This allows us to do some magic with how we store these ROM sets to save further space.Ī non-merged set is one that contains absolutely everything necessary for a given game to run in one ZIP file.

MAME is extremely versatile about where ROM data is located and is quite intelligent about looking for what it needs. Now we add the final pieces of the puzzle: non-merged, split, and merged sets. Using the above example, trying to play the USA version of Pac-Man without having the PUCKMAN.ZIP parent set will result in an error message that there are missing files. This typically comes up as an error message to the user when trying to run a Clone set without having the Parent set handy. Japanese Puckman and USA/World Pac-Man) will be clones that contain only the changed data compared to the parent set. All sets that use mostly the same chips (e.g.

In order to save space, MAME was adjusted to use a parent/clone set system.Ī given set, usually (but not necessarily) the most recent bugfixed World revision of a game, will be designated as the parent. Parents, Clones, Splitting, and Merging ¶Īs the MAME developers received their third or fourth revision of Pac-Man, with bugfixes and other code changes, they quickly discovered that nearly all of the board and chips were identical to the previously dumped version. The chips used to store the game data were not rewritable and were permanent (as long as the chip wasn't damaged or aged to death!)Īs such, a copy of the data necessary to reconstitute and replace a dead data chip on a board became known as a 'ROM image' or ROMs for short. Grouping all of the files from Puckman together will get you a ROM set of Puckman.Īn example ROM image would be the file pm1_prg1.6e stored in the Puckman ROM set. As arcade machines are much more complicated in their design, you'll typically need the data from a number of different chips on the board. For most consoles and handhelds, the individual chips are frequently (but not always) merged into a single file. What is a ROM image? ¶įor arcade games, a ROM image or file is a copy of all of the data inside a given chip on the arcade motherboard. Let's start with a simple definition of what a ROM is.

This section aims to clear up a lot of the most common questions and cover simple details you'll need to know to use MAME effectively. Handling and updating of ROMs and Sets used in MAME is probably the biggest area of confusion and frustration that MAME users will run into.

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