
SYSTEM ROMS
===========

Most systems will require a bios/system rom. If a system requires a bios/system rom, then it will
not start without it. Most drivers have been written using a specific bios/system rom and you
are recommended to use this rom. When the system is started, the rom you have provided is compared
against the recommended rom and a report is generated if they are different.

If you use a rom which does not match the recommended rom then the driver is not guaranteed to work.

All bios/system roms should be put into the bios directory.

The rom you use must have the same filename as the recommended rom.
You have two options:

1. You can put the rom into a zip archive and this archive must have the same name as the system.
e.g. 

"cp464.zip" containing "cpc464.rom" and "cpcados.rom" in the "bios" directory:

bios\cpc464.zip

2. You can create a sub-directory inside "roms" which has the same name as the system. Put the roms for the
system inside this sub-directory.

e.g.
"bios\cpc464" directory containing "cpc464.rom" and "cpcados.rom"

bios\cpc464\cpc464.rom
bios\cpc464\cpcados.rom

SOFTWARE
========

To use software with a system you must have it in a emulator format (e.g. a rom dump, a cartridge dump,
a disk image, a tape image).

If there isn't a "software" directory you must create one, so that you have the following directory tree:

mess.exe
bios\
software\

In the "software" directory, create a sub-directory which has the same name as the system:

e.g.

software\cpc464\

put the software in a uncompressed form into this directory.

e.g.

software\cpc464\commando.dsk

You can see a list of devices and the emulator file format that they support by typing:

mess -listformats


USAGE
=====

The minimum to start MESS is:

mess <system name>

e.g.

mess cpc464

MESS will stop if:

1. the system roms can't be found
2. the system roms are incorrect 
3. a emulator file is required but it was not specified (e.g. a cartridge is required but this has not been specified)
4. a emulator file was specified but the format was not recognised.

<insert image info here from original mess.txt>

KEYBOARD
========

MESS has two keyboard-modes, UI and Game. You can press SCROLL-LOCK to toggle between these,
and a window will display for a brief time to display the current mode.

Mode: FULL keyboard
UI: Disabled

or

Mode: PARTIAL keyboard
UI: Enabled

When UI is enabled, the function of some keys will change. These are not passed through to the emulation!

If you press TAB when the UI is enabled a menu will appear where you can view and change settings.
When you return to the emulation, be careful if UI mode is still active, pressing P for example will
pause the emulation (pressing P again will resume the emulation). You can press SCROLL-LOCK to change
it back to Game mode.

