This is a detailed guide for MAME 0.139, a specific, highly popular version of MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) from early 2010. This version is notable for being the last one before the major internal ROM reorganization (0.140), and it remains a favorite for low-power devices (old PCs, Raspberry Pi 1/2, Dingoo, GP2X) and certain front-ends like MAME4All.
keyboardprovider dinput mouseprovider dinput joystickprovider dinput joystick_contradictory 0 mame 0.139 romset
In 2012, the Raspberry Pi launched. By 2015, RetroPie had become the dominant software for DIY arcade cabinets. The most powerful Pi of that era, the Pi 3, could not run modern MAME (0.200+). The ARM CPU lacked the power for accurate cycle timing. This is a detailed guide for MAME 0
However, MAME 0.139 compiled beautifully for ARM. Specifically, the MAME4All and PiFBA cores in RetroPie were forks of 0.139. For years, the official RetroPie documentation recommended the "MAME 0.139 Reference Set" as the best balance of compatibility and performance on the Pi 3 and Pi Zero. roms : contains game ROMs (usually in
The MAME 0.139 ROMset consists of several folders and files:
roms: contains game ROMs (usually in .zip or .7z format)chd: contains Compressed Hard Disk images (CHDs) for games that require themsamples: contains audio samples for gamesmame.ini: MAME configuration file