Standalone Spinner for MAME - The one and only How-To!

Arkanoid ... finally!

Arkanoid was very popular amongst us youngsters. I was one those that managed all 100 levels, but certainly not with just one coin. I also think that this was just manageable in the cocktail table version due to the stamina and focus required for this difficult game. We typically used to take the challenge by two, so that after dying, you could relax a bit while the other guy plays, and that worked out quite well.

A spinner for MAME has always been in my plans simply because of Arkanoid. But I always hesitated because I wanted a standalone spinner (for reasons stated below), while basically all online instructions relate to integrating a spinner into your overall arcade control panel.

Now, finally, it is there and works just perfectly.

My prototype with cardboard. As you can see, very decent styling.
I might even stick with the cardboard version because it works so well.

Negatron - a MAME Desktop Frontend at its best

Okay, I quite finished my review, but will update it incrementally from time to time.

Update 11 April - Negatron Cross Platform Pack, MAMEUI screenshot, further .ini info and NegaMAME
Update 13 April - included further information on Extras, In-Game Extras and the Manuals tab; edited the information on .ini issues.
Update 14 April - finishing up with a conclusion
Update 30 April - negatron 0.100.1 gets rid of some Mac-specific bugs, so go and get it!

MAME frontends for MacOS have always been scarce. That's why I was surprised to learn about this Negatron MAME Desktop Frontend being available cross platform, thus for MacOS as well. Already after my first tests, I was blown away by its capabilities. This review tries to point to the outstanding functions, especially for MacOS users, so that you can choose whether to give it a try.

Version tested: 0.100.1 (yes, the software is around since 2015, and I was never aware of - shame on me!)

Website Frontend: http://www.babelsoft.net/products/negatron.htm

Website NegaMAME: http://www.babelsoft.net/products/negamame.htm (a dedicated MAME derivative)

The software is updated frequently by its developer XinYingHo.

Funding for OSX MAME Website during Covid19 time - please do consider!

This is a post during the Covid19 Lockdown:

Jay, the maintainer of https://sdlmame.lngn.net/, is directly affected by the Covid19 lockdown, and he kindly asks for assistance to keep his site up and running:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-lngnnet-services?d=tueAWZxgx3lwv%2B67DwkexMpwQQV7JY7L7yRHDj9Qc5g%3D

I did my part, and please consider to do the same. Thanks indeed.