Rules and Guidelines

1. We test primarily the latest official released Windows 32 or 64-bit versions from mamedev.org. We also accept reports from all platforms using SDL-based builds provided again the source is the same as the released version. You can roll your own binaries and use those for reporting/testing provided that they are compiled with 100% MAMEDEV.org released sources and using the official compiling toolchain, though other earlier versions of MINGW/GCC provided with some OS/platform libraries are often still supported.
2. We DO NOT accept any bug reports tested with unofficially tweaked Windows MAME binaries such like ARCADE, GroovyMAME, HBMAME, MAMEPlus, MiSFiTMAME, MAME++, MAMEUIFX, MAMEUIXT and many others.
   Posting bugs confirmed using anything but the MAMEDEV command-line version is at this point, discouraged. If you are using MAMEUI (formerly MAME32), please attempt to confirm the bug locally using an official MAMEDEV.org provided binary first!
3. It is known that old Windows version prior to Windows 7 can cause OS-specific problems. Using any of these OS for testing is not recommended at all.
4. Please check if your issue has already been reported (use the game's shortname [filename], minus the .zip or .7z extention). For example: Afterburner 2 would be referred to as aburner2. Use ProgettoEMMA to look up zip names and drivers. Additionally, we request that you additionally examine the game's driver (listed in game information screen) in the source code before reporting to see if your issue is already documented by the driver author(s).
5. 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.
6. Please be specific! Don't just say 'it's wrong', state exactly WHAT is wrong, and how it should appear.
7. Finding bugs via using "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 this fact in your bug report.
8. Comparisons of home console ports of arcade games to the arcade originals are NOT valid proof that a bug exists.
9. For reports which require expert gameplay/skill to reach the problem, it is suggested you provide a SAVE STATE and/or INPUT (.INP) file to assist developers and other testers replicate and be able quickly see the cause. 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. Also be sure to place any files in a .zip compressed folder before uploading/attaching to your report.
10. We don't accept reports for games with specific major flags. When you start MAME, if there is a problem with a particular set, you will be given a screen which lists the problems out that you must tap a button to progress. Based on the message(s), posting a new bug is not desired.
    
    • "THIS GAME DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY" - Do not submit ANY bugs except heavy regression.
    • "THE SOUND EMULATION IS NOT 100% ACCURATE" - Do not submit sound bugs except heavy regression.
    • "THE VIDEO EMULATION IS NOT 100% ACCURATE" - Do not submit video bugs except heavy regression.
    • "THIS GAME LACKS SOUND" - Do not submit sound bugs.
    Nevertheless, any useful information or a report that will help progress of the development, are welcomed.
11. 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.
12. We accept direct screenshots taken with the F12 key only. Please do not upload filtered images taken with the Print Screen key unless you have a special reason. If you attach these screenshots, please mention the reason on your report.

Game/driver/issue-specific notes

• NeoGeo Graphic Glitches
  We have received a lot of graphical glitches in NeoGeo games such as garbage, flickering etc. and usually they are original bugs. So we will accept suchlike minor graphical issue of NeoGeo games only if you confirmed it with the original.
• Sound Balance/Proportion
  Except for heavy regression, a report for sound balance/proportion between multiple sound devices always needs the original referneces to determine the correct value of each volume. Direct sound recording of the PCB is the most appropriate. We will accept aracade soundtrack but please keep it in mind that they usually have delay effeceted/echoed/remixed and don't always represent the real sound balance correctly.
• In-game Messages
  Some games show in-game messages while running. We need reports only for massages with "Contact MAMEDEV..". Other messages are simply for the sake of debugging and they are usually harmless. Please check this report for a rejection.
• Reset and Pause bugs are not bugs unless they crash (Noted by Aaron)
  Reset and pause functionality are both not game player oriented. This is by design.
  Most PCBs don't have a reset button, and even if they do, the reset behavior is undefined. It is the equivalent of the watchdog firing on a PCB. Some games behave well when this happens; others not so well.
  The pause functionality in MAME is there for developers to be able to tweak with game parameters during a pause to affect the video. Thus, the video is going to be odd or messed up in a lot of cases.
• Drivers where P1 controls are used for P2 in cocktail mode (Noted by zsoltvasvari)
  There has been a lot of discussion on this. I believe that the Astro Fighter driver has this implemented correctly. There are two issues at play here:
  - What type of cabinet do you have: upright, where you have the single set of controls tied to two sets of edge connector pins, thus allowing the single set of controls for P1 and P2. Or a cocktail cabinet, with two disctinct set of controls. In the Astro Fighter driver, this is a Driver Configuration option.
  - Then you have the DIP switch that tells the software to flip the screen for P2.
  Now, if these two options are not in sync, you get weird results. Either the screen will be flipped for P2 but you must use P1 controls, or that the screen won't be flipped for P2, but you still need to use P2 controls. But this is correct behavior, which is why manuals usually say not to mess with the "cocktail" DIP switch.
  I hope this clears up the issue and some of the other drivers can start using this model.
• Image Enhancement bugs (HLSL, GLSL, BGFX Shader Chains)
  Specific issues related to these functions can now be reported to MameTesters per Developer directive. Please be sure to eliminate any possibility of mis-configuration and understand what the functions do before thinking of posting any issues against these options. Include screenshots, comparison videos or whatever other data is needed to clearly outline and explain EXACTLY what is wrong and in what version of MAME (if a noted regression) these issues started happening. Just like general bug reports "It doesn't look right/sound right" is not an acceptable reasoning for posting an issue.

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