Where is mame.ini file that Hyperspin/RocketLauncher are reading?

[javeryh]

I am running MAME 0.281. When I launch mame.exe and then launch a game from the UI, it reads the mame.ini file in my MAME folder (same location as mame.exe). I can see scanlines and my other settings are there.

When I launch via Hyperspin (click on Hyperspin.exe), I get my same list of games with the wheel, snaps, etc. that are showing as "Available" in MAME but when I launch a game from there, the mame.ini file is not being read (no scanlines showing up, etc.).

I have my mame.ini file in Hyperspin\Emulators\MAME folder with the mame.exe, roms folder and everything else. Is there somewhere else that Hyperspin/RocketLauncher is looking for mame.ini? I can't find a path or a setting anywhere that would be looking for the mame.ini file. I suspect I'm missing something obvious or else there would be a ton of people asking about this and I can't find anything. It's driving me crazy!

Thanks.

[jesfknkrys]

RocketLauncher ignores the MAME settings. I believe you need to edit this file. It is located in Hyperspin->Modules->MAME folder. Set "LegacyMode" = "True" as shown below.

   

[javeryh]

Thank you so much! I just checked and there is no MAME.ini file in my Hyperspin\Modules\MAME folder. I have the 3 MAME ahk files in your screenshot and nothing else. I did a little searching and it looks like I needed to update the Module with a new MAME.ahk and MAME.isd file, which I downloaded from the RocketLauncher forum and copied into this folder. But I still don't know how to get that MAME.ini file you opened. If I copy my mame.ini file from my Hyperspin\Emulators\MAME folder into this folder, it is still not being read when launching via Hyperspin. 

However, I do have the exact files you listed in my RocketLauncher\Modules\MAME folder (vectrex folder, Apple IIGS (Example).ini, etc.) but the MAME.ini is basically an empty file:

[MAME]
HLSL=ini
GLSL=ini
Inipath=.\ini
[Settings]
HLSL=ini
GLSL=ini
Videomode=ini

That's all that's in there. I added the line "LegacyMode=true" to this file (in the RocketLauncher\Modules\MAME folder) and IT WORKED. It is now ignoring whatever it was doing and looking at my mame.ini file to apply the settings.

I am still a bit confused though because my setup is different than yours... I think somewhere in either HyperHQ or RocketLauncherUI I must not be telling RocketLauncher/Hyperspin/MAME how to all work together....

I'd love to learn more (like why is there a Module folder in both HyperSpin and RocketLauncher and which one take priority) but THANK YOU for the help since I seem to have figured out how to get things to behave like I want. 

EDIT: Wait a minute... am I supposed to extract all of the RocketLauncher stuff into the Hyperspin folder and overwrite the Hyperspin folders/files at the initial install?? There are a lot of similar folders and files in each application... 

[gigapig]

On 10/22/2025 at 4:16 PM, javeryh said:

I'd love to learn more (like why is there a Module folder in both HyperSpin and RocketLauncher and which one take priority) but THANK YOU for the help since I seem to have figured out how to get things to behave like I want. 

 

Before Rocket launcher there was only Hyperspin which had a modules folder for .ahk scripts to go.

Then Rocket launcher came along with its own ahk scripts and if you have a Rocket launcher folder in your Hyperspin folder then RL scripts will be used. The default should be for Rocket launcher to be you default launcher this is set in the settings.ini file in your HS folder but shouldn't need to worry about that.

 

Most of your Rocket launcher setup should be done in RocketLauncherUI if you're a novice. Under the 'Modules' tab for MAME is where you will find those MAME ini settings. Hopefully you've managed to do it via the ini as suggested by jesfknkrys.