I found what appears to be a reliable resource for update packs, but the filenames are given as, for example, "mame-0220." Does this mean it would take a 0.220 romset to 0.221, or would it take 0.219 to 0.220? (I'm assuming the latter but would like to clarify.)
Also, how do you make sense of all the different versions of an individual game? I'm assuming there's no easy answer to this, as it probably depends on the game. For example, there are three Double Dragon U.S. versions (Set 1, Set 2, and Set 3). Do these represent revisions, i.e. Set 3 would be the most recent and therefore "best" U.S. version to go with?
I've got a 0.220 split set and was planning on updating it to 0.226 (I think that's as high as the update packs go) with CMP, then using CMP to convert it to a non-merged set before running the popular "All Killer, No Filler" batch file to curate the set. I'll probably modify the batch file to specify U.S. versions (usually clones), as there will be no need to target parents for curation if the set is non-merged. Does this sound reasonable? I'm completely new to this and am not sure what I want to do is even possible.
Maybe I should just simplify things for myself and use a 0.220 version of MAME without updating roms. I'm making myself crazy with all this.
(EDIT: Sorry for going off on tangents unrelated to the thread topic. This was intended to just be a question about the update packs.)