATA hard drive
16x Sony DVD-ROM drive
The name "Protovision" came from the film WarGames... it's the name of the software company that David Lightman (played by Matthew Broderick) was trying to hack into in order to play their latest video games. I tend to borrow names from my favorite movies, and it seems I'm not alone, since a Google search turned up at least a couple companies called Protovision. This project has nothing to do with any of them.
Speaking of borrowing names from movies, the computer is known as edgar3. "Edgar" came from the film Electric Dreams and the "3" indicates that this is the third machine that I've dubbed "Edgar" in the process of creating a Universal Game Machine. When finished, the UGM will be able to play thousands upon thousands of games, from arcade classics to obscure prototype, homebrew, and unreleased console games (which is why the name Protovision is appropriate).
The creation of a videogame console doesn't lend itself to the kind of "build book" websites that are often done for MAME cabinet projects, but even so I intend to try and post photos whenever there's a significant update that would be best depicted visually. Until then, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a comment! :)
The decision to go with Windows didn't come easily... I'm a Mac guy, and really can't stand to have a Windows machine in my house, especially since it has recently become possible to run Mac OS X on ordinary PC hardware (Google "OSx86" for details on this). Unfortunately, while the Mac OS is preferable for general computing, creating a dedicated system where the OS stays hidden seems much easier under Windows (I guess that's because so many people have a desire to avoid dealing with Windows and have worked out ways to hide or customize the GUI). PC components have always been my choice for installing in arcade cabinets because they're cheap and can be purchased individually, but if I thought I could get a versatile enough front-end for MAME and MESS (again, Google it) that would run under OS X and sufficiently hide the standard GUI, then I'd go the Mac route.
As it happens I'm stuck with Windows, so here's the machine I put together:
AOpen H360B slim desktop case (pictured)
ASUS P5GC-MX 1333 motherboard
Intel P4 @ 1.8GHz (dual-core)
2GB RAM
250GB Western Digital SATA hard drive
16x Sony DVD-ROM drive
The name "Protovision" came from the film WarGames... it's the name of the software company that David Lightman (played by Matthew Broderick) was trying to hack into in order to play their latest video games. I tend to borrow names from my favorite movies, and it seems I'm not alone, since a Google search turned up at least a couple companies called Protovision. This project has nothing to do with any of them.
Speaking of borrowing names from movies, the computer is known as edgar3. "Edgar" came from the film Electric Dreams and the "3" indicates that this is the third machine that I've dubbed "Edgar" in the process of creating a Universal Game Machine. When finished, the UGM will be able to play thousands upon thousands of games, from arcade classics to obscure prototype, homebrew, and unreleased console games (which is why the name Protovision is appropriate).
The creation of a videogame console doesn't lend itself to the kind of "build book" websites that are often done for MAME cabinet projects, but even so I intend to try and post photos whenever there's a significant update that would be best depicted visually. Until then, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a comment! :)
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