Creating and filling a MAME database

[mgalaxy]

Creating a database then filling it with infos (overview, genre,..) and media (screenshots, covers,...) has to be done in 2 steps for MAME.

As you certainly yet noticed, MAME roms are named with shortened names. For instance, the rom for the game 'Fist Of The North Star' is named 'fotns.zip'.
If you were to submit 'fotns' to a web database, you certainly wouldn't get results. Those web database hold the 'real' name of a game and will return something back if this name is correct ( this is particularly true for Mame. With any other systems, mGalaxy algorithms will do their best to find a game even if the submitted name is misspelled)

First step
Fortunately, MAME itself can create a database associating the rom name to the proper game description!
So,  the first step is to generate a MAME specific database (this first stage also allows to get 'genre' and 'players' info from 2 external files)
This first stage is fully illustrated here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=takoZr8eXJU and here http://www.mgalaxy.com/tutorial_mGalaxy.html (under 'The Mame Case')

Summary for this step:

• Download 'catver.ini' and nplayers.ini. Those 2 files being needed to get the "Genre" and "Players" info into the database.
• Put them into the MAME application folder.
• Open mGalaxy_Runway, select your Mame system (check that all file and folder paths are valid) and open the "DB UPDATE" tab.
• Click on the "Update everything" button.
• Click "OK" to the "Do you want to get data from MAME embedded database?" message.

Second step
Now that you have the 'real name', the second step is to get additional data (overview, snap, marquee..for 'TheGamesDB', the same PLUS movie for 'ScreenScraper') by updating again on webservers this time!
This second stage is fully illustrated here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn1Eec881fw

Summary for this step:

• With the DB UPDATE" tab still opened, mark check-boxes as checked for every elements you want to import.
• Click on the "Update everything" button again but this time reply 'NO' to the message "Do you want to get data from MAME...". mGalaxy will connect to the webserver and submit it the 'real' game name!

Credits to JMD for parts of this tutorial (http://www.mgalaxy.com/forum/index.php?topic=991.msg4184#msg4184)