A VS.Net based Windows front-end for MAME
(Build 0.66.7 dated 02/15/03)
Written in VB.Net

Jump straight to the Requirements Section
(Microsoft .NET runtime is required!)

Jump straight to the Download Section

Jump straight to the Know Issues Section

( see image full size )

( see image full size )

MAMErunner Features:

• Works with Windows MAME 0.60 and later (tested with 0.60, 0.61, 0.62 and 0.65)
• Displays Game Snap, Title, Marquee, Flyer, Cabinet and Startup screens
• Overlays the Snap and Marquee screen onto a virtual cabinet
• Virtual cabinet picture can be replaced with a picture of your cabinet
• Maintains aspect ratios of pictures as they are displayed
• Can display game detail info
• Build in screen saver (rotates through Snaps)
• Screen saver can play audio (MP3s, WMAs etc.) in the background
• Extensive menu navigation features
• By default uses joysticks to navigate game menu
  • Move up or down a game
  • Move up or down a page of games
  • Move up or down alphabetically
  • Jump to the beginning or the end of the list
  • Simulates key repeat on joysticks to allow easy movement through the menu
  • You can map the keycodes to you specific needs (Uses MAME default)
• Highly configurable
• You can map the MAMErunner features to your controls
• Can use MAME or user definable key codes
• Games can be easily categorized
• Import categories form MAMEINFO.DAT or from MRCAT.TXT (custom MAMErunner category list)
• Can filter games listed by controls
• Show only games that can actually be played with your controls
• Can filer games by the number of buttons on your cabinet
• Supports favorites lists for up to 10 unique users
• Can filter showing only Master or Clone (or both) games
• Can filter to validate the ROM image actually exists
• Can configure the base text and background colors
• Data store is XML

Feature Screenshots:

About Screen
Categories Configuration Screen
Controls Configuration Screen
Favorites Configuration Screen
Key Codes Configuration Screen
Path Configuration Screen
ROMs Configuration Screen
Screen Configuration Screen
Screen Saver Configuration Screen
Set Categories / Run Time Options / Favorites Configuration Screen
Control to Function mapping in MENU Mode
Control to Function mapping in Screen Saver Mode
Foreign Executable (NON MAME) Add Screen
Virtual Cab Setup Screen

Requirements:

• Windows version of MAME (0.60 or later)
• Microsoft Dot Net Frameworks 1.0 must be installed
Download DotNetFX.EXE from Microsoft
(You will download DOTNETREDIST.EXE - Running this will then extract DOTNETFX.EXE which is the Dot Net Frameworks installer)
• Requires a decent class machine (the faster the better, the code has not been optimized!)
• Lots of memory - we are running under Windows after all.
• 2 joysticks with 4 buttons per player are needed to access all features, the core system however will work with one joystick that has 2 buttons.

Know Issues / Bugs / Workarounds

MAMErunner has only been tested against the 0.60 through 0.65 builds of MAMEPP.EXE - older versions of MAME may not work.
MAMErunner will not work with DOS MAME, AdvanceMAME, MAME32 etc.

Issue: After installing 0.66.6 or 0.66.7 my function mappings are wrong
This is a know issue. Simply reestablish your mapping using the configuration screens.

Issue: MAMErunner 0.66.2 crashes during the initial configuration'
This was fixed in the 0.66.5 build. Please download the latest version.

Issue: MAMErunner fails to even start - I get an error like 'exception could not be handled - process id=0x??? (????), thread id=0x???(???)' or like 'The registered JIT debugger is not installed"

MAMErunner currently only works with the 1.0 release of the Dot Net Framework. If you have installed only the Beta 1.1 build MAMErunner will not work.

Download the 1.0 version from the link in the Requirements section.
Uninstall MAMErunner using 'Control Panel - Add / Remove Programs'
Uninstall the 1.1 Dot Net Framework using 'Control Panel - Add / Remove Programs'
Install the 1.0 Dot Net Framework.
Reinstall MAMErunner.
You can reinstall the 1.1 Beta if you want too. It will not affect MAMErunner.

Issue: I want to completely uninstall MAMErunner
Issue: I want to reinstall MAMErunner from scratch

Using 'Control Panel' --> 'Add/Remove Programs' uninstall MAMErunner
Manually delete the directory where MAMErunner was originally installed as some files are left over here after the uninstall.
Manually delete the registry key 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\MameRunner' (use regedit.exe)

Rerun the MAMErunner setup to install.

Issue: MAMErunner crashes - What can I do?

Advanced debugging:
If you have the VB.Net development tools and want to try to debug the issue contact me, I'm more then willing to share the source.

Download MAMErunner beta test build:

This is a BETA test version, it is buggy and not optimized. You will need to install the Microsoft .NET Frameworks before you can install MAMErunner (click here for a link).

No documentation is being provided as it's not been written yet - see below for some hints on getting started.

MR_0.66.7.ZIP (6,983,661 bytes) - Unzip the file and run setup.exe to install

Release Notes:

0.66.7 - 02/15/03

• Bug Fixes
• Fixed start up screen so marquee and game text refresh again
• Added counters to count total times a game has been ran and the total times a favorite has ran it (user feature request)
• Added config controls to set FavThreshold and FavDefaultUser (used to add a game automatically to a favorite user when a defined run times threshold is reached)
• Added virtual function to reset Favorite user to the full game mode (user feature request)
• Fixed code to deal with MAME install moving or being renamed
• Added 'Why are control disabled on the 'MM Mode' and 'SS Mode' config screens
• Added code to deal with the main form being resized when some MAME games exit?
• Only look for stdoutput if frmMRConfig.RunStats.Checked is checked
• Added code to capture stderror and if there is text to optionally mark the game as 'Not Working'
• Screen Saver now installs it's own set of keyboard handlers
• Reworked text describing the GAME to fit better in a 1024x768 display size
• Fixed right click bug causing the wrong game to info to be displayed

0.66.6 - 11/24/02

• Added separate ForeGround/BackGround color settings between the Main Form and the Screen Saver (user feature request)
• Added support for multiple graphics types ( PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, DIB, RLE and TIF) (user feature request)
• Added option to minimze the main form before the selected game is ran
• Keyboard handler is released before a game is ran and restored after it ends
• Added Garbage Collection call to reduce memory utilization (user feature request)
• Added a global command line that is applied to all MAME games (user feature request)
• WAV playing for Favorites feedback is provided via WINMM.DLL instead of a 2nd instance of WMP
• 2nd Instance of WMP removed from the project (Distribution is about 3MB smaller now)
• Removed the 'NotArtWork' checkbox as this can now be specified in the global command line field
• Added visual feedback when a Favorite is added / removed (user feature request)

0.66.5 - 11/17/02

• A number of run time bugs have been fixed
• Add 'AddCurFav' and 'RemCurFav' - during the screen saver you can add/remove the displayed game from the selected favorites list
• Add a name field to the Foreign EXE screen to allow you to list Snap/Title etc. screens
• Set 'Foreign EXE' catagory to enabled the first time you add a Foreign EXE
• Screen save can use any combination of Snap/Title/Cabinet/Marquee/Flyer pictures
• Reworked how the virtual functions are mapped to the controls
• Only available functions show up in the Screen Saver and Menu Mode configuration screens
• Added a 'Key stroke pass through toggle' - you can now select if you want keystrokes to drive the menu list or not
• Added a Button to refresh the menu list manually to the Misc Options form
• Added an Alignment Graphic option to the Virtual Cab form
• Added Wav feedback support for hidden options
• Adding / Removing favorites

0.66.2 - 11/11/02

• Bug fixes for the Virtual Cabinet Controls
• Added Control to Function Mapping (User definable controls)
• Changed versioning to x.xx.x format
• Added shortcut install to the installer
• Added ability to export / import favorites
• Misc. bug fixes
• Added support for foreign executables (NON MAME Programs)
• Moved 'View Run Stats' and 'View Artwork' checkboxes to the configuration dialogs
• Master list of games is cached to allow fast loading
• Added a quick favorites menu - the menu is navigated using Player 1's Joystick
• Renamed distribution file to represent the version

0.65 - 10/26/02

• Fixed issues importing the game list
• Game History updates correctly when a new game is selected
• Added configuration screen/code to allow the virtual cabinet picture to be defined
• Added configuration screen/code to allow the virtual cab marquee and snap to be positioned
• List menu index can be selected via unused characters from the keyboard
• Any keys that are not generated by the CP are passed on to the list control
• Updated MRCat.TXT (Category list file)
• Corrected spelling of Category
• Favorites now overrides all other screening options
• Much faster Favorites switching

0.64 - 10/20/02

• Initial release to the web
• Issue: The only game it seems to find is PUCKMAN (Fixed in the 0.65 release)

  Fix: Download and install the latest version.

Getting Started:

First time configuration:

When you run MAMErunner for the first rime it will notify you that it needs to be configured then the PATH configuration form will be displayed. Use the 'Find' button to locate your MAME executable (MAMEPP.EXE etc). The PATH options will then fill in with the defaults that MAME typically uses.

Path Configuration Screen

Once you have located your MAME executable and clicked OK the program will configure:

MAMErunner will run your MAME executable to query it for the list of games it knows about, MAMErunner will then import this list to create the GAME List. This process can take several minutes to complete. You should see progress screens as it works through the various steps.

 Setting up categories:

Click on the [Config] Button
Select the Categories TAB
You will see two buttons, they are enabled if the data file they represent is found.
Clicking 'MAMEINFO.DAT' will import the categories from MAMEINFO.DAT - You may need to download this from the internet first, copy it to the same location as your MAME executable.
MRCat.TXT - This is distributed with MAMErunner, you can import categories using it as well.

Categories Configuration Screen

Selecting Categories of games to list:

Click on the [Config] Button
Select the Categories TAB
Check the categories of games you want to see then click [Ok]

Categories Configuration Screen

Adding a new category:
Setting a game to a different category:
Setting a run time MAME switch for a game:

Right Click on the game in the list

Set Categories / Run Time Options / Favorites Configuration Screen

Control Mapping:

By default MAMErunner uses the same key codes as MAME - this means if you have a control panel setup that uses MAME's defaults you can control the basic functions of the front-end from your control panel.

Player 1
    Joystick
        Up = Previous Game
        Down = Next Game
        Left = Back one page of games
        Right = Forward one page pf games
    Buttons
        1 = Toggle Marquee / Game Info
        2 = Run Game
        3 = Run a Random Game
        4 = Display the Quick Favorites Menu
        Start = Play Game

Player 2
    Joystick
        Up = Move to the beginning of the list (first game)
        Down = Move the the end of the list (last game)
        Left = Previous Alpha character (IE: If we are in the Y's move back to X)
        Right = Next Alpha character (IE: If we are in the D's move forward to E)
    Buttons
        1 = Toggle 'Show Art Work' check box
        2 = Toggle 'Show Run Info' check box
        3 = Move to the next Favorites list of games
        4 = Move to the Previous Favorites list of games
        Start = Play Game

  You can change the key codes if needed from the Configuration screen - Key Codes Configuration Screen

Menu Mode Control Mapping

MAMErunner has a ser of default control mappings (see Control Settings above). You can change the mappings for every the controls to configure MAMErunner to your cabinet. Menu Mode refers to the main screen used to select games - Control to Function mapping in MENU Mode

Mappable functions are:

Undefined - The control is not used - it's ASCII character is passed to the Menu List to quick select a game
RunGame - Run the selected game
RunRandom - Run a random game
NextGame - Move to the next game in the menu
PrevGame - Move to the previous game in the menu
PageDownGame - Move down a page of games
PageUpGame - Move up a page of games
AlphaDownGame - Move to the next 'Alpha' group of games
AlphaUpGame - Move to the previous 'Alpha' group of games
LastGame - Move to the last game
FirstGame - Move to the first game
PlayIntro - Play the into video
ToggleHistory - Toggle the option to show the game history
ToggleRunStats - Toggle the 'Show Game Run Time State' option - displays the MAME.EXE output
PrevFav - Select the previous Favorite user
NextFav - Select the next favorite user
VolumeDown - Decrease the volume when playing back audio during the screen saver
VolumeUp - Increase  the volume when playing back audio during the screen saver
NextSong - Play the next song when playing back audio during the screen saver
PrevSong - Play the next song when playing back audio during the screen saver
FavoritesForm - Display the quick favorites form
AddCurFav - Add game shown in screen saver to currently selected Favorite
AddFav1 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 1
AddFav2 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 2
AddFav3 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 3
AddFav4 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 4
AddFav5 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 5
AddFav6 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 6
AddFav7 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 7
AddFav8 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 8
AddFav9 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 9
AddFav10 - Add the currently selected game to the favorites list for Favorite 10
RemCurFav - Remove game shown in screen saver to currently selected Favorite
RemFav1 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 1
RemFav2 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 2
RemFav3 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 3
RemFav4 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 4
RemFav5 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 5
RemFav6 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 6
RemFav7 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 7
RemFav8 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 8
RemFav9 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 9
RemFav10 - Remove the currently selected game from the favorites list for Favorite 10
IgnoreKey - Ignore the control - it's ASCII code is not passed on to the Menu List
ExitMAMErunner - Exit MAMErunner

Screen Saver Mode Control Mapping

MAMErunner has a ser of default control mappings (see Control Settings above). You can change the mappings for every the controls to configure MAMErunner to your cabinet. Screen Saver Mode refers to how the controls map when the screen saver is displayed - Control to Function mapping in Screen Saver Mode

In screen saver mode the same list of  mappable functions is available.

Adding Foreign Executables

You can add other executables to the MAMErunner menu - Foreign Executable (NON MAME) Add Screen

Configuring a virtual cabinet

You can display any image (GIF format only) as the virtual cabinet picture. (GIF is used as transparency is supported). You can use these controls to position the marquee and snap pictures onto your cabinet picture - Virtual Cab Setup Screen

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Questions - Comments

Page updated 02/19/2004

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