64bit MAME 174 patched with no-nag, no white windows, hi-score and forced direct input. Key items with this release:
I promised an emailer earlier that I would put this out, and if I say I'm going to do it...it's gonna happen. So here it is. PLEASE stop asking for x86 versions, MAMEUIFX, etc. My rig doesn't use either one, so I don't compile them. Not being a jerk (at least, not deliberately
The good news:
I don't THINK you need to update your file structure with this release. So you should be able to just overwrite your MAME 173 with the attached .exe and you're off and running. If you're upgrading from 172 or prior, do a full install from the MAME DEV website, then the overwrite the main program with the attached .exe. You might want to back up your mame.ini file and generate a new one, as the nonag diff used for 174 is much more integrated and KISS than ever before.
The bad news?:
On a minor note, the HLSL programming has changed, AGAIN. So the video settings you tweaked for hours to get "just right" might not look exactly the way they did in 173. The description of the changes was accidentally left out of the "whatsnew" file for this version, but can be seen at the very bottom of the Change Log below. Apparently one of the devs forgot to update that part of the .txt file when it was sent out to the dev team 2 days prior to release date. Not saying the changes are bad - it's just that your screen might not look exactly the same as it did in 173. If you're using 172 or earlier, you should already know the new file structure has completely changed the way HLSL settings are handled. Read my 172 or 173 download descriptions for more details on that.
On a major note...
Oh I'll just come out and say it... Who really cares about this release? It's not faster. If anything, the restructuring of the drivers, carts, etc continues to slow down the emulation. YES, I KNOW IT'S MORE ACCURATE TO THE WAY THE REAL HARDWARE WORKS. But when you just want to play the games do you really care?
And what's new? MINOR bug fixes. Yet another incredibly-obscure title that now works on the Tiger Game handheld MESS emu and some improvements to the Apple 2 driver? More clones added? The improvement to Golden Tee Fore is notable, but it's really just a fix from the break that occurred from 172 to 173. The better support for DirectInput 8 is great and appreciated, but if your rig already works you don't care about this.
The work on the MAME project is vast, requiring hundreds, perhaps thousands, of man-hours to produce. And to think of how far it's come in the last few years...astonishing. As a simple end-user, I am humbled and grateful to the MAME dev team. But guys...how about fixing Sega Model 1? Virtua Fighter is still broken. YEAH, IT RUNS, but look at it - shameful. HydroThunder? Or get Sammy Atomiswave / Naomi / Sega Model 2 to play at full speed? Who doesn't love some Capcom VS SNK? MetalliC over at Demul has done an EXCELLENT job with some of these. And Bart and Ian dev-ing Sega Model 3 over at SuperModel continue to pioneer development in the true spirit of bringing old games back to life.
I told my emailer I wouldn't rant on this post, but it has to be said. This compile works great, so feel free to use it. And if you're using 173 already, I guess there's really no reason not to upgrade aside from the potential HLSL issues and romset updating. But personally, I'm still using 172 and couldn't be happier.