Multi Emulator Super System

"MESS" redirects here. For other uses, see Mess (disambiguation).
Developer(s)Originally MESS Team, now MAME Team
Initial release1998; 26 years ago (1998)
Final release
0.161 / 29 April 2015; 9 years ago (2015-04-29)
Operating systemCross-platform
TypeEmulator
LicenseSince 2016: GPL-2.0-or-later[1]
Until 2016: Custom[2]
Website

Multi Emulator Super System (MESS) was an emulator for various consoles and computer systems, based on the MAME core. It used to be a standalone program (which has since been discontinued), but is now integrated into MAME (which is actively developed). MESS emulated portable and console gaming systems, computer platforms, and calculators. The project strived for accuracy and portability and therefore was not always the fastest emulator for any one particular system. Its accuracy made it also useful for homebrew game development.[3]

As of April 2015 MESS supported 994 unique systems with 2,106 total system variations.[4] MESS was first released in 1998 and was under development up until 2015.

MAME and MESS were once separate applications, but were later developed and released together from a single source repository.[5] MAMEDEV member David Haywood maintained and distributed UME (Universal Machine Emulator) which combined much of the functionality of MAME and MESS in a single application.[6] On May 27, 2015, MESS was formally integrated with MAME and became a part of MAME.[7]

  1. ^ "MESS License [MESS]". mess.redump.net.
  2. ^ "MESS License: Custom". Archived from the original on 2016-03-24.
  3. ^ Grand, Joe; Frank Thornton; Albert Yarusso (2004). Game Console Hacking: Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, Atari, & Gamepark 32. Syngress. p. 506. ISBN 1-931836-31-0.
  4. ^ "Welcome to the MESS Wiki! [MESS]". mess.redump.net.
  5. ^ "Let the games begin". MAME development team. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  6. ^ "UME 0.148 (Universal Machine Emulator)". David Haywood. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  7. ^ "MAMEdev.org | Home of The MAME Project". www.mamedev.org.