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CLRMAMEPro "wrong name" issue

When scanning with CLRMAMEPro you might see a lot of "wrong name" messages that match unrelated titles.

This isn't Retool making a mistake or anything going wrong; it's CLRMAMEPro not giving enough detail about what's happening. If you let CLRMAMEPro do its thing and say yes to everything, you'll end up with a set that's fine after it's finished processing.

The full explanation

CLRMAMEPro gives misleading messages when it scans existing non-1G1R Redump sets with a Retool DAT file, and finds matching files that were shared between titles in the original Redump DAT file. This mainly happens with DAT files that contain multitrack discs (CUE/BIN) like Saturn or Mega CD, where it's common to find the same file across multiple unrelated titles.

Here's an example to help clarify. Let's assume you have the following things:

  • Redump's Saturn DAT file.
  • A Retool version of the Saturn DAT file with a region order of USA > Europe > Japan.
  • A folder with a complete Redump Saturn collection.

You run a scan with CLRMAMEPro using the Retool DAT file against your existing Saturn collection, and CLRMAMEPro reports something like this:

wrong name: Z:\Saturn\Area 51 (Japan).zip [wrong: Z:\Saturn\Area 51 (Japan)] [right: Gungriffon (USA)]

On the surface it looks like CLRMAMEPro is claiming that Area 51 is Gungriffon — which is not true. So what's going on?

First, let's take a look at Area 51 (Japan) and Gungriffon (USA) in the original Redump Saturn DAT file, since those are the titles mentioned by CLRMAMEPro:

<game name="Area 51 (Japan)">
    <category>Games</category>
    <description>Area 51 (Japan)</description>
    ...
    <rom name="Area 51 (Japan) (Track 2).bin" size="1413552" crc="5af76f8c" md5="5fedd4a8361a9c6ca005b5d48a38ca68" sha1="db9145b3f24a83bcb28a93889001c778d7ab656a"/>
</game>

<game name="Gungriffon (USA)">
    <category>Games</category>
    <description>Gungriffon (USA)</description>
    ...
    <rom name="Gungriffon (USA) (Track 33).bin" size="1413552" crc="5af76f8c" md5="5fedd4a8361a9c6ca005b5d48a38ca68" sha1="db9145b3f24a83bcb28a93889001c778d7ab656a"/>
    ...
</game>

While these titles are not the same game, they do share a file. Name aside, Area 51 (Japan) (Track 2).bin is the exact same file as Gungriffon (USA) (Track 33).bin, with matching sizes and checksums (CRC/MD5/SHA1). This is common — this particular file can also be found in the following titles:

  • Area 51 (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es)
  • Area 51 (USA)
  • Gun Griffon (Europe) (multiple times)
  • House of the Dead, The (Japan) (Demo)
  • Maximum Force (Europe)
  • Maximum Force (USA)

Second, if we look at the Retool DAT file, we can see that due to the region priority (USA > Europe > Japan), Area 51 (Japan) has been removed in favor of Area 51 (USA). GunGriffon (USA), being a USA title, makes it in.

When the Retool DAT file is used in CLRMAMEPro to scan the existing Saturn folder, and CLRMAMEPro comes across Area 51 (Japan).zip, the process goes something like this:

  1. I've found a file called Area 51 (Japan).zip.
  2. I've checked the current DAT file, and a set with the same name doesn't exist.
  3. I did find a file inside the ZIP file though that matches a file in the GunGriffon (USA) set, which is in the DAT file.
  4. I'm making an educated (but incorrect) guess that this is meant to be GunGriffon (USA) because of that matching file. Regardless of whether that's true, I want to get that file into the GunGriffon set if it needs it, then I'll deal with the remaining files.

  5. Let's tell the user I'm being helpful with the following misleading message!

    wrong name: Z:\Saturn\Area 51 (Japan).zip [wrong: Z:\Saturn\Area 51 (Japan)] [right: Gungriffon (USA)]

Ultimately, it doesn't matter that Area 51 (Japan) isn't the same game as GunGriffon (USA), all that's happening here is that CLRMAMEPro is rescuing the one file from Area 51 (Japan).zip it thinks is useful.

If you let CLRMAMEPro do its thing and say yes to everything, you'll end up with a set that's fine after its finished processing. If you're worried about affecting a current set and are looking for peace of mind, there's a way you can verify things are working as they're meant to:

  1. Point the Retool DAT file in CLRMAMEPro at a new ROM path that's an empty folder.
  2. Set your original folder with the existing Redump set in it as an Add path.
  3. Use the rebuilder function to create the 1G1R set in the new folder from the existing set (make sure to select Use Add-Paths).
  4. Scan the new 1G1R set with the original Redump DAT file to verify that the 1G1R titles properly match their Redump counterparts. RomVault does a better job than CLRMAMEPro here of visually showing you what sets are complete.