mame/docs/windows.txt

This file describes Windows-specific usage information about MAME. It is
intended to cover aspects of using and configuring the program that are
specific to running MAME from the command line on a Windows-based system.
For common options that apply to all systems, please see config.txt.

In addition to the keys described in config.txt, the following additional
keys are defined for Windows versions of MAME:



Windows debugging options
-------------------------

-[no]oslog

	Outputs the error.log data to the Windows debugger. This can be used at
	the same time as -log to output the log data to both targets as well.
	Default is OFF (-nooslog).

-watchdog <duration> / -wdog <duration>

	Enables an internal watchdog timer that will automatically kill the MAME
	process if more than <duration> seconds passes without a frame update.
	Keep in mind that some games sit for a while during load time without
	updating the screen, so <duration> should be long enough to cover that.
	10-30 seconds on a modern system should be plenty in general. By default
	there is no watchdog.

-debugger_font <fontname> / -dfont <fontname>

	Specifies the name of the font to use for debugger windows. By default,
	the font is Lucida Console.
	
-debugger_font_size <points> / -dfontsize <points>

	Specifies the size of the font to use for debugger windows, in points.
	By default, this is set to 9pt.
	


Windows performance options
---------------------------

-priority <priority>

	Sets the thread priority for the MAME threads. By default the priority
	is left alone to guarantee proper cooperation with other applications.
	The valid range is -15 to 1, with 1 being the highest priority. The
	default is 0 (NORMAL priority).

-[no]multithreading / -[no]mt

	Enables multithreading within MAME. At the moment, this causes the
	window and all DirectDraw/Direct3D code to execute on a second thread,
	which can improve performance on hyperthreaded and multicore systems.
	The default is OFF (-nomultithreading).
	
-numprocessors <auto|value> / -np <auto|value>

	Specify the number of processors to use for work queues. Specifying
	"auto" will use the value reported by the system or environment 
	variable OSDPROCESSORS. To avoid abuse, this value is internally limited
	to 4 times the number of processors reported by the system. 
	The default is "auto".

-profile [n]

        Enables profiling, specifying the stack depth of [n] to track.

-bench [n]

        Benchmark for [n] number of emulated seconds; implies the command string:
        -str [n] -video none -sound none -nothrottle



Windows video options
---------------------

-video <gdi|ddraw|d3d|none>

	Specifies which video subsystem to use for drawing. By specifying 'gdi'
	here, you tell MAME to render video using standard Windows graphics
	drawing calls. This is the slowest but most compatible option.
	Specifying 'ddraw' instructs MAME to use DirectDraw for rendering.
	This causes MAME to render everything at a lower resolution and then
	upscale the results at the end. This produces high performance,
	especially on older or low-power video cards, but has a noticeably
	lower output quality. Specifying 'd3d' tells MAME to use Direct3D for
	rendering. This produces the highest quality output and enables all
	rendering options. It is recommended if you have a recent (2002+)
	video card. The final option 'none' displays no windows and does no
	drawing. This is primarily present for doing CPU benchmarks without
	the overhead of the video system. The default is d3d.

-numscreens <count>

	Tells MAME how many output windows to create. For most games, a single
	output window is all you need, but some games originally used multiple
	screens. Each screen (up to 4) has its own independent settings for
	physical monitor, aspect ratio, resolution, and view, which can be
	set using the options below. The default is 1.

-[no]window / -[no]w

	Run MAME in either a window or full screen. The default is OFF
	(-nowindow).

-[no]maximize / -[no]max

	Controls initial window size in windowed mode. If it is set on, the
	window will initially be set to the maximum supported size when you
	start MAME. If it is turned off, the window will start out at the
	smallest supported size. This option only has an effect when the
	-window option is used. The default is ON (-maximize).

-[no]keepaspect / -[no]ka

	Enables aspect ratio enforcement. When this option is on, the game's
	proper aspect ratio (generally 4:3 or 3:4) is enforced, so you get the
	game looking like it should. When running in a window with this option
	on, you can only resize the window to the proper aspect ratio, unless
	you are holding down the CONTROL key. By turning the option off, the
	aspect ratio is allowed to float. In full screen mode, this means that
	all games will stretch to the full screen size (even vertical games).
	In window mode, it means that you can freely resize the window without
	any constraints. The default is ON (-keepaspect).

-prescale <amount>

	Controls the size of the screen images when they are passed off to the
	graphics system for scaling. At the minimum setting of 1, the screen
	is rendered at its original resolution before being scaled. At higher
	settings, the screen is expanded by a factor of <amount> before being
	scaled. With -video ddraw or -video d3d, this produces a less blurry
	image at the expense of some speed. In -video ddraw mode, this also
	increases the effective resolution of non-screen elements such as
	artwork and fonts. The default is 1.

-[no]waitvsync

	Waits for the refresh period on your computer's monitor to finish
	before starting to draw video to your screen. If this option is off,
	MAME will just draw to the screen at any old time, even in the middle
	of a refresh cycle. This can cause "tearing" artifacts, where the top
	portion of the screen is out of sync with the bottom portion. Tearing
	is not noticeable on all games, and some people hate it more than
	others. However, if you turn this option on, you will waste more of
	your CPU cycles waiting for the proper time to draw, so you will see a
	performance hit. You should only need to turn this on in windowed mode.
	In full screen mode, it is only needed if -triplebuffer does not
	remove the tearing, in which case you should use -notriplebuffer
	-waitvsync. Note that this option does not work with -video gdi mode.
	The default is OFF (-nowaitvsync).

-[no]syncrefresh

	Enables speed throttling only to the refresh of your monitor. This
	means that the game's actual refresh rate is ignored; however, the
	sound code still attempts to keep up with the game's original refresh
	rate, so you may encounter sound problems. This option is intended
	mainly for those who have tweaked their video card's settings to
	provide carefully matched refresh rate options. Note that this option
	does not work with -video gdi mode.The default is OFF (-nosyncrefresh).



DirectDraw-specific options
---------------------------

-[no]hwstretch / -[no]hws

	When enabled, MAME uses the hardware stretching abilities of your
	video card to scale the game image and associated artwork to the
	target resolution. Depending on the quality of your graphic card and
	its drivers, this may be a fractional, antialiased scaling (nice) or
	an integer, blocky scaling (not so nice), in which case you might want
	to disable this option. In addition, if you have configured specific
	arcade-like video modes for MAME and don't want MAME to perform any
	non-integral scaling of the image, you should also disable this option.
	The default is ON (-hwstretch).



Direct3D-specific options
-------------------------

-[no]filter / -[no]d3dfilter / -[no]flt

	Enable bilinear filtering on the game screen graphics. When disabled,
	point filtering is applied, which is crisper but leads to scaling
	artifacts. If you don't like the filtered look, you are probably better
	off increasing the -prescale value rather than turning off filtering
	altogether. The default is ON (-filter).



Per-window options
------------------

-screen <display>
-screen0 <display>
-screen1 <display>
-screen2 <display>
-screen3 <display>

	Specifies which physical monitor on your system you wish to have each
	window use by default. In order to use multiple windows, you must have
	increased the value of the -numscreens option. The name of each
	display in your system can be determined by running MAME with the
	-verbose option. The display names are typically in the format of:
	\\.\DISPLAYn, where 'n' is a number from 1 to the number of connected
	monitors. The default value for these options is 'auto', which means
	that the first window is placed on the first display, the second
	window on the second display, etc.

	The -screen0, -screen1, -screen2, -screen3 parameters apply to the
	specific window. The -screen parameter applies to all windows. The
	window-specific options override values from the all window option.

-aspect <width:height> / -screen_aspect <num:den>
-aspect0 <width:height>
-aspect1 <width:height>
-aspect2 <width:height>
-aspect3 <width:height>

	Specifies the physical aspect ratio of the physical monitor for each
	window. In order to use multiple windows, you must have increased the
	value of the -numscreens option. The physical aspect ratio can be
	determined by measuring the width and height of the visible screen
	image and specifying them separated by a colon. The default value for
	these options is 'auto', which means that MAME assumes the aspect
	ratio is proportional to the number of pixels in the desktop video
	mode for each monitor.

	The -aspect0, -aspect1, -aspect2, -aspect3 parameters apply to the
	specific window. The -aspect parameter applies to all windows. The
	window-specific options override values from the all window option.

-resolution <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r <widthxheight[@refresh]>
-resolution0 <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r0 <widthxheight[@refresh]>
-resolution1 <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r1 <widthxheight[@refresh]>
-resolution2 <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r2 <widthxheight[@refresh]>
-resolution3 <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r3 <widthxheight[@refresh]>

	Specifies an exact resolution to run in. In full screen mode, MAME
	will try to use the specific resolution you request. The width and
	height are required; the refresh rate is optional. If omitted or
	set to 0, MAME will determine the mode auomatically. For example,
	-resolution 640x480 will force 640x480 resolution, but MAME is free to
	choose the refresh rate. Similarly, -resolution 0x0@60 will force a
	60Hz refresh rate, but allows MAME to choose the resolution. The
	string "auto" is also supported, and is equivalent to 0x0@0. In window
	mode, this resolution is used as a maximum size for the window. This
	option requires the -switchres option as well in order to actually
	enable resolution switching with -video ddraw or -video d3d. The
	default value for these options is 'auto'.

	The -resolution0, -resolution1, -resolution2, -resolution3 parameters
	apply to the specific window. The -resolution parameter applies to all
	windows. The window-specific options override values from the all
	window option.

-view <viewname>
-view0 <viewname>
-view1 <viewname>
-view2 <viewname>
-view3 <viewname>

	Specifies the initial view setting for each window. The <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, -view native will match the "Native (15:14)" view even
	though it is not a perfect match. The value 'auto' is also supported,
	and requests that MAME perform a default selection. The default value
	for these options is 'auto'.

	The -view0, -view1, -view2, -view3 parameters apply to the
	specific window. The -view parameter applies to all windows. The
	window-specific options override values from the all window option.



Full screen options
-------------------

-[no]triplebuffer / -[no]tb

	Enables or disables "triple buffering". Normally, MAME just draws
	directly to the screen, without any fancy buffering. But with this
	option enabled, MAME creates three buffers to draw to, and cycles
	between them in order. It attempts to keep things flowing such that one
	buffer is currently displayed, the second buffer is waiting to be
	displayed, and the third buffer is being drawn to. -triplebuffer will
	override -waitvsync, if the buffer is sucessfully created. This option
	does not work with -video gdi. The default is OFF (-notriplebuffer).

-[no]switchres

	Enables resolution switching. This option is required for the
	-resolution* options to switch resolutions in full screen mode. On
	modern video cards, there is little reason to switch resolutions unless
	you are trying to achieve the "exact" pixel resolutions of the original
	games, which requires significant tweaking. This option is also useful
	on LCD displays, since they run with a fixed resolution and switching
	resolutions on them is just silly. This option does not work with
	-video gdi. The default is OFF (-noswitchres).

-full_screen_brightness / -fsb <value>

	Controls the brightness, or black level, of the entire display. 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. Note that not all video cards have hardware to
	support this option. This option does not work with -video gdi. The
	default is 1.0.

-full_screen_contrast / -fsc <value>

	Controls the contrast, or white level, of the entire display. 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. Note that not all video cards have
	hardware to support this option. This option does not work with
	-video gdi. The	default is 1.0.

-full_screen_gamma / -fsg <value>

	Controls the gamma, which produces a potentially nonlinear black to
	white ramp, for the entire display. 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. Note
	that not all video cards have hardware to support this option. This
	option does not work with -video gdi. The default is 1.0.



Windows sound options
---------------------

-sound <dsound|sdl|none>

	Specifies which sound subsystem to use. 'none' disables sound altogether.
	The default is dsound.


-audio_latency <value>

	This controls the amount of latency built into the audio streaming. By
	default MAME tries to keep the DirectSound audio buffer between 1/5 and
	2/5 full. On some systems, this is pushing it too close to the edge,
	and you get poor sound sometimes. The latency parameter controls the
	lower threshold. The default is 1 (meaning lower=1/5 and upper=2/5).
	Set it to 2 (-audio_latency 2) to keep the sound buffer between 2/5 and
	3/5 full. If you crank it up to 4, you can definitely notice the lag.



Input device options
--------------------

-[no]dual_lightgun / -[no]dual

	Controls whether or not MAME attempts to track two lightguns connected
	at the same time. This option requires -lightgun. This option is a hack
	for supporting older dual lightgun setups. If you have multiple
	lightguns connected, you will probably just need to enable -mouse and
	configure each lightgun independently. The default is OFF
	(-nodual_lightgun).