This page was last updated April 14, 2007.
1. MARP is a self-regulating community. It is expected that all players will behave honorably as a part of this community, contributing not only to the leaderboard but to the discussions regarding the community as well. Everyone has a say at MARP, whether you're 1st on the leaderboard or 101st, and whether you've been at MARP for four years or for forty seconds. Therefore:
b) If you have a dispute with another MARPer, please contact them personally instead of flaming them publicly.
c) Be honest in your scoring and recording techniques.
2. If MAME's goal, as Nicola Salmoria has stated, is to emulate the arcade game as closely as possible, then MARP's goal is to emulate the experience of "watching a virtual master play an arcade game", true to the arcade experience, as closely as possible. This has led to the following rulings:
b) Autofire is not permitted.
c)
At Marp, it is not permitted to use more than one key or button in MAME for the same arcade machine button simultaneously.
Example1: You map keys Q,W,E,R,T,Y to Hypersports running button 1 and smash them simultaneously, to get unhuman button pushing speed ---NOT OK
Example2: You map 2 buttons and joystick to Hypersports running buttons...you use joystick at all events, except at skeets you use buttons.(you don't use joystick and buttons same time) ---ok
Example3: At Tron you use analog joystick for movement, but at lightcycles you use keyboard ---ok
Example4: At fighter, you use button macros of joystick ----NOT OK
d)
Mapping two or more of the original arcade machine's buttons to a single key or joystick button in MAME is not permitted.
Example1: At fighter, you map mame buttons 1 and 2 and 3 to keyboard key Q, so you can make a special move with 100% accuracy by pushing only one button --- NOT OK
Example2: At fighter, you map key Q to player 1 joystick up and left..this way when you press Q, you get a diagonal with 100% accuracy---NOT OK
Example3: At Hypersports you map both 2 running buttons to keyboard key Q, you get 2 pushes at game by pushing Q once ---NOT OK
e) Cheats are not permitted. (although many powerups are)
f)
The use of nvram files is prohibitied, unless otherwise specified in
special rules. If a person thinks a certain game fits into that
category, he must contact any of the editors so they can discuss the
issue. After the discussion all the editors will vote for or against
the idea and present a final decision. All games will be discussed on a
case by case basis.
You can also download this file to
ensure no nvram is used if you use the commandline. (usage: record
{gamename}). It should be noted that in some games, having hiscore.dat
present can affect playback, as can memory cards (memcard\memcard.*),
so it would be wise to remove these before recording.
The same goes for difference files (diff\*.dif), which contain changes
made to a CHD (Compressed Hunk of Data - typically a Hard Drive or CD
image). If the corresponding file isn't deleted or moved before
recording, the INP is likely to be unplaybackable.
g) There may be special rules involved OR restrictions (e.g. 5 lives only, special scoring system, etc.) for a particular game you want to submit. PLEASE read those rules before making a submission. There is a special rules link in the second column of each submitted recording if there are any.
h) Point or life leeching is strongly discouraged, and banned on some games, as described in the banned techniques list, or in the specific game's special rules. You cannot continuously gain points without some degree of risk and you must keep moving to complete a level.
i) Games must be played at a MINIMUM of 90% of their full speed. Press F11 to show the speed display, if you are unsure.
j) Recording submissions must be recorded with that particular ROMset's defaults or TG (Twin Galaxies) settings. A recording set at easier or different settings is subject to deletion, especially if it is higher than others at more difficult settings. Recording on TG settings, which are the official arcade game settings, is preferred, and will gain your scores further notice from your fellow players.
k) When recording an .inp, your recording is valid for the particular romset that you are playing ONLY. Many romsets have different difficulties, life settings, or funny nudity, so it is important that you make a different recording for each individual romset.
l) It is considered improper etiquette to record more than one game per .inp session. If this occurs only the first game's score will count.
m) Two player and four player games are not permitted for recording at MARP. They make for very boring replays.
n) Submit only games that you feel are worthy of the notice of other MARPers, owing either to personal effort, or display of skill.
o) Using Pause 'P' or suspending the mame program to take advantage of more time while making a recording will not be allowed. The same goes for turning throttling off 'F10' to speed up mame beyond normal speed.
3. Playback in a specified version of MAME is required to prove your scores. Detailed instructions about recording and playing back .inp files can be found here. It is therefore a player's responsibility to double-check their recordings to ensure that they playback properly. Recordings which do not play back under the version of MAME that you specified are subject to score-zeroing, modification, or deletion. If an editor changes your "claimed" score because the recording plays back to a different score, it will be indicated in the comments for that recording.
4. Submitting just one recording gives you several rights as a member. Click here for more details on those procedures.
5. After a certain period of activity, you can vote in elections that take place every December, or even become a coordinator or editor yourself. Click here for more details about the positions and who/how to vote in a general election.
6. And most importantly, have fun. This site is free, and has been conceived of and run by one of the greatest web gurus around. Feel free to e-mail Zwaxy and tell him what a great job he's done. If you have questions about the rules or the rules page, and don't want to post to the message board, try contacting Regulation Coordinator Tommi Tiihonen or Pat Laffaye