MAME 0.197
25 Apr 2018
For our April release, we’re bringing even more elusive electronic
esoterica to light. MAME 0.197 finally includes support for the
1987 version of the Spanish quiz game Master Boy, believed to be
Gaelco’s first release. There are now drivers for several Neo-Geo
MVS variants, exposing different capabilities. Lamp outputs are
now supported for The Irritating Maze, bringing the game to life
a little more. We’ve added four more Tiger LCD games, all based on
licensed IP: Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Independence Day, and
Transformers – Generation 2.
The Sega Model 2 improvements keep coming, with Rail Chase 2 now
working. With its protection MCU emulated, Capcom’s F-1 Dream is
also working. MAME 0.197 adds support for alternate versions and
bootlegs of a long list of systems, including Crazy Bonus 2002,
Explosive Breaker, Fidelity Excel 68000, Lup Lup Puzzle, Pochi and
Nyaa, Renegade, and Silkworm. In addition, there are graphical
improvements to Sega ST-V/Saturn, and Magical Tetris Challenge.
There are some nice improvements for computer emulation this month,
too. The Acorn Electron has improved video handling and support
for the Mega Games Cartridge. The NEC PC-98 CD-ROM software list
has been updated with the latest dumps and compatibility status –
recent emulation improvements mean more fully supported titles.
You can now boot HP-BASIC cartridges on the HP9000/340 series.
MAME 0.196
28 Mar 2018
MAME 0.196, our March release, is here just in time for Easter,
and it’s packed with all the goodness you’ve come to expect. In a
very exciting development, Team Caps0ff have extracted the C-chip
data for Volfied, Superman, Rainbow Islands, and most importantly,
Bonze Adventure. This cleanly fixes some of the most long-standing
emulation issues in MAME. The improvements to Sega Model 2 have
continued, with Virtua Fighter 2 and Motor Raid now considered
working. Other Model 2 games are greatly improved as well.
For fans of 8-bit home computers, MAME 0.196 has improved ZX Spectrum
family emulation, fixing many graphical glitches. A QuikLoad option
has been added to several CP/M-80 machines, allowing .COM files to
be loaded directly after the operating system has booted. Emulated
IEEE-488 (GPIB) can now be tunnelled over sockets, opening up the
possibility to simulate peripherals outside MAME. Interpro progress
has continued, and is now at the point where you can boot the
rebuild floppy.
Other new working arcade games include Big Buck Hunter, an older
joystick-controlled version of Ghox, and a rare unprotected version
of Opa Opa. With some fixes to our vector maths, War: The Final
Assault is working, and Gunpey has been made playable using
decompressed sprite data extracted from a working board. New LCD
hand-helds include Dennis the Menace, Double Dragon 3, Jurassic
Park, Spider-Man, The Addams Family, The Flash, and X-Men - Project
X.
In an emulation first, MAME 0.196 supports QSound DSP emulation.
For now, it’s only enabled for the vgmplay driver by default, and
it requires a fairly fast computer to emulate at full speed. It
will be enabled by default when system requirements are a bit more
modest. The SH-4 recompiler has been enabled by default for
Dreamcast-derived systems, giving substantial performance improvements.
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