MAMEDEV Forum

Hi, I've been researching online and I've read information that says MAME allows for per-game configurations on console systems like NES, SNES, and SMS. However, I've followed the instructions and haven't been able to get it to work. It's as if MAME only accepts per-system configurations and not per-game for each system. For example, I create a folder called "nes" inside the "cfg" folder, and inside that, I create a "cfg" file with the ROM's name, but it has no effect whatsoever in-game.

I've continued testing, but without success, whether using ROMs in software list format or without an intro. My conclusion is that MAME doesn't implement individual configurations for console systems and games. I don't know if the MAME team will ever consider this option, or if it's completely impossible to implement

MAME doesn't support per-software configs, period.

Where did you read otherwise?

One of the places where I saw it was at this link

https://forums.launchbox-app.com/topic/ ... -settings/

xfactor wrote: ↑Mon Jan 12, 2026 12:31 am One of the places where I saw it was at this link

https://forums.launchbox-app.com/topic/ ... -settings/

Although I have not tried it, but the method described there seems to imply that you not only create a different cfg file per game, but also change the mame commandline - for each game you want to run - to use a specific cfg file directory.

So for example, if you would like to do this for 3 different games, you would end up with 3 different mame commandlines; one for each game you want to run :
So you not only create new cfg files - in a directory specifically created for each individual game - but also tell mame through specific commandline options to use that different cfg file directory for each individual game. You would end up with as much different commandlines and directory's as the amount of games you want to set game specific settings for.

I guess you could create .cmd files for each game you want to run this way, but if you ask me it quickly becomes a confusing mess if you do that for a lot of games. Perhaps there are front-ends out there that let you change the mame commandline per game, but I am unaware of any.

I think it's definitely not possible to do this at the moment. It would be interesting to be able to make and save different screen settings, using the slider menu, in different games on the same console system. Perhaps the MAME team will implement it somehow in the future.