ROM help

JonJeja

Hi,
I understand that it is illegal to download and use roms that you do not own but is it allowed to download the ones that you do own or do you have to convert them to a digital file yourself somehow.
If it is legal to download the roms of the games you do own, is there an easy way to get them on a mac computer and then just drag them to the SD card for the pi3. If so what sort of files am i looking for.

Many thanks in advance for any help.

dankcushions

@JonJeja no matter the answer, you will not get rom links here sorry.

JonJeja

@dankcushions

@dankcushions said in ROM help:

@JonJeja no matter the answer, you will not get rom links here sorry.

Hi. I'm not wanting a link just help with what type of file works with a mac computer and also is it legal to download free or paid for roms if I already own the game.

dankcushions

@JonJeja legality: i'm not a lawyer. it depends on your country and the license of the game(s) in question but even then, i don't think there's a simple yes/no answer for "backups", so i'd guess at "illegal".

to transfer roms: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/First-Installation#transferring-roms

JonJeja

Thanks for your help Dankcushions. Looks like I'll have to look into it more.

herb_fargus

@JonJeja you can dump your own ROMs from your own cartridges, though it requires special hardware and knowledge. And even then companies will tell you it's illegal to do that and of course downloading copyrighted content you don't own is illegal and it's even technically illegal to download ROMs of games you do own, but if you can't buy the game from the company anymore then that is pretty much the only way to get them hence much of the emulation community. I've never heard of anyone being prosecuted for downloading a ROM but it's up to you to determine the legality and your line of ethics on it.

PetroRie

Stop acting like you're going to commit a major crime. Just use Google to find download links. Yet it is illegal to download them but still, who cares anyways. You;re not making profit from it.

We're not allowed to post any links to romsites, but as I stated before just search on Google. Takes like a couple seconds to find a site. Or get complete romsets.

JonJeja

Sorry for the late reply.
Thanks for your replies Herb and Petro.
As I am new to this I didn't want to do something I shouldn't be doing but after a lot of reading on the web I have made my mind up on the moral side of things with the roms.

I have figured out what files I need but haven't had chance to try them as yet.

I have a Wii u pro controller and wanted to know if the joystick part of the controller doesn't work to control the games is it possible the make them control the movement of the game.

I have been spending most of my time fixing the sound and tv resolution in retropi and all is well with the pi now :). Have to admit even though I struggled I have enjoyed learning something new :). I'm going to buy the book on pi projects next :)