Introduction to MAME ROM versions and BIOS?

[Silntdoogood]

I have an arcade cab running GroovyMAME v0.148, freshly updated with the 2018 linux build. This resolved SO MANY ISSUES. Unfortunately it created a new one. About half my game library refuses to launch. The screen goes black for a second they it exits the game. A few even try launching with the wrong name.

 

I've copied ROMS that were working, as well as re-downloaded fresh. The problem persists. From what I've read, my problem is either in the ROM version, or a BIOS problem. Running STELLA and other simple emulators I've never hit a problem like this. The digital side of emulation is a little bit of an enigma to me.

 

Can anyone point me to some plain-English explanations on these configurations?

[mr_me]

Are you saying the same roms and groovymame worked with the old operating system but not the new os? What are you using to launch the games? Try launching by commandline to test. Usually if there is a rom problem mame will say so. If the roms you downloaded are from a recent set version, try the current version of groovymame.

 

It's possible if the rom files are very old they may not be compatible with newer versions of mame. Very few mame game emulators use files designated as bios; usually they are for machines from the late 1980s or newer. Those bios files are required the same as rom files.

Edited January 21, 2019 by mr_me

[youxia]

If you've updated GroovyMAME to a newer one and are still using the old romset, then some games won't work. The emulator/romset version numbers must match, so I'd start by downloading a 0.148 romset (or whatever the corresponding one is) and replacing the entire old romset.

[roadrunner]

Get your roms from doperoms and your gonna need namco and atari bios for a bunch of games.

[+kheller2]

If you've updated GroovyMAME to a newer one and are still using the old romset, then some games won't work. The emulator/romset version numbers must match, so I'd start by downloading a 0.148 romset (or whatever the corresponding one is) and replacing the entire old romset.

 

why is that by the way? A ROM is a ROM. If I dumped my own ROMs from a cabinet they wouldn't work?

[mr_me]

Early rom dumps had issues, and were often incomplete or had errors. Old emulators were built on the inaccurate rom images. Over time they improved the completeness and accuracy of rom images, emulation was improved to use the new files. However, it does not change with every version of mame like some claim. Most rom images haven't changed for a long time; I'm talking 50+ versions.

Edited January 22, 2019 by mr_me

[Silntdoogood]

Get your roms from doperoms and your gonna need namco and atari bios for a bunch of games.

The one I'm trying desperately to get running is Kung Fu, but it isn't hosted there.

 

How can I determine the ROM version when downloading from other hosts?

[mr_me]

Try archive.org for rom sets with the mame vrrsion in the set name.

[mr_me]

There's also some utilities that audit and rename your rom sets as needed. E.g. clrmamepro, romcenter, Romulus, RomVault

[+x=usr(1536)]

One other thing to consider: if you're trying to use a derivative MAME build based off of MAME 0.148, you're working with a version of MAME that is now over six years old.

 

Apart from ROM compatibility issues, you're going to miss out on a lot of major changes that have happened in that time.

 

BTW: I'm guessing that you're using GroovyMAME for improved CRT support of native game resolutions. Honestly, there doesn't seem to be much these days that it provides that you won't get from a more modern MAME build and a decent base OS installation with a couple of tweaks. Just something to consider, though I will give GroovyArcade points for packaging it all up.