List of MAME clones worth playing - Redux

[Metalzoic]

Nice app, but it seems like using it would take just as much time as just doing CTRL-Find for each game on the clone list and uncloning it. Probably longer since you'd need to double check that it got them all. Or are you guys actually using the app to do something else?

[newoski]

Nice app, but it seems like using it would take just as much time as just doing CTRL-Find for each game on the clone list and uncloning it. Probably longer since you'd need to double check that it got them all. Or are you guys actually using the app to do something else?

The sole point to to automate repeating the process. Yardley and I use it every update. Takes 10 seconds to update our databases the same way, each update

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[vaderag]

@newoski could you perhaps post a step by step guide of how you do it? I think that would be helpful for me and possibly others!

[thatman84]

On 6/13/2017 at 9:06 PM, newoski said:

Hi Guys,

Video will follow, when I have time to create one. In the meantime...

The GUI is very basic and it includes an additional parameter -- Hidden Games List -- that I don't think many others will need to use:

 

To get started, define the following paramters:

Database Folder
- Path to a folder containing the MAME XML databases that you'd like to update

Parents to Remove:
- TXT file containing a list of MAME Parents you'd like to remove from all your XMLs in the Database Folder (see sample file for formatting)

Clones to Keep: 
- TXT file containing MAME Clones you'd like to keep, by converting them to Parents, on all XMLs in the Database Folder (see sample file for formatting)

Hidden Games List:

- IGNORE THIS PARAMETER. This is an optional parameter that will not be required by 99% of users. Ignore it for now. Explanation to included when I publish the app

After defining all paths, except for the Hidden Games List parater which should be left blank, click "Update Databases".

The app do two things, quickly:

1. Remove any games defined in the Parents to Remove list

2. Convert to parents -- by emptying the "clone of" field -- any games defined in the Clones to Keep list

The app stores your settings. After each update, simply do the following:

1. Download the latest XMLS

2. Put them into the Databases Folder

3. Run the app and click "Update Databases"

Give it a test and let me know if you have any questions. 

Download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vizfbzcyv8vzo2p/MAME Parent Clone Database Updater.zip?dl=0

 

@vaderag

[vaderag]

12 minutes ago, thatman84 said:

@vaderag

That's missing some key points in the process tho, namely where to populate the files from...

[newoski]

That's missing some key points in the process tho, namely where to populate the files from...

Whatever logic you choose. It's simple. For me, I use it for games like Pacman, 2p versions, and joystick versions of games. That's it. It's not complicated

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[newoski]

To reiterate my previous post, this app is tangentially related to the clones worth playing list, in that it allows you to instantly and repeatedly convert a list of clones to parents // and or // remove parents

That's it. Use it as you will, or won't

( :

[thatman84]

1 hour ago, newoski said:

To reiterate my previous post, this app is tangentially related to the clones worth playing list, in that it allows you to instantly and repeatedly convert a list of clones to parents // and or // remove parents

That's it. Use it as you will, or won't

( :

Dude it's a cool program. Thanks for making and sharing

[thatman84]

@phulshof

would you consider adding the Parents only version xml of this threads process to your pack?

[phulshof]

[mention=40855]phulshof[/mention]
would you consider adding the Parents only version xml of this threads process to your pack?

Can you elaborate? What exactly should be in this list?

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[thatman84]

On 11/27/2016 at 5:25 PM, phantasy said:

@Metalzoic

I put in a ton of work to replicate what you did for .175 now for .179 to benefit the community.  I realized there was more to it than what's in my xml from the earlier post.  I could use your advice on one or two minor details... Here is my work flowchart copied from you:

- Start at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/19vpff3f4x87yu4/AAB4u5ffSIweBRXOB9y1O974a/MAME 0.179?dl=0

- Begin with mame_no_casino_mahjong_mature_quiz_electro_utilities.xml  (I reworded your post here to match the file name at the link). This starting xml is a change for me as now I am leaving in the handful of PlayChoice games and eliminating Mature as this will cater to more end users (speculation only). I have a Mature.xml as a genre instead.

- Then I strip away nearly all the tabletop/boardgame stuff. (All Tabletop marked games removed except I left 'ataxx' and 'spot'- Thoughts?  Only one game was listed as board game which I removed)

- Then I strip out the Shogi Go stuff that's left over. (Removed anything marked Shougi but did not find Shogi or games with 'Go' in the title)

- Then I remove all the bartop games like Megatouch etc... (Got rid of anything Megatouch and Pit Boss- am I missing others?)

- Then I pull some of the crap protos and bootlegs.  (** I differ in that I LEFT THEM ALL IN- I loaded a few of each and find this subject too subjective without more info. I like Hard Drivin' anything so did not want to lose them yet)

- I fix the screwed up genre soccer game (Phulsof will jhave this fixed in 176) (I left untouched as this is ver 179 so should be fixed by now)

- I un-clone most of the good clones listed in this topic (I did EVERY one in this and checked against all old threads. My new additions I also uncloned are After Burner and Brix... and note 'ikari3nr' changed to 'ikari3u' to unclone)

- Unclone the 2P version of 4+P games (Please clarify: I did ALL in game dip-switches and F2 changes from your list, but are there any to edit in the xml?)

- Fix/unclone the 2 Zero Team games (Done, but note the dubious instruction 'You must unclone both Zero Team games because there actually is no parent'... does that also mean nzeroteama: New Zero Team (V33 SYSTEM TYPE_B hardware, China?) too or just 'New Zero Team (V33 SYSTEM TYPE_B hardware)' and 'Zero Team 2000'?

- Un-clone the 2 extra Neo Geo games  (No Change: already uncloned)

- I leave all the clones and simply filter them out in HyperHQ. That way I don't lose access to any of them if it turns out I want them. (Same Here) ...and I think that's it.

NON XML tasks but VERY good to do:

- After that I went through every single 4p game I listed and changed the settings or dip-switches so they play correctly 2P.

Then I split that cleaned DB into all the Manufacturer wheels I use, then I split them all out with genres.

***That ends the Metalzoic instructions, but my final additional step was to add ALL variants of 'Strider 2' (Clones left in to keep everything uniform- and will also let HyperHQ filter clones). Strider 2's awesomeness supersedes any 'non-working' status.

 

Other thoughts:

STRIDER 2 - I'm leaving this tagged as a 4 player game, because hitting tab to enter the controls lists it as 4 players but I never figured out why;  Strider 1 has 2pl alt mode, but has anyone ever seen any mode other than 1 player? That's for the MAME team to sort out anyway.

If I am leaving in Nintendo's PlayChoice titles, what about Sega's Mega-Touch games?  They have been listed as not-working for a while but I cannot figure out what is wrong with them other than that MAME says so; they seem to load and run just fine. Anyone?

This brings my earlier game count of 7609 down to 7308 (which is odd since I removed Mature AND many more games per Metalzoic making me think the number would be closer to your original 7001 so I may have missed some bar games, but the extras are likely the protos and bootlegs).

The attached xml should give Mame ver .179 users no_casino_mahjong_mature_quiz_electro_utilities (and obviously no Non-Working except Strider 2) plus Metalzoic's uncloning and trimming.

If anyone needs genre xmls I can provide them as well. Enjoy!

 

Mame.xml

@phulshof to elaborate I guess it would be and automatic way to acomplish the above method and the list in MetalZoics OP....now im not sure if its possible but I think a cut down mame xml of uncloned games would be a nice monthly addition to your awesome pack. Again it may only be achieved by the manual method. Just a thought

[phulshof]

Sure, but assume I didn't read this 14 page thread. [emoji3]
What exactly should be in this additional xml file?

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[thatman84]

So the 1st post has the list of games that have been promoted by the community (ish) from clone to parent in the xml sense..formatted for mame .175.

The post i quoted above has a newer version of a full filtered mame.xml which has the listed games uncloned in.

I expect there has not been to many changes to these games in the last few months.

Not sure if that helps...if not its no biggie.

[phulshof]

Ok, have a look at these, and let me know if they fit your needs or if I need to make additional changes.

mame_no_casino_clones_mahjong_mature_quiz_electro_utilities.xml

mame_no_casino_clones_mahjong_mature_quiz_electro_utilities_playchoice.xml

mame_no_casino_clones_mahjong_quiz_electro_utilities.xml

mame_no_casino_mahjong_mature_quiz_electro_utilities.xml

mame_no_casino_mahjong_mature_quiz_electro_utilities_playchoice.xml

mame_no_casino_mahjong_quiz_electro_utilities.xml

[phulshof]

@thatman84

Will these suffice? If so, they'll automatically be included in a separate directory starting from the MAME 0.188 XML files. Let me know whenever you guys decide to add new clones to the list. jojobane comes to mind (English version of jojoba (Japanese)).

[thatman84]

Sorry @phulshof i havnt looked yet.. i should have some time tonight

[wesfranks]

@phulshof, without having looked at it yet, my supposition would be if you followed the following formula, most would be happy-

       full mame (arcade) set, minus "non-working/preliminary", minus "utilities", minus "electro-mechanical", minus clones, then add "clones to keep (from updated list on this post)".

This with your usual "no casino, no mature, no mahjong, no quiz" variants should cover most peoples' needs and will be appreciated by those who don't want to use the auditing, renaming and xml tools to produce their own lists.

[phulshof]

7 hours ago, wesfranks said:

@phulshof, without having looked at it yet, my supposition would be if you followed the following formula, most would be happy-

       full mame (arcade) set, minus "non-working/preliminary", minus "utilities", minus "electro-mechanical", minus clones, then add "clones to keep (from updated list on this post)".

This with your usual "no casino, no mature, no mahjong, no quiz" variants should cover most peoples' needs and will be appreciated by those who don't want to use the auditing, renaming and xml tools to produce their own lists.

 

Well, if the base of these files is sound, I can very easily add other variants to it, though if I add all variants this will be a rather extensive set. For now I think I favor releasing it as a sub set, but if different people want different variants I may just make it a separate set in stead.

[moff]

On 02.07.2016 at 9:53 PM, Metalzoic said:

Please post with any games you think that should be added, or about any changes that should be made and I'll try to keep this first post up-to-date!

Great list, Metalzoic!

But i think one better clone need to be added.

Shadow Force (Japan, Version 3) is better than parrent Shadow Force (US, Version 2).

Shadow Force is great beat'em'up game by Technos.

Quote

The Japanese version is different from the US Version :
- The game's sequence in attract mode are different.
- During the attract mode, you can see the events that bring the Dr. Wong and his evil organization 'Theaser' to menace the world. In the US version this sequence has been cut.
- There's a characters description during the attract mode.
- You can use only 3 keys in the game : one for punch, one for kick and one for jump, to possess an enemy press A+B when your close to him, and press A+B+C to execute the special attack.
- The enemies are more easily to beat, even the bosses suffer much damage (so, the game is a little bit easier)
- The Bonus Stage after each stage has been cut on the Japanese version.
- The standard color of the Coyote character is different.

Japan version has opening intro.

In Japan version both players can actually finish the game together, showing an ending with both characters. According to the American flyer, there is supposed to be 14 endings, which seems ridiculous (since the American version forces both players to kill each other off at the end, like Double Dragon)

Japan version uses only 3 buttons instead of 6 in US version, but the moves that you lack are mostly just slightly different version of the moves that you still have, so that aspect is really not that big a deal. It mostly comes down to whether or not you would rather skip the fighter sections and be more likely to see any kind of real ending.

The Japanese version is lacking the Hard Punch and Light Kick buttons to be more specific. I prefer the Japanese version myself, since the one-on-one battles (bonus stages) are gimmicky and were only added as a blatant attempt to cash-in on the fighting game craze back then.

[Metalzoic]

On 11/4/2017 at 5:48 AM, moff said:

Great list, Metalzoic!

But i think one better clone need to be added.

Shadow Force (Japan, Version 3) is better than parrent Shadow Force (US, Version 2).

Shadow Force is great beat'em'up game by Technos.

Japan version has opening intro.

In Japan version both players can actually finish the game together, showing an ending with both characters. According to the American flyer, there is supposed to be 14 endings, which seems ridiculous (since the American version forces both players to kill each other off at the end, like Double Dragon)

Japan version uses only 3 buttons instead of 6 in US version, but the moves that you lack are mostly just slightly different version of the moves that you still have, so that aspect is really not that big a deal. It mostly comes down to whether or not you would rather skip the fighter sections and be more likely to see any kind of real ending.

The Japanese version is lacking the Hard Punch and Light Kick buttons to be more specific. I prefer the Japanese version myself, since the one-on-one battles (bonus stages) are gimmicky and were only added as a blatant attempt to cash-in on the fighting game craze back then.

Good to know thanks.

I'll check it out and probably add it to the list... tomorrow maybe.

[vaderag]

Hi guys,

I know this has been ages but house move and new baby has got in the way of my finishing my project.

I have an old set that I manually shifted through to create my current set of clones worth playing along with all other 'good' roms for mame.

I now wish to update to the latest version of mame (0.193) and, hopefully simply, get a working set of mame games that work with x setup (in my case, 8 (+2 side) buttons, trackball, 2 joys and including light gun since some work okay with trackball) and include the clones that are worth keeping.

I have split rom set and merged chd if that makes any difference

The first bit is easy enough with a load of tools out there at the moment but can anybody help provide a step by step on how to go from a complete set to a hyperlist for the above?!

Thanks!

[griffin518]

2 hours ago, vaderag said:

Hi guys,

I know this has been ages but house move and new baby has got in the way of my finishing my project.

I have an old set that I manually shifted through to create my current set of clones worth playing along with all other 'good' roms for mame.

I now wish to update to the latest version of mame (0.193) and, hopefully simply, get a working set of mame games that work with x setup (in my case, 8 (+2 side) buttons, trackball, 2 joys and including light gun since some work okay with trackball) and include the clones that are worth keeping.

I have split rom set and merged chd if that makes any difference

The first bit is easy enough with a load of tools out there at the moment but can anybody help provide a step by step on how to go from a complete set to a hyperlist for the above?!

Thanks!

Welcome back! I'm familiar with your situation... I hope you're able to get some sleep.

If you're interested, you might start with my "best of MAME" xml (check my sig). That'll get you most of the way there, you'll just need to layer in trackball and lightgun games. I do the same thing, where I only keep the ROMs I want in my setup (though I keep the full set off to the side). I've switched to non-merged, which makes this a LOT easier since you don't need to keep parents + clones. Something to think about.

[vaderag]

Welcome back! I'm familiar with your situation... I hope you're able to get some sleep.
If you're interested, you might start with my "best of MAME" xml (check my sig). That'll get you most of the way there, you'll just need to layer in trackball and lightgun games. I do the same thing, where I only keep the ROMs I want in my setup (though I keep the full set off to the side). I've switched to non-merged, which makes this a LOT easier since you don't need to keep parents + clones. Something to think about.

Thanks mate! New baby isn't quite here yet but all the manic prep has been!
Getting a new job in the run up hadn't been my brightest idea yet either
I'm hoping to get this polished off over the next few days!

I went for split as was finding issues with merged (missing files etc probably through over vigorous cleanup), but I've decided now to (ideally) just keep the full set, and limit using the hyperspin display.
That way updating the set should be easier moving forwards than the setup I ended up with which seemed essentially customer and a mammoth effort to update

With everything going on tho I'm really looking for the quickest way to get to the endpoint right now and easy to maintain as well!

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[Metalzoic]

20 hours ago, vaderag said:

Thanks mate! New baby isn't quite here yet but all the manic prep has been!
Getting a new job in the run up hadn't been my brightest idea yet either
I'm hoping to get this polished off over the next few days!

I went for split as was finding issues with merged (missing files etc probably through over vigorous cleanup), but I've decided now to (ideally) just keep the full set, and limit using the hyperspin display.
That way updating the set should be easier moving forwards than the setup I ended up with which seemed essentially customer and a mammoth effort to update

With everything going on tho I'm really looking for the quickest way to get to the endpoint right now and easy to maintain as well!

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk
 

Yes split is what you want for HS in general so you're all set.

 

I'm not sure I understand your question though... To add these into your database you just add them in. You can either:

-just go through your XML manually and un-clone each one you want.

-or just use the already fixed list I provided and simply copy/paste them. Don't just paste them in bulk into your XML though as it is alphabetized. Find a game in your XML, then copy over it with my fixed XML entry. Repeat until finished.

-or merge my list into your list with a merge tool such as Dons Tools (if that even still works anymore).

Just remember to keep a backup of your original XML in case you screw it up. Then no worries.

[Metalzoic]

Ah. A couple things I forgot.

1. You'll want to use Notepad ++ to edit XMLs (if you aren't already). That way you can easily search for entries, make changes and keep formating. Normal notepad will screw this all up.

2. If you use Genres and/or individual Manufacturer Wheels those XMLs will also need to be updated. So for example you unclone a beat-em-up in the main MAME.xml, now you also need to unclone (or copy paste the fixed entry) into the Beat-Em-Up genre xml too. And if it was a Technos game and you have a Technos wheel it needs to be done there in both spots as well.

3. Rocketlauncher shares artwork from parent to clones, but now that a game is un-cloned you may need to copy/paste and rename the artwork/media for the game. So for the above game you may need to make renamed copies of: Theme, wheel art, video snap, bezels etc...