MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework. Play arcade games and more.
Website: https://www.mamedev.org/
Github: https://github.com/mamedev/mame
MAME Wiki: https://docs.mamedev.org/whatis.html
MAME FAQ: https://docs.mamedev.org/usingmame/commonissues.html
Arcade Database (Lookup required files for MAME ROMs, or what a MAME short name refers to): http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/default.php
MAME Table of Contents
-
- Maintaining ROM Versions
- How to Configure Multiplayer
- How to Determine if a ROM Requires BIOS
- How to Determine if a ROM Requires a CHD File
- How to Configure Controls on a Per Game Basis
- How to Add Custom Bezels
- How to Enable Shaders/Scanlines in MAME (Standalone)
- How to Configure MAME to Work With EmulationStation-DE
- How to Roll Back MAME to an Older Version
Getting Started with MAME
MAME Configuration
- Type of Emulator: Flatpak
- Config Location:
/home/deck/.mame
- Contains the following folders and files:
mame.ini
cfg
- Plugin folders will appear here after enabling them in MAME
- Contains the following folders and files:
- Storage:
Emulation/storage/mame
- Contains the following folders:
artwork
ctrlr
ini
samples
- Contains the following folders:
- ROM Location:
Emulation/roms/arcade
- BIOS Location:
Emulation/roms/arcade
- Saves:
Emulation/saves/MAME/saves
- Save States:
Emulation/saves/MAME/states
Note:
~/.mame
is an invisible folder by default. In Dolphin (file manager), click the hamburger menu in the top right, clickShow Hidden Files
to see these folders.MAME [Standalone]
shares itsEmulation/roms/arcade
folder withArcade - RetroArch MAME Current
. Turning both of these parsers on in Steam ROM Manager will cause duplicates in your App List.
Works With
- Steam ROM Manager
- EmulationStation-DE
MAME Folder Locations
These file locations apply regardless of where you chose to install EmuDeck (to your internal SSD, to your SD Card, or elsewhere). Some emulator configuration files will be located on the internal SSD as listed below.
$HOME
refers to your home folder. If you are on a Steam Deck, this folder will be named /home/deck
(you will likely not see deck
in the file path when navigating using the file manager).
Paths beginning with Emulation/..
correspond to your EmuDeck install location. If you installed on an SD Card, your path may be /run/media/mmcblk0p1/Emulation/roms/..
. If you installed on your internal SSD, your path may be /home/deck/Emulation/roms/..
Note: Folders with a .
(.mame
, .var
, .local
, .config
, etc.) at the beginning are hidden by default. In Dolphin (file manager), click the hamburger menu in the top right, click Show Hidden Files
to see these folders.
$HOME/.mame
Emulation/storage/mame
How to Update MAME
How to Update MAME
- Update through
Discover
(Shopping bag icon) - Through the
Update your Emulators & Tools
section on theManage Emulators
page in theEmuDeck
application
How to Launch MAME in Desktop Mode
How to Launch MAME in Desktop Mode
- Launch
MAME
from the Applications Launcher (Steam Deck icon in the bottom left of the taskbar) - Launch the script from
Emulation/tools/launchers
,mame.sh
- Launch the emulator from
Steam
after adding it via theEmulators
parser inSteam ROM Manager
MAME File Formats
ROMs
- .zip
- .chd
BIOS Files
BIOS will be searched through 3 folders:
Emulation/roms/arcade/
Emulation/bios/mame/*
Emulation/bios/
Note: EmulationStation-DE will ONLY work with the BIOS in the arcade folder
MAME Hotkeys
Hotkey | MAME |
---|---|
Coin for player | Select |
Start for player | Start |
Fast Forward | Select + R2 |
Load State | Select + L1 |
Save State | Select + R1 |
Exit Emulator | Select + Start |
Exit Emulator | STEAM + DPad Left |
Quick Menu* | STEAM + DPad Down |
Note:
- If you make any changes in the Quick Menu while in game, make sure to use one of the
Exit Emulator
hotkeys to close out of the game to ensure any changes you made are saved. If you useSTEAM
+ theExit game
button, your changes will not be saved. - Steam Deck Button Layout
MAME Tips and Tricks
Maintaining ROM Versions
Ideally use ROMs that are the same version as MAME's version. MAME often releases improved versions of ROMs to fix issues. Issues are less of a concern with the most popular classics because most of those haven't changed in years. But to avoid having to track multiple different versions of your ROMs, most people just keep their ROM sets updated as the emulator updates.
To understand how MAME works, look up the difference between merged and split ROM sets, and learn what a sample and a chd are and how they're used in conjunction with ROMs to deliver a playable game.
Note: Refer to https://docs.mamedev.org/usingmame/aboutromsets.html, for additional information.
How to Configure Multiplayer
Multiplayer for MAME is configured out of the box, no additional configuration is needed.
You may need to re-arrange the controller order in Game Mode for your controllers to function as expected. See How to Re-Arrange the Controller Order for more information.
How to Determine if a ROM Requires BIOS
Some ROMs for MAME may require BIOS to run. For this section, these ROMs will be split into either System
or Software
ROMs. To delineate between the two simply, System
ROMs are typically arcade ROMs and Software
ROMs are usually computers or video game consoles.
How to Determine if a System ROM Requires BIOS
- In a folder of your choice, right click anywhere in the folder, and click
Open Terminal here
- Enter:
flatpak run org.mamedev.MAME -listxml > mame.xml
- This command will create a
mame.xml
file in the folder you chose in Step 1 - Right click
mame.xml
, clickOpen with Kate
or a text editor of your choice - Search the file (either using
Ctrl
+F
or by clickingEdit
→Find
) and type inisbios
- You will see a line that generally looks like the following:
<machine name="MACHINENAME" sourcefile="PATH/FILENAME" isbios="yes">
- For example
<machine name="neogeo" sourcefile="neogeo/neogeo.cpp" isbios="yes">
- Let's break this line down, using
neogeo
as an example:<machine name="neogeo" sourcefile="neogeo/neogeo.cpp" isbios="yes">
isbios="yes"
means BIOS are required for the Neo-Geo MV-6F- The
machine_name=
gives you the name of the BIOS file. BIOS files forSystem
ROMs always have a.zip
file extension. Forneogeo
, the bios will beneogeo.zip
- The list of files below the
manufacturer
typically comprise the files in a mergedneogeo.zip
file. Using a mergedneogeo.zip
may take up extra space but guarantees you have the BIOS necessary to play any Neo-Geo MV-6F ROM
- Place your BIOS in
Emulation/bios
orEmulation/roms/arcade
(the latter is required if you are playing through EmulationStation-DE)
Recreating this file whenever MAME updates will get you the latest list of which System ROMs require BIOS.
How to Determine if a Software ROM Requires BIOS
- Open http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/default.php
- Search for the name of the console or computer in the search box, respecting punctuation and hyphenation when possible
- On the respective console or computer's page, scroll down to
Required Files
, and clickSHOW MAME REQUIRED FILES
- Place the file(s) in the list in
Emulation/bios
or the matching ROM folder (the latter is required if you are playing through EmulationStation-DE)- For example, if you are playing
Game.com
through EmulationStation-DE, placegamecom.zip
inEmulation/roms/gamecom
- For example, if you are playing
How to View Compatibility for Software ROMs
- Open http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/default.php
- Click
SOFTWARE
on the left side - Search for your console or computer in the
SYSTEM
box and clickSearch
- For example, Game.com: http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/?search=mess&machine_name=gamecom%3B
- You will see a full list of the ROMs for that respective console or computer. The circle color in the top right of each box is the game's compatibility
- Green: Supported
- Yellow: Imperfect
- Some pages may explain the specific issues affecting the game
- Red: Not Supported
How to Determine if a ROM Requires a CHD File
Game ROMs for MAME are primarily .zip
files. Some of these games require additional files to run. These additional files are primarily .chd
files.
To determine if your ROM requires a .chd
file:
- In Desktop Mode, open Konsole
- Enter:
flatpak run org.mamedev.MAME -listroms ROMSHORTNAME
- Typically, the short name of the ROM is the file name. For example, the file name for
Street Fighter III 3rd Strike
issfiii3.zip
and the short name issfiii3
- You can also use http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/ to locate a MAME ROM's short name
- Typically, the short name of the ROM is the file name. For example, the file name for
- You will get an output similar to below:
- The line without a file size or a CRC is the
.chd
file required. The line with a file size and a CRC is the file located within the zip file- For example,
sfiii3_euro.29f400.u2
is the file located insfiii3.zip
andcap-33s-2
is the.chd
file required to runsfiii3.zip
- For example,
- Create a subfolder matching the shortname in
Emulation/roms/arcade
and place the.chd
file in the subfolder- For example, with
sfiii3
, create asfiii3
folder inEmulation/roms/arcade
and placecap-33s-2.chd
inEmulation/roms/arcade/sfiii3
- Place
sfiii3.zip
directly inEmulation/roms/arcade
- For example, with
How to Configure Controls on a Per Game Basis
- While in game, press
STEAM
andDPad Down
- Select
Input Settings
- Select
Input Settings (this system)
- Configure controls
- To ensure your controls are saved, press
STEAM
andDPad Left
to exit out of the game- If you press
STEAM
and use theExit game
button, your controls will not be saved
- If you press
- Your controls will be saved as a file to
home/deck/.mame/cfg/GAMESHORTNAME.cfg
- You may also share this configuration file with others
How to Add Custom Bezels
- Open
Emulation/storage/mame
- Copy bezel files, in .zip format, into this folder, named the same as the ROM.
- Done.
Note: Use the Bezel Project to locate bezels for your MAME ROMS: https://github.com/thebezelproject/BezelProject-Windows
How to Enable Shaders/Scanlines in MAME (Standalone)
- In Desktop Mode, open
/home/deck/.mame/mame.ini
- Under the
OSD VIDEO OPTIONS
section, setvideo
tobgfx
- Under the
BGFX POST-PROCESSING OPTIONS
section, setbgfx_screen_chains
to the shader of your choice, for example:crt-geom-deluxe
- Save your changes to the file
Note: Other shader values can be found here: https://docs.mamedev.org/advanced/bgfx.html
How to Configure MAME to Work With EmulationStation-DE
EmuDeck installs both MAME (Standalone, installed as a flatpak), and RetroArch's MAME core.
In order to use MAME (Standalone), make sure your ROMs are in Emulation/roms/arcade
.
In order to use MAME (Standalone) for EmulationStation-DE, make sure you are selecting MAME [Standalone]
in the Alternative Emulators
menu.
Tutorial
- In EmulationStation-DE, press the
Start
button - Scroll down and select
Other Settings
- Select
Alternative Emulators
- Scroll down to
Arcade
and selectMAME [Standalone]
How to Roll Back MAME to an Older Version
- In Desktop Mode, open
Konsole
- To see a list of prior versions of the emulator, type:
flatpak remote-info --log flathub org.mamedev.MAME
- Each version will have a long accompanying alphanumeric string (the “commit” code). Copy the string for the version you want to downgrade to.
- To downgrade to the version you want:
flatpak update --commit=put_commit_code_here org.mamedev.MAME
- Replace
put_commit_code_here
with the actual code you located in Step 2. - If this line does not work, you may need to type:
sudo flatpak update --commit=put_commit_code_here org.mamedev.MAME