MAME32 never cared about the data in the .hi file. The .hi file is used the same way as all other MAME platforms, as the code for .hi and .cfg files is in the CORE MAME source code.(posted 9798 days ago)What is different now, is the Core has changed. Old .inp file do not play with MAME35b1 or newer, because the key input routines have changed.
The 35bx versions of MAME32 now store additional header information in the first 32 bytes of the .inp to indicate which version of MAME32 wrote the .inp file and what game was recorded. This means that if MAME32 opens a newer .inp that was created with MAME32, it will play the proper game without the user having to select the game before playing back the .inp. If the .inp does not have the extra information, it is assumed the user knows what he's doing and attempts to play back the .inp file using the currently selected game.
Here's what the header looks like,
BYTE name[9]; game directory name padded out with '\0'; BYTE version[3]; byte1 = 0, byte2 = version, byte3 = beta version BYTE reserved[20]; reserved for future use
Hope that explains why MAME doesn't like the MAME32 inp files.
- Mike -