Monitor Issues: Resolved (for now)

After some extensive tweaking in the mame.ini file I finally found the settings that display (most) games properly. The picture to the left shows the problem I was having. I kept having to disconnect the monitor from the computer and connect a spare LCD because Windows XP wasn't even showing up because it was set to output at a resolution my monitor could not handle.

Upon the advice of some people over at BYOAC I changed d3d to ddraw and then changed the following settings:

switchres 1
hwstretch 1
resolution 640x480

The picture is now completely rectangular and fills the screen (XP still looks off and so does MaLa but hopefully I can fix that later... well the MaLa gamelist display at least). With these settings enabled I'm forcing every game I run to display in 640x480 mode which isn't the end of the world. There might be a few games that look messed up running in this resolution but not many and certainly not to the untrained eye.

I also was able to launch Popeye for the first time ever on the cabinet - every previous attempt I was greeted with an "out of range" error message... it is one of the games that looks a little different than I remember it (not as sharp) but I can change "hwstretch" to "0" in a specific popeye.ini file. I'll have to continually tweak the individual .ini settings for the games that don't look quite right but there shouldn't be many of them.

Another Update

As previously mentioned, I started updating the computer with the newest version of MaLa and a fully compiled version of MAME .119u3. There's a problem with Galaga so it looks like I have to roll it back a version to MAME .119u2. Not a huge deal but it's going to be a pain because compiling takes about 45 minutes and there's no way around it.

What I'm more concerned with is the fact that after reinstalling everything, my monitor refused to output anything in the proper resolution. Every game I tried loading was completely pixelated and unplayable. I'm not sure how to fix this yet but I'm 99% sure it is a software issue either with MAME or MaLa and not a problem with the monitor itself because Windows XP and my game list (with the "snaps") displays perfectly.

I guess it's time to troubleshoot.

Quick Update:

• I tried to order the 1/4" tempered glass for the tabletop but the glass shop I went to told me it would cost about $250 - yeah, right - I'm not paying that. I am going to replace it but I need to find a cheaper solution. The 1/8" piece I am currently using will have to go in the trash I guess.
• I also contacted the artist that is doing my table top underlay and he said he will be getting me something soon (I've heard that one before though so I'm not holding my breath). HERE is a link to his site so you can see the style that I'm going for - he's very talented but very slow.
• I started updating the computer with the newest version of MaLa and a fully compiled version of MAME .119u3 - this doesn't match my romset (.118u2) but it shouldn't be a problem. I tried using MAME .118u2 but there is a bug for Mappy and Super Pac-man which are two essential games for the cabinet so I had to try a different version.

It's not much but compared to the last 12 months of inactivity it's a ton!!

I'm back!

After a LONG delay, the building of Bella's Arcade and the addition of another kid to the family I've decided to rededicate myself to finishing this arcade table. It has been playable for the last year or so but there are several things I have to do before calling this thing finished. Also, since it has been a year, there are a few things I'm going to try and improve since I last worked on it like updating the games (Street Fighter III is now playable!) and front end (MaLa is by far my favorite now so GameLauncher has got to go).

Here's the unofficial "to do" list:

• Buy a new glass top. The current glass top is 1/8" thick but that was a mistake on my part. Original cocktail cabinets used 1/4" thick glass table tops so that's what I want to use. I've got to get it tempered too.
• Install the glass clips to hold the glass table top in place. Just two screws on each of the 8 clips should do the trick.
• Wire the coin door - a working coin door will be nice even though I currently use buttons for inserting credits.
• Install the opaque plexiglass above the short control panels and wire some LEDs behind them to light everything up. The old cocktail cabinets had this feature for when people played in smokey, dank bars back in the 80s and wanted to see the controls. I'll grab power to illuminate the LEDs from the 5v line on the power supply of the computer.
• Glue the grommet for the SmartStrip cord in place - this should take all of 30 seconds to do but it might be a problem clamping/holding it in place.
• Install and configure MaLa and update the romlist - this is going to be a huge pain but I've got to do it.
• Install artwork on the tabletop. It's been two years since I commissioned the artwork from a "professional" artist and after emailing back and forth a million times I've sort of given up on ever getting anything from him. I've learned my lesson - don't ever pay for anything until you have a finished piece in hand. Hopefully he will come through and do what I paid him to do or karma will bite him in the ass. If I have to do this myself I might rethink the design (and name) of the arcade table...

Whew! that's about all that's left. It's actually not that much and I don't know why I've been waiting so long to wrap this thing up. Long term on this thing I might end up remaking the control panels and swapping out some of the joysticks. There have been a lot of cool innovations in the hobby over the past few years and the 4-way/8-way joystick "problem" has been virtually eliminated through software (MaLa's controller maps) and the corresponding Ultimarc 360 joysticks. Sometime in the future I'd like to upgrade everything but for now I just want to finish what I've got in front of me...

We refinished the third floor (attic) in our house and it's now a spare bedroom but there's no furniture up there. I think this thing would fit nicely...