Mame 2003 Plus Romset Merged

[Malka Sedano]

FullNon-Merged ROM set zips include all the files needed to run that game, including any ROMs from 'parent' ROM sets and BIOS sets. Using Full Non-merged ROM sets means that every .zip in this collection is complete and can be used stand-alone.

Non-Merged ROM romset zips include all the files needed to run that game, including any ROMs from 'parent' romsets. Using Non-merged ROM sets means that every .zip in this collection is complete and can be used stand-alone, with the exception of romsets that require a BIOS file.

Hi all. I'm pretty new to using Hyperspin and emulators. I used Don's Hyperspin List generator to clean up my rom list. It did a great job killing most of the non-working MAME roms. I also filtered out the clones for now just to get a reasonable list. However it is marking quite a few games as green/yes under games that are not actually working. Mame itself is also saying working/ok but when you go to launch you get "The selected machine is missing one or more required ROM or CHD images. Please..." So I fired up Mame Plus instead of Mame 64 and it seems to recognize the game in question is incomplete. I feel like I'm going around and around. I hoping one of you helpful folks can recommend a good Rom/game auditor and suggest the best version of MAME to run with Hyperspin.

The most current romset for mame is version 0.179 but within a few days 0.180 should be released. Phulshof usually is quick on the ball to make/update a working xml for MAME whenever a new release is out. I believe these can be found under the database section in the forums here. Besides the roms files you would also need the BIOS files that go together with that version of your roms. That could be the reason why you get the error that you are missing files. CHD images are required for some MAME games. The entire CHD set is quite large in size, just shy of 415 Gb for the 0.179 merged version. Here I would suggest you only go after the CHD's for the games you actually want to play unless you got the HD space and bandwidth to spare. Most of the CHD's are not working in MAME, someone can correct me on this if I got this wrong.

I usually audit my roms with clrmamepro together with the correct .dat file for that set. For the actual emulator I use the 64bit version of Mame but there are plenty of alternatives if you fancy something more advanced.

Thanks for the responses. You guys are very patient. I'll check out clrmamepro to see if I can clean up what I have. I think I was just surprised that one version of mame called a rom good while another correctly identified it as not. I'll probably also just start with a fresh set and move the ones I like and know are good manually into my roms folder. Better small and clean to start. Thank you again.

MAME 2003-Plus (also referred to as MAME 2003+ and mame2003-plus) is a libretro multi-arcade system emulator core which prioritizes 1) usability and frontend integration, 2) performance, and 3) compatibility across the range of libretro-supported platforms including mobile devices, single board computers, and consoles. MAME 2003-Plus is part of a long tradition in arcade emulation of producing platform-specific and performance-optimized MAME builds.

Unlike the other 'historic' libretro MAME cores which remain fixed at one MAME version, MAME 2003-Plus is actively maintained and has to date added support for hundreds of new games along with dozens of new features.

Some games require data from an internal hard drive, CD-ROM, laserdisk, or other media in order to be emulated -- those forms of media are packaged as CHD files. CHD files should be copied to subfolders within the folder where the romset zips have been installed: /libretro content dir/blitz/blitz.chd

MAME 2003-Plus began with the game drivers from MAME 0.78, meaning that 95% or more of MAME 0.78 romsets will work as-is in MAME 2003-Plus, where they immediately benefit from its bugfixes and other improvements. In order to play the new games and games which received ROM updates in MAME 2003-Plus, you will need to find or build MAME 2003-Plus romsets.

Arcade games are packaged as zip files, most of which are composed of more than one individual 'ROM' files. That is why some resources inaccurately refer to an individual arcade game as a ROM (like people use to describe a zipped game cartridge ROM) while other resources refer to an individual game as a ROM set, ROMset, or romset.

DAT files describe the exact ROM contents that the emulator needs including filenames, file sizes, and checksums to verify contents are not incorrect or corrupt. mame2003-plus has the ability to generate an XML "DAT" file from the MAME Menu. You can also access the MAME menu by turning it on as a core option, selecting Generate XML DAT and then disabing the menu as a core option.

We recommend the Full Non-Merged format, where each romset zip files includes all the files needed to run each game, including any ROMs from 'parent' ROM sets and BIOS sets. To configure ClrMamePro to validate or rebuild a Full Non-Merged collection, use "Non-Merged" mode and disable "Separate BIOS Sets" from the "Advanced" menu in both ClrMamePro's Rebuild and Scanner menus.

A complete Full Non-Merged romset collection with CHDs and Samples only requires approximately 6% more storage space than the Split format romsets that are also sometimes used to structure arcade romsets. MAME 2003-Plus can read Split, TorrentZipped romsets, but the RetroArch playlist scanner only supports Full Non-Merged, TorrentZipped romsets for MAME 2003-Plus.

ClrMamePro remains the most popular tool for rebuilding MAME romsets, at least for now. That said, ClrMamePro is focused on supporting more recent MAME versions so there are at least two things to know if you are using ClrMamePro to generate a MAME 2003-Plus set:

mame2003-plus emulates thousands of games, many of which have unique control layouts. These games are emulated on more than a thousand variations of arcade hardware. The purpose of the input system is to communicate input from the user's physical controls through the libretro frontend, the mame2003-plus emulator core, and into the emulated game itself.

No system of default input mappings can address the full range of emulated games and supported controls. Some degree of per-game customization should ways be expected. However, to the extent possible it is also within the purpose of the MAME 2003-Plus input system to attempt to provide predictable and meaningful defaults for input across this wide range.

mame_keyboard sets the core to process keyboard input directly through the legacy "MAME" keyboard interface. Use this input mode only if your input device is seen as a keyboard, including some arcade control panel hardware.

MAME 2003-Plus has support for multiple mice or touch devices in games that support trackballs, etc. MAME 2003-Plus also supports one or two spinners/dials via the "Share 2 player dial controls across one X/Y device" core option. By default, mice/trackballs and analog sticks (the left one, for controllers with 2) are supported in games that would have them, or equivalents. For example, Centipede supports the mouse/trackball, and Afterburner supports the stick.

4-way joysticks are an essential aspect of the gameplay for many iconic arcade titles including games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Q-Bert. Because modern joysticks generally use 8-way designs, it is usually impossible to play these games well without special hardware. MAME 2003-Plus includes a core option to simulate 4-way joysticks. When enabled, this logic analyzes input from 8-way digital joysticks in order to render its position as if the joystick had a 4-way design. This simulation is not the same as using a real 4-way joystick, but it can make a significant improvement to playability.

In the same way that content-aware core options only appear when they are relevant to the current game, MAME 2003-Plus has added support for content-aware control names. In other words, when remapping Street Fighter 2 controls, the libretro frontend can display the control names that were printed on the real arcade control panel like Jump, Strong Punch and Forward Kick instead of a generic labels like Up, Button 1, Button 2, etc.

Because support for control names is relatively new and is derived from the third-party controls.dat project, control names need to be verified by a human being before they are activated. As of end end of 2018, dozens of games have these active control names, but hundreds more need to be double-checked before being enabled. Coders, and users who are willing to learn basic github commands, are invited to join in this effort.

Some games require an additional zip file with recorded sounds or music in order for audio to work correctly. Audio 'sample' files should be placed in a samples subdirectory within /libretro system dir/mame2003-plus/.

Some games require backdrop artwork files in order to be fully emulated. Because RetroArch, the reference libretro frontend, does not yet incorporate support for so-called "backdrop" artwork, the MAME 2003-Plus github repository includes a folder of high-resolution backdrop artwork that is compatible with the core's built-in artwork display system. These artwork zip files should be placed within /libretro system dir/mame2003-plus/artwork.

This core supports the RetroArch "Run Ahead" input latency reduction feature when Run Ahead is set to Second Instance, but as of the end of 2018 there are known issues preventing Run Ahead from functioning properly and a bounty fundraiser to fix them.

The simplest way to access the "MAME menu" is by enabling it in the core options. If your input mode is set to allow input to the mame_keyboard interface, you can also enter the menu by pressing the Tab key.

Many arcade games have hardware switches for arcade owners to modify certain parameters which can be adjusted by accessing the MAME menu and selecting the 'Dip Switches' option. Dip switches often controlled features like free play (no coins needed), difficulty level, and cocktail table cabinet rotation mode.

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