Provided by: mess_0.152-0ubuntu2_amd64 
NAME
MESS - The Multiple Emulator Super System
SYNOPSIS
mess [options] system
DESCRIPTION
MESS documents the hardware for a wide variety of (mostly vintage) computers, video game
consoles, and calculators through software emulation. As a nice side effect, MESS allows
software and games for these hardware platforms to run on modern PCs.
OPTIONS
Core commands
-help, -?
Displays current MESS version and copyright notice.
-validate, -valid
Performs internal validation on every driver in MESS. Run this before submitting
changes to ensure that you haven't violated any of the core system rules.
Configuration commands
-createconfig, -cc
Creates the default mess.ini file in the current directory. All the configuration
options (not commands) described below can be permanently changed by editing this
configuration file.
-showconfig, -sc
Displays the current configuration settings.
-showusage, -su
Displays a summary of all the command line options. For options that are not
mentioned here, the short summary given by -showusage is usually sufficient.
Frontend commands
All the list commands below write info to the screen. If you wish to write the info to a
textfile instead, use redirection. For example, mess -listxml > ~/messlist.xml writes the
full list of supported systems to messlist.xml in your home directory.
-listxml, -lx [system|wildcard]
List comprehensive details for all of the supported systems. The output is quite
long, so it is usually better to redirect this into a file. The output is in XML
format. By default all systems are listed; however, you can limit this list by
specifying a driver name or wildcard.
-listfull, -ll [system|wildcard]
Displays a list of system driver names and descriptions. By default all systems are
listed; however, you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard.
-listsource, -ls [system|wildcard]
Displays a list of drivers and the names of the source files their system drivers
live in. Useful for finding which driver a system runs on in order to fix bugs. By
default all systems are listed; however, you can limit this list by specifying a
driver name or wildcard.
-listclones, -lc [system|wildcard]
Displays a list of clones. By default all clones are listed; however, you can limit
this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard.
-listbrothers, -lb [system|wildcard]
Displays a list of "brothers" or other drivers from same sourcefile. By default
all systems are listed; however, you can limit this list by specifying a driver
name or wildcard.
-listcrc
Displays a full list of CRCs of all ROM images referenced by all drivers within
MESS code.
-listroms, -lr system
Displays a list of ROM images referenced by the specified system.
-listsamples system
Displays a list of samples referenced by the specified system.
-verifyroms [system|wildcard]
Checks for invalid or missing ROM images. By default all drivers that have valid
ZIP files or directories in the rom path are verified; however, you can limit this
list by specifying a driver name or wildcard.
-verifysamples [system|wildcard]
Checks for invalid or missing samples. By default all drivers that have valid ZIP
files or directories in the samplepath are verified; however, you can limit this
list by specifying a driver name or wildcard.
-romident
Attempts to identify ROM files, if they are known to MESS, in the specified .zip
file or directory. This command can be used to try and identify ROM sets taken from
unknown boards. On exit, the errorlevel is returned as one of the following:
0 all files were identified
7 all files were identified except for some "non-ROM" files
8 some files were identified
9 no files were identified
-listdevices, -ld
Output the list of devices referenced by a given system or set of systems.
-listslots, -lslot
Output the list of available slots and slot devices for the system.
-listmedia, -lm
Output the list of available media for the system.
-listsoftware, -lsoft
Output the list of known software for the system.
-verifysoftware, -vsoft [gamename|wildcard]
Checks for invalid or missing ROM images in your software lists. By default all
drivers that have valid ZIP files or directories in the rompath are verified;
however, you can limit this list by specifying a specific driver name or wildcard.
-getsoftlist, -glist
Retrieve software list by name.
-verifysoftlist, -vlist [softwarelistname]
Checks a specified software list for missing ROM images if files exist for issued
softwarelistname. By default, all drivers that have valid ZIP files or directories
in the rompath are verified; however, you can limit this list by specifying a
specific softwarelistname (without .XML).
-listmidi, -mlist
List available MIDI I/O devices.
Configuration options
-[no]readconfig, -[no]rc
Enables or disables the reading of the config files. When enabled (which is the
default), MESS reads the following config files in order:
1. mess.ini
the main configuration file
2. [driver].ini
based on the source file name of the system driver
3. [parent].ini
for clones only, may be called recursively
4. [system].ini
note this sometimes resolves to the same of the source driver
The settings in the later ini's override those in the earlier ini's. The default is ON
(-readconfig).
-writeconfig, -wc
Write configuration to [driver].ini on exit.
Search path options
Be careful to use the path, directory and file options in mess.ini ONLY. Otherwise, the
outcome may be unpredictable and not consistent across releases.
-rompath, -rp, -biospath, -bp pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find ROM or hard disk images. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'roms'
(that is, a directory 'roms' in the same directory as the MESS executable).
-samplepath, -sp pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find sample files. Multiple paths can be
specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'samples' (that is, a
directory 'samples' in the same directory as the MESS executable).
-artpath, -artwork_directory pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find artwork files. Multiple paths can be
specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'artwork' (that is, a
directory 'artwork' in the same directory as the MESS executable).
-ctrlrpath, -ctrlr_directory pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find controller-specific configuration
files. Multiple paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The
default is 'ctrlr' (that is, a directory 'ctrlr' in the same directory as the MESS
executable).
-inipath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find .ini files. Multiple paths can be
specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is '/etc/mess'.
-fontpath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find .bdf font files. Multiple paths can
be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is '.' (that is,
search in the same directory as the MESS executable).
-cheatpath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find cheat files. Multiple paths can be
specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'cheat' (that is, a
directory 'cheat' in the same directory as the MESS executable).
-crosshairpath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find crosshair files. Multiple paths can
be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'crosshair' (that
is, a directory 'crosshair' in the same directory as the MESS executable). If the
Crosshair is set to default in the menu, MESS will look for system/cross#.png and
then cross#.png in the specified path, where # is the player number. Failing that,
MESS will use built-in default crosshairs.
-hashpath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to search for software hash files. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'hash'
(that is, a directory 'hash' in the same directory as the MESS executable).
Output Directory Options
-cfg_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where configuration files are stored. Configuration
files store user configurable settings that are read at startup and written when
MESS exits. The default is 'cfg' (that is, a directory 'cfg' in the same directory
as the MESS executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically
created.
-nvram_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where NVRAM files are stored. NVRAM files store the
contents of EEPROM and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) for systems which used this type of
hardware. This data is read at startup and written when MESS exits. The default is
'nvram' (that is, a directory 'nvram' in the same directory as the MESS
executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-memcard_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where memory card files are stored. Memory card files
store the contents of removable memory cards for systems which used this type of
hardware. This data is read and written under control of the user via the 'Memory
Card' menu in the user interface. The default is 'memcard' (that is, a directory
'memcard' in the same directory as the MESS executable). If this directory does not
exist, it will be automatically created.
-input_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where input recording files are stored. Input
recordings are created via the -record option and played back via the -playback
option. The default is 'inp' (that is, a directory 'inp' in the same directory as
the MESS executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically
created.
-state_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where save state files are stored. Save state files
are read and written either upon user request, or when using the -autosave option.
The default is 'sta' (that is, a directory 'sta' in the same directory as the MESS
executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-snapshot_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where screen snapshots are stored, when requested by
the user. The default is 'snap' (that is, a directory 'snap' in the same directory
as the MESS executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically
created.
-diff_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where hard drive differencing files are stored. Hard
drive differencing files store any data that is written back to a hard disk image,
in order to preserve the original image. The differencing files are created at
startup when a system with a hard disk image. The default is 'diff' (that is, a
directory 'diff' in the same directory as the MESS executable). If this directory
does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-comment_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where debugger comment files are stored. Debugger
comment files are written by the debugger when comments are added to the
disassembly for a system. The default is 'comments' (that is, a directory
'comments' in the same directory as the MESS executable). If this directory does
not exist, it will be automatically created.
State/playback options
-state slot
Immediately after starting the specified system, will cause the save state in the
specified slot to be loaded.
-[no]autosave
When enabled, automatically creates a save state file when exiting MESS and
automatically attempts to reload it when later starting MESS with the same system.
This only works for systems that have explicitly enabled save state support in
their driver. The default is OFF (-noautosave).
-playback, -pb filename
Specifies a file from which to play back a series of system inputs. This feature
does not work reliably for all systems, but can be used to watch a previously
recorded system session from start to finish. In order to make things consistent,
you should only record and playback with all configuration (.cfg), NVRAM (.nv), and
memory card files deleted. The default is NULL (no playback).
-record, -rec filename
Specifies a file to record all input from a system session. This can be used to
record a system session for later playback. This feature does not work reliably for
all systems, but can be used to watch a previously recorded system session from
start to finish. In order to make things consistent, you should only record and
playback with all configuration (.cfg), NVRAM (.nv), and memory card files deleted.
The default is NULL (no recording).
-snapname string
Describes how MESS should name files for snapshots. string provides a template that
is used to generate a filename. Three simple substitutions are provided: the /
character represents the path separator on any target platform (even Windows); the
literal %g represents the driver name of the current system; and the literal %i
represents an incrementing index. If %i is omitted, then each snapshot taken will
overwrite the previous one; otherwise, MESS will find the next empty value for %i
and use that for a filename. The default is '%g/%i', which creates a separate
folder for each game, and names the snapshots under it starting with 0000 and
increasing from there. In addition to the above, for drivers using different media,
like carts or floppy disks, you can also use the %d_[media] indicator. Replace
[media] with the media switch you want to use. A few examples: if you use mess nes
-cart robby -snapname %g/%d_cart snapshots will be saved as snaps/nes/robby.png; if
you use mess c64 -flop1 robby -snapname %g/%d_flop1/%i snapshots will be saved as
snaps/c64/robby/0000.png.
-snapsize widthxheight
Hard-codes the size for snapshots and movie recording. By default, MESS will create
snapshots at the system's current resolution in raw pixels, and will create movies
at the system's starting resolution in raw pixels. If you specify this option, then
MESS will create both snapshots and movies at the size specified, and will bilinear
filter the result. Note that this size does not automatically rotate if the system
is vertically oriented. The default is 'auto'.
-snapview internal|auto|viewname
Specifies the view to use when rendering snapshots and movies. By default, both use
a special 'internal' view, which renders a separate snapshot per screen or renders
movies only of the first screen. By specifying this option, you can override this
default behavior and select a single view that will apply to all snapshots and
movies. Note that viewname does not need to be a perfect match; rather, it will
select the first view whose name matches all the characters specified by viewname.
For example, -snapview native will match the "Native (15:14)" view even though it
is not a perfect match. viewname can also be 'auto', which selects the first view
with all screens present. The default value is 'internal'.
-statename string
Describes how MESS should store save state files, relative to the state_directory
path. string provides a template that is used to generate a relative path. Two
simple substitutions are provided: the / character represents the path separator on
any target platform (even Windows); the literal %g represents the driver name of
the current game. The default is '%g', which creates a separate folder for each
game. In addition to the above, for drivers using different media, like carts or
floppy disks, you can also use the %d_[media] indicator. Replace [media] with the
media switch you want to use. A few examples: if you use mess nes -cart robby
-statename %g/%d_cart save states will be stored inside sta/nes/robby/; if you use
mess c64 -flop1 robby -statename %g/%d_flop1 save states will be stored inside
sta/c64/robby/.
-mngwrite filename
Writes each video frame to the given file in MNG format, producing an animation of
the system session. Note that -mngwrite only writes video frames; it does not save
any audio data. Use -wavwrite for that, and reassemble the audio/video using
offline tools. The default is NULL (no recording).
-aviwrite filename
Stream video and sound data to the given file in AVI format, producing an animation
of the system session complete with sound. The default is NULL (no recording).
-wavwrite filename
Writes the final mixer output to the given file in WAV format, producing an audio
recording of the system session. The default is NULL (no recording).
-[no]burnin
Tracks brightness of the screen during play and at the end of emulation generates a
PNG that can be used to simulate burn-in effects on other systems. The resulting
PNG is created such that the least-used areas of the screen are fully white (since
burned-in areas are darker, all other areas of the screen must be lightened a
touch). The intention is that this PNG can be loaded via an artwork file with a
low alpha (e.g, 0.1-0.2 seems to work well) and blended over the entire screen. The
PNG files are saved in the snap directory under the
system/burnin-<screen.name>.png. The default is OFF (-noburnin).
Performance options
-[no]autoframeskip, -[no]afs
Automatically determines the frameskip level while you're playing the system,
adjusting it constantly in a frantic attempt to keep the system running at full
speed. Turning this on overrides the value you have set for -frameskip below. The
default is OFF (-noautoframeskip).
-frameskip, -fs value
Specifies the frameskip value (autoframeskip must be disabled). This is the number
of frames out of every 12 to drop when running. For example, if you say -frameskip
2, then MESS will display 10 out of every 12 frames. By skipping those frames, you
may be able to get full speed in a system that requires more horsepower than your
computer has. The default value is 0, which skips no frames.
-seconds_to_run, -str value
This option can be used for benchmarking and automated testing. It tells MESS to
stop execution after a fixed number of seconds. By combining this with a fixed set
of other command line options, you can set up a consistent environment for
benchmarking MESS performance. In addition, upon exit, the -str option will write a
screenshot called final.png to the system's snapshot directory.
-[no]throttle
Configures the default thottling setting. When throttling is on, MESS attempts to
keep the system running at the system's intended speed. When throttling is off,
MESS runs the system as fast as it can. Note that the fastest speed is more often
than not limited by your graphics card, especially for older systems. The default
is ON (-throttle).
-[no]sleep
Allows MESS to give time back to the system when running with -throttle. This
allows other programs to have some CPU time, assuming that the system isn't taxing
100% of your CPU resources. This option can potentially cause hiccups in
performance if other demanding programs are running. The default is ON (-sleep).
-speed Controls the speed of gameplay, relative to realtime; smaller numbers are slower.
Default is 1.00.
-refreshspeed, -rs
Automatically adjusts the -speed parameter to keep the effective refresh rate below
that of the lowest screen refresh rate.
-multithreading, -mt
Enable multithreading; this enables rendering and blitting on a separate thread.
The default is OFF.
-numprocessors, -np
Set number of processors; this overrides the number the system reports.
-sdlvideofps
Show SDL video performance.
Rotation options
-[no]rotate
Rotate the system to match its normal state (horizontal/vertical). This ensures
that both vertically and horizontally oriented systems show up correctly without
the need to rotate your monitor. If you want to keep the system displaying 'raw' on
the screen the way the actual machine would have, turn this option off. The default
is ON (-rotate).
-[no]ror -[no]rol
Rotate the system screen to the right (clockwise) or left (counter-clockwise)
relative to either its normal state (if -rotate is specified) or its native state
(if -norotate is specified). The default for both of these options is OFF (-noror
-norol).
-[no]autoror -[no]autorol
These options are designed for use with pivoting screens that only pivot in a
single direction. If your screen only pivots clockwise, use -autorol to ensure that
the system will fill the screen either horizontally or vertically in one of the
directions you can handle. If your screen only pivots counter-clockwise, use
-autoror.
-[no]flipx -[no]flipy
Flip (mirror) the system screen either horizontally (-flipx) or vertically
(-flipy). The flips are applied after the -rotate and -ror/-rol options are
applied. The default for both of these options is OFF (-noflipx -noflipy).
Artwork options
-[no]artwork_crop, -[no]artcrop
Enable cropping of artwork to the system screen area only. This option can also be
controlled via the Video Options menu in the user interface. The default is OFF
(-noartwork_crop).
-[no]use_backdrops, -[no]backdrop
Enables/disables the display of backdrops. The default is ON (-use_backdrops).
-[no]use_overlays, -[no]overlay
Enables/disables the display of overlays. The default is ON (-use_overlays).
-[no]use_bezels, -[no]bezel
Enables/disables the display of bezels. The default is ON (-use_bezels).
-[no]use_cpanels, -[no]cpanel
Enables/disables the display of cpanels. The default is ON (-use_bezels).
-[no]use_marquees, -[no]marquee
Enables/disables the display of marquees. The default is ON (-use_bezels).
Screen options
-brightness value
Controls the default brightness, or black level, of the system screens. This
option does not affect the artwork or other parts of the display. Using the MESS
UI, you can individually set the brightness for each system screen; this option
controls the initial value for all visible system screens. The standard value is
1.0. Selecting lower values (down to 0.1) will produce a darkened display, while
selecting higher values (up to 2.0) will give a brighter display. The default is
1.0.
-contrast value
Controls the contrast, or white level, of the system screens. This option does not
affect the artwork or other parts of the display. Using the MESS UI, you can
individually set the contrast for each system screen; this option controls the
initial value for all visible system screens. The standard value is 1.0. Selecting
lower values (down to 0.1) will produce a dimmer display, while selecting higher
values (up to 2.0) will give a more saturated display. The default is 1.0.
-gamma value
Controls the gamma, which produces a potentially nonlinear black to white ramp, for
the system screens. This option does not affect the artwork or other parts of the
display. Using the MESS UI, you can individually set the gamma for each system
screen; this option controls the initial value for all visible system screens. The
standard value is 1.0, which gives a linear ramp from black to white. Selecting
lower values (down to 0.1) will increase the nonlinearity toward black, while
selecting higher values (up to 3.0) will push the nonlinearity toward white. The
default is 1.0.
-pause_brightness value
This controls the brightness level when MESS is paused. The default value is 0.65.
Vector rendering options
-[no]antialias, -[no]aa
Enables antialiased line rendering for vector systems. The default is ON
(-antialias).
-beam width
Sets the width of the vectors. This is a scaling factor against the standard vector
width. A value of 1.0 will keep the default vector line width. Smaller values will
reduce the width, and larger values will increase the width. The default is 1.0.
-flicker value
Simulates a vector "flicker" effect, similar to a vector monitor that needs
adjustment. This option requires a float argument in the range of 0.00-100.00
(0=none, 100=maximum). The default is 0.
Video options
-video [soft|opengl|opengl16|none]
Specifies which video subsystem to use for drawing:
soft uses software rendering, which is slower but more compatible.
opengl uses OpenGL and your graphics accelerator to speed up many aspects of
drawing MESS including compositing artwork, overlays, and bezels, as well as
stretching the image to fit your screen.
opengl16 uses alternate OpenGL code, which should provide faster output on some
cards.
none does no drawing and is intended for CPU benchmarking.
Default is SOFT.
-[no]window, -[no]w
Run MESS in either full screen or a window. This is a fully-featured window mode
where the window resizes as necessary to track what the system does. And you can
resize it yourself with your OS's standard window controls. The default is OFF
(-nowindow).
-[no]maximize, -[no]max
Controls initial window size in windowed mode. If it is set on, the window will
initially be set to the maximum supported size when you start MESS. If it is turned
off, the window will start out at the smallest supported size. This option only has
an effect when the -window option is used. The default is ON (-maximize).
-keepaspect, -ka
Forces the correct aspect ratio. This means when you're resizing the window in
windowed mode the actual system image will resize in discrete steps to maintain the
proper shape of the system graphics. If you turn this off you can resize the window
to anything you like and get funny squishing and stretching. The same applies for
full-screen. Default is ON (-keepaspect).
-unevenstretch, -ues
Allow non-integer stretch factors. Video purists should stay far, far away from
this option, while everyone else will be happy to know that it lets you fill the
screen properly in full-screen mode. Default is ON (-unevenstretch).
-effect none|filename
Name of a PNG file to use for visual effects, or 'none'. Default is 'none'.
-centerh
Center horizontally within the view area. Default is ON (-centerh).
-centerv
Center vertically within the view area. Default is ON (-centerv).
-waitvsync
Enable waiting for the start of VBLANK before flipping screens; reduces tearing
effects.
Software video rendering subsystem options
All the options in this group are available only with softare video rendering subsystem
(-video soft).
-prescale value
Scale screen rendering by this amount in software. Default is 1.
-scalemode, -sm [none|async|yv12|yuy2|yv12x2|yuy2x2]
Hardware scaling mode.
none use software rendering.
async async overlay.
yv12 yv12 overlay.
yuy2 yuy2 overlay.
yv12x2 yv12 overlay using x2 prescaling.
yuy2x2 yuy2 overlay using x2 prescaling.
Default is NONE.
OpenGL video rendering subsystem options
All the options in this group are available only with OpenGL video rendering subsystem
(-video opengl or -video opengl16).
-filter, -glfilter, -flt
Enable bilinear filtering on screen output. Default is ON (-filter).
-gl_forcepow2texture
Force power of two textures. Default is NO.
-gl_notexturerect
Don't use OpenGL GL_ARB_texture_rectangle. Default is ON: turn off (set this to 0)
if corruption occurs in OpenGL mode, at cost of some performance loss.
-gl_vbo
Enable OpenGL VBO, if available, for a performance increase. Default is ON: turn
off (set this to 0) if corruption occurs.
-gl_pbo
Enable OpenGL PBO, if available, for a performance increase. Default is ON: turn
off (set this to 0) if corruption occurs.
-gl_glsl
Enable OpenGL GLSL, if available, for a performance increase.
-gl_glsl_filter value
Enable OpenGL GLSL filtering instead of FF filtering 0=plain, 1=bilinear. Default
is 1: bilinear.
-glsl_shader_mame[0-9]
Preferred custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap (from 0 to 9).
-glsl_shader_screen[0-9]
Preferred custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap (from 0 to 9).
-gl_glsl_vid_attr
Enable OpenGL GLSL handling of brightness and contrast. Better RGB system
performance for free. Default is ON.
-screen
Explicit name for all screens; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess.
-aspect, -screen_aspect
Aspect ratio for all screens; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess.
-resolution, -r
Preferred resolution for all screens; format is widthxheight[@refreshrate] or
'auto'.
-view Preferred view for all screens
-screen[0-3]
Explicit name of the first|second|third|fourth screen; 'auto' here will try to make
a best guess.
-aspect[0-3]
Aspect ratio of the first|second|third|fourth screen; 'auto' here will try to make
a best guess.
-resolution[0-3], -r[0-3]
Preferred resolution for the first|second|third|fourth screen; format is
widthxheight[@refreshrate] or 'auto'.
-view[0-3]
Preferred view for the first|second|third|fourth screen.
Full screen options
-[no]switchres
Affects full screen mode only. Chooses if MESS can try to change the screen
resolution (color depth is normally left alone) when in full-screen mode. If it's
off, you always get your desktop resolution in full-screen mode (which can be
useful for LCDs).
-useallheads
Split full screen image across monitors.
Sound options
-[no]sound
Enable or disable sound altogether. The default is ON (-sound).
-samplerate, -sr value
Sets the audio sample rate. Smaller values (e.g. 11025) cause lower audio quality
but faster emulation speed. Higher values (e.g. 48000) cause higher audio quality
but slower emulation speed. The default is 48000.
-[no]samples
Use samples if available. The default is ON (-samples).
-volume, -vol value
Sets the startup volume. It can later be changed with the user interface (see Keys
section). The volume is an attenuation in dB: for example, '-volume -12' will start
with -12dB attenuation. The default is 0.
-audio_latency value
This controls the amount of latency built into the audio streaming. The latency
parameter controls the lower threshold. The default is 3; increase to reduce
glitches, decrease for responsiveness.
Input options
-[no]coin_lockout, -[no]coinlock
Enables simulation of the "coin lockout" feature that is implemented on a number of
arcade game PCBs. It was up to the operator whether or not the coin lockout outputs
were actually connected to the coin mechanisms. If this feature is enabled, then
attempts to enter a coin while the lockout is active will fail and will display a
popup message in the user interface. If this feature is disabled, the coin lockout
signal will be ignored. The default is ON (-coin_lockout).
-ctrlr controller
Enables support for special controllers. Configuration files are loaded from the
ctrlrpath. They are in the same format as the .cfg files that are saved, but only
control configuration data is read from the file. The default is NULL (no
controller file).
-[no]mouse
Controls whether or not MESS looks for a mouse controller to use. Note that in many
cases, lightguns are treated as mice by the operating system, so you may need to
enable this to enable lightgun support. When this is enabled, you will not be able
to use your mouse while running MESS. If you want to get control of your computer
back, you will need to either pause MESS or quit. The default is OFF (-nomouse).
-[no]joystick, -[no]joy
Controls whether or not MESS looks for joystick/gamepad controllers. The default
is ON (-joystick).
-[no]lightgun, -[no]gun
Controls whether or not MESS makes use of lightgun controllers. Note that most
lightguns map to the mouse, so using -lightgun and -mouse together may produce
strange results. The default is OFF (-nolightgun).
-[no]multikeyboard, -[no]multikey
Determines whether MESS differentiates between multiple keyboards. Some systems
may report more than one keyboard; by default, the data from all of these keyboards
is combined so that it looks like a single keyboard. Turning this option on will
enable MESS to report keypresses on different keyboards independently. The default
is OFF (-nomultikeyboard).
-[no]multimouse
Determines whether MESS differentiates between multiple mice. Some systems may
report more than one mouse device; by default, the data from all of these mice is
combined so that it looks like a single mouse. Turning this option on will enable
MESS to report mouse movement and button presses on different mice independently.
The default is OFF (-nomultimouse).
-[no]steadykey, -[no]steady
Some systems require two or more buttons to be pressed at exactly the same time to
make special moves. Due to limitations in the PC keyboard hardware, it can be
difficult or even impossible to accomplish that using the standard keyboard
handling. This option selects a different handling that makes it easier to register
simultaneous button presses, but has the disadvantage of making controls less
responsive. The default is OFF (-nosteadykey).
-[no]offscreen_reload, -[no]reload
Controls whether or not MESS treats a second button input from a lightgun as a
reload signal. In this case, MESS will report the gun's position as (0,MAX) with
the trigger held, which is equivalent to an offscreen reload. This is only needed
for systems that required you to shoot offscreen to reload, and then only if your
gun does not support off screen reloads. The default is OFF (-nooffscreen_reload).
-joystick_map, -joymap map
Controls how joystick values map to digital joystick controls. See
/usr/share/doc/mame-common/config.txt for full details on joymap format.
-joystick_deadzone, -joy_deadzone, -jdz value
If you play with an analog joystick, the center can drift a little.
joystick_deadzone tells how far along an axis you must move before the axis starts
to change. This option expects a float in the range of 0.0 to 1.0. Where 0 is the
center of the joystick and 1 is the outer limit. The default is 0.3.
-joystick_saturation, -joy_saturation, -jsat value
If you play with an analog joystick, the ends can drift a little, and may not match
in the +/- directions. joystick_saturation tells how far along an axis movement
change will be accepted before it reaches the maximum range. This option expects a
float in the range of 0.0 to 1.0, where 0 is the center of the joystick and 1 is
the outer limit. The default is 0.85.
-natural, -nat
Allows user to specify whether or not to use a natural keyboard. This allows you
to start your game or system in a 'native' mode, depending on your region, allowing
compatability for non-"QWERTY" style keyboards. The default is OFF (-nonatural).
-uimodekey, -umk
Specifies the key used to toggle between full and partial UI mode.
-keymap
Enable keymap for non-QWERTY keyboards. Used in conjunction with -keymap_file.
-keymap_file keymap_file
Specifies the full path to the keymap file to be used. A few keymap files are
available in /usr/share/games/mess/keymaps.
-joy_idx[0-8] joystick
With these options you can assign a joystick to a specific index in MESS. Even if
the kernel will list the joysticks in a different order on the next boot, MESS will
still see the joystick as e.g. "Joystick 2". Use mame -v to see which joysticks are
recognized. Default is 'auto'.
-sixaxis
Use special handling for PS3 Sixaxis controllers.
-lightgun_index[1-8]
Map lightgun to specific index in MESS.
-videodriver, -vd x11|directfb|auto
SDL video driver to use; auto selects SDL default.
-audiodriver, -ad alsa|arts|auto
SDL audio driver to use; auto selects SDL default.
-gl_lib alsa|arts|auto
Alternative libGL.so to use; auto selects SDL default.
Input automatic enable options
-paddle_device, -paddle [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-adstick_device, -adstick [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-pedal_device, -pedal [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-dial_device, -dial [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-trackball_device, -trackball [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-lightgun_device [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-positional_device [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-mouse_device [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
Each of these options controls auto-enabling the mouse, or joystick depending on
the presence of a particular class of analog control for a particular system. For
example, if you specify the option -paddle mouse, then any system that has a paddle
control will automatically enable mouse controls just as if you had explicitly
specified -mouse. Note that these controls override the values of -[no]mouse,
-[no]joystick, etc.
Debugging options
-[no]log
Creates a file called error.log which contains all of the internal log messages
generated by the MESS core and system drivers. The default is OFF (-nolog).
-[no]verbose, -[no]v
Displays internal diagnostic information. This information is very useful for
debugging problems with your configuration. Please use the -verbose option and
include the resulting information when reporting bugs. The default is OFF
(-noverbose).
-update_in_pause
Enables updating the screen bitmap while the system is paused. This is useful for
debuggin in some scenarios (and gets in the way in others).
-[no]debug, -[no]d
Activates the integrated debugger. By default, the debugger is entered by pressing
the tilde (~) key during emulation. It is also entered immediately at startup. The
default is OFF (-nodebug).
-debugscript filename
Specifies a file that contains a list of debugger commands to execute immediately
upon startup. The default is NULL (no commands).
-debug_internal, -di
Use the internal debugger for debugging.
-[no]oslog
Outputs the error.log data to the system debugger. This can be used at the same
time as -log to output the log data to both targets as well. Default is OFF
(-nooslog).
Misc options
-drc Enable DRC cpu core if available. Enabled by default.
-drc_use_c
Force DRC use C backend.
-bios biosname
Specifies the specific BIOS to use with the current system, for systems that make
use of a BIOS. The -listxml output will list all of the possible BIOS names for a
system. The default is 'default'.
-[no]cheat, -[no]c
Enables the reading of the cheat database, if present, and the Cheat menu in the
user interface. The default is OFF (-nocheat).
-[no]skip_gameinfo
Forces MESS to skip displaying the system info screen. The default is OFF
(-noskip_gameinfo).
-uifont fontname
Specifies the name of a BDF font file to use for the UI font. If this font cannot
be found or cannot be loaded, the system will fall back to its built-in UI font. On
some platforms fontname can be a system font name instead of a BDF font file. The
default is 'default' (use the OSD-determined default font).
-ramsize, -ram
Size of RAM (if supported by driver).
-confirm_quit
Display confirm quit screen on exit.
-ui_mouse
Display UI mouse cursor.
-autoboot_command, -ab command
Command string to execute after machine boot (in quotes ""). To issue a quote to
the emulation, use """ in the string. Using \n will issue a create a new line,
issuing what was typed prior as a command. Example: -autoboot_command "load
"""$""",8,1\n".
-autoboot_delay [seconds]
Timer delay (in seconds) to trigger command execution on autoboot. Default is 2.
-autoboot_script, -script [filename.lua]
File containing scripting to execute after machine boot.
-http Enable local http server. Disabled by default.
-http_port port
Internal webserver listener port.
-http_path path
Path to web files. Default is /usr/share/games/mess/web.
-newui, -nu
Use the new MESS UI.
-watchdog
Specifies a number of seconds after which MESS should automatically exit if it
detects that the emulation has locked up.
SEE ALSO
castool(1), chdman(1), imgtool(1), testkeys(1)
LEGAL NOTICE
Please visit the MAME website for some important legal information:
http://mamedev.org/legal.html