Forget ZVG, AAE is a great Multi-Vector

[Artisan2084]

Thanks for the info.

Looks like I have some experimenting to do. I am sure I can round up the hardware that you described. Then it would just be finding the time to tweak.

The games I would care about most would be Asteroids, and Asteroids Deluxe... but I have dedicated versions of those already.

I would like to tackle Tempest and Star Wars since I have dedicated MAME cabinets running those games. It would be nice try and improve the look of those by using AAE instead of regular MAME.

 

[bungy]

AAE is neat. I tried it out on my MAME cabinet and it looks better than MAME. Sound is better than MAME too and the vector chatter is a nice touch. Needs lots of horsepower which I have, but the controls are just lacking, especially the mouse driven controls (trackball, spinner).

I might tweak it and put it on the menu as a curiousity. Don't think it could replace MAME though.

 

[taylormadelv]

It can't replace mame. You can't add/subtract games!

 

[djw90]

Im going to bump this old thread.. OK I tried AAE tonight.. I must say its impressive.. Using a 21 in CRT, old school ACAD monitor.. I was able to tweek some of the games to where they actually looked close.. Still not ZVG quality IMO, but still very cool...

 

[facelift]

AAE is dead too though. The guy hasn't worked on it for ages and I tweaked the hell out of it and never had it looking like a real vector B&W or Color for that matter.
It's better than nothing, but to me, there is still no comparision with them side by side.

There was a release a few builds back in mame. Some guy did a custom vector build that adds many of the effects that AAE had and to me, it actually looked better than AAE...but still, didn't match a real vector monitor. If I didn't have the real thing, I'd probably build a multi with the mame custom compiled vector version. At least all the games are there.
You needed a fairly fast computer though as it's all done in software.

 

[Nightbringer]

There's work being done on HLSL effects for vectors in the main branch now. The latest change log shows some of the groundwork being added and there are some teaser screen shots in the mameworld forums.

 

[Black Matrix]

Got any pics of this monitor...in action would be best, but its nice to be able to keep an eye out for one.

OK... I have to add my 2c on this one.....

I use a NEC Multisinc FE2111SB (Super bright). In normal mode, it looks great. When I turned the super bright on...... GOSH DAMN!!!!!!!! I almost fell out of my chair. The blacks stay black, and the colors light up the room! This is as close as you will ever get without a real vector monitor. It is so bright, the diagonals are as smooth as the straights. No stair steps! I got this 21" CRT for FREE off Craigs List from a graphics design house that replaced them with others. I run dual 21" CRTs with a ViewSonic G810-2 sitting next to it. No comparison!! After seeing AAE on my NEC, I can safely say, I am happy without a ZV cab. I would love to find another NEC locally to have matching ones. WOW!

 

[Nightbringer]

AAE is way too frustrating to use for all but about 10 minutes. There are a lot of cool things there, but the emulation is shit and it's buggy as hell. It does look good, especially if you tone down the after images, but it still doesn't look "right."

The build facelift mentioned, RobertJ's build, works pretty well, but isn't anti-aliased so it looks like crap unless your monitor has a pretty small dot pitch. Having jaggy vectors kinda defeats the purpose.

I'm holding out hope that MooglyGuy's current work is better. I'm thinking he'll have better results with the color vectors than the b&w ones though regardless, and Asteroids and AD will still look funky because of the refresh rate. Still easier than a room full of vectors though!