Mamewah Changelog

MAMEWAH v1.62b10 (26/01/06)(BETA VERSION)

Bugs Fixed:

• Images would be displayed with incorrect aspect ratio if screen ratio not 4:3 (fixed),
• Runtime Error 91 may occasionally occur in MoviePlay (fixed?),
• Programs may not have launched correctly under Windows 98 due to pointing to incorrect command.com location (fixed).

Improvements / Changes:

• Added version number to log file,
• Improved speed of 'fuzzy search',
• Added 'enable_fuzzy_search' option for images/movies (default is off for performance reasons),
• (Hopefully) improved general code speed when scrolling.

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 (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 version are not recommed anymore, it not compatible with version 1.5 and above. If you want to see the log for these versions, download Mamewah yourself, and look on the changes.txt log file.