How To Use Your X-Arcade™ With MAME™ On Mac™

What Is MAME™ Classic Gaming?

With MAME™ you can use your X-Arcade™ to relive thousands of arcade classics on your PC or Mac in their original arcade form! These games are not remakes, but the original, authentic arcade games you played in the 70's, 80's and 90's. See the history of MAME™ Here

M.A.M.E.™ stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. An emulator is simply a software program that makes your computer pretend it is another game system, like an arcade machine. As the name suggests, MAME™ can pretend to be a multitiude of different arcade machines, thousands in fact! Nearly any game you played from the first arcade game to recent hits can be played with this one program. Combine MAME™ with an X-Arcade™ and you now have thousands of arcade machines in one!

So now you've been schooled on what MAME™ is, but still have no idea how to use it? You need MAME™ For Dummies! MAME™ for Dummies was designed to help new users to find the files they need and learn how to use them.

MAME™ ROM Files:

NOTE: Please read legal implications on MAME™ ROM usage from Northwestern University Law School before downloading any ROMs to ensure legal compliance.

ROM files are the arcade games that were sucked out of the real arcade machines. The MAME™ software pretends to be the real arcade machine to run these ROM games on your PC. No ROM files are included with the MAME™ software, nor do we host any of these files. You can find more information on MAME™ ROM files by searching Google™.

Step 1: Download And Install The Software

MAME™ OS X and MacMAME™ are the top applications for playing arcade classics on your Mac™.

Step 2: Connect Your X-Arcade™ to USB Port

If you are using the Tankstick, connect both USB connectors to two USB ports. One is for the Dual Joystick (keyboard) setup, one is for the Trackball (mouse).

Step 3: MAME™ Operation:

By default, MAME™ is instantly ready for your X-Arcade™.

The default keyboard commands are identical to the X-Arcade™ with the exception of the left Player 1 Joystick.

Your X-Arcade™ Left Joystick is configured to use the NUM PAD FUNCTIONS, and MAME™ default uses the arrow keys. Don't ask why, but we blame the PC. Under preferences/Game Options - Controls, you may find an X-Arcade™ option.

If Not, all you need to do is tell your MAME™ to switch to using the NUM PAD FUNCTIONS. You can change the controls for any game or the entire MAME™ setup by simply pushing the "Tab" key while a game is already running to access the controls menu.

After you start a game in MAME™ hit the TAB key to enter the configuration menu, and either change the "Default Button Layout (General)" to change use the configuration for all of it's games, or "Default Button Layout (This Game)" to change just the configuration for the game you are currently playing.

If using Macmame: PLEASE NOTE: When programming MacMame inputs, when you enter a key input, you have to wait several seconds for MacMAME to accept it.

Step 4: Playing MAME™

• After you start up a game, use the left pinball flipper button on the left side of the X-Arcade™ to insert coins, and press the white start button to play.

• You can also skip the screens which ask you to type "OK" by moving the joystick left then right (left for "O" and right for "K").

• You can exit a game by holding the player 2 start button and pressing the right pinball button simultaneously.

• You can change the controls for any game by simply pushing the "Tab" key while a game is already running to access the controls menu. The Input (general) option allows controller settings to be applied to all games. Input (this game) overrides the general input settings and adds custom controller settings for just the game being used.

Classic Arcade Games For Your Mac available here.

How to play NES, SNES and other game consoles on your Mac.

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Troubleshooting

Make Sure To Visit Dedicated Product Support Pages For Detailed Problems

X-Arcade Dual/Solo | X-Arcade Tankstick | X-Arcade™ Trackball

The MAME™ software includes a "Help" menu that can help you (press F1 on your keyboard to access). Alternatively, here are some more very helpful sites that have more in-depth MAME™ instructions, troubleshooting help, and information:

MacMAME™ Official Help - The help page of the MacMAME™, packed with helpful information!

SimpleHelp's MAME™ OS X Help - A very simple, straight-forward starter's guide.

MAME™ OS X Forum - Get help from others with MAME™ OS X.

Not Recognized? Make Sure Your X-Arcade™ Is In Mode 1

Most problems are accounted for by checking your in the right mode. While someone like Woz would love it, it's quite an annoyance to us Mac™ users just trying to relive some classic arcade games.

Mode 1 is the default mode and if you're switch is moved closest to the serial port, it's fine.

If it wasn't in this spot, move it there, then push the button on the back of the X-Arcade™ twice (the light on the X-Arcade™ should turn off from the first push, and back on with the second) and you will load Mode 1.

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How To Confirm Your X-Arcade™ Works

If the cute red LED light comes on, it means you are getting power from USB port and it's working.

So, if you still are having problems, you can use one of the following methods to see if the X-Arcade™ is working in general:

Method 1: You can use Keyboard Viewer (or KeyCaps pre-OSX) to test that the X-Arcade™ triggers the keys shown on the default Mode1 button layout.

Method 2: You can also simply use a text editor to test that the X-Arcade™ types the functions shown on the default Mode1 button layout. Note that some of the buttons are set to CRTL, ALT, and SHIFT, these buttons will not type anything.

TEST RESULTS: If the X-Arcade™ does not respond in the test, click here to verify proper connection. If a single button or direction is sticking or does not work, click here for more help.

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Why can't I use the right side of the X-Arcade™ on some 2-player games in MAME™?

What you need to understand is that these games you are playing in MAME™ are not remakes of classics, they are the real arcade games being emulated . So if the game only had one set of controls that you took turns playing at the arcade, the emulation software cannot change that. Games that had 2-player simultaneous play will let you do so on the X-Arcade™.

You can however simply reprogram the 2nd player side's controls to the exact same buttons as the 1st player side for these games, and then you could use either side for playing. Keep in mind that the person not playing could interfere with the other's turn.

Click Here to see the layout for this.

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How do I change the X-Arcade™ from 8-way to 4-way mode?

If you are playing a game like Pac-Man™ or Donkey Kong™ and find that the joystick gets stuck when changing directions, this is because these original arcade games used 4-way restricted joysticks. You can solve this with the X-Arcade™ by changing it to 4-way mode

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How Do I Use The X-Arcade™ With GameTap™?

GameTap™ works on the Mac and has X-Arcade™ support built in!

1. Click the ""controls" menu.
2. Click the "Edit Controllers" button.
3. Click the "Assign to Players" tab.
4. For most games under keyboard and next to player 1 choose "X-Arcade™ Left. For dual-joystick games such as Robotron™ and Karate Champ™ choose "X-Arcade™ Dual" instead.
5. Next to player 2 choose "X-Arcade™ Right.
6. Click " OK".

If you wish to change the controls manually, under the "Map Controls" tab choose the controller side that you want to change from the drop-down menu ("X-Arcade™ Left" for example) and double-click the button you wish to reassign. Then press the button/direction you wish it to us

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Looking For Other MAME™ Versions?

Hardcore Mac enthusiasts should check out: SDLMAME, SDLMESS, and SDLHazeMD.

SDLMAME is a port of the popular MAME™ which can run on Linux/Unix, Mac OS X, and other SDL supported operating systems with as few changes as possible.

Available here

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MAME™ On Apple TV?

Wouldn't it be wonderful to use your X-Arcade with MAME™ on your Apple TV™? While we cannot provide any technical support for modifications to your Apple TV™, a lot of great work is being done in this area.

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What Other Emulators Can I Play On My Mac™?

Yes, there was more to gaming in the 70s, 80s and 90's than arcades. So, if you want to run classic games from classic video game consoles on your Mac™ - check out these links:

NES Nintendo Entertainmet System
Sega Genesis
SNES: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintedo 64

if Your Mac™ Performance Is Sluggish?

We have noticed driver conflicts with virtualization software. If your Mac™ performance is incredibly sluggish and virtually unusable with Leopard/X-Arcade™, please fill out the case form on the EMAIL US link at the bottom of this page.

Please cite the OS and Mac™ you are using, product and a clear description of the problem.

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If you still have problems, please visit the MAME™ FAQ Page here