with portions from MacMAME by Aaron Giles and John Butler.
Important changes (in b3) :
If you used Clear/NumLock to enable and disable the emulator keys, note that you should now simulteanously press Ctrl and Clear/NumLock instead.
What is MESS╩?
In a nutshell, MESS attempts to emulate as closely as possible the original hardware of the consoles and computer systems. As we discover how a system works, support for it is added to the emulator. This is happening at a rapid pace, so be sure to check back often for the latest release of MESS. MacMESS is based in large part on MacMAME, so the interface is mostly the same.
For a complete list of acknowledgements, please check the file 'MESS.TXT' that is in the Documentation folder -- it contains the instructions, thank-you's and info for the current MESS release.
The source code is freely distributed so if you see any bugs or areas of improvement in these modules, please let us know!
How do I use MESS╩?
Ñ Important considerations╩:
To run the emulations, you will need BIOS or cartridge or disk images, in a package that MESS understands. Most systems require BIOS images, but a few consoles do not. *ALL* systems which do not require a BIOS image require some cartridge image. (Note that the pdp1 emulator is deceptive - it looks as if it requires a cartridge image, but it really requires a ROM image packaged as a BIOS image (although it is no BIOS), and will ignore the cartridge image.)
MESS looks for BIOS ROM files in a folder called "Roms" that resides in the same directory as the application. It currently supports 2 different styles of ROMs - .zip files (common on PC sites) and folders with small ROM dumps in them.
Cartridge and disk images, on the other hand, can be located anywhere╩; you select them in a standard file open dialog. MacMESS supports gzipped images for these files.
Ñ Start-up╩:
When launching MESS, you will get a dialog. You must select the system you want to emulate; you may select several other options.
The list on the left enables you to select a system. The system list can be customized with some pop-up menus you will find in upper-left and lower-left parts of the dialog. Note that some options may hide some systems which are actually available (i.e. hiding clones should generally NOT be a good idea).
On the right, there are several options. They are scattered on several tabs. The most important tab is the MESS tab; it allows you to select cartridge, disk and tape images (provided the selected system emulation support them !). You may change your cartridge selection at a later date. Note that some console systems REQUIRE a cartridge image╩: in this case you must select a cartridge NOW.
Note that you can compress image files in GNUZip (gz) format╩: MacMESS will uncompress them on the fly. However, compressed images currently cannot be written to - this will be addressed in the future.
Ñ Emulation time╩:
In short : press ESC to return pause the emulation and enable the UI again. If ESC does not work (it is generally the case when emulating computers), press Scroll Lock (F14), then ESC. If you keyboard has no Scroll Lock key, press Ctrl and NumLock (Clear) simultaneously, then ESC.
Here's a quick breakdown of the keys:
1 & 2 (on main keyboard, NOT numeric keypad) - 1 and 2 player start (only in some console systems)
5 & 6 (on main keyboard, NOT numeric keypad) - 1 and 2 player select (only in some console systems)
ESC - Pause
TAB - access configuration menu
F3 - reset the emulated machine.
F4 - show the charsets.
F8 - cycle through frameskip options
F9 - cycle through the volume levels.
F10 - toggle speed throttling
F11 - toggle FPS
F12 - save a screenshot
F14 (Scroll Lock) or Ctrl + Clear (NumLock) - enable/disable the keystokes above (useful if the emulated system uses some keys MESS uses)
The keys may be configured for each system. Press TAB to get to the configuration menu to change the key settings and also view the key settings for each system.
Note that some other options in the TAB menus are REALLY interesting. Tape Control, for instance, is indispensable if you want to use tape image. It is most unfortunate that it is so user-UNfriendly :-/ .
Ñ Warning╩:
Open New Game will always abort your current session. No warning, nothing.
Common Questions
Q: I can only see a few systems in the main system selection dialog! What's wrong?
A: Most systems need a system ROM to do anything at all. In order not to clutter the system list, MESS won't display such systems if it does not find its ROMs in the ROMs folder. Look around on the net for them you're sure to find the proper files. Then, put them into the ROMs folder.
Q: Some entries in the system list are marked with a red cross. What does it mean╩?
A: It means these systems are known not to work at all. So, do not complain if these systems do not display anything useful or lock your computer.
Q: When I start a game, it says "Image Load failed"! What's wrong?
A: MESS is looking for a specific ROM file for that game but it did not find it. Look around on the net for it you're sure to find the proper files.
Q: Where can I talk about MESS on the internet?
A: A web-based message board is running on the MESS home page at <http://mess.emuverse.com/>. If you use IRC, there is a general emulation channel at #emu. If Usenet news is your thing, try comp.emulators.misc or alt.emulators.console.
Q: The file selector in the configuration menu accessed with the "Tab" key does not work.
A: Choose "Swap cart/disk/tape" in the File menu, and you will get similar functionalities with a standard, user-friendly interface.
Wanted:
Ñ If you have technical details of how a system works that you'd like to see, feel free to write a driver for it╩! We'd be more than happy to include it in the next MESS distribution.
Known Mac-specific Issues:
Ñ Writing to gz files is not supported.
Ñ The Sega Genesis driver is flaky. Use with caution.
