ROMSorter

A scripted, repeatable, customizable approach to sorting ROMs for video game emulation.

Arcade Emulation and ROM-Sorting

Please read the Arcade Emulator Background Info page before getting started; it includes required background information. If you are analyzing or sorting ROM packages, or if you are building a ROM list for an arcade system, the process will not make much sense unless you read the background page.

Methodology

Convert MAME and FinalBurn Neo ROM DATs to Tabular (CSV) Format

1. Create a new, empty folder. In PowerShell, switch the working directory to the new folder (cd C:\ROMSorter). Set the script execution policy to bypass (or equivalent, e.g.: Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process).
2. Run Convert-MAMEDATToCSV.ps1 to automatically download the newest-released MAME DAT XML file and convert it to a tabular (CSV) data format. The DAT is downloaded from The MAME team's website, and the output file of this script is MAME_DAT.csv.
3. Run Convert-MAME2003PlusDATToCSV.ps1 to automatically download the libretro team's cloned version of MAME 2003 Plus's DAT XML file and convert it to a tabular (CSV) data format. The DAT is downloaded from GitHub, and the output file of this script is MAME_2003_Plus_DAT.csv.
4. Run Convert-MAME2010DATToCSV.ps1 to automatically download the libretro team's cloned version of MAME 2010's DAT XML file and convert it to a tabular (CSV) data format. The DAT is downloaded from GitHub, and the output file of this script is MAME_2010_DAT.csv.
5. Run Convert-FBNeoArcadeDATToCSV.ps1 to automatically download the libretro team's cloned version of FinalBurn Neo's (FBNeo's) Arcade ROM DAT XML file and convert it to a tabular (CSV) data format. The DAT is downloaded from GitHub, and the output file of the script is FBNeo_Arcade_DAT.csv.

Use the RenameSet to Time-Advance MAME 2003 Plus and MAME 2010 To Match ROM Names to the Current Version of MAME

1. Run Convert-ProgettoSnapsRenameSetIniToCsv.ps1 to download the renameSET.ini file from AntoPISA's website and convert it to a tabular (CSV) data format. The output file of the script is Progetto_Snaps_RenameSet.csv.
2. Run Convert-MAME2003PlusCSVToRenamedROMPackagesMatchingCurrentMAME.ps1 to time-advance the ROM names in the MAME 2003 Plus ROMset to match those of the current version of MAME. Additional files are downloaded from the ROMSorter project, and the output file of the script is MAME_2003_Plus_DAT_With_Time-Advanced_ROM_Package_Names.csv.
3. Run Convert-MAME2010CSVToRenamedROMPackagesMatchingCurrentMAME.ps1 to time-advance the ROM names in the MAME 2010 ROMset to match those of the current version of MAME. Additional files are downloaded from the ROMSorter project, and the output file of the script is MAME_2010_DAT_With_Time-Advanced_ROM_Package_Names.csv.

Use File Hashes to Match the FinalBurn Neo ROMs to the Current Version of MAME

1. Run Find-MAMEAndFBNeoArcadeMatchUsingCRC.ps1 to match the FinalBurn Neo (FBNeo) ROMs with the current version of MAME's ROMs based on the CRC of each file in each ROM package. The output file of the script is FBNeo_Arcade_DAT_Renamed_and_CRC-Matched_To_MAME_DAT.csv.

Note: because there is no RenameSet for FinalBurn Neo (FBNeo), we use the file hashes (CRCs) to compare the two ROM sets.

Join MAME, MAME 2003 Plus, MAME 2010, and FinalBurn Neo DATs Into a Single CSV File

1. Run Copy-MAMEDATToMAMEDatabase.ps1 to make a working copy of the tabular (CSV) MAME DAT file. The output file of the script is MAME_Database.csv
2. Run Join-TimeAdvancedMAME2003PlusWithMAMEDatabase.ps1 to join the time-advanced MAME 2003 Plus ROMset with the working copy of the MAME DAT file. The output file of the script is MAME_Database.csv
3. Run Join-TimeAdvancedMAME2010WithMAMEDatabase.ps1 to join the time-advanced MAME 2010 ROMset with the working copy of the MAME DAT file. The output file of the script is MAME_Database.csv
4. Run Join-FBNeoCRCMatchedToMAMEWithMAMEDatabase.ps1 to join the CRC-matched FinalBurn Neo (FBNeo) Arcade ROMset with the working copy of the MAME DAT file. The output file of the script is MAME_Database.csv

Work in progress

More to come!