How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love MAME

Introduction.



Before you ask, this is going to be a beginner's guide to MAME, the popular multi-arcade (and multi-machine) emulator. I plan to cover its characteristics, basic usage, tell you how to perform maintenance (such as updating the ROMs) and finally mention some alternatives to MAME you may consider.

MAME (which stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) was originally the creation of Nicola Salmoria, who released its first version on february 1997. These days the emulator has evolved into an open source, community maintained project covering over 32,000 unique systems. Not just arcade machines, but also gambling machines, computers, consoles and handheld devices.

A new version of MAME appears more or less every month, a schedule decided among its developers not that long ago.

Unlike other emulators, MAME has preservation as one of its main goals. Being able to play the games is considered "a nice side effect" by some of its developers.

As such, MAME is better than other arcade emulators in that:

1) It is available for multiple platforms (Windows, Linux and Mac).

2) It covers more systems than any other emulator. And in the case of some subsystems, it is the only emulator available.

3) Emulation fidelity is a goal, as well as documenting and emulating every variant of a game.

4) It receives regular updates.

5) Being maintained by a community, it is not likely that it will ever be abandoned.

On the other hand, MAME is worse than other emulators in that:

1) Emulation requires a more powerful hardware than its alternatives.

2) ROM updates are constant and a bit cumbersome.

3) It's massive! Its full arcade set is 64 Gb. in size, plus another 500 Gb. in CHDs (more on that later) needed for some games.

4) It supports multi-threading, but not 3D hardware acceleration.

5) It has fallen behind other emulators, especially when it comes to 3D games.

6) Bugs might take longer to be fixed.

 

1) MAME essential files:

- Obviously, MAME itself. Windows users have better looking alternatives such as MAMEUI or ARCADE (which uses a similar interface to MAMEUI , but excludes mechanical games, computers, consoles and non-playable games).



- BIOS / Devices . More often than not, games from the same generation and manufactures had information in common. MAME calls these files BIOSes and they often consist of a separate download. For example, all Neo-Geo based arcades need the file neogeo.zip to be present in order to run.

Devices seem to be components used by several machines, such as keyboards, controllers and / or audio devices.

- ROMs . The contents of arcade boards (and others) dumped into computer files. MAME allows for the ROMs to be split (with a ZIP or 7Z file for every variant of the game) or merged (with all the game variants in just one ZIP or 7Z). Websites offering MAME ROMs usually have them in the split format.

-CHDs . Some arcades didn't just consist in a series of chips and a motherboard. Many also used a harddrive, a LaserDisc or some kind of optic disk. MAME developers have unified these formats into CHD files.

BIOSes and ROMs must be placed in the MAME\ROMs folder.

CHDs go in the same folder, but inside a subfolder with the name MAME assigns to the game. Confused? Something like this:



2) MAME is not so essential files.

- Samples: Some games still haven't full sound emulation. Samples are recordings of music or / and sound effects that play at the exact moment. They come in individual files per game and must be placed in MAME\Samples .

- Snapshots: With so many supported games, you may want to know how to tell them apart and how they look. Snapshot packages must be placed on MAME\SNAP , and they can be compressed (in a snap.zip or snap.7z file) or not. The IV/Play website is just one of the several that host updated packs.

- Artwork: These are files suplying additional art or backgrounds for some games. As far as I know, they're only essential for some handheld games , in which they provide the background illustration:



In regular arcade games, they replicate stickers and extra info present on the screen or surrounding it:



- DATs : These are information files maintained by other parties. I find MAMEINfo.dat and History.dat very helpful. MAMEINfo.dat shows information on the technical aspects of the game and its emulation status, whereas History.dat deals with the history of every game.

But there are many others! Hiscore.dat lets you keep hiscore records in some cases where that function is not emulated, Cheat.dat is a collection of cheats and GameInit.dat has information on how to start especially tricky arcade machines.

My latest discovery is Command.dat , which reminds you the controls and special moves in fighting games:



- Cabinets, flyers and others: These are other artwork packs that provide pictures of the arcade machine itself, its advertising, etc.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend MAME for 3D games, except in those cases where it is the only option. Demul and Supermodel , to name two, emulate them so much better. MAME's approach in those cases tends to be brute CPU force, and unless you have a monster CPU...

Plus games this new don't seem to be the bigger priority for MAME developers.

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3) Basic usage.

Once we've copied all the files to their respective folders, it's time to use MAME for the first time.

The first thing we should do it's to audit our games. MAME will check our ROMs and compare them with its internal database to see if everything it's fine.

We audit our games with the magnifying glass button on the top of the screen:



After we're done, we can click on the Available item on the list of the left of the screen and fold it. Now MAME will only show the available games / machines, and we can launch them with a double click:





These are the basic controls:

Keys 5 and 6 to enter coins for the first and second players.

Keys 1 and 2 for the start buttons for the first and second players.

Cursors for movement.

Left CTRL and ALT keys as buttons 1 and 2. Further buttons (if used) are mapped to MAYS and Z , X and C .

And finally ESC to close the game and return to the gamelist.

All games/machines also have an internal menu , which we access with TAB . Note that when emulating computers you'll need to press Scroll lock first. This swirches between the emulated keyboard and your computer keyboard.



We can use this menu to remap controls, but also to access the dip switches . These were physical switches present in the game board (although some newer systems use software menus). Owners of arcades used them to configure stuff such as prizing (how many coins to start a game) or the difficulty levels.



Most of the time, these options are directly available using this menu. Other times, however, you will need to enter Test mode (with F2 ) and use the game's internal menus.


4) MAME as a console / computer emulator.

Apart from arcade machines, MAME also emulates a number of... gizmos. These include pinballs, consoles, computers, calculators... the list is long.

There are two main reasons for this.

a) The first one is that arcade machines and home consoles / computers don't live in isolated worlds. They share components, and sometimes arcade machines are based on consoles or viceversa. Which means that MAME already emulated many of their components, and that sometimes emulating a console or a computer could result in a better understanding of an arcade system, or the other way around.

b) The second reason was MESS. MESS was a companion project to MAME, one focused in home systems. But from May 2015 (or MAME v162) both projects began to merge, to the joy of some users and the horror of others.

Since then, we can use MAME to emulate many of these home systems. Provided we have the ROMs, they show directly into our game list:



We can run their games in two different ways:

The first one involves software lists . These are a list of games curated by the MAME team themselves, and they exist for every emulated system. The files go in the MAME\ROMs folder as well:


In this case, gameboy.zip are the ROMs for the Game Boy console, and the gameboy folder contains its software list.

Now we launch the Game Boy console:



And we choose any of the games.



As you can see, home systems can also use their own artwork . If we don't have it, the game will show in fullscreen. You decide.

The second option is to run games from our own collection. This has the advantages of saving disk space and being able to run hacks or translations. And the disadvantage that they might not work.

To choose our own games, we run the machine just like we did, but then we choose the Start empty or File manager options from the gamelist.

If we "start empty", we press TAB during emulation and use the File manager option...



...followed by a reset of the system.

So, how good is MAME when emulating home systems? I'd say it is pretty good (but not flawless) when it comes to 8 and 16-bit systems. Beyond that, there will be dragons.

 

5) Updating our ROMs.

Oh, the humanity! Oh, you heartless developers! There's a new MAME version available and after updating I can't find my favorite games anymore!

Alright, take it easy. What you just experienced is pretty normal, and one of the results of MAME's historical intentions. With every new MAME version some games are redumped, clones are added and new features implemented. So you'll need to update your ROMs.

This is usally achieved by downloading the changed / updated ROMs from elsewehere (I won't tell you because it might be against phorum rules) and using either ClrMAMEPro or RomCenter to fix your collection. These programs are not the only ROM managers, but in this guide we'll be using RomCenter.

Our first step will be to create a new database:



RomCenter can import the game data from MAME directly. Here we also have some interesting options, such as Set filters, which allow us to exclude certain games.


Here we can also choose if we want our ROMs in split or merged format, although we can also do that later, from the Settings option.

Wen you're ready, press on the Create button. It's gonna take a while, but don't worry.

Once the process has finished, we import the folders with our ROMs and the updated ones. RomCenter can fix folders automatically (right mouse button, then fix items option), but personally I prefer to supervise the changes. We can group the problematic games (the ones in red or yellow color) before attempting to fix them by clicking on Info.



Yellow files can be easily fixed, usually by importing the missing files into the ZIP file. Red ones still have missing files and you'll need to re-download them from any of the websites that offer updated MAME ROMs.

If you add new files to any of these folders, remember to use the Refresh option (with right click on the folder). Otherwise, RomCenter won't know they're there.

And when all your games are fixed, remember to audit them again from MAME.

6) Alternatives to MAME.

Alright. So you've taken a look at this guide and you're thinking: "There's no way I'm doing all this!" Not a problem. MAME is not the only arcade emulator out there. Here are some alternatives:

FB Neo



FB Neo is the last evolution of Finalburn, an arcade emulator by Dave focused on the Sega System 16/18 and CPS2 subsystems. After many years and several name changes, it now emulates pretty much every relevant 2D arcade game from the last decades. It has lower system requirements than MAME and also employs the same set of ROMs, with some small variations.

It is also a very competent 8/16-bit console (and some computers) emulator, but it uses a closed set, which means you won't be able to use games from your own collection directly. You'll need to rename them before, and not every one of them will work or be recognised.

RAINE Arcade Emulator



RAINE is another veteran arcade emulator. Initially it focused itself on arcade games by TAITO, but eventually it added Capcom, CAVE and Neo Geo-based games. I also think it remains the sole creation of a single programmer, Tux, which I'm afraid means bugs can take longer to fix.

Also and unlike FB Neo, it doesn't emulate Sega's System 16 or System 18 games, so forget about playing Out Run, Golden Axe or Afterburner with this one.

Zinc



Zinc emulates Capcom ZN1 and ZN2 arcade games, plus some Namco System 11 titles. These were a series of 3D and pseudo-3D games that used hardware similar to the PSX, and they mostly consist of fighting games such as Street Fighter EX or Tekken. These games are also supported by MAME, but with higher system requirements and less visual flair.

It works using the command line, so it's better to use it with a frontend such as this one.

Model 2 Emulator



Created by elsemi, author of other arcade emulators such as Nebula or CPS3 Emulator. This one emulates 3D arcade games based on the Sega Model 2 hardware, such as Daytona USA, Sega Rally o Virtua Fighter 2. It hasn't been updated for years and eventually will be surpassed by MAME. Meanwhile, it is an excellent alternative for these games only.

Supermodel



This other emulator only supports Sega Model 3 games such as Daytona USA 2, Scud Race or Virtua Fighter 3. With MAME emulation of said system being incomplete, this is THE option for those games. It also works through the command line, so it's better to use it with a third party GUI like SuperModel UI.

Oh, and if a game refuses to start, enter service mode and set the machine as stand alone. Many of these games expected to be set up in pairs for competitive play.

Demul



Finally, this is a relatively recent Russian Sega Dreamcast emulator. But it is worth mentioning here because it's also an excellent emulator of arcade games based on similar hardware. The list of games supported is long and includes titles such as Dead or Alive 2, Guilty Gear, Star Wars: Racer Arcade or Virtua Tennis.

 

I'd consider this guide completed, but as always there are interesting pieces or trivia or peculiar machines I'd like to mention. Over the years MAME has had to adapt to some really quirky arcade machines.

One of those would be the PlayChoice-10 machines by Nintendo. These arcades were based on the Famicom / NES hardware, and offered a selection of NES hits for the player to enjoy. Unlike most arcades, where coins buy you lives and continues, here money bought time , and the player could switch between games at will.

The second curiosity about these machines was their design. The models I'm familiar with consisted of two monitors. The lower one would show the game, while the top one would contain the list of games available and, during gameplay, game instructions and tips.



Unlike the real thing, MAME doesn't let you switch games on the fly. Instead, you get to choose the PlayChoice-10 versions of games from the gamelist:



And when you launch the games, it offers to recreate the two monitor experience in several ways. I chose the layout I'm familiar with:



Another peculiarity is that, apart from the usual controls, the machine emplys an ENTER button to select games. By default it is mapped to ' , which is not the most intuitive option. I had to use the internal menu ( TAB , remember?) to find it.

Other than that and the time limit, the game plays pretty much like its console version:



But wait, you can use the internal menu (again, the one that appears with TAB ) to show only one of the monitors. Go to Video options and choose either Screen 0 or 1 .



It is much better to play in this view, don't you think?

 

True, I forgot about those dual scren handhelds. Which by the way, MAME also supports.