GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

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GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by cools »

CRT_Emudriver 2.0 guide here: http://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/v ... p?pid=1016

I've got a grasp on the optimal way of setting this up now, so will put together some instructions below (prior to wikifying it). Note - I'll just be following the recommended setup (for which the documentation is pretty tough to put together) with Windows as a base. The GroovyArcade project is self contained and has it's own support forum.

This is for using Groovy stuff on a real CRT. For an LCD, you need to be looking at HLSL settings.

Hardware requirements
  • A decent PC.
  • An ATI card supported by CRT_Emudriver - suggest picking up one of the recommended chipsets from that link. Older cards with VGA only rather than DVI are preferred.
  • A method of interfacing your controls/sound/monitor to the PC. If using a JAMMA cab, I prefer the JammASD as there's no messing around with wiring up an amplifier in the cab, but it does mean your PC has to have a PS/2 connector available.
  • A monitor capable of 31KHz (VGA) input. LCD or CRT, doesn't matter - you can't set up Windows blind.
  • Keyboard and mouse with the correct connections for the PC.
Software requirements
  • Windows XP. Prefer 64bit if your PC can handle it, but regular is fine.
  • MAME or UME. We want the baseline installation as contains all the support files.
  • GroovyMAME or GroovyUME.
  • 7-Zip. You'll need this to decompress Groovy. Other decompressors are available, but this one is my preference.
  • HISCORE.DAT. Not essential, but nice to have since Groovy has the patch to support it built in.
  • Cheats. Also not essential, but supported so we'll have them please. Get the latest XML Cheat Collection file. Handily includes rapid fire hacks for many games, which is nice.
  • ROMs. Wherever you get them from you'll want to make sure they're valid, so grab clrmamepro to do this with.
Notes
  • This guide assumes a MAME installation. For a UME installation, substitute anything that says MAME with UME.
  • Read the manual for whatever cab/monitor interface you choose to use! The decent bits of kit all have protection circuits built in to stop you sending signals to the monitor that it may not like.
  • Despite the protection circuits, things may go wrong. It's incredibly unlikely that anything will go awry if you don't deviate from the instructions, but the chance is always there - this isn't my responsibility nor any of the software authors!
Installation
  • Set up the PC connected to the monitor, keyboard and mouse on your desk/floor/shelf/bed/sofa/kitchen unit/pile of other PCs/washing basket/turntable cover (delete as appropriate, I've used all these in the past).
  • Install Windows XP. Plenty of guides around on the web if you're not familiar with the process. This one is pretty good. Whether you choose to partition a whole drive, multiple partitions, or install multiple drives is your choice - we'll just assume you end up having Windows on C: and C: is where everything else will go as well.
  • Enable file extensions. Not essential, but worth doing if you're not sure what they are in general. Knowledge is power and it'll stop you making mistakes later on. You do this by opening Windows Explorer, opening the Tools menu and clicking on Folder Options. Click on the View tab and look for Hide extensions for known file types. Untick this, and click OK out. Close Explorer.
  • Let Windows go through all its automatic updates. This may take quite some time and many reboots, depending on what patch level the initial installation media was at. You can probably skip this step if you really want to, however I recommend you do as sometimes it's required for the next step. If you don't do this, you must install DirectX manually!
  • Using Windows Update, run a custom install and install drivers found for any hardware except the graphics card.
  • Install 7-Zip. This is just a matter of double clicking on the EXE or MSI file and clicking next for everything. Once it's installed, run 7-Zip File Manager from the start menu and click on the Tools menu. It'll show the System tab. Click Select All, then OK and close the program.
  • Install drivers for all the hardware not directly supported by Windows or the Updates installed earlier, but still avoid installing anything for the graphics card.
  • Extract MAME into the folder C:\MAME. You can do this by double clicking on the MAME downloaded EXE and entering the folder name, or with 7-Zip. The end result should have a C:\MAME folder with folders inside called ARTWORK, CFG, ROMS, SAMPLES amongst others, and an executable with the MAME logo.
  • Extract GroovyMAME into C:\MAME. It'll have a fairly long name - not just GROOVYMAME.EXE. This is okay, but I suggest renaming it to simply GROOVYMAME.EXE or GROOVYMAME64.EXE depending on your installation.
  • Extract the HISCORE.DAT file from its archive into C:\MAME\HI. If C:\MAME\HI doesn't exist, make the folder.
  • Extract the CHEAT.7Z file from its archive into C:\MAME.
  • Install clrmamepro. Accept all the defaults during installation.
  • CRT_Emudriver
    • Extract CRT_Emudriver into C:\VMMAKER. Extract any VMMaker updates into the same folder, overwriting existing files. Run C:\VMMAKER\DRIVER\SETUP.EXE, click Next to everything, Finish. Do not reboot!
    • Open C:\VMMAKER\VMMAKER.INI with Notepad.
    • Where MameExe is specified, change "\emu\mame\mame.exe" to read "C:\MAME\GROOVYMAME64.EXE".
    • Change "MonitorHorizontal" from 1 to 0 if your monitor is vertical.
    • Look for Monitortype. Change "CUSTOM" to one of the following:
      • "GENERIC" if you have a 15KHz monitor.
      • "EGA" if you have a 24KHz monitor.
      • Leave it on "CUSTOM" if you have a 31KHz monitor and make a few more changes:
        • monitor_specs0 31400-31500, 49.50-65.00, 0.940, 3.770, 1.890, 0.349, 0.064, 1.017, 0, 0, 512, 800
        • XresMin_XML = 512
        • YresMin_XML = 400
    • Save and close the INI file.
    • Run C:\VMMAKER\VMMAKER.EXE.
    • Reboot.
Configuration
clrmamepro, AKA getting your ROMs into shape.
Note: I will describe the simplest possible setup for MAME, and explain how UME works in its most basic way. This topic can get really deep and a lot of it is personal preference. There are plenty of guides for clrmamepro available, so do some more reading if you want any detail on anything not covered here.
  • Run clrmamepro. The first time it runs it'll bring up a blank Profiler window. Click Create....
  • Use the ... button to select the GROOVYMAME executable you extracted earlier. The filename will be something like C:\MAME\GROOVYMAME64.EXE. Set the description to MAME and the emulator to MAME (the emulator must be MAME even if you're using UME). Click Create Profile, then OK.
  • Select the MAME profile and click Load / Update. clrmamepro will ask you to update it's database. Click OK. You never need to create another profile - any time you update the GROOVYMAME executable clrmamepro will recognise that it's changed and ask you to update automatically. You'll be asked about Software Lists - only import them if you are using UME, they are worthless for MAME. Click OK TO ALL or Yes To All on any subsequent prompts.
  • Click Settings, then Add... and choose the C:\MAME\ROMS folder. Click OK to get back to the main menu.
  • Click Rebuilder. Click the ... button next to the Source field, and select the folder that contains the ROMS carefully dumped from your own PCBs. The Destination should be set to the C:\MAME\ROMS folder automatically. Click Rebuild.... Once it's finished click OK on the statistics window and close clrmamepro.
GroovyMAME/UME
  • Click Start, then Run, then type "C:\MAME\GROOVYMAME64.EXE -cc". This creates C:\MAME\MAME.INI, the central configuration file for MAME. For UME, it creates UME.INI.
  • Open this INI file with Notepad.
  • Find the line stating monitor generic_15. Change it to:
    • monitor arcade_15 if you're using a 15KHz monitor.
    • monitor arcade_25 for a 24KHz monitor.
    • monitor arcade_31 and effect scanlines.png for a 31KHz monitor.
  • If your monitor is rotated, find the line orientation horizontal and change it to orientation vertical
  • frame_delay 1 drops input lag to a safe minimum on Direct3D.
  • Make the following settings for elegant behaviour:
    • skip_gameinfo 1. Bypasses the game information a.k.a move the joystick left and right screen.
    • disable_nagscreen_patch 0. More screen skipping.
    • disable_loading_patch 0. Another screen skip.
    • cheat 1. If you want to enable use of the cheat file.
    • gamma 0.7. Standard MAME gamma setting is too high.
  • Save and close the INI file.
Monitor Setup
  • Switch on your cabinet/monitor. Wait 15-30 minutes for the monitor to warm up. Play some games or something.
  • Run C:\VMMAKER\ARCADEOSD.EXE
  • Enter the Video modes menu.
  • Scroll down the list of modes until you get to the bottom. Highlight the last (tallest and widest) mode that has a type custom, and a Vfrq refresh rate ending in p (progressive rather than interlace) and hit enter to switch to it.
  • Adjust the horizontal and vertical size and position of the image using the monitor's controls. Don't overscan it at all, keep the whole image displayed.
  • When happy, escape back to the modes list and try some other custom ones. They should all display at a good size and be centred.
  • Test the "standard" mode(s) for your monitor - 320x240 / 512x384 / 640x480. They may need some minor tweaks to the size and positioning. When adjusting, switch back to the largest mode and make sure it displays fine as well.
  • Custom modes that aren't 60p might display too large on the vertical. There's nothing you can do about it short of adjusting the monitor vertical size every time.
  • Once happy with the standard and largest modes, epoxy the hsize, hpos, and vpos pots on your monitor.
T.B.C...
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by markedkiller78 »

Why not reserve a few more post (then delete mine)

What about W7 64-bit. It's essentially XP underneath? Reason I ask, is that I have a spare license or too since upgrading moving to W8
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by cools »

I hate reserved posts, and there's no need for them unless you're going over 60000 characters - which I won't be.

I'm sticking with the "for dummies" part. W7 (and non ATI cards) is advanced territory and results may vary.
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by markedkiller78 »

Well this Dummy does not have a legitimate 64 bit XP license.
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by cools »

I bet you don't have an EPROM reader either to dump ROMs from your own boards.
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by baddy »

Very interested by this, I've already set up a cabinet to use groovymame in the past, it's brilliant.

It'd be great to have all king of tips/tutorial on here on how to set up pixel perfect emulation.

Also worth mentioning, to build that cabinet I've used a relay and a small program on the computer to keep the screen off while the computer is booting, only turning it on when Xp is loaded and the CRT Emudriver on. This prevents the screen from displaying garbage/stressing the chassis components. Want me to explain it in details?
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

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cools wrote:I bet you don't have an EPROM reader either to dump ROMs from your own boards.
:problem: I don't rip my own CD's or Blurays either. I'm a bad boy 8-)
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by cools »

That'd be a nice addition to the wiki, but it's above dummies level :) A J-PAC or JammASD will protect the monitor sufficiently, although you do get garbage with the boot sequence on a 15k monitor
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by trev1976 »

Im really interested in this too , Ive not had much luck with emulation in cabs in the past as ive never been happy with the results but this Groovy sounds ace for older games at 240p

Ive got a few PC parts laying around here that im sure i could knock up a system with , also already have a Mame and Hyperspin install i could use

Is using windows 7 that much more difficult ? as i have a spare copy of that ? but im sure a 64bit version of XP wouldnt be that difficult to find , i just havnt used it in a long time :(
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by cools »

It's not that it's more difficult, it's that it doesn't work at all. It's being worked on.
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by trev1976 »

Ok , How do you exit in and out of Mame/Hyperspin with the controls ? Does the JammaASD handle this ?

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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by CPS2 »

I've got an old core2due with 2gb ram. Gonna give this a go.

Just need a video card. Any recommendations (I need AGP)

So many variations of the ATI 9250
Last edited by CPS2 on May 28th, 2013, 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by pubjoe »

Brilliant cools. I'll give groovy a go at some point. I need to install my mamebox from scratch since I lazily switched in a ssd and got bored during the transfer phase - a year's passed now and I can't remember where I left it off.

A step by step guide like this is just what I need. Thanks. :awe:

I might still stick with Windows XP 32-bit if possible. I've just remembered one factor why I did previously is because I actually own a retail boxed copy of it. :lol: It was the least significant line of reasoning though.
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by cools »

Should be able to add some more bits later.
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by emphatic »

This is brilliant, thank you. :awe:
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by CPS2 »

My legit copy of Windows XP x64 won't install - invalid key.... :problem:
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

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CPS2 wrote:My legit copy of Windows XP x64 won't install - invalid key.... :problem:
If it's legit, go through the "Activate by phone" process. I've had to do it twice in the last month. Once with W7 the other with W8. It takes about 7-10 mins tops. You type in a 64 character key (approx) and it gives you one back or will text it direct to your mobile.

MS seem to be insisting that you use the phone service to re-activate licenses now. If I was being cynical, I would say it's so they can get hold of your contact details (email / phone) They say it's not recorded, but maybe that only when it is legit?
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by CPS2 »

I can't even get that far.

It asks for the key during the install. The key is on the PC (sticker), but I had to grab the ISO from the MS site (couldn't find the original disc).

I'm guessing it a more recent version. :problem:

I'll have to grab an illegal copy now just to get it installed. :palm:
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

Post by cools »

If it's a sticker on the PC it'll be an OEM license, and IIRC getting the ISO for that isn't possible from Microsoft themselves. You can find it on other sites though, and you're perfectly entitled to download it.
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Re: GroovyMAME/UME for dummies

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Ah, as cools says, grab the OEM version & install that way.
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