Organizational Question on ROMS

[dugan26]

Hi All -

MY ROMS are all stored on external USB drives 12TB
To keep this question simple ...
Lets talk Mame here "Arcade" but my question applies to multiple platforms.

Right now i download everything and i have thousands of games - i know there are favorites, and playlists etc  ... but is there a way to avoid all this and just add the games i want? for example lets take Mame -

i want Donkey Kong, DKJr, Mr.Do, pacman, rampart, Dig Dug, etc ... and lets say 50 other games - but i dont want the 1000's .... Is there a way to pick those games? Keeping in mind the game names are not labled as "donkey Kong", they are a bit cryptic .... so im trying to avoid opening every game to know what it is.

MY ask: Is there a way to identify the game name by its name and only import the games i want?

Many thanks in advance

[C-Beats]

Short of the MAME Fullset importer LaunchBox only adds games you tell it to add so you can put in whatever you want. You could even pull down a large set, and use LaunchBox to pair down the collection and remove ROM files you're no longer interested in. If importing MAME roms just make sure you check the "Force use MAME metadata" checkbox on import so it properly reads those "cryptic" file names for you and matches them appropriately.

[dugan26]

C-Beats-

You have been my savior here ... but ... I dont get it?

The way I have been using LB is:

1- I go to to tools, import, ROM Files
2- then i choose the 3rd option and run Rom files in existing locations, so that i dont have to download the entire Mame set onto my hardrive

Is there a way to just select the games i only want ---- approximate 50 games in Mame instead of the 1000's? 





 

[dugan26]

Let me ask a different way

I have the full mane set but only want to download the games i grew up with and want to play not the 1000's.

So i want Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, Pacman, MrDo, + about 40 more .. but i only want these specific games.

I cant decipher the ROM names to do that ...

Is there a way LB can help?

[C-Beats]

Instead of importing the folder you can import just the files and hand pick. Either use "Select Files" in the wizard, or just drag the roms to LB and run the importer from there

[C-Beats]

Just now, dugan26 said:

Let me ask a different way

I have the full mane set but only want to download the games i grew up with and want to play not the 1000's.

So i want Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, Pacman, MrDo, + about 40 more .. but i only want these specific games.

I cant decipher the ROM names to do that ...

Is there a way LB can help?

Can import them all, delete the items you don't want from LB, then (if you're using a non-merged set) use LB to move the roms to a different folder for whatever is left and then delete the rest.

[DeadVoivod]

Here's a good site to search for your ROMs, just type the name of the game or the MAME cryptic game into the search bar and you'll get the results needed.

http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/default.php

[dugan26]

Thanks friend -

I have a slightly different question now - (Im almost done!) 

When i import my ROMS for Mame do i just import ROMS? or do i need to the feature of Import Full Mame Sets?

I tried doing just ROMS because im not sure if my set if a "full Rom set" and it didnt work ... i got some kind of sedoku type game playing on any ROM i select.

Should i create a new post for this? 

[dugan26]

Everything else is working perfectly - great product - just need to get Mame up and running

Thanks for your help in advance

[Lordmonkus]

16 hours ago, dugan26 said:

When i import my ROMS for Mame do i just import ROMS? or do i need to the feature of Import Full Mame Sets?

If you have a full rom set use the full set importer, just be sure to use a matching rom set and mame version.

You can import the roms like other typical systems if you like but the full set importer is recommended if you have a full set. Use the normal ROM import if you have a smaller hand-picked ROM set.

[C-Beats]

16 hours ago, dugan26 said:

Thanks friend -

I have a slightly different question now - (Im almost done!) 

When i import my ROMS for Mame do i just import ROMS? or do i need to the feature of Import Full Mame Sets?

I tried doing just ROMS because im not sure if my set if a "full Rom set" and it didnt work ... i got some kind of sedoku type game playing on any ROM i select.

Should i create a new post for this? 

Sounds like you're running RetroArch for mame and don't have your core set correctly and are defaulting to the 2042 (or whatever number it is) core. Go to Tools > Manage > Manage Emulators and edit RetroArch. Go to the associated platform tab and update the core for the Arcade platform (or whatever you called your platform) to use the correct MAME core you wish to use. Then press OK and you should be good to go.

[k_rollo]

Here's how I do it:

 

1. Filter the MAME ROM set by the specific arcade machine I want (e.g. Sega NAOMI) - http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/lista_mame.php

2. Get the non-merged set from PleasureDome.

3. Pick off the ROMs I'm only interested in via the torrent client.

 

Yes, it's a bit tedious. But if you only have like < 50 arcade games you're actually interested in, it's worth the effort considering the amount of space you'll be saving rather than getting full ROM sets.

Edited September 26, 2022 by k_rollo

[dugan26]

That  is my issue: 

Go to the associated platform tab and update the core for the Arcade platform (or whatever you called your platform) to use the correct MAME core you wish to use

I dont know what the correct MAME Core i am supposed to use is ... 

How would i find that out what MAME core i am supposed to use?

 

[dugan26]

I have no idea what MAME set i have, nor do i know if it is a complete MAME set

[neil9000]

Then you will just have to guess and learn through trial and error. My guess though is you will have issues with games due to not having all the correct files or using the incorrect emulator version. This is nothing to do with Launchbox and just how MAME works, also i would HIGHLY advise against using Retroarch for MAME in the first place.

[dugan26]

Thank you

I am using Retroarch for MAME - 

Is your advice to get my hands on a full version of MAME that i know the version of? and then move forward? 

Trying to get random ROMS working is not how this is supposed to work? 

Is there a program that can tell me if i have a full version and what version i have? 



 

[neil9000]

17 minutes ago, dugan26 said:

Is your advice to get my hands on a full version of MAME that i know the version of? and then move forward? 

Absolutely, it will give you far less headaches than trying to get random roms working on random unofficial retroarch mame cores.

[dugan26]

Thank You ... will go that route ... 

But before i do ... is there a way to know if I actually have a full set? how can i confirm what i actually have? Is there a way?

[neil9000]

9 minutes ago, dugan26 said:

Thank You ... will go that route ... 

But before i do ... is there a way to know if I actually have a full set? how can i confirm what i actually have? Is there a way?

There is no way to tell which version its from, but you could tell if its a fullset, how big is the folder?

[k_rollo]

4 hours ago, dugan26 said:

Trying to get random ROMS working is not how this is supposed to work? 

It is, but only with the *non-merged ROM set where each ROM is standalone.