Mamewah Changelog

MAMEWAH v1.61 (02/02/05)

Bugs Fixed:

• New versions of WinIPAC would not work correctly with MAMEWAH (fixed),
• 'Auto-Exit' countdown would go 5-4-3-2-1-5 if another error occurred immediately after first error (fixed),
• Error would occur when using movie screen-saver if movie_path missing or invalid (fixed),
• {cursor} flags used in app_x_commandline_format's would not work correctly when used with the auto_launch_apps option (fixed),
• Artwork objects #2-10 would appear in front of games list if used/overlapped (fixed).

Improvements:

• MAMEWAH now programs IPAC (via WinIPAC) with mamewah_ipc_file on startup.

MAMEWAH v1.6 (18/01/05)

MAMEWAH v1.6 Final (18/01/05) (no changes, except documentation & official release)

MAMEWAH v1.6b9 (17/01/05)

Bugs Fixed:

• Runtime Error 91 would occur continuously if bad movie file was used in movie screen-saver (fixed),
• Problems would occur if emuname strings contained parts of other emuname's (eg snes & nes) (fixed),
• If current_list was set to a no. which did not exist, blank list would appear (fixed - now defaults to main list),
• Layout would not be displayed correctly if games list with corrupt .lst file was selected upon startup (fixed).

Improvements:

• Added remember_current_game option to mamewah.ini (setting this to 0 selects first game in all lists upon startup),
• Removed play_music_during_emulation option in favour of {music} & {nomusic} commandline_format flags ({nomusic} is default if unspecified),
• Removed mouse_cursor option in favour of {cursor}, {nocursor} & {cursor filename} commandline_format flags ({nocursor} is default if unspecified),
• Added 5 second auto-exit after error occurs in case of unescapable error.

MAMEWAH v1.6b8 (10/01/05)

Bugs Fixed:

• keyboard_led_states order was incorrect under Win98 (fixed),
• Current game selected in most_played and longest_played lists would incorrectly change after running game (fixed),
• Wallpaper may not have been hidden (fixed),
• Space required after {dosbox} and/or {safelaunch} flag(s) if placed prior to [regular] flags (fixed),
• Shutdown when exiting did not work in Win2k (fixed).

Improvements:

• Added info to log when rom_path and emulator_executable does not exist (when trying to run a game),
• Added info to log to indicate games lists read,
• Added safe_mode option to mamewah.ini (setting to 1 prevents changing wallpaper/cursors, hiding desktop icons/taskbar),
• Added app_to_run_on_exit option to mamewah.ini,
• Added 'run_app' exit action and EXIT_AND_RUN_APP input event (ctrlr files),
• Added game_specific_config_path to emuname.ini for game-specific commandlines,
• Added code to ensure name, cloneof & romof are in uppercase (in case external app/script generates .lst file in lowercase).

MAMEWAH v1.6b7 (05/01/05)

Bugs Fixed:

• Cursor may not disappear on some Win98 systems (fixed).

Improvements:

• Picking an emulator or custom list from the menu which is already currently selected now hides options menu,
• Added system info to mamewah.log,
• Renamed 'Select Emulator' menu to 'Select Platform' (easier for non-geeks to understand ;) ),
• Improved {8.3} flag to work without [rompath] and/or [romext].

MAMEWAH v1.6b6 (02/01/05)

Bugs Fixed:

• Screensavers / wrappers may not have launch correctly (fixed),
• Potential problem when using alt_launch_method (fixed),
• Emulator-specific music may have started after game launched (fixed),
• Occasional Runtime Error 91 from CTRLR_FinaliseDI (fixed).

Improvements:

• Improved some code for the transition between game / MAMEWAH,
• Replaced send_rom_path setting with [rompath] commandline_format flag,
• Replaced send_rom_extension setting with [romext] commandline_format flag,
• Removed quotes_around_romnames (this can be achieved in commandline_format by adding "'s),
• Replaced long_filenames setting with {8.3string} flag (where string=rom filename),
• Replaced show_dos_box setting with {dosbox}, {nodosbox} and {autodosbox} flags,
• Replaced alt_launch_method setting with {safelaunch} and {nosafelaunch} flags.

MAMEWAH v1.6b5 (13/12/04)

Bugs Fixed:

• If the no. games in a 'favorites' list was below the max_favorites value then the games list would be incorrectly populated with blank spaces/games (fixed),
• If mouse_cursor default was set, incorrect (larger) cursor will have been used (fixed),
• Runtime Error 53 - File not found may occur for various reasons (fixed).

MAMEWAH v1.6b4 (07/12/04)

Bugs Fixed:

• Runtime Error 91 may have occured in Music_Play (fixed),
• Emulator/list specific ctrlr files may not have been used when switching emulator/list using shortcuts (fixed),
• Keyboard LED feature didn't work in Win98 (fixed).

Improvements:

• Added some more info to mamewah.log.

MAMEWAH v1.6b3 (06/12/04)

Bugs Fixed:

• System cursors would not necessarily be restored on quitting MAMEWAH (fixed)
• Runtime Error 445 may have occurred in Movie_Play (fixed)
• Slideshow screen-saver broken (fixed)
• Using music rewind / fast-forward feature may have caused error (fixed)
• Using up/down 1 letter shortcuts may have caused error (fixed)

Improvements / Changes:

• Renamed transparent.ico to transparent.cur
• Added MAMEWAH version info to .ini files
• Added play_music_during_emulation option

MAMEWAH v1.6b2 (23/11/04)

Bugs Fixed:

• Add game to custom list would cause Run Time Error 13 & potentially further problems (fixed),
• Strange results would occur if left mouse button mapped to anything (fixed),
• Some emulators would launch but either not be visible or not have focus (fixed - alt_launch_method added),
• Mouse cursor invisible but required for certain emulators (fixed - mouse_cursor added).

MAMEWAH v1.6b1 (18/11/04)

Bugs Fixed:

• Error would occur on list generation (& custom lists wouldn't work) if no .FTR files were present (fixed),
• Inputs would occasionally be missed while Options menu is open (fixed)
• SELECT_EMULATOR shortcut did not work correctly (fixed),
• Invalid inputs would sometimes be registered and cause strange results, particularly when keyboard, mouse & joystick were enabled (fixed).

Improvements:

• Added system files check on startup,
• Added 'sort' of emunames on startup to prevent ordering issues with different OS's/settings,
• Improved DirectX release/capturing while emulators/apps are launched/quit,
• Improved transition when starting/quitting MAMEWAH (hopefully quicker & smoother, particularly if using intro/exit sounds),
• Removed brief Message form visibility after quitting game,
• MAMEWAH is now hidden while switching resolutions for cleaner look,
• Added code to temporarily hide wallpaper, set desktop to black, make mouse cursor transparent and hide desktop icons (hide taskbar already in place) to avoid any of these becoming visible,
• Improved code to retain focus after quitting emulator/app,
• Increased coverage of error handling,
• Added proper handling of bad image, sound, music & movie files (see mamewah.log),
• Cleaned up, improved and re-organised entire code,
• Added keyboard_led_states option to control keyboard LED's while in the MAMEWAH,
• Added rom_folder_subfolders list_generation_method, for emulators requiring roms/disk images to be placed in folders,
• Added commandline_format, alt_commandline_format_1 & alt_commandline_format_2 in place of default_options, extra_options_1 & extra_options_2,
• Replaced wrapper_options with wrapper_commandline_format,
• Added list-specific commandline_format, alt_commandline_format_1 & alt_commandline_format_2 settings,
• Added appxlaunch and appxexit sound events (where x is 1, 2 or 3),
• Added indication to 'Select Games List' dialog to indicate when relevant ini file is missing,
• Added 'Music Options' menu,
• Added 'Launch External Applications' menu,
• Movie previews are no longer played while Options menu is open,
• Movie previews are no longer played while external app(s) are open,
• Added movie_fullscreen option, to allow screen-saver to play movies in normal artwork box (also enables music track name to be displayed),
• Added 2 second delay between movies in movie screen-saver,
• Added run_random_game_and_quit screen-saver type and quit_delay option,
• Added power_saving screen-saver type.

MAMEWAH v1.52 (21/10/04)

Bugs Fixed:

• LCD Display feature did not work! (fixed),
• Mouse & joystick navigation sensisitivity slightly different for each direction on axis (fixed),
• OP_MENU_BACK input may cease working, and subsequently all inputs stop working (fixed)
• Emulator-specific music would start after switching emulator even if enable_music 0 (fixed),
• Preview movie for selected game would not play after list generation (fixed),
• Runtime Error 445 would occur if movie clip had no audio (fixed),
• Problem would occur when using DAT files which use quotes around certain values (fixed),
• longest_played lists wouldn't work (Runtime Error 28 & hang) (fixed),
• Selected game may change after refreshing games list (fixed),
• MAMEWAH would appear to hang when launching MAME for the first time on some systems (fixed),
• Using WinIPAC feature may have resulted in strange results (fixed),
• Screen-saver form specific shortcut inputs would not work (fixed),
• Music track related shortcut inputs would not work on options / screen-saver form (fixed),
• In slideshow screen-saver, the first image to be displayed (the second or more time the saver is launched) may be displayed for too little time (fixed),
• Screen-saver may have kicked in too soon after generating list (fixed),
• File access problem causes crash (Run Time Error 70 or 75) (Windows 98) (fixed?).

Improvements:

• Improved emulator launching so that powering PC down will cleanly quit emulator and MAMEWAH,
• 'PC' emulator_executable no longer case sensitive,
• Added 'PROGRAM ERROR!' notification when an error occurs (execution can attempt to continue or quit),
• All input devices are now released prior to launching emulators/apps/scr screensavers, and re-acquired on return to avoid potential input problems,
• Removed controls.dat viewer specific support...(see below),
• Added ability to launch up to 3 external applications, either by shortcut (input) or automatically prior to emulator launch.

MAMEWAH v1.51 (20/09/04)

Bugs Fixed:

• 'keep_movie_preview_aspect 0' would not work (fixed),
• Run Time Error 52 may occur for various reasons (fixed),
• Run Time Error 91 may occur for various reasons (fixed),
• If the blank screen saver was launched by fault (eg if a scr screensaver was not found) then it would be un-exitable (fixed),
• If the blank screen saver was launched by fault and 'enable_music_in_screensaver 0', music would incorrectly continue (fixed),
• Screen saver would sometimes launch right after a game was quit (fixed),
• 'show_dos_box auto' would not work with certain list_generation_method's (fixed),
• Emulator-specific music would not work (fixed),
• Clone info would not be removed from games added to a list with 'display_clone_info 0' set (fixed),
• Games may not have been correctly added to most_played / longest_played custom lists (fixed),
• Preview movie may not have played after switching emulators (fixed),
• Main form would disappear leaving options menu visible when exiting via menu (fixed),
• Closing options menu (if above a movie preview) would cause part of movie to be cut off (fixed),
• Holding up/down at top/bottom of list would cause image(s) not to update (but movie does) (fixed),
• Screensaver may have attempted to kick in while or after 'exit' sound was playing (fixed),
• controls_dat_viewer_options would be added twice to commandline (fixed),
• Big font / crashing problem (Run Time Error 13) with regional settings which use ',' as decimal seperator or non-English language setting (fixed at last!),
• Un-neccessary refreshment of current game images/text when activating (non-used) input (fixed).

Improvements:

• Made Options menu disappear after generating custom lists, as per previous versions,
• Adjusted initialisation sequence for a 'cleaner' look,
• Ctrlr files now accept regular pipe '|' as well as '¦',
• Hiphens (-) may now be used in 'emuname's,
• Changed screensaver delay unit to seconds for increased accuracy (UPDATE YOUR MAMEWAH.INI FILE!!),
• DirectSound is now fully released when launching a game/scr saver/wrapper in order to prevent problems with DOS apps,
• Settings in ini files (excl. ctrlr) are no longer case-sensitive,
• Improved 'show_dos_box auto' to show box if roms have bad checksums,
• Improved keep_movie_preview_aspect to allow for correct game aspect ratio (nb dependant on movie_artwork_no and keep_image_aspect, thanks Howard_C :) ),
• Removed 'Select Emulator' option from menu when 0-1 emulators exist,
• Removed 'Select Games List' option from menu when 0-1 games lists exist,
• Removed 'Find Game' and 'Select Random Game' options from menu when 0-1 games exist,
• Removed (Games List Options > ) 'Add Game to List' and 'Remove Game from List' options from menu when no games exist.

MAMEWAH v1.5 (07/09/04)

Bugs Fixed:

• Using '&' in 'Emulator Title' or 'Game List Title' would result in title being incorrectly displayed (fixed),
• Hitting exit button with 'Default Exit Button Action' set to 'Give Choice' would not work (fixed),
• Hitting exit key >once would play exit sound >once (fixed),
• Artwork sizes/aspect ratios may have been incorrect with certain layouts (fixed),
• Images may not have been displayed if files were present in the image folder, with the same filename but different extension (fixed),
• Sounds may not have been played if files were present in the image folder, with the same filename but different extension (fixed),
• Some external screensavers may have caused MAMEWAH to return non-fullscreen and/or without focus (fixed),
• Hitting keys while waiting for game list refresh / custom list generation may have (unwanted) delayed effect (fixed),
• Windows 98 sound issues (fixed?),
• Apparently random Run Time Error 62 caused by corrupted FAV, FTR or CFG files (fixed?).

Improvements (/Changes):

• Removed 'Artwork #1 Filename to Replace with Romname' option,
• Removed 'Task Switching' option,
• Removed About box,
• Revamped options menu entirely, removing most options except navigation options and list generation / filtration features,
• Added 'Find Game' option for easily searching out games,
• Improved options menu refresh to reduce (remove?) flickering while scrolling,
• Added broadcasting giving MAMEWAH's main form caption in the format 'MAMEWAH - Emulator Title: Game Description (ROMNAME)',
• Replace 'debug.log' with 'mamewah.log', to record games launched, reason for (cleanly) quitting and (some) errors encountered,
• Replaced 'emu?' file system (layouts, configs, lists, ctrlr files, filters & favorites) to new 'emuname' system,
• Updated /e commandline switch to accept emulator name,
• Replaced .CFG file system with new .INI system, which will auto-update with future versions of MAMEWAH,
• Removed 50 emulator limit (to 32,767!),
• Removed 50 game list limit (to 32,767!),
• List-specific sounds may now be used,
• Added two new List Generation Methods to work with MAME v0.84+ ('-listinfo' removed from MAME),
• Added ability to 'filter' lists with no filters available, in order to remove (clone) [rom info] - just hit 'Generate Custom List using Filters' to apply it,
• Made old 'Display Clone Info' feature custom list specific,
• Added LCD display support,
• Emulator-specific .SCR screensavers may now be used,
• Emulator-specific music can now be used,
• Added 'Max Favorites' feature for custom lists,
• Added movie support for screensaver, intro/exit movies and game movie previews,
• Created a new ctrlr ini file input system to handle more events, mulitple input mapping, simutaneous key/input presses, mouse & joystick support,
• Menu lock 'hold for 3 seconds' removed (use multiple inputs instead),
• Removed Default Exit Button Action option (due to new input system, see below),
• Added several hotkey/input shortcuts - see \mamewah\ctrlr\default.ini for full details,
• Added 'wrap_list' feature which enabled wrapping of the games list & options menu while navigating,
• Probably some things I have forgotten - see the new \docs folder for documentation.
• Renamed the 'Console #?' label as 'Emulator #?' to be more accurate.

MAMEWAH v0.894 and below

These versions are not recommed anymore. They are not compatible with version 1.5 and above (wich have changed a lots of code). If you want to see the log for these versions, you should download Mamewah yourself, and look on the changes.txt log file.