Log Message:
mame: update to 0.217.

MAME 0.217

What better way to celebrate Christmas than with a new MAME release?
That’s right – MAME 0.217 is scheduled for release today.

The most exciting thing this month is the recovery of the Sega
Model 1 coprocessor TGP programs for Star Wars Arcade and Wing War,
making these games fully playable. We’ve been working on Virtua
Fighter as well, and while the graphics are greatly improved, there
are still some gameplay issues as of this release. In other arcade
emulation news, sasuke has been busy fixing long-standing graphical
issues in Nichibutsu games, and AJR has made some nice improvements
to the early SNK 6502-based games.

On the home system side, there are some nice Sam Coupé improvements
from TwistedTom, support for Apple II paddle controllers, a better
Apple II colour palette, and significant improvements to Acorn
RiscPC emulation. TV game emulation is progressing steadily, with
two Lexibook systems, the Jungle Soft Zone 40, and the MiWi 16-in-1
now working.

For front-end developers, we’ve added data to the XML list format
allowing you to handle software lists enabled by slot card devices
(there are a few of these for Acorn and Sinclair home computers).
The minimaws sample script has been updated to demonstrate a number
of tasks related to handling software lists. For MAME contributors,
we’ve made save state registration a bit simpler, and more manageable
in the debugger.

MAME 0.216

With the end of November in sight, it’s time to check out MAME
0.216! We’ve addressed the reported issues with last month’s bgfx
update, and made a whole lot of little improvements to MAME’s
internal user interface. In particular, setting up controls should
be easier, and several issues affecting macOS users with non-English
number format settings have been fixed. Some of the issues caused
bad settings to be written to INI files. If you still don’t see
the filter list panel on the system selection menu, try removing
the ui.ini file.

This month, we’re able to present two unreleased 1970s prototypes
from Italian developer Model Racing: their internal code names are
Cane and Orbite. With the assistance of former Model Racing employees,
the source code was extracted from the original disks. These games
are incomplete, but they provide a unique look into early CPU-based
arcade development. Game & Watch titles continue to be emulated,
with the addition of Mario The Juggler, and the panorama screen
Mickey Mouse and Donkey Kong Circus games in this release.

This release brings GameKing emulation to MAME. The system-on-a-chip
used in this low-cost, low-resolution hand-held console from the
early 2000s has been identified and emulated. Games for the
colour-screen GameKing III are also playable. Acorn BBC Micro
emulation has been re-worked to support internal expansion boards,
and a number of additional peripherals are now available. ZX Spectrum
emulation has been enhanced with better open bus read behaviour
and support for two Miles Gordon Technology peripherals.