ares
7.5#2 in sega master system emulatorsFree planFree planLinuxmacOSSelf-hostedWindows
Visitares vs MAME
What both publish
| Fact | ares | MAME |
|---|---|---|
| Debugger | A built-in debugger provides simple tracing tools for development of original software. | MAME includes an interactive low-level debugger for diagnosing emulation issues, developing software for vintage systems, and examining how software works. |
| Extensibility | The command line supports loading multiple games, alternate settings files and custom slang shaders, but the project pages do not describe a hosted API or SDK. | MAME supports Lua plugins loaded from configurable plugin paths. |
| License | The source code is distributed under the ISC license. | The project as a whole is distributed under GPL-2.0, and the site says over 90% of its files, including core files, are under BSD-3-Clause. |
| Purpose | ares is a cross-platform, open-source multi-system emulator focused on accuracy and preservation. | MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework intended to preserve software history by documenting hardware and how it functions. |
ares plans
- aresFree
- FreeFree
MAME plans
- MAMEFree
Pick ares if…
ares suits people looking to emulate supported systems on desktop Linux, macOS, or Windows, including developers working on original software for those systems. Linux users should be comfortable compiling from source or finding third-party packages.
Pick MAME if…
MAME suits people interested in preserving or exploring vintage systems, as well as developers, ROM hackers, and users investigating software behavior. Its debugger and Lua interface also serve technical work on emulation and vintage software.