emulator: MAME 2000
type: libretro
core_classification: frozen_snapshot
source: "https://github.com/libretro/mame2000-libretro"
upstream: "https://www.mamedev.org"
profiled_date: "2026-03-24"
core_version: "0.37b5"
display_name: "Arcade (MAME 2000)"

cores:
  - mame2000

systems:
  - snk-neogeo-mvs
  - deco-cassette

notes: |
  Frozen snapshot of MAME 0.37b5 via iMAME4All (David Valdeita). Fastest and
  least accurate MAME core. Supports ~2000 arcade games from the 0.37b5 ROM set.

  BIOS handling follows MAME 0.37b5 conventions. Shared BIOS files are packaged
  as parent ROM ZIPs (e.g. neogeo.zip) and placed in the ROM directory alongside
  game ROMs. The core searches only the ROM directory for ROMs and BIOS sets.

  Samples (per-game WAV files) are loaded from system_dir/mame2000/samples/.
  They provide sound effects for certain games and are optional.

  hiscore.dat, history.dat and mameinfo.dat are loaded from the ROM directory.
  cheat.dat is loaded from system_dir/mame2000/cheat/.
  hiscore.dat and cheat.dat are bundled in the core repo (metadata/).

files:
  - name: hiscore.dat
    required: false
    category: game_data
    source_ref: "src/hiscore.c:18,252-254"
    note: "high score definitions, loaded from ROM directory"

  - name: cheat.dat
    path: "mame2000/cheat/cheat.dat"
    required: false
    category: game_data
    source_ref: "src/cheat.c:210,618,830"
    note: "cheat definitions, loaded from system_dir/mame2000/cheat/"

  - name: history.dat
    required: false
    category: game_data
    source_ref: "src/datafile.c:52,281,541"
    note: "game history database, loaded from ROM directory"

  - name: mameinfo.dat
    required: false
    category: game_data
    source_ref: "src/datafile.c:53,281,568"
    note: "game technical info database, loaded from ROM directory"

  - name: neogeo.zip
    required: true
    category: bios_zip
    system: snk-neogeo-mvs
    source_ref: "src/drivers/neogeo.c:4499-4508"
    contents:
      - name: neo-geo.rom
        description: 68K BIOS
        size: 131072
        crc32: "9036d879"
      - name: ng-sm1.rom
        description: Z80 sound BIOS
        size: 131072
        crc32: "97cf998b"
      - name: ng-sfix.rom
        description: fix layer tiles
        size: 131072
        crc32: "354029fc"

  - name: decocass.zip
    required: true
    category: bios_zip
    system: deco-cassette
    source_ref: "src/drivers/btime.c:1996-2005"
    contents:
      - name: rms8.cpu
        description: 6502 BIOS
        size: 4096
        crc32: "23d929b7"
      - name: rms8.snd
        description: audio CPU
        size: 2048
        crc32: "b66b2c2a"