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mame_listxml [2020/08/16 17:10] gordonjmame_listxml [2023/07/04 08:18] (current) johnsanc
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 ====== How to create MAME sets with RomVault ====== ====== How to create MAME sets with RomVault ======
  
 +RomVault will allow you to build, repair, or upgrade a MAME collection in a few easy steps:
  
-It is possible with RomVault to validate any of the 3 main ways to collect MAME ROM sets using the xml output from mame itself. This also includes the validation of CHD files. +  - Set up RomVault for the first time 
-(I have work hard with RomVault and the source of the DATs for the Pleasuredome MAME sets to check that these sets are fully compatible with each other.)+  - Add MAME DATs 
 +  - Configure directory settings 
 +  - Scan your ROM sets 
 +  - Fix your ROM sets 
 +  - Keep your ROM sets up-to-date
  
-The three ways to collect MAME sets are: +\\ 
-  * Merged +===== Set up RomVault for the first time =====
-  * Non-Merged +
-  * Split+
  
-To validate these sets: First you need the XML file from the MAME.exe you are wanting to collectThis can also be downloaded from [[https://www.mamedev.org/release.html|MAME's main download page]]+If you do not have RomVault installed yet, then the first step is to set it up and assign your DatRoot, RomRoot, and ToSort directoriesReview the wiki page for [[install_and_setup|Windows]] or [[linux_setup|Linux]] setup instructions to get started.
  
-Or you can extract it directly from MAME like this (don't use powershell, use cmd.exe): 
  
-{{ :extractxml.png |Extract XML}}+\\ 
 +===== Add MAME Arcade DATs =====
  
-You should then put this file into the DatRoot directory structure where you are collecting the MAME set.+Once you have RomVault initially set up its time to add MAME DATs. You can either provide your own or download them directly from DatVault, which is RomVault's built in DAT downloader and updater. If you are interested in supporting RomVault development, Patreon supporters can access hundreds of DATs with [[what_is_datvault|DatVault]]. MAME DATs are available for everyone 
  
-{{ :dirsetup1.png |Mame Merge}}+  - Open DatVault by right clicking the **Update DATs** button or selecting **Update DATs > DATVault Update** from the top menu 
 +  - Enable the **Show Available** and **Show Got** status filters in the left panel 
 +  - Expand the **Emulators** group 
 +  - Select **MAME** if you want DATs for the latest stable build or **MAME-Daily** for the latest development build 
 +  - Decide which MAME Arcade DATs you want to use for ROMs and CHDs. For this guide we will use **MAME ROMs (listxml)** since it provides flexibility to change merge settings and allows ROMs and CHDs to be stored together which is the prevailing MAME recommendation. Refer to the table below for additional information and use cases for each DAT. <WRAP tablewidth 800px> 
 +^ DAT                     ^ ROMs  ^ CHDs  ^ Description                                                                                                                                                                                                    ^ 
 +| MAME CHDs (merged)      |        X    | Contains only CHDs in merged format. Use if you prefer to keep CHDs in a separate directory from ROMs.                                                                                                         | 
 +| MAME ROMs (listxml)      X    |  X    | Contains ROMs and CHDs. Use if you prefer to keep CHDs in the same directory as ROMs. You can choose your merge settings later with a directory rule. This DAT is exported directly from the MAME executable. 
 +| MAME ROMs (merged)      |  X    |       | Contains only ROMs in merged format                                                                                                                                                                            | 
 +| MAME ROMs (non-merged)  |  X    |       | Contains only ROMs in non-merged format                                                                                                                                                                        | 
 +| MAME ROMs (split)        X    |       | Contains only ROMs in split format                                                                                                                                                                             | 
 +</WRAP> 
 +  - Select the checkbox in the row for the **MAME ROMs (listxml)** DAT 
 +  - Click the **Add Selected** button \\ <WRAP> 
 +{{:screens:mame:mame-datvault-download.png?nolink&800:|}} 
 +</WRAP> 
 +  - Choose a location in your DatRoot to store the DAT. You can use DatVault's default directories or choose your own. 
 +  - Review the DAT path in the preview box, and once it looks good click the **OK** button \\ <WRAP> 
 +{{:screens:mame:mame-datvault-add.png?nolink&500:|}} 
 +</WRAP> 
 +  - The DAT should download and the row will be highlighted green. If you deselected the automatic download option when choosing a DAT location, then click the **Update Selected** button to download. 
 +  - Close the DatVault window and RomVault will automatically refresh your DATs
  
-Next head over to RomVault UI and scan in this DAT. (Click on Update DATs) This will load this XML file but not yet with the required setup. 
  
-So now select and then right click on the MAME (Merge) row in the tree, and click on 'Set Dir Settings' in the popup menu.+\\ 
 +===== Configure directory settings =====
  
-{{ :configmenu.png |Set Dir Settings}}+Once you have the MAME DAT downloaded and loaded into RomVault it will appear in the tree panel. The next step is to review and update directory settings for the MAME DAT. In this example we will assume that you want to store MAME in **//merged//** mode.
  
-The 'Set ROM Directories' dialog window will be displayed. In here there are two settings to change:+RomVault's directory settings are inherited from parent directories, and its likely your RomRoot is configured to use **//nothing//** as the merge type. This means we will need to create a directory rule for MAME:
  
-  * Merge Type: Set to 'Merge+  - Right click the MAME directory in the tree 
-  * ROM/CHD Filter: Set to 'Roms Only'+  - Select **Set Dir Settings** from the context menu 
 +  - Choose a directory location for your MAME sets if you plan to store them in a location outside of everything else. For example, assume you have your RomRoot assigned to ''X:\Games'' but you want MAME games to be next to the MAME exe located at ''C:\Emulators\MAME\roms''. In this case you would want to update the Directory Location accordingly for the MAME sets. 
 +  - Choose the following DAT Rule Settings 
 +    * Archive Type: **Zip** (Its best to store MAME sets in .zip format) 
 +    * Merge Type: **Merged** (See the dedicated documentation for more details about [[merge_types|merge types]]) 
 +    * ROM/CHD Filter: **Roms & CHDs** (This ensures both ROMs and CHDs from the DAT are included) 
 +    * Header Type: **Optional** (Not relevant for MAME, so just leave this as Optional) 
 +  - Click the **Apply** button to save the rule 
 +  - Close the directory rule window and the DAT will be reprocessed automatically <WRAP> 
 +{{:screens:mame:mame-dirsetting.png?nolink&750:|}} 
 +</WRAP>
  
-Click 'Apply' to complete this settings change. 
  
-{{ :directorysettings1.png |Set Merge Type}}+\\ 
 +===== Scan your ROM sets =====
  
-If you fix your mame set using these settings you will have a Pleasuredome torrent compatible Merged Set.+Now that you have your MAME DAT setup correctly, its time to scan and fix your MAME sets.
  
-You can also set the Merge Type to either Non-Merged or Split, to match the other two types of full mame torrents published on Pleasuredome.+  - Select **MAME** in the tree 
 +  Select your **ToSort** directory in the tree to consider additional files for fixing MAME sets. For exampleyou could place a pack of MAME update ROMs in your ToSort directory 
 +  - Click the **Scan ROMs** button. RomVault will decompress and hash all archives to ensure they are good and match the DAT contents. This may take awhile, but initial hashing is a one-time process. RomVault remembers file modified timestamps and skips over any files that have not been modified. This means future scans will be very fast. \\ <WRAP> 
 +{{:screens:mame:mame-scan.png?nolink&800:|}} 
 +</WRAP>
  
-{{ :allmamesets.png |All Merge Types}} 
  
-It is also possible to validate the MAME CHD set using this same method. Start by copying the mame.xml output into the required DatRoot directory:+\\ 
 +===== Fix your ROM sets =====
  
-{{ :dirsetup2.png |XML in CHD}}+After the scanning process is complete, its time to fix your MAME ROM sets.
  
-Then set the two directory settings to 'Merge' and 'CHDs Only' as show in this image:+  - Click the **Find Fixes** button. RomVault will compare the information in the DAT with the files you have scanned. Only directories that are selected in the tree are considered in this process. 
 +  - Review the fixes RomVault determined are necessary. Refer to the [[color_key|color key]] to learn more about each ROM status and fix action. \\ <WRAP> 
 +{{:screens:mame:mame-find-fixes.png?nolink&800:|}} 
 +</WRAP> 
 +  - Click the **Fix ROMs** button. RomVault will start performing fixes by moving files, repacking archives, and removing unnecessary files. 
 +  - When the process is complete, click the **Close** button in the status log window. \\ <WRAP> 
 +{{:screens:mame:mame-fix-roms.png?nolink&800:|}} 
 +</WRAP>
  
-{{ :directorysettings2.png |Set CHDs Only}}+Congratulations! You should now have a clean MAME Arcade set that matches the DAT.
  
-Click apply to confirm this change and then scan & fix your CHD's. (Yesthis will take a very long time.)+<WRAP info>RomVault'fixing process does NOT delete any unique filesAll unnecessary files are moved to your primary ToSort directory. You can keep these files in case they are needed for fixing other sets. Alternatelyif you choose to delete the unneeded files manually, be sure to rescan your ToSort directory so RomVault knows what files you actually have.</WRAP>
  
-{{ :fullset.png |Scanning CHD's}} 
  
-Following this process will give you correctly matching sets to any of these main DAT sets and torrents from Pleasuredome:+\\ 
 +===== Keep your ROM sets up-to-date =====
  
-{{ :pddatsets.png |All PD DATs}}+Chances are you will periodically update your MAME ROM set whenever there is a new version availableYou can do this in a few simple steps:
  
 +  - Open DATVault and click **Update Selected** to download the new MAME DAT
 +  - Close DATVault and the DAT will automatically be updated and processed
 +  - Add an update pack of ROMs and CHDs to your ToSort directory
 +  - Select only the ToSort directory in the tree. Since our old MAME set is already scanned there is no reason to scan it again.
 +  - Click the **Scan ROMs** button and the new files in your ToSort directory will be hashed
 +  - When scanning is complete, keep the ToSort directory selected, and also select the MAME directory
 +  - Click the **Find Fixes** button
 +  - After fixes are found and reviewed, click the **Fix ROMs** button
 +
 +That's it! You just successfully upgraded your MAME ROM set.
mame_listxml.1597623019.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020/08/16 17:10 (external edit)