.TH mess 6 "December 6, 2008" "" "mess" .SH NAME mess \- runs MESS(tm) with SDL library .SH SYNOPSIS \fBmess\fP [system] [device] [software] [options] .SH DESCRIPTION \fBMESS\fP is an acronym that stands for Multiple Emulator Super System and is based on MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator). \fBSDLMESS\fP is the official Linux port of \fBMESS\fP using the \fBSDL\fP (Simple Direct Media Layer) library. .PP \fBmess\fP will more or less faithfully reproduce computer and console systems on a PC. \fBmess\fP can currently emulate over 250 systems from the last 5 decades. .br \fBmess\fP emulates the hardware of the systems and sometimes utilizes \fBROM\fP images to load programs and games. Therefore, these systems are NOT simulations, but the actual emulations of the hardware. .br \fBSuch ROMs, like any other commercial software, are copyrighted material and it is therefore illegal to use them if you don't own the original machines\fP. Needless to say, ROMs are not distributed together with mess. Distribution of mess together with ROM images is a violation of copyright law and should be promptly reported to the authors so that appropriate legal action can be taken. .SH OPTIONS .PP .B MESS GENERAL OPTIONS: .B core configuration options .IP -readconfig enable loading of configuration files .PP .B core search path options .IP -rompath path to ROMsets and hard disk images .IP -hashpath path to hash files .IP -samplepath path to samplesets .IP -artpath path to artwork files .IP -ctrlrpath path to controller definitions .IP -inipath path to ini files .IP -fontpath path to font files .IP -cheatpath path to cheat files .PP .B core output directory options .IP -cfg_directory directory to save configurations .IP -nvram_directory directory to save nvram contents .IP -memcard_directory directory to save memory card contents .IP -input_directory directory to save input device logs .IP -state_directory directory to save states .IP -snapshot_directory directory to save screenshots .IP -diff_directory directory to save hard drive image difference files .IP -comment_directory directory to save debugger comments .PP .B core state/playback options .IP -state saved state to load .IP -autosave enable automatic restore at startup, and automatic save at exit time .IP -playback playback an input file .IP -record record an input file .IP -mngwrite optional filename to write a MNG movie of the current session .IP -aviwrite optional filename to write an AVI movie of the current session .IP -wavwrite optional filename to write a WAV file of the current session .IP -snapname override of the default snapshot/movie naming; %g == gamename, %i == index .IP -snapsize specify snapshot/movie resolution (x) or 'auto' to use minimal size .IP -snapview specify snapshot/movie view or 'internal' to use internal pixel-aspect views .PP .B core performance options .IP -autoframeskip enable automatic frameskip selection .IP -frameskip set frameskip to fixed value, 0-12 (autoframeskip must be disabled) .IP -seconds_to_run number of emulated seconds to run before automatically exiting .IP -throttle enable throttling to keep game running in sync with real time .IP -sleep enable sleeping, which gives time back to other applications when idle .IP -speed controls the speed of gameplay, relative to realtime; smaller numbers are slower .IP -refreshspeed automatically adjusts the speed of gameplay to keep the refresh rate lower than the screen .PP .B core rotation options .IP -rotate rotate the game screen according to the game's orientation needs it .IP -ror rotate screen clockwise 90 degrees .IP -rol rotate screen counterclockwise 90 degrees .IP -autoror automatically rotate screen clockwise 90 degrees if vertical .IP -autorol automatically rotate screen counterclockwise 90 degrees if vertical .IP -flipx flip screen left-right .IP -flipy flip screen upside-down .PP .B core artwork options .IP -artwork_crop crop artwork to game screen size .IP -use_backdrops enable backdrops if artwork is enabled and available .IP -use_overlays enable overlays if artwork is enabled and available .IP -use_bezels enable bezels if artwork is enabled and available .PP .B core screen options .IP -brightness default game screen brightness correction .IP -contrast default game screen contrast correction .IP -gamma default game screen gamma correction .IP -pause_brightness amount to scale the screen brightness when paused .PP .B core vector options .IP -antialias use antialiasing when drawing vectors .IP -beam set vector beam width .IP -flicker set vector flicker effect .PP .B core sound options .IP -sound enable sound output .IP -samplerate set sound output sample rate .IP -samples enable the use of external samples if available .IP -volume sound volume in decibels (-32 min, 0 max) .PP .B core input options .IP -coin_lockout enable coin lockouts to actually lock out coins .IP -ctrlr preconfigure for specified controller .IP -mouse enable mouse input .IP -joystick enable joystick input .IP -lightgun enable lightgun input .IP -multikeyboard enable separate input from each keyboard device (if present) .IP -multimouse enable separate input from each mouse device (if present) .IP -steadykey enable steadykey support .IP -offscreen_reload convert lightgun button 2 into offscreen reload .IP -joystick_map explicit joystick map, or auto to auto-select .IP -joystick_deadzone center deadzone range for joystick where change is ignored (0.0 center, 1.0 end) .IP -joystick_saturation end of axis saturation range for joystick where change is ignored (0.0 center, 1.0 end) .PP .B core input automatic enable options .IP -paddle_device enable (keyboard|mouse|joystick) if a paddle control is present .IP -adstick_device enable (keyboard|mouse|joystick) if an analog joystick control is present .IP -pedal_device enable (keyboard|mouse|joystick) if a pedal control is present .IP -dial_device enable (keyboard|mouse|joystick) if a dial control is present .IP -trackball_device enable (keyboard|mouse|joystick) if a trackball control is present .IP -lightgun_device enable (keyboard|mouse|joystick) if a lightgun control is present .IP -positional_device enable (keyboard|mouse|joystick) if a positional control is present .IP -mouse_device enable (keyboard|mouse|joystick) if a mouse control is present .PP .B core debugging options .IP -log generate an error.log file .IP -verbose display additional diagnostic information .IP -update_in_pause keep calling video updates while in pause .IP -debug enable/disable debugger .IP -debugscript script for debugger .PP .B core misc options .IP -bios select the system BIOS to use .IP -cheat enable cheat subsystem .IP -skip_gameinfo skip displaying the information screen at startup .PP .B debugging options .IP -oslog output error.log data to the system debugger .PP .B performance options .IP -multithreading enable multithreading; this enables rendering and blitting on a separate thread .IP -sdlvideofps show sdl video performance .PP .B video options .IP -video video output method: soft or opengl .IP -numscreens number of screens to create; SDLMAME only supports 1 at this time .IP -window enable window mode; otherwise, full screen mode is assumed .IP -maximize default to maximized windows; otherwise, windows will be minimized .IP -keepaspect constrain to the proper aspect ratio .IP -unevenstretch allow non-integer stretch factors .IP -effect name of a PNG file to use for visual effects, or 'none' .IP -centerh center horizontally within the view area .IP -centerv center vertically within the view area .IP -waitvsync enable waiting for the start of VBLANK before flipping screens; reduces tearing effects .IP -scalemode Scale mode: none, async, yv12, yuy2, yv12x2, yuy2x2 (-video soft only) .PP .B opengl.-specific options .IP -filter enable bilinear filtering on screen output .IP -prescale scale screen rendering by this amount in software .IP -gl_forcepow2texture force power of two textures (default no) .IP -gl_notexturerect don't use OpenGL GL_ARB_texture_rectangle (default on) .IP -gl_vbo enable OpenGL VBO, if available (default on) .IP -gl_pbo enable OpenGL PBO, if available (default on) .IP -gl_glsl enable OpenGL GLSL, if available (default off) .IP -gl_glsl_filter enable OpenGL GLSL filtering instead of FF filtering 0-plain, 1-bilinear (default) .IP -glsl_shader_mame0 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 0 .IP -glsl_shader_mame1 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 1 .IP -glsl_shader_mame2 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 2 .IP -glsl_shader_mame3 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 3 .IP -glsl_shader_mame4 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 4 .IP -glsl_shader_mame5 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 5 .IP -glsl_shader_mame6 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 6 .IP -glsl_shader_mame7 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 7 .IP -glsl_shader_mame8 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 8 .IP -glsl_shader_mame9 custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap 9 .IP -glsl_shader_screen0 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 0 .IP -glsl_shader_screen1 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 1 .IP -glsl_shader_screen2 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 2 .IP -glsl_shader_screen3 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 3 .IP -glsl_shader_screen4 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 4 .IP -glsl_shader_screen5 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 5 .IP -glsl_shader_screen6 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 6 .IP -glsl_shader_screen7 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 7 .IP -glsl_shader_screen8 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 8 .IP -glsl_shader_screen9 custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap 9 .IP -gl_glsl_vid_attr enable OpenGL GLSL handling of brightness and contrast. Better RGB game performance for free. (default) .PP .B per-window video options .IP -screen explicit name of the first screen; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -aspect aspect ratio for all screens; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -resolution preferred resolution for all screens; format is x[@] or 'auto' .IP -view preferred view for all screens .IP -screen0 explicit name of the first screen; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -aspect0 aspect ratio of the first screen; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -resolution0 preferred resolution of the first screen; format is x[@] or 'auto' .IP -view0 preferred view for the first screen .IP -screen1 explicit name of the second screen; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -aspect1 aspect ratio of the second screen; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -resolution1 preferred resolution of the second screen; format is x[@] or 'auto' .IP -view1 preferred view for the second screen .IP -screen2 explicit name of the third screen; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -aspect2 aspect ratio of the third screen; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -resolution2 preferred resolution of the third screen; format is x[@] or 'auto' .IP -view2 preferred view for the third screen .IP -screen3 explicit name of the fourth screen; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -aspect3 aspect ratio of the fourth screen; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess .IP -resolution3 preferred resolution of the fourth screen; format is x[@] or 'auto' .IP -view3 preferred view for the fourth screen .PP .B full screen options .IP -switchres enable resolution switching .IP -useallheads split full screen image across monitors .PP .B sound options .IP -audio_latency set audio latency (increase to reduce glitches, decrease for responsiveness) .PP .B sdl keyboard mapping .IP -keymap enable keymap .IP -keymap_file keymap filename .IP -uimodekey Key to toggle MESS keyboard mode .PP .B sdl joystick mapping .IP -remapjoys enable physical to logical joystick mapping .IP -remapjoyfile joymap filename .IP -sixaxis Use special handling for PS3 Sixaxis controllers .PP .B sdl lowlevel driver options .IP -videodriver sdl video driver to use ('x11', 'directfb', ... or 'auto' for SDL default .IP -audiodriver sdl audio driver to use ('alsa', 'arts', ... or 'auto' for SDL default .IP -gl_lib alternative libGL.so to use; 'auto' for system default .PP .B MESS SPECIFIC OPTIONS: .IP -ramsize size of RAM (if supported by driver) .IP -writeconfig writes configuration to (driver).ini on exit .IP -skip_warnings skip displaying the warnings screen .IP -natural specifies whether to use a natural keyboard or not .PP .B SDL MESS SPECIFIC OPTIONS: .PP .B core commands .IP -help show help message .IP -validate perform driver validation on all game drivers .PP .B configuration commands .IP -createconfig create the default configuration file .IP -showconfig display running parameters .IP -showusage show this help .PP .B frontend commands .IP -listxml all available info on driver in XML format .IP -listfull short name, full name .IP -listsource driver sourcefile .IP -listclones show clones .IP -listcrc CRC-32s .IP -listroms list required roms for a driver .IP -listsamples list optional samples for a driver .IP -verifyroms report romsets that have problems .IP -verifysamples report samplesets that have problems .IP -romident compare files with known MAME roms .IP -listdevices list available devices .SH FILES .B /usr/share/games/mess/*/ Default location for roms/, artwork/, and other read-only data for mess. Can be changed in mess.ini .TP .B $HOME/.mess Default location for writable directories. Can be changed in mess.ini .TP .B mess.ini Config file for mess. Searched for first as $HOME/.mess/mess.ini, then /etc/mess.ini .SH EXAMPLE .B mess \fI3do\fP -cdrm \fIcrashnburn.chd\fP will launch the game "Crash N' Burn" from the console "3DO". .TP .B mess \fI3do\fP -cdrm \fIcrashnburn.chd\fP -bios \fIgoldstar\fP will launch the game "Crash N' Burn" from the "3DO" console model from "Goldstar". .TP .B mess \fIn64\fP -cart \fImariokart64.v64\fP will launch the game "Mario Kart 64" from the console "Nintendo 64". .TP .B mess \fIn64\fP -cart \fImariokart64.v64\fP -inipath \fI~/.mess/mess.ini\fP will launch the game "Mario Kart 64" from the console "Nintendo 64" using a custom "mess.ini" file stored in the folder ".mess" of your home directory (usually "/home/yourusername/"). .TP .B mess -showconfig will output all the mess current configuration. .SH SEE ALSO More informations on \fBMESS\fP(tm) available at http://www.mess.org/ .br \fBSDLMESS\fP original sources are available at http://rbelmont.mameworld.info/ .SH COPYRIGHT MAME(tm) - Copyright (c) 1997-2008, Nicola Salmoria and the MAME team. .br MESS(tm) - Copyright (c) 1998-2008, Nathan Woods and the MESS team. .br SDLMESS - Copyright (c) Olivier Galibert and R. Belmont. .SH AUTHOR MAME(tm) was written by Nicola Salmoria and the MAME team. .br MESS(tm) was written by Nathan Woods and the MESS team. .br SDLMAME was written by Olivier Galibert and R. Belmont. .sp 3 This manual page was written by Ludovic Lechapt , for the Debian project but may be used by others! .sp 3 This manual page was modified by B. Watson for use with SlackBuilds.org