This method works with the haynor666 build of Groovymame
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.p ... msg1623604
(the reason for running this version is that it contains fixes for several shmups)
The reason you may want to do this is this is currently they best way to play the later Cave games as accurately and with as little input lag as possible
For this your OS must be Windows, Windows 7 is recommended
(but I have managed to get Groovymame running very well on Windows 10 also, with only around 1/8 of a second of extra imput lag which is virtually nothing and this still makes the later Cave titles very playable, I will post a separate tutorial on configuring Windows 10 or include it here in an edit)
It is also also recommended your computer is high enough spec to run Groovymame
(I have an NVIDA GTX 1050 it works fine, tutorials on optimising your graphics card settings for emulation can be found on several parts of the internet, I have several options tweaked in my NVIDIA control panel, these things can be hit and miss so optimising your graphics card and specific hardware settings of your computer is on you)
How to install Groovymame on an a standard laptop or desktop with an LCD screen
1. Install a standard version of MAME, make sure it is in a folder called mame (or anything you like but if so just substitute that word for the word mame in this guide)
2. Download a build of groovymame (this will only contain the exe)
3. Rename the groovymame exe to Groovymame.exe (for simplicity when working in cmd line later)
4. Go to your the location you installed MAME and delete the MAME exe (mine was called mame64.exe)
5 Place the groovymame.exe in your MAME folder (where the MAME exe was)
6 Delete any .ini files in the MAME folder, the location of these can be where the exe is (sometimes but not always) and in the folder titled ini - delete everything from the folder called ini so it is completely empty
7. Open Command Prompt by typing cmd into the windows search bar on the bottom left corner of you windows usser interface, then hit enter (or double clicking the command prompt search result)
8. Type
cd..
then hit enter
9. Type
cd..
then hit enter (yes you do this twice)
10. You will see a letter C:\>
(if C is the drive your MAME folder is on go to step 9, if not type D: or the drive letter follwed by
11. Type cd then the location of the mame folder on that drive, (to get to folder within folders you use a /)
so if you put the mame folder directly on to drive you will type the following into command prompt
cd mame
Then hit enter
(if your mame folder is inside another folder on the drive called for instance emulators you would type
cd emulators/mame
then hit enter
Folders on your drive named with a space such as "program files" on your C or D drive are typed in a very specific way in command prompt, to get inside a folder with a space in the name just google how to do so as this is not a command prompt tutorial and I do not wish to get to in depth into cmd lines)
11. Type
groovymame.exe -cc
then hit enter
You can now close Command Prompt
12. There will now be a .ini file in your MAME folder in same location of the groovymame.exe (mine was called mame.ini), open this file in note pad and change (rewrite) the following settings then save
monitor lcd
lcd_range 50-60
aspect 16:9
resolution 1920x1080@60
video d3d
(this should be most peoples settings but if your lcd_range, aspect ratio and resolution are different then adjust accordingly).
13. Finished, you can now boot up Groovymame (by double clicking groovymame.exe), for button configurations and so forth just reference MAME tutorials, for further in depth tweaking of settings search or ask on the shmups forum (here) or the arcadecontrols forum
My results are as follows;
I was able to play games (such as Mushihimesama) with a lot less lag and a lot more accurately then you would of in standard MAME, which makes them totally playable, I currently have 3.5 frames of lag in Mushi ( I checked this by filming myself hitting an input then going through frame by frame in video editing software which I am competent in using as I have a degree in media) compared to the 8+ frames of lag I got in standard MAME and on the Steam port. - Groovymame even on an LCD makes the later Cave titles very playable, you can get below 3 frames of lag with a crt monitor, so the pcb in my arcade stick and my lcd screen + Windows 10 optimally configured (which is a pain - just use Windows 7 if you can) are combined adding less then 1 frame of lag, which is barely noticeable
This (Groovymame) is currently they best method for playing the later Cave games on an LCD screen (a CRT is of course more responsive but hey not everyone has access to CRT's) as Shmupmame and Retroarch (using the FBA core, including the excellent pre-configured version Shmuparch) are both great options for the earlier Cave shmups (and earlier shmups in general), in fact for the ealier shmups on an LCD screen Retroarch (or the pre-configured version Shmuparch) is superior in regards to lag as you can get less but unfortunately it will not run the later Cave shmups. Although standard MAME will play the later Cave shmups it currently it is awful and I would not recommend using it
If the MAME cores in Retroarch ever get better (they currently suck) then you may be able in future to use the Retroarch runahead feature to reduce the lag even further for playing the later Cave games on an LCD, G-sync and Freesync monitors make this future prospect even more enticing
Anyway have a good day and I hope this post helps someone out
