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mess.ini Contents

With Comments and Descriptions

Core Configuration Options

Option Default Value Description
readconfig 1 Enable loading of initialization files

Core Search Path Options

Option Default Value Description
rompath roms Path to romsets and hard disk images
hashpath hash Path to hash files
samplepath sample Path to samplesets
artpath artwork Path to artwork files
ctrlrpath ctrlr Path to controller-specific configuration files
inipath .;ini Path to initialization files
fontpath . Path to font files
cheatpath cheat Path to cheat files
crsshairpath crsshair Path to crosshair files

Core Output Directory Options

Option Default Value Description
cfg_directory cfg Directory to save configurations
nvram_directory nvram Directory to save non-volatile RAM contents
memcard_directory memcard Directory to save memory card contents
input_directory inp Directory to save input device logs
state_directory sta Directory to save states
snapshot_directory snap Directory to save screenshots
diff_directory diff Directory to save hard drive image difference files
comment_directory comments Directory to save debugger comments

Core State/Playback Options

Option Default Value Description
state Saved state to load
autosave 0 Enable automatic restore at startup, and automatic save at exit time
playback Playback an input file
record Record an input file
mngwrite Optional filename to write a .mng movie of the current session
aviwrite Optional filename to write an .avi movie of the current session
wavwrite Optional filename to write a .wav file of the current session
snapname &g/%i Override of the default snapshot/movie naming
snapsize auto Specify snapshot/movie resolution
snapview standard Specify snapshot/movie view

Core Performance Options

Option Default Value Description
autoframeskip 0 Enable automatic frameskip selection
frameskip 0 Set frameskip to fixed value, from 0 to 11
seconds_to_run 0 Number of emulated seconds to run before automatically exiting
throttle 1 Enable throttling to keep game running in sync with real time
sleep 1 Enable sleeping, which gives time back to other applications when idle
speed 1.0 Controls the speed of gameplay, relative to realtime
refreshspeed 0 Automatically adjusts the speed of gameplay to keep the refresh rate lower than the screen

Core Rotation Options

Option Default Value Description
rotate 1 Rotate the game screen according to the system's orientation
ror 0 Rotate screen clockwise 90 degrees
rol 0 Rotate screen counterclockwise 90 degrees
autoror 0 Automatically rotate screen clockwise 90 degrees if vertical
autorol 0 Automatically rotate screen counterclockwise 90 degrees if vertical
flipx 0 Flip screen left-right
flipy 0 Flip screen upside-down

Core Artwork Options

Option Default Value Description
artwork_crop 0 Crop artwork to game screen size
use_backdrops 1 Enable backdrops if artwork is enabled and available
use_overlays 1 Enable overlays if artwork is enabled and available
use_bezels 1 Enable bezels if artwork is enabled and available

Core Screen Options

Option Default Value Description
brightness 1.0 Default system screen brightness correction
contrast 1.0 Default system screen contrast correction
gamma 1.0 Default system screen gamma correction
pause_brightness 0.65 Amount to scale the screen brightness when paused

Core Vector Options

Option Default Value Description
antialias 1 Use antialiasing when drawing vectors
beam 1.0 Set vector beam width
flicker 0 Set vector flicker effect

Core Sound Options

Option Default Value Description
sound 1 Enable sound output
samplerate 48000 Set sound output sample rate in Hz
samples 1 Enable the use of external samples if available
volume 0 Sound volume attenuation in dB

Core Input Options

Option Default Value Description
coin_lockout 1 Enable coin lockouts to actually lock out coins
ctrlr Preconfigure for specified controller
mouse 0 Enable mouse input
joystick 1 Enable joystick input
lightgun 0 Enable lightgun input
multikeyboard 0 Enable separate input from each keyboard device (if present)
multimouse 0 Enable separate input from each mouse device (if present)
steadykey 0 Enable steadykey support
offscreen_reload 0 Convert lightgun button #2 into offscreen reload
joystick_map auto Explicit joystick map
joystick_deadzone 0.3 Center deadzone range for joystick where change is ignored
joystick_saturation 0.85 End of axis saturation range for joystick where change is ignored

Core Input Automatic Enable Options

Option Default Value Description
paddle_device keyboard Enable (keyboard/mouse/joystick) if a paddle control is present
adstick_device keyboard Enable (keyboard/mouse/joystick) if an analog joystick control is present
pedal_device keyboard Enable (keyboard/mouse/joystick) if a pedal control is present
dial_device keyboard Enable (keyboard/mouse/joystick) if a dial control is present
trackball_device keyboard Enable (keyboard/mouse/joystick) if a trackball control is present
lightgun_device keyboard Enable (keyboard/mouse/joystick) if a lightgun control is present
positional_device keyboard Enable (keyboard/mouse/joystick) if a positional control is present
mouse_device mouse Enable (keyboard/mouse/joystick) if a mouse control is present

Core Debugging Options

Option Default Value Description
log 0 Generate an error.log file
verbose 0 Display additional diagnostic information
update_in_pause 0 Keep calling video updates while in pause
debug 0 Enable/disable debugger
debugscript Script for debugger

Core Misc Options

Option Default Value Description
bios Select the system BIOS to use
cheat 0 Enable cheat subsystem
skip_gameinfo 0 Skip displaying the information screen at startup

Debugging Options

Option Default Value Description
oslog 0 Output error.log data to the system debugger

Windows Debugging Options

Option Default Value Description
oslog 0 Output error.log data to the system debugger
watchdog 0 Force the program to terminate if no updates within specified number of seconds

Performance Options

Option Default Value Description
multithreading 0 Enable multithreading; this enables rendering and blitting on a separate thread
sdlvideofps 0 Show SDL video performance

Windows Performance Options

Option Default Value Description
priority 0 Thread priority for the main game thread; range from -15 to 1
multithreading 0 Enable multithreading; this enables rendering and blitting on a separate thread

Video Options

Option Default Value Description
video soft Video output method: soft or opengl
numscreens 1 Number of screens to create; SDLMESS only supports 1 at this time
window 0 Enable window mode; otherwise, full screen mode is assumed
maximize 1 Default to maximized windows; otherwise, windows will be minimized
keepaspect 1 Constrain to the proper aspect ratio
unevenstretch 1 Allow non-integer stretch factors
effect none Name of a PNG file to use for visual effects, or none
centerh 1 Center horizontally within the view area
centerv 1 Center vertically within the view area
waitvsync 0 Enable waiting for the start of VBLANK before flipping screens; reduces tearing effects
scalemode none Scale mode: none, async, yv12, yuy2, yv12x2, yuy2x2 (-video soft only)

Windows Video Options

Option Default Value Description
video d3d Video output method: none, gdi, ddraw, or d3d
numscreens 1 Number of screens to create; usually, you want just one
window 0 Enable window mode; otherwise, full screen mode is assumed
maximize 1 Default to maximized windows; otherwise, windows will be minimized
keepaspect 1 Constrain to the proper aspect ratio
prescale 1 Scale screen rendering by this amount in software
effect none Name of a PNG file to use for visual effects, or none
waitvsync 0 Enable waiting for the start of VBLANK before flipping screens; reduces tearing effects
syncrefresh 0 Enable using the start of VBLANK for throttling instead of the game time

OpenGL-Specific Options

Option Default Value Description
filter 1 Enable bilinear filtering on screen output
prescale 1 Scale screen rendering by this amount in software
gl_forcepow2texture 0 Force power of two textures
gl_notexturerect 0 Don't use OpenGL GL_ARB_texture_rectangle
gl_vbo 1 Enable OpenGL VBO, if available
gl_pbo 1 Enable OpenGL PBO, if available
gl_glsl 0 Enable OpenGL GLSL, if available
gl_glsl_filter 1 Enable OpenGL GLSL filtering instead of FF filtering (0 == plain, 1 == bilinear)
glsl_shader_mame0 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 0
glsl_shader_mame1 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 1
glsl_shader_mame2 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 2
glsl_shader_mame3 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 3
glsl_shader_mame4 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 4
glsl_shader_mame5 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 5
glsl_shader_mame6 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 6
glsl_shader_mame7 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 7
glsl_shader_mame8 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 8
glsl_shader_mame9 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader set MAME bitmap 9
glsl_shader_screen0 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 0
glsl_shader_screen1 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 1
glsl_shader_screen2 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 2
glsl_shader_screen3 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 3
glsl_shader_screen4 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 4
glsl_shader_screen5 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 5
glsl_shader_screen6 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 6
glsl_shader_screen7 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 7
glsl_shader_screen8 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 8
glsl_shader_screen9 none Custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 9
gl_glsl_vid_attr 1 Enable OpenGL GLSL handling of brightness and contrast. Better RGB game performance for free

DirectDraw-Specific Options

Option Default Value Description
hwstretch 1 Enable hardware stretching

Direct3D-Specific Options

Option Default Value Description
d3dversion 9 Specify the preferred Direct3D version (8 or 9)
filter 1 Enable bilinear filtering on screen output

Per-Window Video Options

Option Default Value Description
screen auto Explicit name of the first screen; auto here will try to make a best guess
aspect auto Aspect ratio for all screens; auto here will try to make a best guess
resolution auto Preferred resolution for all screens; format is <width>x<height>[@<refreshrate>] or auto
view auto Preferred view for all screens
screen0 auto Explicit name of the first screen; auto here will try to make a best guess
aspect0 auto Aspect ratio of the first screen; auto here will try to make a best guess
resolution0 auto Preferred resolution of the first screen; format is <width>x<height>[@<refreshrate>] or auto
view0 auto Preferred view for the first screen
screen1 auto Explicit name of the second screen; auto here will try to make a best guess
aspect1 auto Aspect ratio of the second screen; auto here will try to make a best guess
resolution1 auto Preferred resolution of the second screen; format is <width>x<height>[@<refreshrate>] or auto
view1 auto Preferred view for the second screen
screen2 auto Explicit name of the third screen; auto here will try to make a best guess
aspect2 auto Aspect ratio of the third screen; auto here will try to make a best guess
resolution2 auto Preferred resolution of the third screen; format is <width>x<height>[@<refreshrate>] or auto
view2 auto Preferred view for the third screen
screen3 auto Explicit name of the fourth screen; auto here will try to make a best guess
aspect3 auto Aspect ratio of the fourth screen; auto here will try to make a best guess
resolution3 auto Preferred resolution of the fourth screen; format is <width>x<height>[@<refreshrate>] or auto
view3 auto Preferred view for the fourth screen

Full Screen Options

Option Default Value Description
switchres 0 Enable resolution switching
useallheads 0 Split full screen image across monitors

Windows Full Screen Options

Option Default Value Description
triplebuffer 0 Enable triple buffering
switchres 0 Enable resolution switching
full_screen_brightness 1.0 Brightness value in full screen mode
full_screen_contrast 1.0 Contrast value in full screen mode
full_screen_gamma 1.0 Gamma value in full screen mode

Sound Options

Option Default Value Description
audio_latency 3 Set audio latency (increase to reduce glitches, decrease for responsiveness)

Windows Sound Options

Option Default Value Description
audio_latency 2 Set audio latency (increase to reduce glitches, decrease for responsiveness)

SDL Keyboard Mapping

Option Default Value Description
keymap 0 Enable keymap
keymap_file keymap.dat Keymap filename
uimodekey ITEM_ID_SCRLOCK Key to toggle MESS keyboard mode

SDL Joystick Mapping

Option Default Value Description
remapjoys 0 Enable physical to logical joystick mapping
remapjoyfile joymap.dat Joymap filename
sixaxis 0 Use special handling for PS3 Sixaxis controllers

Windows Input Device Options

Option Default Value Description
dual_lightgun 0 Enable dual lightgun input

SDL Low-level Driver Options

Option Default Value Description
videodriver auto SDL video driver to use (x11, directfb, … or auto for SDL default)
audiodriver auto SDL audio driver to use (alsa, arts, … or auto for SDL default)
gl_lib auto Alternative libGL.so to use; auto for system default

MESS Specific Options

Option Default Value Description
ramsize Size of RAM (if supported by driver)
writeconfig 0 Writes configuration to <driver>.ini on exit
skip_warnings 0 Skips displaying the warnings screen
natural 0 Specifies whether to use natural keyboard mode or not

SDL MESS Specific Options

Option Default Value Description
None at the moment!!!

Windows MESS Specific Options

Option Default Value Description
newui 0 Use the new MESS UI
mess/mess.ini.txt · Last modified: 2013/08/10 03:47 by stiletto