MAME rom packs?

[synnchan]

Well... I'm still still quite a noob on MAME, but I like Arcade games, so, I'd like to get all games released so far... (I did the same with SNES and Genesis by downloading the GoodSNES and GoodGen packs already) problem is, there's really a bunch of packs for MAME available on this site, and I don't know which ones I'm supposed to download to have all games.

MAME 0.129 ROMS Part 01
MAME 0.129 ROMS Part 02
MAME 0.129 ROMS Part 03
MAME 0.129 ROMS Part 04
MAME 0.129 ROMS Part 05
MAME 0.129 ROMS Part 06
MAME 0.129 ROMS Part 07
MAME 0.129 ROMS Part 08
MAME 0.129 ROMS Part 09
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 01
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 02
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 03
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 04
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 05
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 06
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 07
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 08
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 09
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 10
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 11
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 12
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 13
MAME 0.138 to 0.139 Update Pack
MAME 0.139 to 0.140 Update Pack
MAME 0.140 to 0.141 Update Pack
MAME 0.141 to 0.142 Update Pack
MAME 0.142 to 0.143 Update Pack
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 1
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 2
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 3
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 4
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 5
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 6
MAME 0.144 to 0.145 Update Pack
MAME 0.145 to 0.146 Update Pack
MAME 0.146 to 0.147 Update Pack

Well, since the 0.129 sets are outdated and I can no longer get them, I think I'm supposed to download only the "MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 01 until Part 13" right...?

But do I need to get the update packs as well...? Does said packs include extra/exclusive games or something like that? I'd like someone to make things clear for me, on what they're supposed to be.

[_Gambit]

I don't know a whole lot about MAME but I'm pretty sure that each pack of roms is for a specific version of MAME.

For instance if you had MAME version 0.138 then you would need to download the MAME 0.138 Roms and so on. This is because with each new release of MAME some games that worked with previous versions of MAME sometimes don't work with the newer versions and some of the games that didn't work on older versions work on the newer ones.

I'm not sure about the update packs or really anything else about MAME for that matter, but I'm sure there are others here who will be able to elaborate more on this subject than I am able.

[WitchHunter]

For mame 0.147 rom pack you must download those:

MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 01
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 02
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 03
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 04
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 05
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 06
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 07
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 08
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 09
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 10
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 11
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 12
MAME 0.138 ROMS Part 13
MAME 0.138 to 0.139 Update Pack
MAME 0.139 to 0.140 Update Pack
MAME 0.140 to 0.141 Update Pack
MAME 0.141 to 0.142 Update Pack
MAME 0.142 to 0.143 Update Pack
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 1
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 2
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 3
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 4
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 5
MAME 0.143 to 0.144 Update Pack - Part 6
MAME 0.144 to 0.145 Update Pack
MAME 0.145 to 0.146 Update Pack
MAME 0.146 to 0.147 Update Pack

Each Mame's version have something new: roms renamed, new romset, fix bug, etc. Few of 0.138 romsets work under 0.147!

You'll need a rom tool like Ctrlmamepro (http://mamedev.emulab.it/clrmamepro/ ); on the website look the tutorials under documentation.

- Create a directory and extract "MAME 0.138 ROMS" inside.
- Download Mame 0.147; extract and load MAME.exe with Ctrlmame to obtain a "datfile"
- Go on setting; set the roms paths, samples path and enable "make the backup to folder" option.
- Go on scanner and select all the <check fix> options (missing, case, unneded, name, etc.)
- Start a new scan, and answer yes, or yes all on message boxes.

This rename-rebuild the old 0.138 set to 0.147.

- Now extract your update 0.138 to 0.139 to a new directory
- Go to "Rebuilder" and drag and drop the update (check if the "destination" match your mame dir)
- Repeat with all the updates.
- Also drag and drop the Ctrlmame "backup" directory

Then return to "Scanner" and do a New scan.

Done!

Note: For a complete romset you'll need audio samples (http://www.progettosnaps.net/ ); and CHDs file...

Anyway if you've zero rom, the conversion-update take a lot of time and HD space. Its faster to join a torrent (hint: pleasuredome)

[synnchan]

- Create a directory and extract "MAME 0.138 ROMS" inside.
- Download Mame 0.147; extract and load MAME.exe with Ctrlmame to obtain a "datfile"

I'm stuck on this step. As I said before, I'm still a noob at MAME so I don't know much. What's "Ctrlmame" supposed to be?

And I don't really want the games that requires CHD files, just the normal/older ones will be enough for me.

[Zorlon]

clrmame and it's a rom manager

http://code.google.com/p/mame-rr/wiki/UsingClrmamepro Clrmame guide

http://www.mameui.info/ Mame