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MESS(6) |
MESS - Multi Emulator Super System |
MESS(6) |
MESS - Multi Emulator Super System
mess system [media software] [options]
MESS documents the hardware for a wide variety of (mostly vintage) computers,
video game consoles, and calculators through software emulation. As a nice
side effect, MESS allows software and games for these hardware platforms to
run on modern PCs.
A software entry may be specified to attach an image file to the emulated
system. In such a case, the appropriate media switch is also required:
- -cart, -cart1
- Cartrigde, used mainly by game consoles
- -cass
- Cassette (tape), widely used by old home computers
- -flop, -flop1
- Floppy disk
- -cdrom
- CD-Rom
- -help, -?
- Displays current MESS version and copyright notice.
- -validate, -valid
- Performs internal validation on every driver in MESS. Run this before
submitting changes to ensure that you haven't violated any of the core
system rules.
- -createconfig, -cc
- Creates the default mess.ini file in the current directory. All the
configuration options (not commands) described below can be permanently
changed by editing this configuration file.
- -showconfig, -sc
- Displays the current configuration settings.
- -showusage, -su
- Displays a summary of all the command line options. For options that are
not mentioned here, the short summary given by -showusage is
usually sufficient.
All the list commands below write info to the screen. If you wish to write the
info to a textfile instead, use redirection. For example, mess -listxml
> ~/messlist.xml writes the full list of supported systems to
messlist.xml in your home directory.
- -listxml, -lx [system|wildcard]
- List comprehensive details for all of the supported systems. 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 systems are listed; however, you
can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after the
-listxml command.
- -listfull, -ll [system|wildcard]
- Displays a list of system driver names and descriptions. By default all
systems are listed; however, you can limit this list by specifying a
driver name or wildcard after the -listfull command.
- -listsource, -ls [system|wildcard]
- Displays a list of drivers and the names of the source files their system
drivers live in. Useful for finding which driver a system runs on in order
to fix bugs. By default all systems are listed; however, you can limit
this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after the -listsource
command.
- -listclones, -lc [system|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
-listclones command.
- -listbrothers, -lb [system|wildcard]
- Displays a list of "brothers" or other drivers from same
sourcefile. By default all systems are listed; however, you can limit this
list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after the -listbrothers
command.
- -listcrc
- Displays a full list of CRCs of all ROM images referenced by all drivers
within MESS code.
- -listroms, -lr system
- Displays a list of ROM images referenced by the specified system.
- -listsamples system
- Displays a list of samples referenced by the specified system.
- -verifyroms [system|wildcard]
- Checks for invalid or missing ROM images. By default all drivers that have
valid ZIP files or directories in the rom path are verified; however, you
can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after the
-verifyroms command.
- -verifysamples [system|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
- Attempts to identify ROM files, if they are known to MESS, 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 all files were identified
7 all files were identified except for some "non-ROM" files
8 some files were identified
9 no files were identified
- -listdevices, -ld
- Output the list of devices referenced by a given system or set of
systems.
- -listslots, -lslot
- Output the list of available slots and slot devices for the system.
- -listmedia, -lm
- Output the list of available media for the system.
- -listsoftware, -lsoft
- Output the list of known software for the system.
- -verifysoftware, -vsoft [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.
- -getsoftlist, -glist
- Retrieve software list by name.
- -verifysoftlist, -vlist [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).
- -listmidi, -mlist
- List available MIDI I/O devices.
- -listnetwork, -nlist
- List available network adapters.
- -[no]readconfig, -[no]rc
- Enables or disables the reading of the config files. When enabled (which
is the default), MESS reads the following config files in order:
1. mess.ini
the main configuration file
2. [driver].ini
based on the source file name of the system driver
3. debug.ini, if the debugger is enabled
4. vector.ini, for vector games only
5. [driver].ini
based on the source filename of the game driver
6. [parent].ini
for clones only, may be called recursively
4. [system].ini
note this sometimes resolves to the same of the source driver
The settings in the later ini's override those in the earlier
ini's. The default is ON (-readconfig).
- -[no]writeconfig, -[no]wc
- Write configuration to [driver].ini on exit. Default is OFF
(-nowriteconfig).
Be careful to use the path, directory and file options in mess.ini ONLY.
Otherwise, the outcome may be unpredictable and not consistent across
releases.
- -rompath, -rp, -biospath, -bp pathname
- 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 MESS executable).
- -hashpath pathname
- Specifies a list of paths within which to search for software hash files.
Multiple paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The
default is 'hash' (that is, a directory 'hash' in the same directory as
the MESS executable).
- -samplepath, -sp pathname
- 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
MESS executable).
- -artpath, -artwork_directory pathname
- 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
MESS executable).
- -ctrlrpath, -ctrlr_directory pathname
- 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 MESS executable).
- -inipath pathname
- Specifies a list of paths within which to find .ini files. Multiple paths
can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is
'/etc/mess'.
- -fontpath pathname
- 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 MESS executable).
- -cheatpath pathname
- Specifies a list of paths within which to find cheat files. Multiple paths
can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is
'cheat' (that is, a directory 'cheat' in the same directory as the MESS
executable).
- -crosshairpath pathname
- Specifies a list of paths within which to find crosshair files. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is
'crosshair' (that is, a directory 'crosshair' in the same directory as the
MESS executable). If the Crosshair is set to default in the menu, MESS
will look for system/cross#.png and then cross#.png in the specified path,
where # is the player number. Failing that, MESS will use built-in default
crosshairs.
- -pluginspath pathname
- Specifies a single path within which to find plugins. The default is
'plugins' (that is, a directory 'plugins' in the same directory as the
MESS executable).
- -languagepath pathname
- Specifies a single path within which to find language files. The default
is 'language' (that is, a directory 'language' in the same directory as
the MESS executable).
- -cfg_directory pathname
- Specifies a single directory where configuration files are stored.
Configuration files store user configurable settings that are read at
startup and written when MESS exits. The default is 'cfg' (that is, a
directory 'cfg' in the same directory as the MESS executable). If this
directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.
- -nvram_directory pathname
- Specifies a single directory where NVRAM files are stored. NVRAM files
store the contents of EEPROM and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) for systems
which used this type of hardware. This data is read at startup and written
when MESS exits. The default is 'nvram' (that is, a directory 'nvram' in
the same directory as the MESS executable). If this directory does not
exist, it will be automatically created.
- -input_directory pathname
- 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 MESS executable). If this directory does not exist,
it will be automatically created.
- -state_directory pathname
- 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 MESS executable). If this directory does not exist,
it will be automatically created.
- -snapshot_directory pathname
- 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 MESS executable). If this directory does not
exist, it will be automatically created.
- -diff_directory pathname
- 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 system with a hard disk
image. The default is 'diff' (that is, a directory 'diff' in the same
directory as the MESS executable). If this directory does not exist, it
will be automatically created.
- -comment_directory pathname
- 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 system. The default is 'comments' (that is, a
directory 'comments' in the same directory as the MESS executable). If
this directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.
- -state slot
- Immediately after starting the specified system, will cause the save state
in the specified slot to be loaded.
- -[no]autosave
- When enabled, automatically creates a save state file when exiting MESS
and automatically attempts to reload it when later starting MESS with the
same system. This only works for systems 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 system inputs. This
feature does not work reliably for all systems, but can be used to watch a
previously recorded system 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).
- -[no]exit_after_playback
- If play back is enabled (see -playback option) the program exits when end
of file is reached. Otherwise the machine will continue to run. Default is
OFF (-noexit_after_playback).
- -record, -rec filename
- Specifies a file to record all input from a system session. This can be
used to record a system session for later playback. This feature does not
work reliably for all systems, but can be used to watch a previously
recorded system 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).
- -[no]record_timecode
- Specify whether to create a timecode file. It contains a line with elapsed
times on each press of timecode shortcut key (default is F12). This option
works only when recording mode is enabled (-record option). The file is
saved on inp folder. Default is OFF (-norecord_timecode).
- -mngwrite filename
- Writes each video frame to the given file in MNG format, producing an
animation of the system 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 file in AVI format, producing an
animation of the system session complete with sound. The default is NULL
(no recording).
- -wavwrite filename
- Writes the final mixer output to the given file in WAV format, producing
an audio recording of the system session. The default is NULL (no
recording).
- -snapname string
- Describes how MESS should name files for snapshots. string 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 literal %g represents the driver name
of the current system; and the literal %i represents an
incrementing index. If %i is omitted, then each snapshot taken will
overwrite the previous one; otherwise, MESS 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 system, 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 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 widthxheight
- Hard-codes the size for snapshots and movie recording. By default, MESS
will create snapshots at the system's current resolution in raw pixels,
and will create movies at the system's starting resolution in raw pixels.
If you specify this option, then MESS 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 system is vertically
oriented. The default is 'auto'.
- -snapview internal|auto|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'.
- -[no]snapbilinear
- Specify whether snapshot/movie should have bilinear filtering applied.
Default is ON (-snapbilinear).
- -statename string
- Describes how MESS should store save state files, relative to the
state_directory path. string 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 literal %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 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
systems. 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 system/burnin-<screen.name>.png. The
default is OFF (-noburnin).
- -[no]autoframeskip, -[no]afs
- Automatically determines the frameskip level while you're playing the
system, adjusting it constantly in a frantic attempt to keep the system
running at full speed. Turning this on overrides the value you have set
for -frameskip below. The default is OFF (-noautoframeskip).
- -frameskip, -fs value
- Specifies the frameskip value (autoframeskip must be disabled). This is
the number of frames out of every 12 to drop when running. For example, if
you say -frameskip 2, then MESS will display 10 out of every 12 frames. By
skipping those frames, you may be able to get full speed in a system that
requires more horsepower than your computer has. The default value is 0,
which skips no frames.
- -seconds_to_run, -str value
- This option can be used for benchmarking and automated testing. It tells
MESS 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 MESS performance. In addition,
upon exit, the -str option will write a screenshot called final.png to the
system's snapshot directory.
- -[no]throttle
- Configures the default thottling setting. When throttling is on, MESS
attempts to keep the system running at the system's intended speed. When
throttling is off, MESS runs the system as fast as it can. Note that the
fastest speed is more often than not limited by your graphics card,
especially for older systems. The default is ON (-throttle).
- -[no]sleep
- Allows MESS to give time back to the system when running with -throttle.
This allows other programs to have some CPU time, assuming that the system
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 value
- Controls the speed of gameplay, relative to realtime; smaller numbers are
slower. Default is 1.00.
- -[no]refreshspeed, -[no]rs
- Automatically adjusts the -speed parameter to keep the effective
refresh rate below that of the lowest screen refresh rate. Default is OFF
(-norefreshspeed).
- -numprocessors, -np value
- Set number of processors; this overrides the number the system
reports.
- -bench value
- Benchmark for the given number of emulated seconds; implies -video none
-sound none -nothrottle.
- -[no]sdlvideofps
- Show SDL video performance. Default is OFF (-nosdlvideofps).
- -[no]rotate
- Rotate the system to match its normal state (horizontal/vertical). This
ensures that both vertically and horizontally oriented systems show up
correctly without the need to rotate your monitor. If you want to keep the
system displaying 'raw' on the screen the way the actual machine would
have, turn this option off. The default is ON (-rotate).
- -[no]ror -[no]rol
- Rotate the system 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). Default for
both 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 system 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. Default for both is OFF
(-noautoror -noautorol).
- -[no]flipx -[no]flipy
- Flip (mirror) the system screen either horizontally (-flipx) or vertically
(-flipy). The flips are applied after the -rotate and -ror/-rol options
are applied. Default for both is OFF (-noflipx -noflipy).
- -[no]artwork_crop, -[no]artcrop
- Enable cropping of artwork to the system screen area only. 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]bezel
- Enables/disables the display of bezels. The default is ON
(-use_bezels).
- -[no]use_cpanels, -[no]cpanel
- Enables/disables the display of cpanels. The default is ON
(-use_bezels).
- -[no]use_marquees, -[no]marquee
- Enables/disables the display of marquees. The default is ON
(-use_bezels).
- -brightness value
- Controls the default brightness, or black level, of the system screens.
This option does not affect the artwork or other parts of the display.
Using the MESS UI, you can individually set the brightness for each system
screen; this option controls the initial value for all visible system
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 system screens. This option
does not affect the artwork or other parts of the display. Using the MESS
UI, you can individually set the contrast for each system screen; this
option controls the initial value for all visible system 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 system screens. This option does not affect the artwork or
other parts of the display. Using the MESS UI, you can individually set
the gamma for each system screen; this option controls the initial value
for all visible system 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 MESS is paused. The default value
is 0.65.
- -effect [none|filename[.png]]
- Name of a PNG file to use for visual effects, or 'none'. Default is
'none'.
- -beam_width_min value
- -beam_width_max value
- Sets the minimum and maximum width of the vectors. This is a scaling
factor against the standard vector width, which is interpolated between
minimum and maximum according to the beam's intensity. 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.
- -beam_intensity_weight value
- Applies an exponential weight to the minimum and maximum beam width. For
positive values the interpolated scaling factor will affect lines with
higher intensity more than lines with lower intensity. The default is
0.0.
- -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.
- -video [soft|opengl|bgfx|none]
- Specifies which video subsystem to use for drawing:
soft uses software rendering, which is slower but more compatible.
opengl uses OpenGL and your graphics accelerator to speed up many
aspects of drawing MAME including compositing artwork, overlays, and
bezels, as well as stretching the image to fit your screen.
bgfx uses the bgfx renderer which supports portable shaders and
multiple graphics APIs including OpenGL, OpenGL ES and DirectX.
none does no drawing and is intended for CPU benchmarking.
Default is 'soft' on Linux or 'opengl' on macOS.
- -numscreens [1-4]
- Number of screens to create; usually, you want just one. Default is
'1'.
- -[no]window, -[no]w
- Run MESS in either full screen or a window. This is a fully-featured
window mode where the window resizes as necessary to track what the system
does. And you can resize it yourself with your OS's standard window
controls. 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 MESS.
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
- Forces the correct aspect ratio. This means when you're resizing the
window in windowed mode the actual system image will resize in discrete
steps to maintain the proper shape of the system graphics. If you turn
this off you can resize the window to anything you like and get funny
squishing and stretching. The same applies for full-screen. Default is ON
(-keepaspect).
- -[no]unevenstretch, -[no]ues
- Allow non-integer stretch factors. Video purists should stay far, far away
from this option, while everyone else will be happy to know that it lets
you fill the screen properly in full-screen mode. Default is ON
(-unevenstretch).
- -[no]unevenstretchx, -[no]uesx
- Act as -[no]unevenstretch on horizontal basis only.
- -[no]intoverscan, -[no]ios
- Allow overscan on integer scaled targets.
- -intscalex, -sx
- Set horizontal integer scale factor.
- -intscaley, -sy
- Set vertical integer scale factor.
- -[no]centerh
- Center horizontally within the view area. Default is ON (-centerh).
- -[no]centerv
- Center vertically within the view area. Default is ON (-centerv).
- -[no]waitvsync, -[no]vs
- Enable waiting for the start of VBLANK before flipping screens; reduces
tearing effects. Default is OFF (-nowaitvsync).
- -[no]syncrefresh, -[no]srf
- Enable using the start of VBLANK for throttling instead of the game time.
Default is OFF (-nosyncrefresh).
NOTE: All the options in this group are available only with softare video
rendering subsystem, i.e -video soft.
- -prescale [value]
- Scale screen rendering by this amount in software. Default is 1.
- -scalemode, -sm
[none|async|yv12|yuy2|yv12x2|yuy2x2]
- Hardware scaling mode.
none use software rendering.
async async overlay.
yv12 yv12 overlay.
yuy2 yuy2 overlay.
yv12x2 yv12 overlay using x2 prescaling.
yuy2x2 yuy2 overlay using x2 prescaling.
Default is NONE.
NOTE: All the options in this group are available only with OpenGL video
rendering subsystem, i.e -video opengl.
- -[no]filter, -[no]glfilter, -[no]flt
- Enable bilinear filtering on screen output. Default is ON (-filter).
- -prescale [value]
- Scale screen rendering by this amount in software. Default is 1.
- -[no]gl_forcepow2texture
- Force power of two textures. Default is OFF (-nogl_forcepow2texture).
- -[no]gl_notexturerect
- Don't use OpenGL GL_ARB_texture_rectangle. Turn off if corruption occurs
in OpenGL mode, at cost of some performance loss. Default is ON
(-gl_notexturerect).
- -[no]gl_vbo
- Enable OpenGL VBO, if available, for a performance increase. Turn off if
corruption occurs. Default is ON (-gl_vbo).
- -[no]gl_pbo
- Enable OpenGL PBO, if available, for a performance increase. Turn off if
corruption occurs. Default is ON (-gl_pbo).
- -[no]gl_glsl
- Enable OpenGL GLSL, if available, for a performance increase. Default is
OFF (-nogl_glsl).
- -gl_glsl_filter value
- Enable OpenGL GLSL filtering instead of FF filtering 0=plain, 1=bilinear.
Default is 1: bilinear.
- -glsl_shader_mame[0-9]
- Preferred custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap (from 0 to 9).
- -glsl_shader_screen[0-9]
- Preferred custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap (from 0 to 9).
- -gl_glsl_vid_attr
- Enable OpenGL GLSL handling of brightness and contrast. Better RGB system
performance for free. Default is ON.
- -screen
- Explicit name for all screens; 'auto' here will try to make a best
guess.
- -aspect, -screen_aspect
- Aspect ratio for all screens; 'auto' here will try to make a best
guess.
- -resolution, -r
- Preferred resolution for all screens; format is
widthxheight[@refreshrate] or 'auto'.
- -view
- Preferred view for all screens
- -screen[0-3]
- Explicit name of the first|second|third|fourth screen; 'auto' here will
try to make a best guess.
- -aspect[0-3]
- Aspect ratio of the first|second|third|fourth screen; 'auto' here will try
to make a best guess.
- -resolution[0-3], -r[0-3]
- Preferred resolution for the first|second|third|fourth screen; format is
widthxheight[@refreshrate] or 'auto'.
- -view[0-3]
- Preferred view for the first|second|third|fourth screen.
NOTE: All the options in this group are available only when BGFX video
post-processing is enabled, i.e -video bgfx. For full info on BGFX
please visit official MAME documentation page:
http://docs.mamedev.org/advanced/bgfx.html
- -bgfx_path pathname
- This is where your BGFX shader files are stored. The default is 'bgfx'
(that is, a directory "bgfx" in the same directory as the MESS
executable).
- -bgfx_backend auto|opengl
- Selects a rendering backend for BGFX to use. The default is 'auto', which
will let MESS choose the best selection for you.
- -bgfx_debug
- Enables BGFX debugging features. Most users will not need to use
this.
- -bgfx_screen_chains
default|unfiltered|hlsl[,...]
- This dictates how to handle BGFX rendering on a per-display basis. For
each display specify one of the possible choices:
default default bilinear filterered output
unfiltered nearest neighbor unfiltered output
hlsl HLSL display simulation through shaders
Separate directives for each window with a comma (,) and for each physical
screen with a colon (:). For example, for an emulated game with 3 displays
emulated on 3 windows on your monitor, -bgfx_screen_chains
default,unfiltered,default specifies to apply default filter on what
is been rendered on the first and third window and leave the content of
the second window unfiltered.
- -bgfx_shadow_mask filename
- This specifies the shadow mask effect PNG file. Default is
'slot-mask.png'.
- -bgfx_avi_name filename
- This specifies a filename for BGFX output logging.
- -[no]switchres
- Affects full screen mode only. Chooses if MESS can try to change the
screen resolution (color depth is normally left alone) when in full-screen
mode. If it's off, you always get your desktop resolution in full-screen
mode (which can be useful for LCDs). Default is OFF (-noswitchres).
- -[no]useallheads
- Split full screen image across monitors. Default is OFF
(-nouseallhead).
- -sound
[sdl|portaudio|coreaudio|dsound|xaudio2|none]
- Specifies which sound subsystem to use for audio output:
sdl uses the Simple DirectMedia Layer audio output system (not
available on Windows by default).
portaudio uses the PortAudio library which supports low-latency
output and multiple audio APIs.
coreaudio uses the Core Audio API which supports low-latency output
and AudioUnit effects (only available on macOS).
dsound uses the DirectSound API (only available on Windows).
xaudio2 uses the XAudio2 API which supports low-latency output (only
available on Windows).
none produces no audio output.
Default is 'dsound' on Windows, 'coreaudio' on macOS or 'sdl' on other
platforms.
- -samplerate, -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: for example,
'-volume -12' will start with -12dB attenuation. The default is 0.
- -audio_latency value
- This controls the amount of latency built into the audio streaming. The
exact behavior depends on the selected audio output module (see the -sound
option). Smaller values provide less audio delay while requiring better
system performance. Higher values increase audio delay but may help avoid
buffer under-runs and audio interruptions. The default is 1.
- -[no]coin_lockout, -[no]coinlock
- Enables simulation of the "coin lockout" feature that is
implemented on a number of arcade 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 MESS looks for a mouse controller to use. Note
that in many cases, lightguns are treated as mice by the operating system,
so you may need to enable this to enable lightgun support. When this is
enabled, you will not be able to use your mouse while running MESS. If you
want to get control of your computer back, you will need to either pause
MESS or quit. The default is OFF (-nomouse).
- -[no]joystick, -[no]joy
- Controls whether or not MESS looks for joystick/gamepad controllers. The
default is ON (-joystick).
- -[no]lightgun, -[no]gun
- Controls whether or not MESS 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 MESS 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 MESS to report keypresses on different
keyboards independently. The default is OFF (-nomultikeyboard).
- -[no]multimouse
- Determines whether MESS 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 MESS to report mouse movement and button presses on
different mice independently. The default is OFF (-nomultimouse).
- -[no]steadykey, -[no]steady
- Some systems 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. The default is OFF
(-nosteadykey).
- -[no]ui_active
- Enable MESS user interface on top of emulated keyboard (if present). User
interface may be toggled during execution by pressing the key defined with
-ui_modekey. Default is OFF (-noui_active).
- -[no]offscreen_reload, -[no]reload
- Controls whether or not MESS treats a second button input from a lightgun
as a reload signal. In this case, MESS 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 systems 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, -joymap map
- Controls how joystick values map to digital joystick controls. See
/usr/share/doc/mame-common/config.txt for full details on joymap
format.
- -joystick_deadzone, -joy_deadzone, -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, -joy_saturation, -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.
- -[no]natural, -[no]nat
- Allows user to specify whether or not to use a natural keyboard. This
allows you to start your game or system in a 'native' mode, depending on
your region, allowing compatibility for non-"QWERTY" style
keyboards. The default is OFF (-nonatural).
- -[no]joystick_contradictory, -[no]joy_contradictory
- Enable contradictory direction digital joystick input at the same time.
Default is OFF (-nojoystick_contradictory).
- -uimodekey, -umk value
- Specifies the key used to toggle between full and partial UI mode.
- -uifontprovider auto|sdl|none
- Provider for ui font.
- -output console|network|none
- Provider for output.
- -keyboardprovider auto|sdl|none
- Provider for keyboard input.
- -mouseprovider auto|sdl|none
- Provider for mouse input.
- -lightgunprovider auto|none
- Provider for lightgun input.
- -joystickprovider auto|sdl|none
- Provider for joystick input.
- -[no]keymap
- Enable keymap for non-QWERTY keyboards. Used in conjunction with
-keymap_file. Default is OFF (-nokeymap).
- -keymap_file keymap_file
- Specifies the full path to the keymap file to be used. A few keymap files
are available in /usr/share/games/mess/keymaps.
- -joy_idx[0-8] joystick
- With these options you can assign a joystick to a specific index in MESS.
Even if the kernel will list the joysticks in a different order on the
next boot, MESS will still see the joystick as e.g. "Joystick
2". Use mame -v to see which joysticks are recognized. Default is
'auto'.
- -[no]sixaxis
- Use special handling for PS3 Sixaxis controllers. Default is OFF
(-nosixaxis).
- -lightgun_index[1-8]
- Map lightgun to specific index in MESS.
- -videodriver, -vd x11|directfb|auto
- SDL video driver to use; auto selects SDL default.
- -audiodriver, -ad alsa|arts|auto
- SDL audio driver to use; auto selects SDL default.
- -gl_lib alsa|arts|auto
- Alternative libGL.so to use; auto selects SDL default.
- -paddle_device, -paddle
[none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
- -adstick_device, -adstick
[none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
- -pedal_device, -pedal
[none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
- -dial_device, -dial
[none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
- -trackball_device, -trackball
[none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
- -lightgun_device
[none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
- -positional_device
[none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
- -mouse_device
[none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
- Each of these options controls automatically enabling the mouse, or
joystick depending on the presence of a particular class of analog control
for a particular system. For example, if you specify the option -paddle
mouse, then any system 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.
- -[no]log
- Creates a file called error.log which contains all of the internal log
messages generated by the MESS core and system 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. Please use the -verbose
option and include the resulting information when reporting bugs. The
default is OFF (-noverbose).
- -[no]update_in_pause
- Enables updating the screen bitmap while the system is paused. This is
useful for debuggin in some scenarios (and gets in the way in others).
Default is OFF (-noupdate_in_pause).
- -[no]debug, -[no]d
- 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).
- -debugger debugger_name
- Name of the debugger to use. Default is AUTO.
- -debugger_font, -dfont font_name
- Specifies the font to use for debugging. Default is AUTO.
- -debugger_font_size, -dfontsize size
- Specifies the font size to use for debugging.
- -[no]oslog
- Outputs the error.log data to the system 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).
- -[no]drc
- Enable DRC cpu core if available. Default is ON (-drc).
- -[no]drc_use_c
- Force DRC use C backend. Default is OFF (-nodrc_use_c).
- -[no]drc_log_uml
- Write DRC UML disassembly log. Default is OFF (-nodrc_log_uml).
- -[no]drc_log_native
- Write DRC native disassembly log. Default is OFF
(-no_drc_log_native).
- -bios biosname
- Specifies the specific BIOS to use with the current system, for systems
that make use of a BIOS. The -listxml output will list all of the possible
BIOS names for a system. The default is 'default'.
- -[no]cheat, -[no]c
- Activates the cheat menu with autofire options and other tricks from the
cheat database, if present. The default is OFF (-nocheat).
- -[no]skip_gameinfo
- Forces MESS to skip displaying the system info screen. The default is OFF
(-noskip_gameinfo).
- -uifont fontname
- Specifies the name of a BDF 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 instead of a BDF font file. The default is 'default' (use the
OSD-determined default font).
- -ui simple|cabinet
- Type of UI.
- -ramsize, -ram value
- Size of RAM (if supported by driver).
- -[no]confirm_quit
- Display confirm quit screen on exit. Default is ON (-confirm_quit).
- -[no]ui_mouse
- Display UI mouse cursor. Default is OFF (-noui_mouse).
- -autoboot_command, -ab 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 [value]
- Timer delay (in seconds) to trigger command execution on autoboot. Default
is 2.
- -autoboot_script, -script [filename.lua]
- File containing scripting to execute after machine boot.
- -[no]http
- Enable local http server. Default is OFF (-nohttp).
- -http_port port
- Internal webserver listener port.
- -http_path path
- Path to web files. Default is /usr/share/games/mess/web.
- -[no]console
- Enable emulator LUA console. Default is OFF (-noconsole).
- -[no]plugins
- Enable LUA plugin support. Default is ON (-plugins).
- -plugin value
- List of plugins to enable.
- -noplugin value
- List of plugins to disable.
- -language, -lang value
- Display language. Default is 'English'.
- -newui, -nu
- Use the new MESS UI.
- -watchdog value
- Specifies a number of seconds after which MESS should automatically exit
if it detects that the emulation has locked up.
castool(1), chdman(1), floptool(1), imgtool(1)
Please visit the MAME website for some important legal information:
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