Per Game Info.conf files

[dustind900]

As mentioned here. I'm really hoping to see this as a feature. And if it does become a feature, you can bet I will write code to convert the hyperlist files I have made. Which leads me to ask, what should a standard Info.conf for a game look like?

10-Yard Fight (Japan).conf

Code: [Select]

lb_description = Description
lb_cloneof = CloneOf
lb_manufacturer = Manufacturer
lb_developer = Developer
lb_year = Year
lb_genre = Genre
lb_rating = Rating
lb_score = Score
lb_players = Players

Description = 10-Yard Fight (Japan)
CloneOf = 10-Yard Fight (USA, Europe)
Manufacturer = Nintendo
Developer = Nintendo
Year = 1985
Genre = Sports
Rating = ESRB - E (Everyone)
Score = 2.3
Players = 2


[bodbod]

Sounds like a great feature, should we not add the system the game belongs to as well so that we can query the whole list of consoles/plateforms it has been developped on and choose which version we prefer to play with ?

[cassette]

Not sure I see the benefits of this other than accommodating my fixation on organizatio, in that I don't like having it all on a loooong list, plus it's similar to how Kodi/Plex handle .nfo files - but that's enough for me if I'm understanding this right 

Regarding the standard - if it's gonna be metadata, wouldn't .nfo be better suited?

Regarding the fields, I think "Date" is more appropriate than "Year" as it encapsulates more info and is the standard used on ID3 tags, that "Distributor" is more contemporary (as in digital) than "Manufacturer", that "Players" implies plurality (so "Players = 1" would be weird), and that I believe "Rating" is much more often associated with what's been here labelled as "Score".

[Pieter Hulshoff]

If I were to set this up, it would be no different than the info.conf support for collections. Any tag in there is automatically supported, and it's up to the theme designer which fields (s)he wants to use.

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[JonahUK]

Per game info should only contain info that is not already present in the xml (already supported) and will negate the need for custom xml

Currently, a standard xml has description (actually full game name), cloneof, crc, manufacturer, year, genre and rating

So, the per game info would have tags for things like score, players and developer (using the example in the first post)

You could use all in the info conf but why when you already have and can already pull the info from the xml.

[Pieter Hulshoff]

Question remains: if certain information is present in both xml and info file, which should have preference?

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[JonahUK]

Question remains: if certain information is present in both xml and info file, which should have preference?

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XML as that (should) always be present.

Also, just to note:

Code: [Select]

lb_description = Description
lb_cloneof = CloneOf
lb_manufacturer = Manufacturer
lb_developer = Developer
lb_year = Year
lb_genre = Genre
lb_rating = Rating
lb_score = Score
lb_players = Players
These are not needed, they are Aeon Nox specific

[Agent47]

If anything I think If info is present for both the info file should override the xml since it would be user specified. However, I don't really see the point in someone doing that since it would make more sense to just edit the xml instead of having dupe fields. It is a use case that would need to be considered though. The purpose of the proposed info.conf was to allow people to specify information on a per game basis for fields not included in the xml from what I gathered.

These are not needed, they are Aeon Nox specific

They're optional, yeah. but aren't really specific to the Nox theme. They're just labels to accompany the other fields that any layout could use although Nox may or may not be the only one using them currently.

[JonahUK]

The purpose of the proposed info.conf was to allow people to specify information on a per game basis for fields not included in the xml from what I gathered.

That's what I thought as well, stuff not in the xml goes in the info

These are not needed, they are Aeon Nox specific

They're optional, yeah. but aren't really specific to the Nox theme. They're just labels to accompany the other fields that any layout could use although Nox may or may not be the only one using them currently.

The lb_ prefix is not needed in order to be used/displayed by a theme, that is what I meant. Nox is the only theme that I know of that uses the prefix.

[dustind900]

Question remains: if certain information is present in both xml and info file, which should have preference?

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The info file for sure. I'm tired of having to base everything around XML databases that don't even contain enough data to do a legitimate rom scan. Once the TruRip scene catches on this won't be such an issue. But as it is right now the the Hyperlist files (unless you are using the set Pieter uploaded) don't even have all the fields available to work with RetroFE. What happens if a user chooses to use a GoodRom set? There is no Hyperlist or TruRip dat for that...

Info.conf files IMO will be much easier to work with and users don't all have to have the same databases, roms, art, etc.. The data i proposed in the first post would be basic information included with all game info.conf files, then users could add extra data to the existing default. The files could then be shared among the community and full sets could be made. Plus once Pieter gets time to add media searching without tags the info.conf files will become even more universal.

[JonahUK]

I'm gonna be polite here and just say good luck with the project Pieter, I'm done.

[Pieter Hulshoff]

My preference would be to have the XML be leading; any value not entered in the XML file can then be added via the the info conf file. That way, if you don't wish to use the XML files, simply delete them so RetroFE cannot find a value in the meta database, and use the info.conf informaiton in stead. This also preserves the current RetroFE behaviour, and just adds functionality to it.

[dustind900]

I'm gonna be polite here and just say good luck with the project Pieter, I'm done.

The point of this thread was to discuss the possibilities behind this purposed new feature. I'm sorry I don't want a clone of every other arcade machine being built.

Even if we are only going to use the conf files for extra info shouldn't we think about standardizing some of the label names that could be utilized by theme makers? That way users wouldn't need different sets of conf files to use different themes. igarikoitz mentioned some useful ones here.

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[JonahUK]

I'm gonna be polite here and just say good luck with the project Pieter, I'm done.

The point of this thread was to discuss the possibilities behind this purposed new feature. I'm sorry I don't want a clone of every other arcade machine being built.

Even if we are only going to use the conf files for extra info shouldn't we think about standardizing some of the label names that could be utilized by theme makers? That way users wouldn't need different sets of conf files to use different themes. igarikoitz mentioned some useful ones here.

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How about we just ignore each other?
There was/is no need to quote me as going forward I won't respond/reply to you.

[dustind900]

How about we just ignore each other?
There was/is no need to quote me as going forward I won't respond/reply to you.

Grow up  . Either way I don't care. It's obvious this community is going nowhere and it's easy to see why. I have never seen a user go out of his way to be a dick just because someone had a suggestion. Pieter I wish you luck, your front-end is awesome unfortunately your forum community isn't.