> I tried playing that game but I got frustrated because that game takes forever to > load... there is a very long countdown before the game starts (Peter Pepper's Ice > Cream Factory) > > Is there anyway to bypass that countdown so the game loads right away.
You can enable autosave in MAME.ini. That will automatically save the state when you exit the game and restore it when you start it up. I believe it works for DECO Cassette games.
You can also press F10 during the countdown to unthrottle MAME. Assuming your machine is reasonably fast, the countdown will run a little faster. Just remember to turn it back on before you try to play.