greatflash

Love it!!! <snigger>

well that's that then

no - thanks Bkenobi... he said it first and I dont wanna jump in anyone elses shoes (unless they are really nice ones)

it sounds like some kind of corruption...? unrar ssf to a clean directory and run from there - see if that makes a difference? Failing that.... Does SSF open up without starting a game? oh... Are you trying a new game image? ie. have you got a game image mounted (daemon tools etc) and ssf auto starting it? Sometimes a Iso can not mount correctly and will cause ssf to freeze or die! Try with a game you are 100% sure worked.

Regarding the Biography part.... What a GREAT idea! I have been adding the system text to my latest theme on a bitmap for each emu in gameex. This would be a great feature to add to Gameex at a later stage. At least the facility would be there - great forward thinking. Anyway, i must shut up now and leave it to ya. Getting lock-finger (it's like lock-jaw but in a more fingery manner )

I think Bkenobi was refering to the debug mode switch in the gameex config that you are using for nulldc. Open gameex config and locate emu config/nulldc and check debug is OFF.

Like the idea of online lists. Glad to hear you have decided on the single database. Will be much easier to maintain. All it really needs (apart from complete rom data) is the ability to cull the correct name from the possible matches. Very exciting times. (yes - i am quite easily pleased) Good 'ol Headkaze.

delete ssf.ini. set the options again Also - i dont use a bios. on program 3 tab, tick 'no bios' to be able to run games from any region. Slight downside (so im told) is that some games wont work. I have 332 and they all work fine with no bios.

I do prefer the idea of keeping the 3 naming conventions within the one database. Not every dat contains every file. So, some games are missing from one dat and present in another. by having 3 contained in one db then people are still able to mix and match. also, not everyone has a nice clean set. The naming problems also happen with ISO images. We have tosec ISO, but by looking at the file for the saturn, it expects you to have files as cue, iso, and mp3/wave.. who has them like that??? Mine are all .cdi (selfboots) but named to follow the conventions set by other dats. With regards my idea. It was to include a relational reference to the naming conventions (so you could have more than 3). It is hard to explain.. The idea was to have a (*) header file that contains a common name with the other data that the rom requires within one record (name, publisher, year, etc), adding to the end of the record a flag that cross references other records that contain just the name (tosec, good, no-intro, generic, etc). The master record (*) would then relate within your editor to the subsequent naming records. When you output the db, you could then convert it from a relational to a list database by creating records of the various names and appending the data from the master record (*) to each. All i was trying to suggest is that the 3 naming conventions are not enough. Take a system that has no dat's, and a game that has "the xxxx - yyyy of zzzz" this could be written in so many ways. I was just looking for a way to add alternatives to the db because if people have collected lots of no-dat roms then there is a good chance they will have named them to follow their own style and this would have been a way to add a few guesses to the db list. This suggestion was mainly made in case Tom decided he would like to keep the original format for db's. Using this format would allow you to do as you suggested with the multi-names and to continue to use one dat. Using the flag to link the matching records would also allow you to input a list db and return it to a relational db and vise-versa. All you need is to only allow data editing of the master record (*) and name editing of the naming records, updating the maser edits to the naming records on output. God, I know i go on. I hope you can follow this? Included a little piccy (hope that helps) All the best

Just in case anyone missed it SSF has been updated, not sure if this helps with compat. Does not help with the full-screen switching flicker in Vista though http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~phantasy/ssf/index.html If anyone is running this is Vista and has no problems with the auto fullscreen switch when run - please let me know what you did? Drives me nuts..

Nice work mate, Looks like the Saturn DB will need a bit of work (have all U, and all Pal that is not in the U set, and 60% jap) and what about my poor little zx81 (poor thing) Did you get anywhere regard alternative names? (did you see my reply re: that in my saturn db problem post?) All the best you work-aholic.. Hic!

That has happened to me a couple of times. The config file disapears to another reality. The Twilight zone. Have you tried making it read only? I have not tried this, but it may work?

And to back Topkat up - USE NullDC. Chankast WAS great in it's time, but you can half the compatability and the Chankast graphics plug in is a majr downfall with many images. Lots of graphic coruption and mis-placed textures.

Just a note, when Topkat refers to cdi-rips he should be more specific. CDI images are nearly as good as GDI dumps. The real ones to avoid are Bin/Cue files. 99.9% of CDI images are 'self-boot", they have a slightly modified DC boot loader that enables the burnt images to boot on a real DC. GDI images are quite hard to track down for no real advantage. Bin/cue images are a different kettle of fish. These do-not (as a rule) hold any selfboot code and as such will not work on a DC emu. These can be converted to a .CDI image using to Bin2Boot convertor (rename it binboot or the extracted executable will confilct in vista), but converting them all is a bit of a pain. If you are downloading (games you own ) then look for CDI/GDI files for neatness (one file, easy booting, etc). You can make do with NRG files also.

Here is a list of ones I have working 90& + (all playable, mostly Usa & Pal Releases, have not got round to naming them correct yet.) 30/11/2003 18:57 778,947,234 Aerowings.cdi 07/04/2008 22:22 388,068,276 Aqua GT.cdi 19/04/2008 00:15 768,739,860 Armada.cdi 03/07/2004 21:39 606,856,541 Army Men - Sarges Heroes.cdi 11/08/2003 22:39 719,745,992 Blue Stinger.cdi 18/10/2003 11:39 592,156,034 Border Down.cdi 22/05/2001 22:42 733,095,796 Capcom Vs SNK - Millennium Fight 2000.cdi 05/12/2003 12:36 831,581,972 Carrier.cdi 08/02/2001 14:08 743,785,336 Charge 'N Blast.cdi 04/03/2004 14:53 580,689,448 Chicken Run.cdi 07/04/2008 22:41 712,481,277 Coaster Works.CDI 30/05/2001 20:57 722,943,660 Crazy Taxi 2.cdi 28/07/2004 16:45 679,830,786 Daytona USA.cdi 03/04/2004 18:16 780,500,688 Dino Crisis.cdi 01/12/2004 18:01 799,473,721 Disney's Dinosaur.cdi 16/01/2001 22:31 265,505,688 Dynamite Cop.cdi 06/02/2004 13:02 828,409,687 Ecco The Dolphin - Defender Of The Future.cdi 03/09/2007 01:10 815,134,508 ESPN International Track and Field.cdi 21/12/2000 06:33 785,298,388 Evil Dead - Hail To The King.cdi 13/10/2000 15:08 751,015,252 Frogger 2 - Swampy's Revenge.cdi 18/06/2008 20:40 768,817,712 Fur Fighters.cdi 21/01/2005 14:39 791,938,246 Gauntlet Legends.cdi 18/06/2008 20:33 470,730,096 Giga Wing (U).cdi 17/01/2001 16:12 729,411,927 Giga Wing 2.cdi 27/01/2004 17:52 522,760,898 Grand Theft Auto 2.cdi 07/04/2008 22:48 813,164,970 Guilty Gear X.cdi 16/11/2000 17:42 734,889,846 Gunbird 2 (U).cdi 18/06/2008 20:44 621,161,488 Gundam Side Story (U).cdi 18/09/2001 15:05 561,311,028 Heavy Metal Geomatrix (U).CDI 13/11/2003 14:03 725,184,274 House Of The Dead 2.cdi 22/08/2000 09:58 786,671,970 Hydro Thunder.CDI 25/04/2001 15:02 708,843,446 Illbleed.cdi 24/08/2000 02:29 424,962,226 Incoming.cdi 10/02/2001 10:13 741,587,242 Iron Aces.cdi 01/11/2000 18:26 718,748,075 Jet Grind Radio.cdi 08/05/2001 21:49 795,168,964 Kao The Kangaroo.cdi 27/08/2000 02:19 781,901,552 King of Fighters '99 Evolution.cdi 07/04/2008 22:43 744,359,550 Looney Tunes Space Race.cdi 26/04/2001 15:07 739,061,938 Mars Matrix.cdi 17/12/2000 23:20 796,658,358 Max Steel.cdi 17/01/2001 20:19 785,730,548 Metropolis Street Racer.cdi 17/07/2003 23:03 711,444,779 Monaco Grand Prix.cdi 01/06/2001 22:38 775,585,352 MTV Sports Skateboarding Featuring Andy Macdonald.cdi 17/01/2001 17:17 809,954,672 Namco Museum.cdi 18/03/2008 21:12 816,543,605 NBA Hoopz.cdi 18/05/2001 04:06 815,953,654 Pen Pen Tricilon.cdi 13/09/2000 09:29 785,648,828 Plasma Sword.cdi 17/03/2008 22:04 431,994,865 Pod 2.cdi 07/12/2000 15:55 710,960,498 POD Speedzone.cdi 22/11/2000 20:13 748,819,412 Powersmash Tennis.cdi 23/08/2000 22:36 719,778,289 PowerStone 2.cdi 10/04/2001 09:29 761,781,885 Project Justice - Rival Schools 2.cdi 26/04/2004 19:03 492,467,210 Propeller Arena.cdi 03/07/2001 18:30 738,580,728 Puzzle Fighter 2x.cdi 06/12/2000 20:19 726,220,191 Q-Bert.cdi 24/10/2000 13:43 725,022,920 Quake III Arena (U).CDI 19/11/2001 18:58 725,024,919 Quake.cdi 30/06/2004 23:29 839,561,755 Rayman 2 - The Great Escape.cdi 07/04/2008 22:46 751,952,574 Razors Freestyle Scooter.cdi 27/10/2000 07:52 772,550,830 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing - Round 2.cdi 22/03/2001 20:09 670,488,655 Record Of Lodoss War.cdi 18/11/2000 05:33 800,697,291 Resident Evil 3 - Nemesis.cdi 08/12/2000 02:13 797,148,918 Rival Schools 2 - Burning Justice Academy.cdi 03/05/2001 08:51 741,035,890 Seaman.cdi 14/10/2000 20:59 789,826,625 Sega Extreme Sports.cdi 28/11/2000 05:59 776,129,553 Sega GT.cdi 18/10/2000 15:49 728,722,804 Sega Marine Fishing.cdi 03/02/2001 13:29 695,241,229 Sega Smash Pack.cdi 26/08/2001 16:16 770,859,490 Sidney 2000.cdi 21/02/2001 15:41 731,797,031 Silent Scope.cdi 21/06/2001 03:59 803,671,028 Sonic Adventure 2.cdi 07/09/2002 18:54 813,680,923 Sonic Adventure.cdi 12/12/2005 14:35 810,730,791 Soul Calibur.cdi 09/04/2002 01:54 811,260,999 Space Channel 5 Part 2.cdi 10/02/2001 06:43 804,070,487 Space Channel 5.cdi 10/10/2000 01:29 742,490,300 Space Griffon.cdi 11/10/2000 15:03 699,560,177 Star Wars Episode 1 - Jedi Power Battles.cdi 05/10/2000 16:22 715,115,601 Street Fighter 3 - Third Strike.cdi 10/10/2001 21:11 741,040,553 Street Fighter II X.cdi 11/07/2003 17:37 340,846,491 Strikers 1945 II.cdi 07/04/2008 22:53 677,486,958 Stunt GP.CDI 07/04/2008 22:51 791,008,303 Super Runabout San Francisco Edition.CDI 05/05/2001 18:01 629,234,909 Tee Off.cdi 24/10/2001 17:00 741,519,419 Tennis 2K2.cdi 07/04/2008 22:54 810,243,554 Test Drive V-Rally.CDI 15/10/2001 17:30 411,984,570 The Grinch.cdi 05/03/2007 18:16 806,820,365 The Shoot 'em Up Collection.cdi 13/01/2002 16:23 801,557,313 Tokyo Extreme Racer 2.cdi 06/12/2001 10:16 734,341,261 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.cdi 28/06/2003 17:15 468,450,467 TrickStyle.cdi 08/04/2005 00:03 808,499,996 Trizeal.cdi 07/04/2008 22:55 718,977,974 UEFA Dream Soccer.cdi 23/03/2006 00:00 742,423,516 Under Defeat.cdi 06/09/2000 10:00 813,419,150 Vampire Chronicles.cdi 31/08/2000 16:26 734,952,946 Virtual Athlete (E).CDI 19/08/2000 04:36 774,508,447 Virtual Fighter 3TB (U).CDI 18/06/2008 20:52 221,123,824 Virtual Tennis (U).cdi 07/04/2008 22:56 420,798,988 Wetrix Plus.cdi 01/12/2000 17:10 737,667,346 Who Wants To Beat Up A Millionaire.cdi 18/03/2008 21:54 723,049,110 World GP 2.cdi 06/09/2001 05:06 735,180,308 Zero Gunner 2.cdi Hope that helps???????

V9.37 has not helped with the database problem, I was hopeful.. Oh Well <sniff>

Thats it... GOD! I have piddled about with this Saturn game MDB for ages now and got no-where.... Aaaargh! If all the games show data, then they show data for another game (bottom line, manufacturer, type, year) or failing that, they just miss data on certain games completely and the ones that have data have the correct data. I have tried everything apart from changing religion, licking the light in the fridge, and placing random newspaper clippings on cocktail sticks. Nothing works... p.s. before anyone asks, yes I did try forming minced beef into characters from The simpsons (simpsons, the) and placing them along the top of my garden fence.. and "NO", not even that helped! p.p.s. I have a strange foreboding of doom... There are Vultures in my garden

Tosec ISO is a great way of working for a naming convention for Iso images. It is not so hot when it comes to actually matching iso's and naming them, you need to also edit the contents of a .cue file for example). It is easy though to extract the naming formats used and to use them as a basis for the DB's. It would be great to work with 100% complete sets. The problem is "what is a complete set?". Compare rom counts on the 3 mentioned dat tools for one system. They vary quite a bit. Picking a naming set is a good idea (if you can remember what rom set you have ). Could not a DB contain variations on a naming convention. I know this would increase file size, but am sure this would not be a problem. I mean, from within your editor:- Main entry "lost world, The" (OTHER DATA) [link code] "the lost world" (OTHER DATA) [same link code] "lost world - jurassic park, the" (OTHER DATA) [same link code]............. Using the link code to link the 2 other variations to the main entry. So that in your editior you could have a display for the "lost world, the" entry followed by the other data entered (publisher, year, format) and after that an editable list of alternative naming variants? These could be added as needed and your editor could take the existing data from the header entry and replicate into the other entries so when saved the MDB contains several entrys for the same rom. Hope that makes sense. I could code it easier than explain it What I am trying to explain is using a relational database from the editor point of view and outputing a list-based database for GameEx use (would still need to retain [link codes] though). So... When opened, sort by link code, lock, then sort by name feild (non-linked). when saving... Sort by name only and ouput MDB file... Triple Phew! This should not increase file size that much as lots of names would not need repeating ('hook', radiant silvergun, etc). Extensions to filenames in brackets ('hook (U)') do not seem to cause any problems for me if the initial name matches 100% with the DB. EDIT: Just created a short DB for gameex adding repetions of varied name conventions and tested against an existing rom set. Gameex had no problem picking the info out. renamed 2 roms and tried again, no problems there. EDIT: just realised - at the moment, this has not got me any closer to sorting my original problem with the Saturn database. Perhaps I will just wait and see what you come up with Oh - Will your editior be able to import data from other DB files?

I must admit that it would also be a great treat for all GameEx users to have a database for a system that is 99.99999999% complete. As you note, the only problem that sticks its ugly head out and says Boo! is that not all people use the same naming convention, and in some cases; it is almost impossible to adhere to (systems that are not covered by good tools - there are quite a few). If it possible to add repetitve repetitions of names in multiple formats. Ie. dupe an entry with a modified goodname. (a button perhaps). An example of this that I came across was "sonic 3d blast" that is the same as "sonic 3d - flickies island". The rest of the data would be exactly the same? This also apears in the great "xxxxx, the" and "the xxxxx" debate I personally prefer "xxxxx, the". And (here he goes again) the naming convention for Iso dumps is rather hit and miss. double Phew!

It is an idea. I do tend to look at good, tosec, and no-intro when naming missing entrys in the DB to try and get the best ond closest match. I prefer to use good, but this misses many systems. Also - the naming of Iso's is very much a personal thing. I have yet to find anything to name them for me. There are too many formats (ccd,cdi,nrg,bin,iso, etc) and many different sized rips (some with audio, without, compressed, etc) that any naming tool does not stand much chance. In this instance, i use a web search (moby and others - If moby fails me) to try and find the best name format, or follow the "xxxxxx, The" format. This format is used on my iso, rom files and I may also add (REGION), i.e. (U), (S), (J) etc. and may also add (PROTOTYPE) if this is very different from the release rom, or if never released.. These additions seem to be ignored by GameEx's database matching. Phew!

I would be glad to help out. I do seem to spend an inordinate amount of time adding to the default databases and manually correcting publisher/developer data. (sega limited, sega ltd. etc ). Mobygames is a great resource, but does not cover every title (I don't believe anywhere does), this is esp. noticable with the Saturn database.. Also been having TONS (not) of fun with BBC model A/B and ZX Spectrum. The joys of this addiction So, feel free to PM

Yeah - I had a play with that earlier I also opened the database cache file for emu 43 (my saturn setup) from /DATA in notepad to have a look. You can see that several areas just contain the name of the rom and miss the extra data that is present in the original MDB file. There are lots of sections that go like this "Radiant Silvergun-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-" (Example from memory) and then the name of the next rom?? The data is def present in the original database. Taken the database to work to play with Office XP and Windows XP to see if office 2007 (At home) is putting something extra in the DB that confuses the code Tom uses to cull the data. Does anyone else (Headkaze - I'm pointing at you ) know of another program better suited to editing to MDB files??

Yes - it does. But I personally prefer my list and roms displayed in the same way that nearly all rom tools name them (xxxx, the). Unfortunatley the existing databases mostly omit this and name the other way (the xxxx). But the existing problem remains somewhere hidden in the way gameex caches the emulators database into the /DATA directory - something messes up somewhere???

There is a known error with ' and others as posted here http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?s=...ost&p=37133 Headkaze did mention a way this could be fixed. I have no idea if Tom fixed this in the latest release. I have avoided words with 's 't and especially &. As to missing info when it is clearly in the database but not displayed, i wish i knew what i did to make it work and why it forgets it later??? If it is working and you do not edit the mdb or add/delete any actual roms - it will keep working fine, but otherwise.... Aaaarg!

Having a strange ol' time of it with editing databases in Access. Been adding info to the Saturn .MDB (Cotton 2, boomerang, Tilt!, etc). I enter them as usual and save the mdb back to the correct directory. I then open GameEx and enter the Saturn page. Some of my new entrys show info (publisher, year etc), some show info but not the nice text descriptions, some show info; but for a game above or below, and some show nothing. I then delete the GameEx (gameex/data/) EMU_43.dbcache (this relates to the Saturns emu postition) and re-start GameEx and go to Saturn - some are now listed correctly and some that were correct may now be missing info. After a lot of messing about (and saving the database in 2000, 2002, and 2007 access formats) the infomation may show correctly. Now (if you are following me), if I now add a few more rom files to the saturn rom directory and run GameEx again - they mess up AGAIN! Argggh! Has anyone else had this problem, or am I doing something silly yet again?? P.s. In the saturn mdb file, things like "The lost world - Jurassic park" are listed like this, but GameEx rewords to the better "Lost world - Jurassic park, The" and in doing so cannot find the entry in the database. I have renamed the database entry to the same ("Lost world - Jurassic park, The") and that at least works