There is an SDL 1.2.15 pre-release available which should fix any fullscreen problems on Mac OS X Lion. Note that this version also drops PPC support, and PPC can't run Lion anyway so they're fine with 1.2.14.

Get it here (download SDL-1.2.15.dmg, open the .dmg file, then drag the SDL.framework folder into the /Library/Frameworks/ folder on your hard disk).

Interesting. Do you know of the specific fix to address the problem, i.e., OSX display API change in Lion?

Fullscreen mode problems plague Linux environments as well, because of video API choices, dual monitors, differing composite window managers, varying maturity in video drivers, etc., and it makes one wonder how any of this runs as well as it does. Two thoughts on that jump out to me:

1. Could the emulator window mode be extended with an option to make for a borderless (a window without border/decorations) playfield? You see such windows like an app startup splash display, all the time and on all platforms, so I gather it's not a cross-platform API issue.

2. 4:3 playfields could fit comfortably within a larger HD skin (custom frontends). I recall QMC2 using something like an X11 container in a QT control to 'embed' an emulator, quite the clever hack and operationally useful. But that could be made to be more generalized, no? For example, mplayer allows for a -wid parameter to use as its output on another window, instead of instantiating one of its own, making it elementary to use it as an embedded video player for any application. An option like that making for an embedded emulator player has a large potential for opening up a lot of creativity and simplifying the end-user operational aspects of emulators.

The specific fix is that Apple deprecated a couple of older CoreGraphics functions back in Leopard and then made then start doing nothing in Lion. This caused crashes when the "get framebuffer address" call started returning NULL.

Saying problems "plague Linux environments" is frankly insulting. MAME has always worked well on Linux in full screen, regardless of dual-head, 4:3, or 16:(9/10) monitors. The only thing not supported that works on Windows baseline is sending the screen to alternate heads.

Thanks for that info, I will pass it along to my Mac buds at the office.

Honestly, not my intent to disrespect anyone's work, at the app nor OS level. I (hobbyist now) cross-platform develop using SDL and ClanLib with a lot of hardware targets at my disposal for testing, so perhaps my frustration with it is being spilled injudiciously here. But I've noted those observed "features" over the years here, too, along when new successes arrive.

It's 2012, I believe five years after the last OSX release using PPC? For machines and users, don't you find that apps switching fullscreen modes -- for things like marginal performance gains -- is becoming less and less relevant than what it was 5-years ago? That's like I've heard feedback here a lot on (for which I agree) "why are you building 32-bit MAME?" So why not a windows-without-borders *option* for 1920x1080?

IMO, I think the work Intel has done the most these past two+ years in the Linux kernel space (I might be mistaken, but did not GEM 'bring it together' for video modesetting and DRM?) has been a catalyst for all other chipsets, which in turn has brought a LOT more stability for features and performance to build upon. Despite these grand improvements, there are varying problems with app attempts with switching to a fullscreen mode, with only some mimicking failures just like these emulators, suggesting the problem lies in the graphic API / driver stack. From my personal implementations and from feedback in forums all over the globe, I find the issues and associated frustrations are because of the complexities mentioned that have been layered over the years.

But perhaps those emergences ARE converging and a bit more patience is required, because I have found the "crashes" to be at least recoverable over the days-of-not-so-long-ago of "hold power button for 6-sec" method. I still believe in stability over features over performance, and in the Linux space, frankly, you have to be and it's not something needing apologies.

Yeah, for reasons I couldn't quite track down Lion showed error messages but usually worked for MAME, but on SuperModel it came to a dead stop. So this fix is very good news for the (surprisingly high) number of Mac SuperModel players.

Have you seen Phoronix's various interviews with Ryan "icculus" Gordon? He co-maintains SDL and is involved in a lot of game porting (including large chunks of the various Humble Indie Bundles), and he continues to recommend a recent Nvidia card + the binary drivers as The Way To Go. I've run that setup since the beginning of SDLMAME, of course.

Technically SDL has dropped PPC support in 1.2.15 but this is only if you use the Framework versions.. We were having a discussion on the Exult-Ultima 7 forum about continuing legacy support (ie OS X PPC and Win 9x) and 1.2.15 does indeed build from source on PPC. Theyve just dropped it from the Framework releases.. As long as you keep building SDLMame from a regular old source install you should be fine until SDL completely drops it..


EDIT: just downloaded the source for the pre-release and building it via command line right now on my G5.. The fat-build script is actually working for me for once!
Out of curiousity, I opened up the XCode project they give you and it looks like the defaults are indeed set to build a 32/64-bit universal binary.. Wonder why they dropped it from the 'official' release??

Because the Mac App Store will reject binaries with PowerPC code, and a lot of SDL customers are looking to get into it.

Oh duh youre right! I forgot that was also mentioned in the thread over at the Exult forum hehehe!

I got it to build ok regardless. Got the Frameworks built as UB, and the source seems to compile fine. I just havent actually done the make install part yet cause I dont want to mess with my 1.2.14 installation until Im sure Exult and SDLMame wont break..

Man its really time for me to start saving up for a used Mac Pro now! Starting to see the dual and quad 2.66 models from 2006/7 down to about $400 on ebay..

Update on this one: SDL 1.2.15 is now final.

Nice they decided to make a library for us old school PPC folks after all!

(On a side note 1.3 actually builds just fine on a PPC Mac too so were not totally dead yet)