Rules and Guidelines

March 1st, 2008

We test using only the latest official Windows 32 or 64-bit versions from mamedev.org. If you refuse to learn how to compile, you can get pre-compiled u releases here or MAME (i686) Version. If you compile MAME by yourself, please use the official compiling tools and MinGW set from mamedev.org. MSVC compiler support is experimental for now and bugs with such builds are not accepted.
If you are a MAMEUI (formerly MAME32) user, you need to test your bug(s) in the real MAME before reporting as a general rule. If you are a SDLMAME user and therefore have no way to test your bug in the real MAME, you can still report bugs but you must specify what version of MAME you are using in the report so we can verify that it happens in the real MAME.
Please check if your issue has already been reported (use the game's zip file name, minus the ".zip"). For example: Afterburner 2 would be referred to as aburner2. Use MAWS to look up zip names and drivers. Additionally, we request that you check the game's driver in the source code before reporting to see if your issue is already documented by the driver author(s).
Make sure that you do not have any corrupted support files: .CFG, .INI, .NV files (in particular). Ensure you can reproduce the bug with a newly created NVRAM file if the game uses one.
Please be specific! Don't just say 'it's wrong', state exactly what is wrong, and how it should appear.
Finding bugs via "cheats" is discouraged. Sometimes cheats can affect the games in ways that aren't immediately apparent. If you can't get to the point in the game where the bug occurs without cheating, please mention it in your bug report.
Comparisons of home console ports of arcade games to the arcade originals are not valid proof that a bug exists.
Please make a save state right near the point of the "problem" and attach it along with your report so that it is easily reproducible. This is a prerequisite when it takes a long time or needs special technique to reproduce it. Please be kind and .ZIP large files before attaching to your report.
When you load a game, if MAME displays any of these messages:
"THIS GAME DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY" - Do not submit ANY bugs.
"The sound emulation is not 100% accurate." - Do not submit sound bugs.
"The video emulation is not 100% accurate." - Do not submit video bugs.
"This game lacks sound." - Do not submit sound bugs.
"This game has protection which isn't fully emulated." - (Usually used with NOT_WORKING) Do not submit ANY bugs.

Nevertheless, any useful information or a report that will help progress of the development, are welcomed.
When a new release comes out, please take a moment to follow-up and check if the issue(s) you reported has(have) been resolved. Not all fixes are documented in the whatsnew.txt.
When referring to existing bugs, please use the ID number. If you write "bug"+number, it will be a link to the bug report automatically.