MAME

You know what time it is? It’s time for MAME 0.238, our November release! After many years of waiting, the rare space shooter Monster Zero from Nihon Game is now playable. Despite the title, this game does not feature a ... [More] three-headed space dragon. This release adds support for Fowling and Monkey Goalkeeper, two more Elektronika hand-held games built around the Egg/Mickey Mouse Game & Watch program. There are a few changes to MAME’s UI and the debugger this month. Firstly, MAME is now less eager to reset your input configuration if you run it without connecting a game controller. Analog inputs support a few more configuration options, and we’ve added some (long overdue) documentation for the input configuration process. The timecode logging feature (used by people making gameplay videos) has been moved to a plugin, and debugger memory views now support octal data display, and octal or decimal address display. Support for several Famicom controllers has been added or fixed this month, including the IGS Tap-tap Mat, Bandai Family Trainer, Bandai Power Pad, Bandai Hyper Shot, Konami Doremikko Piano Keyboard, and Konami Exciting Boxing air bag. Also involving peripheral support, the Acorn Archimedes drivers now support podule expansions, the Econet module slot, serial/parallel ports, and extension ROM sockets. You can read about all the development activity this month in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages from the download page. Read the rest of this entry » [Less]

For everyone who’s waited patiently all month, MAME 0.237 is out today! As well as the updates to the UI and debugger that we’ve already announced, there are several updates to the included plugins: A brand-new ... [More] input macro plugin. The data plugin can now show text from the Japanese command.dat file (or a Chinese command.txt file if you rename it to command.dat). The location the hiscore support plugin uses to store its data and configuration has changed. You won’t lose your high scores, but you need to move the .hi files from the hi folder to the hiscore folder in your plugin data (homepath) folder. The configuration format for the autofire plugin has changed. Unfortunately, you will need to add your autofire button settings again. Interesting machines added this month include a Mexican TRS-80 Color Computer clone, Tronica Thunder Ball (a re-skin of Space Rescue with a nautical theme), the original version of Pengo that the widespread bootlegs seem to be based on, the original hardware revision of the Laser 128 (Apple II clone), and a slightly older version of Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha for Asia. Master of multi-memory controllers kmg is still on a roll broadening NES/Famicom and clone cartridge compatibility. Highlights of the month include: Railway management simulator A Ressha de Ikou. Recent NES/Famicom games released by Ancient to promote Gotta Protectors (Minna de Mamotte Knight). NES development is still alive over two decades after the last licensed title was released in 1995. The two Korean Brilliant Com (영재컴) edutainment games. Some multi-game cartridges featuring the ambitious Titenic game, inspired by a highly successful James Cameron film. Kart Fighter – using the engine from an unlicensed NES port of Street Fighter II, and unlicensed depictions of the character roster from Super Mario Kart, this is almost a premonition of Super Smash Bros. It even features Yoshi’s tail smash, and depicts Kinopio (Toad) as a bare-knuckle brawler long before the Mii costume was available for purchase. Well-known low-effort Mario-themed hack 7 Grand Dad. PUSH ↑ START BUTTON. GET ADDITION GAME. AND NOURISH THE BLOOD Amiga software compatibility has been improved this month, the NEC PC-6001 family has gained a cartridge software list, and another batch of Commodore 64 cassettes has been added. An issue was identified with “fake E7” Apple II cracks that could prevent them from working if they were written out to disks to use on original hardware. Although this didn’t prevent them from being used in MAME, disk images with the issue fixed have been added to the software list. Over a hundred Apple IIgs cracks have been added, too. You can read about all the exciting developments this month in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages from the download page. Read the rest of this entry » [Less]

We’re well on our way through the current development cycle, and MAME 0.237 is going to have some significant changes, not just in terms of emulation, but in the user interface and debugger. Don’t worry, no functionality has ... [More] been removed. In fact, we’ve added several features. It just might take a little while to adjust to the differences. First of all, we’ve added support for localised system name files, as used by front-ends like Retrofire, MxUI and MAME Plus! Popular files include mame32j.lst (Japanese) and mame_cn.lst (Chinese). You’ll be able to put your preferred system name file in the DATs (or “history”) folder, and select it in MAME’s UI customisation settings menu. UI localisation support is more complete, and MAME 0.237 will include high-quality Chinese and Greek translations, thanks to YuiFAN and BraiNKilleRGR. Mouse/trackball navigation has been improved (you can even click DIP switches to toggle them), and the system and software selection menus have been tweaked to include more information and make better use of space. Lots of debugger commands have been enhanced to work better with newer memory system features. We’ve also updated and expanded the debugger documentation, both on our web site and for the built-in help command. If you’re compiling MAME yourself, Python 2.7 will no longer be supported: compiling MAME now requires Python 3.2 or later (this won’t affect you if you just use MAME, Python isn’t required to run MAME). Most operating systems have included Python 3 for years, and our MSYS64/MinGW build tools for Windows already include Python 3.8 – as long as you have a python3 command, you should be good to go. Read on for a more complete list of changes. Read the rest of this entry » [Less]

The big event of the day is here! MAME 0.236 is ready for your enjoyment! Sadly, this month marked the passing of Sir Clive Sinclair, who it could be argued did more to put computers into the hands of everyday people than ... [More] anyone. There’s a small update to MAME’s ZX Spectrum software list in this release. The effort to dump and preserve protection microcontrollers is still going well. This month’s additions include Juuouki and Wonder Planet. Protection simulation has been removed for Wonder Planet and Space Harrier. Remember, this is a worthy cause that provides multiple benefits: it improves accuracy by taking guesses out of emulation, helps people maintain and repair ageing arcade boards, and simplifies MAME’s code. MAME’s NEC PC-8001 now supports floppy disks. The PC-8001 and PC-8801 software lists have been reorganised to match, and a big batch of items from the Neo Kobe collection have been added. MAME continues to improve its NES/Famicom cartridge coverage. There are a whole lot of games you can play now, including Chinese RPGs, fighting game bootlegs, and pirate multi-game cartridges. Experience a parallel universe of software of such inconsistent quality that you can’t stop going down the rabbit hole! Saturn emulation has seen a few improvements, with several games that didn’t boot previously reaching playable status this month. As you might expect, the FM Towns, PC-98 and V.Smile software lists have been updated as usual. A couple of recently dumped prototypes have been added to the SNES and Game Boy software lists. The SpongeBob SquarePants Jellyfish Dodge game has been dumped and emulated, and a Korean version of Sotsugyo Shousho known as Jor-eop Jeungmyeongseo has been found. More pleasant surprises include working emulation for the IDE protection dongle included in Killer Instinct 2 upgrade kit, and some fixes for Atari 8-bit home computers using the ANTIC video chip. For people with more exotic tastes, MAME has added its oldest working software list additions: Munching Squares and Punchy for the MIT TX-0. There’s also a new disassembler for the DEC VAX architecture. In more mundane news, you can now reduce the proliferation of duplicate ROM sets for families of similar keyboards and other devices. Of course, there’s lots more going on, and you can read all about it in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages from the download page. Read the rest of this entry » [Less]

What’s in store with MAME 0.235? First of all, the lost unencrypted version of Rafflesia has resurfaced, ending a long saga! A genuine copy of Bubble Buster, an early North American version of Puzzle Bobble, has been found ... [More] , and a prototype of Tecfri’s Sauro known as Sea Wolf has been dumped. This release includes an update to BGFX and fixes for the long-standing issues with YUV decoding, so LaserDisc games can be played with BGFX shaders. Konami Viper emulation now has sound support thanks to Windy Fairy, and a big batch of unlicensed multi-game cartridges for NES/Famicom are now playable. As usual, the Apple II, FM Towns and PC-98 software lists have been updated with the latest dumps. You can find out about all the updates in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages from the download page. Read the rest of this entry » [Less]

Hi everyone! After four busy weeks, MAME 0.234 is ready! Newly supported systems include Runaway (a licensed version of Sega’s Head On made by Sun Electronics), Konami’s Magical Twin Bee (the European version of Twin Bee ... [More] Yahhoo!), and Tronica’s LCD hand-held Spider (same program as Space Mission, but with different artwork). Although it was added last month, VS Mahjong Triangle is now working. This is a rare early example of a mahjong game supporting two simultaneous single-player games, or a two-player game – a format popularised a decade later by Psikyo’s Taisen Hot Gimmick. There have been two significant sets of improvements for 3D arcade games this month: rewritten 3dfx Voodoo Graphics emulation, giving significant performance gains in many cases, and continued development on Konami’s ZR017 and GTI Club hardware. Although not directly related to 3D graphics, bug fixes for the Fujitsu TGP DSP make Motor Raid more playable. We haven’t forgotten 2D arcade games – Namco racing games have seen another round of fixes for missing or incorrectly positioned sprites, and missing sprites are now drawn in Data East’s Chanbara. For home systems, our friend kmg has been hard at work adding support for pirate NES/Famicom cartridges, and Brian Johnson has fixed a couple of video issues on the Epson QX-10. Kelvin Sherlock added support for the LANceGS card, providing another networking option for Apple II users. You can read about everything that’s been going on in the whatsnew.txt file, and the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages are available from the download page. Read the rest of this entry » [Less]

Are you ready for MAME 0.233? With dozens of reported issues fixed, over a hundred pull requests merged, and a flurry of development across all areas, our mid-year release is huge! Some of the more interesting machines added ... [More] this month include several prototype JAKKS Pacific TV Games, the elusive English version of Namco’s Armadillo Racing, and the LCD hand-held game Space Mission from Tronica. There are lots of new Apple IIgs and Macintosh software list items, tying in nicely with the recently improved emulation of these systems, as well as an update to the Colour Genie collection, and a massive haul of MicroBee floppy dumps. A few more Mattel Juice Box cartridges have been dumped, allowing you to marvel at the poor-quality, 6 frames-per-second video. Significantly improved systems include the Atari Portfolio, Tandy MC-10, and Tandy VIS. Carl has continued to work on Japanese home computers, and Ville Linde is back this month, bringing a batch of updates for the Konami Hornet platform. Juno First, The Tin Star, The Empire Strikes Back have all had bugs squashed, and some of the last remaining regressions from the Yamaha FM synthesis rewrite have been resolved. David Haywood has turned his attention to bootlegs of games including Final Lap 3, Guttang Gottong, and Alien Storm. This release includes preliminary sound support for the Super A'Can console. On the topic of sound, some Yamaha synthesisers have been promoted to working, and MAME can now play back standard MIDI files to exercise machines that take MIDI input. There are several general usability improvements in this release, including updated Chinese and Greek translations, better configuration handling for slot devices, and a few small enhancements to the built-in user interface. Issues with artwork using SVG and Windows DIB (BMP) images on ARM/AArch64-based Linux systems should also be fixed. As always, you can find much more detail about all the action in the whatsnew.txt file, and the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages are available from the download page. Read the rest of this entry » [Less]

Along with a growing list of Open Source and Free Software projects and other communities, we’re moving our official IRC presence off freenode. Our new home is #mame on Libera.Chat. Drop by and say hello if you have a chance! For more information, see our IRC page.

It’s time for MAME 0.232, and do we have a surprise for you! The incredibly rare Universal game Mrs. Dynamite has finally been found and dumped! This is an early example of a game where you place bombs to kill enemies that ... [More] walk over them, showing Universal’s flair for cute characters and cutscenes. Mrs. Dynamite is believed to have performed poorly on location tests, and never had a widespread release. The graphics in the version that has been dumped don’t match what’s shown on flyers. Other arcade additions include Dokaben 2 and a prototype of Spinal Breakers. Namco racing games have taken a leap forward this month. Final Lap has its sprite chip hooked up subtly differently to later games on the System II platform, which had been causing graphical issues on the title screen. Lack of playback status register emulation in the C140 sound chip was causing issues with engine sounds in Final Lap, Suzuka 8 Hours, and Four Trax. The horizontal position of the road layer has also been adjusted to better match videos made using original hardware. A number of bug fixes allow previously unplayable Japanese home computer games, including µPD7220 issues affecting the Madou Monogatari games on PC-98, the missing 1-bit DAC sound on PC-98, broken sprites in Asuka 120% Burning Fest. on FM Towns, and background bugs on Sharp X68000. Mac media support continues to improve, with working CD-ROM drives on more Macs, and fixes for high density floppy drives. The V.Smile Smart Keyboard is now supported, in US, French, and German variants. Tim Lindner has continued to fix long-standing bugs in Tandy CoCo 3 emulation. Software list additions include Taiwanese Game Gear cartridges, Master System prototypes, a big batch of software for the Australian MicroBee series, and quite a few add-on ROMs for the Acorn BBC Micro. We’ve also got the latest Apple II floppy dumps and cracks, FM Towns floppies and CDs, and PC floppies. You can read all the development activity this month in the whatsnew.txt file, and the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages are right there on the download page. Read the rest of this entry » [Less]

It’s time for MAME 0.232, and do we have a surprise for you! The incredibly rare Universal game Mrs. Dynamite has finally been found and dumped! This is an early example of a game where you place bombs to kill enemies that ... [More] walk over them, showing Universal’s flair for cute characters and cutscenes. Mrs. Dynamite is believed to have performed poorly on location tests, and never had a widespread release. The graphics in the version that has been dumped don’t match what’s shown on flyers. Other arcade additions include Dokaben 2 and a prototype of Spinal Breakers. Namco racing games have taken a leap forward this month. Final Lap has its sprite chip hooked up subtly differently to later games on the System II platform, which had been causing graphical issues on the title screen. Lack of playback status register emulation in the C140 sound chip was causing issues with engine sounds in Final Lap, Suzuka 8 Hours, and Four Trax. The horizontal position of the road layer has also been adjusted to better match videos made using original hardware. A number of bug fixes allow previously unplayable Japanese home computer games, including µPD7220 issues affecting the Madou Monogatari games on PC-98, the missing 1-bit DAC sound on PC-98, broken sprites in Asuka 120% Burning Fest. on FM Towns, and background bugs on Sharp X68000. Mac media support continues to improve, with working CD-ROM drives on more Macs, and fixes for high density floppy drives. The V.Smile Smart Keyboard is now supported, in US, French, and German variants. Tim Lindner has continued to fix long-standing bugs in Tandy CoCo 3 emulation. Software list additions include Taiwanese Game Gear cartridges, Master System prototypes, a big batch of software for the Australian MicroBee series, and quite a few add-on ROMs for the Acorn BBC Micro. We’ve also got the latest Apple II floppy dumps and cracks, FM Towns floppies and CDs, and PC floppies. You can read all the development activity this month in the whatsnew.txt file, and the source and 64-bit Windows binary packages are right there on the the download page. Read the rest of this entry » [Less]