Help launching Astrocade & PC Engine from RetroFE

[StoningtonQB]

Has anyone had any success launching MAME-based systems from the frontend? The consensus is that Astrocade should be run from MAME, but the only thing I can get to run is the 4-in-1 that comes with the system. How do I configure the settings file for the launcher to run any particular Astrocade (or any other console reliant on MAME) game?

Also having a related problem with PC Engine & TurboGrafx-16 roms launching from RetroFE. I have tried Mednafen, Ootake, RetroArch and MagicEngine with no luck at all. I'm assuming I have the same problem, I can't get any of these emulators to launch a rom from within.

[Pieter Hulshoff]

I use MAME for PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16; I can upload my launchers if you'd like, but you'll need to get the bios roms for your MAME version as well.

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[StoningtonQB]

That would be great. I have all of the BIOS roms, I just can't get them to launch directly from the front end.

[dougan78]

He put a copy of his mame launcher he uses for a2600 here in this thread

http://www.retrofe.nl/SMF/index.php?topic=129.0

Its probably similar.

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[Pieter Hulshoff]

They are; MAME is pretty consistent in its syntax.

[StoningtonQB]

Ha. Finally got this to work thank you for this.
Interestingly I did not realize you could use Mame to emulate Atari 2600 as well. I have been launching Stella from the front end, and it works well, but using Mame will allow me to cut down the amount of different emulators that I'm using. I'll give this a try with Astrocade as well. If it works I will post my config file because there is NO information out there regarding that system.

[Pieter Hulshoff]

I've never played Astrocade either, but I use MAME for almost all emulation pre-N64.

[StoningtonQB]

After trying out Mame with a handful of different systems, I've noticed a huge difference in the quality of emulation with the standalones. I'm definitely going with Mame for the systems where I don't have another working emulator that launches with RetroFE, but for the other systems I'm just going to leave them alone.

For those who are doing a search on Bally Astrocade for Hyperspin or RetroFE, I finally got this working. Here's a launcher to download (attached). You just need to put the BIOS files in your Mame roms folder and the games in the folder of your choice.

I also have a near-complete set of box art that I have cobbled together from files I have found and ones I have put together to make a complete set.