Using the program ----------------- MAME [name of the game to run] [options] for example: MAME mspacman -soundcard 0 ...will run Ms Pac Man without sound Options: -tweak/-notweak (default: notweak) MAME supports a large number of tweaked VGA modes whose resolutions matching those of the emulated games. These modes look MUCH better than VESA modes (and are usually faster), but they may create compatibility problems with some video cards and monitors. Therefore, they are not enabled by default. You should by all means use -tweak if your hardware supports it. Note that some modes might work and other might not--e.g. your card could support 256x256 but not 384x224. In that case, you'll have to turn -tweak on or off depending on the game you run. -noscanlines can also solve many compatibility problems. -ntsc a 288x224 mode with standard NTSC frequencies. You need some additional hardware (VGA2TV converter) to use this. -vesamode vesa1/vesa2b/vesa2l/vesa3 Forces the VESA mode. The best available one is used by default. If your video card crashes during autodetection, however, use this option to force a lower standard. (Start with vesa1, and go upwards to find the highest one that works.) -resolution XxY where X and Y are width and height (ex: '-resolution 800x600') MAME goes to some lengths to autoselect a good resolution. You can override MAME's choice with this option. You can omit the word "resolution" and simply use -XxY (e.g. '-800x600') as a shortcut. Frontend authors are advised to use '-resolution XxY', however. -skiplines N / -skipcolumns N If you run a game in a video mode smaller than the visible area, you can adjust its position using the PgUp and PgDn keys (alone for vertical panning, shifted for horizontal panning). You can also use these two parameters to set the initial position: 0 is the default, meaning that the screen is centered. You can specify both positive and negative offsets. -scanlines/-noscanlines (default: -scanlines) Scanlines are small, evenly-spaced, horizontal blank lines that are typical of real arcade monitors. If you don't prefer this "authentic" look, turn scanlines off. -stretch/-nostretch (default: stretch) use nostretch to disable pixel doubling in VESA modes (faster, but smaller picture). -depth n (default: auto) Some games need 16-bit color to get accurate graphics. To improve speed, you can use '-depth 8', which limits the display to standard 256-color mode. (You can also use '-depth 16' to force 256-color games to use 16-bit color, but this isn't recommended.) -gamma n (default: 1.0) Sets the initial gamma correction value. -vgafreq n where n can be 0 (default) 1, 2 or 3. Specifies different frequencies for the custom video modes. This can reduce flicker, especially in 224x288 / noscanlines mode. WARNING: IT IS POSSIBLE TO SET FREQUENCIES WAY OUTSIDE OF YOUR MONITOR'S RANGE, WHICH COULD DAMAGE YOUR MONITOR. BEFORE USING THIS OPTION, BE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH FREQUENCIES YOUR MONITOR SUPPORTS. USE THIS OPTION AT YOUR OWN RISK. -vsync/-novsync (default: -novsync) Synchronize video display with the video beam instead of using the timer. This option can be used only if the selected video mode has an appropriate refresh rate. Otherwise, MAME will refuse to start, telling you the actual refresh rate of the video mode, and the rate it should have. If you are using a tweaked mode, MAME will try to automatically pick the correct setting for -vgafreq; you can still override it using the -vgafreq option. Note: the 224x288 / noscanlines mode doesn't work on most cards. Many games use this mode, e.g. Pac Man and Galaga. If it doesn't work with your card, either turn scanlines on, or don't use -vsync. If you are using a VESA mode, you should use the program that came with your video card to set the appropriate refresh rate. Note that when this option is turned on, speed will NOT downgrade nicely if your system is not fast enough (i.e., gameplay will be jerky). -alwayssynced/-noalwayssynced (default: -noalwayssynced) For many tweaked VGA modes, MAME has two definitions: One which is more compatible, and one which is less compatible but uses frequencies compatible with -vsync. By default, the less- compatible definition is used only when -vsync is requested; using this option, you can force it to be used always. -triplebuffer/-notriplebuffer (default: -notriplebuffer) Enables triple buffering with VESA modes. This is faster than -vsync, but doesn't work on all cards. Even if it does remove "tearing" during scrolling, it might not be as smooth as -vsync. -monitor NNNN (default: standard) Selects the monitor type: standard: standard PC monitor ntsc: NTSC monitor pal: PAL monitor arcade: arcade monitor -centerx N and -centery N Each takes a signed value (-8 to 8 for centerx, -16 to 16 for centery) and lets you change the low scanrate modes (monitor=ntsc, pal, arcade). -waitinterlace Forces update of both odd and even fields of an interlaced low scanrate display (monitor=ntsc,pal,arcade) for each game loop. -ror Rotates the display clockwise by 90 degrees. -rol Rotates display anticlockwise -flipx Flips display horizontally -flipy Flips display vertically -ror and -rol add authentic *vertical* scanlines, given that you have turned your monitor on its side. CAUTION: Monitors are complicated, high-voltage electronic devices. Some monitors are designed to be rotated. If yours is _not_ one of them, but you absolutely must turn it on its side, you do so at your own risk. ******************************************* PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE YOUR MONITOR UNATTENDED IF IT IS PLUGGED IN AND TURNED ON ITS SIDE! ******************************************* -norotate Disable all internal rotation of the image, therefore displaying the image in its original orientation (for example, so you need a vertical monitor to see vertical games). In some cases, the image will be upside down. To correct this, use '-norotate -flipx -flipy' -frameskip n (default: auto) Skips frames to speed up the emulation. The argument is the number of frames to skip out of 12. For example, if the game normally runs at 60 fps, '-frameskip 2' will make it run at 50 fps, '-frameskip 6' at 30 fps. Use F11 to display the speed your computer is actually reaching. If it is below 100%, increase the frameskip value. You can press F9 to change frameskip while running the game. When set to auto (the default), the frameskip setting is dynamically adjusted during run time to display the maximum possible frames without dropping below 100% speed. -antialias/-noantialias (default: -antialias) Antialiasing for the vector games. -beam n Sets the width in pixels of the vectors. n is a float in the range of 1.00 through 16.00. -flicker n Makes the vectors flicker. n is an optional argument, a float in the range 0.00 - 100.00 (0=none, 100=maximum). -translucency/-notranslucency (default: -translucency) Enables or disables vector translucency. -soundcard n Selects sound card. (If this is not specified, MAME will ask you.) -sr n Sets the audio sample rate. The default is 22050. Smaller values (e.g. 11025) cause lower audio quality but faster emulation speed. Higher values (e.g. 44100) cause higher audio quality but slower emulation speed. -stereo/-nostereo (default: -stereo) Selects stereo or mono output for games supporting stereo sound. -volume n (default: 0) Sets the startup volume. It can later be changed with the On Screen Display (see Keys section). The volume is an attenuation in dB: e.g., "-volume -12" will start with -12dB attenuation. -joy name (default: none) Allows joystick input. 'name' can be: none - no joystick auto - attempts auto detection standard - normal 2 button joystick dual - dual joysticks 4button - Stick/Pad with 4 buttons 6button - Stick/Pad with 6 buttons 8button - Stick/Pad with 8 buttons fspro - CH Flightstick Pro wingex - Wingman Extreme wingwarrior - Wingman Warrior sidewinder - Microsoft Sidewinder (up to 4) gamepadpro - Gravis GamePad Pro grip - Gravis GrIP grip4 - Gravis GrIP constrained to move only along the x and y axes sneslpt1 - SNES pad on LPT1 (needs special hardware) sneslpt2 - SNES pad on LPT2 (needs special hardware) sneslpt3 - SNES pad on LPT3 (needs special hardware) psxlpt1 - PSX pad on LPT1 (needs special hardware) psxlpt2 - PSX pad on LPT2 (needs special hardware) psxlpt3 - PSX pad on LPT3 (needs special hardware) n64lpt1 - N64 pad on LPT1 (needs special hardware) n64lpt2 - N64 pad on LPT2 (needs special hardware) n64lpt3 - N64 pad on LPT3 (needs special hardware) db9lpt1 - C64/Atari/Sinclair joy via DB9 interface on LPT1 db9lpt2 - C64/Atari/Sinclair joy via DB9 interface on LPT2 db9lpt3 - C64/Atari/Sinclair joy via DB9 interface on LPT3 tgxlpt1 - digital joystick via Turbografix if on LPT1 tgxlpt2 - digital joystick via Turbografix if on LPT2 tgxlpt3 - digital joystick via Turbografix if on LPT3 Notes: 1) Use the TAB menu to calibrate analog joysticks. Calibration data will be saved in mame.cfg. If you're using different joysticks for different games, you may need to recalibrate your joystick every time. 2) Extra buttons of noname joysticks may not work. 3) The "official" Snespad-Support site is: http://snespad.emulationworld.com 4) http://www.debaser.force9.co.uk/ccmame has info on how to connect PSX and N64 pads. 5) http://www.burg-halle.de/~schwenke/parport.html for details on how to build Turbografix interface for 1-7 joysticks. Also go there for information on DB9 interface, the cheapest (wires-only) joystick interface ever. -steadykey Some games require two or more buttons to be pressed at exactly the same time to make special moves. Due to limitations in the PC keyboard hardware, it can be difficult or even impossible to accomplish that using the standard keyboard handling. This option selects a different handling that makes it easier to register simultaneous button presses, but has the disadvantage of making controls less responsive. -log Creates a log of illegal memory accesses in ERROR.LOG -help, -? Displays current MAME version and copyright notice - - - Note: By default, all the '-list' commands below write info to the screen. If you wish to write the info to a textfile instead, add this to the end of your command: > filename ...where 'filename' is the textfile's path and name (e.g., c:\mame\list.txt). - - - -list Displays a list of currently supported games -listfull Displays a list of game directory names + descriptions -listroms Displays ROMs required by the specified game -listsamples Displays samples required by the specified game -listdetails Displays a detailed list of drivers and the hardware they use -listgames list the supported games, year, manufacturer -listinfo list comprehensive details for all of the supported games -listclones Lists clones of the specified game. When no game is specified, this generates a list of all MAME-supported clones. -noclones used together with the list commands, doesn't list alternate versions of the same game -verifyroms Checks specified game(s) for missing and invalid ROMs. Adding * checks all available games. -verifysets Checks specified game(s) and reports its status. Adding * checks all available games. -verifysamples check selected game for missing samples. Adding * checks all available samples. -romdir Specifies an alternate directory (or zipfile name) for loading the ROMs for the specified game. E.g., 'mame pacman -romdir pachack' will run the Pac Man driver but load the ROMs from the "pachack" dir or "pachack.zip" archive. -mouse/-nomouse (default: -mouse) Enables/disables mouse support -cheat Cheats, like the speedup in Pac Man or the level-skip in many other games, are disabled by default. Use this switch to turn them on. -debug Activates the integrated debugger. During emulation, press the Tilde key (~) to activate the debugger. This is available only if the program is compiled with MAME_DEBUG defined. -record name Records joystick input to file INP/name.inp -playback name Plays back joystick input from file INP/name.inp -ignorecfg ignore mame.cfg and start with the default settings Keys ---- Tab Toggles the configuration menu Tilde Toggles the On Screen Display Use the up and down arrow keys to select the parameter (global volume, mixing level, gamma correction etc.), left and right to arrow keys to modify it. P Pauses the game Shift+P While paused, advances to next frame F3 Resets the game F4 Shows the game graphics. Use cursor keys to change set/color, F4 or Esc to return to the emulation. F9 Changes frame skip on the fly F10 Toggles speed throttling F11 Toggles speed display Shift+F11 Toggles profiler display F12 Saves a screen snapshot. The default target directory is SNAP. You must create this directory yourself; the program will not create it if it doesn't exist. ESC Exits emulator