Playnite - MAME Utility Extension

MAME Utility is an extension for Playnite Library (https://playnite.link/) designed to improve MAME games management imported on Playnite. It offers several features that help to organize better your games within the library.

If you like the extension and it has been useful to you, you can buy me a beer 🍺

Features

• Rename your imported Romset using the correct name
• Remove from library all non-games (bios/device/sample roms)
• Remove from library all clone games
• Remove from library all mechanical games
• Tag your games by following tags: Parent, Clone, Bios, Device, Sample, Mechanical
• Add Cover / Screenshot / Icons images

NOTE: The extension does not modify or remove in any way your original imported roms.

Supported platform (for getting romset information)

• MAME
• FBNeo

Compatibility

• MAME Utility Extension can be installed on Playnite 9 or higher

Installation

Download .pext extension and open it with Playnite in order to install it.

Why to use MAME Utility Extension?

Let's say you have a MAME romset (Full-Merged, Merged, Split, doesn't matter), and you decide to import all roms on Playnite in order to catalog your games. You may come across following problems:

• Roms imported has not real name. For example the rom mslug correpsonds to Metal Slug, as well as rbisland corresponds to Raibow Islands. You want to see the real name of the game on Playnite and not the one relative to the rom file.
• Some of roms that you have imported are not games. For example Bios, Device and Sample are roms that are required by other games in order to play them. They are not games and you don't want to see them on Playnite.
• Some of roms are mechanical games but you only want arcade games.
• Some of roms are clones of other games but you only want the original rom (Parent).
• You have cover arts and background images, and you want to assign them automatically to each game.
• You want to classify roms using some information: Is game a Parent? Is game a Clone of other game? Is it a mechanical game?

With MAME Utility extension you can solve all these issues.

Configuration

The only thing to do is to set the path of the MAME executable relating to the version of your romset or the xml/dat MAME file list. If you choose to use MAME executable you have to download the MAME application (compatible with your romset) from the site https://www.mamedev.org/. After download of MAME application, you have to go on Playnite and set the MAME executable file path under MAME Utility Extension settings section. If you choose to load xml/dat MAME file, you have to download or generate it and then set the appropriate path in the settings.

How to use

Rename Games using correct name

Select your MAME games on Playnite that you want to rename and then select the option Extensions > MAME Utility > Rename Selected Game.

Original rom name	Renamed

Clean library from non-Games

Select all your MAME games on Playnite and then select the option Extensions > MAME Utility > Cleaner > Remove non-Games from selection. This will remove from Playnite all the bios/device/sample elements which are not games. In the following example, "neogeo" is not a game but a rom bios, and it will be removed from library.

Games and non-Games	Only Games

Clean library from clone Games

Select all your MAME games on Playnite and then select the option Extensions > MAME Utility > Cleaner > Remove clone Games from selection. This will remove all clone games from library.

Clean library from mechanical Games

Select all your MAME games on Playnite and then select the option Extensions > MAME Utility > Cleaner > Remove mechanical Games from selection. This will remove all mechanical games from library in order to have only Arcade games.

Set cover images for Games

Select your MAME games and then select the option Extensions > MAME Utility > Media > Set cover image for selected Games. Then it will be requested to choose the folder which contains your cover images. Remember that images must have the same name of the original imported rom.

Games without cover	Games with cover.

Set background image for Games

Select your MAME games and then select the option Extensions > MAME Utility > Media > Set background image for selected Games. Then it will be requested to choose the folder which contains your background images. Remember that images must have the same name of the original imported rom.

Games without background	Games with bakcground.

Tag your Games

Select your MAME games and then select the option Extensions > MAME Utility > Cataloguer > Tag selected Games. This wiil apply the following tags according to the rom type: Parent, Clone, Bios, Device, Sample, Mechanical

Games without tag	Games with tag.

License

MIT