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Welcome to The Official Site of the MAME Development Team

What is MAME?

MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework.

MAME’s purpose is to preserve decades of software history. As electronic technology continues to rush forward, MAME prevents this important "vintage" software from being lost and forgotten. This is achieved by documenting the hardware and how it functions. The source code to MAME serves as this documentation. The fact that the software is usable serves primarily to validate the accuracy of the documentation (how else can you prove that you have recreated the hardware faithfully?). Over time, MAME (originally stood for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) absorbed the sister-project MESS (Multi Emulator Super System), so MAME now documents a wide variety of (mostly vintage) computers, video game consoles and calculators, in addition to the arcade video games that were its initial focus.

License

The MAME project as a whole is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, 2 (GPL-2.0), since it contains code made available under multiple GPL-compatible licenses. A great majority of files (over 90% including core files) are under the BSD-3-Clause License and we would encourage new contributors to distribute files under this license.

Please note that MAME is a registered trademark of Gregory Ember, and permission is required to use the "MAME" name, logo or wordmark.

MAME 0.207

27 Feb 2019

It’s almost the end of February, and more importantly it’s time for MAME 0.207 to be released! We’ve added two Nintendo Game & Watch titles this month: Fire (wide screen) and Snoopy Tennis. If you’re at all interested in plug-and-play TV games, this is going to be a huge update, with all the newly-supported JAKKS Pacific titles, including Disney Princess, Dragon Ball Z, Nicktoons, Spider-Man, and Wheel of Fortune, as well as a number of matching Game-Keys. The other big batch of additions this month comes in the form of a whole lot of e-kara cartridge dumps from Japan. For younger players, we’re steadily filling out the V.Smile software list, with eighteen newly supported titles. The VGM software list has been updated with the latest video game music rips, and we’ve added some more original floppy dumps and clean cracks to the Apple II software lists.

With the latest improvements to the MIPS R4000 CPU, WD33C93 SCSI and SGI Newport graphics emulation, it’s possible to install and run IRIX in MAME. This is a milestone achievement, and wouldn’t have been possible without some amazing dedication and collaboration on the part of the contributors and team members involved. With the addition of graphics and mouse support, Windows 1.0 runs on MAME’s Tandy 2000 emulation. MAME continues to add additional variants of supported systems, including the HP 9825T and the Esselte Modulab educational system.

Newly supported arcade games include an earlier prototype of Rise of the Robots, bootlegs of Ghost Chaser Densei and The Glob, and additional versions of Raiden Fighters 2, Guardian Storm, Pasha Pasha Champ, Lethal Enforcers, and X-Men. General usability improvements include friendlier Apple II disassembly, the restoration of key map support in SDL builds (Linux/macOS), and better initial window positioning on Windows.

You can read about all the additions, bug fixes and emulation improvements in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and Windows binary packages from the download page.

MAME 0.206

30 Jan 2019

Welcome to 2019 – we’re starting the year with a bang! MAME 0.206 is an absolutely huge update when it comes to new dumps and newly working software, especially when it comes to TV games. As far as we know, MAME is the first V.Smile emulator with working controls and the most compatible, with almost all dumped titles fully playable for one player (the second joystick isn’t working yet). A number of JAKKS Pacific games based on similar technology are also working in this release. And from Japan, you can now play the Popira and Dance Dance Revolution Family Mat rhythm games, as well as Super Dash Ball. The Namco Nostalgia and Taito Nostalgia games are now playable, too. Game & Watch coverage is steadily expanding, with Black Jack, Lifeboat, Manhole (new wide screen), and Rain Shower added in this release. Black Jack is particularly notable as it hasn’t seen re-issue or emulation before now.

On the arcade side, San Francisco Rush 2049 and its Special Edition have been promoted to working, and we’ve added alternate versions and bootlegs of several supported games. Heihachi_73 has tested the Aristocrat Mk V slot machines, and dozens have been promoted to working. If you enjoy spinning the wheels, why not give some a try?

If you’re aware of the effort to preserve original Apple II software in the new low-level WOZ disk image format, it should come as no surprise that MAME is on board. We’ve started documenting these dumps in a software list, and we’ll continue to add dumps as they become available. If you’re a fan of Acorn computers, you might want to try some of the newly supported BBC Micro ROM slot expansions, including banked ROM devices, RAM expansions, and real-time clocks. A few additional Electron expansion devices have been added, too.

Of course, these are just selected highlights, and there are plenty more bug fixes and emulation improvements in this release. There are also some incremental improvements to MAME’s system and software selection menus. You can read about everything we’ve been working on in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and Windows binary packages from the download page.

MAME 0.205

26 Dec 2018

With Christmas just over, it’s time for the final MAME release for 2018, and what a year it’s been! Before we move on, let’s pause and recap some of the significant milestones from the past twelve months:

  • We’ve emulated a steady stream of hand-held games from Nintendo, Tiger and others. Our Tiger Game.com emulation now runs all released games.
  • Acorn computer emulation improvements have been too numerous to count. In particular, MAME now supports a huge array of peripherals.
  • Emulation for home systems based on the SSD XaviX, SunPlus µ'nSP and V.R. Technology VT platforms has really advanced, bringing a generation of TV games to life.
  • MAME now runs CLIX on InterPro and HP-UX on HP9000/300, both with graphical desktop environments and networking. MAME will also run SunOS with the SunView desktop environment on some SPARC workstations. Additionally, the SGI Iris Indigo R4000 shows its boot menu.
  • Long-standing graphical issues have been fixed, including priorities in Pac-Land and Moon Patrol, row scroll effects on Capcom CPS-3, and numerous glaring errors on Tatsumi games.
  • Hit detection on the now-infamous helicopter in Time Crisis has been corrected, rear-view mirrors work in Ridge Racer 2, Rave Racer and Ace Driver, track mirroring works in Rave Racer, and graphics have been improved across all Namco System 22 games.
  • Taito C-Chip emulation finally allows Bonze Adventure to play as intended, solving all the persistent gameplay issues.
  • Games with Capcom QSound and Taito Zoom ZSG-2 hardware now provide a far more enjoyable auditory experience.
  • Rare arcade systems keep getting dumped and emulated, including Tom Tom Magic, the original Gigas Mark II, Last KM, Night Mare, El Fin Del Tiempo, a prototype of Led Storm Rally 2011, and the Pac-Man hack Titan. Some of these were thought to be lost to time.

MAME 0.205 is no different. Newly supported arcade systems include Unico’s Magic Purple, and Visco’s never-before-seen prototype Pastel Island. The latter ties in nicely with improved video emulation for the SSV platform (yes, this fixes other long-standing glitches, too). Newly playable machines include Konami’s Tobe! Polystars, Evil Night and Total Vice. Yes, Konami M2 emulation is finally here! Be aware that there’s still a lot of room for performance optimisation on this system.

Putting arcade systems aside for a moment, this release includes support for Dance Dance Revolution Strawberry Shortcake, and the Nintendo Game & Watch titles Oil Panic and Squish. Interestingly, there are no other emulators or simulators for Squish, and it hasn’t been included in any of Nintendo’s Game & Watch collections. It seems to draw inspiration from the Famicom game Devil World.

There are hundreds more Commodore 64 cassettes in the software list now, and quite a few more BBC ROMs as well. Software lists have been added for the Nascom computers, along with updates to the boot ROM choices and better keyboard emulation. We’ve also created a skeleton driver and documented the known software for the Chinese Monon Color console. In a last-minute addition we added support for new version 2 .WOZ floppy images on the Apple II family.

Of course, there are lots more additions and improvements that you can read about in the whatsnew.txt file, or you can get the source and Windows binary packages from the download page and try it out yourself. Enjoy the rest of the year, and all the best in 2019 from all of us at MAMEdev!

MAME 0.204

28 Nov 2018

After a busy four weeks, we’re ready to present the hotly-anticipated MAME 0.204 release. The most exciting stuff this month is definitely on the computer emulation side. We’ve added dozens of working cartridges to the BBC ROM software list, and ROMs required by expansion devices are handled more elegantly. Our HP9000/300 series emulation just keeps getting better: it’s now possible to install and use HP-UX 9, with X11 and the Vue desktop environment on an emulated HP9000/370 with accelerated window drawing and Ethernet networking support. There’s also been some progress on the road to Silicon Graphics workstation emulation. On top of that, we’re seeing preliminary emulation of standalone X Window System terminals.

Thanks to MAME’s modular, device-oriented architecture, improvements for one machine go on to benefit other machines using similar hardware. The Motorola 68k memory management unit improvements that allow HP-UX to run on the HP9000/300 series will also benefit Mac, NeXT and early Sun systems. The same AMD LANCE Ethernet controller is used in HP and Sun workstations, X11 terminals, the Amiga A2065 Zorro card, and numerous applications. This gives us a wealth of test cases, and a virtuous cycle where progress on one system can lead to a breakthrough on another.

With this release, all Tiger game.com games are fully playable. Two more Nintendo Game & Watch titles, Climber and Tropical Fish, have been emulated. XaviX-based TV game emulation continues to progress steadily: numerous e-kara karaoke cartridges have been dumped, preliminary sound output emulation has been implemented (sorry, no microphone support yet, but you can hear the tunes), and more systems have inputs connected.

Graphical effects in the bootleg arcade driving game Blomby Car have been improved, and bad dumps of graphics ROMs for Abnormal Check and the Korean version of Prehistoric Isle have been replaced. As always, you’ll enjoy support for more alternate versions of arcade games (including a version of Pinball Action that shows scores on external LED displays), bug fixes, and general emulation improvements.

You can read a more detailed account of this month’s changes in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and Windows binary packages from the download page.

MAME 0.203

31 Oct 2018

With Hallowe’en basically over, the only thing you need to make October complete is MAME 0.203. Newly supported titles include not just one, but two Nintendo Game & Watch classics: Donkey Kong and Green House, and the HP 9825B desktop computer. We’ve added dozens of new versions of supported systems, including European bootlegs of Puck Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Phoenix, Pengo and Zero Time, more revisions of Street Fighter II and Super Street Fighter II, and a version of Soldier Girl Amazon made under license by Tecfri.

There are major improvements to plug-in TV games in this release, specifically systems based on the XaviX and SunPlus µ'nSP processors. The Vii is now playable with sound, and the V.Smile can boot games. Tiger Game.com emulation has come to the point where all but one of the games are playable. Some long-standing issues with Tandy CoCo cartridges have been fixed.

It isn’t just home systems that have received attention this month: Namco System 22 emulation has leapt forward. Yes, the hit box errors making it impossible to pass the helicopter (Time Crisis) and the tanks (Tokyo Wars) have finally been fixed. On top of that, video emulation improvements make just about everything on the system look better. In particular, rear view mirrors in the driving games now work properly. If that isn’t enough for you, the code has been optimised, so there’s a good chance you’ll get full speed emulation on a modern PC. There have been less dramatic improvements to video emulation in other Namco and Tecmo systems, and CPS-3 row scroll effects have been implemented.

MAME 0.203 should build out-of-the-box on macOS “Mojave” with the latest Xcode tools (provided your SDL2 framework is up-to-date), a number of lingering debugger issues have been fixed, and it’s now possible to run SDL MAME on a system with no display. MAME’s internal file selection menus should behave better when you type the name of a file to select it.

MAME 0.203 is a huge update, touching all kinds of areas. You can read all about it in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and Windows binary packages from the download page.

MAME 0.202

26 Sep 2018

You know what day it is? It’s MAME 0.202 release day! This month’s release is chock full of new versions of previously supported games. We’ve added the Japanese releases of Namco’s Four Trax, and Taito’s Midnight Landing, the European release of Kaneko’s Gals Panic 4, a very rare unprotected version of Orca’s River Patrol, a version of Cinematronics’ Star Castle for cocktail cabinets, and a newer version of Konami’s WEC Le Mans 24. Perhaps the most interesting new version of an arcade game to be added is the final release version of Sega’s Toki no Senshi – Chrono Soldier. It turns out the previously-supported set was a somewhat unfinished prototype.

Improvements include more supported drawing modes for PlayStation and PowerVR2 (NAOMI/Dreamcast), fewer graphical glitches in Super Shanghai Dragon’s Eye, and fixes for sprite priority in Beast Busters and Pac-Land. The CRT simulation shaders now correctly apply the defocus effect after the scanline effect. Possibly the most exciting progress this month is in UNIX workstation emulation. InterPro networking is now supported, and it’s now possible to install and run SunOS 4.1.4 on emulated sun4c systems including the SunView graphical environment.

There are plenty more reasons to update, including more Apple II fixes, enough fixes to make the Jugend+Technik CompJU+TEr usable, further progress on NEC PC-FX sound emulation, and another supported US NeoGeo MVS BIOS. Oh, and if you’re a fan of gambling games, Lucky Ball 96 from Sielcon Games in Argentina is now playable.

You can read all about the changes in this release in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source and Windows binary packages from the download page.

MAME 0.201

30 Aug 2018

It’s the end of another month, and time for your scheduled MAME release, with more of everything we know you love. In a last-minute update, we slipped in a major performance optimisation for bgfx video output. It’s particularly noticeable when using cropped artwork, and there’s no longer a big performance penalty for bringing up the menu over the emulation on macOS. Another core improvement is support for TAP/TUN networking on Windows, providing a big performance improvement when connecting an emulated system to a network on the host machine.

From the department of things considered lost to time, MAME 0.201 allows you to play as Chuby the octopus, in the incredibly elusive Spanish game Night Mare. Unfortunately the sound ROMs were missing, so you won’t be able to hear Chuby speak, and we still need to be on the lookout for the export version known as Clean Octopus. And speaking of rare games from Spain, two more Magnet System titles have been dumped: A Day in Space and The Burning Cavern.

Newly dumped versions of supported arcade games include prototypes of Halley’s Comet (Taito) and Dog Fight (Orca), a newer version of the original Master Boy (Gaelco), and the Korean release of Raiden II (Seibu Kaihatsu). A redumped ROM allowed Psychic Force EX to run correctly. The vgmplay logged music player has had a big update in this release, with support for several more sound chips and a comprehensive software list.

And this brings us to audio improvements, which seem to have all crowded their way into this release. We have fixes for long-standing sound bugs in Twin Eagle, Targ and Spectar. Sound in Amazing Maze is no longer cut off after thirty seconds or so. There are some big changes for QSound and Taito Zoom ZSG-2 that should make things sound nicer. There’s also preliminary support for the NEC PC-FX’s HuC6230 SoundBox, but be aware it has a DC offset so you’ll hear a big thud when you start or stop it.

Recent improvements in NEC PC-98 emulation have seen dozens of titles promoted to working status, and we’ve added another batch of dumps from Neo Kobe Collection. There are a number of fixes that improve TI-99 floppy and cassette support in this release. InterPro systems can now be used via a serial terminal in configurations without a video card or keyboard. At long last, the Apple //c Plus can boot from its internal floppy drive. Other improvements to computer emulation include better keyboard support for Amiga systems, and improved GPU emulation for the HP Integral PC.

Of course, there’s more to read about in the whatsnew.txt file, and you can get source and Windows binaries from the download page.