Up until now we have used the "5=mame" approach to make a game list in Dragon King. There is actually a much better filter system available to you. Please note that to use most searchstrings you need the latest catver.ini from triggerfin’s site.
First lets open up the old dirs.ini file again. Every time you want to add a new list you need to make a new path entry like this:
[path]
logo=New.png
caption=Newest Games
useclones=1
searchstrings:7=0.61
filters:6=*mature*
[/path]
Don't add any blank lines and be sure to put your new entry inside the startvd entry with your main entry. Each path entry represents a single "virtual directory" which is a single game list within Dragon King. What we are concerned with is the "searchstrings:" line. The search strings line can have an infinite number of variables added for Dragon King to search for delimited by a ";" If you need to search for part of a string you can use wildcards. For example, to search for all fighters instead of a particular type of fighter, you can use "6=fighter*" instead of adding each sublist manually. For a list of adult games you can search for any category that includes a "mature" in it's cat title by searching for "6=*mature*" and thus it searches for mature anywhere in the string. The filters option takes the list you just built and filters out unwanted games using the exact same search syntax. The above entry filters out all mature games, for example.
An average variable looks like this:
5=MAME
The number is the type of information to look for, the string on the other end of the equals sign is the actual name of the information. The numbers represent the following categories.
0 = The Rom name.
1 = The Game's Name.
2 = The year the game was manufactured.
3 = The manufacturer.
4 = The name of the parent Rom.
5 = The emulator's name (see now you finally know what that '5' means)
6 = The game's category.
7 = The version of mame (or whatever) it first ran on.
8= The directory number that the roms are stored in (going by the order you typed in your rom paths, with 0 being the fist path. )
9= Driver status of the game.
10= Information about the display of the game.
11= Control Type information.
12= The driver name.
As I said you can mix and match these so you can come up with more complex gamelists. Please note that slots 9-12 have a lot of data in them, and to search for specific data you will need to use wildcards so you can only search for the relevant part. (Like 10=*vertical* to search for vertical games. )
For example, lets say we come up with a path entry that looks like this:
[path]
logo=HodgePodge.png
caption=Hodge Podge of Games
useclones=1
searchstrings:5=mame;2=1990;0=sfex;6=Fighter / versus
filters:6=*mature*;7=BIOS;7=Unplayable
[/path]
This game list would contain every game you have that is supported by mame. (The old 5=mame) It would also contain any game that was made in 1990 regardless of what emu it runs on. Note that any MAME games made in 1990 would be displayed twice. Once because it’s a MAME game and again because it was also made in 1990. Getting it now? You need to use a general search to get the games and then a more specific filter to pick off unwanted games. Also it would contain Street Fighter Ex if you have it on your system. (has a rom name of sfex) In addition, any games you have that match the category "Fighter / versus" (based on the catver.ini file) category will be added. All of this is displayed on a single list within Dragon King. Mature games, broken games, and system bios are also removed from the list.
It's as easy as that.... You can make as many lists as you want and as big a list as your system memory allows. Please note however that the way Dk is setup, it only allocates enough space so that each list can have every single possible game ONCE. If you screw up your searchstrings to make double entries then you could potentially crash the front-end. (Assuming the list already has every single game in your master list and then you add to it, which is extremely unlikely. ) Be sure to "rescan for roms" whenever you edit this file. My own personal dirs.ini will be made available for download to give you something to go by. It's actually quite easy once you get the hang of it.
Please send those catvers in as they are a much need resource!!
Copyright © 2007 Howard Casto. All Rights Reserved.