Hypothetical: Replace mame2003_libretro.so with mame_libretro.so

[johnodon]

I REALLY want to use current MAME.

If I put the root in RW and replaced the mame2003_libretro.so with the mame_libretro.so (and rename it) from buildbot, how well or bad would it work? Of course I would use ROMS from MAME 2.08 (current).

I plan on trying this anyway but figured I would ask.

John

[barbudreadmon]

@johnodon Assuming you want to run this on raspberry

Pros :

• you'll get support for new games
• you'll get more accurate emulation of old games

Cons :

• you'll be running a 500MB binary on a device with limited memory, i expect memory issues depending on theme and lists size of emulationstation
• most of the new games, if not all, will be too slow to be playable
• a lot of the old games (running more accurately or not) running fine with mame2003 will become too slow to be playable

I doubt there is a single 2D game that would run "better" (i.e. more accurately but still at playable speed) in mame than in mame2003, and wouldn't actually do the same or better if you chose fbalpha instead.
If it's about running new 3D mame games on a raspberry, you are simply daydreaming.

[johnodon]

@barbudreadmon Thanks for your response and I apologize...I should have been more specific. This would be an x64 system: HP EliteDesk G1 Mini (https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04266271 - core i7, 8GB, Intel HD 4600). This device runs Atomiswave/Naomi (Batocera) and CHD games flawlessly.

I would stick with Batocera but I prefer the stability and support that come with Recalbox. I also know that lr-reicast is in the pipeline.

My main question is about configuration (cfg files, etc.). Will I run into snags there? Are there updates in lr-mame that are not captured in the RA or lr-mame2003 cfgs?

John

[barbudreadmon]

@johnodon said in Hypothetical: Replace mame2003_libretro.so with mame_libretro.so:

Are there updates in lr-mame that are not captured in the RA or lr-mame2003 cfgs?

Expect having to create new configs from scratch if you are moving from mame2003 to mame. Also, keep in mind that the "libretro-ization" of lr-mame is really basic (aka things like read-ahead, netplay, lightguns, ... were probably overlooked and in a pretty bad shape). To be honest, even on x64, i wouldn't consider using lr-mame myself except for very specific drivers (pgm2, cave 1k, midway w-unit & t-unit, sega system32, and maybe some arcade psx-based hardware; afaik anything else is either already running really well in lr-fbalpha, or still in a pretty bad shape in mame), and even then i would probably just build a custom version of standalone with only those drivers instead.

[johnodon]

@barbudreadmon You convinced me. I'm making this way more complicated than needs be. The reason I initially went down this path is because I was finding ROMs that ran much better on current MAME than on mame2003(+) or FBA. One that jumps to mind is Dragonball Z (dbz). Even on x64 emulation was slow even though it is listed as 'working'.
On current MAME it seemed to run full speed. That being said, maybe I was hallucinating...I'll check again.

[barbudreadmon]

@johnodon said in Hypothetical: Replace mame2003_libretro.so with mame_libretro.so:

Even on x64 emulation was slow even though it is listed as 'working'.

dbz is running the same way in mame and fbalpha for me, which means slow and full of graphical glitches, but afaik, that's how the original cabinet ran. I wouldn't bother too much with this one, dbz2 seems slightly better.