Anyone an expert with laserdisc CHD's?

[Airwolfman]

OK, being an old tech I thought I had read up on everything necessary to get my favorite LD games up and running in MAME. However, after downloading and installing the ROMs and CHDs, not a single one is working. I must be missing something simple.

 

I'm using the latest MAME, but I've tried several older versions including the 2009 version that was the first to support the LD games. I've tried getting each of these to work: Cliffhanger, Cobra Command, Cube Quest, Firefox, Us vs. Them and MACH 3 (my favorite). All give me the standard MAME missing files error. Is there perhaps a BIOS file akin to atarisys1 I need to get?

 

Here's what I've done to troubleshoot (all ROMs and CHDs have matching filenames):

1. Placed the ROM in the MAME "ROMS" directory and the CHD in the same "ROMS" directory.

2. Placed the ROM in the MAME "ROMS" directory and the CHD in a "CHD" subdirectory.

3. Placed the ROM in the MAME "ROMS" directory and the CHD in a "mame_chd\filename" subdirectory.

4. Downloaded alternate copies of the applicable ROM from other sites (emuparadise, romnation, etc.)

 

Any ideas on why MAME may consistently say some files are missing?

 

P.S. - I know there's Daphne, but I'm just trying to work in MAME now rather than chasing down DVDs of the games.

[Rybags]

Mame can be an enormous pain in the arse to get working, you can have a compilation for a game that works in one version then breaks in the next and it often comes down to a file being renamed or an addition of some piddly little 2K section that's barely relevant to most of the game action.

 

There's the ClrMame utility that can help sort things out but I've found that to be a long and cumbersome process in itself.

The best bet IMO is to just get a version that works with a particular bunch of games and stick with it. Problem there could well arise that you have 3 Mame versions working as you tend to gather games in batches rather than one big lump.

 

Also don't forget the Roms for a particular game can sometimes be spread over more than one Zip file. And the concept of using Zip files in itself is optional, you can also just store the files in subdirectories which can be a helpful way of resolving getting a game working.

 

What I've done in the past is just gather up different releases of a particular game - you'll often find the needed files are present among the Zip files. The file size and CRC are helpful clues to identify parts since they often get renamed along the way.

Edited May 16, 2015 by Rybags

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

I was never good with ClrMame utility either but I seemed to of solved all the FILES ARE MISSING errors by simply using a version of MAME mathing the ROM / CHD set. In other words if you are suing say MAME v1.47 use a ROM /CHD set ALSO v1.47

[Dauber]

My problem is with the Firefox CHD. The game actually runs, but I don't see the laserdisc stuff at all.

[Airwolfman]

Bumping. Any new insights?

[+FujiSkunk]

What have you tried since your original post?

[BillyJoelPlaysQuake]

I have the CHD for Cliff Hanger and have decompressed it using chdman. The problem is you have to output the CHD to a decompressed file where I am assuming is a group of video and sound files. No the files are NOT a ZIP archive. I have tried Daphne and MAME including following the recommended directory structure. Does MAME read the CHD itself? I know I am on the cusp here with the binaries and the CHD.

[macdlsa]

Dang !

Daphne is pretty much less exose in terms of hardware than MAME...

Unfortunately, our DaphneTeam "chief" put in standby the progresses of the emulation since the 2010, so to play FireFox and CubeQuest you'd have to take the respective CHDs for MAME (from the rev 0.127). Also M.A.C.H. is better on MAME than Daphne, but for ALL THE OTHER LaserDiscGames I suggest to use Daphne.

Daphne+Singe also emulate many of the AmericanLaserdiscGames...