back in the olde days....

[kernzy]

hi chaps.
i saw harp last year some time, watched a couple of old c64 games, (manic miner and uridium), and used to use ccs64 quite often. since going for mame records i haven't touched anything else.
i'd need a whole seperate dimension for each console to exist before i had time to mess with them all...

[Chad]

yes we all know people who don't like OS dependent guis won't use those guis. But I have a personal derective to get as many people using MAME and MESS as possible. Kernzy is one of those who will never use the command line and has a windows computer and is used to the MAMEUI interface. He (and probably many others) IS why wolfMESSUI32 will always be available as long as that one person is making source changes to make MESSUI compile; still available as of wolfMESS 147.

[kernzy]

yes, that is true. i may pick it up again at a later date, i have instructions on here i will refer back to.
i think you will find that most mamers use gui in my experience, no one i know uses command lines to play any games ever. and almost everyone uses windows on their computers.
in this community, the opposite is true, and probably look down on windows as a second or third choice.
for most, it's a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude when they buy new computers. windows is on all of them. and that's the way it stays. only one person i know uses linux and ubuntu. 1 person. everybody else don't even know what it is or heard of it.
that 1 person is a pc engineer. see the formula?
pc engineers and programmers use command lines, the rest of the world don't. if it's not plug 'n' play, it don't get played. it's unfortunate.
for example, was just on harp, downloaded wolfmess 147. looks very similar to mame.
scanned around forums, theres no quick start guide i could find. rom hunting could take aeons....

[Chad]

There will never be a guide to getting roms. I find finding software for old consoles to use on mess much easier on google than for finding mame roms. The mess bios/roms are about as hard to get as mame roms, but they can be found with google.

For configuring and using mess there's http://www.mess.org/ , once you get mess configured download wolfmess and wolfmessui over mess and it should be good to go.

[kernzy]

hi Skito,
i meant a guide to get it running. roms are easy to find, searching for all my old fave's is what will take time, remembering them all.
i have 1,000 c64 roms and ccs64. where do i put them? lol!

[Chad]

http://messui.the-chronicles.org/howto.html

[kernzy]

AHA!!!!
there you go!!!!!
LET ME AT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice one, dude.

[kernzy]

lol!
wolfmess is just as bad as command lines!
i failed to get a mess.ini!
it's impossible!!
i followed the instructions, and nothing works!!
nothing is recognised, as usual!
move on...

[mahlemiut]

To create a default INI, it is the same as for MAME. mess -createconfig (or mess -cc).

[kernzy]

yeah, i gathered that after reading through instructions.
this is as far as i got:
"mess is not recognised as a blah, blah blaaaaah"!
will pick itup when i have more time.
cheers all!
paul.

[mahlemiut]

You are in the folder containing mess.exe, right? (The prompt will show what the current folder is)

[Chad]

This difficulty of use for non computer savvy people is the reason so many people can't pick up where they left off arcade and console wise. Thanks for trying kernzy, we'll give you as much help as you can stand. Just ask when you want to try again. Remember don't install wolfmess first, you must install and configure mess first and then copy the messui over the working installation. Unfortunatley you have to run mess.exe in commandline once, but after that it's all messui.

As for un-hijacking the thread, I first found out about mame in 1998, when i saw a huge directory with a bunch of zip files and one of them contained mspacman.zip , curious I scavenged and realized this was actually the arcade game packed in a zip file and every zip file was another game, working as it would in the arcade. Just doing a google search on mame found marp and from day one I've been completely enthused, and never wanted to stop bringing back more memories and trying to record them to preserve them for as long bits last.

[kernzy]

thats exactly it. even in the old days, i could play spectrum or c64 games with no knowledge. then came the consoles. then came mame.
to start typing stuff is a step backwards in mine and most's eyes. (zx81 was the last time i typed to play!)
i only wish i could have afforded to keep up with newer computers, like lord gaz's history, but not as extravagant! (the archimedes is a worthy succeeder, but too pricey! the amiga wouldda done me for at least ten years!! the last computer i used was a c64. the amiga in 1987 was over a thousand pounds. so it ended there for me.
like Chad, i try to get everyone i meet playing mame. i always have a couple of discs with wolfmame 106 on to hand to give to people to get them going. i offer them to friends on facebook who comment in my tiny mame group, i even pay postage! one dude i sent a disc to in california has now built himself a mame cab, which is superb! (i have a certain target!! my old pal, Sean, who showed me how to play bomb jack. i know where he is, i just need to turn up! he has unfinished business. he is a worthy champion to be!)
i thought i was badgering everyone on here to help me, but now it feels like you guys are badgering me to get it working. BRILLIANT!
It kinda feels empty without beejay commenting (hiya Brian!!). i know he's smiling reading this thinking:"i told you already, numbnuts!!" it got mixed up for me, after leaving it for a while... if something doesn't work 1st time, i need a frontal labotomy to continue!!
i'm not continuing on mess right now, as i feel i already mamde a MESS of it! you say download mess, configure, then download wolfmess and messui and put it on top? lol!! not sure what you mean, however, i downloaded wolfmess 147 i think, and has already got wolfmess and gui folders. i got the frontend up, but nothing is audited and thats as far as i got. all i have is ccs64 and loads of c64 roms. thats all i need right now to get it to work. just need to know where to put stuff. Barry, i followed beejays instructions to the tee as it is similar for starting mess. got the right drive, changed directory, located mame folder, mess not recognised. i'm not concentrating right now on this, but is 2nd on my to do list. maybe third! i have not time to concentrate fully. remember, i still fail at command lines, so am behind on all fields! i think mess may even outweigh mame when i get it to work. i don't have much console experience. only snes, playstation, and ps2. and c64.
as for threads being hijacked, as i search for something imparticular, i often find they almost all go off topic after about 6 entries! lol!

nice one chaps!
all the best,
paul.

[mahlemiut]

So, the Windows command prompt is that much more difficult to use than the C64 Ready prompt...?

[Chad]

So, the Windows command prompt is that much more difficult to use than the C64 Ready prompt...? :roll:

yah true, c64 command line is horrendous, I think he means he could insert a game disk/cartridge and go, he never needed to use the command line (although I think he had to for some c64 games if he had so many, not all of them would have been boot clean.)

do you remember

LOAD "*.*",8,1
RUN

you'll need that much knowledge at least to run c64 games in mess, If i even did that right???