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B2K24
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:43 am

Re: Atari ROM Folder Help

If you're familiar with a software called ClrMamePro, it might be of use to you. You can add the a2600.xml as a dat file and rebuild as much as you can into an empty destination directory using the Rebuilder.

Even though this post is 7 years old, much of the information is still very much relevant even today. I think it's the best documentation there is.
https://mamedev.emulab.it/etabeta/2010/ ... e-at-last/
boochk
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 10:20 pm

Re: Atari ROM Folder Help

B2K24,

No, I am not familiar with the program as I am fairly new to this. I will take time to read about it and the link you provided.

Thanks again,
John
boochk
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 10:20 pm

Re: Atari ROM Folder Help

B2K24,

I have successfully updated my ROMs for my Atari games. This is quite the learning curve! Sadly, my son will not appreciate what I am about to show him but has brought back many memories. Thank you for all your help!

John
thankyoumame
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 4:36 pm

Re: Atari ROM Folder Help

boochk wrote: Sat Jun 03, 2017 5:28 pm Sadly, my son will not appreciate what I am about to show him but has brought back many memories.
Good luck. I wouldn't be so pessimistic. My nephew has as much fun with the NES/Famicom games I show him as he has with modern games with fancy graphics. :)
boochk
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 10:20 pm

Re: Atari ROM Folder Help

Continuing on my Atari project, I located files to support the screen captures and boxes so I can have my Asteroid game look like the other Mame emulation with the snapshots, PCB, and other cool supporting artwork that make the emulation complete. Honestly, this is more entertaining than playing the games. I have reviewed the different INI files but cannot find where to put the supporting files so that when I am in 2600 emulation, they can be displayed on the right pane. I cannot locate a file that shows what filenames the associated tabs are looking for either. I have searched through Google but still come up short of an answer. Can someone provide some guidance or where I can find documentation on this?

Thanks,
John
boochk
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 10:20 pm

Re: Atari ROM Folder Help

I may have answered my own question. I read that you can create your own snapshots while in a game by hitting F12. So I did this for my Asteroids game and it created a subfolder under snaps called a2600. Inside that folder was a file called asteroids. Since the file name is the same as the rom name, I assume that is the file it is looking for and the folder location makes sense. I will have to assume that the other supporting files use this same logic. I hope this helps others who may be configuring their Mame consoles.

Thanks,
John
thankyoumame
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 4:36 pm

Re: Atari ROM Folder Help

boochk wrote: Sat Jun 10, 2017 4:49 pm I read that you can create your own snapshots while in a game by hitting F12.
John, creating your own snapshots is one of the ways of doing it. You can also download up-to-date packages with snapshots for basically all the games on MAME (and artwork packages for many of them) from Progetto Snaps. It also has other media files for many console games, and complete artwork sets for classic arcade games.

To get all Atari 2600 snapshots, for example, download the a2600.zip file from the INGAMES column in the a2600 row of this table: http://www.progettosnaps.net/softwareresources/ . Place the .zip file in your /mame/snaps folder. You don't need to extract it. Open MAME and browse the complete list of Atari games to see them. Just don't let kids browse MAME in the "All" view if you do that, because snapshots for adult games may contain inappropriate graphics.

You can also just extract the snaps for the specific games you want to the /mame/snaps/a2600 subfolder. There's no need to create a separate folder for each of them. MAME does that if you use the F12 key because it expects you to take more screenshots of that specific game and prepares everything to keep them organized.
boochk
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 10:20 pm

Re: Atari ROM Folder Help

ThankYouMame,

Thank you for your insight on the setup. Each time someone responds to my questions, I learn so much more. I used the F12 key to show me where to put the files but did not know I could simply put the entire zip file in the snaps folder. I also found a way to show the boxes that someone scanned. I placed them in the cabinets folder and when I search on the games, I have snapshots and the boxes when I move to the cabinets view. Really cool. I don't know if a custom tab could be created for the boxart but I found other files that may enhance the viewing of each game. I was an adult when I had my Timex Sinclair, Atari family consoles and cassette decks to load the games. I was never any good at them but brought friends and family together to play. I enjoy the history and all of the supporting documents rather than playing them. As I understand it, this "Mame" project was inspired to document the history and progression of the arcades and I fully embrace the tireless efforts of those who developed and support this project.

Regards,
John

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