Post by: nes6502 on August 10, 2006, 04:13:00 PM
Post by: Cutriss on August 11, 2006, 08:08:00 AM
Post by: Thraxen on August 11, 2006, 08:55:00 AM
QUOTE(Cutriss @ Aug 11 2006, 09:00 AM) 
But all the filenames even match. The romdumps themselves aren't changing from version-to-version, are they?
And if the most recent version of MAME runs them, then that means that I have to scout out the ones I have and "fork" them into two different working sets. That seems to make no sense. I mean, I know you're a emulator developer and all, but that just seems like a bad way to do things. I guess I'll check them in Romcenter and see if that says anything helpful.
The game I'm testing here is a base game and not a cloneset (area88 is the clone) so there's only one ZIP file, with 11 roms in it, and those eleven are the ones listed by MAMEoX 128 as being missing.
Actually, yes, some romdumps do change with each new version of MAME. It's usually not a lot compared to the total number of games in MAME, but the changes stack up after several version have gone by and at this point the XBox version of MAME is many versions behind.
The "base game" you are talking about is usually called the "parent"... all the games based off the parent are called "clones". That might be your problem with some of the games. When you are at the ROM list in MAMEoX one of the listing methods (the default) has a column that lists the parent ROM, if there is one, for each game. If the ROM is the parent then that column will be blank. Try launching a game that is the parent, or if you do try launch a clone check to make sure that you have the parent ROM that is listed.
Post by: Cutriss on August 11, 2006, 12:49:00 PM
QUOTE(Thraxen @ Aug 11 2006, 10:02 AM)
Actually, yes, some romdumps do change with each new version of MAME. It's usually not a lot compared to the total number of games in MAME, but the changes stack up after several version have gone by and at this point the XBox version of MAME is many versions behind.
The "base game" you are talking about is usually called the "parent"... all the games based off the parent are called "clones". That might be your problem with some of the games. When you are at the ROM list in MAMEoX one of the listing methods (the default) has a column that lists the parent ROM, if there is one, for each game. If the ROM is the parent then that column will be blank. Try launching a game that is the parent, or if you do try launch a clone check to make sure that you have the parent ROM that is listed.
Yeah, I'm doing that. unsquad is the parent game, and area88 is the clone, and I'm running unsquad.The "base game" you are talking about is usually called the "parent"... all the games based off the parent are called "clones". That might be your problem with some of the games. When you are at the ROM list in MAMEoX one of the listing methods (the default) has a column that lists the parent ROM, if there is one, for each game. If the ROM is the parent then that column will be blank. Try launching a game that is the parent, or if you do try launch a clone check to make sure that you have the parent ROM that is listed.
I guess that's why one or more of the MAME releases on the Xbox comes with its own DAT. I guess that's for ROM validation purposes. I'll have to look there when I have a chance.
Post by: Thraxen on August 11, 2006, 01:11:00 PM
QUOTE(Cutriss @ Aug 11 2006, 01:56 PM)
Yeah, I'm doing that. unsquad is the parent game, and area88 is the clone, and I'm running unsquad.
I guess that's why one or more of the MAME releases on the Xbox comes with its own DAT. I guess that's for ROM validation purposes. I'll have to look there when I have a chance.
Yeah, the latest version of MAMEoX 128 Plus! (which is the current best version of MAME for the XBox) comes with it's own DAT which can be used to verify the ROMS.
Post by: Cutriss on August 13, 2006, 09:28:00 AM
I loaded the DAT in Romcenter, and scanned the ROM pile. Plenty of errors reported, mostly due to clone ROMs being included in the same ZIP as the parent ROM, but still acceptable (just labeled as "useless files").
I looked through the list to pick one that was labeled as "OK" with no strings attached, and tried to run it. No dice. I was originally trying U.N. Squadron (CPS1) which showed as OK with two extra ROM files in it, and it failed. I tried running Vampire Savior 2 ("OK"), it didn't work. Since it's CPS2, I moved on, tried to load Galaga, nothing. Tried to load 1943kai, showed "OK" in Romcenter, no dice.
Edit: For the record, this also happens in MAMEdoX and the original MAMEoX.
Post by: Thraxen on August 13, 2006, 10:19:00 AM
QUOTE(Cutriss @ Aug 13 2006, 10:35 AM)
Bleh, no help.
I loaded the DAT in Romcenter, and scanned the ROM pile. Plenty of errors reported, mostly due to clone ROMs being included in the same ZIP as the parent ROM, but still acceptable (just labeled as "useless files").
Well, you can change how Romcenter arranges the ROMS. You are using "merged" sets where clones are in the same zips with the parent. In Romcenter go to "File" -> "Preferences" and then select the "Romsets" tab. At the top you will see a section called "Rom Structure". Make sure "Merged" is selected there.
QUOTE
I looked through the list to pick one that was labeled as "OK" with no strings attached, and tried to run it. No dice. I was originally trying U.N. Squadron (CPS1) which showed as OK with two extra ROM files in it, and it failed. I tried running Vampire Savior 2 ("OK"), it didn't work. Since it's CPS2, I moved on, tried to load Galaga, nothing. Tried to load 1943kai, showed "OK" in Romcenter, no dice.
Edit: For the record, this also happens in MAMEdoX and the original MAMEoX.
Edit: For the record, this also happens in MAMEdoX and the original MAMEoX.
Hmmm... so each time it says that files are missing? Maybe your ROMS are zipped in an odd format. Try unzipping one, then rezipping it, and then trying it again in MAMEoX.
Post by: Cutriss on August 13, 2006, 12:19:00 PM
QUOTE(Thraxen @ Aug 13 2006, 11:26 AM)
Well, you can change how Romcenter arranges the ROMS. You are using "merged" sets where clones are in the same zips with the parent. In Romcenter go to "File" -> "Preferences" and then select the "Romsets" tab. At the top you will see a section called "Rom Structure". Make sure "Merged" is selected there.
Ah, okay, thanks. It has been a bit confusing to figure out.QUOTE(Thraxen @ Aug 13 2006, 11:26 AM)
Hmmm... so each time it says that files are missing? Maybe your ROMS are zipped in an odd format. Try unzipping one, then rezipping it, and then trying it again in MAMEoX.
That's what I thought too, but I tried to unzip and rezip U.N. Squadron in WinRAR to see if that was the problem, and it's not (and yeah, I'm not saving them as RARs - they're ZIPs).Another interesting thing - When the ROMs are loading, the available memory drops sometimes, but not always. It's hard to tell with the limited screen space, but it looks like it's successfully loading some of the files, but not always. So, I assume it is actually successfully opening the files. I just don't know why it's loading some and not others.
And I presume they're not bad dumps - after all, Romcenter reports them with correct checksums for the DAT file, and I've loaded the games in MAME32. I'm stumped.
Post by: Cutriss on August 13, 2006, 02:02:00 PM
The ROMs are on F:, not C:.
And though they're in the folders given above, I also tried starting Galaga and U.N. Squadrom in just the F:\ROMs\MAME\ROMs folder, just in case it was a folder name issue, and that wasn't it. I gave that a shot since the in-MAME configuration tool doesn't have '-' as a character option, and I have my ROMs sorted due to volume. No help there.
Post by: nes6502 on August 13, 2006, 02:07:00 PM
Post by: nes6502 on August 13, 2006, 02:30:00 PM
QUOTE(Cutriss @ Aug 13 2006, 09:17 PM)
Yeah, that was the first thing I did, and then I had to open the save file on my PC to add in the custom directory names (since I couldn't enter a '-' in). Then I did a rescan.
In the midst of trying to get all this to work, I deleted all the old homebrew saves I had on the system (at least the ones that store in TDATA/UDATA), except for XBMC and DVD2Xbox.
I'll try it again though.
Just for the heck of it, try loading the unsquadron rom in FBAXX to see if it works there.
Post by: Cutriss on August 14, 2006, 09:22:00 AM
QUOTE(nes6502 @ Aug 13 2006, 03:37 PM)
Just for the heck of it, try loading the unsquadron rom in FBAXX to see if it works there.
Yep, peachy keen. Also loads SFA2 and SFA3 without incident.
Post by: Thraxen on August 15, 2006, 04:06:00 PM
Post by: Cutriss on August 16, 2006, 09:01:00 AM
Post by: Thraxen on August 16, 2006, 09:44:00 PM
Post by: Cutriss on August 18, 2006, 10:34:00 AM
sz3u.03c
sz3u.04c
sz3.05c
sz3.06c
sz3.07c
sz3.08c
sz3.09c
sz3.10b
sz3ux.03c
sz3ux.04c
sz3.13m
sz3.15m
sz3.17m
sz3.19m
sz3.14m
sz3.16m
sz3.18m
There are likely more, but this is where the screen stops.
The ZIP contains 57 files, and every single one of those listed is in it, and Romcenter identifies the checksum as being good against the MAMEoX DAT. Also, FBAx plays the ROM without a problem, as does MAME32.
Post by: Thraxen on August 18, 2006, 04:13:00 PM
Post by: Cutriss on August 18, 2006, 04:21:00 PM
Post by: Thraxen on August 18, 2006, 04:41:00 PM
So if you have MAMEoX installed here:
F:\Emulators\MAMEoX\default.xbe
then d:\roms\ means the same thing as this:
F:\Emulators\MAMEoX\roms\
So make a "roms" folder in the install directory and move SFA3 there. Make sure one of the 4 ROM paths says "d:\roms\" and then have the emulator re-scan for ROMS. Then try to load SFA3 again and see what happens.
Post by: Cutriss on August 18, 2006, 04:59:00 PM
It's weird that they'll run from there but not from a non-subordinate folder. I was kinda trying to abstract the ROM storage itself away from the emulators so that I could put all the ROMs in one place and have a variety of emulators access them as one surpasses another.
Post by: nes6502 on August 18, 2006, 05:11:00 PM
QUOTE(Cutriss @ Aug 19 2006, 12:06 AM)
Yeah, SFA3 runs if I put it there and add D:\roms to the last of the config directories.
It's weird that they'll run from there but not from a non-subordinate folder. I was kinda trying to abstract the ROM storage itself away from the emulators so that I could put all the ROMs in one place and have a variety of emulators access them as one surpasses another.
Are you adding a "\" to the end of your rom paths? I don't know if this affects MAME or not, but in ZsnexBox the Xbox will easily scan and show all the roms in the path with or without the ending "\". However, if the "\" is there it will throw off my rom loading code.
Post by: nes6502 on August 19, 2006, 11:35:00 AM
QUOTE(Cutriss @ Aug 19 2006, 05:30 PM)
I have been, but I'll take it off and see if it changes anything. I didn't think it was a problem since the ROMs scanned fine, but I'll check that out now.
Edit: Ahmigawd. You nailed it. Apparently MAME will scan the directories and read the ROMs, but it can't load them if there's a trailing '\', like I always stick at the end of my folder names.
Well, thanks a *ton*, and I'm glad we were able to figure out such a remote issue like this.
Yeah, it happened so many times for users that I finally added it to my FAQ. Apparently the file scanning capabilities will work with or without it. So it is very misleading. All the roms show up but none will load.
Post by: xX_Virus_Xx on January 28, 2007, 12:05:00 PM
Post by: Ash123 on January 28, 2007, 01:19:00 PM
QUOTE(Thraxen @ Aug 19 2006, 12:48 AM)
No, you don't have to burn anything. "D:" is a relative path that is defined as the directory from which the default.xbe files was launched. This applies to almost every XBox app in existence. That's why almost all XBox apps have paths that say "d:" by default in their ini files.
So if you have MAMEoX installed here:
F:\Emulators\MAMEoX\default.xbe
then d:\roms\ means the same thing as this:
F:\Emulators\MAMEoX\roms\
So make a "roms" folder in the install directory and move SFA3 there. Make sure one of the 4 ROM paths says "d:\roms\" and then have the emulator re-scan for ROMS. Then try to load SFA3 again and see what happens.
Post by: xX_Virus_Xx on January 28, 2007, 01:25:00 PM