Managing Clones in Mame database

[vaderag]

I've spent some time with RomLister today - removing nudie games / mahjong etc
Along with this I want to remove clones as they will clutter up my Hyperspin list...

The issue I have is, selecting No Clones works great in 80% of cases, but in some, the root is the Japan version, but being an english speaker, I want the US/World/Euro version instead...

Is there any tool or easy way to exclude clones, but default to the US English version?


LIST OF CLONES THAT ARE ACTUALLY USEFUL

Code: [Select]

Game Parent Clone Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ace Attack ace (orig game) aceattac Actually a Volleyball game, clone of Ace Attacker? (no parent)
Ajax ajax typhoon This version has a different stage order and possible additional level
Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja baddudes drgninja Japanese version has different background music and different ending
Cabal cabal cabalus Trackball version
Captain America Avengers captaven captavenu US version, not really that different
Combat School combatsc combatsct    Trackball version
Cyberball cyberbal cyberbal2p    2 player version
D. D. Crew ddcrew ddcrew2 2 player version
Defend the Terra Attack redufo exodus    Slightly improved graphics
DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou ddp3 ddp3blk Black label edition is more playable and allows continues
Donkey Kong II dkong dkongx11 Donkey Kong 2 hack, new levels etc
Galaga galaga galagamf  Fast shoot
Galaxian galaxian galapx/galturbo They are faster and have faster rate of fire which makes totally different game
Gauntlet II gaunt2 gaunt22p  2 player version
Gauntlet gauntlet gauntlet2p  2 player version
Gigas gigandes gigasb    Actually a breakout game, clone of gigas? (not listed as parent)
Ikari Warriors ikari ikarijpb    Joystick hack
Joust joust joustr Pterodactyl scoring bug fix
King of Fighters 2005 Anniv kof2002 kf2k5uni Anniversary edition, changed graphics, music, characters
Land Maker landmakr landmakrp English translation
Main Event mainevt mainevt2p 2 player version
Major Havoc mhavoc mhavocrv Return to Vax hack, easier then original, extra levels, minor play changes
Marvel vs Street Fighter mshvsf mshvsfj Japanese version gives you an extra character
Ms. Pac Man mspacman mspacmnf    Speedup hack
NBA Maximum Hangtime nbahangt nbamht1 Updated roster, minor play changes
Night Slasher nslasher nslasherj Japanese version is uncensored - red blood and some different and extended scenes
Pacman puckman pacman Original pacman game
Pacman puckman pacmanf  Speedup hack
Peggle peggle pegglet    Trackball version
Pirate Pete junglek piratpet Pirate-based version of Jungle Hunt
Qix II Tournament qix qix2 Enhanced version with different colors and bonus features
Rampart rampart rampart2p    Joystick version
Robocop 2 robocop2 robocop2j Japanese version has extra playable into leveland extra scene at the end
Salamander (Lifeforce) salamand lifefrce Enhanced US version and listed Japanese version (lifefrcej) have new graphics and improved gameplay
Shadow Warriors (Ninja Gaiden) shadoww gaiden US (gaiden) and Japan (ryukendn) versions have different music and fighting/difficulty diffs
Simpsons* simpsons simpsons2p    2 player version *I used the one below instead
Simpsons simpsons simpsons2pj 2 player version but with multiple fixes (https://goo.gl/mt8Gb1)
Sunset Riders ssriders ssridersubc    2 player version
Super Bubble Bobble bublbobl sboblbobla Super Bubble Bobble, minor changes
Street Fighter II: Hyper Fight sf2hf sf2hfj Turbo version incorporates unofficial hacks and is supposed to be the best in the series
Tempest Tubes tempest temptube    Version of Tempest with different shapes
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tmnt tmnt2po    2 player version
Undercover Cops uccops uccopsar Alpha Renewal version has better graphics and additional character moves
Vendetta vendetta vendetta2p    2 player version.  Also Asian versions have bikers and dogs that grab, hump, and lick the player...


[NOP]

This has plagued us all in one way or another.  Puckman/pac-man is the most famous example of when a clone is not actually what we in the USA think it should be.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any tools to help, and I don't think there is quite enough data in the existing XML files at our disposal to be able to generate a sneaky romlister search string to do it. 

I think we may have started a thread here a few years ago that at least listed the most common clones that people wanted on their cabs, but beyond that I've got nuthin' for you.  It may be useful to have RL generate you a list of ONLY clones that also match your other criteria for controls, etc and then eyeball that list to see if you can spot common game titles that you will want to bring in to your noclones list.  It's still a manual process of course, but that's the best I can come up with at the moment.

[EMDB]

Even if you manage to filter out clones / nudies / ../ whatever it leaves you with a Hyperspin wheel of thousands of games. I created a Hyperspin MAME config XML by hand with just over a hundred of my favorite games. Guests still think the list is (too) long 

[vaderag]

Thanks guys. I actually spent a while last night going through creating multiple lists so that I could sort out a definitive list of things that work (plus some that I might be able to play with an xbox pad or similar) and then separated out the clones from that entirely. Then from the list of Unneeded I actually sorted that out a bit, so if I ever get a light gun for example I can easily transfer that list in later.

Once all that was done, I looked at the clones. I found a really great list on Hyperspin forums which I'll post up here later (as tweaked a bit since was outdated) and transferred those clones in. When I make my xml I'll probably pull out a few of the parent roms as well so the clones aren't lost.

And voila. A list I'm mostly happy with!

As I work through once my machine is built I may make a note to remove move so I have the best list possible!

EMDB - you make a great point re having thousands of games... I might look at this route in future
I don't suppose Hyperspin allows either sub wheels or multiple Mame wheels to accommodate the minimalist and collector in me??

[vaderag]

So, I've added the clones that I've included into the first post - hope they're useful. The are predominantly fromthis thread on the Hyperspin Forums, although I've taken some updates from posts on there and other places as well as adding a couple of my own.

Hope people find it helpful!

[Token]

So, I've added the clones that I've included into the first post - hope they're useful. The are predominantly fromthis thread on the Hyperspin Forums, although I've taken some updates from posts on there and other places as well as adding a couple of my own.

Hope people find it helpful!

Thanks for putting this list together. Updating my xml with some of these is now on my to-do list!