Lately, (version 110 "u" cycle) Mamedev has made it so that the CPS2 games (formerly emulated via xors or "decryption" on the fly) are going to require multi-gigabyte (4 gigs was the figure cited popularly) CHD files in order to run.
This is strange to most of us since CPS2 games didn't use hard drive images, and it's apparently just an imperfect simulation of the decryption data anyway or some such.
I don't really understand it (didn't Razoola and CPS2shock decrypt the games long ago and release the decryption scheme to developers? I didn't just dream that!), but anyway.
The point is, CPS2 games, which are easy to play now, will suddenly become a huge burden in newer versions of Mame. So the way to get around this would be to use code from the source of older mame builds (109 and earlier).
The CPS2 games are "good enough" now. Haze (one of the mame devs) made it sound like these were just a temporary measure, but in the meantime, what reason would there be to force people who want to play these games online to use the 4 gig chds?
Also, another thing, is that ever since version 108 (I think it was, somewhere around 106-109 anyway), the Video options changed.
It used to be you could select scanlines and blit effects and they looked GREAT frankly (as long as you aren't running a VGA arcade monitor, which most people aren't... because if you are you don't need blit effects at all.. .these are just to SIMULATE what an arcade monitor would look like, on a pc screen), but the new versions don't.
Basically with the latest versions of Mame you have two choices for viewing your games...
Full screen and fuzzy, or non-stretched and chunky (pixelated with no effects).
That sucks, frankly. I remember how great StretchMame was back in the day when it was still being supported and how popular. It had all the regular modes of Mame32 and more.
Mame32k client builds continued to support a variety of blit effects and options all throughout the various mame releases until the "new video emulation schemes" and suddenly we were down to just two choices.. neither of which looks like how it would have looked in the arcade (nobody played these games on a PC monitor in the arcades back in the day, they either played them in the arcades on a TV or vga monitor, or they played them at home with a SUPERGUN type system which used either a TV or a real arcade monitor).
So I strongly encourage Mame32k client builders to PLEASE take note. Don't just take the easy route and recycle the latest Mame32 and slap in kaillera support. Please give us the features that gamers want.
Mamedev has stated time and time again that they don't care about features that "gamers" and "fans" want, they only care about (what they consider to be) "accuracy."
That's their point of view. But the whole point of having custom builds, which are unofficial and not supported by Mamedev in ANY WAY... to give us FUN features.
Yes, we know, anyone can make their own build if they know how, but the point is... why waste your time... why should every single mame user make their own version... when a couple of talented people can put in the features that the most users would benefit from, give them out and then all these people can get together and play online together?
Besides, without the same build, two people can't play online together, so the good builds need to be supported.
Yes, there are people determined NEVER to upgrade, but we can just ignore them, since they are happy and need nothing new ever (so they seem to act).
Anyway, happy holidays! I hope with Etai around things will change for the better and hopefully we can see more development and support of Kaillera in the future, despite what the naysayers may say....