Home Page Forums Archives MAME OS X >> Please Help ... ROM Compatibility? (MAME 0.118)

I have a question about ROM compatibility. When I first started
using MacMAME in about 1998 or 1999, with Mac OS 9.x, it seemed
that almost every ROM was compatible (with the early versions of
MacMAME). Since then, with newer versions, fewer and fewer ROMS
seem to work with newer versions of MacMAME (I am now using
MAME OS X). I am not sure why this happens. Using the current
version of MAME OS X (0.118), I can hardly seem to get any ROMs
to work. Are ROMs changed or updated, meaning that although
they may have worked with earlier versions of MacMAME (now MAME
OS X), they will not be compatible now? If ROMs are updated or changed,
is there a list showing which ROMs have been changed and that are
either compatible or incompatible with the current version of MAME OS X?

I have become very frustrated. MacMAME (now MAME OS X) is not
the experience it used to be, and the ROM compatibility problems have
made it so that I am almost uninterested in MAME for the Mac. anymore.

Is there something I am doing wrong? Is there something I can do to
make the collection of ROMs I have compatible with MAME OS X again?
Is it something as simple perhaps as deleting a preferences file somewhere?

Please .. any help or suggestions are welcome / needed.

(One specific (although I have MANY ROMs that will NOT work now) ROM
title I have that I cannot use anymore that I would like to be able to use is
the original Sega version of OutRun from 1986. Again, this is one of MANY
ROMs that I have that I would like to use but that will not currently work.
HOW can I make ALL of the non-functioning ROMs work (as used to be the
case with early versions of MacMAME?))

In advance, thank you to anyone that can solve this problem.

This is a common query. The answer is yes, ROMs change over time. The reason is that MAME is not just about running code; it's about emulating hardware and that means that over time additional chips have been emulated that weren't previously and that means getting a new ROM zipfile that includes the ROM dump of the additional chip(s). MAME is not static; it's just something you have to get used to if you want to use newer revisions. I generally only upgrade MAME as I would patch the operating system of my computer: to take advantage of new features or bug fixes.

The best site I've found where you can track Work In Progress on an individual ROM (and therefore tell if it's had additional files added to it or alterations to included files, which will mean you need a newer copy) is MAWS:

http://www.mameworld.net/maws/

Is there any way (I hope easy) to see if any ROM that I have is
current / compatible with the version of MacMAME (or MAME OS X)
that I am using? I would guess that there are some versions of ROMS
that are not current or compatible. Is there any (easy) way to check
this?

Thank you.

Integra - seanaaron answered that question by posting a link to the mameworld/maws website that will tell you whether or not a ROM has been updated.

Go to the website, type in the ROM name or game name on the left side of the screen. After you locate the correct game, scroll down to the "data section" and check the version of MAME when the last change was made. MacMAME supports games up through .103U2. So if you are using MacMAME and the latest change on a game was version .104 or higher - it will not work on MacMAME. MAME OS X began at version .109 and is now at 118. If you are using MAME OS X and you attempt to play a game and the program quits out, you likely need to update your ROM.

Ok ... this still does not answer my question or tell me ... How can I determine if a ROM that I have found is the current ROM?

Checking MAWS tells me if a ROM has been updated, I already know that.
I still do not know how to determine if a ROM that I have found is the
current working ROM.

Sorry, this question has not been answered yet.

MAWS also tells you the size of the zipfile in KB and what files should be inside the zip. This should be enough information to help you determine if the ROM is current or not.

If you audit the game, it tells you if it there's anything missing. Since .118 automatically audits everything, just open the Info window, and it'll show you the audit results.

-Dave