The best way to filler mame roms

haythoo

Hi,
so I have tried this tutorial : https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Managing-ROMs

but I find it easier to just copy the working and tested roms which run perfectly on Raspberry Pie.

My steps, for example for "lr-mame2010"

1- get the lr-mame2010 COMPATIBILITY LIST
2- make a copy of it to your google drive so you can edit it, or just download it to your desktop.
3- Filter the C column " Rpi 2 Status " to show OK roms only by clicking on it:

4- select and copy A column " File Name" and put it on txt file and save it on c drive:

5-open notepad and create new bat file and write this code:
FOR /F "delims=" %%i in (2010.txt) do echo D|xcopy "D:\mameRoms\Roms\Roms\%%i.zip" "D:\mameRoms\Roms\2010\%%i.zip" /i /z /y

6- note that :
This is my roms folder ( 18000 rom!!! ): D:\mameRoms\Roms\Roms\
This where I want to copy my filtered roms: D:\mameRoms\Roms\2010\

7- using this method I got all my roms working!! but the Managing-ROMs method did not.

Thanks

haythoo

Sorry: update 1:
FOR /F "delims=" %%i in (2010.txt) do echo D|xcopy "D:\mameRoms\Roms\Roms\%%i.zip" "D:\mameRoms\Roms\retropie-dat-master\2010\" /i /z /y

remove the second %%i.zip so it will not create folder for each rom

sorry for that

Flesy_

Man!!

You are my hero!, i just tried to find a solution using CLRMAMEpro and ROMlister but i din´t find it until i read your post!! Gratz man!!

Floob

You really need to work on a known romlist version, its largely an exact science, besides the odd rom that might not be compatible.
Once you get to grips with the tutorial you'll have fully compatible sets for any version in minutes.

For example, seeing 1941 on the 2010 compatibility list, doesnt mean that the 1941.zip file you have will necessarily work - it has to be the right version.

This may also help:
http://choccyhobnob.com/tutorials/demystifying-mame-roms/

You can see here, exactly which emulators need exactly which romset versions
https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/Managing-ROMs

haythoo

@Floob I have noticed that, but I found this way is more accurate

haythoo

I used this to not have duplicate Roms, so if the rom is exist in lr-mame2010 (mame-libretro) there is no need to have it in mame-mame4all

FOR /F "delims=" %%i  in (4all.txt) do ( 
IF EXIST "D:\mameRoms\Roms\2010\%%i" (
    Echo already exist
 ) ELSE ( 
   echo D|xcopy "D:\mameRoms\Roms\Roms\%%i.zip" "D:\mameRoms\Roms\mame4allroms\" /i /z /y 
 )
 
)

Floob

@haythoo said in The best way to filler mame roms:

@Floob I have noticed that, but I found this way is more accurate

Its not. If it works for you though, thats fine and I'll leave it here.

Here are some comments from a MAME developer explaining why/how mame romsets change:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MAME/comments/3gh78n/probably_a_silly_question_but_why_are_rom_packs/

In summary, romsets change over time, and compatibility is set by matching the romsets to the versions the emulator needs.

Riverstorm

@haythoo said in The best way to filler mame roms:

@Floob I have noticed that, but I found this way is more accurate

It's only accurate if the source ROMs are 0.139 or close to that version. The older (or newer) the ROM set the more failures you'll encounter when running games due to ROM updates/additions/changes. The only thing you've really accomplished is pulling a subset of 'OK' tested ROMs. You haven't validated the ROMs themselves to well...anything. If they do work it's completely arbitrary and only because they are a 0.139 set or close. The internal ROMs inside each zip archive have significance. Each ROM inside an archive is raw data that is exacted with a CRC check. You're pulling ROMs solely based on a name with complete disregard to zip archive content.

mediamogul

It can be a bit frustrating when the process doesn't appear to be producing results, but there is method behind the madness and there's always the fine folks here on the forums to help with any problems that might come up.

caver01

I like the technique used by @haythoo here to pull tested games out of a set, but the point being made by others here is that a ROM tested OK by name (game.zip) does not guarantee that YOUR copy of the zip file is the correct version that passed the test. This is because the ROM names don't change, even though their contents evolve over time.

You need to ensure you are starting with a complete set that matches the version of the intended emulator/compatibility list. That's where CLRMAMEPRO comes in. In other words, you can't start with the most current ROMset and pull out the ones tested OK from a Mame4All-pi compatibility list and expect that they will work. The ROMset would be incompatible with the chosen emulator, and although some titles might work, it will be hit and miss, and the compatibility list would be invalid.

If the ROM version sets and lists match up, it's a nice way to filter the files.

Riverstorm

@caver01 said in The best way to filler mame roms:

If the ROM version sets and lists match up, it's a nice way to filter the files.

Agreed, I was going to add something to that effect as what he's done would be quite useful when starting with a proper set and the Wiki spreadsheet.

Floob

Yes, matching against filenames can be useful to compare and produce lists.
I like the batch file editor built into Romlister that does that for removing certain game types and clones etc..
https://www.waste.org/~winkles/ROMLister/

Riverstorm

@Floob said in The best way to filler mame roms:

Yes, matching against filenames can be useful to compare and produce lists.
I like the batch file editor built into Romlister that does that for removing certain game types and clones etc..
https://www.waste.org/~winkles/ROMLister/

Thanks Floob, I've never used ROMLister. I think I am going to load it up as it looks to be very handy.

jorgito13

Hello! Can someone share that spreadsheet, since the link is down.

lr-mame2010 COMPATIBILITY LIST

alt text

mahoneyt944

@jorgito13 This is a much newer source for compatibility. https://buildbot.libretro.com/compatibility_lists/

jorgito13

Thanks @mahoneyt944, but the previous form has more data. I can do more detailed filtering.

mahoneyt944

@jorgito13 the problem with the old compatibility table is RetroPie has changed its underlying OS over the years and all the emulators have been updated since it's creation, so it would be safe to say that some of those entries may not be all that accurate anymore. The new table while not as enriched, is auto-generated based on the lastest XML DAT file used by the core. The entries on that list mirror the warning flags assigned internally by the drivers, so it should be some what accurate with the state of those games.

If there is a particular piece of information you want to be added to the new list, or sorting method. I maybe able to update DAT Magic (what builds those lists) to auto-generate some of those features.