[SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

esuhl · 2018-07-26 19:43:32

I'm trying to set up an old PC as a simple games machine, using an old version of MAME (v0.37b5).

Old MAME versions don't seem to be available in AUR, so I've downloaded the source package from the MAME website. (See http://mamedev.org/oldrel.html). The download is an src directory containing lots of files with .h and .c extensions, with a makefile text file in the root.

I've read about the wiki entries on:
Arch Build System: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Build_System
Creating Packages: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Cr … reparation

But the following doesn't work (because there's no configure file):

./configure
make
make install

I'm a bit confused about what I should be trying to do. Am I aiming to create my own PKGBUILD file as a first-step...?

And what is the makefile? If I need to use it, how should I modify the following contents:

...
# set this the operating system you're building for
# (actually you'll probably need your own main makefile anyways)
OS = msdos

# extension for executables
EXE = .exe

Can anyone give me a nudge in the right direction?

Thanks! :-D

Last edited by esuhl (2018-07-27 17:22:59)

loqs · 2018-07-26 19:49:43

Why are you targetting an older version of MAME? Have you examined https://git.archlinux.org/svntogit/comm … kages/mame
Edit:
Many projects supply a README or INSTALL file which will provide documentation on building the project.

Last edited by loqs (2018-07-26 19:53:14)

Slithery · 2018-07-26 19:56:43

RetroArch has 37.5b as one of its cores, it would be far easier to set up and configure that than try to compile such an old MAME version with current Arch.

ewaller · 2018-07-26 20:34:55

If there is a makefile already, just try make

The configure script is part of the autotools for building a makefile based upon a lot of things, including stuff that is, or is not available on the system doing the compile, build time options, and machine architecture.
You already have a make file, so you might be good to go.

I say might, because if there is any complexity to the program, you will have some dependency that doesn't work. But, try it and see what happens.

Edit: Actually, that makefile is configured for Windows, so you will need to hand edit it.

Last edited by ewaller (2018-07-26 20:36:30)

smirky · 2018-07-27 07:17:25

I've downloaded the zip (mame00199s.zip), unzipped it, called make -j8 and it finished successfully with a "mame64" binary.
Noting was modified in the makefile or any file for that matter after the unzip.

Trilby · 2018-07-27 13:14:24

I can confirm the above - which is a contrast to the OP. Esuhl, the makefile excerpt you quoted in your first post does not exist in what can be downloaded from the url you provided. Where did you get that? What exactly did you download?

EDIT: oops - you did say you were using the older 037b version ... checking... Nope, that excerpt is still not there, and the target platform is still properly detected. In the case of the older source, it does fail to build here, but only due to it being 32-bit only (and possibly due to me not having any multilib tools installed). EDIT 2: oops again ... yes that excerpt is in the 0.37b5 version. Are you sure you need precisely that one? That makefile is for msdos only.

Last edited by Trilby (2018-07-27 13:20:18)

esuhl · 2018-07-27 17:22:18

Thanks all.

I need an old version of MAME because I want to run it on an old AMD64 3700+ PC with 2GB RAM. The current system requirements for MAME include:

- Intel Core series CPU or equivalent, at least 2.0 GHz
- 4 GB RAM

The most modern console I want to emulate is probably the Sega Megadrive... which had a 7.61 MHz CPU and 64KB RAM! What does MAME do with all the extra processing power and memory?!

And the makefile was in the source download from the link in my original post. I know it's for DOS/Windows, but wasn't sure how to edit it appropriately. A Linux makefile wasn't supplied. :-/

Slithery wrote:

RetroArch has 37.5b as one of its cores, it would be far easier to set up and configure that than try to compile such an old MAME version with current Arch.

YAAAY!!! I got Donkey Kong working with the MAME 0.375b core, and it plays really well! Fantastic suggestion -- thanks! :-D

Slithery · 2018-07-27 21:43:28

esuhl wrote:

The most modern console I want to emulate is probably the Sega Megadrive... which had a 7.61 MHz CPU and 64KB RAM! What does MAME do with all the extra processing power and memory?!

MAME isn't designed to be a playable emulator, it's designed to accurately emulate the circuit boards and IC's (bugs, quirks and all) from old arcade games to preserve their logic before the actual physical hardware degrades. The fact that some (older) games are playable is just a nice consequence of this mission. MAME didn't even support non-arcade systems until quite recently, if you just want to play Megadrive games then one of the more specialised emulators is likely to be orders of magnitude quicker than MAME.

Trilby · 2018-07-27 22:46:44

I've recently started using mednafen. It's ridiculously easy and reliable compared to some other emulators I've used - that said, my experience is pretty limited.

Arch Linux

#1 2018-07-26 19:43:32

[SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

#2 2018-07-26 19:49:43

Re: [SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

#3 2018-07-26 19:56:43

Re: [SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

#4 2018-07-26 20:34:55

Re: [SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

#5 2018-07-27 07:17:25

Re: [SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

#6 2018-07-27 13:14:24

Re: [SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

#7 2018-07-27 17:22:18

Re: [SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

#8 2018-07-27 21:43:28

Re: [SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

#9 2018-07-27 22:46:44

Re: [SOLVED] Compiling from source -- very confused

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