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mame/docs/config.txt

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This file describes general usage information about MAME. It is intended
to cover aspects of using and configuring the program that are common
across operating systems. For additional OS-specific options, please see
the separate documentation for your particular version of MAME.
Using the program
-----------------
The usual way to run MAME is by telling it to run a particular game:
mame <gamename> [options]
For example:
mame robby -nosound
...will run Robby Roto without sound. There are many, many options
available. All commonly supported options are listed below. Options that
are specific to one operating system or version of MAME will be listed
in a separate document.
An alternative way to run MAME is to give it a command:
mame <command> [parameters]
For example:
mame -listsource gridlee
...will print the name of the source file where the gridlee driver lives
to the screen. There are just a handful of these commands in MAME. They
are all listed below, just before the options list.
Default Keys
------------
All the keys below are fully configurable in the user interface. This list
shows the standard keyboard configuration.
Tab Toggles the configuration menu.
~ Toggles the On Screen Display. When the on-screen display is
visible, you can use the following keys to control it:
Up - select previous parameter to modify
Down - select next parameter to modify
Enter - reset parameter value to its default
Left - decrease the value of the selected parameter
Control+Left - decrease the value by 10x
Shift+Left - decrease the value by 0.1x
Alt+Left - decrease the value by the smallest amount
Right - increase the value of the selected parameter
Control+Right - increase the value by 10x
Shift+Right - increase the value by 0.1x
Alt+Right - increase the value by the smallest amount
If you are running with -debug, this key send a 'break'
in emulation.
P Pauses the game.
Shift+P While paused, advances to next frame.
F2 Service Mode for games that support it.
F3 Resets the game.
Shift+F3 Performs a "hard reset", which tears everything down and re-
creates it from scratch. This is a more thorough and complete
reset than an F3.
LCtrl+F3 [SDL ONLY]
Toggle Uneven stretch.
F4 Shows the game palette, decoded GFX, and any tilemaps. Use the
Enter key to switch between the three modes (palette, graphics,
and tilemaps). Press F4 again to turn off the display. The key
controls in each mode vary slightly:
* Palette/colortable mode:
[ ] - switch between palette and colortable modes
Up/Down - scroll up/down one line at a time
Page Up/Page Down - scroll up/down one page at a time
Home/End - move to top/bottom of list
-/+ - increase/decrease the number of colors per row
Enter - switch to graphics viewer
* Graphics mode:
[ ] - switch between different graphics sets
Up/Down - scroll up/down one line at a time
Page Up/Page Down - scroll up/down one page at a time
Home/End - move to top/bottom of list
Left/Right - change color displayed
R - rotate tiles 90 degrees clockwise
-/+ - increase/decrease the number of tiles per row
Enter - switch to tilemap viewer
* Tilemap mode:
[ ] - switch between different tilemaps
Up/Down/Left/Right - scroll 8 pixels at a time
Shift+Up/Down/Left/Right - scroll 1 pixel at a time
Control+Up/Down/Left/Right - scroll 64 pixels at a time
R - rotate tilemap view 90 degrees clockwise
-/+ - increase/decrease the zoom factor
Enter - switch to palette/colortable mode
Note: Not all games have decoded graphics and/or tilemaps.
LCtrl+F4 [SDL ONLY]
Toggle Keepaspect ratio.
LCtrl+F5 [SDL ONLY]
Toggle Filter.
Alt+Ctrl+F5 [WINDOWS ONLY. NON SDL]
Toggle HLSL Post-Processing.
F6 Toggle cheat mode (if started with "-cheat").
LCtrl+F6 Decrease Prescaling.
F7 Load a save state. You will be requested to press a key to
determine which save state you wish to load. Note that the save
state feature is not supported for a large number of drivers. If
support is not enabled for a given driver, you will receive a
warning when attempting to save or load.
LCtrl+F7 Increase Prescaling.
Shift+F7 Create a save state. Requires an additional keypress to identify
the state, similar to the load option above.
F8 Decrease frame skip on the fly.
F9 Increase frame skip on the fly.
F10 Toggle speed throttling.
F11 Toggles speed display.
Shift+F11 Toggles internal profiler display (if compiled in).
Alt+F11 Record HLSL Rendered Video.
F12 Saves a screen snapshot.
Alt+F12 Take HLSL Rendered Snapshot.
Insert [WINDOW ONLY, NON SDL]
Page DN [SDL ONLY]
Fast forward. While held, runs the game with throttling disabled
and with the maximum frameskip.
Alt+ENTER Toggles between full-screen and windowed mode.
Escape Exits emulator.
Core commands
-------------
-help / -h / -?
Displays current MAME version and copyright notice.
-validate / -valid
Performs internal validation on every driver in the system. Run this
before submitting changes to ensure that you haven't violated any of
the core system rules.
Configuration commands
----------------------
-createconfig / -cc
Creates the default mame.ini file. All the configuration options
(not commands) described below can be permanently changed by editing
this configuration file.
-showconfig / -sc
Displays the current configuration settings. If you route this to a
file, you can use it as an INI file. For example, the command:
mame -showconfig >mame.ini
is equivalent to -createconfig.
-showusage / -su
Displays a summary of all the command line options. For options that
are not mentioned here, the short summary given by "mame -showusage"
is usually sufficient.
Frontend commands
-----------------
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).
-listxml / -lx [<gamename|wildcard>]
List comprehensive details for all of the supported games. The output
is quite long, so it is usually better to redirect this into a file.
The output is in XML format. By default all games are listed; however,
you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after
the -listxml command.
-listfull / -ll [<gamename|wildcard>]
Displays a list of game driver names and descriptions. By default all
games are listed; however, you can limit this list by specifying a
driver name or wildcard after the -listfull command.
-listsource / -ls [<gamename|wildcard>]
Displays a list of drivers and the names of the source files their
game drivers live in. Useful for finding which driver a game runs on
in order to fix bugs. By default all games are listed; however, you
can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after
the -listsource command.
-listclones / -lc [<gamename|wildcard>]
Displays a list of clones. By default all clones are listed; however,
you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after
the -listsource command.
-listbrothers / -lb [<gamename|wildcard>]
Displays a list of 'brothers', or rather, other sets which are located
in the same sourcefile as the gamename searched for.
-listcrc [<gamename|wildcard>]
Displays a full list of CRCs of all ROM images referenced by all
drivers within MAME.
-listroms [<gamename|wildcard>]
Displays a list of ROM images referenced by the specified game.
-listsamples [<gamename|wildcard>]
Displays a list of samples referenced by the specified game.
-verifyroms [<gamename|wildcard>]
Checks for invalid or missing ROM images. By default all drivers that
have valid ZIP files or directories in the rompath are verified;
however, you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or
wildcard after the -verifyroms command.
-verifysamples [<gamename|wildcard>]
Checks for invalid or missing samples. By default all drivers that
have valid ZIP files or directories in the samplepath are verified;
however, you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or
wildcard after the -verifyroms command.
-romident [path\to\romstocheck.zip]
Attempts to identify ROM files, if they are known to MAME, in the
specified .zip file or directory. This command can be used to try and
identify ROM sets taken from unknown boards. On exit, the errorlevel
is returned as one of the following:
0: means all files were identified
7: means all files were identified except for 1 or more "non-ROM"
files
8: means some files were identified
9: means no files were identified
-listdevices / -ld [<gamename|wildcard>]
Displays a list of all devices known to be hooked up to a game. The ":"
is considered the game itself with the devices list being attached to give
the user a better understanding of what the emulation is using.
-listslots [<gamename|wildcard>]
Show available slots and options for each slot (if available). Primarily
used for MESS to allow control over internal plug-in cards, much like PC's
needing video, sound and other cards.
-listmedia / -lm [<gamename|wildcard>]
List available media that the chosen game or system allows to be used. This
includes media types (cartridge, cassette, diskette and more) as well as
common file extentions which are supported.
-listsoftware [<gamename|wildcard>]
Posts to screen all software lists which can be used by the entered gamename
or system. Notice, this is simply a copy/paste of the .XML file which reside
in the HASH folder which are allowed to be used.
-verifysoftware [<gamename|wildcard>]
Checks for invalid or missing ROM images in your software lists. By default
all drivers that have valid ZIP files or directories in the rompath are verified;
however, you can limit this list by specifying a specific driver name or wildcard
after the -verifysoftware command.
-getsoftlist [<gamename|wildcard>]
Posts to screen a specific software list which matches with the gamename
provided.
-verifysoftlist [softwarelistname]
Checks a specified software list for missing ROM images if files exist for issued
softwarelistname. By default, all drivers that have valid ZIP files or directories
in the rompath are verified; however, you can limit this list by specifying a
specific softwarelistname (without .XML) after the -verifysoftlist command.
-listmidi
Create a list of list available MIDI I/O devices for use with emulation.
Configuration options
---------------------
-[no]readconfig / -[no]rc
Enables or disables the reading of the config files. When enabled
(which is the default), MAME reads the following config files in order:
- mame.ini
- <mymame>.ini (i.e. if MAME was renamed mame060.exe, MAME
parses mame060.ini here)
- debug.ini (if the debugger is enabled)
- <parent>.ini (for clones only, may be called recursively)
- <gamename>.ini
- vertical.ini (for games with vertical monitor orientation)
- horizont.ini (for games with horizontal monitor orientation)
- vector.ini (for vector games only)
- <driver>.ini (based on the source filename of the driver)
The settings in the later ini's override those in the earlier ini's.
So, for example, if you wanted to disable overlay effects in the
vector games, you can create a vector.ini with the "effect none" line
in it, and it will override whatever effect value you have in your
mame.ini. The default is ON (-readconfig).
Core search path options
------------------------
-rompath / -rp <path>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find ROM or hard disk images.
Multiple paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons.
The default is 'roms' (that is, a directory "roms" in the same directory
as the MAME executable).
-samplepath / -sp <path>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find sample files. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default
is 'samples' (that is, a directory "samples" in the same directory as
the MAME executable).
-artpath <path> / -artwork_directory <path>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find artwork files. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default
is 'artwork' (that is, a directory "artwork" in the same directory as
the MAME executable).
-ctrlrpath / -ctrlr_directory <path>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find controller-specific
configuration files. Multiple paths can be specified by separating
them with semicolons. The default is 'ctrlr' (that is, a directory
"ctrlr" in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-inipath <path>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find .INI files. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default
is '.;ini' (that is, search in the current directory first, and then
in the directory "ini" in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-fontpath <path>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find .BDF font files. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default
is '.' (that is, search in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-cheatpath <path>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find .XML cheat files.
Multiple paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The
default is 'cheat' (that is, a folder called 'cheat' located in the same
directory as the as the MAME executable).
-crosshairpath <path>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find crosshair files. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default
is 'crsshair' (that is, a directory "crsshair" in the same directory as
the MAME executable). If the Crosshair is set to default in the menu,
MAME will look for gamename\cross#.png and then cross#.png in the
specified crsshairpath, where # is the player number. Failing that,
MAME will use built-in default crosshairs.
Core Output Directory Options
-----------------------------
-cfg_directory <path>
Specifies a single directory where configuration files are stored.
Configuration files store user configurable settings that are read at
startup and written when MAME exits. The default is 'cfg' (that is,
a directory "cfg" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If
this directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-nvram_directory <path>
Specifies a single directory where NVRAM files are stored. NVRAM files
store the contents of EEPROM and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) for games
which used this type of hardware. This data is read at startup and
written when MAME exits. The default is 'nvram' (that is, a directory
"nvram" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this
directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-memcard_directory <path>
Specifies a single directory where memory card files are stored.
Memory card files store the contents of removable memory cards for
games which used this type of hardware. This data is read and written
under control of the user via the "Memory Card" menu in the user
interface. The default is 'memcard' (that is, a directory "memcard"
in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory does
not exist, it will be automatically created.
-input_directory <path>
Specifies a single directory where input recording files are stored.
Input recordings are created via the -record option and played back
via the -playback option. The default is 'inp' (that is, a directory
"inp" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory
does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-state_directory <path>
Specifies a single directory where save state files are stored. Save
state files are read and written either upon user request, or when
using the -autosave option. The default is 'sta' (that is, a directory
"sta" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory
does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-snapshot_directory <path>
Specifies a single directory where screen snapshots are stored, when
requested by the user. The default is 'snap' (that is, a directory
"snap" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this
directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-diff_directory <path>
Specifies a single directory where hard drive differencing files are
stored. Hard drive differencing files store any data that is written
back to a hard disk image, in order to preserve the original image.
The differencing files are created at startup when a game with a hard
disk image. The default is 'diff' (that is, a directory "diff" in the
same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory does not
exist, it will be automatically created.
-comment_directory <path>
Specifies a single directory where debugger comment files are stored.
Debugger comment files are written by the debugger when comments are
added to the disassembly for a game. The default is 'comments' (that
is, a directory "comments" in the same directory as the MAME
executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be
automatically created.
Core state/playback options
---------------------------
-state <slot>
Immediately after starting the specified game, will cause the save
state in the specified <slot> to be loaded.
-[no]autosave
When enabled, automatically creates a save state file when exiting
MAME and automatically attempts to reload it when later starting MAME
with the same game. This only works for games that have explicitly
enabled save state support in their driver. The default is OFF
(-noautosave).
-playback / -pb <filename>
Specifies a file from which to play back a series of game inputs. This
feature does not work reliably for all games, but can be used to watch
a previously recorded game session from start to finish. In order to
make things consistent, you should only record and playback with all
configuration (.cfg), NVRAM (.nv), and memory card files deleted. The
default is NULL (no playback).
-record / -rec <filename>
Specifies a file to record all input from a game session. This can be
used to record a game session for later playback. This feature does
not work reliably for all games, but can be used to watch a previously
recorded game session from start to finish. In order to make things
consistent, you should only record and playback with all configuration
(.cfg), NVRAM (.nv), and memory card files deleted. The default is
NULL (no recording).
-mngwrite <filename>
Writes each video frame to the given <filename> in MNG format,
producing an animation of the game session. Note that -mngwrite only
writes video frames; it does not save any audio data. Use -wavwrite
for that, and reassemble the audio/video using offline tools. The
default is NULL (no recording).
-aviwrite <filename>
Stream video and sound data to the given <filename> in AVI format,
producing an animation of the game session complete with sound. The
default is NULL (no recording).
-wavwrite <filename>
Writes the final mixer output to the given <filename> in WAV format,
producing an audio recording of the game session. The default is
NULL (no recording).
-snapname <name>
Describes how MAME should name files for snapshots. <name> is a string
that provides a template that is used to generate a filename. Three
simple substitutions are provided: the / character represents the
path separator on any target platform (even Windows); the string %g
represents the driver name of the current game; and the string %i
represents an incrementing index. If %i is omitted, then each
snapshot taken will overwrite the previous one; otherwise, MAME will
find the next empty value for %i and use that for a filename. The
default is %g/%i, which creates a separate folder for each game,
and names the snapshots under it starting with 0000 and increasing
from there. In addition to the above, for drivers using different
media, like carts or floppy disks, you can also use the %d_[media]
indicator. Replace [media] with the media switch you want to use.
A few examples: if you use 'mame robby -snapname foo/%g%i' snapshots
will be saved as 'snaps\foo\robby0000.png' , 'snaps\foo\robby0001.png'
and so on ; if you use 'mess nes -cart robby -snapname %g/%d_cart'
snapshots will be saved as 'snaps\nes\robby.png' ; if you use
'mess c64 -flop1 robby -snapname %g/%d_flop1/%i' snapshots will be
saved as 'snaps\c64\robby\0000.png'.
-snapsize <width>x<height>
Hard-codes the size for snapshots and movie recording. By default,
MAME will create snapshots at the game's current resolution in raw
pixels, and will create movies at the game's starting resolution in
raw pixels. If you specify this option, then MAME will create both
snapshots and movies at the size specified, and will bilinear filter
the result. Note that this size does not automatically rotate if the
game is vertically oriented. The default is 'auto'.
-snapview <viewname>
Specifies the view to use when rendering snapshots and movies. By
default, both use a special 'internal' view, which renders a separate
snapshot per screen or renders movies only of the first screen. By
specifying this option, you can override this default behavior and
select a single view that will apply to all snapshots and movies.
Note that <viewname> does not need to be a perfect match; rather, it
will select the first view whose name matches all the characters
specified by <viewname>. For example, -snapview native will match the
"Native (15:14)" view even though it is not a perfect match.
<viewname> can also be 'auto', which selects the first view with all
screens present. The default value is 'internal'.
-statename <name>
Describes how MAME should store save state files, relative to the
state_directory path. <name> is a string that provides a template that
is used to generate a relative path. Two simple substitutions are
provided: the / character represents the path separator on any target
platform (even Windows); the string %g represents the driver name of
the current game. The default is %g, which creates a separate folder for
each game. In addition to the above, for drivers using different
media, like carts or floppy disks, you can also use the %d_[media]
indicator. Replace [media] with the media switch you want to use.
A few examples: if you use 'mame robby -statename foo/%g' save states
will be stored inside 'sta\foo\robby\' ; if you use 'mess nes -cart
robby -statename %g/%d_cart' save states will be stored inside
'sta\nes\robby\' ; if you use 'mess c64 -flop1 robby -statename
%g/%d_flop1' save states will be stored inside 'sta\c64\robby\'.
-[no]burnin
Tracks brightness of the screen during play and at the end of
emulation generates a PNG that can be used to simulate burn-in
effects on other games. The resulting PNG is created such that the
least used-areas of the screen are fully white (since burned-in areas
are darker, all other areas of the screen must be lightened a touch).
The intention is that this PNG can be loaded via an artwork file with
a low alpha (e.g, 0.1-0.2 seems to work well) and blended over the
entire screen. The PNG files are saved in the snap directory under
the gamename/burnin-<screen.name>.png. The default is OFF (-noburnin).
Core performance options
------------------------
-[no]autoframeskip / -[no]afs
Automatically determines the frameskip level while you're playing the
game, adjusting it constantly in a frantic attempt to keep the game
running at full speed. Turning this on overrides the value you have
set for -frameskip below. The default is OFF (-noautoframeskip).
-frameskip / -fs <level>
Specifies the frameskip value. This is the number of frames out of
every 12 to drop when running. For example, if you say -frameskip 2,
then MAME will display 10 out of every 12 frames. By skipping those
frames, you may be able to get full speed in a game that requires more
horsepower than your computer has. The default value is -frameskip 0,
which skips no frames.
-seconds_to_run / -str <seconds>
This option can be used for benchmarking and automated testing. It tells
MAME to stop execution after a fixed number of seconds. By combining
this with a fixed set of other command line options, you can set up a
consistent environment for benchmarking MAME performance. In addition,
upon exit, the -str option will write a screenshot called final.png
to the game's snapshot directory.
-[no]throttle
Configures the default thottling setting. When throttling is on, MAME
attempts to keep the game running at the game's intended speed. When
throttling is off, MAME runs the game as fast as it can. Note that the
fastest speed is more often than not limited by your graphics card,
especially for older games. The default is ON (-throttle).
-[no]sleep
Allows MAME to give time back to the system when running with -throttle.
This allows other programs to have some CPU time, assuming that the
game isn't taxing 100% of your CPU resources. This option can
potentially cause hiccups in performance if other demanding programs
are running. The default is ON (-sleep).
-speed <factor>
Changes the way MAME throttles gameplay such that the game runs at some
multiplier of the original speed. A <factor> of 1.0 means to run the
game at its normal speed. A <factor> of 0.5 means run at half speed,
and a <factor> of 2.0 means run at 2x speed. Note that changing this
value affects sound playback as well, which will scale in pitch
accordingly. The internal resolution of the fraction is two decimal
places, so a value of 1.002 is the same as 1.0. The default is 1.0.
-[no]refreshspeed / -[no]rs
Allows MAME to dynamically adjust the gameplay speed such that it does
not exceed the slowest refresh rate for any targeted monitors in your
system. Thus, if you have a 60Hz monitor and run a game that is
actually designed to run at 60.6Hz, MAME will dynamically change the
speed down to 99% in order to prevent sound hiccups or other
undesirable side effects of running at a slower refresh rate. The
default is OFF (-norefreshspeed).
Core rotation options
---------------------
-[no]rotate
Rotate the game to match its normal state (horizontal/vertical). This
ensures that both vertically and horizontally oriented games show up
correctly without the need to rotate your monitor. If you want to keep
the game displaying 'raw' on the screen the way it would have in the
arcade, turn this option OFF. The default is ON (-rotate).
-[no]ror
-[no]rol
Rotate the game screen to the right (clockwise) or left (counter-
clockwise) relative to either its normal state (if -rotate is
specified) or its native state (if -norotate is specified). The
default for both of these options is OFF (-noror -norol).
-[no]autoror
-[no]autorol
These options are designed for use with pivoting screens that only
pivot in a single direction. If your screen only pivots clockwise,
use -autorol to ensure that the game will fill the screen either
horizontally or vertically in one of the directions you can handle.
If your screen only pivots counter-clockwise, use -autoror.
-[no]flipx
-[no]flipy
Flip (mirror) the game screen either horizontally (-flipx) or
vertically (-flipy). The flips are applied after the -rotate and
-ror/-rol options are applied. The default for both of these options
is OFF (-noflipx -noflipy).
Core artwork options
--------------------
-[no]artwork_crop / -[no]artcrop
Enable cropping of artwork to the game screen area only. This works
best with -video gdi or -video d3d, and means that vertically oriented
games running full screen can display their artwork to the left and
right sides of the screen. This does not work with -video ddraw
because of the way the game screens are rendered and scaled after the
fact. This option can also be controlled via the Video Options menu in
the user interface. The default is OFF (-noartwork_crop).
-[no]use_backdrops / -[no]backdrop
Enables/disables the display of backdrops. The default is ON
(-use_backdrops).
-[no]use_overlays / -[no]overlay
Enables/disables the display of overlays. The default is ON
(-use_overlays).
-[no]use_bezels / -[no]bezels
Enables/disables the display of bezels. The default is ON
(-use_bezels).
-[no]use_cpanels / -[no]cpanels
Enables/disables the display of control panels. The default is ON
(-use_cpanels).
-[no]use_marquees / -[no]marquees
Enables/disables the display of marquees. The default is ON
(-use_marquees).
Core screen options
-------------------
-brightness <value>
Controls the default brightness, or black level, of the game screens.
This option does not affect the artwork or other parts of the display.
Using the MAME UI, you can individually set the brightness for each
game screen; this option controls the initial value for all visible
game screens. The standard value is 1.0. Selecting lower values (down
to 0.1) will produce a darkened display, while selecting higher values
(up to 2.0) will give a brighter display. The default is 1.0.
-contrast <value>
Controls the contrast, or white level, of the game screens. This
option does not affect the artwork or other parts of the display.
Using the MAME UI, you can individually set the contrast for each
game screen; this option controls the initial value for all visible
game screens. The standard value is 1.0. Selecting lower values (down
to 0.1) will produce a dimmer display, while selecting higher values
(up to 2.0) will give a more saturated display. The default is 1.0.
-gamma <value>
Controls the gamma, which produces a potentially nonlinear black to
white ramp, for the game screens. This option does not affect the
artwork or other parts of the display. Using the MAME UI, you can
individually set the gamma for each game screen; this option controls
the initial value for all visible game screens. The standard value is
1.0, which gives a linear ramp from black to white. Selecting lower
values (down to 0.1) will increase the nonlinearity toward black,
while selecting higher values (up to 3.0) will push the nonlinearity
toward white. The default is 1.0.
-pause_brightness <value>
This controls the brightness level when MAME is paused. The default
value is 0.65.
-effect <filename>
Specifies a single PNG file that is used as an overlay over any game
screens in the video display. This PNG file is assumed to live in the
root of one of the artpath directories. The pattern in the PNG file is
repeated both horizontally and vertically to cover the entire game
screen areas (but not any external artwork), and is rendered at
the target resolution of the game image. For -video gdi and -video d3d
modes, this means that one pixel in the PNG will map to one pixel on
your output display. For -video ddraw, this means that one pixel in the
PNG will map to one pixel in the prescaled game screen. If you wish to
use an effect that requires mapping n PNG pixels to each game screen
pixel with -video ddraw, you need to specify a -prescale factor of n as
well. The RGB values of each pixel in the PNG are multiplied against the
RGB values of the target screen. The default is 'none', meaning no
effect.
Core vector options
-------------------
-[no]antialias / -[no]aa
Enables antialiased line rendering for vector games. The default is ON
(-antialias).
-beam <width>
Sets the width of the vectors. This is a scaling factor against the
standard vector width. A value of 1.0 will keep the default vector
line width. Smaller values will reduce the width, and larger values
will increase the width. The default is 1.0.
-flicker <value>
Simulates a vector "flicker" effect, similar to a vector monitor that
needs adjustment. This option requires a float argument in the range
of 0.00 - 100.00 (0=none, 100=maximum). The default is 0.
Core sound options
------------------
-[no]sound
Enable or disable sound altogether. The default is ON (-sound).
-samplerate <value> / -sr <value>
Sets the audio sample rate. Smaller values (e.g. 11025) cause lower
audio quality but faster emulation speed. Higher values (e.g. 48000)
cause higher audio quality but slower emulation speed. The default is
48000.
-[no]samples
Use samples if available. The default is ON (-samples).
-volume / -vol <value>
Sets the startup volume. It can later be changed with the user
interface (see Keys section). The volume is an attenuation in dB:
e.g., "-volume -12" will start with -12dB attenuation. The default
is 0.
Core input options
------------------
-[no]coin_lockout / -[no]coinlock
Enables simulation of the "coin lockout" feature that is implmeneted
on a number of game PCBs. It was up to the operator whether or not
the coin lockout outputs were actually connected to the coin
mechanisms. If this feature is enabled, then attempts to enter a coin
while the lockout is active will fail and will display a popup message
in the user interface. If this feature is disabled, the coin lockout
signal will be ignored. The default is ON (-coin_lockout).
-ctrlr <controller>
Enables support for special controllers. Configuration files are
loaded from the ctrlrpath. They are in the same format as the .cfg
files that are saved, but only control configuration data is read
from the file. The default is NULL (no controller file).
-[no]mouse
Controls whether or not MAME makes use of mouse controllers. When
this is enabled, you will likely be unable to use your mouse for other
purposes until you exit or pause the game. The default is OFF
(-nomouse).
-[no]joystick / -[no]joy
Controls whether or not MAME makes use of joystick/gamepad controllers.
When this is enabled, MAME will ask DirectInput about which
controllers are connected. The default is OFF (-nojoystick).
-[no]lightgun / -[no]gun
Controls whether or not MAME makes use of lightgun controllers.
Note that most lightguns map to the mouse, so using -lightgun and
-mouse together may produce strange results. The default is OFF
(-nolightgun).
-[no]multikeyboard / -[no]multikey
Determines whether MAME differentiates between multiple keyboards.
Some systems may report more than one keyboard; by default, the data
from all of these keyboards is combined so that it looks like a single
keyboard. Turning this option on will enable MAME to report keypresses
on different keyboards independently. The default is OFF
(-nomultikeyboard).
-[no]multimouse
Determines whether MAME differentiates between multiple mice. Some
systems may report more than one mouse device; by default, the data
from all of these mice is combined so that it looks like a single
mouse. Turning this option on will enable MAME to report mouse
movement and button presses on different mice independently. The
default is OFF (-nomultimouse).
-[no]steadykey / -[no]steady
Some games require two or more buttons to be pressed at exactly the
same time to make special moves. Due to limitations in the 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. The
default is OFF (-nosteadykey)
-[no]ui_active
Enable user interface on top of emulated keyboard (if present). The
default if OFF (-noui_active)
-[no]offscreen_reload / -[no]reload
Controls whether or not MAME treats a second button input from a
lightgun as a reload signal. In this case, MAME will report the gun's
position as (0,MAX) with the trigger held, which is equivalent to an
offscreen reload. This is only needed for games that required you to
shoot offscreen to reload, and then only if your gun does not support
off screen reloads. The default is OFF (-nooffscreen_reload).
-joystick_map <map> / -joymap <map>
Controls how joystick values map to digital joystick controls. MAME
accepts all joystick input from the system as analog data. For true
analog joysticks, this needs to be mapped down to the usual 4-way or
8-way digital joystick values. To do this, MAME divides the analog
range into a 9x9 grid. It then takes the joystick axis position (for
X and Y axes only), maps it to this grid, and then looks up a
translation from a joystick map. This parameter allows you to specify
the map. The default is 'auto', which means that a standard 8-way,
4-way, or 4-way diagonal map is selected automatically based on the
input port configuration of the current game.
Maps are defined as a string of numbers and characters. Since the grid
is 9x9, there are a total of 81 characters necessary to define a
complete map. Below is an example map for an 8-way joystick:
777888999 Note that the numeric digits correspond to the keys
777888999 on a numeric keypad. So '7' maps to up+left, '4' maps
777888999 to left, '5' maps to neutral, etc. In addition to the
444555666 numeric values, you can specify the character 's',
444555666 which means "sticky". In this case, the value of the
444555666 map is the same as it was the last time a non-sticky
111222333 value was read.
111222333
111222333
To specify the map for this parameter, you can specify a string of
rows separated by a '.' (which indicates the end of a row), like so:
777888999.777888999.777888999.444555666.444555666.444555666.
111222333.111222333.111222333
However, this can be reduced using several shorthands supported by the
<map> parameter. If information about a row is missing, then it is
assumed that any missing data in columns 5-9 are left/right symmetric
with data in columns 0-4; and any missing data in colums 0-4 is
assumed to be copies of the previous data. The same logic applies to
missing rows, except that up/down symmetry is assumed.
By using these shorthands, the 81 character map can be simply
specified by this 11 character string: 7778...4445
Looking at the first row, 7778 is only 4 characters long. The 5th
entry can't use symmetry, so it is assumed to be equal to the previous
character '8'. The 6th character is left/right symmetric with the 4th
character, giving an '8'. The 7th character is left/right symmetric
with the 3rd character, giving a '9' (which is '7' with left/right
flipped). Eventually this gives the full 777888999 string of the row.
The second and third rows are missing, so they are assumed to be
identical to the first row. The fourth row decodes similarly to the
first row, producing 444555666. The fifth row is missing so it is
assumed to be the same as the fourth.
The remaining three rows are also missing, so they are assumed to be
the up/down mirrors of the first three rows, giving three final rows
of 111222333.
-joystick_deadzone <value> / -joy_deadzone <value> / -jdz <value>
If you play with an analog joystick, the center can drift a little.
joystick_deadzone tells how far along an axis you must move before the
axis starts to change. This option expects a float in the range of
0.0 to 1.0. Where 0 is the center of the joystick and 1 is the outer
limit. The default is 0.3.
-joystick_saturation <value> / joy_saturation <value> / -jsat <value>
If you play with an analog joystick, the ends can drift a little,
and may not match in the +/- directions. joystick_saturation tells how
far along an axis movement change will be accepted before it reaches
the maximum range. This option expects a float in the range of 0.0 to
1.0, where 0 is the center of the joystick and 1 is the outer limit.
The default is 0.85.
-natural
Allows user to specify whether or not to use a natural keyboard or not.
This allows you to start your game or system in a 'native' mode, depending
on your region, allowing compatability for non-"QWERTY" style keyboards.
The default is OFF (-nonatrual)
-joystick_contradictory
Enable contradictory direction digital joystick input at the same time
such as Left and Right or Up and Down at the same time. The default
is OFF (-nojoystick_contradictory)
-coin_impulse [n]
Set coin impulse time based on n (n<0 disable impulse, n==0 obey driver,
0<n set time n). Default is 0.
Core input automatic enable options
-----------------------------------
-paddle_device enable (none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick) if a paddle control is present
-adstick_device enable (none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick) if an analog joystick control is present
-pedal_device enable (none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick) if a pedal control is present
-dial_device enable (none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick) if a dial control is present
-trackball_device enable (none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick) if a trackball control is present
-lightgun_device enable (none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick) if a lightgun control is present
-positional_device enable (none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick) if a positional control is present
-mouse_device enable (none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick) if a mouse control is present
Each of these options controls autoenabling the mouse, joystick, or
lightgun depending on the presence of a particular class of analog
control for a particular game. For example, if you specify the option
-paddle mouse, then any game that has a paddle control will
automatically enable mouse controls just as if you had explicitly
specified -mouse. Note that these controls override the values of
-[no]mouse, -[no]joystick, etc.
Debugging options
-----------------
-[no]log
Creates a file called error.log which contains all of the internal
log messages generated by the MAME core and game drivers. The default
is OFF (-nolog).
-[no]verbose / -[no]v
Displays internal diagnostic information. This information is very
useful for debugging problems with your configuration. IMPORTANT: when
reporting bugs, please run with mame -verbose and include the
resulting information. The default is OFF (-noverbose).
-[no]update_in_pause
Enables updating of the main screen bitmap while the game is paused.
This means that the VIDEO_UPDATE callback will be called repeatedly
during pause, which can be useful for debugging. The default is OFF
(-noupdate_in_pause).
-[no]debug
Activates the integrated debugger. By default, the debugger is entered
by pressing the tilde (~) key during emulation. It is also entered
immediately at startup. The default is OFF (-nodebug).
-debugscript <filename>
Specifies a file that contains a list of debugger commands to execute
immediately upon startup. The default is NULL (no commands).
-debug_internal
A special 'internal' debugger for debugging. Activated when used along
with -debug. The default if OFF (-nodebug_internal).
Core misc options
-----------------
-bios <biosname>
Specifies the specific BIOS to use with the current game, for game
systems that make use of a BIOS. The -listxml output will list all of
the possible BIOS names for a game. The default is 'default'.
-[no]cheat / -[no]c
Enables the reading of the cheat database, if present, and the Cheat
menu in the user interface. The default is OFF (-nocheat).
-[no]skip_gameinfo
Forces MAME to skip displaying the game info screen. The default is
OFF (-noskip_gameinfo).
-uifont <fontname>
Specifies the name of a font file to use for the UI font. If this font
cannot be found or cannot be loaded, the system will fall back to its
built-in UI font. On some platforms 'fontname' can be a system font
name (TTF) instead of a (BDF) font file. The default is 'default' (use
the OSD-determined default font).
-ramsize [n]
Allows you to change the default RAM size (if supported by driver).
-confirm_quit
Display a Confirm Quit dialong to screen on exit, requiring one extra
step to exit MAME. The default is OFF (-noconfirm_quit).
-ui_mouse
Displays a mouse cursor when using the built-in UI for MAME. The default
is (-noui_mouse).
-autoboot_command "<command>"
Command string to execute after machine boot (in quotes " "). To issue
a quote to the emulation, use """ in the string. Using \n will issue a
create a new line, issuing what was typed prior as a command.
Example: -autoboot_command "load """$""",8,1\n"
-autoboot_delay [n]
Timer delay (in seconds) to trigger command execution on autoboot.
-autoboot_script / -script [filename.lua]
File containing scripting to execute after machine boot.
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