Nice MAME2003 overlays repository

jdrassa

@meleu Will your script handle overlays that can be used for more than one ROM? Specifically wondering about The Simpsons which has a 2 player and 4 player version.

meleu

@jdrassa said in Nice MAME2003 overlays repository:

Will your script handle overlays that can be used for more than one ROM?

No.

I thought about it and decided to not. I don't want to make the script check dat files searching for clone file names, etc.

The good thing is that doing what you want is pretty simple: just copy (or rename) the .zip.cfg file to match the clone file name. ;-)

Example:

cp simpsons.zip.cfg simpsons2p.zip.cfg

meleu

@UDb23 I faced two issues when working on the script and would like to propose two more "rules" (I could handle these in the script, but I believe we can leave the script simpler if following these rules):

don't use duplicated overlay0_overlay entries, even when commented (my PR #9 fixes this problem in some files). Example of what I'm saying to avoid (from Marvel vs. Capcom .cfg file):

overlay0_overlay = mvc_udb_1.png 
# overlay0_overlay = mvc_udb_2.png

don't use duplicated .zip.cfg files (I saw this situation on Moon Cresta directory). I think you did it to use with clone ROMs, but let's leave this task to the user (like I suggested in the post above).

meleu

I want to make available the option to install the overlays in other directories, not only the roms/mame-libretro. I'm thinking in these:

mame-libretro (obviously)
arcade
fba
neogeo

Do you guys use some other directory for arcade ROMs?

UDb23

@meleu ok. Let's stick to this.

meleu

@UDb23 If you merge my PR I think I can release an useful version of the script tonight. (This is not a blackmail! :-) It's just that I'm writing the script based on those changes)

UDb23

@meleu :-) Just came home; merge done right now !
Thanks for your hard work.

meleu

@UDb23 I've just made another Pull Request with the very first version of the script and an update on the README.

I think it's better to put the script inside your repository. It will simplify things. :-)

UDb23

@meleu merged!

meleu

@UDb23 Nice!

Hey guys, now you can easily install the @UDb23 's overlays this way:

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/udb23/rpie-ovl.git
cd rpie-ovl
bash rpie-ovl.sh

After launching rpie-ovl.sh you just have to follow the instructions in the dialog boxes.

Any feedback is welcome.

I already edited the OP with these instructions. ;-)

UDb23

@meleu Great, will try it tomorrow.

pjft

@UDb23 @Meleu wow. These look amazing, and the setup script is the cherry on top!

A question: will it install all overlays regardless of whether I actually have the ROM there? Or do I need to add the Roms for the games for which there are overlays for beforehand?

Just checking the right process :)

Thanks for your contributions to the community!

meleu

@pjft said in Nice MAME2003 overlays repository:

A question: will it install all overlays regardless of whether I actually have the ROM there?

Yes. It was a conscious decision. I did this way because sometimes the user don't have the exact ROM as the @UDb23 created overlay for, but a clone. In this case the user just have rename the RomName.zip.cfg file.

Example: if you don't have the simpsons.zip (that version of The Simpsons for 4 players) but have the simpsons2p.zip (the version for 2 players where the player can choose the character), then you just have to install the overlay and then go to the rom directory and do a mv simpsons.zip.cfg simpsons2p.zip.cfg.

I'm sure somebody will ask for this "clone matching" in the script at somepoint, but it would add an unwanted complexity to the script, like searching for this info in some dat file... (C'mon guys! Let's learn some simple Linux command!) :-)

UDb23

@meleu Fully agree :-)

pjft

@meleu got it. My thoughts exactly. It's easier to see what roms you're looking for after they're installed.

Thanks!

jdrassa

@meleu Great job on the script. With regards to clone roms, I was thinking of something more along the lines of how you are handling multiple overlay images. If there is more than one zip.cfg file present, then prompt the user to choose one.

meleu

@jdrassa said in Nice MAME2003 overlays repository:

If there is more than one zip.cfg file present, then prompt the user to choose one.

yeah, it's very simple to do in the script. But would transfer the responsibility to use correct file names to @UDb23 (artist guys shouldn't be bothered with these peculiarities :) ). And to be honest I think he already does a lot in providing us the config files already filled in (besides, of course, the art of the overlays).

Let's share this work: @UDb23 makes the art and kindly provides the config files, I maintain the install script working, and the user deal with the "overlay for clone ROMs" issue. :-)

Keep in mind that it all started with individual zip files in those obscure mega.nz URLs and the users needed to 1) know the right URL to download the zip file; 2) transfer the file to the raspberry pi (AFAIK it's not possible to download stuff from mega.nz using command line tools); 3) manually move files to the right directories and edit them.

We are lucky that @UDb23 agreed to create a github repository and put his artwork there. This made it possible for me to write the installation script. And I made it as a show of gratitude for the overlays he did for the community (some of them were based on my requests).

detron

this is amazing! thank you!!!!

jdrassa

@meleu I don't really see it as putting any additional responsibility on @UDb23. The single zip.cfg file that exists currently must be named properly. The way I see it is that if additional files exist (as is the case with Moon Cresta), it would be nice to prompt the user.

The great thing about these overlays being on github is that it opens it up for the community to contribute. If there is an overlay that doesn't have a config for a clone that I am running, I can create a pull request to add it and then the whole community can benefit.

Would you object if I attempted to add this functionality myself?

UDb23

First of all thanks again to @meleu for creating this script. I'm happy to see that his and my work is appreciated by others. This whole overlays thing started as I wanted to make some of them for myself and just thought they could be of interest of others.

It is not an issue for me to add multiple cfg's for a single game. It's not only a matter of "clones"; sometime different region versions exist and, given same screen size, the actual games may even be different. A good example is "the end" by Stern I'm working on currently: it has original konami (JP) and Stern (US) versions. Same game and same screen size, different rom names (so different cfg names required), slightly different graphics and gameplay.
If I place the cfgs in the specific folder and @meleu provides the option to select, how would a user select the specific cfg he needs ? Means user needs to know the rom name he wants. Then probably user would need to be able to select multiple cfgs instead of going thru the install process again to select next needed cfg.

To me the best solution would be that the script simply installs all the cfgs it finds for that game. You may end up with some unused cfgs on your Pi if you don't have the corresponding roms installed; but that's really just a few bytes wasted on your microSD.

So in the end (to summarize, not "the end" game),
if @meleu agrees, it requires the script to do so and someone to create the cfgs and place them in the right folder. I can do it for the most "common" versions for each rom; if others want to contribute with thru github: feel free :-)

Note: creating cfgs for different version, as mentioned by @meleu, is just renaming the cfg!
It's that easy to do ;-)
I even use a simple windows batch file to upload cfgs and overlay images in the corresponding folders on the Pi.