Sections
updated 10 th January 2K5
Software
I've been using my standard PC to test the control panel and Emulator setups. It's a bit of a mess now with loads of emu's and ini files all over the place.
My standard PC has 160GB of hard drive space and runs 1GB RAM with a AMD XP 3000. This runs most of the software well but games with prelimnary drivers run very slow. This is probably because the drivers are not great.
I've been testing various versions of Mame, such as MAME32, MAME32Plus and MAME32FX, but becuase I don't want to really see windows so I'll be running the MAMEWAH front end. It takes a lot of setting up to get it to work but it is a really useful front end that's perfectly suited to arcade panels.
I'll be running two different versions of Mame. The latest one for best compatability and MAME ANALOG for it's dual Trackball support. This is easy to configure in MAMEWAH as you can edit the lists of games displayed, which means I can setup MAMEANALOG for those games where I need dual trackbal support.
I'll also be running Daphne for laserdisc emulation. I've actually got the Digital leisure 25 year anniversary DVD editions of Dragons Lair, Space Ace and Dragons Lair 2, but I'll be using Daphne for consistency.
I will be running ZINC for those playstation based games that MAME doesn't run so well, such as Strider 2, Tekken etc... I may look at running Modeller for the Sega games.
I am thinking of adding support for console emualation such as ZSNES, KGEN but I haven't made my mind up about this.
I'm also running a little program called bootskin that allows you to override the windows bootup screens, replacing them with your own. This is pretty cool. I've done a few tests but I need to create my own screen. I'll post it here when I've done a decent one.
Emulator and software Links
MAME
MAMEANALOG
DAPHNE
ZINC
MAMEWAH
BOOTSKIN
I regularly check out Zophar's Domain for emu news and great downloads.
And I go onto the MAME World discussion boards for lot's of great advice and help on all aspects or Arcade building and emu setup.