MESS - mdeguzis/RetroRig GitHub Wiki

Table of Contents

About

This section contains any supplimental documentation for running games using the MESS emulator in RetroRig. There is a TON of documentation for MESS on the main website, so this section serves only to help you run games with RetroRig, rather than blast you with information you don't need.

Configuration File Locations

The configuraiton files for this component are located at:

/home/your_user/.retrorig/.mess

BIOS files

A substantial portion of supported MESS systems require BIOS files to function properly. Generally this involves a zip file, created by you or someone else, that contains all the individual files needed to run the system. I will not provide these, as it is legally questionable. If you do possess these, you can load them with the "BIOS Loader" under the Settings Menu in RetroRig, or manually (seen below). I will note what I have encountered as required files.

Placing the BIOS files manually

Simply copy the zip archive into BIOS/MESS directory under the RetroRig install directory. You can also place these files into the sytem folder, such as under RetroRig/ROMs/Neo-Geo/CDZ

In testing I have found these to be required BIOS files:

Neo Geo (AES)
  • 000-lo.lo
  • neo-epo.bin
Neo Geo (CD)
  • 000-lo.lo
  • neocd.bin

Please see the "Checking/Verifying the required BIOS files" section below if you still have issues identifying the required files. I can tell you first hand, that if you have the files above, often times your ROM is not for the AES/CD/CDZ, or improperly made. The verify function is the most useful option flag you can have at your arsenal. Use it well :)

Creating the zip archive

For best results, I have found it is best to place the original zip archive (if you have a bulk zip archive of BIOS files for Neo Geo) on the target machine. From there, extract the archive with the typical Archive Roller, or via the command line. Finally, create your new archive (e.g. aes.zip) using the required files.

I have found this method to be the best way to get MESS to detect the proper files. At times, copying the internal files over to my target machine, then creating a zip archive, caused MESS to not find the required files. Just my personal experience.

Checking/Verifying the required BIOS files

Once you have placed your BIOS archive, simply try to run a game using a system of choice. MESS will either run successfully, or crash and inform you what files are missing. You can use this about to determine what files you need in your zip archive. You can verify the integrity of a BIOS archive file by running a command, such as this for Neo-Geo CDZ:

mess neocdz -verify

If the ROMset (what the BIOS files are realistically called) is OK, the output will reflect as such. If not, the same set of errors if you try to run a game without the necessary files will show. Interestingly enough, the -verify option can still pass if you load the correct zip file, but the CRC fails. This happened to me during testing. It is a very good idea to create the archive in the same source directory as the individual BIOS files, especially if you obtained a large archive of them as the original "pack."

Please see the links in the Additional Reading section below for more guidance.

Running Games under MESS

MESS has a full command line routine built in, if you wish to run games yourself on the command line. The basic structure goes like this:

mess [system] [options] [path_to_game]

For example, say I wanted to run a Neo-Geo CDZ game:

mess neocdz -cdrom ROMS/Neo-Geo/CDZ/AeroFighters/AeroFighters.cue
MESS console support

Notice that the option is "CD-ROM," as well as the extension being ".cue" MESS uses "codenames" for each of the systems it supports. It is a good idea to bookmark the Supported MESS systems page so you know the proper code names for the consoles. Keep in mind, this information is only intended for testing purposes, as all of this is preconfigured in RetroRig for supported consoles.

MESS option flags

Above, you can see some systems, such as Neo-GEO CDZ, use CD-ROM files. In that particular case, a few extensions are available, but ours uses a ".cue" extension (CD ROM "cue sheet"). Most "cart-based" systems like the Commodore 64 (or if RetroRig used MESS for SNES support) will use a "-cart" option flag such as:

mess c64 -cart1 ROMs/Commodore\ 64/game.zip

Other options include:

  • -cart
  • -cart1
  • -flop
  • -flop1
  • -cdrom

Please see the links in the Additional Reading section below for more guidance.

Editing the Gamepad Controls

Currently, the support gamepads allow the configuration menu to either be called with TAB or with the Right Trigger on the gamepad (R2 for PS3 Controllers). Here, you can reassign buttons or correct any control you want.

Console/System-Specific Notes

This section contains notes regarding supported consoles or systems using the MESS emulator. Here, you can find notes about emulation quirks, tips, and tricks. You can also find compatibility notes here pertaining to use of the system. Most of this information is direct from the MESS team's wiki.

Neo Geo AES

Overall emulation: good
Color emulation: good
Sound emulation: good
Graphics emulation: good
Savestates: supported

Neo Geo CDZ (US)

Overall emulation: good
Color emulation: good
Sound emulation: good
Graphics emulation: good
Savestates: unsupported by MESS team

Additional Reading

Troubleshooting

This section will contain any issues that are common to users and the MESS emulator system. Otherwise, please enter an issues ticket and we will work with your from there.

Save State Loading crashes

Affects: Neo Geo CDZ/AES Description: Currently, loading a save state after exiting and restarting the MESS emulator crashes the game more often than not. The team is currently evaluating some options, but if you require proper save states and loading, it is suggested to play the the MVS game version under the MAME emulation system.