Nes rom naming convention

[ferze]

Hello,

I have some more about the naming in NES roms:

There are several rom names including [hFFE]. I found out that its a device called 'Front Far East copier'. Ok, but are these regular roms or just modified original rom versions to get run with FFE ?

Beside theese roms, there are some containing [hM02] or [hm03] for example. Are theese also roms for a special device, or just hacks ?

I have many roms which are according to the nes dat file from ucons homepage, ZZZ_ unclassified, but still working well. I know the Good tools (eg. GoodNes) but don't like them very much. So has anyone a complete nes datfile for use with romcenter that supports all 10783 known roms by GoodNes (V2.01) ?

According to GoodCodes.txt [p] means 'Pirate'. Whats the exact meaning of pirate ? I think it is an illegal copy, but from what ? Original rom, or other consoles ?

thx ferze

[Dweezledap]

Ok, but are these regular roms or just modified original rom versions to get run with FFE ?

When games where dumped from the cartridge to the FFE they where modified in some way. Sorry I don't know exactly what changes the device made.

Are theese also roms for a special device, or just hacks ?

These are hacked games. again I don't know what was changed or what the M02, M03, ect mean. Mapper perhaps?

So has anyone a complete nes datfile for use with romcenter that supports all 10783 known roms by GoodNes (V2.01) ?

I do .
You can find it here.
Be sure to download and install the NES plugin for RomCenter. It can be found at the sites download section.

Whats the exact meaning of pirate ?

These where carts that had been copied by a company or person other than the copyright holder and sold for profit.

dbjh, The programmer of uCON64 drops by the forum on occasion and should be able to answer your first two questions.

[ferze]

Hello Dweezledap

Thanks for answering my questions,

I downloaded some dat files from the link you wrote.

I think the dat files are pretty good, BUT for example GoodSMS 2.01 dat file:

You have some roms with headers in your sms datfile. If i am wrong, please correct me.

Because there is still no sms plugin for romcenter, and i have only roms with no headers, all these are not recognized!

Perhaps it's possible for you to remove the headers from theese files with ucon64 and generate once again a dat file. I can't create an complete dat file , because i excluded [b], [o]. [h] ... roms from my collection.

If you are interested in removing theese headers, here is a list of all roms veryfied as good dumps, with headers in your GoodSMS 2.01 dat file:

After Burner (UE) [!]
Altered Beast (UE) [!]
Bonanza Bros (UE) [!]
Fantasy Zone 2 - The Tears of Opa-Opa (UE) [!]
Ghouls 'n Ghosts (UE) [!]
Golden Axe (UE) [!]
Hang-On (UE) [!]
Lord of the Sword (UE) [!]
OutRun (UE) [!]
Rampage (UE) [!]
Rocky (UE) [!]
Super Tetris (UE) [!]
Shinobi (UE) [!]
Space Harrier (UE) [!]
Strider (UE) [!]
Time Soldiers (UE) [!]

Headers are only needed if using copiers.

lg ferze

[ferze]

Hi,

I modified your GoodSMS 2.01 dat file and correct all checksums and sizes of roms that are not [b], [o], [h]

I verified all changes with GoodSMS 2.01.exe from Cowering.

The corrected GoodSMS 2.01 dat file without headers you can find at http://www.ferze.com

lg ferze

[Dweezledap]

I debated about making all my datafiles with headerless roms but in the end used the GoodRoms Heaven sets since they are the most widely available at this point in time. Only the sets that include plugins use CRCs calculated without header info.

I have noticed recently that more and more people are removing headers from there roms and have been thinking about adding headerless datafiles to the site. Not to mention they could then be used with uCON64 as well.

If more coders could create plugins for the different good tools we would'nt have this problem. I'm trying to teach myself some programming but time Restraints do to work don't leave me much time to learn.

[dbjh]

Hi,

Like Dweezledap mentioned I visit this site once in a while, but I usually don't check this forum.

There are several rom names including [hFFE]. I found out that its a device called 'Front Far East copier'. Ok, but are these regular roms or just modified original rom versions to get run with FFE ?

They are "just" modified to work with the Super Magic Card, the Famicom (Japanese version of the NES) "copier" made by the company Front Far East. I put the word just between quotes, because it usually is not a simple modification (i.e., it requires some NES/FC hacking skills). I put the word copier between quotes, because AFAIK it isn't really a copier (it can play copied games, but can't dump cartridges). I should mention that the files labeled as [hFFE] aren't really usable on a real Super Magic Com. I should also mention that I base this on information from a guy with a *lot* of copiers, including a Super Magic Card. To work on an SMC they require a so-called trainer.

Beside theese roms, there are some containing [hM02] or [hm03] for example. Are theese also roms for a special device, or just hacks ?

I suggest to ask Cowering to update the docs, so that people have some certainty about what the flags really mean. I guess the same as Dweezledap, that they are modified to work with a certain type of mapper.

If more coders could create plugins for the different good tools we would'nt have this problem. I'm trying to teach myself some programming but time Restraints do to work don't leave me much time to learn.

I feel your pain... Remember my estimate of having an alpha version of the uCON64 frontend ready in September? :-) Still no version available to the public, but at least it's in a state that's better than alpha.
Anyway, would writing an SMS plugin be a good idea? I think I can make one next week. It shouldn't be that much work.

[jhonmorkel02]

I have an older set of SNES roms "GoodSNES v0.999.5.zip" I downloaded them years ago. None of the games work when I pick them in HS. I know the problem is most likely the naming of each game zip file. Is there a way to convert the names to the names that HS uses? I mean with some sort of auto program. Obviously, I could go through and manually rename each rom, but that would take forever. I assume I'd have to do the same for the NES and Genesis roms I have also. Can anyone tell me if there is an easier way to do this?

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