Running merged mame softwarelist roms

[80sfan]

I am running attract-mode v2.5.1 and mame 0.208.  I have a merged rom set for mame softwarelist that I'm attempting to use.  I followed the information at http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=161 and built a full rom list for nes.  All the merged clones are now showing up in my romlist.  However, I am now having an issue launching the clone roms.  My emulator cfg looks like this:


executable           /usr/bin/mame64
args                 nes [name]
workdir              /usr/bin/
rompath              /home/mame/MAME-SL/nes
romext               .zip;.7z
system               nes;Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
info_source          listsoftware


This works fine to launch "parent" roms, but not clone roms.  I have also tried using:

args         [system] -cart "[romfilename]"
or
args         nes -cart "[romfilename]"

but that doesn't work for me either.  Looking at the romlist that was generated I can see what the issue is.  The Name field for clone roms is the same as the Title field for some reason. For example:


#Name;Title;Emulator;CloneOf;Year;Manufacturer;Category;Players;Rotation;Control;Status;DisplayCount;DisplayType;AltRomname;AltTitle;Extra;Buttons
zelda;The Legend of Zelda (Euro, Rev. A);mame-nes;;1987;Nintendo;;2;0;joystick (8-way),joystick (8-way);imperfect;1;raster;zelda;;;2
The Legend of Zelda (USA);The Legend of Zelda (USA);mame-nes;zelda;1987;Nintendo;;;;;;;;zeldaua;;;
The Legend of Zelda (USA, Rev. A);The Legend of Zelda (USA, Rev. A);mame-nes;zelda;1987;Nintendo;;;;;;;;zeldau;;;

You can see that the "parent" rom "zelda" has the correct name entry to use with mame, but the other two clones do not.  However the 4th to last field, "AltRomname", is correct and would allow the game to launch if used in the args.  So, the question is: Am I just doing something totally wrong or is the Name field supposed to be this way?  Is there a way to use AltRomname for args?  I tried [altromname] and [AltRomname] but it sent the literal value on the cmdline.  I tried to find what options are valid for replacement in args like [name] or [romfilename], but couldn't find a list anywhere.  I could also replace the Name field with AltRomname using awk or something, but I figured I'd ask because I'm sure other people have made this work before.

Thanks!

[progets]

Since you have a merged set you don't have individual zip files for the clones, they are inside the parent zipped files that Attract-Mode can't see. Look at the romlist.txt you posted and notice how "zelda" has the proper rom name but your other two entries do not reference rom names, they reference game names.

Based on what you have posted this is what Attract-Mode is doing:
/usr/bin/mame64 nes -cart  "/home/mame/MAME-SL/nes/zelda.zip" (this is correct and works)
/usr/bin/mame64 nes -cart  "/home/mame/MAME-SL/nes/The Legend of Zelda (USA).zip" (no such file exists)
/usr/bin/mame64 nes -cart  "/home/mame/MAME-SL/nes/The Legend of Zelda (USA, Rev. A).zip" (no such file exists)

I personally have always used split sets, which don't have this issue. Since Attract-Mode can't see your clones (they are hidden in parent zipped files) it can't directly make your romlist with clones. I think you can build a romlist.txt that will work with your merged set using the commands below. Rename /<path_to_attractmode_directory>/romlists/mame-nes.txt to something else before running these commands or it will be overwritten.

Code: [Select]

/usr/bin/mame64 nes -listsoftware > /<path_to_attractmode_directory>/nes.xml
/<path_to_attractmode_directory>/attract --import-romlist nes.xml mame-nes --full
This should create /<path_to_attractmode_directory>/romlists/mame-nes.txt with all the parents and clones.

[keilmillerjr]

Read this: https://docs.mamedev.org/usingmame/aboutromsets.html

[80sfan]

Thanks for your help!
My old broken romlist was created by running:

Code: [Select]

attract --build-romlist mame-nes --full
I ran the commands you suggested instead and it created the romlist with the correct Name field! 
Thanks again!

[progets]

I'm glad you got it working.

There was an issue with the --full switch years ago. I thought it was fixed but maybe not? Or it was fixed and then broke again? Anyways it's mention here three years ago http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=161.msg4329#msg4329