Recording game input

[fippi]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anybody has had any success generating `.inp` files within Arpicade? Big fan of the RaspberryJamma / arpicade kit but may have to retire it if I can't get the inp recording working

Thanks!!
Fip

[dee2eR]

I haven't tried this before on a RPi (I have used WolfMAME 106 to record inputs years ago...) but it should be possible, possibly not in all versions of MAME.

AdvMAME should definately support it (it maybe the only version on ARpiCADE that does, I'm not sure), but will require setup, from their documentation on the available command line options:

-record FILE
Record all the game inputs in the specified file. The file is saved in the directory specified by the `dir_inp' configuration option.
-playback FILE
Play back the previously recorded game inputs in the specified file.

you will need to set the dir_inp option in advmame.rc (and prob advmame.nosdl.rc too). Set it to a place in /home/pi and not to somewhere on /boot as I don't think AdvMAME will be able to write to /boot due to file permissions/ownership. I think the default directory is /home/pi/.advance/inp which should work.
After that adding the --record [filename] command to the command line in /boot/launchers/advmame.sh should be enough. I just quick tested it on my desktop and the command:

advmame --record test.inp snowbros

worked fine. That command launches Snowbros and creates the file test.inp in .advance/inp/ (I didn't change the default config for the inp directory).

Playback can be done similarly with the command:

advmame --playback test.inp

[fippi]

Thanks dee2er! I appreciate your super speedy response.

Your guidance had me up and running (with input recording) very quickly.

My problem now is that apparently Donkey Kong score submissions require the input from *WolfMAME* specifically, which is a whole different kettle of fish. Sadly this is the only thing I could find, but i've barely been able to get it to work

[dee2eR]

I hadn't tried WolfMAME on RPi before. 167 seems like it runs at pretty good speed, if it had all the scaling options of 172 I wouldn't hesitate including it.

I may look at compiling WolfMAME 172 or maybe 203 for Pi in the future (otherwise it will put back the next release further than it already has been), .inp recording for high score submissions would be a nice feature, might even get me back into chasing the Snowbros record....

[fippi]

I hadn't tried WolfMAME on RPi before. 167 seems like it runs at pretty good speed, if it had all the scaling options of 172 I wouldn't hesitate including it.

That's the trouble i ran into. I was able to get it running, although the scaling was really quite bad; that was using the binary linked in b4nd1to's link above.

Is there anything special that needs to be done when compiling the emulator binaries specifically for the pi? Or will compiling for linux do the job?

...might even get me back into chasing the Snowbros record

Snow bros is a game i'd love to get good at.. Maybe once I smash a kill screen on DK i'll give it a go. We have a Snow Bros machine at Bartronica here in Melbourne as well! Fun game

[dee2eR]

We have a Snow Bros machine at Bartronica here in Melbourne as well! Fun game

I didn't realize there was a Snow Bros being operated in Melbourne or I would have been in to play it... I'm rusty but it would be fun to try and 1cc it at a bar.

As far as compiling MAME for RPi it's become as easy as typing 'make' in the latest releases but it will take a lot of hours to build on RPi (current MAME supports so much stuff...). Cross compiling on an x86 PC can be faster (to compile) but can have it's own issues compared to just building on Pi. It varies from version to version but RPi is a supported build target for MAME now. If you plan on patching it don't forget to before compiling too, I once finished a 5 hour compile only to realize I forgot to remove the white box that pops up when the game is loading.

To successfully build MAME on ARpiCADE you will also need to adjust /etc/fstab temporarily for the build as it's setup to reduce SD card writes which will cause issues building software as big as MAME.

[ant]

hey guys
just following up on this one, wondering if Wolfmame was ever able to be added to arpicade - for same reason as above, to get an INP file off the SD card for submissions

[dee2eR]

I'd actually forgot all about it to be honest... thanks for reminding me, it would be a good feature to have. I'll look into compiling a new (or newish) version of WolfMAME on RPi, compiling vanilla MAME on RPi isn't hard (just time consuming) so unless the WolfMAME is weird somehow it shouldn't be an issue.

All my experience with WolfMAME was with version 106 a decade or so ago so I am curious...

Is Twin Galaxies still charging for submissions? It would be nice to submit a better Snow Bros score, my official score on TG is about one third of my PB...

Otherwise, if not TG, what arcade scoreboard(s) are people using now?

[fippi]

I forgot all about this as well! My desire for this was for submitting Donkey Kong scores to DonkeyKongForum.com. As all score submissions - unless on arcade hardware - must be accompanied by .inp files which can be used to audit the game. Obviously there's a lot of drama in the community in recent years that warrants these sorts of rules

As for your question: TG is still used by many for submissions. I'm not sure about them charging, but I know some have moved on to Speedrun.com for some games, and donkeykongforum.com is the only respected place for DK scores these days.

From DKF submission rules: `The only acceptable MAME platforms are WolfMAME versions 0.106 and newer, and Retro Uprising's Score Mode.`

Very cool RE: the snow bros score! I have the same issue re: Point Blank - but i'm lacking a cabinet of my own to do some submissions on

[ant]

I'd actually forgot all about it to be honest... thanks for reminding me, it would be a good feature to have. I'll look into compiling a new (or newish) version of WolfMAME on RPi, compiling vanilla MAME on RPi isn't hard (just time consuming) so unless the WolfMAME is weird somehow it shouldn't be an issue.

All my experience with WolfMAME was with version 106 a decade or so ago so I am curious...

Is Twin Galaxies still charging for submissions? It would be nice to submit a better Snow Bros score, my official score on TG is about one third of my PB...

Otherwise, if not TG, what arcade scoreboard(s) are people using now?

No I dont believe they charge

Wow yes, if there is a way to run wolfmame on this device, please do let me know. even if i need to run a separate sd card just for donkey kong / wolfmame inp recording

Im looking to avoid ditching the arpicade for a 60 in 1, for DK submissions