MAME on Steam Deck Emulation Tutorial! Get Arcade Games Running via RetroArch on Valve's Handheld!

[@retrobear9367]

Thank you. This was very helpful. Finally got X-Men Arcade working.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

So glad it helped!

[@vana4054]

There’s always that group of individuals that will still blame someone else for erasing their own data, because they couldn’t check the card prior to this 🤦‍♂️

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Hence why I warn people :) but it happens every time

[@vana4054]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I shared this video with my friend, he followed the instructions in this video and now he is happy that he could play his favorite arcade boards on a portable device! Thanks for the video again!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Aww that makes me happy :) that’s why I do these

[@dorondavid4698]

"You didnt tell me to check if there was data before formatting it!"

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Lol

[@Charlie-Cat.]

I love seeing videos like this one on your channel VGE. Would be great to see them on weekly from you bro. 8^) Anthony...

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Maybe weekly in 2023. I’ve got the cartoon series to get through

[@dfrydendall]

Thank you for showing how to set the TAB button. That was vexxing me.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I knew everyone would need to know how to do it as TAB is so important to mame

[@direitabrasilreal]

many thx man, helped to much to switch MAME(Current) to MAME2003

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Interesting. What wasn’t working in current

[@Riz2336]

That's some very upbeat sounding music for a beat em up. Lots of people seem to like these steam things, I haven't really gotten into it yet

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I am enjoying mine. Def not using it for it’s intended purpose though 😂

[@tretere]

Totally missed your Steam Deck videos and I shied away from MAME because I always found it's a pain to set up. Appreciate your tutorial and advice, I now feel comfortable to get some Arcade action going

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Awesome. Hope it goes well for you :)

[@sgtpepper91]

You don't need a dock or a usb stick. Use KDE Connect. Just package all your stuff into an archive, because KDE only allows 1 file at a time. Will take longer, but you don't need to buy anything, provided you have a computer or phone with wifi

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes that’s an option. But I go with the easiest functionally that the most people would be familiar with

[@pishbot]

hi. zooo is a fun time. it gets spooky when the timer gets low. i like the panda 🐼

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Zooo is a hidden gem. I added it to my collection this month as a self birthday gift haha

[@b.ashley1384]

In the video, you mentioned you would list the stick drive you recommend. Which one is it? Thanks.

[@keithpaw]

Thanks for the video I have a few games that work through retro arch but will not load on the deck but thanks for the great info.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad it helps

[@EntropyGuardian]

i got emudeck working in literally under 5 minutes for SNES and N64 and gamecube games. Every single arcade game I tried to open closes instantly.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Sounds like bad files

[@craigthomas4163]

Steam Deck is my most wanted "toy". Still waiting for the deck to be sold in Australia 😥

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Oh bummer they aren't selling it down there yet?

[@craigthomas4163]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Nope many countries are still waiting. "From Steam Deck's February 2022 launch, the unit only shipped to the United States, UK, Canada and the European Union. Then in August, Valve partnered with Komodo to make the Steam Deck available in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea"

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I did not know that. Would have figured Australia would be in round 1 shipping. Then again you have koalas and we don't so....give and take lol

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Good to know. Thanks

[@malnuman1836]

Great vid, do you know how do you access the cheat menu? and where do you put the cheat file? Thanks

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Same as OG MAME should work. I’ll look into it for a potential part 2 :)

[@Nikketsinne]

So, the Zooo folder makes all your roms work ? I am not sure I get it. Thanks for your dedication !

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No the Zooo folder makes Zooo work. All CHD games need the CHD file inside a folder with the same name as the zipped game file outside the folder as shown here

[@joshua511]

This is great but I'm not really sure what to do about controls. The default for Street Fight 2 seems off to me but if I change anything in MAME, it would affect every game? the tab button worked but not F2.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

In tab you have input bindings per game. So you want to rebind your controllers for the game actively loaded. There are global buttons and per game buttons

[@richyramirez5730]

When you changed your tab key and f2 key on the deck I see you were doing that in emulation station, does that also work in retro arch? Or is it only from emu station? Also when you changed those keys on the deck will it stay like that for good, or will that have to be done every time I want to use my arcade games? Is there any way to make the changes permanent? Sorry for the long question, I am new to this myself and have been racking my brain trying to figure these things out. Your video has been helpful.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s done in Steam OS so it can be done anywhere bathe settings should stay if you are using MAME. You may have to set them for RetroArch and for EmuStation though

[@dorfus]

Look at cat pen, all up on that dock. You keep doing you, cat pen.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Been some real anti-cat pen comments lately too

[@dorfus]

@@VideoGameEsoterica politics in this country have become quite toxic I agree

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

🤣

[@skootdiggity1301]

kawaii desu.

[@dorfus]

@@skootdiggity1301 god damn right it is.

[@georgecalderon6024]

Im confused. So we're just dropping the zip files into the mame folder right? So..Where did the blue zoo folder come from and why is it there. I see the other games zip files. Those were copied over like zoo but there are no corresponding blue folders. Did you create the blue zoo folder in dolphin? Is it for the chd part?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

When you use games with a CHD associated with them you need to create the folder with the same name as the zip and near the CHD file inside that folder for it to be read

[@georgecalderon6024]

@VideoGameEsoterica gotcha! I JUST got mine running. This one didnt require chd but thanks for the info 👍 much appreciated! The was the last one I needed to get done for my preferred setup.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No worries. Happy to help!

[@TychiBalls]

I have a question about how you test mame roms before applying it to the steam deck. Do I need to test a specific rom set version that will be compatible for the mame emulator on steam deck? I know you mentioned Mame Current when testing. How did you get that on PC? Back in the day Mame version emulators would only work on certain romset versions so thats why I am asking about this. I did the emulation station install and I think I have retroarch installed as well but I tend to always use emulation station as I found it very user friendly to boot up with all my consoles. I tend to put a lot of roms on my steam deck and wouldn’t want them to show up in my steam library GUI. It would make it too cluttered. Anyway, that beatem up Violent Storm looks amazing and I really want to play that on my steam deck if possible. Thanks for any help you can provide. Update: nevermind. Found it about the current mame question. I just download it from retroarch. I assume I just test retroarch on PC and get it working then apply it to steam deck and it should work the same right? Thanks for posting the video.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes if you can get it working in RetroArch you know the files should be fine on Deck!

[@amit_patel654]

Hey, how did you get Chaos Heat (file name "chaosheaj") working? When launching, it goes to a black screen like it's going to start, then it crashes.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Sounds like you don’t have the CHD or the wrong one / wrong folder name

[@amit_patel654]

@@VideoGameEsoterica oh it's ok, I actually got it working a while back. Thanks for replying though.

[@andersonlimaa]

Hellooo! I have a question (I’m a noob, sorry). For the roms that need a folder and zip: the folder contains the rom.chd and zip is exactly the same rom.chd but compressed in a .zip file?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No…zip will be a smaller file. CHD will be larger

[@isaijuarez211]

I wonder if I can connect the Deck to the port and use light guns for Time Crisis. Sinden, Guns4IR or Retro Shooter

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Should be able to once set up

[@johnbowdle3139]

Trying to get outrunners working. Could you maybe do a video on emulating classic sega superscalers thru emudeck? Thanks as always :)

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Maybe in the future :)

[@Redonepunch]

If I want my steam library to be separate from my emulation stuff, can I just use emulation station without adding my rom library with EmuDeck?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I believe so

[@iansilverman3227]

I have been unable to get MAME to work on steam deck. I boot emudeck and select MAME, I see the game and when it launches it crashes immediately. Not sure whats wrong.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I might uninstall and reinstall at that point

[@IIIIOTL]

Just wondering if you could help me! I've done a lot of research and tried a lot of things but can't get Warriors of Fate working. I'm downloaded multiple roms to try (apparently this game doesn't require the chd files), I have the mame bios downloaded, I tried putting the roms into the arcade, mame, mame current, and cps folders. They're not showing up in the library. In emulation station, I've changed the settings under arcade to mame standalone. The name of the game shows up but doesn't launch. Hoping you can help me!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’ll take a peak but why wouldn’t it require chd? I’ve never heard of something like that

[@Thx-cn8gk]

megaduck sounds fun, what is ?

[@lvc1fer69]

Do you know why some games won't load, even booted from Steam ROM Manager or ES-DE? I can't play a lot of games, especially Cadillacs and Dinosaurs 😅

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Probably missing accompanying files or the files aren’t good

[@Bergwacht]

Is it normal that only every 20th rom works? all games i would like to play don't work, it starts and closes immediately. But since some games are running, I seem to have chosen the right directories. the 5 out of 100 games that start, can also be played. golden axe, final fight,dungeons&dragons, double dragon, dino.zip all that good stuf doesnt work :/

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Check my other comment

[@NirvanaPhoenix]

Trying to get Dancing Stage EuroMix 2 to work, I can get the chd to boot up but then it says "error 121 cassette does not match the game" Websites are telling that MAME (at least the PC non RetroArch version) want the chd, the zip file with the same name and machine bios (sys573.zip), another zip folder (k573_dio) with just a small bin file in it, all in the roms folder. RetroArch won't even attempt to boot the chd file unless there's, like you do, a folder with the same name as the chd that has another copy of the chd inside. Am I missing something, or am I just working with a bad dump? It's IntArc so should be everything I need

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Bad security cart dump for game, or it’s missing. That error code means it’s not getting a security handshake in the routine that checks the cart against the disc (or in this case a file against another file)

[@NirvanaPhoenix]

@@VideoGameEsotericawhich file would the security card be?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’d have to look. I don’t know off the top of my head. You could check the GitHub driver too for info

[@valley_robot]

A link to a mame rom set that works on emudeck would be helpful

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Sorry not allowed to do that here per the rules. I would if I could kind of situation

[@JESSROCKEDChannel]

I'm trying to paste a save file NVRAM for tekken tag 1 for MAME and I just can't seem to make it work, any ideas? i pasted the unlocked character nvram save files on the emulation > saves

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Hmm that’s a good question. I’ll have to look into it

[@SIR1U5]

here is hoping this guide will help me get avp 1994 working

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’d use the FB Neo tutorial for that. Check my playlist

[@That9tysKid]

is it possible to play Cadillacs and Dinosaurs on this one?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes but Final Burn Neo would be a better emulator for it imo

[@daisukegori2112]

I never delete valuable data.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

always smart

[@rodrigopalmerin]

Ohhh ok no wonder my old collection of mame files wasnt working i guess i just gotta download a rom set

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes the sets can and do change as MAME updates

[@drmountainman2749]

How do you use the steam deck virtual keyboard in mame? Inputs are ignored. I have a real keyboard plugged in when home but if I need to type when I’m out I can’t figure out how to type if needed.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Should just be the standard hot keys but I’ll test it today if I have time :)

[@drmountainman2749]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I was using a retroarch core of mame through emulation station, fyi

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

👍

[@Daniel__Nobre]

I have no “Online Updater” option on RetroArch. Everything’s fully updated, both RetroArch and Steam.. :(

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Not sure what the issue is then? Sounds like everything is up to date

[@Daniel__Nobre]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I've found out in the meanwhile. I was using Steam's RetroArch and for them to be in Valve's Store they had to remove this feature apparently. Anyway I'm now using the "normal" RetroArch which has the feature indeed. (I've added it to my Steam account as a "non-steam product" anyway). Thanks for asking, and for sharing your knowledge via your video. Great stuff, cheers.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Who knew! Thanks for responding back with the info. Now I’ll know for the next person that asks

[@mystrdat]

Where do you keep the MAME bios-devices? bios/mame2010 or directly in /bios? Do you need to keep them zipped?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Put them where you put your name roms. That should work fine. You can try popping them into /bios as well but MAME always looks for the system bios zips in the same directory it looks for games

[@matthewshelley1365]

@@VideoGameEsoterica THERE! FINALLY! Every single "Tutorial" I've found overlooks this bit, THANK YOU now I'm up and running.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Just glad it helped :)

[@kaizzzzo]

so, i can keep the bios zipped inside the roms folder? or unzip them? @@VideoGameEsoterica

[@genewroten5973]

How do I get 3d arcade games to work in mame like Virtua fighter, Cruisin USA etc….

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Same way you get any game to run in MAME; add rom, add CHD if needed (in video) and boot

[@jasonstroud01]

I downloaded The Simpson’s arcade MAME rom for steam deck Emudeck . I see a bunch of MEME folders under roms folder . I tried it out the rom in each folder it doesn’t show up . Help and thanks !

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Should just be MAME. Might be a bad rom

[@jasonstroud01]

@@VideoGameEsoterica ok thank you so much !

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

👍

[@dragonmaster00900]

Hey, I'm trying to set up marvel vs capcom which requires mame 2010 and I'm trying to set it to where opens from the libary, but it only works if I go to retroarch then select the rom then pick mame 2010 core, do u know any ways to fix this so it open from the libary

[@dragonmaster00900]

It also comes up as if there 2, one says it uses retrarch mame current, and the other one saying mame standalone

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Odd. I’m not sure on that. I’d have to look into it

[@GrupoSentenciadeWKGN]

Do you know if there is RUN AND GUN 2 a basketball game on MAME?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

There is. Konami basketball

[@GrupoSentenciadeWKGN]

@VideoGameEsoterica awesome thanks for the reply so there is konami basketball? but no Run and Gun 2?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No I meant it’s a Konami basketball game. Run and Gun 2 should be on MAME

[@GrupoSentenciadeWKGN]

@VideoGameEsoterica could you do me a favor and check on your steam deck and see if your able to see if it's there and if it's playable?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

You’d have to add the rom. I can tell you it’s playable on MAME current

[@instinctjoe]

Does killer instinct 2 work. I have followed these instructions but when i boot KI2 or KI1 it just wont boot on my steam deck

[@instinctjoe]

Nevermind, I had ot tinker around with it for about an hour and realized I had a bad chd file. I had ot get another one from some where and change the associated core to the original "mame" version to run it!. I am a happy man now!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad it worked!

[@instinctjoe]

Hey man by chance is there anyway you can share your violent storm chd files with us some how?, i have searched everywhere for chds but i cannot find them. Maybe if you can give me a hint as to where to find them i will really appreciate it. thanks!@@VideoGameEsoterica

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

There is no CHD for the game

[@instinctjoe]

thats weird i tried running it the same way and labeled it the exact same way you did and mine did not work for some reason@@VideoGameEsoterica

[@azhariasgar7661]

Hi bro, my MAME F2 save instead of opening up the menu. Do you know how to fix? Retroarch hotkey is default F2 for save state.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

You can change the default keys in RetroArch and then bind that key to an unused button on your Deck. Or a combo

[@azhariasgar7661]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I tried to change but the keyboard F2 key is permanent when I binded to different key.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

That’s odd. Try resetting in emudeck on desktop mode

[@azhariasgar7661]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Thanks! Do you know how to access desktop mode? Because when I click retroarch, it went fullscreen just like in game settings

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

You use the steam button on the main os and select go to desktop

[@idontnkow]

F2 is save state for my MAME. so weird. know how to fix this?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Go into the menu and remind the keys. That’s odd.

[@METR0lD]

I want to play Sega Model 3 arcade games on my Steam Deck. I need that Scud Race! But I can't figure out how to do it even with googling it.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I may do a video on it next. Honestly these two deck videos so far are just experiments to see if people are into them. But yes Supermodel would be fun

[@maximusmeridius2060]

Can i add scanlines to mame games?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes in RetroArch settings

[@stuntmandev2327]

none of the arcade ones selected show up on my generated list

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’d check to make sure the roms are good. MAME is very picky. If the checksum does not match (the correct rom) it won’t ingest/boot

[@Thesk8boyt]

How do you get the chd files? I'm trying to play marvel vs capcom and it shows up I'm my library but won't start

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Did you follow the CHD folder setup and naming conventions? Sounds like MAME isn’t finding the CHD and 9/10 times that’s a folder/naming issue

[@Thesk8boyt]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I think that might be the problem, how exactly do I do that?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Did you follow the tutorial step by step? It’s in there. You need the ZIP file and the CHD file. Example say the name of the game is TEST. You need TEST.zip and a folder called “TEST” with TEST.CHD inside of the folder. CHD needs to be removed from the zip If the folder name is not identical to the zip name MAME will not find the CHD and the game won’t run. If the folder has the CHD zip and not the .CHD file…won’t work either

[@Thesk8boyt]

@@VideoGameEsoterica ok so I unzip it to find the chd file?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Unzip the CHD zip

[@JustSomeAsianDude]

When I set f2 to my back r4 it just saves instead of the service menu, even tho in the input settings it shows f2

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

That’s odd. Should just work

[@daleanmonster4218]

I couldn't find mamecurrent

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Whatever MAME emudeck brings down will be current

[@daleanmonster4218]

@@VideoGameEsoterica yeah it wasn’t there when I checked should I uninstall and reinstall everything?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

@daleanmonster4218 no just update. That should bring it down. Check emulators in the management tab. You can install and uninstall each emulator there separately

[@daleanmonster4218]

@@VideoGameEsoterica okay thanks

[@DCstar]

Does anyone know what version of mame retroarch runs?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’d have to check. Usually it’s V close to standalone current rev

[@dominicgill2719]

Got all my arcade Zip files but dont know where to find CHD. Sorry am noob Thanks for the vid

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

A site called wow roms might help you…

[@DavidGarcia-qf7gc]

I think nowadays is better to emulate arcade with FBNeo. I know FBNeo can't emulate some games (as the Atary System 1, Killer Instinct, STV games or some Namco games as Pole Position, Bosconian or the System 22), but it's more accurate in games that are emulated.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

FB Neo is a great option too and I may do a tutorial on that as well if this video does decent stats

[@hambonious]

Some of the more "modern" arcade games fail to load up for me (Marvel vs Capcom 2, Tekken 3, Star Wars trilogy, etc). I have no issues with the older titles. I'm running emulation station and tried the roms in both the mame and mame current folders.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

sounds like bad files / a CHD folder issue. Test them on desktop MAME and see if they work

[@hambonious]

@@VideoGameEsoterica will try. Thank you

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

If you get stuck you can join my discord too. We have people that can help :)

[@skootdiggity1301]

Ah crap! I followed this guy and I deleted my valuable data!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

There goes your collection of Pokémon / Pawn Stars crossover fan fiction

[@chaosteam2000]

metal slug rulez :)

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

A classic for sure

[@wildside4822]

Dont think the Steam Deck is for me. Analogue Pocket for me 😍 but I still love watching your Steam Deck vids VGE

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

if my Pocket would EVER ship maybe I could compare the two!

[@skootdiggity1301]

FPGA is great for older consoles, but it will have a hard time playing my steam library.

[@TriNguyen-iu2vi]

Great tutorial video thank you very much. Btw do i need a bios file

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Depends on the board. So yes or no

[@TriNguyen-iu2vi]

@@VideoGameEsoterica thank you brutha! Im trying to run aliens vs predator and golden axe revenge of death adder and install and extracted the file roms in arcade rom and mamecurrent! Im not sure if there is anything I'm missing to get it to run? Maybe bios? Or maybe wrong rom file? Any help would much appreciate. Also when i downloaded the bios it was like 190 files, so i just deleted it lol

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Don’t extract the zip. Put it in the folder zipped. Also you need the q sound zip for AvP

[@TriNguyen-iu2vi]

@@VideoGameEsoterica thank you soo much it worked. I copy file over to arcade unzip. Much appreciate your help

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad it helped. Just subscribe if you aren’t yet :)

[@WilliamFitzGerald-n4c]

I erased valuable data

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Oops

[@thomasobrien2006]

Too complicated

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I mean it’s step by step but if you don’t want this on your Deck that’s fair :)

[@kentakeda9424]

One unit be value

[@PopeTheRevXXVIII]

My MAME build of choice is .216 it has the best STV support and Akai Katana is still playable (even though FB Neo is my go to Cave emulator) I'm semi tempted by the Steam Deck, and I'd have probably pre-ordered one if I didn't get a slightly over PS5 spec Laptop in late 2020.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I have like a dozen MAME builds on my pc. All for specific compatibility. Gets hard to keep track of

[@PopeTheRevXXVIII]

I only have 2 my Main build and the one build for Primal Rage 2. Might look into Shmup mame too. I don't know if it's still a thing.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I haven’t heard it mentioned in awhile

[@PopeTheRevXXVIII]

Maybe FB Neo replaced it as the Arcade Shmup EMU

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Would make sense. Neo is great for so many things now

[@SquallLeonCorazon]

How do I go about setting up BIOS files for MAME on Deck? Asking cause I already dumped both the unzipped folder contents AND a zipped file into the right folder, neither of which actually worked at all.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Depends what system. But you’ll put the bios zip in with the game zips

[@SquallLeonCorazon]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I see. I’ll check that out once I get home.

[@SquallLeonCorazon]

I did exactly that and still nothing

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Could be a bad bios too