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<head>
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<body style="background-image: url('../images/bkground.gif')">
<span class="style1"><span class="style2"><strong>This file describes general usage
information about MAME. It is intended<br>
to cover aspects of using and configuring the program that are common<br>
across operating systems. For additional OS-specific options, please see<br>
the separate documentation for your particular version of MAME.</strong></strong><br>
<br>
<br>
Using the program<br>
-----------------<br>
<br>
The usual way to run MAME is by telling it to run a particular game:<br>
<br>
mame <gamename> [options]<br>
<br>
For example:<br>
<br>
mame robby -nosound<br>
<br>
...will run Robby Roto without sound. There are many, many options<br>
available. All commonly supported options are listed below. Options that<br>
are specific to one operating system or version of MAME will be listed<br>
in a separate document.<br>
<br>
An alternative way to run MAME is to give it a command:<br>
<br>
mame <command> [parameters]<br>
<br>
For example:<br>
<br>
mame -listsource gridlee<br>
<br>
...will print the name of the source file where the gridlee driver lives<br>
to the screen. There are just a handful of these commands in MAME. They<br>
are all listed below, just before the options list.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Default Keys<br>
------------<br>
<br>
All the keys below are fully configurable in the user interface. This list<br>
shows the standard keyboard configuration.<br>
<br>
Tab Toggles the configuration menu.<br>
<br>
~ Toggles the On Screen Display. When the on-screen display is<br>
visible, you can use the following keys to control it:<br>
<br>
Up - select previous parameter to modify<br>
Down - select next parameter to modify<br>
Enter - reset parameter value to its default<br>
<br>
Left - decrease the value of the selected parameter<br>
Control+Left - decrease the value by 10x<br>
Shift+Left - decrease the value by 0.1x<br>
Alt+Left - decrease the value by the smallest amount<br>
<br>
Right - increase the value of the selected parameter<br>
Control+Right - increase the value by 10x<br>
Shift+Right - increase the value by 0.1x<br>
Alt+Right - increase the value by the smallest amount<br>
<br>
P Pauses the game.<br>
<br>
Shift+P While paused, advances to next frame.<br>
<br>
F2 Service Mode for games that support it.<br>
<br>
F3 Resets the game.<br>
<br>
Shift+F3 Performs a "hard reset", which tears everything down and re-<br>
creates it from scratch. This is a more thorough and complete<br>
reset than an F3.<br>
<br>
F4 Shows the game palette, decoded GFX, and any tilemaps. Use the<br>
Enter key to switch between the three modes (palette, graphics,<br>
and tilemaps). Press F4 again to turn off the display. The key<br>
controls in each mode vary slightly:<br>
<br>
* Palette/colortable mode:<br>
[ ] - switch between palette and colortable modes<br>
Up/Down - scroll up/down one line at a time<br>
Page Up/Page Down - scroll up/down one page at a time<br>
Home/End - move to top/bottom of list<br>
-/+ - increase/decrease the number of colors per row<br>
Enter - switch to graphics viewer<br>
<br>
* Graphics mode:<br>
[ ] - switch between different graphics sets<br>
Up/Down - scroll up/down one line at a time<br>
Page Up/Page Down - scroll up/down one page at a time<br>
Home/End - move to top/bottom of list<br>
Left/Right - change color displayed<br>
R - rotate tiles 90 degrees clockwise<br>
-/+ - increase/decrease the number of tiles per row<br>
Enter - switch to tilemap viewer<br>
<br>
* Tilemap mode:<br>
[ ] - switch between different tilemaps<br>
Up/Down/Left/Right - scroll 8 pixels at a time<br>
Shift+Up/Down/Left/Right - scroll 1 pixel at a time<br>
Control+Up/Down/Left/Right - scroll 64 pixels at a time<br>
R - rotate tilemap view 90 degrees clockwise<br>
-/+ - increase/decrease the zoom factor<br>
Enter - switch to palette/colortable mode<br>
<br>
Note: Not all games have decoded graphics and/or tilemaps.<br>
<br>
F6 Toggle cheat mode (if started with "-cheat").<br>
<br>
F7 Load a save state. You will be requested to press a key to<br>
determine which save state you wish to load. Note that the save<br>
state feature is not supported for a large number of drivers. If<br>
support is not enabled for a given driver, you will receive a<br>
warning when attempting to save or load.<br>
<br>
Shift+F7 Create a save state. Requires an additional keypress to identify<br>
the state, similar to the load option above.<br>
<br>
F8 Decrease frame skip on the fly.<br>
<br>
F9 Increase frame skip on the fly.<br>
<br>
F10 Toggle speed throttling.<br>
<br>
F11 Toggles speed display.<br>
<br>
Shift+F11 Toggles internal profiler display (if compiled in).<br>
<br>
F12 Saves a screen snapshot.<br>
<br>
Insert Fast forward. While held, runs the game with throttling disabled<br>
and with the maximum frameskip.<br>
<br>
Escape Exits emulator.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core commands<br>
-------------<br>
<br>
-help / -h / -?<br>
<br>
Displays current MAME version and copyright notice.<br>
<br>
-validate / -valid<br>
<br>
Performs internal validation on every driver in the system. Run this<br>
before submitting changes to ensure that you haven't violated any of<br>
the core system rules.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Configuration commands<br>
----------------------<br>
<br>
-createconfig / -cc<br>
<br>
Creates the default mame.ini file. All the configuration options<br>
(not commands) described below can be permanently changed by editing<br>
this configuration file.<br>
<br>
-showconfig / -sc<br>
<br>
Displays the current configuration settings. If you route this to a<br>
file, you can use it as an INI file. For example, the command:<br>
<br>
mame -showconfig >mame.ini<br>
<br>
is equivalent to -createconfig.<br>
<br>
-showusage / -su<br>
<br>
Displays a summary of all the command line options. For options that<br>
are not mentioned here, the short summary given by "mame -showusage"<br>
is usually sufficient.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Frontend commands<br>
-----------------<br>
<br>
Note: By default, all the '-list' commands below write info to the screen.<br>
If you wish to write the info to a textfile instead, add this to the end<br>
of your command:<br>
<br>
> filename<br>
<br>
...where 'filename' is the textfile's path and name<br>
(e.g., c:\mame\list.txt).<br>
<br>
-listxml / -lx [<gamename|wildcard>]<br>
<br>
List comprehensive details for all of the supported games. The output<br>
is quite long, so it is usually better to redirect this into a file.<br>
The output is in XML format. By default all games are listed; however,<br>
you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after<br>
the -listxml command.<br>
<br>
-listfull / -ll [<gamename|wildcard>]<br>
<br>
Displays a list of game driver names and descriptions. By default all<br>
games are listed; however, you can limit this list by specifying a<br>
driver name or wildcard after the -listfull command.<br>
<br>
-listsource / -ls [<gamename|wildcard>]<br>
<br>
Displays a list of drivers and the names of the source files their<br>
game drivers live in. Useful for finding which driver a game runs on<br>
in order to fix bugs. By default all games are listed; however, you<br>
can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after<br>
the -listsource command.<br>
<br>
-listclones / -lc [<gamename|wildcard>]<br>
<br>
Displays a list of clones. By default all clones are listed; however,<br>
you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after<br>
the -listsource command.<br>
<br>
-listcrc<br>
<br>
Displays a full list of CRCs of all ROM images referenced by all<br>
drivers within MAME.<br>
<br>
-listroms <gamename><br>
<br>
Displays a list of ROM images referenced by the specified game.<br>
<br>
-listsamples <gamename><br>
<br>
Displays a list of samples referenced by the specified game.<br>
<br>
-verifyroms [<gamename|wildcard>]<br>
<br>
Checks for invalid or missing ROM images. By default all drivers that<br>
have valid ZIP files or directories in the rompath are verified;<br>
however, you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or<br>
wildcard after the -verifyroms command.<br>
<br>
-verifysamples [<gamename|wildcard>]<br>
<br>
Checks for invalid or missing samples. By default all drivers that<br>
have valid ZIP files or directories in the samplepath are verified;<br>
however, you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or<br>
wildcard after the -verifyroms command.<br>
<br>
-romident<br>
<br>
Attempts to identify ROM files, if they are known to MAME, in the<br>
specified .zip file or directory. This command can be used to try and<br>
identify ROM sets taken from unknown boards. On exit, the errorlevel<br>
is returned as one of the following:<br>
<br>
0: means all files were identified<br>
7: means all files were identified except for 1 or more "non-ROM"<br>
files<br>
8: means some files were identified<br>
9: means no files were identified<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Configuration options<br>
---------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]readconfig / -[no]rc<br>
<br>
Enables or disables the reading of the config files. When enabled<br>
(which is the default), MAME reads the following config files in order:<br>
<br>
- mame.ini<br>
- <mymame>.ini (i.e. if MAME was renamed mame060.exe, MAME<br>
parses mame060.ini here)<br>
- debug.ini (if the debugger is enabled)<br>
- vector.ini (for vector games only)<br>
- <driver>.ini (based on the source filename of the driver)<br>
- <parent>.ini (for clones only, may be called recursively)<br>
- <gamename>.ini<br>
<br>
The settings in the later ini's override those in the earlier ini's.<br>
So, for example, if you wanted to disable overlay effects in the<br>
vector games, you can create a vector.ini with the "effect none" line<br>
in it, and it will override whatever effect value you have in your<br>
mame.ini. The default is ON (-readconfig).<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core search path options<br>
------------------------<br>
<br>
-rompath / -rp <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find ROM or hard disk images.<br>
Multiple paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons.<br>
The default is 'roms' (that is, a directory "roms" in the same directory<br>
as the MAME executable).<br>
<br>
-samplepath / -sp <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find sample files. Multiple<br>
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default<br>
is 'samples' (that is, a directory "samples" in the same directory as<br>
the MAME executable).<br>
<br>
-artpath / -artwork_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find artwork files. Multiple<br>
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default<br>
is 'artwork' (that is, a directory "artwork" in the same directory as<br>
the MAME executable).<br>
<br>
-ctrlrpath / -ctrlr_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find controller-specific<br>
configuration files. Multiple paths can be specified by separating<br>
them with semicolons. The default is 'ctrlr' (that is, a directory<br>
"ctrlr" in the same directory as the MAME executable).<br>
<br>
-inipath <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find .INI files. Multiple<br>
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default<br>
is '.;ini' (that is, search in the current directory first, and then<br>
in the directory "ini" in the same directory as the MAME executable).<br>
<br>
-fontpath <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find .BDF font files. Multiple<br>
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default<br>
is '.' (that is, search in the same directory as the MAME executable).<br>
<br>
-crosshairpath <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a list of paths within which to find crosshair files. Multiple<br>
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default<br>
is 'crsshair' (that is, a directory "crsshair" in the same directory as<br>
the MAME executable). If the Crosshair is set to default in the menu,<br>
MAME will look for gamename\cross#.png and then cross#.png in the<br>
specified crsshairpath, where # is the player number. Failing that,<br>
MAME will use built-in default crosshairs.<br>
<br>
<br>
Core Output Directory Options<br>
-----------------------------<br>
<br>
-cfg_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a single directory where configuration files are stored.<br>
Configuration files store user configurable settings that are read at<br>
startup and written when MAME exits. The default is 'cfg' (that is,<br>
a directory "cfg" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If<br>
this directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.<br>
<br>
-nvram_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a single directory where NVRAM files are stored. NVRAM files<br>
store the contents of EEPROM and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) for games<br>
which used this type of hardware. This data is read at startup and<br>
written when MAME exits. The default is 'nvram' (that is, a directory<br>
"nvram" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this<br>
directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.<br>
<br>
-memcard_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a single directory where memory card files are stored.<br>
Memory card files store the contents of removable memory cards for<br>
games which used this type of hardware. This data is read and written<br>
under control of the user via the "Memory Card" menu in the user<br>
interface. The default is 'memcard' (that is, a directory "memcard"<br>
in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory does<br>
not exist, it will be automatically created.<br>
<br>
-input_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a single directory where input recording files are stored.<br>
Input recordings are created via the -record option and played back<br>
via the -playback option. The default is 'inp' (that is, a directory<br>
"inp" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory<br>
does not exist, it will be automatically created.<br>
<br>
-state_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a single directory where save state files are stored. Save<br>
state files are read and written either upon user request, or when<br>
using the -autosave option. The default is 'sta' (that is, a directory<br>
"sta" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory<br>
does not exist, it will be automatically created.<br>
<br>
-snapshot_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a single directory where screen snapshots are stored, when<br>
requested by the user. The default is 'snap' (that is, a directory<br>
"snap" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this<br>
directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.<br>
<br>
-diff_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a single directory where hard drive differencing files are<br>
stored. Hard drive differencing files store any data that is written<br>
back to a hard disk image, in order to preserve the original image.<br>
The differencing files are created at startup when a game with a hard<br>
disk image. The default is 'diff' (that is, a directory "diff" in the<br>
same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory does not<br>
exist, it will be automatically created.<br>
<br>
-comment_directory <path><br>
<br>
Specifies a single directory where debugger comment files are stored.<br>
Debugger comment files are written by the debugger when comments are<br>
added to the disassembly for a game. The default is 'comments' (that<br>
is, a directory "comments" in the same directory as the MAME<br>
executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be<br>
automatically created.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core Filename Options<br>
---------------------<br>
<br>
-cheat_file <filename><br>
<br>
Specifies the name of the cheat database file. The default is<br>
'cheat.dat'.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core state/playback options<br>
---------------------------<br>
<br>
-state <slot><br>
<br>
Immediately after starting the specified game, will cause the save<br>
state in the specified <slot> to be loaded.<br>
<br>
-[no]autosave<br>
<br>
When enabled, automatically creates a save state file when exiting<br>
MAME and automatically attempts to reload it when later starting MAME<br>
with the same game. This only works for games that have explicitly<br>
enabled save state support in their driver. The default is OFF<br>
(-noautosave).<br>
<br>
-playback / -pb <filename><br>
<br>
Specifies a file from which to play back a series of game inputs. This<br>
feature does not work reliably for all games, but can be used to watch<br>
a previously recorded game session from start to finish. In order to<br>
make things consistent, you should only record and playback with all<br>
configuration (.cfg), NVRAM (.nv), and memory card files deleted. The<br>
default is NULL (no playback).<br>
<br>
-record / -rec <filename><br>
<br>
Specifies a file to record all input from a game session. This can be<br>
used to record a game session for later playback. This feature does<br>
not work reliably for all games, but can be used to watch a previously<br>
recorded game session from start to finish. In order to make things<br>
consistent, you should only record and playback with all configuration<br>
(.cfg), NVRAM (.nv), and memory card files deleted. The default is<br>
NULL (no recording).<br>
<br>
-snapname <name><br>
<br>
Describes how MAME should name files for snapshots. <name> is a string<br>
that provides a template that is used to generate a filename. Three<br>
simple substitutions are provided: the / character represents the<br>
path separator on any target platform (even Windows); the string %g<br>
represents the driver name of the current game; and the string %i<br>
represents an incrementing index. If %i is omitted, then each<br>
snapshot taken will overwrite the previous one; otherwise, MAME will<br>
find the next empty value for %i and use that for a filename. The<br>
default is %g/%i, which creates a separate folder for each game,<br>
and names the snapshots under it starting with 0000 and increasing<br>
from there.<br>
<br>
-snapsize <width>x<height><br>
<br>
Hard-codes the size for snapshots and movie recording. By default,<br>
MAME will create snapshots at the game's current resolution in raw<br>
pixels, and will create movies at the game's starting resolution in<br>
raw pixels. If you specify this option, then MAME will create both<br>
snapshots and movies at the size specified, and will bilinear filter<br>
the result. Note that this size does not automatically rotate if the<br>
game is vertically oriented. The default is 'auto'.<br>
<br>
-snapview <viewname><br>
<br>
Specifies the view to use when rendering snapshots and movies. By<br>
default, both use a special 'internal' view, which renders a separate<br>
snapshot per screen or renders movies only of the first screen. By<br>
specifying this option, you can override this default behavior and<br>
select a single view that will apply to all snapshots and movies.<br>
Note that <viewname> does not need to be a perfect match; rather, it<br>
will select the first view whose name matches all the characters<br>
specified by <viewname>. For example, -snapview native will match the<br>
"Native (15:14)" view even though it is not a perfect match.<br>
<viewname> can also be 'auto', which selects the first view with all<br>
screens present. The default value is 'internal'.<br>
<br>
-mngwrite <filename><br>
<br>
Writes each video frame to the given <filename> in MNG format,<br>
producing an animation of the game session. Note that -mngwrite only<br>
writes video frames; it does not save any audio data. Use -wavwrite<br>
for that, and reassemble the audio/video using offline tools. The<br>
default is NULL (no recording).<br>
<br>
-aviwrite <filename><br>
<br>
Stream video and sound data to the given <filename> in AVI format,<br>
producing an animation of the game session complete with sound. The<br>
default is NULL (no recording).<br>
<br>
-wavwrite <filename><br>
<br>
Writes the final mixer output to the given <filename> in WAV format,<br>
producing an audio recording of the game session. The default is<br>
NULL (no recording).<br>
<br>
-[no]burnin<br>
<br>
Tracks brightness of the screen during play and at the end of <br>
emulation generates a PNG that can be used to simulate burn-in<br>
effects on other games. The resulting PNG is created such that the<br>
least used-areas of the screen are fully white (since burned-in areas <br>
are darker, all other areas of the screen must be lightened a touch).<br>
The intention is that this PNG can be loaded via an artwork file with<br>
a low alpha (e.g, 0.1-0.2 seems to work well) and blended over the<br>
entire screen. The PNG files are saved in the snap directory under <br>
the gamename/burnin-<screen.name>.png. The default is OFF (-noburnin).<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core performance options<br>
------------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]autoframeskip / -[no]afs<br>
<br>
Automatically determines the frameskip level while you're playing the<br>
game, adjusting it constantly in a frantic attempt to keep the game<br>
running at full speed. Turning this on overrides the value you have<br>
set for -frameskip below. The default is OFF (-noautoframeskip).<br>
<br>
-frameskip / -fs <level><br>
<br>
Specifies the frameskip value. This is the number of frames out of<br>
every 12 to drop when running. For example, if you say -frameskip 2,<br>
then MAME will display 10 out of every 12 frames. By skipping those<br>
frames, you may be able to get full speed in a game that requires more<br>
horsepower than your computer has. The default value is -frameskip 0,<br>
which skips no frames.<br>
<br>
-seconds_to_run / -str <seconds><br>
<br>
This option can be used for benchmarking and automated testing. It tells<br>
MAME to stop execution after a fixed number of seconds. By combining<br>
this with a fixed set of other command line options, you can set up a<br>
consistent environment for benchmarking MAME performance. In addition,<br>
upon exit, the -str option will write a screenshot called final.png<br>
to the game's snapshot directory.<br>
<br>
-[no]throttle<br>
<br>
Configures the default thottling setting. When throttling is on, MAME<br>
attempts to keep the game running at the game's intended speed. When<br>
throttling is off, MAME runs the game as fast as it can. Note that the<br>
fastest speed is more often than not limited by your graphics card,<br>
especially for older games. The default is ON (-throttle).<br>
<br>
-[no]sleep<br>
<br>
Allows MAME to give time back to the system when running with -throttle.<br>
This allows other programs to have some CPU time, assuming that the<br>
game isn't taxing 100% of your CPU resources. This option can<br>
potentially cause hiccups in performance if other demanding programs<br>
are running. The default is ON (-sleep).<br>
<br>
-speed <factor><br>
<br>
Changes the way MAME throttles gameplay such that the game runs at some<br>
multiplier of the original speed. A <factor> of 1.0 means to run the<br>
game at its normal speed. A <factor> of 0.5 means run at half speed,<br>
and a <factor> of 2.0 means run at 2x speed. Note that changing this<br>
value affects sound playback as well, which will scale in pitch<br>
accordingly. The internal resolution of the fraction is two decimal<br>
places, so a value of 1.002 is the same as 1.0. The default is 1.0.<br>
<br>
-[no]refreshspeed / -[no]rs<br>
<br>
Allows MAME to dynamically adjust the gameplay speed such that it does<br>
not exceed the slowest refresh rate for any targeted monitors in your<br>
system. Thus, if you have a 60Hz monitor and run a game that is<br>
actually designed to run at 60.6Hz, MAME will dynamically change the<br>
speed down to 99% in order to prevent sound hiccups or other<br>
undesirable side effects of running at a slower refresh rate. The<br>
default is OFF (-norefreshspeed).<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core rotation options<br>
---------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]rotate<br>
<br>
Rotate the game to match its normal state (horizontal/vertical). This<br>
ensures that both vertically and horizontally oriented games show up<br>
correctly without the need to rotate your monitor. If you want to keep<br>
the game displaying 'raw' on the screen the way it would have in the<br>
arcade, turn this option OFF. The default is ON (-rotate).<br>
<br>
-[no]ror<br>
-[no]rol<br>
<br>
Rotate the game screen to the right (clockwise) or left (counter-<br>
clockwise) relative to either its normal state (if -rotate is<br>
specified) or its native state (if -norotate is specified). The<br>
default for both of these options is OFF (-noror -norol).<br>
<br>
-[no]flipx<br>
-[no]flipy<br>
<br>
Flip (mirror) the game screen either horizontally (-flipx) or<br>
vertically (-flipy). The flips are applied after the -rotate and<br>
-ror/-rol options are applied. The default for both of these options<br>
is OFF (-noflipx -noflipy).<br>
<br>
-[no]autoror<br>
-[no]autorol<br>
<br>
These options are designed for use with pivoting screens that only<br>
pivot in a single direction. If your screen only pivots clockwise,<br>
use -autorol to ensure that the game will fill the screen either<br>
horizontally or vertically in one of the directions you can handle.<br>
If your screen only pivots counter-clockwise, use -autoror.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core artwork options<br>
--------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]artwork_crop / -[no]artcrop<br>
<br>
Enable cropping of artwork to the game screen area only. This works<br>
best with -video gdi or -video d3d, and means that vertically oriented<br>
games running full screen can display their artwork to the left and<br>
right sides of the screen. This does not work with -video ddraw<br>
because of the way the game screens are rendered and scaled after the<br>
fact. This option can also be controlled via the Video Options menu in<br>
the user interface. The default is OFF (-noartwork_crop).<br>
<br>
-[no]use_backdrops / -[no]backdrop<br>
<br>
Enables/disables the display of backdrops. The default is ON<br>
(-use_backdrops).<br>
<br>
-[no]use_overlays / -[no]overlay<br>
<br>
Enables/disables the display of overlays. The default is ON<br>
(-use_overlays).<br>
<br>
-[no]use_bezels / -[no]bezel<br>
<br>
Enables/disables the display of bezels. The default is ON<br>
(-use_bezels).<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core screen options<br>
-------------------<br>
<br>
-brightness <value><br>
<br>
Controls the default brightness, or black level, of the game screens.<br>
This option does not affect the artwork or other parts of the display.<br>
Using the MAME UI, you can individually set the brightness for each<br>
game screen; this option controls the initial value for all visible<br>
game screens. The standard value is 1.0. Selecting lower values (down<br>
to 0.1) will produce a darkened display, while selecting higher values<br>
(up to 2.0) will give a brighter display. The default is 1.0.<br>
<br>
-contrast <value><br>
<br>
Controls the contrast, or white level, of the game screens. This<br>
option does not affect the artwork or other parts of the display.<br>
Using the MAME UI, you can individually set the contrast for each<br>
game screen; this option controls the initial value for all visible<br>
game screens. The standard value is 1.0. Selecting lower values (down<br>
to 0.1) will produce a dimmer display, while selecting higher values<br>
(up to 2.0) will give a more saturated display. The default is 1.0.<br>
<br>
-gamma <value><br>
<br>
Controls the gamma, which produces a potentially nonlinear black to<br>
white ramp, for the game screens. This option does not affect the<br>
artwork or other parts of the display. Using the MAME UI, you can<br>
individually set the gamma for each game screen; this option controls<br>
the initial value for all visible game screens. The standard value is<br>
1.0, which gives a linear ramp from black to white. Selecting lower<br>
values (down to 0.1) will increase the nonlinearity toward black,<br>
while selecting higher values (up to 3.0) will push the nonlinearity<br>
toward white. The default is 1.0.<br>
<br>
-pause_brightness <value><br>
<br>
This controls the brightness level when MAME is paused. The default<br>
value is 0.65.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core vector options<br>
-------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]antialias / -[no]aa<br>
<br>
Enables antialiased line rendering for vector games. The default is ON<br>
(-antialias).<br>
<br>
-beam <width><br>
<br>
Sets the width of the vectors. This is a scaling factor against the<br>
standard vector width. A value of 1.0 will keep the default vector<br>
line width. Smaller values will reduce the width, and larger values<br>
will increase the width. The default is 1.0.<br>
<br>
-flicker <value><br>
<br>
Simulates a vector "flicker" effect, similar to a vector monitor that<br>
needs adjustment. This option requires a float argument in the range<br>
of 0.00 - 100.00 (0=none, 100=maximum). The default is 0.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core sound options<br>
------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]sound<br>
<br>
Enable or disable sound altogether. The default is ON (-sound).<br>
<br>
-samplerate <value> / -sr <value><br>
<br>
Sets the audio sample rate. Smaller values (e.g. 11025) cause lower<br>
audio quality but faster emulation speed. Higher values (e.g. 48000)<br>
cause higher audio quality but slower emulation speed. The default is<br>
48000.<br>
<br>
-[no]samples<br>
<br>
Use samples if available. The default is ON (-samples).<br>
<br>
-volume / -vol <value><br>
<br>
Sets the startup volume. It can later be changed with the user<br>
interface (see Keys section). The volume is an attenuation in dB:<br>
e.g., "-volume -12" will start with -12dB attenuation. The default<br>
is 0.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core input options<br>
------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]coin_lockout / -[no]coinlock<br>
<br>
Enables simulation of the "coin lockout" feature that is implmeneted<br>
on a number of game PCBs. It was up to the operator whether or not<br>
the coin lockout outputs were actually connected to the coin<br>
mechanisms. If this feature is enabled, then attempts to enter a coin<br>
while the lockout is active will fail and will display a popup message<br>
in the user interface. If this feature is disabled, the coin lockout<br>
signal will be ignored. The default is ON (-coin_lockout).<br>
<br>
-ctrlr <controller><br>
<br>
Enables support for special controllers. Configuration files are<br>
loaded from the ctrlrpath. They are in the same format as the .cfg<br>
files that are saved, but only control configuration data is read<br>
from the file. The default is NULL (no controller file).<br>
<br>
-[no]mouse<br>
<br>
Controls whether or not MAME makes use of mouse controllers. When<br>
this is enabled, you will likely be unable to use your mouse for other<br>
purposes until you exit or pause the game. The default is OFF<br>
(-nomouse).<br>
<br>
-[no]joystick / -[no]joy<br>
<br>
Controls whether or not MAME makes use of joystick/gamepad controllers.<br>
When this is enabled, MAME will ask DirectInput about which<br>
controllers are connected. The default is OFF (-nojoystick).<br>
<br>
-[no]lightgun / -[no]gun<br>
<br>
Controls whether or not MAME makes use of lightgun controllers.<br>
Note that most lightguns map to the mouse, so using -lightgun and<br>
-mouse together may produce strange results. The default is OFF<br>
(-nolightgun).<br>
<br>
-[no]multikeyboard / -[no]multikey<br>
<br>
Determines whether MAME differentiates between multiple keyboards.<br>
Some systems may report more than one keyboard; by default, the data<br>
from all of these keyboards is combined so that it looks like a single<br>
keyboard. Turning this option on will enable MAME to report keypresses<br>
on different keyboards independently. The default is OFF<br>
(-nomultikeyboard).<br>
<br>
-[no]multimouse<br>
<br>
Determines whether MAME differentiates between multiple mice. Some<br>
systems may report more than one mouse device; by default, the data<br>
from all of these mice is combined so that it looks like a single<br>
mouse. Turning this option on will enable MAME to report mouse<br>
movement and button presses on different mice independently. The<br>
default is OFF (-nomultimouse).<br>
<br>
-[no]steadykey / -[no]steady<br>
<br>
Some games require two or more buttons to be pressed at exactly the<br>
same time to make special moves. Due to limitations in the keyboard<br>
hardware, it can be difficult or even impossible to accomplish that<br>
using the standard keyboard handling. This option selects a different<br>
handling that makes it easier to register simultaneous button presses,<br>
but has the disadvantage of making controls less responsive. The<br>
default is OFF (-nosteadykey)<br>
<br>
-[no]offscreen_reload / -[no]reload<br>
<br>
Controls whether or not MAME treats a second button input from a<br>
lightgun as a reload signal. In this case, MAME will report the gun's<br>
position as (0,MAX) with the trigger held, which is equivalent to an<br>
offscreen reload. This is only needed for games that required you to<br>
shoot offscreen to reload, and then only if your gun does not support<br>
off screen reloads. The default is OFF (-nooffscreen_reload).<br>
<br>
-joystick_map <map> / -joymap <map><br>
<br>
Controls how joystick values map to digital joystick controls. MAME<br>
accepts all joystick input from the system as analog data. For true<br>
analog joysticks, this needs to be mapped down to the usual 4-way or<br>
8-way digital joystick values. To do this, MAME divides the analog<br>
range into a 9x9 grid. It then takes the joystick axis position (for<br>
X and Y axes only), maps it to this grid, and then looks up a<br>
translation from a joystick map. This parameter allows you to specify<br>
the map. The default is 'auto', which means that a standard 8-way,<br>
4-way, or 4-way diagonal map is selected automatically based on the<br>
input port configuration of the current game.<br>
<br>
Maps are defined as a string of numbers and characters. Since the grid<br>
is 9x9, there are a total of 81 characters necessary to define a<br>
complete map. Below is an example map for an 8-way joystick:<br>
<br>
777888999 Note that the numeric digits correspond to the keys<br>
777888999 on a numeric keypad. So '7' maps to up+left, '4' maps<br>
777888999 to left, '5' maps to neutral, etc. In addition to the<br>
444555666 numeric values, you can specify the character 's',<br>
444555666 which means "sticky". In this case, the value of the<br>
444555666 map is the same as it was the last time a non-sticky<br>
111222333 value was read.<br>
111222333<br>
111222333<br>
<br>
To specify the map for this parameter, you can specify a string of<br>
rows separated by a '.' (which indicates the end of a row), like so:<br>
<br>
777888999.777888999.777888999.444555666.444555666.444555666.<br>
111222333.111222333.111222333<br>
<br>
However, this can be reduced using several shorthands supported by the<br>
<map> parameter. If information about a row is missing, then it is<br>
assumed that any missing data in columns 5-9 are left/right symmetric<br>
with data in columns 0-4; and any missing data in colums 0-4 is<br>
assumed to be copies of the previous data. The same logic applies to<br>
missing rows, except that up/down symmetry is assumed.<br>
<br>
By using these shorthands, the 81 character map can be simply<br>
specified by this 11 character string: 7778...4445<br>
<br>
Looking at the first row, 7778 is only 4 characters long. The 5th<br>
entry can't use symmetry, so it is assumed to be equal to the previous<br>
character '8'. The 6th character is left/right symmetric with the 4th<br>
character, giving an '8'. The 7th character is left/right symmetric<br>
with the 3rd character, giving a '9' (which is '7' with left/right<br>
flipped). Eventually this gives the full 777888999 string of the row.<br>
<br>
The second and third rows are missing, so they are assumed to be<br>
identical to the first row. The fourth row decodes similarly to the<br>
first row, producing 444555666. The fifth row is missing so it is<br>
assumed to be the same as the fourth.<br>
<br>
The remaining three rows are also missing, so they are assumed to be<br>
the up/down mirrors of the first three rows, giving three final rows<br>
of 111222333.<br>
<br>
-joystick_deadzone <value> / -joy_deadzone <value> / -jdz <value><br>
<br>
If you play with an analog joystick, the center can drift a little.<br>
joystick_deadzone tells how far along an axis you must move before the<br>
axis starts to change. This option expects a float in the range of<br>
0.0 to 1.0. Where 0 is the center of the joystick and 1 is the outer<br>
limit. The default is 0.3.<br>
<br>
-joystick_saturation <value> / joy_saturation <value> / -jsat <value><br>
<br>
If you play with an analog joystick, the ends can drift a little,<br>
and may not match in the +/- directions. joystick_saturation tells how<br>
far along an axis movement change will be accepted before it reaches<br>
the maximum range. This option expects a float in the range of 0.0 to<br>
1.0, where 0 is the center of the joystick and 1 is the outer limit.<br>
The default is 0.85.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core input automatic enable options<br>
-----------------------------------<br>
<br>
-paddle_device <keyboard|mouse|joystick|lightgun|none> / -paddle<br>
-adstick_device <keyboard|mouse|joystick|lightgun|none> / -adstick<br>
-pedal_device <keyboard|mouse|joystick|lightgun|none> / -pedal<br>
-dial_device <keyboard|mouse|joystick|lightgun|none> / -dial<br>
-trackball_device <keyboard|mouse|joystick|lightgun|none> / -trackball<br>
-lightgun_device <keyboard|mouse|joystick|lightgun|none><br>
-positional_device <keyboard|mouse|joystick|lightgun|none><br>
<br>
Each of these options controls autoenabling the mouse, joystick, or<br>
lightgun depending on the presence of a particular class of analog<br>
control for a particular game. For example, if you specify the option<br>
-paddle mouse, then any game that has a paddle control will<br>
automatically enable mouse controls just as if you had explicitly<br>
specified -mouse. Note that these controls override the values of<br>
-[no]mouse, -[no]joystick, etc.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Debugging options<br>
-----------------<br>
<br>
-[no]log<br>
<br>
Creates a file called error.log which contains all of the internal<br>
log messages generated by the MAME core and game drivers. The default<br>
is OFF (-nolog).<br>
<br>
-[no]verbose / -[no]v<br>
<br>
Displays internal diagnostic information. This information is very<br>
useful for debugging problems with your configuration. IMPORTANT: when<br>
reporting bugs, please run with mame -verbose and include the<br>
resulting information. The default is OFF (-noverbose).<br>
<br>
-[no]update_in_pause<br>
<br>
Enables updating of the main screen bitmap while the game is paused.<br>
This means that the VIDEO_UPDATE callback will be called repeatedly<br>
during pause, which can be useful for debugging. The default is OFF<br>
(-noupdate_in_pause).<br>
<br>
-[no]debug<br>
<br>
Activates the integrated debugger. By default, the debugger is entered<br>
by pressing the tilde (~) key during emulation. It is also entered<br>
immediately at startup. The default is OFF (-nodebug).<br>
<br>
-debugscript <filename><br>
<br>
Specifies a file that contains a list of debugger commands to execute<br>
immediately upon startup. The default is NULL (no commands).<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Core misc options<br>
-----------------<br>
<br>
-bios <biosname><br>
<br>
Specifies the specific BIOS to use with the current game, for game<br>
systems that make use of a BIOS. The -listxml output will list all of<br>
the possible BIOS names for a game. The default is 'default'.<br>
<br>
-[no]cheat / -[no]c<br>
<br>
Enables the reading of the cheat database, if present, and the Cheat<br>
menu in the user interface. The default is OFF (-nocheat).<br>
<br>
-[no]skip_gameinfo<br>
<br>
Forces MAME to skip displaying the game info screen. The default is<br>
OFF (-noskip_gameinfo).<br>
<br>
</span></span><span class="style2"><strong>This file describes Windows-specific
usage information about MAME. It is<br>
intended to cover aspects of using and configuring the program that are<br>
specific to running MAME from the command line on a Windows-based system.<br>
For common options that apply to all systems, please see config.txt.</strong><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Default Keys<br>
------------<br>
<br>
In addition to the keys described in config.txt, the following additional<br>
keys are defined for Windows versions of MAME:<br>
<br>
<br>
Alt+Enter Toggles between full-screen and windowed mode.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Windows debugging options<br>
-------------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]oslog<br>
<br>
Outputs the error.log data to the Windows debugger. This can be used at<br>
the same time as -log to output the log data to both targets as well.<br>
Default is OFF (-nooslog).<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Windows performance options<br>
---------------------------<br>
<br>
-priority <priority><br>
<br>
Sets the thread priority for the MAME threads. By default the priority<br>
is left alone to guarantee proper cooperation with other applications.<br>
The valid range is -15 to 1, with 1 being the highest priority. The<br>
default is 0 (NORMAL priority).<br>
<br>
-[no]multithreading / -[no]mt<br>
<br>
Enables multithreading within MAME. At the moment, this causes the<br>
window and all DirectDraw/Direct3D code to execute on a second thread,<br>
which can improve performance on hyperthreaded and multicore systems.<br>
The default is OFF (-nomultithreading).<br>
<br>
-numprocessors <auto|value><br>
Specify the number of processors to use for work queues. Specifying<br>
"auto" will use the value reported by the system or environment <br>
variable OSDPROCESSORS. To avoid abuse, this value is internally limited<br>
to 4 times the number of processors reported by the system. <br>
The default is "auto".<br>
<br>
<br>
Windows video options<br>
---------------------<br>
<br>
-video <gdi|ddraw|d3d|none><br>
<br>
Specifies which video subsystem to use for drawing. By specifying 'gdi'<br>
here, you tell MAME to render video using standard Windows graphics<br>
drawing calls. This is the slowest but most compatible option.<br>
Specifying 'ddraw' instructs MAME to use DirectDraw for rendering.<br>
This causes MAME to render everything at a lower resolution and then<br>
upscale the results at the end. This produces high performance,<br>
especially on older or low-power video cards, but has a noticeably<br>
lower output quality. Specifying 'd3d' tells MAME to use Direct3D for<br>
rendering. This produces the highest quality output and enables all<br>
rendering options. It is recommended if you have a recent (2002+)<br>
video card. The final option 'none' displays no windows and does no<br>
drawing. This is primarily present for doing CPU benchmarks without<br>
the overhead of the video system. The default is d3d.<br>
<br>
-numscreens <count><br>
<br>
Tells MAME how many output windows to create. For most games, a single<br>
output window is all you need, but some games originally used multiple<br>
screens. Each screen (up to 4) has its own independent settings for<br>
physical monitor, aspect ratio, resolution, and view, which can be<br>
set using the options below. The default is 1.<br>
<br>
-[no]window<br>
<br>
Run MAME in either a window or full screen. The default is OFF<br>
(-nowindow).<br>
<br>
-[no]maximize / -[no]max<br>
<br>
Controls initial window size in windowed mode. If it is set on, the<br>
window will initially be set to the maximum supported size when you<br>
start MAME. If it is turned off, the window will start out at the<br>
smallest supported size. This option only has an effect when the<br>
-window option is used. The default is ON (-maximize).<br>
<br>
-[no]keepaspect / -[no]ka<br>
<br>
Enables aspect ratio enforcement. When this option is on, the game's<br>
proper aspect ratio (generally 4:3 or 3:4) is enforced, so you get the<br>
game looking like it should. When running in a window with this option<br>
on, you can only resize the window to the proper aspect ratio, unless<br>
you are holding down the CONTROL key. By turning the option off, the<br>
aspect ratio is allowed to float. In full screen mode, this means that<br>
all games will stretch to the full screen size (even vertical games).<br>
In window mode, it means that you can freely resize the window without<br>
any constraints. The default is ON (-keepaspect).<br>
<br>
-prescale <amount><br>
<br>
Controls the size of the screen images when they are passed off to the<br>
graphics system for scaling. At the minimum setting of 1, the screen<br>
is rendered at its original resolution before being scaled. At higher<br>
settings, the screen is expanded by a factor of <amount> before being<br>
scaled. With -video ddraw or -video d3d, this produces a less blurry<br>
image at the expense of some speed. In -video ddraw mode, this also<br>
increases the effective resolution of non-screen elements such as<br>
artwork and fonts. The default is 1.<br>
<br>
-effect <filename><br>
<br>
Specifies a single PNG file that is used as an overlay over any game<br>
screens in the video display. This PNG file is assumed to live in the<br>
root of one of the artpath directories. The pattern in the PNG file is<br>
repeated both horizontally and vertically to cover the entire game<br>
screen areas (but not any external artwork), and is rendered at<br>
the target resolution of the game image. For -video gdi and -video d3d<br>
modes, this means that one pixel in the PNG will map to one pixel on<br>
your output display. For -video ddraw, this means that one pixel in the<br>
PNG will map to one pixel in the prescaled game screen. If you wish to<br>
use an effect that requires mapping n PNG pixels to each game screen<br>
pixel with -video ddraw, you need to specify a -prescale factor of n as<br>
well. The RGB values of each pixel in the PNG are multiplied against the<br>
RGB values of the target screen. The default is 'none', meaning no<br>
effect.<br>
<br>
-[no]waitvsync<br>
<br>
Waits for the refresh period on your computer's monitor to finish<br>
before starting to draw video to your screen. If this option is off,<br>
MAME will just draw to the screen at any old time, even in the middle<br>
of a refresh cycle. This can cause "tearing" artifacts, where the top<br>
portion of the screen is out of sync with the bottom portion. Tearing<br>
is not noticeable on all games, and some people hate it more than<br>
others. However, if you turn this option on, you will waste more of<br>
your CPU cycles waiting for the proper time to draw, so you will see a<br>
performance hit. You should only need to turn this on in windowed mode.<br>
In full screen mode, it is only needed if -triplebuffer does not<br>
remove the tearing, in which case you should use -notriplebuffer<br>
-waitvsync. Note that this option does not work with -video gdi mode.<br>
The default is OFF (-nowaitvsync).<br>
<br>
-[no]syncrefresh<br>
<br>
Enables speed throttling only to the refresh of your monitor. This<br>
means that the game's actual refresh rate is ignored; however, the<br>
sound code still attempts to keep up with the game's original refresh<br>
rate, so you may encounter sound problems. This option is intended<br>
mainly for those who have tweaked their video card's settings to<br>
provide carefully matched refresh rate options. Note that this option<br>
does not work with -video gdi mode.The default is OFF (-nosyncrefresh).<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
DirectDraw-specific options<br>
---------------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]hwstretch / -[no]hws<br>
<br>
When enabled, MAME uses the hardware stretching abilities of your<br>
video card to scale the game image and associated artwork to the<br>
target resolution. Depending on the quality of your graphic card and<br>
its drivers, this may be a fractional, antialiased scaling (nice) or<br>
an integer, blocky scaling (not so nice), in which case you might want<br>
to disable this option. In addition, if you have configured specific<br>
arcade-like video modes for MAME and don't want MAME to perform any<br>
non-integral scaling of the image, you should also disable this option.<br>
The default is ON (-hwstretch).<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Direct3D-specific options<br>
-------------------------<br>
<br>
-d3dversion <version><br>
<br>
MAME supports both Direct3D 9 and Direct3D 8 for maximum compatibility.<br>
By default, it will automatically detect which one it can use and use<br>
that version exclusively. You can override MAME's selection with this<br>
option. It is primarily intended as a means for the MAME developers to<br>
test compatibility with older hardware; for the most part, there is no<br>
reason to alter this setting. The default is 9.<br>
<br>
-[no]filter / -[no]d3dfilter / -[no]flt<br>
<br>
Enable bilinear filtering on the game screen graphics. When disabled,<br>
point filtering is applied, which is crisper but leads to scaling<br>
artifacts. If you don't like the filtered look, you are probably better<br>
off increasing the -prescale value rather than turning off filtering<br>
altogether. The default is ON (-filter).<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Per-window options<br>
------------------<br>
<br>
-screen <display><br>
-screen0 <display><br>
-screen1 <display><br>
-screen2 <display><br>
-screen3 <display><br>
<br>
Specifies which physical monitor on your system you wish to have each<br>
window use by default. In order to use multiple windows, you must have<br>
increased the value of the -numscreens option. The name of each<br>
display in your system can be determined by running MAME with the<br>
-verbose option. The display names are typically in the format of:<br>
\\.\DISPLAYn, where 'n' is a number from 1 to the number of connected<br>
monitors. The default value for these options is 'auto', which means<br>
that the first window is placed on the first display, the second<br>
window on the second display, etc.<br>
<br>
The -screen0, -screen1, -screen2, -screen3 parameters apply to the<br>
specific window. The -screen parameter applies to all windows. The<br>
window-specific options override values from the all window option.<br>
<br>
-aspect <width:height> / -screen_aspect <num:den><br>
-aspect0 <width:height><br>
-aspect1 <width:height><br>
-aspect2 <width:height><br>
-aspect3 <width:height><br>
<br>
Specifies the physical aspect ratio of the physical monitor for each<br>
window. In order to use multiple windows, you must have increased the<br>
value of the -numscreens option. The physical aspect ratio can be<br>
determined by measuring the width and height of the visible screen<br>
image and specifying them separated by a colon. The default value for<br>
these options is 'auto', which means that MAME assumes the aspect<br>
ratio is proportional to the number of pixels in the desktop video<br>
mode for each monitor.<br>
<br>
The -aspect0, -aspect1, -aspect2, -aspect3 parameters apply to the<br>
specific window. The -aspect parameter applies to all windows. The<br>
window-specific options override values from the all window option.<br>
<br>
-resolution <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r <widthxheight[@refresh]><br>
-resolution0 <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r0 <widthxheight[@refresh]><br>
-resolution1 <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r1 <widthxheight[@refresh]><br>
-resolution2 <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r2 <widthxheight[@refresh]><br>
-resolution3 <widthxheight[@refresh]> / -r3 <widthxheight[@refresh]><br>
<br>
Specifies an exact resolution to run in. In full screen mode, MAME<br>
will try to use the specific resolution you request. The width and<br>
height are required; the refresh rate is optional. If omitted or<br>
set to 0, MAME will determine the mode auomatically. For example,<br>
-resolution 640x480 will force 640x480 resolution, but MAME is free to<br>
choose the refresh rate. Similarly, -resolution 0x0@60 will force a<br>
60Hz refresh rate, but allows MAME to choose the resolution. The<br>
string "auto" is also supported, and is equivalent to 0x0@0. In window<br>
mode, this resolution is used as a maximum size for the window. This<br>
option requires the -switchres option as well in order to actually<br>
enable resolution switching with -video ddraw or -video d3d. The<br>
default value for these options is 'auto'.<br>
<br>
The -resolution0, -resolution1, -resolution2, -resolution3 parameters<br>
apply to the specific window. The -resolution parameter applies to all<br>
windows. The window-specific options override values from the all<br>
window option.<br>
<br>
-view <viewname><br>
-view0 <viewname><br>
-view1 <viewname><br>
-view2 <viewname><br>
-view3 <viewname><br>
<br>
Specifies the initial view setting for each window. The <viewname><br>
does not need to be a perfect match; rather, it will select the first<br>
view whose name matches all the characters specified by <viewname>.<br>
For example, -view native will match the "Native (15:14)" view even<br>
though it is not a perfect match. The value 'auto' is also supported,<br>
and requests that MAME perform a default selection. The default value<br>
for these options is 'auto'.<br>
<br>
The -view0, -view1, -view2, -view3 parameters apply to the<br>
specific window. The -view parameter applies to all windows. The<br>
window-specific options override values from the all window option.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Full screen options<br>
-------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]triplebuffer / -[no]tb<br>
<br>
Enables or disables "triple buffering". Normally, MAME just draws<br>
directly to the screen, without any fancy buffering. But with this<br>
option enabled, MAME creates three buffers to draw to, and cycles<br>
between them in order. It attempts to keep things flowing such that one<br>
buffer is currently displayed, the second buffer is waiting to be<br>
displayed, and the third buffer is being drawn to. -triplebuffer will<br>
override -waitvsync, if the buffer is sucessfully created. This option<br>
does not work with -video gdi. The default is OFF (-notriplebuffer).<br>
<br>
-[no]switchres<br>
<br>
Enables resolution switching. This option is required for the<br>
-resolution* options to switch resolutions in full screen mode. On<br>
modern video cards, there is little reason to switch resolutions unless<br>
you are trying to achieve the "exact" pixel resolutions of the original<br>
games, which requires significant tweaking. This option is also useful<br>
on LCD displays, since they run with a fixed resolution and switching<br>
resolutions on them is just silly. This option does not work with<br>
-video gdi. The default is OFF (-noswitchres).<br>
<br>
-full_screen_brightness / -fsb <value><br>
<br>
Controls the brightness, or black level, of the entire display. The<br>
standard value is 1.0. Selecting lower values (down to 0.1) will produce<br>
a darkened display, while selecting higher values (up to 2.0) will<br>
give a brighter display. Note that not all video cards have hardware to<br>
support this option. This option does not work with -video gdi. The<br>
default is 1.0.<br>
<br>
-full_screen_contrast / -fsc <value><br>
<br>
Controls the contrast, or white level, of the entire display. The<br>
standard value is 1.0. Selecting lower values (down to 0.1) will produce<br>
a dimmer display, while selecting higher values (up to 2.0) will<br>
give a more saturated display. Note that not all video cards have<br>
hardware to support this option. This option does not work with<br>
-video gdi. The default is 1.0.<br>
<br>
-full_screen_gamma / -fsg <value><br>
<br>
Controls the gamma, which produces a potentially nonlinear black to<br>
white ramp, for the entire display. The standard value is 1.0, which<br>
gives a linear ramp from black to white. Selecting lower values (down<br>
to 0.1) will increase the nonlinearity toward black, while selecting<br>
higher values (up to 3.0) will push the nonlinearity toward white. Note<br>
that not all video cards have hardware to support this option. This<br>
option does not work with -video gdi. The default is 1.0.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Windows sound options<br>
---------------------<br>
<br>
-audio_latency <value><br>
<br>
This controls the amount of latency built into the audio streaming. By<br>
default MAME tries to keep the DirectSound audio buffer between 1/5 and<br>
2/5 full. On some systems, this is pushing it too close to the edge,<br>
and you get poor sound sometimes. The latency parameter controls the<br>
lower threshold. The default is 1 (meaning lower=1/5 and upper=2/5).<br>
Set it to 2 (-audio_latency 2) to keep the sound buffer between 2/5 and<br>
3/5 full. If you crank it up to 4, you can definitely notice the lag.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Input device options<br>
--------------------<br>
<br>
-[no]dual_lightgun / -[no]dual<br>
<br>
Controls whether or not MAME attempts to track two lightguns connected<br>
at the same time. This option requires -lightgun. This option is a hack<br>
for supporting older dual lightgun setups. If you have multiple<br>
lightguns connected, you will probably just need to enable -mouse and<br>
configure each lightgun independently. The default is OFF<br>
(-nodual_lightgun).<br>
</span>
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