hiscore.dat (noob question)

[Boz]

Can someone set me straight on the necessity of hiscore.dat?

I've read a couple of sites regarding this file and it's realistic application, but I'm still not sure about a couple of things. The way I understand it is that hiscore.dat contains realistic high scores of many popular games. But it seems to me the only way to get those high scores into the actual games is by editing the rom(?) and changing several registers. And, unless you are foolproof with a hex editor (Ultra Edit) the change may or may not work, depending on the game.  Is this right? Am I way off?

If this is the case, then I wonder if seeing a realistic high score is worth the effort that it seems it requires.

[Tiger-Heli]

USING hiscore.dat involves downloading the file and extracting it to your MAME directory.  After this MAME will save your highscores for the games highscore.dat supports.

ADDING GAMES TO hiscore.dat requires setting hex watchpoints and monitoring registers as you describe.  It could be fun, but requires a certain dedication and usually isn't for the average user.

[jopenner]

Where can you download the hiscore.dat file from?
Thanks.

John

[Thenasty]

Where can you download the hiscore.dat file from?
Thanks.

John

http://www.mameworld.net/highscore/