Dat file for Atari 2600?

[ardarvin]

I'm looking for a dat file for RomCenter for the Atari 2600 roms. Anyone see one anywhere? Google isn't kind to me.

[NOP]

I've always used goodTools (good2600 iirc) for my 2600 collection.  I may be a little outdated by now though.

I'd think that a romcenter .dat file could be generated off of the files from a scanned goodTools set, if one doesn't actually exist anywhere else.  If you can't find something, drop me a PM and I'll see if I can create one for you.

-jeff!

[Red]

What is a goodTools set?  I've heard this term before, but never got an explanation.  Thanks.

Red

[NOP]

goodTools was pretty much the precursor to romcenter or clrmamepro.
It's a DOS based program that scans your roms and lets you know which ones are bad and does all the renaming and moving for you.

Being a DOS app, people were afraid of it, so the .dat files that were used by the program were getting converted to romcenter files for quite awhile, until the guy behind goodTools decided (the hypocrisy of this is unbelievable) that the information contained in his .dat files is proprietary and copyrighted and no one beside him could use it, so no more romcenter .dat files from converted goodTools .dats.

However, there is absolutely nothing stopping someone from taking a set of A2600 roms, running good tools on it, putting together a complete set, and then having clrmamepro generate a new .dat file off that collection.  No violation of Mr. GoodTool's database at all, just a collection of names and CRCs in a text file. 

Now, I don't want to dis Mr GoodTools too much-he's put a lot of work into cataloging and organizing ROMs.  I think perhaps a little too much work-I think he cracked.

-jeff!