MAME and Missing Rom Question

rainman154

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I don't know how taboo MAME or Roms are so I will plead ignorance...

I am trying to play a ROM that I just downloaded on MAME. Some roms work, others don't. Is there anything I can do to a ROM file to make it work??
I am trying to play Night Striker on MAME right now and it tells me that it is missing a ROM file.
Any suggestions? Should I use another emu rather than MAME?
 
MAME roms have a "hierarchy" .

The "parent" rom set contains all the rom files.
(...usually the most recent or most common version )

The "child" rom set(s) are only the roms which are DIFFERENT from the parent.

These are usually older versions or different region roms.

For Night striker, the parent is the World version (MAME File = nightstr )

If you only downloaded the US version ( file = nightstru ), this is a "child" file,
and does not contain all the roms.

To play "nightstru" [child] you must also have the parent file "nightstr".

Clear as mud ?

;-)

Steph
 
LOL! A bit, but I am following you.
So where in the world would I get the parent version? Or do I need to delete the child rom files?
 
LOL! A bit, but I am following you.
So where in the world would I get the parent version? Or do I need to delete the child rom files?

No you need the PARENT roms in order to play the CHILD ones. The only ROMs in the CHILD set are the ones that are different than the PARENT.

The World version being the PARENT, if you want to play the US version you need BOTH.
 
LOL! A bit, but I am following you.
So where in the world would I get the parent version? Or do I need to delete the child rom files?

PM me your e-mail address
and I'll send you the correct MAME rom files ( World and USA )

Cheers,
Steph
 
I use MAWS to determine child and parent sets. It tells you what each file contains and what the file names are. A quick Google search for the file name will provide several sources for you.
 
Cool. This is very helpful and I am getting a better understanding.
So the ROM files that do not work for MAME, most likely do not have the PARENT ROM with them. I need to find the parent rom and place it WITH the Child rom.
 
So the ROM files that do not work for MAME, most likely do not have the PARENT ROM with them. I need to find the parent rom and place it WITH the Child rom.


Yes.

Look at this page (It's the US MAME Rom file)

http://maws.mameworld.info/maws/romset/nightstru

Notice right below the screen shot, you'll see the variations of this game.

parent Night Striker (World)
other clones Night Striker (Japan)

Place both Parent and child rom files (Zip file) is the ROMS directory.

--

I've sent you the file, simply copy them into the MAME ROMS directory

Cheers,
Steph
 
Nice, so just out of curiosity how do I download the ROM files from there? I clicked on the Parent file, but it doesn't show anything for letting me download. It gives the ROM data though. Do I need to just create a ROM file?
 
You can also have problems if your ROM version doesn't match your MAME version.
 
Nice, so just out of curiosity how do I download the ROM files from there?

You can't.

MAMEDEV and MAWS are the official MAME site,
but they do not provide rom files.

In fact, the MAME "mission statement" claims
that it is illegal/unlawful to to host or download MAME roms.

The MAME project is to "preserve" the data via emulation,
but assumes you own the the real game for which you want the rom files.

That's why they crack down on sites that offer rom downloads,
and have eBay end auctions with MAME roms.

That's why it's becoming more difficult to find the full rom suite on line.

Steph
 
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