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[[File:Mess sysinfo.png|thumb|260pxupright=.9|The MESS MAME system info box for the CPC6128]][[File:Mess gx4000 pang.png|thumb|upright=1.2|MESS MAME also has (still somewhat glitchy) support for the GX4000 and CPC+ series. Here is shown ''[[Pang (cartridge)|Pang]]'' for the GX4000.]]'''MESSMAME''' (Multi Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator Super System) is an a multi-platform emulator for vintage arcade games, home computers, gaming consoles, chess computers, and calculators, etc. It is a descendant of the MAME arcade emulation project and just like MAME0.162 (released on May 27, 2015) merged the most important goal of MESS is highly accurate emulation, not speed. MESS and previously separate MAME are mainly preservation and MESS (Multi Emulator Super System) projects into one, so that aim to reproduce a single executable now combines the behaviour emulation capabilities of the real hardware perfectlypre-0.162 MAME/MESS.

Currently, over 450 ==Emulated systems are supported, including the CPC and CPC Plus ranges and the GX4000.[http://www.mess.org/mess:drivers:amstrad] This is probably the main reason for using MESS, that a single download is enough to emulate more or less every home computer and gaming console that ever existed in the late 1970s and 1980s—provided one can find a ROM set that works (see below). MESS does not have the depth of other emulators, but it sure has enormous breadth.==

MESS runs on WindowsCurrently, Mac OS X, Linux, and FreeBSD. If you also use MAME, you may want to get [http://mamedevwww.emulabprogettoemma.itnet/hazemess/latest-ume-mame-mess-binaries UMEsysset.php over a thousand systems are supported] insteadby MAME, which combines MESS including the CPC and CPC Plus ranges and the GX4000. This is probably the main reason for using MAME into a : A single executable with download is enough to emulate more or less every home computer and gaming console that ever existed in the late 1970s and 1980s—provided one can find a shared configuration file, ume.iniROM set that works (see below).

|.cpr; .bin '''(Plus series and GX4000 only)'''

You can use zipped disk images too. If there is more than one DSK image in the zip file, treat the zip file like a directory, e.g. " mame cpc6128 -flop1 disk.zip/disk0.dsk".

==Keyboard options=Python script to start MAME in CPC mode===On Linux, you can also set your file manager (e.g. Nautilus or Konqueror) to open .dsk files with the following Python script:<pre>#!/usr/bin/env python

MESS generally supports two keyboard mode command line options# Call as# "cpc" : '''emulated''' (the default; based on key position) and '''natural''' (command line option keyboard# "-cpcn" : natural"; based on the character generated by a key, e.g. pressing "z" will always generate a "z" on the emulated system, even if the keyboard positions are different).

In emulated modeimport os, keys can also be remapped os.path, zipfilefrom the emulator menu: first press ''Scroll Lock'' to enable the MESS control keys, then press ''Tab'' to open the menu, and finally select ''Input (this system)''.sys import argv

if 'cpcn' in argv[0]: nat ='-natural'else: nat =ROMs==''

Just as in MAME, some MESS ROMs have parent ROMs that also need to be installed. E.g., <tt>s = "/usr/share/sdlmame/sdlmame cpc6128.zip<-skip_gameinfo -window %s -keymap -keymap_file /tt> also requires <tt>cpc464.zip<usr/share/sdlmame/keymaps/tt> to runkm_de_LINUX.map" % nat

ROMs often only work with def checkzip(t): "Check if file is a specific version of MESSZIP file; use the first file in the archive" if t[-4:]. lower() == '.zip': a = zipfile.ZipFile(t).namelist() t = os.path.join(t, a[0]) return t if len(argv) > 1: for x in range(1, len(argv)): s += ' -flop%u "%s"' % (x, checkzip(argv[x]))os.system(s)</pre>This does not seem script should open a MAME window with the disc inserted in drive A. (Note that this also selects the German keymap.) You can also use this to affect CPC ROMsopen ZIP files containing disc images, but other systems sometimes give an error message when ROM filenames or checksums do not match what MESS expectede.g. "cpc mydisc.zip" will try to insert the first file in the ZIP archive.

Various Several GUI front-ends for MAME/MESS exist for Windows, Linux, and OS X—see the list here: [http://www.mess.org/messX:howto#frontends]

*[http://www.mameui.info/ MAMEUI64] (Windows)*[http://qmc2.arcadehits.net/ QMC2] (Windows, OS X, Linux) ==Keyboard layouts== MAME supports two keyboard modes:* '''emulated''' (the default; keys are assigned based on key position on the emulated hardware)* '''natural''' (command line option "-natural"; based on the character generated by a key, e.g. pressing "z" will always generate a "z" on the emulated system) To use a German keyboard in emulated keyboard mode, start MAME e.g. with (key map path on Linux): mame cpc6128 -keymap -keymap_file /usr/share/sdlmame/keymaps/km_de_LINUX.map You can also put these settings in your mame.ini like this: keymap 1 keymap_file /usr/share/sdlmame/keymaps/km_de_LINUX.map In emulated mode, keys can also be remapped in the emulator menu. First press ''Scroll Lock'' to enable the MAME control keys, then ''Tab'' to open the menu, and finally select ''Input (this system)''. ''Return, Esc'' clears an assigned key. Note that the ''Delete'' and ''Backspace'' keys are swapped on the emulated keyboard because of the CPC keyboard layout. So you may want to reassign those. Escape on the CPC is mapped to the key left of "1" on the PC keyboard. Alt-Enter switches between windowed and full screen mode. ==CPC artwork==[[File:MessmenuMAME with CPC artwork.png|thumb|noneMAME window with monitor type set to green and optional CPC artwork]]You can add optional bezel artwork to MAME to simulate a CPC monitor:*[[Media:Cpc6128 mame artwork.zip|650px|MessMenu MAME artwork]] (CPC6128/GT65 bezel) Rename this file to cpc6128.zip and put it in MAME's artwork folder (~/.mame/artwork/ on OS X Linux). ==ROMs and extension hardware== [[Media:CPC_ROMs_for_MAME.zip|CPC ROMs for MAME]]. Just unzip the file and move the ZIPs inside into the MAME ROM folder. ===General notes about MAME and ROMs=== Some MAME ROMs have parent ROMs that also need to be installed. E.g., <tt>cpc6128.zip</tt> also requires <tt>cpc464.zip</tt> to run. (See the links section for CPC ROM files for MAME.) ROMs often only work with a specific version of MAME. This does not seem to affect CPC ROMs, but other systems sometimes give an error message when ROM selectedfilenames or checksums do not match what MAME expected. Currently, seven different  ===Slot options (extension hardware)===[[File:MESS with Dobbertin Smart Watch.png|thumb|upright=1.4||MAME with the Dobbertin Smart Watch ROM loaded (-exp smartwatch)]][[File:Brunword mame.png|thumb|upright=1.4||BrunWord MK4 (ROM) main menu in MAME 0.162 (-exp brunword4)]] You can get a list of slot options with  mame cpc6128 -lslot These are (as of MAME 0.168): *for "-centronics"{|class="wikitable"|-|pl80 |COMX PL-80|-|ex800 |Epson EX-800|-|lx800 |Epson LX-800|-|lx810l |Epson LX-810L|-|ap2000 |Epson ActionPrinter 2000|-|printer |Centronics Printer|-|digiblst |[[Digiblaster]] (DIY)|} *for "-exp"{|class="wikitable"|-|ssa1 |[[Amstrad SSA-1 Speech Synthesizer]]|-|dkspeech |[[Dk'tronics Speech Synthesizer]]|-|rom |ROM Box|-|multiface2 |[[Multiface II]]|-|pds |[[PDS development system|Programmers Development System (CPC models Target)]]|-|rs232 |Pace RS232C interface|-|amsrs232 |[[Original Amstrad RS232 interface|Amstrad RS232C interface]]|-|sf2 |[[SYMBiFACE II]]|-|amdrum |[[Amdrum]]|-|playcity |[[PlayCity]]|-|smartwatch |[[Dobbertin Smart Watch]]|-|brunword4|[[BrunWord]] Elite MK4|-|hd20|[[Dobbertin Harddisc]]|-|doubler|[[Draysoft Doubler]]|-|transtape|HM [[Transtape]]|} ===Loading external ROMs=== The ROM Box expansion can be used to load external ROMs such as [[MAXAM]]:  mame cpc6128 -exp rom -rom1 /path/to/MAXAM.ROM Up to 8 external ROMs (-rom1 to -rom8) are supportedthis way. ===[[Dobbertin Harddisc]]=== From the [http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/emulators/got-bored-again/msg102272/#msg102272 forum post]: To use, including some regional variants add -exp hd20 to the commandline, which will also allow you to add -hard <filename>.Code:  mame cpc6128 -exp hd20 -hard1 disk.chd Only MAME CHDs are supported, you can create a blank hard disk image using chdman. Geometry is 615/4/17.Code:  chdman createhd -o disk.chd -c none -chs 615,4,17 (French and Swedish-c none means no compression, but this is required for MAME to write directly to the CHD image. If you use compression, then data writes will be written to a separate file) You can use X-DDOS 2.00 or 2.10 by using -exp hd20,bios=xddos200 or -exp hd20,bios=xddos210. v2.10 is the default. See http://mahlemiut.marpirc.net/cpc_hd20.avi, a quick demo loading a game from HD.]]

[[File:Cpc shader mess.png|thumb|upright=1.5|GLSL shader example]][[File:Cpc hlsl shader mess MAME BGFX Linux detail.png|thumb|HLSL "1980s" BGFX output with default shader (detail)settings]]Like MAME, MESS can use shaders to simulate typical CRT graphics artifacts such as scanlines, colors bleeding into each other, jitter, and display curvature. This involves editing mess ===BGFX=== The easiest way to do this (works on Windows, OS X, and Linux) since MAME 0.172 is to enable [https://github.com/bkaradzic/bgfx BGFX] video output: Put this in your mame.ini :  video bgfx bgfx_screen_chains hlsl (or umeYou may also have to set bgfx_path to the bgfx directory if MAME cannot find the shaders.ini ) Check with F11 if you use UMEstill get 100% performance. If not, adjust frame skip with F8/F9. Also, if you press the tilde (~) and then cursor up/down, you can adjust the shader settings (they are also under Slider Controls in the MAME menu).These are not saved at the moment though.[http://docs.mamedev.org/advanced/bgfx.html] If you edit bgfx/chains/hlsl.json in a text editor, you can change the default values. E.g., to reduce the Moiré pattern, search for "Shadow Mask Amount" and change it to:  "default": 0.20 ===HLSL and GLSL===[[File:Cpc hlsl shader mess detail.png|thumb|HLSL "1980s" shader (Windows); MAME config used is on image description page]]

Mess.ini works the same as mame.ini, so MAME tutorials can be used as a starting point. Some example Older methods for CRT simulation are manual HLSL and GLSL configurations, here are some examples:

*MESS will usually MAME may fail to read DSK images that use with certain kinds of copy protection. Speedlock seems to work fine though.*MAME cannot write to disc images in DSK format; only MFI (MESS floppy image) and MFM (HxCFloppyEmulator floppy image) are supported for writing.*Some demo tricks may be broken in MESSMAME, e.g. overscan pictures are horizontally misaligned (i.e., shifted to the right).*Loading extension ROMs CPC+/GX4000 emulation still has some obvious graphics glitches.*The emulated CPC464 has the AMSDOS ROM loaded which is also not supporteda problem with early 464-only programs that rely on the 464's larger free memory.

==JSMESS, a Compiling to JavaScript port==

There is an experimental port Since MAME 0.168 (released in November 2015), MAME can compile to JavaScript, see the using Emscripten's emmake command.[http://mamedev.org/releases/whatsnew_0168.txt] [[JSMESS]] article is therefore no longer necessary to compile e.g. the MAME/MESS CPC emulator for detailsweb browsers.

*[http://www.messmamedev.org/ Official site]

*[http[Media://wwwCPC_ROMs_for_MAME.emunews.eu/mess-bioses/ zip|CPC ROMs for MESSMAME] (look for <tt>cpc]*[https://linux-user.zip<gr/tt>t/one-retro-cumputers-emulator-to-rule-them-all/1302 one-retro-cumputers-emulator-to-rule-them-all-(in-greek-language)]