Anybody using a recent version of MAME

[Sneakgab]

I downloaded the latest version (site: http://mamedev.org/release.html)...

Only to extract a pile of cr@p (folders full of .txt. and MAK files with no application file in site) onto my desktop. Anybody have any clue how to use this? Maybe using run or something?

[Dragoon Knight]

I would start by looking here and here, if you haven't already.  I don't use MAME, so I'm no expert, but the FAQs for emulators normally deal with most of the common issues when setting them up.

[Sneakgab]

Was about to edit. FAQ says you have to mess about with commandline because the things doesn't have a GUI.

Well, using cmd WOULD be simple enough but the download doesn't seem to have mame.exe? Could be corrupt or missing the .exe but both seem unlikely. Regardless, this seems like a significant pain in the @$$ so I'll probably just get a MAME with a GUI. Using cmd is a tad archaic (for entertainment software purposes) and inefficient for my tastes :P.

[gryphon]

Last time I checked the command line in Windows still had more options than any GUI.

Anyway, before you start complaining. Source downloads never have any executable files in them you can run. That's the whole idea of a source download. You need to compile them for your specific machine.

If on the other hand you would have downloaded the Official Windows Binary Releases you would have gotten exactly the mame.exe file you required. And guess what. You can click the exe file from the Windows Explorer GUI so you don't have to use that nasty command line....

[Sneakgab]

Well, I know the cmd line gives more options. It's just I don't really want to play with the screen rotated 90 degrees (for example). Those options are useful for some and this cmd line mode has it's advantages but for me it's just a pain in the @$$.

((edit). Now that I think about it, that example I gave sounds degrading of the advantages of cmd. Obviously, there are more useful things it can do for MAME users. However, I just want to get to playing.

Well, I've got a frontend, but now I need binary as well. Do I have get certain binaries for certain frontends or will any do?... I'm using EasyMame... since it happened to be the frontend I chose randomly :P:D.

[Sneakgab]

Well, I've got the scource, a frontend, and bios. I don't see the only rom I downloaded (and placed in roms folder in Mame folder) in the available listing so I assume it's name is out-dated. Will try another ROM. Also downloaded clmpro to update rom names (useful for later perhaps).

'' mame0124b.exe  6607 KB MAME 0.124 Windows command-line binaries.''

So this is what I'm supposed to download?

(edit)

After downloading this GUI equipped one, I ran it in the cmd using the EXACT same method as before and now it works?!

Well, the cmd is actually pretty easy to use for mame as I first thought it was from reading the docs. The big difference is whether it actually works or not. No idea why the first version I downloaded didn't seem to do anything.