Play Old Arcade Games with MAME (Page 2)
Tron is a video game that tied in to the release of the Disney movie, and is actually four games in one. Go back to the list of roms and do a search in your web browser (Control + F on Windows, Command + F on Mac) for "tron.zip". You'll see that there are three other files associated with Tron:
Download each of these roms, and place them in the roms folder of MAME, then relaunch MAME. You'll see that you now have four choices for tron, yet when you select either of them, you get the following error message:
Ok, we have all four needed ROMs, but no CHD (Compressed Chunks of Data). There's a separate CHD folder from RetroROMs, but nothing under "Tron", "Bally", or "Midway". Hmm, perhaps another ROM site has the correct file or files. Let's head over to ROMNation at www.romnation.net:
Thankfully we can grab these quickly since the site doesn't require any type of membership. From the left hand list, click on Roms / Games. It will take you to the page as shown below. From there click on MAME Roms (circled below).
Now you'll see a list of ROMs starting from the numerical-listed games:
Click on "T" above the list of games to search for games starting with the letter "T", then scroll down until you find "Tron":
Click on the link of "Tron (set 1)", and it will take you to the following screen:
Now click on the link "Download This Rom", and you'll be taken to an authentication page:
This page requires you to enter a 4-digit number as shown in the darkened box above the blank field. This number changes for every ROM that you download. Here the number 1610 is shown, but the number you'll need to enter will be different. Type in the number, then click on "Download" next to the field. The pop--up in Windows prompts you to download the file. Save it to your regular location, then drag it to the ROMs folder in the MAME folder. You'll be asked to overwrite the old file with the new one. Save the new one over the old one, then relaunch MAME. Now you can choose any of the Tron files from the list, but you get a different message:
Just because there are known problems doesn't equate to the game not being able to run. Type "OK" or hit the left arrow key then the right arrow key to continue. Now you get a brief synopsis of the file information and game:
Press any key and the game will boot (showing graphics wipes for a few seconds). Then you'll be able to insert coin (5), start the game (1) and play it!
The Z and X keys are used to aim the characters arm to fire. The speed in which the arm moves may be too fast or too slow. In order to tailor this, press the Tab key and select Analog Controls:
You can set the Dial Digital Speed to tailor your needs for the analog movement in the game. The entry for Dial Sensitivity also has an effect, but just change the Dial Digital Speed for now. Press Escape once or select "Return to Prior Menu" to go back to the previous Menu. You can also select "Input (This Game)" and have more options to choose from:
Pretty cool, huh? There's more to discover. Let's try out the cool space shooter Zaxxon (Next Page)...