GNOME Video Arcade
==================

Written by Matthew Barnes <mbarnes@redhat.com>

GNOME Video Arcade is a clean and simple MAME front-end for the
GNOME Desktop Environment.

This project is targeted towards non-technical arcade enthusiasts
who just want to easily play classic arcade games on their desktop.
Though it may be suitable for use in custom arcade cabinets, the
project is not designed for that purpose.


Dependencies
------------

GNOME Video Arcade has a few external dependencies which need to be
installed prior to compiling the source code:

   - sdlmame or xmame

       These may be available as pre-compiled packages from your
       GNU/Linux distribution.  If not, you can download and compile
       the source code yourself.

          sdlmame:  http://rbelmont.mameworld.info/?page_id=163
          xmame:    http://x.mame.net/

   - intltool

       GNOME Video Arcade uses intltool to help internationalize the
       user interface.  This should be available from your GNU/Linux
       distribution as a pre-compiled package.

   - gnome-doc-utils

       GNOME Video Arcade uses gnome-doc-utils to build the user
       documentation.  This should be available from your GNU/Linux
       distribution as a pre-compiled package.

   - Header files for GTK+ version 2.10 (or higher).

       The GTK+ header files should be available from your GNU/Linux
       distribution as a "development" package.  The exact package name
       varies by distribution, but it should be something similar to
       gtk2-devel (Fedora) or libgtk2.0-dev (Debian/Ubuntu).

   - Header files for GConf version 2.0 (or higher)

       GNOME Video Arcade uses GConf to remember preferences, favorites
       and other miscellaneous user data.  The GConf header files should
       be available from your GNU/Linux distribution as a "development"
       package.  The exact package name varies by distribution, but it
       should be something similar to GConf2-devel (Fedora) or
       libgconf2-dev (Debian/Ubuntu).

   - Header files for SQLite version 3.x.

       GNOME Video Arcade uses SQLite to store detailed information
       about games supported by MAME.  The SQLite header files should
       be available from your GNU/Linux distribution as a "development"
       package.  The exact package name varies by distribution, but it
       should be something similar to sqlite-devel (Fedora) or
       libsqlite3-dev (Debian/Ubuntu).

   - Header files for libgnomeui version 2.14 (or higher). (optional)

       The libgnomeui header files should be available from your
       GNU/Linux distribution as a "development" package.  The exact
       package name varies by distribution, but it should be something
       similar to libgnomeui-devel (Fedora) or libgnomeui-dev
       (Debian/Ubuntu).

       This library is only needed to make the Help->Contents menu item
       work.  If you are already using a GNOME desktop, you should already
       have this library installed.  But if you would rather not drag in
       the entire GNOME development platform, you can configure GNOME
       Video Arcade to not link against GNOME libraries.  See the
       Installation section to find out how.

       UPDATE: As of version 2.14, GTK+ can now open help on its own.  So
               you no longer need libgnomeui if you're on a sufficiently
               up-to-date system.

   - Header files for libwnck version 2.16 (or higher). (optional)

       The libwnck header files should be available from your GNU/Linux
       distribution as a "development" package.  The exact package name
       varies by distribution, but it should be something similar to
       libwnck-devel (Fedora) or libwnck-dev (Debian/Ubuntu).

       GNOME Video Arcade uses libwnck to implement "spatial" MAME
       windows, whereby the size and position of each game window is
       remembered across sessions.  If you prefer not to use libwnck,
       you can configure GNOME Video Arcade to not link against it.
       See the Installation section to find out how.

   - catver.ini (optional)

       This file, available from http://www.progettoemma.net/?catlist,
       contains category information for games supported by MAME.  GNOME
       Video Arcade can utilize this information in the game list.

   - history.dat (optional)

       This file, available from http://www.arcade-history.com,
       contains historical information as well as tips and tricks
       for many arcade games.  GNOME Video Arcade can utilize this
       information in its Properties window.

   - nplayers.ini (optional)

       This file, available from http://nplayers.arcadebelgium.be,
       contains more detailed information about the maximum number of
       players a game supports, including whether players alternate
       or play simultaneously.  GNOME Video Arcade can utilize this
       information in the Players column of the game list.


Installation
------------

The INSTALL file has some generic but detailed installation
instructions that are applicable to most Free Software packages,
including GNOME Video Arcade.  This section supplements the INSTALL
file with information specific to GNOME Video Arcade.

These instructions are written specifically for GNOME Video Arcade
version 0.6.5 and may change in forthcoming releases.

The standard installation procedure looks like this:

   $ cd /path/to/gnome-video-arcade-0.6.5
   $ ./configure
   $ make
   $ su -c "make install"
   (Prompted for root password)

   To start: Applications -> Games -> Video Arcade

If the configure script cannot find the MAME program, you can
specify the MAME program location by defining an SDLMAME or
XMAME environment variable, like this:

   $ SDLMAME=/path/to/program/sdlmame ./configure

   or

   $ XMAME=/path/to/program/xmame ./configure

The choice of environment variable determines which MAME driver
is compiled, so use the SDLMAME environment variable if you have
sdlmame installed, or the XMAME environment variable if you have
xmame installed.

You can use the --with-category-file configure option to specify
the location of a catver.ini file as mentioned above.  Usage looks
something like this:

   $ ./configure --with-category-file=/path/to/catver.ini

You can use the --with-history-file configure option to specify
the location of a history.dat file as mentioned above.  Usage
looks something like this:

   $ ./configure --with-history-file=/path/to/history.dat

You can use the --with-nplayers-file configure option to specify
the location of a nplayers.ini file as mentioned above.  Usage
looks something like this:

   $ ./configure --with-nplayers-file=/path/to/nplayers.ini

The --enable-gtk-doc configure option tells "make" to generate
developer documentation while building GNOME Video Arcade.  Once
installed, the documentation can be viewed through Devhelp.

The --with-gnome and --without-gnome configure options tell "make"
whether to link against high-level GNOME libraries like libgnomeui.
Similarly, the --with-wnck and --without-wnck configure options
tell "make" whether to link against libwnck.  See the previous
section for details on what these libraries are used for.

UPDATE: --with-gnome is now ignored if GTK+ >= 2.14 is detected.

Usage
-----

GNOME Video Arcade comes with a user manual that describes basic usage
of the application.  You can view it by choosing Help->Contents from
the main menu in GNOME Video Arcade, or by starting Yelp and searching
for "GNOME Video Arcade".

Please feel free to email me with any questions, bugs, or suggestions.


                              - Matthew Barnes <mbarnes@redhat.com>