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THIS WIKI IS NO LONGER MAINTAINED. VISIT https://emudeck.github.io/ FOR THE NEW EMUDECK WIKI.

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

Updating this Emulator:

  • Use Discover (Shopping Bag icon) to update MAME

MAME Table of Contents

  1. Getting Started with MAME

  2. MAME Tips and Tricks

Getting Started with MAME

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MAME Configuration

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  • 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
  • Storage: Emulation/storage/mame
    • Contains the following folders:
      • artwork
      • ctrlr
      • ini
      • samples
  • ROM Location: Emulation/roms/arcade
  • BIOS Location: Emulation/roms/arcade
  • Saves: Emulation/saves/MAME/saves
  • Savestates: Emulation/saves/MAME/states

Note: ~/.mame is an invisible folder by default. In Dolphin (file manager), click the hamburger menu in the top right, click Show Hidden Files to see these folders.

  • MAME [Standalone] shares its Emulation/roms/arcade folder with Arcade - 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

How to Update MAME

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How to Update MAME

  • Update through Discover (Shopping bag icon)
  • Through the Update your Emulators & Tools section on the Manage Emulators page in the EmuDeck application

How to Launch MAME in Desktop Mode

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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 the Emulators parser in Steam ROM Manager

MAME File Formats

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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

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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

Steam Deck Button Layout: https://github.com/dragoonDorise/EmuDeck/wiki/Hotkeys#steam-deck-button-layout

MAME Tips and Tricks

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Maintaining ROM Versions

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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.

Reference image:

Note: Refer to https://docs.mamedev.org/usingmame/aboutromsets.html, for additional information.

How to Add Custom Bezels

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  1. Open Emulation/storage/mame
  2. Copy bezel files, in .zip format, into this folder, named the same as the ROM.
  3. 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)

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  1. In Desktop Mode, open /home/deck/.mame/mame.ini
  2. Under the OSD VIDEO OPTIONS section, set video to bgfx
  3. Under the BGFX POST-PROCESSING OPTIONS section, set bgfx_screen_chains to the shader of your choice, for example: crt-geom-deluxe
  4. 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

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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

  1. In EmulationStation-DE, press the Start button
  2. Scroll down and select Other Settings
  3. Select Alternative Emulators
  4. Scroll down to Arcade and select MAME [Standalone]
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