The GameEx Database Project

[greatflash]

greatflash: Please leave in the & symbols and paragraph breaks in the descriptions. Either Tom will fix this in GameEx, or I will fix them when you create the mdb using GameEx DBM. But it's definately best to keep them in the databases so we have the original data.

EDIT: Oops Tom posted, so there we go

Ok, will do (was going to anyway - na na na-na na)

PS.

On your next update can you please upgrade the cushion? The upgraded one has a slight horizontal lean.

[headkaze]

Ok, will do (was going to anyway - na na na-na na)

PS.

On your next update can you please upgrade the cushion? The upgraded one has a slight horizontal lean.

It's on my "To Not Do" list

EDIT: Updated the first post to "make more sense". I'll add the databases people are working on to it as well.

[headkaze]

Version 1.24 Released

- Added "Search" button

Sorry about all the recent releases but flash and I are adding alot of new functions that should make things easier in the long run. Especially this new idea he came up with which I think is a huge time saver.

Also I've updated some of the files in the larger download including adding all the categories for the default databases so please do a download of the full release for this but be careful not to overwrite any xml files your currently working on. This will save people the step of "Get Category". The reason I didn't do this in the first place was because I wasn't sure if I was 100% happy with my category guessing algorithm. But for now it will have to do. If you see a category that is blantently wrong just double click the game and change it manually.

[greatflash]

Version 1.24 Released

- Added "Search" button

Sorry about all the recent releases but flash and I are adding alot of new functions that should make things easier in the long run. Especially this new idea he came up with which I think is a huge time saver.

Also I've updated some of the files in the larger download including adding all the categories for the default databases so please do a download of the full release for this but be careful not to overwrite any xml files your currently working on. This will save people the step of "Get Category". The reason I didn't do this in the first place was because I wasn't sure if I was 100% happy with my category guessing algorithm. But for now it will have to do. If you see a category that is blantently wrong just double click the game and change it manually.

You must be on PCP

EDIT: I meant, because you are so quick

PS. What happened to Cushion plugin v3?

[Stu1983]

Just a note for others entering data..

Firstly:

GameEx has a strange but that occurs when displaying the information from the Description field. Any text that contains a '&' is terminated before the symbol. I am currently working on the BBC list and have come across the wonderful and GameEx unfriendly A&F Software, as will peoples working on Spectrum, C64, MSX, Amstrad, Atari 8bit, Atari ST, Amiga, and IBM PC. I don't know what to suggest? I loave the idea of using 'A and F software' as a substitute. I personally will leave it as is, in the hope that Tom will modify the way DB's are read and cached.

Example of Problem:-

A&F Software's Chuckie Egg is a home computer video game released in 1983................

Becomes

A

Also, line spaces are not formatted into the GameEx display. I will continue to put paragraph breaks into the decriptions. Perhaps this could also be fixed?

PS. Hoping to have BBC finished by Friday

I had this problemrecently when writing a piece of software at work

It happens because & is a reserved word and needs to be enclosed in [ brackets e.g. A[&]F instead of A&F

If Tom can't sort this then maybe headkaze could replace &'s with [&] on the fly when reading the data or writing it out to the mdb?

There's a full list of reserved words here

and a list of symbols here

I'm recovering from a hard drive failure so once I get my arcade up and going again I'll get tucked into some of these

Stu

[Tom Speirs]

I had this problemrecently when writing a piece of software at work

It happens because & is a reserved word and needs to be enclosed in [ brackets e.g. A[&]F instead of A&F

If Tom can't sort this then maybe headkaze could replace &'s with [&] on the fly when reading the data or writing it out to the mdb?

There's a full list of reserved words here

and a list of symbols here

I'm recovering from a hard drive failure so once I get my arcade up and going again I'll get tucked into some of these

Stu

Actually it seems the issue is because it tries to strip html tags from the description fields, and it classes & as html. Ill have a private release out for you guys shortly that fixes this and allows you to select the naming convention to use.

[greatflash]

Got a little problem with the database (Saturn)

I have a Tosec name 'NiGHTS into Dreamsâ?¦ (U)' and all data is entered in the mbd correctly (replicating in goodname at the mo also).

NiGHTS into Dreamsâ?¦ can be selected in the list of games within gameex but non of the info entered is displayed.

If i then create 'NiGHTS into Dreamsâ?¦ (U).7z' and switch the config to zipped, still nothing is displayed and selecting the game opens the usual window (box, manual, etc) but the rom is not displayed. Checking the 'Unzipped7-Zip' directory, that has no entries at all?

Something is going wrong if the filename (after the ()'s are stripped) ends in a fullstop (or 3). Checking the map and db cache files I notice that the three fulstops have been replaced with 'â�' in the map file, and 'â�¦' in the db file (apears to have grabbed a ¦ from the map file).

I know what you are gonna say!

But yes, It is always me

Ps. This also appears to confuse other entries. Some have wrong data and some display no data? Removing the Nights game resolves this?

[starbuck]

Been following this post and want to say thank you to all that are working on this. Wish I had time to help but my jpb in the summer keeps be going from 6:30 am till 9 pm 7 days a week in the summer. *Wokr with kids keeping them busy and off the street"

Not something that needs to be done now but would be neat if the databse had screenshots, boxart etc. built into the database. Movies are already covered as well as snaps for certain systems. But i'm sure it would be helpful to others to be able to have the database fillin the pics for us. I'm sure all of us have boxart, etc we could zip and sent to a central site for the database.

Just a thought and something that could be incorporated into the database now for future use.

[bkenobi]

Two problems with including pictures: size and legality. Any time the database gets updated, it's possible that the whole thing may need to be downloaded (depending on how HK and Tom have it set up). Having all the images in the DB would make for a lot of extra bandwidth. Second, some companies really are on top of their IP and don't let you freely distribute images captured from their games. I would hate to see GameEx drug through the mud when their's plenty of places to easily get this kind of content (including links available in this forum).

I agree it would be easier, but I don't know if it's something Tom is willing to take on.

[greatflash]

Two problems with including pictures: size and legality. Any time the database gets updated, it's possible that the whole thing may need to be downloaded (depending on how HK and Tom have it set up). Having all the images in the DB would make for a lot of extra bandwidth. Second, some companies really are on top of their IP and don't let you freely distribute images captured from their games. I would hate to see GameEx drug through the mud when their's plenty of places to easily get this kind of content (including links available in this forum).

I agree it would be easier, but I don't know if it's something Tom is willing to take on.

Bkenobi - Did you see the post before Starbucks?

any ideas/have you known this????

[starbuck]

no wouldn't want anything to happen to hurt this great software. Thought it was ok because we have game snaps for dl on the main page.

[bkenobi]

There are some companies that don't seem to care about images from their games being released. There are others that are really careful. I can't remember examples, but I believe Capcom freaked about Mugen at one point because characters from their current games were being released. Screen shots are essentially the same thing (yes I know some people actually extract the sprites, but that's semantics...), so there you go. I personally feel if someone wants to use the picture in a hobby, it's just homage to the greatness of their product, but I'm not in their legal or marketing dept's!

[greatflash]

Got a little problem with the database (Saturn)

I have a Tosec name 'NiGHTS into Dreamsâ?¦ (U)' and all data is entered in the mbd correctly (replicating in goodname at the mo also).

NiGHTS into Dreamsâ?¦ can be selected in the list of games within gameex but non of the info entered is displayed.

If i then create 'NiGHTS into Dreamsâ?¦ (U).7z' and switch the config to zipped, still nothing is displayed and selecting the game opens the usual window (box, manual, etc) but the rom is not displayed. Checking the 'Unzipped7-Zip' directory, that has no entries at all?

Something is going wrong if the filename (after the ()'s are stripped) ends in a fullstop (or 3). Checking the map and db cache files I notice that the three fulstops have been replaced with 'â�' in the map file, and 'â�¦' in the db file (apears to have grabbed a ¦ from the map file).

I know what you are gonna say!

But yes, It is always me

Ps. This also appears to confuse other entries. Some have wrong data and some display no data? Removing the Nights game resolves this?

It is not a problem with the new DB, switched back and the problem is still there.

This at least explains the problem I had in an earlier post.

[greatflash]

Tom, any idea on the '...' problem?

Nearly finished the Saturn DB now, just 26 tricky ones left to do. Can't really test it correctly because of the 'NiGHTS into Dreams...' problem, but will upload it tomorrow for checking.

BBC micro next (1541 left to do )

Oh! the joy.

EDIT: going through Saturn db (was complete) looking for all games that are not in the TOSEC. Finding quite a few. Also checking all descriptions to make sure the syntax is correct. Noticed that TOSEC quite often makes mistakes in the year of release. They should all be correct in the database, taking the earliest release (be it j, u, or e).

EDIT: Saturn 100% tomorrow. 476 entered. Will go through and add all the rest of the jap games at a later date. The db covers all Usa and Europe games and several classic japanese titles.

[headkaze]

Version 1.25 Released

- GameInfo window is now sizeable

- GameInfo description now uses Courier as font

[greatflash]

Version 1.25 Released

- GameInfo window is now sizeable

- GameInfo description now uses Courier as font

Thanks

You are an absolute star.

[headkaze]

Happy to help where I can, I know how tedious data entry can be so even minor changes to the way data its entered can save a tonne of time.

Also e-mailed Tom today and mentioned the problem with filenames containing "...". He's going to release a private beta for testing the new databases and I've requested he make it an official release that still supports the old format so we can gradually release the new databases. These are going to take longer to get done than the old ones so it may be better to add them as they're done.

So just to reiterate the current problems I've reported to Tom

- If the mdb data contains & or '\n' (newline) characters it has problems displaying the data

- If the filename contains a "..." (three fullstops) it will not find the game in the database

- GameEx displays "GoodName" name in the game list instead of "Name"

[headkaze]

GameEx DBM Version 1.26 Released

- Fixed bug sorting columns

- Fixed version number removal (supports version numbers with letters at the end)

[greatflash]

Happy to help where I can, I know how tedious data entry can be so even minor changes to the way data its entered can save a tonne of time.

Also e-mailed Tom today and mentioned the problem with filenames containing "...". He's going to release a private beta for testing the new databases and I've requested he make it an official release that still supports the old format so we can gradually release the new databases. These are going to take longer to get done than the old ones so it may be better to add them as they're done.

So just to reiterate the current problems I've reported to Tom

- If the mdb data contains & or '\n' (newline) characters it has problems displaying the data

- If the filename contains a "..." (three fullstops) it will not find the game in the database

- GameEx displays "GoodName" name in the game list instead of "Name"

Looking good. Hope to get the Saturn finished today.

The only other problem is the way GoodBase roms work (being "name (number)"). Tons of c64 games will be missed if the bracked value is not matched. As I said, this really only affects GoodBase names. A lot of work is being done to make the databases as perfect as possible, and this really does need to be addressed.

Also, GameEx also needs to poll the Goodname and the No-intro for matches.

Thanks again for all your wotk/help on this project.

[greatflash]

Sega Saturn Test DB.

At last, a complete DB for the Sega Saturn. The database contains 477 Saturn games, all with complete data. descriptions contain paragraph breaks, that are not supported in GameEx as yet, to make them easier to read.

Hurrah: I got the first DB done

Please PM if any problems (who-ever is checking these?).

HK: [Console] Sega Saturn v1.063 (Flash) *Received*

[headkaze]

Great work Flash fantastic! I will be removed them once I've downloaded them as I will be keeping track and organsing the complete databases then passing them on to Tom. So as I grab it I will be removing it from here and crossing it out in the first post.

[frosty-theaussie]

GameEx DBM Version 1.26 Released

- Fixed bug sorting columns

- Fixed version number removal (supports version numbers with letters at the end)

Whereabouts does one download this tool? Or is it only available for those participating in the project?

[greatflash]

Whereabouts does one download this tool? Or is it only available for those participating in the project?

I'm afraid that the tool is only available for those participating in the project.

Headkaze is looking for people to contribute who have a good knowledge of gameex and syntax in general. If you are interested in helping (lots of work to do) then PM Headkaze and have a word with him.

[Tom Speirs]

Hi all,

First of all thanks for all your hard work.

ill be releasing a new version today, with support for the new fields.

Just wanted to mention a couple of things so there's no disapointed.

In regard to the "..." issue, I have not had a chance to look at this yet but will do for the release after the next. Also in regard to the new lines, I did implement this then saw that it does not look right with the existing data, for example look at Hybrid Heaven for N64. It does have more than one line break for this game in places but there not perfect and it just did not look right with the extra line breaks, so i decided not to support a blank line for now but we can look at this again later.

The good news is it does support the new bigoraphy, but only if using v3 themes, as there is not enough menu space for v1 and v2 themes.

[greatflash]

Hi all,

First of all thanks for all your hard work.

ill be releasing a new version today, with support for the new fields.

Just wanted to mention a couple of things so there's no disapointed.

In regard to the "..." issue, I have not had a chance to look at this yet but will do for the release after the next. Also in regard to the new lines, I did implement this then saw that it does not look right with the existing data, for example look at Hybrid Heaven for N64. It does have more than one line break for this game in places but there not perfect and it just did not look right with the extra line breaks, so i decided not to support a blank line for now but we can look at this again later.

The good news is it does support the new bigoraphy, but only if using v3 themes, as there is not enough menu space for v1 and v2 themes.

Great news. I will look at this later when I return home from work. Regarding the dreaded full-stop bug, For the moment; I have moved all games that end with one to another directory so that I can test the databases.

The newline (paragraph) thing is not overly important but does make things look a lot more professional rather than a blob of text. Perhaps this could be noted that it may/will be added so that other DB worker ants can make use of the function. Please look at the new saturn db to see how it looks.

The biography feature is a wonderful idea that I personally can't wait to look at..

Oh, will the new version include support for the display of the name field rather than the goodname?

Also, Is it worth including a note at the top of this post relating to the syntax of the databases for reference?

Again, thanks for all your work Tom.

P.s. Just to annoy Headkaze, Updated the Saturn DB to over 500 now, just mainly to include some of the great Japanese games that I have (especially Shooters). Also, had another check through the Descriptions and found a couple of mistakes and extended several more. (I think i will put the Saturn one to bed for a while for now).

Will upload it soon! (sore fingers)