Sounds like your computer is too slow.

well, my computers pretty new, I mean its not a souped up one, but its a new standard grade computer. runs windows XP.

umm, umk3 ran on ancient hardawre from 1995, my computer is far newer, and should surpass that hardware. so theres no reason it shouldnt be able to handle it. man, I hope you dont need a souped up comp just to play an ancient 2D game from 1995, that just dont sound right. please tell me thats not the problem. also, that doesnt explain why I cant even start the game, period. only sometimes will I be able to start the game with random button pushing for like 5 minutes. I dont think speed has anything to do with being able to start the game. are you supposed to push cetain keys simulataneously to start the game? im always stuck in attract mode for a while.

Ummm first of all, without knowing the specs of your computer then an answer is pretty much useless.

Ummm also you obviously don't understand how MAME works and haven't bothered to read documentation like uh the FAQ on their official site!

But here let me shed some light. We are talking about very accurate emulation of an arcade machine. Which of course has dedicated video chips and dedicated sound chips.

I have a 2.5 gig and time to time the sound crackles(most likely the sound laging). Also ram is another issue.

Just because your computer runs Windows XP doesn't mean a damn thing? There are games in MAME that will not run full speed without a 10 gig computer....i.e. prfectly emulated PONG or any of the other dedicated circuit Atari games.

If you get to the attract mode on MK3 add quarters with key 5 and then start with key 1. This is basic crap though. Look it up on the official site. It is all laid out for you. Incidently, I wouldn't bug anyone there about roms or you will be kicked off FAST! My suggestion is read before you post.

You don't need a souped up computer, but what you describe sounds like the computer is too slow. Or perhaps the resources are being eaten up by something else. For instance, I have an Athlon 64 3200+ running Win2K that runs UMK3 fine, but occasionally Steam (being the devil) will decide to take up 60% of the CPU. When it randomly decides to do this, MAME becomes unplayable, and I have to kill Steam to play. I also have a Pentium M 1.73ghz laptop with XP MCE but no stray background processes have slowed down MAME on that yet.

But I also keep the comps shaved down to get the most out of them. Win2K boots to 100megs of ram used out of the 1gb that's there and XP MCE boots to 300megs, which is not bad for MCE (XP Pro can boot to 70 megs ram used).
EDIT: And thinking back, I've run UMK3 without sound on a P3 450 with Win2K ultra-streamlined and got consistant 98% speed. And I've gotten consistant 100% speed on a P3 733 with Win98se running with sound. But then the 2.8ghz P4 on my work comp can't sustain 80% speed.

well, I already read that FAQ on the MAME site. This is how I figured out how to launch the game only to discover these problems. I read the entire FAQ, and told me no useful information about my problem. it just addressed general problems that specifically cant be applied to the umk3 game im trying to get to run right. Since it didnt directly address running umk3, I wouldnt expect it to give me any minimum system requirements to run it right. again, umk3 ran on ancient hardware, my comp is far newer and superior. I would expect umk3 to be running slow on the actual arcade machine long before it would ever run slow on a new computer that came out like 10 years later with way better hardware.

also, I searched the net for any information on running and operating UMK3 on MAME. I found nothing. the website (as with all of the rom distributing sites) dont include an instruction manual for operating umk3 on mame. So I dont know how anyone would expect me to be able to know how to do this stuff. Apparently, you have to figure out how to start the game (get past attract mode) all on your own, or ask someone. which is what Ive already done here. theres no information available on umk3 on mame, I know of no instruction manuals, the roms sites dont give you that. you guys are all I got. since this is an mk discussion board, it seems the logical place ot go.

So could someone tell me the minimum computer requirements to run UMK3 on mame with no problems? also, how do you look up your own computers specs?

I mean, I already said my computer was new (its only 2 years old). that information alone would be enough to give you an idea of what my specs are. all you do is ask the question "what were the specs of the least powerful computer available at a computer store 2 years ago?". and my computer's actual specs will have power equal to or greater than that amount. I mean the weakest computers today are only getting stronger and stronger as years go by. so given that information, your not totally ignorant about my computer specs, you have an idea.

edit: I downloaded the roms from ROMnation. now, I have windows starting to popup on my computer when I surf the net. I think I have spyware or somthing. 2 questions:

1. DO YOU THINK THE ROMS MAY BE DEFECTIVE? apparently romnation is a malicious website trying to put spyware on my comp. mabye defective roms are my problem? wouldnt suprise me if it is givingout bad roms. 2. HOW DO YOU GET RID OFF SPYWARE AND STOP POPUPS from rapidly poping up when Im just visiting a friendly website such as this one? getting the mame not working right and now this is really frustrating me.

ok. im sure there are a bunch of stuck up tech nerds laughing at your messages instead of helping a fellow MK'er, (or they're on xbla) but I will help you troubleshoot as much as I can. It will be best to go step by step online, so I'll send my AIM to you MKO mailbox.
1) to check your specs, click start on the bottom left of windows, click on control panel, then click on system.
Note: Mame is a modern program that emulates the old hardware, it is not the same as the old hardware. it is more advanced* software and drains RAM while it runs. I have 1 gig of RAM, and an AMD 2.4 GH processor and umk3 runs fine. If you have a processor like an Intel Celeron and 512 mb RAM, I know that won't cut it. So if you have something in that ball park that it is your source of slowdown. The way I see it, the faster we help u get online, the faster we can all whoop on ya.

Do you know the actual specs of your computer? How much ram, how fast a processor, what kind of processor?

Just saying your computer is new doesn't say anything. If it's two years old that says a bit more, and also says it isn't exactly new

It should be able to run MAME but I gave you some reasons why it could slow down even if its a fairly new computer.

ok, thanx for the generous help. more helpful than those that are laughing at me.

I check my specs, and they are:

intel pentium III processor
797 MHz
384 MB or RAM

384 MB of ram is alot, and a pentium III is very good, again, it just doesnt make sense that my computer is too slow. It has to be something else. am I right? Id really like to get this fixed, I want to play UMK3 like the arcade!! If its because I dont have enough RAM, how do I get more?

My theory is that I downloaded currupted ROMs. I downloaded them from ROMnation. Is this a safe website to download mame roms from? also, ever since I downloaded the roms, Ive been getting mysterious popups that hijack my internet browser, and I have to totally close it out just to make them go away. super annoying, I have to reopen internet explorer, goto MKO.com and login all over again.

so anyone know about this? is ROMnation an evil website? how can I get rid of the spyware and popups that it gave my computer? help please.

Your file is not corrupt because if it were, the game would not run and an error popup would tell you the file was corrupt. If you have spyware, just download a spysweeper online for like $10. No big deal. You have more expensive problems though. Your hardware says your system is older than you said. The pentium 3 has not been manufactured since 2002. And 790 MHz is not fast enough. 1000 MHz equals 1 GHz. . I have a 2.4 GHz processor which equals 2400 MHz.(speed) I STILL have sound lag. Also you have 512 mb RAM, but it is shared as 170 is automatically unavailable. What this means is that unfortunately your hardware is not capable of running UMK3 for mame at normal play speed.

ok, so my comp just isnt up to par to play umk3....unbeleivable. who would of thought that a computer with 02 technology wont be able to run a game from 95 correctly? no wonder they could never get the console ports right, the consoles that they ported umk3 over (ie sens, genesis) had even weaker technology than my computer. but it just seems so counterintuitive to me that it wont work. UMK3 was just a 2D video game, no different than a game like super mario world, with the only difference being more colors and larger sprites. so I need a fast compter just to play a game with a few more colors and larger sprites than super mario world? It just seems so counterintuitive. still cant beleive it, but I know your right.

Well, now I know why I cant play umk3. thanx for the help.

a few questions though:

1. how do I get more RAM for my computer? is there anyway to increase the speed of my processor.

2. could you list the minimum requirements that a computer will need to run umk3 smoothly. (for future reference when buying a new comp and so others reading this interested in mame-umk3 will know). the stupid rom distributors dont even have the common courtesy to tell you the minimum system requirements.

3. is there any site I can download a UMK3 operators manual? the rom sites only distribute roms, not the manuals that would tell one how to play umk3 on mame.

4. do you need a fast comp to play the console emulations of umk3? Im thinking of putting the sega saturn version of umk3 on my comp since I cant play the arcade one. didnt sega saturn have the best console port of umk3 ever released?

5. and last. has anyone downloaded roms from ROMnation and got spyware? I want to know if it was in fact ROMnation that gave me spyware so I can report them. Is getting spyware from downloading mame roms common?

"the stupid rom distributors dont even have the common courtesy to tell you the minimum system requirements."




LOL!!!!!!

sega kid sux, you seem to be missing what a few people have mentioned.

Running UMK3 in an emulator is not the same as just running the game. Yeah its a 2D game, but you aren't just running a 2D game. You are emulating an entire computer system. And in this case, its a system that doesn't have a simple enough processor for emulation to be fairly easy, and it isn't like a more modern console where you can use High Level Emulation. So your computer is stuck literally emulating every CPU cycle, making the game itself think it's running on a real arcade machine.

I am surprised about your computer. If you really got it 2 years ago, then it's processor was already like 3 years old when you got it. I have a P3 733 with 384 megs of RAM in the house. We got it in 2000.

A RAM increase might help. You'd have to figure out what kind of RAM you have. Look up your system on its manufacturer's website if its from a major manufacturer or get a friend that knows computer to figure it out for you.

384 megs of RAM is not a lot, especially if you are running XP. It's probably using almost all of that just to run XP.

ROM distributors aren't going to make help manuals. ROMs are illegal. Emulators can't get into much documentation about the ROMs themselves because the whole ROM aspect of them is pretty much always illegal.

Emulators for consoles like SNES require much lower system specs because the hardware is A LOT less powerful than something like UMK3 for the arcade. Even powerful consoles like N64 have OK emulation because the newer systems didn't require games directly access hardware, but instead told the console itself to access the hardware which allows for High Level Emulation.

oh, I see, MAME is using software that basically creates a virtual arcade machine hardware to get it to play the rom. well that would require more work, so that does make sense why emulation needs beefy computers.

ok, well could you atleast tell me the minimum system requirements to get UMK3 to run on mame smoothly, so I can use this as a reference when buying a new comp? do you know the minimum requirements?

2.4 GHz processor, 512 RAM

or if you take away the sound (in MAME32k atleast) those specs arnt required, it ran on my 800 MHz 288 ram PC fine when I did that.
just play MK music in the background to add to the feeling.

why dont you download a genises and download UMK3 that way..i did

A big problem with UMK3 is there was never a good home port until 360. So, getting UMK3 for genesis is like getting 1/5th the quality of graphics and gameplay of the arcade.

I didn't know that. Thanks. Now I can speed up my online play maybe? Except it will be harder for me to know where Reptile and Smoke are when invisible.

And online play typically requires a faster computer than offline. For online play you'll want at least 1.4ghz depending on the processor type. Desyncs happen A LOT more when one of the computers is slower than this.

Since we are talking about mame,I'm having a problem running it to.when I open mame everything is fine.the rom's are in the right place.but when I try to play a game,mame freezes,and stops responding.I have tried many different versions of mame,from .064 to the newest one.and they all do the same thing.
mame used to run perfectly on my old system,wich was running at around 800 MHz with 384 megs of ram.on window's ME.
My new computer is running window's XP.and It has the AMD athlon 64 bit processor clocking at.2.2 GHz,with 512 megs of ram.
I don't understand why it worked fine on my older comp and won't run at all on my new one.
any help would be appreciated.
thank's.

the mods need to make this post a sticky!

This post will answer alot of mame questions that will keep comming up over again in the future if this post gets buried. If any post deserves to be a sticky, this one definitely does. Every hardcore mk fan should be playing mame mks, theyre the arcade versions! you cant be called a true fan if your playing those lame console ports. and so everyone deserves readily accessible help on this topic, its important.

all the experts on the topic, feel free to answer the questions on this post. this might as well be a troubleshooting/FAQ on getting mame mks to work. If you have any advice or tips you would like to post, please feel free. As far a I know, no FAQs or any info on how to specifically run umk3 on mame exists anywhere on the net. you couldnt pick a better site to host such info but the official mk fan site, mkonline!

I doubt it will get stickied. And it probably shouldn't. I understand where you are coming from with wanting this information and being happy to have it, but at the same time this site has a good standing relationship with the MK team. Can't risk that by supporting illegal MK gaming.

By saying you must play MAME mk games to be a true fan you are basically saying you have to steal a game, and play it without paying for it to be a true fan and that won't fly with a lot of the people here.

Let's not forget, playing MK on MAME is illegal. Personally I never had much of a problem with it. It's not like there was a way to play a good version of UMK3 before.

But now there is. So, if you want arcade perfect MK, pick it up for 360

well, I never really thought of it as stealing. But I guess maybe it is. But at the same time, umk3 arcade machines are too hard to find and still wouldnt be cheap to buy or have shipped to your house. plus, who wants to pay alot of money for a used arcade machine with a sticky joystick and buttons and a peeling cabinet? If Im gonna pay for it, midway better ship me a brand spankin new machine.

I mean, once a game becomes impossible to get ahold of, Id say things like mame are only fair. its a game, its not some antique piece of furnature or a famous painting that is supposed to be hard to find and must be paid for. its a game that was meant to be played by fans for as long as there will be mk fans (forever maybe?). I dont view mk as something designed to line midway's pockets, but more as a gift to people who like that kind of video game..so it was meant to be played with arcade perfection one way or another. plus after a while, after a game becomes really super old, to the point where no one would even pay 2 dollars for a umk3 arcade machine, you have to undo the legal stuff, and make it totally LEGAL to play umk3 mame. all the console ports released have really sucked, and such crappy releases only encourage people to play mame (encouraging their own fans to steal a game becuase they half-ass their releases, hmmm)....."hey ed, we just finished maidway arcade treasures 2, we threw it together and is bug infested, do you want to release it anyways?"..ed boon: "fuck the fans, they can kiss my ass and buy an arcade machine if they dont like it!""

and I heard the 360 version is really good, but isnt it all buggy and some arcade combos dont work on it? wouldnt mame still be better?

the way I see it, xbox 360 will come and go, and become hard to find eventually (just like the UMK3 arcade machines) but mame and those roms will forever be around on the net. thats the beauty of mame, it will never become hard to find, or get old or broken. its the only way to keep your mk game forever. so we better learn to accept mame as quite possibly THE way to play umk3, becuase we'll be comming back to it in the future when 360 gets old, and midway no longer cares about releasing classic arcade collections for every new console that comes out, and finding an arcade perfect port + working game console on ebay is just impossible.

A 10 gig computer is needed to run PONG correctly. A 700mghz computer is so pittifully slow. I doubt you can get most midway games of the 90's to run at an decent speed with the complicated sound chips.

Turn off sound, then you have a chance.

OR

Get the Dos version of Mortal Kombat 3. That is your closest to the arcade experience with that dinosaur of a computer.