SDLMame 0.125 on WII (UPDATED) - MAME Arcade Games Emulator for Nintendo Wii

[wraggster]

Nuvalo (http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=111475&page=2) has released an update to his port of MAME to the Nintendo Wii, (http://wii-news.dcemu.co.uk/sdlmame-0-125-on-wii-mame-arcade-games-emulator-for-nintendo-wii-111475.html) heres the details:


I uploaded a new version, that solves pronblems like resets on small roms (bigger ones still might reset the console, but that is another problem) or the savestate.

Download Here (http://wii-news.dcemu.co.uk/release-wii-sdlmame-full.tar.bz2)and Give Feedback Via Comments

[misticknight]

any improvements in load times at all?

[theotherfreakyguy]

I'm gonna test SegaSonic! Yay!

Even though this is an early release, it's worth a shot ;)

[PeyeRate420]

marvel vs capcom and marvel vs street fighter took 34 min to load each cuaused the reset :P but the small game support improoved a gr8 deal thanks for the update look foward to cps2 emulation on my wii! woooooot

[MickeyBlue]

Is there a list of compatible games?

[PeyeRate420]

http://rbelmont.mameworld.info/?page_id=163

well for mame in genral yeah but a wii one specificly that may be too early to have but who knows maybe? anyway check that link out it has alot of info on the version of mame our wii uses ;)

[geise69]

I don't understand why this is built around a so recent version of mame? It would be smarter to base it off of an earlier version first, and add game drivers as you go. Kind of like what Franxis is doing with the GP2X version of MAME4ALL. It's very nice that this is being worked on and released. I really do appreciate it, but maybe using a less bloated version of MAME will be the better way to go.

[Starscream]

The reason for this is probably that Nuvalo relies on SDL and Linux and there isn't (I'm guessing) not that much of a choice version-wise when working with that.
However, he already said he is going to look into the possibility of releasing packages which only contain single/small number of drivers, he already said that he will release one focusing on CPS stuff.

[c4105]

This is awesome. I only care about small/classic ROMs.
Works great. Kudous to the authors, thank you.

[Sir_Voe]

This is awesome. I only care about small/classic ROMs.
Works great. Kudous to the authors, thank you.

Would you mind sharing your SD card size and brand? I've never been able to run anything on this, so I'm curious what's different that you're doing. Should I try removing the readme's from the rom zip files?

[c4105]

@Sir_Voe

Edit : Glad you've got it working now :)

[Sir_Voe]

A solution has been found for those stuck at "initializing..". You just need to disable WiiConect24 (as indicated by a post from Nuvalo that I misunderstood *smacks forehead*). It now works for me, and I'm enjoying this emu very much. Thanks Nuvalo, sorry for wasting topic space with that oversight.:o

[Starscream]

I suggest to make up for it by posting your findings and experiences with regards to compatibility and speed, Sir_Voe ;)

[Sir_Voe]

Well, from what I've tested...

Double Dragon (somwhat slow, with apparent frame-skip)
Double Dragon II (very slow)
The Simpsons (perfect speed)
Super Contra (near perfect speed)
Shadow Dancer (nice speed with apparent frame-skip)
Shadow Warrior/Ninja Gaiden (near perfect speed)
Ninja Spirit (perfect speed)
R-Type Leo (nice speed with apparent frame-skip)
In the hunt (near perfect speed)
Strider (near perfect speed)
Black Tiger (perfect speed)

[goshogun1]

Turning off wii-connect 24 fixed everything. MAME on Wii! I own a modded xbox, but lately I have been using wii for all my homebrew. Anyway, some observations.
Legendary wings (works fine)
Gunsmoke (works fine)
Street Fighter 1 (works fine)
r type 1 or 2 (fine)
Tiger Road (fine)
Rastan (fine)
Shinobi (fine)
Haunted Castle (minor sound errors, fine)
Load times for these games is minimal. But, I did run into a bug that messed up the color pallettes for the games. I swapped out the MAME folder for a new one, and it fixed it. Anyway, amazing stuff!

[Starscream]

I wonder if the Double Dragon driver (I and II use the same) is either pretty slow, or there's something slowing it down as a result of the porting.
It's great that that Irem stuff seems to work pretty fine, games like Gunforce or Dragon Breed should run good as well. And don't forget "Ninja Baseball Batman". ;)

[vicious1988]

Does anyone know if this works w/ Breakthru? It starts loading on mine and just freezes (Waited 7 min, its roughly a 500k rom when zipped).

I'm assuming that all files other than boot.elf go in the root when using Hell Hibou's bootloader, right?

[mikebeaver]

Is there a faq or anything on getting this running?
I keep getting stuck at either not finding mamefs-fs or "sorry, I need a working root file system image" help!!

:)

Mike..

[Baboon]

Is there a faq or anything on getting this running?
I keep getting stuck at either not finding mamefs-fs or "sorry, I need a working root file system image" help!!

:)

Mike..


Yep I'm also getting the error ' mamefs-fs'. I've got snes, genesis etc working but for some reson mame isnt playing ball on the wii?

edit: I placed the file mamefs-fs on the root on the mem stick and the emu now boots (well it only boots if I have no nunchucka or classic controller connected or else it gets stuck initialising?)... the emu boots and displays the roms but i dont seem to be able to select any options to be able to start a game??

...will keep trying cause im such a wii homebrew noob! lol

[samoflak]

I will be testing sfa3, killer instinct 2 and metal slug


will post results



results:


alpha 3 = fail restart

[PMK:Won]

I tried SFA2 and Killer Instinct 1. But I get this message when I load it.
Something about this is missing ROM or CHD Images . Any idea what this means, and how to fix it.

Update. It's hard to find Chd files for most games.
Killer instinct loaded but waas going in slow motion. really slow!

Stree Fighter 2tru Turbo all work!
Mortal Kombat works put background graphics are distorted.

Just please can we get some Wiimote aka Classic Controller support. Or maybe some Gamecube Hori Support. You can't play Fighters with a 3d stick.

[scorched03]

can't get the emulator to run properly.

used the twilight hack with files all loaded on sd card. i get to loading, then initializing, then it freezes when the game list pops up i.e. the wiimote is disabled or something and while the games like simpsons and all that are on a list, i can't actually choose anything since all buttons are not working

i do have wiiconnect24 turned off and i tried it originally with a wiimote. do i need to use a gamecube controller?

viewing the youtube videos, i thought the guy used a wiimote to get it to play pacman or something, but just wondering how you guys did it.

[PMK:Won]

I just copy and paste my post from another site. I help some guys over there too.
Just by pass any of this that you don't need.

Here is the link to the to the Mame for Wii used. I'n not sure if they are the same.
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=112648


Here I'll tell you what I did. I also helped my Friend out and his worked.
release-wii-sdlmame-full.tar unzip that and inside is a nother zip file
release-wii-sdlmame-full now unzip that and you will have a folder called
release-wii-sdlmame-full.

Which has another folder inside which has 2 more folders
Docs, sdlmame, and 2 text files.
Inside the sdlame folder is a folder called mame, the boot.elf and mamefs-fs file.
OK move to mame folder and add it the root dictory of your sd called.
the file mamefs-fs move that to the root also. Create a folder called mameroms and place it the root folder as well. Place all your roms in there do not extract them. Keep them zipped.
Now create a mame folder in the app folders on your SD card. add the Boot.elf file.
Turn the Wii24 off and your good to go.

I"m using a Wavebird so it's on when I goto the Mame option on my Homebrew Channel.

Tested List
TMNT, Simpson, X-Men Runs prefect for me
Street Fighter 2, CE, and Turbo works fine as well.
Street Fighter Alpha runs but with slowdown and freezes up sometimes.
Street Fighter 3 third Impact takes 45 minutes to load. THen get's stuck in the initializing stage before Wii resets
Killer Instinct loads and then goes into Really slow motion.. Couldn't get pass the intro.
Killer Instinct 2 Loads and then get's stuck into ablie screen?
Mortal Kombat works but had background glitches.
Mortal Kombat 2 graphics were great. Lag with Sound errors. Still playable
Mortal Kombat 3 sound and background glitches. Still playable.

Super Street Fighter 2 works well once you get pass the beginning animation.
SSF2Turbo freezes up at beginning. Once you get into a fight it's playable

[scorched03]

cool. thanks for the instructions PMK:Won.

this is how i got it to work.
1. turn off wiiconnect 24 in wii settings and plug gamecube controllers into the wii. turn off wii and goto pc with sd card.
2. download the mame emulator file
3. in folder release-wii-sdlmame-full\sdlmame is all the contents to copy to sd card
4. copy all of those to the root directory of sd card (it should be a folder called mame, a boot and an mame-fs-fs file.)
5. in root directory, create a folder called "mameroms" and put UNzipped mame roms in there
6. plug it in to sd slot on wii, run twilight hack to load
7. wait awhile and u should come up with a place to load games
8. now switch to the gamecube controller and choose the game, i could not get the wiimote to work with this emulator

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KmZIa15DJSs&feature=related here's the video of it loading after the twilight hack. enjoy. oh yeah, read how the buttons map on the gamecube controller, its kinda confusing

[lennytv]

I dont know if im doing something wrong but everytime i try and load the mame app from my homebrew channel (yes wii connect 24 is off) it brings up a bunch of scrambled letters than my screen blanks out to the default color (blue-my wii is still on). Every other app works and runs fine but linux and this one does not work. THey do the same thing. Scrambled letters and blanks out. Anyone else have this problem?

[lever]

it has problem using components video cables. you can try in a/v cables.

[joshwaan2k]

Hi Guys

Great stuff on getting emu to run on Wii.

With Mortal kombat 2 wonder if the Wii version will run better then the xbox version?

I play it all time on PC, love to play it full speed on my wii :)

Would it be possible to optimise the game for the wii?

[badako]

I need help, please ! :(
I tried DBZ VRVS and SegaSonic and they both show a warning screen "This game is to be used only in Japan" then after, like, 30 seconds, the console reboots.
I'm playing with a PAL Wii if it helps.

Does someone know the solution to that ? I would really like to play these games, especially now that I've lost two hours and a half of my afternoon trying to make work a rom that turned out to be corrupted... :(

[11azrael]

Hello
Do you know where i must put the files in Homebrew channel to run sdlmame inside from it.
I get the message i can't finde mame.fs

[11azrael]

Sorry for the post before it is above me i harry
New question the sdlmame supports wiimote ?
And how i can work with it?

[candiman11219]

u must put the mamefs file on the root of the card.

[lennytv]

thanks for the help. I feel really retarded for that. The AV cables worked. I was using component. Now on a serious note. How do you get more than one controller working with mame? I cant get nothing but joypad one to work.

[HowardC]

I wonder if the Double Dragon driver (I and II use the same) is either pretty slow, or there's something slowing it down as a result of the porting.


I hope this is a joke... saw this posted two or three times in this thread and had to respond. Double Dragon's original arcade hardware couldn't handle the game and thus whenever a bunch of enemies would appear on the screen the game would slow to a crawl. This is how the original game played, mame tries to emulate the games as accurately as possible, and thus they are SUPPOSED to be that way.

This is in the mame faq people. If you don't know where or what the mame faq is, I suggest you either go read it, or quit using mame.

[that1guywiththeface]

Would it be possible to use the wiimote to play the light gun games like Jurassic Park and House of the Dead? BTW, I just got The Simpsons working, and I love it. Other than TMNT, what are some other good side-scroller beat-em-ups that don't require 20 minutes to load?

[PMK:Won]

Has anyone tried to play a 4 player game using this. I set a 4 player game of TMNT Arcade. When I got to the 4th Player setup. The Mame did not register the 4th Wavebird at all. Like it wasn't even there. 1-3 no problem, but controller 4 was unexist.

[Viro]

Ive been having a problem with mine. I get the option to select which game I want.

But when I select the game I get the EEPROM screen and it loads up the game list and then the system reboots. Im surious as to what I may have done wrong.

[11azrael]

Why the SDLMAME team not make a Build With The new wii linux.
So that Add, DVD, Wiimote, Usb and Other Goodies
;)

[bnaley]

Anyone know when the new update will come out? I would like to be able to play MAME with component cables and a wii mote. I believe that is why it isn't working for me.

[kevenz]

I play it with component cable and it works fine.

I tried ga2 (Golden Axe Revenge of Death Adder).

It loads but the graphic are messed up and the game is really slow, its still playable but I hope the next update with help.

[Rahabib]

Has anyone tried to play a 4 player game using this. I set a 4 player game of TMNT Arcade. When I got to the 4th Player setup. The Mame did not register the 4th Wavebird at all. Like it wasn't even there. 1-3 no problem, but controller 4 was unexist.

I came across the same issue. It just doesnt like the 4th port at all, it doesnt matter what type of controller you put there. I tried manually editing the default.cfg file but everytime you load sdlmame it overwrites the entries with incorrect button configs. ie "button_6" becomes 'button_6_switch" etc.

Also, I cant edit other controllers in the menu. I had to go and manually edit them in notepad to get port 2-3 to work.

Next, at least for me, I cant bring up the menu in any game without crashing the game (locked up) The menu works, sluggishly, but the game comes to a halt and locks up.

Finally, I couldnt get anything to load, just reboots when I used the link on the wiibrew wiki. I came to this forum and found a link to sdlmame that finally worked so make sure you use the link on this thread and not the one on the wiki.

Most of the things I can work around, using composite for TMNT because of pallate issues is a pain but its something that at least has a work around. However, the 4th port not working is the only major let down without a workaround. Looking forward to the next release.

[kevenz]

what I want is CC support...... I just hate to play with wired connection anymore :P

[madmak55]

I've turned off WiiConnect24


But still the Roms that load (small) ...usually just reach the first title screen --> then freeze --> then goes back to black screen, your system will now reboot.

I tried this with Shinobi, Shadow Dancer, Robocop, and bad dudes vs Ninja

I have a gamecube controller plugged in.

Any suggestions as to how to get past the first screen freeze / Reset problem?

Wiiconnect24 is definately switched off.

Tried with Both Component (RGB) cables and Composite (Video/Scart) cable - same problem using both.

I launch using Homebrew Channel

Suggestion welcome

[sean.aaron]

I launch using Homebrew Channel

Suggestion welcome

I think that's your problem. I don't believe this application is Hombrew Channel - compatible.

Try launching with Twilight Hack. That, the lack of component video support and requirement to turn off WiiConnect24 are what keeps me from trying this...I've got Gamecube controllers, so that's not a big deal, but support for the Classic Controller and USB keyboard (essential for Japanese Mahjong games) would make it a damn sight more appealing.

I'm sure someone will sort it someday; in the meantime I'll have to make do with some of the so-so ports on the Gamecube: Namco Museum 50th Anniversary and the much better ports on the Gamecube Midway Arcade Treasures collections (though Wizard of Wor, is shockingly bad). At least I can play Defender and Robotron!

[Baboon]

I've turned off WiiConnect24


I tried this with Shinobi, Shadow Dancer, Robocop, and bad dudes vs Ninja


Well I got all of those games working fine. I found that the emu tended to die when using a wavebird controller - maybe thats your porblem? I made sure wii connect24 was off and used wired controllers and that sorted me out.

...and this works fine with the homewbrew channel. Id say you probably got just duff roms for this version of mame?

The author of this port has already said that he will eventualy update this emu - hes just a busy bee doing other projects first... be patient and all the problems will get sorted. :)

[sean.aaron]

...and this works fine with the homewbrew channel. Id say you probably got just duff roms for this version of mame?

Yeah. good point there. Probably best to try out your ROMs on the PC version to make sure they're up-to-date.

With regard to Homebrew Channel, I'm pretty sure I remember seeing a post from the author saying it didn't work with it; so if it does, that's great news. Hopefully video can be sorted next; I'm not planning on swapping video cables for one application...

[kevenz]

Two things I can confirm:

1. this emulator works with homebrew channel

2. this emulator support component cable.

I'm using both at the moment and the games play just fine.

[sean.aaron]

Two things I can confirm:

1. this emulator works with homebrew channel

2. this emulator support component cable.

I'm using both at the moment and the games play just fine.

Wow, I was convinced by other posts that component didn't work. I'll have to give this a try now!

Hang on kevenz -- didn't you say the video was messed up with component, or did that only apply to ga2?

[kevenz]

yes golden axe 2 is messed up but that's not because of the component cable, it's more like a compatibility problem.

here's some games that work perfectly with this emulator for me.

1.Simpsons arcade
2.Turtles arcade
3.Battletoads
4.King of Dragons
5.Asterix
6.X-men
7.Three Wonders
8.Magic Sword
9.Ghouls 'n Ghosts
10.Ghosts 'n Goblins

[sean.aaron]

yes golden axe 2 is messed up but that's not because of the component cable, it's more like a compatibility problem.

Cool. From reading the initial release notes it looks like anything under a few MB shouldn't be more than a couple of minutes to load.

Can anyone confirm if unzipping the ROMs reduced loading time? I would expect that this would be adding to overhead since it's extracting off the SD, but I don't want to have to buy a new card just to accomodate unzipped files if it's not going to give any discernable benefit.

Added:

I'd also say that in addition to CC support we need to have support for USB keyboards for stuff like the Majong games and USB Mouse/Trackball support for dial/paddle games -- of course the ability to use the wiimote by twisting along the horizontal axis would be nice, but I think support for USB mice/trackballs would be a lot easier. I've got a nice Kensington wireless 4-button trackball all ready for it that I use on my Mac for the odd game of Jedi Academy (and MAME OS X, natch).

[sean.aaron]

What's the name of the samples directory for this build? According to the general mame docs included the default appears to be "samples." Confirmation would be super. If anyone can confirm that there's any noticeable improvement in load times from having my ROMs unzipped that would also be appreciated.

Once I get testing with this I'll report back what I can get going on a usable level with my component link. I've got a couple hundred ROMs, mostly 70s-90s.

[kevenz]

keep in mind you can only see 15 roms at once.... so humm....

i don't think you can load roms unzipped ... maybe you can compress them with the "none" compression level, it MIGHT be faster...... maybe not :P

[sean.aaron]

What you mean you don't get a scrollable list? So I can only put 15 roms in the mameroms folder, period and just change them out periodically? That's kind of a downer...

I think a proper gui needs to be high on the list so we can scroll through our collections and audit them for missing files.

[kevenz]

faster loading would be my priority in my opinion.

but yes, a better gui would be awesome :)

and classic controller support.

[sean.aaron]

I've had a look at the mame.ini file to determine paths/directory names for things like artwork and samples and I've looked at the settings and I'm wondering if there's any special reason that autosave isn't enabled? Is it broken? Standard default on most builds is to have it switched on, isn't it (it is for MAME OS X, anyway)?

[nws4u]

Anyone know when the next update for SDL Mame will be released or if the project is still being worked on? There are a ton of games I would like to play that currently don't work on it.

[sean.aaron]

There's two threads for this for some reason; someone mentioned in the other one that the dev intends further updates but has been busy with other stuff.

[madmak55]

Any update on this.... is the dev still working on it

[span]

Working Perfect/Near Perfect: (Quick Loading 1-3mins)
======================================

Dynamite Dux
Snow Bros
Snow Bros 2
Snow Bros 3
DJ Boy
WWF WrestleFest
Toki
Power Instinct
Captain Commando
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Ninja Gaiden
Asterix
Bucky 'O' Hare
Hook
Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition [Rainbow set 1](Intro slows slightly)
The Simpsons
TMNT
TMNT 2 Turtles in Time
Final Fight
Battletoads
Three Wonders
Magic Sword
Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Ghosts 'n Goblins
1941
1942
Captain America & the Avengers
Double Dragon
Mortal Kombat
Golden Axe
Altered Beast
Gang Wars
Silent Dragon
Dragon Master (Intro skips/Ingame fine)
Knuckle Heads
Knuckle Bash (No Background Music same as PC MAME)
Mega Man - The Power Battles [CPS1] (Char Fight Intro's skip/Ingame fine)
Violent Storm (Slight slowdown on rare occasions)
Big Karnak
Bionic Commando
Black Tiger
Bubble Bobble
Bomb Jack
Express Raider
Rainbow Islands
Reikai Doushi
Street Smart
Wild West C.O.W
The Combatribes
PuLiRuLa
Solitary Fighter
Sunset Riders
Ninja Clowns
Mug Smashers
Splatter House
The Punisher
Riot City


Working Perfect/Near Perfect: (Slow Loading 5-30mins)
=======================================

Street Fighter Alpha
Street Fighter


Non-Working: (Including Fault Description)
==============================

Vendetta - Carnt get past rom check?
64th Street Detective - Resets Wii
Martial Masters - Resets Wii ( Not enough Memory )
Darkstalkers - Resets Wii
Kaiser Knuckle - Resets Wii ( Not enough Memory )
Rabbit - Resets Wii ( Not enough Memory )


I'l check more roms soon.

Kind Regards, SPAN...

[ioniczero]

Hey guys,

Sorry to sound so n00bish, but I have a question. Has anyone had any problems with the controls on Mame for the Wii? I have it all loaded up and everything and finally gotten past the 'initializing' screen by disabling Connect24, so now I have the roms list. The problem is I cannot control anything on this screen whether it be by wii remote, classic, or game cube controller. If someone could get back to me on this, it'd be great. I'd appreciate the help, for sure. Thanks! :)

[dirtfoot]

I got mine to load through the Homebrew Channel and it ran initially, but the wii remote and classic controller were not supported. I tried running it from the Homebrew Channel again and it just keeps rebooting my console.

[sean.aaron]

Hopefully we'll see an update from the dev soon; a non-linux dependent variant would be preferred.

[shabu]

This works fine on the wii except for one problem for me - I'm running a 46" LCD and when played in any resolution (4:3 etc) the screen image is displayed too low so that the bottom of the display is off-screen. I rotated the screen using the mame video menu settings and it displays fine... if I want to play side on. Makes sense that it'd render like this thinking about how the crt's were originally positioned in gaming cabs back in the day... but physically rotating a 46" LCD panel is not an option for me.

Is there some config file I can modify to make the screen initially render further up the panel's screen so I get the full game onscreen ? There's plenty of room for it to fully display just wondering where that config setting is. Gathering it's in MAME somewhere.

Oh, and the games I'm playing are the old school games from my youth :

Scramble
Galaxians
Galaga
Space Wars.

Space Wars renders fine as it displays on the full panel. Could be the fact it's a vector game. No sound though - unfortunately.

Will check other roms out now.

Load time's not an issue with these old arcade classics.

Thanks... it's a hoot playing this on my panel via the Wii. Can only get better from here as well.

[sean.aaron]

Hopefully we'll get someone to take over this project; better yet work up a new one that doesn't use Wii Linux.

@shabu: that seems related to vertical monitor games and nothing to do with vector graphics displays as I ran Tempest and it has the same issue. That needs sorting and glitches apparently resulting from component video issues needs sorting (sprites like to disappear in Air Buster from time to time as if the refresh isn't compatible with the 480p?).

I was hoping to use a Classic Controller via a Classic Linker, but nope, only a proper Gamecube controller works which means I need to hang on to my Japanese white Gamecube controller just for MAME!

Only displaying a randomly chosen 15 games at a time (and not filtering bios ROMs) is really really lame.

Still, props to jodecideion for his excellent YouTube video and better still a download of his install which finally got this working for me!

Why in hell the dev didn't include the nvram and diff directories which are rather critical to getting this running is completely beyond me as is the fact that NO distribution seems to include them!

[mallrat425]

I agree with you Sean... Linux based emus are not ideal!

It's Chatham from NL BTW.