~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finding correct settings that work with each different resolution is a long, difficult, and slow
process. If you think you can contribute or help with this process then please contact me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please do not steal or plagiarism my work or settings without crediting me. Otherwise I will
take everything offline for my private friends and personal use only. I have put alot of time
and effort into all of this and would prefer if people would just point others towards my blog.
Big thankyou to all those that have been directly involved in creating and maintaining MAME.
Special credit/thanks to Aaron Giles, Mr. Do and all those involved in creating and
maintaining the MAME/MESS Artwork System.
Thanks to Ryan Holtz aka 'Just Desserts', Bat Country Entertainment, cgwg and all those
involved in creating and maintaining the HLSL filter for MAME and MESS.
I would like to credit turborunner for helping out with all widescreen testing.
I would like to personally thank these people that have helped me on the forums in a friendly,
respectful, and professional manner; krick, R. Belmont, Heihachi_73, PsikyoFan.
I would like to acknowledge these people that induced me to 'push the envelope' and think
differently which allowed me to get my custom setup where it is today; ilya-v, SoltanGris42.
Tested with MAME versions 0.143 through to 0.144 (may work with all versions since 0.107)
This version has solved the two major issues that previous versions had. The ability to work with all standard 4:3 games and it is also compatible with the all common monitor 'native resolutions'.
The 218KB .rar file can be downloaded from here: http://www.mediafire.com/?1yycd0kce51ig7i
Version 3.0
* No longer implemented through the HLSL filter. (Can be used alongside it though)
* Now implemented through MAME Artwork System.
* High Quality .png file.
* No longer 'tiled' ensures no gradient or banding artifacts with ingame scrolling.
* No 'warping' or 'pinching' effects ensure a crystal clear game image that is easier to look at.
Known Issues:
* 'Alpha Channel' is not adjustable so the phosphur pattern is shown at full strength resulting in a darkened game image and also can produce a viewable dot crawl effect on some monitors. (Might be noticeable if you are looking at a white intro screen)
* Once above issue is solved I will release a second pattern of an Aperture Grille with scanlines.
* Wanting suggestions for alternative MAME/Artwork implementation options, the current 'Simple Manual Install' method can get tedious, but does work for all games.
This version is designed to *only* be used with a monitor or display in it's 'native resolution' mode. It has only been tested with MAME running in fullscreen and has not been tested running in a window. Currently compatible with all 4:3 standard ratio horizontally orientated and vertically orientated games. Based on the theoretical phosphur triad pattern of two popular 'Arcade Monitors' from around 24 years ago;
- Resolutions Supported by Pattern Type A: 1280x960 & 1440x960 & 1280x1024 & 1920x1080
- Pattern Type A: Similar to Wells Gardner K7000 19" Standard Pitch 'Arcade Monitor'
- Resolutions Supported by Pattern Type B: 1600x1200 & 1920x1200
- Pattern Type B: Similar to Wells Gardner K7000 25" Standard Pitch 'Arcade Monitor'
At the moment I have restricted this release to an 'shadow mask' pattern only. An 'aperture grille with scanlines' pattern will be included in a future release once some issues are resolved.
There are two install methods, a Quick Auto Install which covers around 1000 games. For all other games you will have to use the Simple Manual Install method explained further down.
The Quick Auto Install method currently covers all games that use these bioses;
[aleck64] Aleck64 PIF
[ar_bios] Arcadia System
[atarisy1] Atari System 1
[atluspsx] Atlus PSX
[awbios] Atomiswave
[cd32] Amiga CD32 (PAL)
[cpzn1] ZN1
[cpzn2] ZN2
[crysbios] Crystal System
[decocass] DECO Cassette System *All games are Vertically orientated*
[galgbios] Galaxy Games
[hng64] Hyper NeoGeo 64
[hod2bios] Naomi House of the Dead 2
[isgsm] ISG Selection Master Type 2006
[konamigv] Baby Phoenix/GV System
[konamigx] System GX
[kviper] Konami Viper *both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games*
[maxaflex.zip] Max-A-Flex
[megaplay] Mega Play
[megatech] Mega-Tech *For viewing Single Screen 4:3 mode only*
[naomigd] Naomi GD-ROM *both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games*
[neogeo] Neo-Geo *All games fill the 4:3 screen with no black borders*
[nss] Nintendo Super System
[pgm] PGM (Polygame Master) System *both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games*
[playch10] PlayChoice-10 *For viewing Single Screen 4:3 mode only*
[psarc95] PS Arcade 95
[sammymdl] Sammy Medal Game System *both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games*
[sfcbox] Super Famicom Box
[skns] Super Kaneko Nova System *both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games*
[stvbios] ST-V *both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games*
[sys573] System 573 *both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games*
[taitofx1] Taito FX1
[taitogn] Taito GNET *both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games*
[tps] TPS *both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games*
[vspsx] Video System PSX *All games are Vertically orientated*
Quick Auto Install;
(Firstly, it is up to you if you want to backup any files before overwriting them.)
1. Unrar the .rar file to your MAME/Artwork folder.
2. Do not Unzip the .zip files.
Once you have the game running in MAME for the first time, you need to press the [Tab] key to bring up the
'in-game menu'. Select and [Enter] into the 'video options' sub menu where you can choose from the new Shadow Mask 'SM v3.0' options by pressing [Enter] on them. Make sure you choose the correct one that matches the 'native resolution' of your monitor. Press the [Tab] key again to exit out of the 'in-game menu'. After you have gone through this process once with a particular game MAME will remember your selection for all future runs.
Note;
Some game bioses support both Horizontally and Vertically orientated games, so under the 'video options' sub menu you will see 'SM_v3.0(H)' and 'SMask_v3.0(V)' selections. The (H) and (V) are for whether the game was originally made to be displayed Horizontally or Vertically. For the (V) Vertically orientated games you could choose to display them with your monitor physically rotated 90 degrees to retain the highest image quality by choosing from the 'rotated' options. While still under 'video options' you also need to change MAME's 'Rotate' option to either 'CCW 90degrees' or 'CW 90degrees'. Or if you wish to display the (V) Vertically orientated games with your monitor sitting Horizontally and a drop in image quality instead, then you can choose from the 'not rotated' options. Only monitors with an 'native resolution' of 1600x1200 or 1920x1200 can display (V) Vertically orientated games Horizontally with almost no drop in image quality.
Simple Manual Install;
For all other games at the moment the only way is to link the file to the each 'parent' artwork for that particular game. When you link to the 'parent' game then all 'clones' of the 'parent' game will also be able to use the same artwork file. You don't have to link to clones yourself.
Just follow these three simple steps;
(Firstly, it is up to you if you want to backup any files before overwriting them.)
1. Find the 'JClampy_Shadow_Mask_v3.0_Manual_Install.zip' inside your Mame/Artwork folder.
2. Copy and then Rename the .zip file so that it will have the same name as the *parent*
'MAME Game .zip Name' that you want to play. "Twinkle Star Sprites" would be twinspri.zip
3. Inside the .zip file you also have to rename the 'change name to game zip name.lay' file
as well. So for this example rename it to: twinspri.lay
Once you have the game running in MAME for the first time, you need to press the [Tab] key to bring up the
'in-game menu'. Then select and [Enter] into the 'video options' sub menu. I included support for all Horizontally and Vertically orientated games, you will have to choose the appropriate setting from the available 'SM_v3.0(H)' or 'SM_v3.0{V}' options. To have Vertically orientated games display on your Vertically sitting monitor you will also need to change MAME's 'Rotate' option to either 'CCW 90degrees' or 'CW 90degrees'. If you wish to display the (V) Vertically orientated games with your monitor sitting Horizontally instead, then you can choose from the 'not rotated' options. Press the [Tab] key again to exit out of the 'in-game menu'. MAME will remember your selection from now on.
Now we can look at what settings to use with Version 3.0, as previously mentioned you can choose to use version 3.0 with or without HLSL. I will show you my current settings for both setups.
Setting up Version 3.0 without HLSL:
mame.ini
#Core Screen Options
brightness 0.90 (recommended core MAME brightness setting)
contrast 1.20 (recommended core MAME contrast setting)
gamma 1.10 (recommended core MAME gamma setting)
effect none (old visual effects off, aka 'visual effects')
scale_effect none (old visual effects off, not in all MAME variants, aka 'image enhancement')
#Full Screen Options
switchres 1 (enable resolution settings, aka 'switch resolutions to fit')
#Core Performance Options
sleep 0 (power saving sleep mode off, aka 'sleep when possible')
#Windows Video Options
video d3d (video output method set to Direct3D)
keepaspect 1 (maintain aspect ratios, aka 'enforce aspect ratio')
prescale 1 (no software prescale, aka 'scale screen')
#DirectDraw-Specific Options
hwstretch 0 (hardware stretching off)
#Direct3D-Specific Options
d3dversion 9 (Direct3D version 9 required when using the HLSL filter)
filter 1 (bilinear filtering on)
#Direct3D Post-Processing Options
hlsl_enable 0 (Disable HLSL)
#Core Artwork Options
artwork_crop 0 (crop border artwork off)
#Per-Window Video Options
aspect ratio #:# (input the correct aspect ratio for your final display output. ie; 4:3 5:4 16:9 19:10 etc)
resolution ##x## (input your final display output resolution usually 'native resolution')
view standard (only use standard which means 'Arcade Standard 4:3' view)
Setting up Version 3.0 with HLSL:
mame.ini
#Core Screen Options
brightness 1.00 (recommended core MAME brightness setting)
contrast 1.00 (recommended core MAME contrast setting)
gamma 1.00 (recommended core MAME gamma setting)
effect none (old visual effects off, aka 'visual effects')
scale_effect none (old visual effects off, not in all MAME variants, aka 'image enhancement')
#Full Screen Options
switchres 1 (enable resolution settings, aka 'switch resolutions to fit')
#Core Performance Options
sleep 0 (power saving sleep mode off, aka 'sleep when possible')
#Windows Video Options
video d3d (video output method set to Direct3D)
keepaspect 1 (maintain aspect ratios, aka 'enforce aspect ratio')
prescale 1 (no software prescale, aka 'scale screen')
#DirectDraw-Specific Options
hwstretch 0 (hardware stretching off)
#Direct3D-Specific Options
d3dversion 9 (Direct3D version 9 required when using the HLSL filter)
filter 0 (bilinear filtering off, doesn't do anything with HLSL)
#Direct3D Post-Processing Options
hlsl_enable 1 (Enable HLSL)
hlsl_ini_read 0 (Disable .ini reading as not using an external hlsl.ini anymore)
hlsl_ini_write 0 (Disable .ini writing as not using an external hlsl.ini anymore)
hlsl_prescale_x 0 (Disable HLSL prescale as no improvement)
hlsl_prescale_y 0 (Disable HLSL prescale as no improvement)
hlsl_preset -1 (unknown, leave as is)
hlsl_write (unknown, leave as is)
shadow_mask_alpha 0.0 (Disable as Shadow Mask not in HLSL anymore)
curvature 0.0 (Disable as it doesn't work well with an external shadow mask)
pincushion 0.0 (Disable as it doesn't work well with an external shadow mask)
scanline_alpha 0.0 (Don't use at the moment, maybe in future?)
scanline_jitter 0.0 (not recommended)
defocus 0.0,0.0 (not recommended)
saturation 1.20 (HLSL colour recommendation)
offset 0.0,0.0,0.0 (HLSL colour recommendation)
scale 1.0,1.0,1.0 (HLSL colour recommendation)
power 1.20,1.20,1.20 (HLSL colour recommendation)
floor 0.0,0.0,0.0 (HLSL colour recommendation)
phosphor_life 0.20,0.20,0.20 (HLSL colour recommendation)
#Core Artwork Options
artwork_crop 0 (crop border artwork off)
#Per-Window Video Options
aspect ratio #:# (input the correct aspect ratio for your final display output. ie; 4:3 5:4 16:9 19:10 etc)
resolution ##x## (input your final display output resolution usually 'native resolution')
view standard (only use standard which means 'Arcade Standard 4:3' view)
HLSL Caveats;
* Not using external hlsl.ini files anymore as we are only adjusting colour and phosphur life which will work well for all games since we already have calibrated our monitor. See here if you have not:
http://gamingnos.blogspot.com/p/getting-ready-to-use-version-30.html
* HLSL prescale doesn't make a noticeable difference above 0. It is possible to make HLSL degrade the image but not improve on it. See here for comparisons:
http://gamingnos.blogspot.com/p/to-use-hlsl-or-not-to-use-hlsl.html
* HLSL shadow mask is disabled as my custom setup is now implemented through the MAME Artwork System.
* HLSL pincushin & curvature are disabled because the new custom external shadow mask will not become rounded as is no longer implemented through HLSL.
* HLSL scanlines are disabled at this time because they will darken the image so is not a good idea until we can adjust the 'alpha channel' of the new custom external shadow mask.
* HLSL defocus is not recommended. If you need that then disable HLSL and use MAME's 'bilinear' filter instead.
Any questions or comments please post on the forum here;
http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=268099&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&vc=1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finding correct settings that work with each different resolution is a long, difficult, and slow
process. If you think you can contribute or help with this process then please contact me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please do not steal or plagiarism my work or settings without crediting me. Otherwise I will
take everything offline for my private friends and personal use only. I have put alot of time
and effort into all of this and would prefer if people would just point others towards my blog.
Big thankyou to all those that have been directly involved in creating and maintaining MAME.
Special credit/thanks to Aaron Giles, Mr. Do and all those involved in creating and
maintaining the MAME/MESS Artwork System.
Thanks to Ryan Holtz aka 'Just Desserts', Bat Country Entertainment, cgwg and all those
involved in creating and maintaining the HLSL filter for MAME and MESS.
I would like to credit turborunner for helping out with all widescreen testing.
I would like to personally thank these people that have helped me on the forums in a friendly,
respectful, and professional manner; krick, R. Belmont, Heihachi_73, PsikyoFan.
I would like to acknowledge these people that induced me to 'push the envelope' and think
differently which allowed me to get my custom setup where it is today; ilya-v, SoltanGris42.
