1) We recommend using stand alone Mame and the version number should match the rom set version to ensure the best compatibility with the games.
2) After you load a game if you press the Tab key on your keyboard you will see a menu and the two top entries will be Input (General) and Input (Machine). General will be where you will want to set up your basic controls, your universal controls that will work for the vast majority of games. Machine will be where you setup controls specific for the game you just loaded, these will over ride the General ones, use this for games with unique or different control schemes from most other games.