Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie

themazingness

@auster You are amazing! I had no idea you could just open .exe files like that with 7-zip!

Thanks a ton!

themazingness

Hmm... there's got to be a better extraction method for these games. The adf files I got don't function well, and a lot is missing. I don't even know what to do with the binaries. Renaming them doesn't work. It's a great start in the figuring out process though!

themazingness

@Auster Okay, I figured it out (well, I asked somewhere, and they pointed me to a tool I already checked, but I had overlooked Cinemaware in the list).

Here is the tool, and it works for a good list of other games as well: https://gitlab.com/vaiski/romextract

Auster

@themazingness said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

@Auster Okay, I figured it out (well, I asked somewhere, and they pointed me to a tool I already checked, but I had overlooked Cinemaware in the list).

Here is the tool, and it works for a good list of other games as well: https://gitlab.com/vaiski/romextract

Thanks for the tool!

I tried this tool on both Windows and Linux, and here's what I found:

First, for both OS's, I had to change the SHA-1 hash listed for Anthology.exe in the tool's supported.csv file, since it was either wrong or outdated.

To find the SHA-1 hash, at least on Linux, open a terminal window in Anthology.exe's folder and use this command:

$ sha1sum Anthology.exe

Then, to use the tool itself on Linux, copy Anthology.exe to the tool's folder, open a terminal window in the tool's folder and use this command:

$ ./romextract.sh ./Anthology.exe

But on Windows, for some reason, even with bash support through Cygwin, it outputed empty files, so I don't know how viable it is on Windows (weird that I already used this tool once for another game and it worked fine).

If you can't make the tool work on Windows and you don't have a computer with Linux installed, you may want to try a Linux Subsystem for Window or even a Linux virtual machine.

themazingness

@auster I got empty files at first too because unzip wasn't installed (I ran bash from Windows; I have Debian as my WSL). It worked after I ran sudo apt-get update and after that sudo apt-get install unzip. I had no need to make the changes you mentioned.

Auster

Full Throttle Remastered includes the original files which are playable in ScummVM (at least in the GOG version; I don't have the Steam, Humble Bundle or Itchio versions to test).

To get the needed files, first install the game (it should be available for Windows, Linux and Mac 10.11 and later).

Then download this program, extract and open it (doesn't require installation and should work with Wine on Linux and Mac): https://quickandeasysoftware.net/software/doublefine-explorer

Then click in the "open" button in the upper left of the program and choose the "Full Throttle Remastered" option.

After that, navigate to where you installed the game and open the "full.data" file (it's in the "game" folder, at least in the Linux version).

Then click in the "Save All Files" button, then in the "Save All (raw dump)" option in the drop down menu and wait (it's 5 GB, so it could take some minutes in some computers).

Lastly, open the folder where you extracted all files, go to the folder "classic", then the folder "en", and copy all 3 files to the root of the extraction folder (so for example, if you extracted the files to Downloads\FullThrottle, the files will be in Downloads\FullThrottle\classic\en, and need to be placed back in Downloads\FullThrottle).

The mandatory files/folders are listed here: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php/Full_Throttle
The file ft.la0 is the game's executable. Also, apparently, the game has other languages' files included, but I don't know how to apply them.

GOG's version: https://www.gog.com/game/full_throttle_remastered
The other versions if someone wants to test:
[Steam] https://store.steampowered.com/app/228360/
[HB] https://www.humblebundle.com/store/full-throttle-remastered
[Itchio] https://doublefine.itch.io/full-throttle-remastered

And there are other games from Double Fine which should be compatible with ScummVM as well, but I don't have them so I can't test.

Auster

Motor Mash comes with a PS1 ROM.
Store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1257950/Motor_Mash/
The needed files are game.cue and GAME.BIN in [Steam's install folder]/Motor Mash/res
And if you want to rename the game's files, you need to open the .cue file on a text editor and change GAME.BIN in the first line for whatever name you chose. Just remember to keep the quotation marks in the .cue file's code and to keep the .BIN file's extension in both the .cue file's code and in the original file's name.

Clyde

@auster Interestingly, the Steam page doesn't mention the Playstation at all, or do I miss something? If not, they're reselling a game for a rather ancient game console probably in some sort of emulator bottle as a Windows version ("OS: Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10"). At least they do name the original release year of 1997.

Maybe I'm a bit pedantic, but to me it feels like a certain faudulent labelling. Or was there actually a "Windows version" in this form back then? Then my criticism applies to the former publisher … and to Steam for not mentioning it even today.

Just a little rant about common ~~lies~~ selling practises, please move along. 😉

themazingness

@clyde It is published by Piko Interactive. Their whole thing is purchasing old games and publishing them with their own emulation software they built. I've mentioned many of their games in this thread. I suspect most people buying their products know they are buying emulated games.

It doesn't say Playstation, but the graphics scream they are. Besides, they list 1997 as the year of original publication date as you say.

themazingness

@clyde Come to think of it, there may be issues with using the word Playstation on Steam. There are a ton of retro games on Steam, and the only ones that seem to state the system branding are game IPs owned by Sega and Atari.

Back on the topic of Piko Interactive and where to legally get games, they bought Bleem recently and will have a marketplace for retro and homebrew games (not just PSX for those who remember Bleem! being a Playstation emulator). The marketplace will be here: http://store.bleempowered.com/

mitu

A free MSX game - Mutants from the Deep.

Auster

Ghosts 'n Goblins, which is a DLC for the free app Capcom Arcade Stadium, comes with an arcade romset (is that how you call it?). The files match those that MAME 2003 expects.

Ghosts 'n Goblins's page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1556690/Capcom_Arcade_StadiumGhosts_n_Goblins/
Capcom Arcade Stadium's page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1515950/Capcom_Arcade_Stadium/

To get the files, after you install the base app and the DLC, go to [Steam install folder]/steamapps/common/Capcom Arcade Stadium/dlc and extract the contents of the file re_dlc_stm_1556690.pak with a tool for managing compressed file (I only had luck with Linux's "unzip" tool, but feel free to test with other tools, such as 7-Zip).

Then, for these files to be readable with MAME 2003, you'll need to build the ROM with them.

For that, first get the xml dat file with the right information for the romset, such as file names and expected SHA-1 checksum. Libretro's fork of MAME 2003 has such a dat file: https://github.com/libretro/mame2003-libretro/blob/master/metadata/mame2003.xml
Then follow the instructions listed in the "ClrMamePro tutorial" here: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Validating%2C-Rebuilding%2C-and-Filtering-ROM-Collections/#clrmamepro-tutorial

Some observations:
You can also manually check the SHA-1 checksum of the files, if you want.
And in the Rebuilder, setting the merge options to Non-Merged and unticking Separate BIOS sets in the Advanced... button made the game work fine.
And if the program complains about "Scanner and Rebuilder mergenodes differ", just click on "Yes".

After you do the process, the tool will output 25 zip files, but only gng.zip is functional.
I guess that happens because Ghosts'n Goblins comes with multiple files that appear in other romsets, so the tool probably tries to create the games whose files match their romsets, whether or not they're complete.

Lastly, there are more DLCs for Capcom Arcade Stadium that likely work the same, but as I don't own them, I can't check.

Auster

@bense2k said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

Amiga Forever for the kickstart roms and some games.

Is there any source other than forums that says that Amiga Forever may sell Amiga's OS-related files? I'm having a hard time finding anything.

And if Amiga Forever is indeed allowed to sell these files, then it seems to be one of the few, if not the only legit source of Workbench files (due to aging and data rot), which are needed for some games, such as Black Dawn 7 (included in the Black Dawn collection mentioned in the post #321).

Clyde

@auster said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

Is there any source other than forums that says that Amiga Forever may sell Amiga's OS-related files? I'm having a hard time finding anything.

How about Wikipedia > AmigaOS > 4th paragraph > Sources [1] and [2]?

Auster

@clyde I saw the site from source 1 but for some reason I wasn't sure it was legit. Thanks for confirming it.

Auster

@auster said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

From what I read in both the game's pages and in the forum I saw this game, Nox Archaist comes with an Apple II ROM:
https://6502workshop.itch.io/nox-archaist
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1509080/Nox_Archaist/
https://www.gog.com/game/nox_archaist

Update: Checked the GOG version, and it's an Apple IIgs ROM.

In case someone's not sure, here's how to run Nox Archaist in emulators specifically made for running Apple IIgs:

Download the game's goodie/extra Apple II hard drive and floppy disk images (it's a zip file with the needed file; not sure how it's included on Itchio or Steam), extract Nox Archaist HDV (v114).HDV to somewhere you can find later, open the emulator, open the settings menu (F4 in KEGS, for example), set the file you extracted in the slot s7d1 (navigate with the up and down arrow keys, and confirm with enter; no need to place anything else in the other slots), then restart the emulator. It'll boot straight into the game.

You can also set a bootable disk as s7d1 and Nox Archaist HDV (v114).HDV as s7d2, but then you'll have to open Apple IIgs' desktop, open the folder/icon named NOXARCHAIST and open the file NOXARCH.SYSTEM to open the game.

You could also edit the emulator's config file directly, but at least setting the files through the emulator's options ensures the paths are correct.

Also, you need to mount the Apple IIgs' firmware ROM as well. As far as I know, it's a type of BIOS, so you need to get it from your own Apple IIgs machine.

And lastly, what the devs said about safely exiting the game/emulator/computer:

just use the Q key to Quick save to either slot 1 or 2. Then it is safe to just close the emulator or turn off your Apple II.

Auster

Is The Silver Case emulated in any way or does it contain PC-98 files in its assets like some ScummVM games do?

I saw a mention that the game was released on PC-98 as well, but I don't know how to check the game's assets (it uses Unity in the Steam/GOG release) and I don't even know what files I should be looking for.

themazingness

Intellivision Lives! for Windows 95/Power Macintosh is a collection of 50 Intellivision roms on CD-ROM from 1998. The BIOS files are also on the disc. No need to install the program, just get exec.bin and grom.bin from the root folder and put those in your BIOS folder. Then go to INTYPC>INTYTECH>BINARIES to get the roms (they're organized in folders by game genre).

The collection isn't too hard to find at a good price. Don't confuse it with Intellivision Lives! for various consoles or Intellivision Greatest Hits for PC/Mac (not sure if the latter would have ROMS, but it does have less games).

Edit: The BIOS files are in uppercase. To work with RetroPie, rename them in lowercase.

Auster

On the topic of physical compilations of ROMs (sorry for the massive post in advance), the US release of Sonic Mega Collection Plus for PS2, GameCube and likely PC (only released as a physical edition) includes 17 ROMs, 11 for Mega Drive and 6 for Game Gear, and even a BIOS needed to run special modes in some Mega Drive games.

I learned the base for the process here: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30647
But it still required a lot of figuring things out and far more time than I'm proud to admit.

I used the PS2 version, but it should work more or less the same in the other releases. (Will need to adapt the process with the tools available for your platform of choice.) Also, I'll check later if I can extract the BIOS from the Steam release of Sonic 3 & Knuckles as well.

And I couldn't figure out how to do the process on Linux, since apparently Unix systems handle RAM way different than Windows.

If you have this collection on the PS2 and want to extract the ROMs included, you'll need a few things: a bunch of PS2 save utility tools (listed during the process), a save with everything unlocked (Gamefaqs should have it), PCSX2, a hex editor and a computer that can handle PS2 emulation (doesn't matter if it's laggy).

First, how to get the full save into PCSX2:

Step 1:
If you got the save from a real PS2, skip this step.
If you got a PSV file (PS2 save generated in the PS3), get the program PSV Exporter:
https://www.ps2savetools.com/download/psv-exporter/
Then extract the tool, open it, click in "File", click in "Open PSV file", choose the file and, once loaded (should load fast), click on "File" again, click in "Extract all files" and choose the output directory.
It should output 3 files, one called "BASLUS-2091700" (no extension), one called "icon.sys" and one called "LIST.ICO".

Step 2:
Get the program PS2 Save Builder:
https://www.ps2savetools.com/download/ps2-save-builder/
Then open it, drag into it the 3 files you got either from an actual PS2 or the PS3's PSV file, type the name of the file without extension in the field to the right of "Root/ID" (such as BASLUS-2091700 for the US release), click in "file", click in "save as", type a name of your choice (doesn't matter what you type), select the file type as "AR MAX V3 (*.max)", choose the output folder and confirm.

Step 3:
Open PCSX2, open the Memory Card Manager and create a new memory card. Name whatever you want.
Also make sure it says "yes" in the "Formatted" column.
If it isn't formatted, while still inside the Memory Card Manager, select the the memory card, click in the "Insert" button and put in either the port 1 or 2 (doesn't matter which).
Then exit the Manager, click in "CDVD" option in PCSX2's main window and select "No Disc".
Then click in "System" in the main window and click in "Boot BIOS".
Then, in the emulation screen, wait for it to load, then click in "Browser".
Then open the memory card you inserted in the manager before (e.g. if you inserted it in Port 1, it'll be "Memory Card (PS2)/1").
It'll say the memory card is unformatted and it'll ask if you want to format it now. Choose "Yes".
Then close the emulator.

Step 4:
Download myMC:
http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/mymc/
Open it. If it complains about missing dll's or if it closes right after being opened, get both msvcp71.dll and msvcr71.dll and place them in the same folder as mymc.exe.
Then select the memory card you created in Step 3.
Then click on the memeory card symbol with a green arrow to its left.
Then open the .max file you created in Step 2. The program will automatically inject the save in the memory card and save the changes.
Close the program.

Now you have the full save in PCSX2.

Then the main part, extracting the ROMs.
First read the base process (first link). I'll be using the tool the creator of the original post suggested, HxD.

To make it easier for extracting the Genesis/Mega Drive ROMs, here's the expected lengths:

Sonic The Hedgehog: 80000
Sonic The Hedgehog 2: 100000
Sonic The Hedgehog 3: 200000
Sonic & Knuckles: 200000
Sonic 3D Blast: 400000
Sonic Spinball: 100000
Dr.Robotinik's Mean Bean Machine: 100000
Flicky: 20000
Ristar: 200000
Comix Zone: 200000
The Ooze (only Genesis game from this collection not released on Steam as well): 100000

To get Game Gear games, as well as Sonic & Knuckles UPMEM ROM (the lock on BIOS I mentioned in the beginning), the steps change a bit:

1 - Press Ctrl F, go to the first tab (text) and look for a text I'll be referring to as "text to look for" (it'll always be the first result)
2 - Once you find the first result, click click in the beggining of its line in the hex table (pressing the "Home" button also works)
3 - Hold the shift key and start pressing either the up arrow key or the page up key until the "lenght(h)" value in the botton of the window is the value I specify for that game (I'll be calling it "backwards value").
4 - Click in the beginning of the top line of your selection from the previous step (home key works again), then press Ctrl E and put the lenght in hexadecimal value as you'd do with the Genesis/Mega Drive games.
5 - Copy the hex table, open a new tab in HXD, then paste the table in this new tab, which you'll be saving as a .gg file.

Needed information:

BIOS (name it sk2chip.bin instead of a .gg file):
Text to look for (yes, this text sample is right): ÀÿØ!üs2mdÿü
Backwards value: 70
Lenght: 40000

Sonic The Hedgehog:
Text to look for: game gear
Backwards value: FFC0
Lenght: 40000

Sonic Labyrinth:
Text to look for: TMR SEGA
Backwards value: 7FF0
Lenght: 80000

Sonic Drift:
Text to look for: DRIFT (C) SEGA
Backwards value: 990
Lenght: 80000

Sonic Chaos:
Text to look for: GG SONIC¥CHAOS
Backwards value: C0
Lenght: 80000

Sonic Blast:
Text to look for: GG SONIC 96
Backwards value: C0
Lenght: 100000

Dr.Robotinik's Mean Bean Machine:
Text to look for: TMR SEGA
Backwards value: 7FF0
Lenght: 40000

Auster

Something I forgot about the BIOS:
If you plan to use it, Sonic & Knuckles' ROM needs to go with it in the emulator's BIOS folder.
And at least Genesis Plus GX on Retroarch expects the two files to be named properly.
The lock on BIOS should be named sk2chip.bin, and Sonic & Knuckles' ROM should be named sk.bin, and their sizes should be 256 KB and 2048 KB, respectively.

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And I couldn't find sk2chip.bin's code in Sonic 3 & Knuckles' ROM from Steam, but I found something interesting:

If you paste Sonic & Knuckles' hex table to a new file, then you paste another game's hex table in this new file immediately after, you get ROMs that automatically load in special modes without the BIOS files placed in the emulator's BIOS folder.

The possible combinations I know of:

Sonic & Knuckles + Sonic 3 = Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles + Sonic 2 + sk2chip.bin (add in this order) = Knuckles in Sonic 2
Sonic & Knuckles + Sonic 1 = Blue Sphere (and you can choose the map's random generation seed freely)
Sonic & Knuckles + any other game = Blue Sphere (with static random generation seeds that change from game to game)

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Lastly, a question:

Did anyone manage to extract Sonic Adventure DX's ROMs from the Steam release?
It's listed in romextract's scripts, but I can't extract it (gives some error about prxstool and temp folders, even if I build the tool and place in the romextract's tools folder).
I also can't extract it with either WinRAR, 7-Zip or Linux's program Nautilus.