The Best Versions of MAME and Sets To Use | Warped Polygons Recommendations

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[@PeteMcDonald]

Love your videos and dedication to the scene, thanks so much for what you're doing! :)

[@RichiePearce]

Your videos are great and really useful. Many thanks for what you do 👍

[@BiRaitBec]

I personally use non merged and official mame, then use launchbox importer to trim it to only arcade and even more filtered to my liking. And since all non merged files work on their own I have no fear of breaking them. This way you can get from 130gb full set to 10gb, pretty impressive.

[@warpedpolygon]

The downside to that, for me, is the preferred clone versions are missed in the import process. The more i use mame the more clones i want to use over the parents. When my project is finished none of this will be an issue, cant wait.

[@AdmiralBison]

@@warpedpolygon what set do you recommend for someone who wants only the latest versions of an arcade game? Example, I use Retroarch and all the Mame cores, but I go through my list of street fighter games and add the latest versions/revision of each game in the series to my favorites. Eg. Street Fighter version .2 Street Fighter 2 version .345 Street Fighter 3 version .4573 And so on. Non-merged looks to be it, but a bit of a hassle having to pick only all of the thousand latest versions of a game.

[@macdox69]

@@warpedpolygon I'm not 100% sure but I believe there were improvements to the LB MAME import process so if you changed to clone roms, on subsequent MAME imports your changes remained. I haven't imported MAME in ages since I have a really hand curated list, but I remember having this discussion on the LB forums in regards to using a 2 player character selectable TMNT rom over the standard 4 player cabinet set.

[@warpedpolygon]

@@macdox69 yes it has been updated. So only the parents are imported with lb and the option to change the version. The tmnt player selection thing with 2 and 4 player cabs is just the tip of the iceberg. There are soooo many reasons to use a clone instead, id say about 20% of games have a preferred clone version. The Simpsons, captain commando, alien storm, quartet and many more do the same thing as tmnt. Also when culling games, you can get rid of more that you dont need with split, all the clones are on their own meaning they areny retained in another zip like merged when you use lb to cull everything down.

[@macdox69]

@@warpedpolygon Yes I know how it works.🙂I wasn't evaluating which method was best. I use a hand curated non-merged self with many variants/clones. My point was just that IF you use the importer in LB and change to a clone, on next MAME import, it should recognize the change and not go back to the parent. Like I said, I don't use that method, but my recollection was that changes were made to respect those changes. 😊

[@MrEd20901]

Nice video. One additional benefit for non-merged, it ALSO includes any bios file a game may need. For the merged/split sets, you will need to obtain the bios if one is needed. Non-merged has everything (except any required CHD) you need to run a normal rom. Definitely preferred option for curated arcade builds, even if using a front end. I would only recommend split/merged if you want a full set of MAME and aren't doing a smaller build.

[@warpedpolygon]

Good tip! I still think split is king for a curated, culled set.

[@troymcdonald]

Another gem video. Glad I’m subscribed. (I do use non-merged, but may consider split now…) BigBox front end.

[@SnordCranston23]

Thank you for the best explanation of merged / split / non-merged that I have seen. I am completely comfortable with them now.

[@warpedpolygon]

Great to hear!

[@GeordiLaForgery]

Thanks I've always found mame confusing this was helpful.

[@raymonddai]

Good explanation, would love to see a video of culling the set on launchbox down to just arcade games .

[@warpedpolygon]

Coming soon!

[@Kefka2b]

@@warpedpolygon great! I've imported a non-merged set through LB in 0.247 but it feels like I probably will do it again now with a split set once your tutorial is out :D

[@ricochetpig]

Thank you for this 👍

[@ScotsmanGamer]

The problem is having to download the huge size of split to use your frontend like launchbox which is very time consuming to import everything and then have to try weed out what you don't need or use arcade 64 to determine what roms to use then selecct them only

[@warpedpolygon]

Yeah that is the issue with mame as a whole. Hence why I started the pre config project

[@corydesmond7038]

Awesome video!! I'm using latest MAME4droid 2024 which uses 0.262 as the main set. Should I use non-merged, merged, or split? (Intend to keep only the ones I want) Thanks in advance

[@warpedpolygon]

I need to make a video retracting my statement of split being best. Non-merged all the way especially if you only intend on keeping the few you want

[@Kefka2b]

Still a MAME noob so probably a stupid question, but do your MAME pre-configurations shown in other videos also work with MAMEUI and Arcade64, or only with standard MAME?

[@warpedpolygon]

Should work with all of them

[@johndoe-yw7eb]

Thanks, I wasn't aware of Arcade64 til now, and it looks like a great solution to MAME bloat. Any chance of getting a tutorial on the optimal display settings, shader options, etc?

[@warpedpolygon]

Yeah I'll be tackling that at some point. The way i do those tuts is to just show you what a visual functon does and show how it looks so you can make a decision yourself. I do make suggestions but visuals are personal preference. I hate shaders myself lol but will still cover them

[@LodanZark]

It's missing the "full" variants like "full non-merged": non-merged = all roms needed to boot the title full non-merged = all roms needed to boot the title + needed bios files (truly standalone) usually, the "full" variants are often used in Non-Merged and Merged, as wouldn't make any sense to add bios into split clones.

[@KhalidTahhan]

Can arcade64 be used to trim a full mame set to only the arcade ones (working and none working arcade games) and separate clones?

[@warpedpolygon]

I wish. Once the MAME project is done you'll be able to use my xml to do this in LaunchBox. Everything in Arcade64 will be covered with all the guff stripped out.

[@nickhutchings4771]

Thanks for your great videos. I've added Arcade64 to Launchbox as an emulator and seems to work great, games load very quickly. Is there any special running scripts I should be using in Launchbox for Arcade 64? Many thanks again

[@warpedpolygon]

Nothing special needed mate

[@kellexone5814]

Do you plan on the future to tackle retroarch config files for the Sinden light gun for libretro mame?

[@warpedpolygon]

Maybe, libretro is a little inconsistent with raw input and light guns. I have been wrestling with the idea that standalone emulators are actually best for light guns.

[@warpedpolygon]

Also compatability with the mame core isn't as good as standalone

[@arlokkkk]

Thanks the video. I got the arcade64 but which rom set should I get for it?

[@warpedpolygon]

NON MERGED. I'M FULL OF CRAP SAYING SPLIT IS BEST. I need to retract this video really!

[@arlokkkk]

@@warpedpolygon thanks! Im looking forward for the video. Thanks for making these

[@warpedpolygon]

@@arlokkkk it'll just be me deleting the video lol. I'll replace them with a more in depth look at arcade64

[@GlenBaisley]

I was looking for a link to the video with your preconfigure MAME but don't see it. Can you post the link?

[@warpedpolygon]

I haven't made that video just yet, but I will for sure. After configuring it for a year solid I needed a break form MAME.

[@ArthurCallahan389]

I’m confused about super model 3 on batocera 38. It says you need MAME ROMset 0.258. Would that be the set you show in this video? Does that have all the games people want Model 3 to play like Star Wars Trilogy Arcade & Daytona 2?

[@warpedpolygon]

Batocera use my configs but not sure if they keep them up to date in line with my updates. With Supermodel you can use as old as 0.236 but 0.263 or newer is best. Have you seen this pre config? kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqWxfmuhl9V4fM0

[@ArthurCallahan389]

@@warpedpolygon I’ve actually got that video saved. So I can do what you’ve shown us in your videos and should be good regardless of what OS Model 3 is on? That makes this so much easier. Thank you.

[@warpedpolygon]

@@ArthurCallahan389 yeah. Non merged tho. I need to delete this video really as it's no longer how I feel lol. Non merged allll the way.

[@ArthurCallahan389]

@@warpedpolygon Non merged is the one thing that every different person with different info all agreed on. Thanks again

[@arielfrancodelaserna3404]

I used to use Arcade64. But a common game as the ninja turtles was not being displayed

[@Sparagas]

I have one problem: MAME can also emulate some conventional consoles. But I can't understand how to do it. As an example, how to run PS1 games on it? (I know there is a DuckStation, but this is just an example)

[@warpedpolygon]

Console setup is quite different. You really don't want to use mame for that unless you have a specific reason to, however some stuff like CDi works best with MAME.

[@Sparagas]

@@warpedpolygon Thank you. Could you do a video for it? I would like to play obscure not emulated consoles by other emulators

[@GeordiLaForgery]

Is it easy to configure a gamepad to work with arcade64?

[@warpedpolygon]

It's done in the same way as normal mame. However, I'm doing a project where all controls have already been setup

[@warpedpolygon]

Here ya go kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJDXiKSOj7moY9ksi=vyO8mxoHQrM04RuG

[@GeordiLaForgery]

​@@warpedpolygon thanks I'm having fun with Arcade64 0.258.0. Only problem I've had is with Street fighter ex plus alpha, it's in the 'unavailable' folder even though I've seen vids of normal mame playing it.

[@warpedpolygon]

​@GeordiLaForgery games will only appear in the unavailable folder if Arcade64 thinks the rom is not there. The unavailable folder is simply a way to track what is missing in ya roms folder, it's not emulation status. Just try running it and if it don't work it just means you are missing the rom.

[@GeordiLaForgery]

​@@warpedpolygon yes I had the rom but was missing the bios files, thanks it's working well now 😉

[@peter0071000]

Non merged you still will need certain bios files though...

[@marqueemoon3220]

Hii a question, why are there so many non working roms in a non merged set?

[@warpedpolygon]

Preservation is first, then emulation. Games get dumped then need work to get working. They'll be games in the mame set that may never be emulated

[@marqueemoon3220]

@@warpedpolygonOh... I see thats really good, and I would love to be a part of it, sadly I dont have more space left... Is there a way to clean it? Or maybe use other emu? srry if my english is bso broken

[@warpedpolygon]

@@marqueemoon3220 yeah man, i have a project on launchbox for that. Essentially a list of all the working stuff so you know what's what.

[@marqueemoon3220]

@@warpedpolygonis the mame project? yeah! Im using it it really savee me from mapping every controll to each game. What I dont get is how can I delete the extra non working games

[@warpedpolygon]

@@marqueemoon3220 yeah. You have LaunchBox and the xml i made?

[@user-tj9cl2wb5f]

Washer machine 😂😂😂

[@mrams1]

A game for a washing machine 🤣🤣

[@warpedpolygon]

There is soo much random stuff in MAME. That is another reason to keep a full set I suppose, exploring the random stuff is actually pretty fun.

[@DJ.B_74]

No love for hbmame?!?!😢

[@warpedpolygon]

Yes for sure, some excellent versions of arcade games with quality of life improvements in hbmame. Due to it being for home brew and hacks i didn't include it in this video. This vid is more for 'standard' versions of mame. I actually intend to do my next arcade project with hbmame, identifying all the qol hacks