Different versions of MAME are a major pain, believe me I know. I have ALMOST every version of mame which supports INPs, and I always try to use exactly the same version when doing a verify.(posted 9241 days ago)For example, a Mario Bros INP I verified uses win35 beta 3. _NO_ _OTHER_ _VERSION_ would replay it except for win95 beta 3.
Same with Carnival, only worse. Only one version will even record at all, and that's 33 beta 4.
Sometimes another version will work, say m36b3 and m36b4 will both work for a given INP. With Punchout and Super Punchout the only way I can get them to playback is without sound. It helps a lot when the players put a little readme file detailing all the specifics.