I have MESS v.104 and I've installed the ROM's for the Bally Astrocade, which I own.
Everything works except the controllers. The Bally joysticks has pots that allow you to rotate the joystick handle clockwise/counter-clockwise in addition to 8-way play. The rotary feature is used in games like Breakout to control the paddle or racing games to control the steering. The MESS input options allows me to specify the joystick left, right, up, down and trigger, but does not give any settings for rotation. I've tried my mouse and my Sidewinder, but I can't get the rotation working.