The GameEx Database Project

[greatflash]

Its ready. Please remind me of your email.

Sorry for the delay,

[email protected]

ALSO,

**********Fanfare please**********

This is a Tutorial for anyone wishing to create DB's for the wonderful GameEx.

This was knock up in a few hours and may be missing information. HK please have a look at it and check all is ok, if so - is it worth adding it to the first entry or will it be missed?

Who knows....

GameEx_Database_Manager_Tutorial.pdf

[Tom Speirs]

Sorry for the delay,

[email protected]

ALSO,

**********Fanfare please**********

This is a Tutorial for anyone wishing to create DB's for the wonderful GameEx.

This was knock up in a few hours and may be missing information. HK please have a look at it and check all is ok, if so - is it worth adding it to the first entry or will it be missed?

Who knows....

This looks very thorough and quite OK to me. If noone else comments ill add it to the tutorials on the main site.

Thanks again for all your hard work.

[Email was sent]

[greatflash]

This looks very thorough and quite OK to me. If noone else comments ill add it to the tutorials on the main site.

Thanks again for all your hard work.

[Email was sent]

Thanks for the Beta, have downloaded and installed and will have a damn good play tomorrow :)

I will let you know how i get on..

Off to the land of nod where the pixies live. Feels like a long day

Cheers Tom!

[headkaze]

Thanks Tom and Flash for the work recently with the databases. I think were on a great start to getting a fantastic new and more complete database collection of games ever made!

And a note to the other volunteers, please read through Flash's tutorial pdf if you need some great instructions on how to create databases. We really do need all the help we can get with this project and would be a shame if we don't get more help.

I got a PM from shaun and he's busy with RealLife ® at the moment but we might see him onboard when he gets some of the RL issues out of the way.

[Adultery]

Where can I get the DB tool? Do I need to PM Headkaze?

[greatflash]

Where can I get the DB tool? Do I need to PM Headkaze?

Yes, you need to PM HK.

When you get the tool, take a look through the DB's available (check begining of this post to see who is doing what), and pick one. Then let HK know what one you have choosen to work on.

And the best of luck, we need all the help we can get...

It may seem like hard work - but the satisfaction of the end result is worth it! (HONEST)

[Adultery]

Alright... Working on the GameBoy Advance right now. Let's see how this pig flies.

[greatflash]

Alright... Working on the GameBoy Advance right now. Let's see how this pig flies.

A pleasure to have you on the team.

You do realise that a full list is 12627 entries before you remove the duplicates. I would leave the GoodTools list alone (do not press "ADD MISSING").

If you have any problems, feel free to PM me (I have the same problem with C64, 27574 before duplicate removal - should end at around 18000)

All the best

[greatflash]

Hi Tom,

Been playing with the beta as promised.

Had a play using the database naming on the Saturn set and am pleased to say all worked a treat (almost).

Was nice to see "Asuka 120% Burning Fest Limited" displayed correctly.

The problem with the "..." on the end of a filename still pressents itself ("Nights into Dreams...(U)" being a prime example) and with the database naming on, the end result is that this rom is not displayed at all, not a major worry but still worth looking at.

With a Future Pinball set, all appears to match perfectly except if the filename does not make (I renamed one) a match in the database, if this is the case (as above) the rom is not displayed.

This is the only problem i can find so far.

I think the problem resides in the first stage of the matching (ONLY when database naming is on), when a strict match is done and a match is not found - it just leaves the rom and moves on to the next check, without caching anything. I'm sure this was not intended. Should it not then do a normal match and cache the filename as before (pre database naming) for display?

So, for the same reason, the "..." problem is related as that can also not find the database match due to the earlier bug!

Well, hope that helps. Thrilled to have full use of the DB's now

EDIT: Bugger, just discovered that the snaps no longer match up with the naming on. The first matching snap is from the title 2 games above and so on.. As you get down the list, it drifts further out. The snaps I am using are EXACTLY the same as the rom names, if that is any help?

[greatflash]

And bugger me if going through the DB's using the new options, I found 3 errors on the saturn DB

Have edited it..

I will add a few more games before another upload though..

[greatflash]

Updated Database Creator Tutorial

This has several ammendments that may be of use in the construction of DB's.

If you are working on a DB, please read this.

Thanks.

GameEx_Database_Manager_Tutorial.pdf

[bkenobi]

I would like to suggest again that it would be REALLY nice if there were a way to have the databases set up online such that when you load GameEx (or perhaps only when you update), it will automatically do a hash/version check and update as appropriate. This would avoid the problem with revision control that I can already see coming. Although I'm sure it's possible to have a perfect DB, I'm not sure how practical it is to expect that any of them will ever be "done". It just seems like a good idea to have a way to submit suggested fixes/inclusions so they can be maintained without the need to continually redo the entire thing.

The alternative is to have one location be the authority. If the person working on the DB is the authority, then what Tom has is just the current released version. Anyway, I'm always cautious about revision control in large distributed projects. I don't have an actual solution, I'm just hoping my input will keep people on their toes to avoid the problem.

Great work guys!

[headkaze]

bkenobi: GameEx DBM has built in version control, each time the database is saved it increments the version internally. The version is stored in the actual database along with the creator and the last person to edit the database. The way it works is I collect the database posted on the forum which is in the xml format GameEx DBM uses and then convert it to mdb and upload it to Tom's FTP. From there he will grab the database and remove it from the ftp. I think it's a pretty good system and it seems to be working okay so far. As long as two people don't work on the same database we shouldn't have any trouble although by the seemingly lack of people working on them I doubt there will be much room for confusion, yet anyway.

[greatflash]

I would like to suggest again that it would be REALLY nice if there were a way to have the databases set up online such that when you load GameEx (or perhaps only when you update), it will automatically do a hash/version check and update as appropriate. This would avoid the problem with revision control that I can already see coming. Although I'm sure it's possible to have a perfect DB, I'm not sure how practical it is to expect that any of them will ever be "done". It just seems like a good idea to have a way to submit suggested fixes/inclusions so they can be maintained without the need to continually redo the entire thing.

The alternative is to have one location be the authority. If the person working on the DB is the authority, then what Tom has is just the current released version. Anyway, I'm always cautious about revision control in large distributed projects. I don't have an actual solution, I'm just hoping my input will keep people on their toes to avoid the problem.

Great work guys!

The system works fine at the moment, each release of GameEx will come with the current databases. The DB's take a long time to construct and as such there really is no need for releases BETWEEN gameex updates.

Many of the DB's can be called complete to a high degree, the Colecovision on for a start has had no updates for 2 years by way of new games found or pd releases.

[bkenobi]

Sounds like you spent a LOT of time figuring out how to make that tool work. Good job!!!

[greatflash]

Been having lot's of fun on the FP Db at the moment

Anyway, thought I would post a couple of pic to show how the new (beta) database naming affects the display of data. You will notice in the saturn one that the game "Asuka...." has now got the % symbol in the games title as intended. This is not possible using the filenames as a display.

The Future Pinball one shows that even using the table downloaded of the net and NOT renamed, the db will correct the names for you. The database also supports named 7zipped sets - so it covers all bases!

TOM: the problem mentioned regarding snap matching sort of cleared itself up. It happens when i go over a bank of games that have no snaps? or at least it appears to? I really can't find out why? all i did tonight was add some more to the FP db and the problem has lessened? It still affects some other dbs also. sorry I can't be more help! The problem with a rom (& ...) not matching the Db being missed is not affected, or other mentioned.

Still having fun - like a kid with a new toy

[greatflash]

TOM,

Ok, i know you have prob. got it sorted now, but going back to the miss matched snaps.

When you first enter an emulator page with "use database names" on, the snaps are incorrectly matched. If you then exit in emulator page and re-enter, they are correctly displayed. If you then exit GameEx and start again, enter the emulator page, you are back to stage one again???

Only you know what goes on behind the scenes, but - if you have not found it, i hope this helps ya!

[Tom Speirs]

TOM,

Ok, i know you have prob. got it sorted now, but going back to the miss matched snaps.

When you first enter an emulator page with "use database names" on, the snaps are incorrectly matched. If you then exit in emulator page and re-enter, they are correctly displayed. If you then exit GameEx and start again, enter the emulator page, you are back to stage one again???

Only you know what goes on behind the scenes, but - if you have not found it, i hope this helps ya!

Can you confirm it only happens with use database names is on, as theres been some other changes behind the scenes.

[greatflash]

Can you confirm it only happens with use database names is on, as theres been some other changes behind the scenes.

Yes - it is the only time I can get it to happen? Have now tried several time over several emus. It affects the FP db the most as it incomplete.

Also (god I bet you are so-o-o-o glad to know me )

When playing with the coleco list (for the reason above) all roms match in the list, but, when you select a rom to play, some of them then apear to loose their link with the db and no longer display. I hope you can see what I mean from the pictures. This happens regardless of whether "Database naming" is on or off.

the filenames are

Mr. Do! (1983) (Universal) [!].col

Ms. Space Fury (Digital Press) (2001) [b1].col

These are the only 2 I can find??????

I have gone through the cache, map, and db and can find no reason????

[Tom Speirs]

Yes - it is the only time I can get it to happen? Have now tried several time over several emus. It affects the FP db the most as it incomplete.

Also (god I bet you are so-o-o-o glad to know me )

When playing with the coleco list (for the reason above) all roms match in the list, but, when you select a rom to play, some of them then apear to loose their link with the db and no longer display. I hope you can see what I mean from the pictures. This happens regardless of whether "Database naming" is on or off.

the filenames are

Mr. Do! (1983) (Universal) [!].col

Ms. Space Fury (Digital Press) (2001) [b1].col

These are the only 2 I can find??????

I have gone through the cache, map, and db and can find no reason????

fixed. new beta uploading now.

Thanks

[clair]

Has anyone done a DB for snes and genesis?

[headkaze]

Has anyone done a DB for snes and genesis?

Please don't post requests here, this is a thread for people who are creating databases. When a database is finished it will be included in GameEx so there is no point in asking here. Thanks for your understanding.

[wahoo]

Thanks for putting this together Headkaze! I will work on some. Just let me know what to do.

[greatflash]

Thanks for putting this together Headkaze! I will work on some. Just let me know what to do.

There is a tutorial on this topic to show you what is involved and how to create them. Read that and if you still feel confident in creating one, please pm HK.

[wahoo]

There is a tutorial on this topic to show you what is involved and how to create them. Read that and if you still feel confident in creating one, please pm HK.

Got the tutorial. Great job! I am ready to get started on a DB. I sent headkaze a PM.

Lets have some more volunteers!