Download Service Beta Testing

[Circo]

please don't take it like that i was trying to point out why i think its a good idea that is all

no hard feelings

now back to um I mean work......

[janX]

B2K24 "Thanks for you're work Circo. Since GameEX and HS both support flv, is there any more need to be doing avi anymore?"

I really think that time will come, does Mala and Maximus support FLV?

Mala used FLV and Maximus Arcade only supports avi, and will never support avi as it's a dead project.

It would be nice if front-ends supported both formats as I currently use 3 different front ends and the videos take a bite out of my Harddrives, thank got for the new 2TB drives But I understand the reason behind using the FLV format so I can see avi videos becoming extinct one day in Front-Ends.

AVI would probably work fine on GameEx. but I doubt it would work well in HyperSpin due to the complicated themes, because you can't animate, stretch, rotate or add additional effects to normal .avi files.

[SineSwiper]

It would be nice if front-ends supported both formats as I currently use 3 different front ends and the videos take a bite out of my Harddrives, thank got for the new 2TB drives But I understand the reason behind using the FLV format so I can see avi videos becoming extinct one day in Front-Ends.

AVI would probably work fine on GameEx. but I doubt it would work well in HyperSpin due to the complicated themes, because you can't animate, stretch, rotate or add additional effects to normal .avi files.

I disagree with AVI being "extinct". My experience with FLV and HyperSpin was pretty sour, as I tried them first before switching to GameEx. HyperSpin couldn't even play the default intro, despite having no problems with it on VLC player on a good sized dual-core arcade PC. FLV struck me as an inefficient video format, and AVI is just more universally adopted than FLV.

Frankly, I wish everybody switched to MKV, but nobody's using it for frontends and video snaps so far.

[SineSwiper]

I noticed this on the version notes: "Remembers your ROM/Match folder for each system" Going back to one of my (many) requests, it seems like this new feature could help out with a few other things I was asking about.

Break up the Media drop-down into multiple checkboxes (or a multiple selector). Maybe I just want to download the box art, music, and Video_AVI, but not everything. However, it takes a while, so I don't want download each section individually, since I can't just let it go. Nor do I want to say -All- because I already downloaded the rest, and don't want to waste time downloading the FLV stuff that I don't use, anyway.

Furthermore, with the directory structure codes (see above request), you could potentially put in an -All- section for the System. Just set up your ROM folder to C:\Arcade\ROMs\%S, select -All-, and let it look for ALL games, everywhere. Obviously, it would need to check the existence of each system's directory prior to wasting any time on files, but that's a simple check in the loop. (IE: There is no "C:\Arcade\ROMs\Amstrad CPC" directory, so just skip to the next system.)

I know that the %x system might be too confusing for some, so maybe you could use the ROM folder matching to get a list of systems. Create two other tabs. (Yes, this sounds complex, but hear me out.)

One is called "Avail Systems". It'll have one of those multi-line tables with the columns: System, ROM Path, and "Include in -All-". In that table, just populate it with the MatchPath_SYSs you have so far in the registry. You can put in an Add and Remove button to add or remove entries. Also, users would have a Yes/No drop-down for the Include in -All- part.

The other is called "Media". It would be another multi-line table with: Media, and "Include in -All Media-". The table would be populated with all possible media types that would be in the "Available Media" drop-down. No need for Add/Remove, but users would be able to select Yes/No on if they want to put that in the -All Media- drop-down. Some users would download either FLV or AVI, but usually not both. Some people don't want music (as one of the new features illustrated), so this would tackle everybody's preferences at once. (Rename the -All Artwork- to -All Media-, just for clarity.)

Then you would have an -All Available Systems- option in the System drop-down, and with the -All Media- and "Check for updates" option, it would update or download everything you need at once.

While the %x system might be a bit more customizable, this system should be a bit more user-friendly. There may be the issue of "I call it Neo Geo CD and you call it SNK_Neo_Geo_CD" (for both systems and media), but that could be another feature enhancement. (Maybe as a extra column in both of the tab tables.)

By no means am I trying to be pushy about the features; just trying to present some design options. (Heck, I'm a programmer by trade, so I'd try to code it for you, though I'm not well-versed in .Net.)

[twotone8]

Is there a way to download the outdated .dat files used for many of the rom artwork? i've tried to download art for the newest NES no-intro .dat and many of the names don't match up, even apart from just the (u)/(usa) tag system.

what i'd want to do is revert my rom set and THEN use the utility.

[AnimalFat]

Hello there!

Just currently updating my artwork and videos with v0.89 and so far, so good, thank you. Then I started to let it process my Amiga CD32 games, which are cue+iso+mp3 to keep the file sizes down to a minimum, and noticed a strange thing...

Each Amiga CD32 game has it's own folder, using the TOSEC naming convention, and for this example, the files are like this: -

Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)[!]\
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 01 of 10)[!].iso
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 02 of 10)[!].mp3
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 03 of 10)[!].mp3
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 04 of 10)[!].mp3
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 05 of 10)[!].mp3
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 06 of 10)[!].mp3
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 07 of 10)[!].mp3
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 08 of 10)[!].mp3
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 09 of 10)[!].mp3
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 10 of 10)[!].mp3
  Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)[!].cue

The DSU happily scans all the subfolders and their contents and then downloads as it should. But for this game, it only downloads the following box scans : -

Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 01 of 10)[!].png
Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 04 of 10)[!].png

It doesn't download "Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)[!].png"

It doesn't do this for all the games, just every now and again. For this example it also downloaded the back of the box scans using the same file name as above. I haven't tested the videos yet (if they exist for this platform), but I'm guessing it'll use the same search logic and download the video twice using the same file names as above?

Sorry if you're already aware of this. Just though I'd point it out. :-)

If it's useful, below is what it actually downloaded for the box scans. Microcosm should appear twice, but the search only found one instance of it. It looks like any game with MP3 tracks are returning the strangely named files.

Akira (1994)(ICE)[!].png
Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 01 of 10)[!].png
Alfred Chicken (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 04 of 10)[!].png
Alien Breed - Tower Assault (1994)(Team 17)[!].png
Alien Breed Special Edition & Qwak (1994)(Team 17)[!][compilation].png
Arabian Nights (1993)(Buzz)(M4)[!].png
Arcade Pool (1994)(Team 17)(Track 1 of 7)[!][CDD4978].png
ATR - All Terrain Racing (1995)(Team 17)[!].png
Banshee (1994)(Core)(M4)(Track 1 of 3)[!].png
Base Jumpers (1995)(Rasputin)(Track 01 of 10)[!].png
Battle Chess (1994)(Interplay)(Track 01 of 20)[!].png
Battletoads (1994)(Mindscape)[!].png
Beavers (1994)(Unique)[!].png
Beneath a Steel Sky (1994)(Virgin)(M4)[!].png
Benefactor (1994)(Psygnosis)(Track 01 of 18)[!].png
Big 6, The (1994)(Codemasters)(Track 1 of 3)[!][compilation].png
Brutal - Paws of Fury (1995)(Gametek)(M3)[!].png
Brutal Football (1994)(Millennium)(Track 1 of 2)[!].png
Bubba 'N' Stix (1994)(Core)(Track 01 of 12)[!].png
Bubble and Squeak (1994)(Audiogenic)(Track 1 of 8)[!].png
Bump 'N' Burn (1994)(Grandslam)(Track 01 of 23)[!].png
Cannon Fodder (1993)(Virgin)(Track 1 of 2)[!][Amiga-CD32].png
Castles II - Siege & Conquest (1993)(Interplay)(Track 1 of 2)[!].png
Chambers of Shaolin (1993)(Unique)[!].png
Chaos Engine, The (1994)(Renegade)(Track 01 of 14)[!][CDD3445].png
Chuck Rock (1994)(Core)[!].png
Chuck Rock II - Son of Chuck (1994)(Core)(Track 01 of 13)[!].png
Classic Lotus Trilogy, The (1994)(Gremlin)(PAL)(Track 1 of 9)[!][compilation].png
Classic Lotus Trilogy, The (1994)(Gremlin)(PAL)(Track 2 of 9)[!][compilation].png
Clockwiser (1994)(Rasputin)(Track 01 of 14)[!].png
Clue!, The (1994)(Kompart)(Track 01 of 24)[!].png
D-Generation v1.0 (1993)(Mindscape)[!].png
Dangerous Streets & Wing Commander (1993)(Commodore)(Track 01 of 10)[!][compilation].png
Dangerous Streets (1993)(Flair Software)(Track 1 of 7)[!].png
Darkseed v1.1 (1994)(Cyberdreams)[!].png
Death Mask (1994)(Alternative Software)(Track 1 of 7)[!].png
Deep Core v1.00 (1993)(ICE)[!][CDD2840].png
Dennis (1993)(Ocean)(Track 01 of 11)[!].png
Diggers & Oscar (1993)(Commodore)(Track 01 of 10)[!][compilation][AMIGA-CD 31, 54].png
Diggers (1993)(Millennium)(NTSC)(Track 1 of 9)[!].png
Disposable Hero (1994)(Gremlin)(PAL)(Track 01 of 16)[!].png
Dragonstone (1995)(Core)(M3)(Track 1 of 2)[!].png
Emerald Mines (1994)(Almathera)(Track 1 of 2)[!][compilation][CDD4410].png
Exile (1995)(Audiogenic)(Track 1 of 2)[!].png
Fears (1995)(attic)(DE)(en)[!].png
Fields of Glory (1994)(MicroProse)(M3)[!].png
Fire & Ice - The Daring Adventures of Cool Coyote (1994)(Renegade)(Track 01 of 23)[!].png
Fire Force (1993)(Buzz)[!].png
Flink (1994)(Psygnosis)(Track 01 of 18)[!].png
Fly Harder (1993)(Buzz)[!].png
Frontier - Elite II v1.10 (1994)(Gametek - Konami)[!].png
Fury of the Furries (1994)(Kalisto - Mindscape)(Track 1 of 4)[!].png
Global Effect (1994)(Millennium)(Track 1 of 2)[!].png
Gloom (1995)(Guildhall Leisure Services)[!].png
Grandslam Gamer Gold Collection (1995)(Grandslam)(Track 01 of 37)[!][compilation].png
Guardian (1994)(Acid Software)(Track 01 of 13)[!][10325611].png
Gulp! (1994)(ICE)(M5)[!].png
Gunship 2000 (1994)(MicroProse)(Track 1 of 6)[!].png
Heimdall 2 (1994)(Core)(Track 1 of 9)[!].png
Humans (1994)(Gametek - Imagitec Design)(M5)(Track 1 of 6)[!].png
Impossible Mission 2025 - The Special Edition (1994)(MicroProse)(Track 1 of 9)[!].png
Impossible Mission 2025 - The Special Edition (1994)(MicroProse)(Track 5 of 9)[!].png
International Karate + (1994)(System 3)[!].png
International Sensible Soccer - World Champions v1.2 (1994)(Renegade)(M4)(Track 01 of 22)[!].png
James Pond 2 - Robocod (1993)(Millennium)(Track 1 of 8)[!].png
James Pond 3 - Operation Starfi5h (1994)(Kixx)[budget].png
Jetstrike (1995)(Rasputin)(Track 01 of 15)[!].png
John Barnes European Football (1993)(Buzz)(M5)[!].png
Jungle Strike - The Sequel to Desert Strike (1994)(Ocean)[!].png
Kang Fu (1996)(ALTER interservice - Greed)(Track 01 of 24)[!][Amiga-CD32].png
Kid Chaos (1994)(Ocean)(Track 1 of 8)[!].png
Kingpin - Arcade Sports Bowling (1995)(Team 17)(Track 1 of 4)[!].png
Labyrinth of Time, The (1994)(Electronic Arts)[!][Amiga-CD32-CDTV].png
Last Ninja 3 (1994)(System 3)[!].png
Legends (1996)(Guildhall Leisure Services)(M3)(Track 01 of 29)[!].png
Lemmings (1994)(Psygnosis)[!].png
Liberation - Captive II v2.00-1.92 (1993-11-25)(Mindscape)(Track 01 of 11)[!][CDD2904].png
Liberation - Captive II v2.00-1.92 (1993-11-25)(Mindscape)(Track 06 of 11)[!][CDD2904].png
Liberation - Captive II v2.00b-2.00 (1993-12-08)(Mindscape)(Track 01 of 11)[!][CDD2955].png
Liberation - Captive II v2.02-2.00c (1994-04-08)(Mindscape)(Track 01 of 11)[!][CDD3716].png
Litil Divil (1994)(Gremlin)(Track 01 of 10)[!].png
Lost Vikings, The (1993)(Interplay)[!].png
Manchester United - Premier League Champions v1.0CD (1994)(Krisalis)(M4)[!][CDD4783].png
Marvin's Marvellous Adventure (1995)(21st Century Entertainment)(M4)(Track 01 of 12)[!].png
Mean Arenas (1993)(ICE)[!].png
Microcosm (1994)(Psygnosis)(Track 1 of 2)[!][MCD32-1 11].png
Morph (1993)(Millennium)[!].png
Myth - History in the Making (1994)(System 3)[!].png
Naughty Ones (1994)(Interactivision)[!].png
Nick Faldos Championship Golf (1994)(Grandslam)[!].png
Nigel Mansell's World Championship (1993)(Gremlin)(PAL)(Track 1 of 9)[!][CDD4197].png
Overkill & Lunar-C (1993)(Mindscape)[!][compilation].png
PGA European Tour (1994)(Ocean)[!].png
Pierre le Chef is... Out to Lunch (1994)(Mindscape)[!].png
Pinball Fantasies (1993)(21st Century Entertainment)(Track 1 of 3)[!].png
Pinball Illusions (1995)(21st Century Entertainment)(Track 01 of 39)[!].png
Pinball Prelude (1996)(Effigy Software)(Track 1 of 7)[!][Amiga-CD32-PC].png
Pirates! Gold (1993)(MicroProse)(Track 01 of 25)[!].png
Power Drive (1994)(U.S. Gold)(M5)[!].png
Premiere (1994)(Core)[!].png
Prey - An Alien Encounter (1993)(Almathera)[!].png
Rise of the Robots (1994)(Time Warner Interactive)[!].png
Roadkill (1994)(Acid Software)[!][CDD4971].png
Sabre Team (1994)(Krisalis)(M5)[!].png
Seek & Destroy (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 1 of 8)[!].png
Seek & Destroy (1993)(Mindscape)(Track 3 of 8)[!].png
Sensible Soccer - European Champions v1.1 (1993)(Renegade)(M4)(Track 01 of 22)[!].png
Seven Gates of Jambala, The (1993)(Unique)[!].png
Shadow Fighter (1995)(Gremlin)(Track 01 of 15)[!].png
Simon the Sorcerer (1994)(Adventure Soft)[!].png
Skeleton Krew (1995)(Core)(Track 1 of 7)[!].png
Sleepwalker (1993)(Ocean)(Track 1 of 8)[!].png
Soccer Kid (1994)(Krisalis)(M5)(Track 01 of 26)[!].png
Speedball 2 (1995)(Renegade)(Track 01 of 19)[!].png
Speris Legacy, The (1995)(Ocean - Team 17)[!][cp code].png
Sports Football (1993)(Commodore)(Track 1 of 7)[!].png
Star Crusader (1994)(Gametek - Take 2)[!][Amiga-CD32].png
Striker (1994)(Gremlin)(Track 1 of 9)[!].png
Strip Pot (1994)(Pixel Blue)[!].png
Subwar 2050 (1994)(MicroProse)(M3)[!].png
Summer Olympix (1994)(Flair Software)(Track 1 of 2)[!].png
Super League Manager (1995)(Audiogenic)[!].png
Super Methane Bros (1994)(Apache)(Track 01 of 12)[!][10329011 01].png
Super Putty (1994)(System 3)[!].png
Super Skidmarks v2.2 (1995)(Acid Software)(Track 1 of 4)[!][GH 1 10 AUG 95].png
Super Stardust (1994)(Team 17)(Track 01 of 25)[!].png
Superfrog (1994)(Team 17)[!].png
Surf Ninjas (1993)(Microvalue)[!].png
Syndicate (1995)(Mindscape)(M3)[!].png
Theme Park (1995)(Mindscape)(Track 01 of 26)[!].png
Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends Pinball (1995)(Alternative Software).png
Top Gear 2 (1994)(Gremlin)(Track 1 of 9)[!].png
Total Carnage (1994)(ICE)[!].png
Trivial Pursuit - The CD32 Edition v1.0C (1994)(Domark)[!].png
Trolls (1993)(Flair Software)(PAL)(Track 01 of 12)[!].png
UFO - Enemy Unknown (1994)(MicroProse)(M3)[!].png
Ultimate Body Blows (1994)(Team 17)(Track 01 of 10)[!].png
Universe (1994)(Core)(M4)(Track 01 of 24)[!].png
Vital Light (1994)(Millennium)[!].png
Wembley International Soccer (1994)(Audiogenic)(Track 1 of 2)[!][10292711 01].png
Whale's Voyage (1994)(Flair Software)(Track 1 of 2)[!][CDD2736].png
Wild Cup Soccer (1994)(Millennium)(Track 1 of 5)[!].png
Zool - Ninja of the 'Nth' Dimension (1993)(Gremlin)(PAL)(Track 01 of 12)[!].png
Zool 2 (1994)(Gremlin)(Track 01 of 10)[!].png

[AnimalFat]

Regarding the above post with the Amiga CD32 problem, the same thing happens with Sega MegaCD games too.

[James West]

I have some Megadrive (Genesis) and Super NES roms patched in french language, so I've named them "Aladdin fr", "Dick Tracy fr" aso... But the Download Service doesn't match them. Same thing for roms named "Devilish", "Castle of Illusion", "Jurassic Park Rampage Edition", "Lethal Enforcers II" etc...

My Genesis romfolder have 218 files, but "only" 110 video snaps have matched. So I think the "matching routine" (don't know the right name for that, sorry...) could be more "intrusive" into the roms name to have better matching results. Because even if "Castle of Illusion" isn't the complete real name of the rom, no other Genesis game has "Castle of Illusion" in its title ! And in addition, you could have a sort of "matching table" which opens for non-matching roms, where some "near-matching" results are proposed to the user, so he can eventually select one, and then make the sotware download/rename the selected artwork. I know it can be done, some third-party HyperList generator has this feature.

By the way, it's sometimes very hard to find the "right thread" where to post. It took me several minutes to find this one, and I hope it's still active and read, since my post is the first one since march 31st !

I cannot end this post whithout thanking circo and all the contributors of this wonderful site for giving us so much ! I can't imagine how long it tooked you to make/grab all this stuff...

Also excuse me for my bad english, but you know, I'm french !!

missing.txt

[Circo]

If you go to the download area where you get the automated download service app there is a button called "Support Topic" that should help you in the future. There is only so much we can do with the renaming aspect before it goes crazy and starts making many mistakes. For example castle of issusion is. Pretty much all sets are based on no intro but will work fine with goodtools based sets as well. In your case just having Castle of illusion would be less that a 50% match as the official rom name is Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (USA, Europe)

In a case such as your in which you are using Highly Modified naming I would suggest grabbing the set off the ftp and using a renamer such as fatmatch or skinny match. Those you have to approve the changes, but you will see once you get under 60% the guesses get pretty wild.

[James West]

Thanks for answering so fast !

It's exacly what I've done after posting : I grabbed all missing videos with ftp, then I used Skinny Match to rename them as my roms. This tool is incredibly accurate ! Couldn't you add some of its code to your download service software, with the author's permission ?

By the way (and I've just re-checked right now to be sure I was not mistaken), some "major" Genesis games videos are missing from your flv database, like "Castle of Illusion" or "World of Illusion". Anyway they're available in avi format, so it's not a big deal to convert them. But some others are really missing and I want to contribute. So my questions are : do you still want missing video snaps from your members ? Are there topics with missing lists ? In which format should people make them ? And finally, are unlicensed games like "A Bug's Life" for Genesis requested in your database ? I sure know this whole chapter is off-topic, but after you've answered me I should know where to go !

Thanks again.

[Circo]

Sega Genesis is still on the list for being finalized