How do I merge my MAME game list?

[uberpubert69]

I have the latest MAME set and was wanting to know how to combine all my multiple versions of the same game under 1 name like the merge sets option for regular emulators. Its really messy with all these multiples on my list.

[MNMax21]

I looked for multiple options to try and fix my files. I ended up just going through my entire file one by one and keeping the parent. I opened MAME and went through the list in order. Then I deleted the clones. You can use a program like romlister or romcenter. MAME++ will also tell you which is the parent. I tried the merging route, but my artwork ended up getting screwed up on some of the files. The main file chosen to merge was different than the artwork. When I kept the right ones, everything worked.

GameEx has it's own filtering options. You can go into the setup wizard and select, no clones unless better, etc. They are all in the MAME settings portion. That would be the easiest way, but I went the difficult route. Good luck.

[uberpubert69]

I looked for multiple options to try and fix my files. I ended up just going through my entire file one by one and keeping the parent. I opened MAME and went through the list in order. Then I deleted the clones. You can use a program like romlister or romcenter. MAME++ will also tell you which is the parent. I tried the merging route, but my artwork ended up getting screwed up on some of the files. The main file chosen to merge was different than the artwork. When I kept the right ones, everything worked.

GameEx has it's own filtering options. You can go into the setup wizard and select, no clones unless better, etc. They are all in the MAME settings portion. That would be the easiest way, but I went the difficult route. Good luck.

I've messed with the filters and such. I don't want the games gone from my list entirely, i just want it to look nice. Deleting the ROMs isn't really an option for me.

[uberpubert69]

There isn't anything I can do to merge my MAME roms together?

[Draco1962]

Likely you would have to utilize one of the ROM management utilities (i.e., clrmamepro or ROMLister) to merge your sets. While cleaning things up a bit, there are likely some caveats to be considered. You may want to look at this old thread as there are some points to think about.

[MNMax21]

Yeah, you could use one of the programs and merge them. I just know, that when I did that, quite a bit of my artwork got screwed up. I am not sure how the programs select the main file to merge into. You can also filter out specific files in the filter option of gameex, if you have a few that are particularly annoying.

[uberpubert69]

Merging MAME roms sounds just terrible to me. Is there really no other way I can combine the game names on the list without manipulating my ROMs?

[nullPointer]

Is there really no other way I can combine the game names on the list without manipulating my ROMs?

Really it's not going to help to merge your ROM set either. Remember that a merged ROM set refers to how the ROMs are physically structured within compressed directories (zips). A merged list simply refers to how your games will be displayed. Merging your ROM set won't have an impact insofar as how the games are displayed in your list.

Currently there is no way to merge parent/clone relationships into a merged list in GameEx. Feature requests are always welcome though!

[uberpubert69]

Really it's not going to help to merge your ROM set either. Remember that a merged ROM set refers to how the ROMs are physically structured within compressed directories (zips). A merged list simply refers to how your games will be displayed. Merging your ROM set won't have an impact insofar as how the games are displayed in your list.

Currently there is no way to merge parent/clone relationships into a merged list in GameEx. Feature requests are always welcome though!

Ok well is there any way to just show Parent ROMs? that might satisfy me for the time being. As for feature requests I wouldn't even know what exactly to ask for. A way to merge MAME games like how it works for 7z merged sets but it looks at the database for the names and organizes them based on the dat?

[tthurman]

This has always struck me as odd. Why are there so many versions of the same games anyway? Are some of the clones better, from a playability stand point, than the originals? If so, what good are the originals, just because they are genuine original game roms? The whole MAME/CHD thing seems excessively wasteful from a disk space point of view, so many items seem repetitive, or completely unused. For now I've kept them though, and in split sets just to avoid potential issues down the road, should I decide to consolidate only to what I play. I certainly don't want into the headache of deleting something wrenches numerous other games. I can't imagine the amount of storage serious collectors have invested in this hobby.

It would be nice though if you could group them somehow.

[DazzleHP]

Ok well is there any way to just show Parent ROMs?

Turn off clones in the Setup Wizard> Mame Settings:

Go to MAME (in GameEx) and hit Update List.

This has always struck me as odd. Why are there so many versions of the same games anyway? Are some of the clones better, from a playability stand point, than the originals? If so, what good are the originals, just because they are genuine original game roms? The whole MAME/CHD thing seems excessively wasteful from a disk space point of view, so many items seem repetitive, or completely unused. For now I've kept them though, and in split sets just to avoid potential issues down the road, should I decide to consolidate only to what I play. I certainly don't want into the headache of deleting something wrenches numerous other games. I can't imagine the amount of storage serious collectors have invested in this hobby.

It would be nice though if you could group them somehow.

Many clones have slight differences in gamplay or difficulty to the originals/parents some are just language variations and sometimes it's the clone that is the most widely viewed as the original (Pacman being the prime example). Whatever the reason for them, clones always need the parent rom to run, it's how arcade boards are built - you wouldn't design and manufacture a completely new board for a version with a different language - you modify the original/parent it's much cheaper!

That said you can achieve what you want using rom auditing tools - you can pack the parents with the clones if you want.

[uberpubert69]

Turn off clones in the Setup Wizard> Mame Settings:

Go to MAME (in GameEx) and hit Update List.

Many clones have slight differences in gamplay or difficulty to the originals/parents some are just language variations and sometimes it's the clone that is the most widely viewed as the original (Pacman being the prime example). Whatever the reason for them, clones always need the parent rom to run, it's how arcade boards are built - you wouldn't design and manufacture a completely new board for a version with a different language - you modify the original/parent it's much cheaper!

That said you can achieve what you want using rom auditing tools - you can pack the parents with the clones if you want.

I just did no clones unless better because of the very same reason you mentioned about pacman. The list is no longer poopy looking but I'm missing 3/4ths of my games now lol. Hopefully GameEx Evolution will have more options for you MAME ROMs like merging parent roms and clones of those parents together on the list. Hopefully Tom will see this and give a poke at it.

[Draco1962]

Doubtful that will change much as much of it is a limitation of MAME itself. But you could always make a request here as nullPointer recommended prior.