Good Merge

[gargoyle]

I've been seeing a lot about good merge, is it worth merging all my roms rather than having them just zipped, other than having multiple zip versions of the same rom what's the advantage of merging them ?

[hansolo77]

If you intend to have multiple versions of the same rom, merging them with 7z will compress their size dramatically. I just compressed my Sega Master System set of +1000 files down to about 480, with a 2000mb library size. It said the file compression rate put the files to around 29% their original size.

[Adultery]

I've been seeing a lot about good merge, is it worth merging all my roms rather than having them just zipped, other than having multiple zip versions of the same rom what's the advantage of merging them ?

If you have a complete set of ROMs and are a registered GameEx user, the pros certainly outweigh the cons.

First off, having all your games merged saves space. I can fit a full set of NES, SNES, GEN, SMS on one DVD, as opposed to 5 or 6 DVDs unzipped.

Secondly, the list is organized neatly. No 30 versions of Super Mario Bros unless I go into the SMB .7z. The list in GameEx simply states Super Mario Bros and the next screen displays the contents of the archive. Even the JAP nad EUR versions are in the Super Mario Bros archive.

It's a pain in the arse to get it done, but you can have a full complete set of ROMs in the same amount of space that you can hold a NoIntro set. I personally would rather have the complete library of games.

I do not, however, use merged MAME ROMs. That makes my MAME set harder to update.

Hope that helps!