Would a running community spreadsheet of compatible games be welcome?

[aracondal]

Hi all!

I just got my Retrode 2 a couple of weeks ago, and I've been spending the past couple of weeks going through my game collection checking everything out.

In part, this has ended up with a good amount of forum lurking looking for fixes, tweaks, etc.  I've noticed that there is a lot of compatibility information scattered throughout the forum, but no centralized database.

I'd like to create a community googledoc where everyone can contribute to a running tally of what works and what doesn't, etc. etc.

Do you all see any value in this, or have any objections to me doing it?

I was thinking of the following format:

One tab/worksheet per console.

Each tab has the following columns (more or less drawn from other people's compatibility listings):

Game |  Region  |  MBit  | Works?  | Save Format  |  Save Works? |  Requires [ForceSize] |  ForceSize | Firmware | Notes

I'm not wedded to this format, and I'd be happy to take any suggestions.

Prototype:

Retrode Compatibility Community Spreadsheet

-A

[Muzer]

What is CC? Country code?

If so, perhaps merge it and the sometimes-misleading "TV format" into one console-specific "Region" column? Just a suggestion.



You definitely want a console column, though, unless you plan on having one sheet per console which might also be an idea.


I think it'd be beneficial to have the firmware version on which it is tested - it is likely in my opinion to become very patchy and sporadically-updated, so a firmware version column would allow people a few months/years on, say, to know which information is more likely to be relevant.




A Google Doc could well be the best way to do it - I'm not sure though, I don't have much experience with those. I would personally have built my own simple system, but I'm weird

[aracondal]

I really like the region and firmware ideas, so I'll edit my original post and make the changes.

1 console per tab is probably the cleanest way to keep things organized, short of a fully developed relational database, which would seriously be overkill

[aracondal]

I've put together a prototype spreadsheet

Retrode Compatibility Community Spreadsheet

I've put some of my own data in it, but it's incomplete thus far.  Any thoughts/criticisms/etc are welcome.   

[Ness and Sonic]

I noticed you have Scooby Doo Mystery for SNES on there as one that doesn't work. It might just be a fluke, because I had it work fine on mine, but I did have some trouble with my retrode when I put the SNES and Sega Genesis versions of Scooby Doo Mystery in the system at the same time once. I had to reflash my retrode after I did that, but it could also be related to unstable firmware that it happened. Also, did you use a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol to clean your game before you tried it? If not, do that then wait 10 minutes. If cleaned your game before you tried it, it could be a fluke. Just it again a little later. This happened to me with Wonder Boy in Monster World for Sega Genesis once, but I tried it again it worked fine.

[aracondal]

It may just be my cart, but I've jumped through all the hoops -- cleaning, multiple attempts, firmware updates, etc.

Feel free to add your results to the spreadsheet.  After all, that's what it's for.   

When I get some time I'm going to make an attempt to trawl the forums and add stuff people have already posted.

Not sure how to deal with situations like this one, though.  My inclination is to have 'working' override 'not working,' since its not likely a cart would dump correctly on a fluke

[Ness and Sonic]

Tried it on a real SNES? That right there could tell you if something's wrong with the cartridge.

[Ness and Sonic]

I tried Scooby-Doo Mystery after updating to the latest Firmware (0.18c). It works.
Also fixed Super Mario All Stars World size it's 32Mbit not 36.
Plus, I tested Earthbound. It works, too.

By the way, how are you cleaning your games?

[aracondal]

Thanks for those updates. 

By preference I use isopropyl alchohol and q-tips.

I didn't get a chance yesterday to try the Scooby Doo cart in my physical SNES, but not sure it really matters at this point.  Its much more likely to be a fluke that mine doesn't work, than a fluke that your does.

[Ness and Sonic]

Well, try it on your SNES just to be sure. Also, when using cotton swabs (Q-tips) with rubbing alcohol, you might want to use more than one and go over it thoroughly. It could be possible you missed something the first time or it's dirtier than you think. After you clean it, wait 10 minutes for it to dry.

Edit: Thought occurred to me, some games have multiple revisions. I know Ocarina of Time for N64 is one of them. Is there any way for the Retrode to pick up on which version of the game is the cartridge slots? Example, Ocarina of time gold carts would be V1.0, while grey carts could be V1.0 or V1.1. One way to tell is the chant in the fire temple. It's in V1.0, but removed from later versions.

[korori]

Edit: Thought occurred to me, some games have multiple revisions. I know Ocarina of Time for N64 is one of them. Is there any way for the Retrode to pick up on which version of the game is the cartridge slots? Example, Ocarina of time gold carts would be V1.0, while grey carts could be V1.0 or V1.1. One way to tell is the chant in the fire temple. It's in V1.0, but removed from later versions.

The Version Number should be on the label.
http://zeldaspeedruns.com/oot/generalknowledge/version-differences

BTW


Korori

[Ness and Sonic]

Guess I got a V1.1 version of the game. Funny thing was I got it when it first came out.

[korori]

You know whats funny is all the versions were released with in a month.

98-10-21 04:56:31 = North America (NTSC) 1.0
98-10-26 10:58:45 = North America (NTSC) 1.1
98-11-10 14:34:22 = International (PAL) 1.2
98-11-12 18:17:03 = North America (NTSC) 1.2
98-11-18 17:36:49 = International (PAL) 1.2


Going back to the list. I would add md5 check sum and version of cartridge.

Korori

[MasterOfPuppets]

You know whats funny is all the versions were released with in a month.

98-10-21 04:56:31 = North America (NTSC) 1.0
98-10-26 10:58:45 = North America (NTSC) 1.1
98-11-10 14:34:22 = International (PAL) 1.2
98-11-12 18:17:03 = North America (NTSC) 1.2
98-11-18 17:36:49 = International (PAL) 1.2

Those are build dates, not release dates.

[Muzer]

Ah - that's an idea for the spreadsheet, I knew there must be something missing. ROM revision!