Homebrew Help converting NeoGeo ROMs

[GeekyGuy]

I downloaded the NeoDS emulator (latest version, according the site) and read the "readme" file thoroughly...several times. I'm obviously not doing it right and was hoping perhaps someone could give me a nudge in the right direction.

The readme file says to put all the ROMs (in their zip-file form) you want to convert into a single folder, throw in the NeoDsConvert.exe file, and then also throw in a "bios" file called neogeo.zip (which I found doing a random Google search) -- put all that goodness into one folder, which I did. I ran the executable file, and it created a file called neogeo.neo. Hmm...so, as to not make an assumption about something I am unsure of, I thought to myself, "Well, perhaps it combines everything into one ROM that can be read by the emulator," and I proceeded to give it a try, just in case. Of course, when running the the emulator on my DS -- which seemed to work okay, by the way -- the neogeo.neo file was a dud.

Can someone please help me with converting these ROMs into a readable state for the NeoDS emulator?

Many thanks

 

[tinymonkeyt]

hmm...letsee
gimme a sec to check how it works out for me
maybe your BIOS file wasnt the right one?

EDIT:
ok so i tossed king of fighters 2003 in there to see what would happen
and i ran NeoDSConvert
it supposed to produce a file of the ROM you put in
mine came out kof2003.neo (its whatever your file's name is, with a .neo after it)
and also a neogeo.neo

so the ROM that actually runs in NeoDS is a file insertgamenamehere.neo
so if its not coming out, then i think its either the BIOS or the ROM that has a problem
try doing one ROM @ a time and see what happens
(btw, the bios is supposed to be 261KB, or mine is and it works)

 

[GeekyGuy]

Hmm...okay, I'll give that a whirl. Thanks for the reply.

EDIT: Just checked the size of the BIOS file and it is 261k, so it's probably the right one. I tried converting a single game, but I still got a file called neogeo.geo when converting.

EDIT 2: I think I may have found my problem. I did some more Googling, and it appears that I need to run all of this from the Windows Command prompt. Ugh...I'm not sure what to type in there, though, to make the conversion happen. I've had to use the Command prompt to patch games like Soma Bringer, but I'm not sure what to do in this case.

Help?

 

[tinymonkeyt]

erm
well i didnt need to run it from the command prompt..

btw, if you want i could just help you convert them
just tell me which games you want
and ill try to download them
and upload it to rapidshare, or megaupload or something

 

[Curley5959]

no rom sharing

I can convert mine alright.. Its just trying to get the games working on my r4,...!! I cannot do it

 

[GeekyGuy]

Okay, I think I've got it at least partially figured out. I had to do a bunch of random Google searches and sift through quite a bit of stuff, but it seems that the converter will only work on zip ROMs that include bin files. However, some of the ROMs I dled that also had bin files didn't work. But I did manage to convert a few, really good ones...Metal Slug 3 & 5, King of Fighters, etc.

Anyway, thanks for the help, tiny. Are there any really good games you would recommend that seem to convert okay?

 

[tinymonkeyt]

hrmm. i was trying to look up like lists of the most popular Neogeo games
but they were mostly metal slugs and fighters
i have metal slug 3, 4, and X
and also king of fighters 2003.
the fighters are pretty fun. theres quite a few out there
button mashing!
but other than that, i have not downloaded any other games

 

[PizzaPasta]

Are there any really good games you would recommend that seem to convert okay?

I got Twinkle Star Sprites to work just fine. If you're into shmups and SNKglish you should check it out.

 

[WildWon]

I have convert-tested and play-tested (those that converted alright) the entire NeoGeo collection. I was going to start work on a Wiki for info about them... but the interest died out VERY fast. Should i restart that project? I mean, would that be a useful thing? It looked like a good idea, but this is the first i've seen any posts about NeoDS stuff since its initial release.

ps: Great neogeo games

Captain Tomaday for overhead shmup fun... with a twist.
Wind Jammers for a pong style battle with special moves.
Crossed Swords for some first person style fighting of rats and knights (arcadey fun!).
SNK vs Capcom for a wonderful mixed universe fighter.
Sengoku 1/2/or 3 for classic beat-em-up arcade enjoyment.
Shock Troopers 1/2 for a bit of the good ole Ikari Warriors top down shooting.
Aero Fighters 2/3 for classic top down shmup work.

I'll post more at a later time. There are TONS of great games for this system. Love the emulator, can't wait to see it move further along! (look forward to wireless multiplayer *drool*)

 

[GeekyGuy]

Thanks for the list. I'll try to get some of those, and hopefully they'll convert okay. So far, only a handful seem to convert okay. The rest come out as neogeo.neo files. But man, it's great to be able to play these games on the DS. I played through all of Metal Slug 3 yesterday, and was amazing that the entire thing ran as smooth as I'd expect from a regular DS game, with very minimal slowdown during high-action parts of the game.

They're big ROMs, though -- man!

 

[GameSoul]

The readme file says to put all the ROMs (in their zip-file form) you want to convert into a single folder, throw in the NeoDsConvert.exe file, and then also throw in a "bios" file called neogeo.zip (which I found doing a random Google search) -- put all that goodness into one folder, which I did. I ran the executable file, and it created a file called neogeo.neo. Hmm...so, as to not make an assumption about something I am unsure of, I thought to myself, "Well, perhaps it combines everything into one ROM that can be read by the emulator," and I proceeded to give it a try, just in case. Of course, when running the the emulator on my DS -- which seemed to work okay, by the way -- the neogeo.neo file was a dud.

neogeo.neo isn't a game. Download MAME Roms. Most of MAME Roms have .bin in them. I know of a great site that I use, but I can't share here.

 

[Japhle]

I can't get anything to convert, the only thing that happens is one neogeo.neo file due to the bio.

 

[WildWon]

I can't get anything to ocnvert, the only thing that happens is one neogeo.neo file due to the bio.

Do the NeoGeo roms you have run in MAME? Double check that. They have to be MAME compatible to convert and play on NeoDS.

 

[Japhle]

apparently I am stupid and none of them work in MAME.
Also, kind meaningless sentence, but I agree that peanut butter and jelly SUCK!

Also, how do I get the universal bios in the below posts to convert?

 

[Benandanti]

Out of curiosity, does anyone else use the Universal Bios with their converted roms? I only use it to change the dipswitch settings to add blood and change difficulty, but the cheats are a nice bonus.

 

[WildWon]

Out of curiosity, does anyone else use the Universal Bios with their converted roms? I only use it to change the dipswitch settings to add blood and change difficulty, but the cheats are a nice bonus.

I'm gonna give it a shot. As well, uh, that page says the latest version is 2.3, but in the downloads, there's only 2.2. Did you get 2.3 from there?

EDIT: Just read the page a little closer and saw what was going on lol. Thanks for the page!

 

[ninchya]

Yeah im kind of lost with all this Im trying to convert a couple of games likes Kof 2003 Samurai Showdown 5 and Svc and its not converting i have googled it youtubed it tryied like 50 times one many rom sites and yet nothing works ive used neods 1.0-2.0 gui's, patchers uni bios neogeo parent roms i still can get it to work only Garou and Metal slug x work........

 

[Another World]

ok i hope this helps.

You can run NeoDSConvert from the command line. In this case, it takes up to 2 parameters.
-bios0 use the Europe MVS (Ver. 2)
-bios1 use the Europe MVS (Ver. 1)
-bios2 use the US MVS (Ver. 2?)
-bios3 use the US MVS (Ver. 1)
-bios4 use the Asia MVS (Ver. 3)
-bios5 use the Japan MVS (Ver. 3)
-bios6 use the Japan MVS (Ver. 2)
-bios7 use the Japan MVS (Ver. 1)
-bios8 use the Universe Bios
-bios9 use the Debug MVS
-bios10 use the Asia AES
-bios11 use the Japan AES
If there is another parameter, it will be interpreted as the name of the game, as given to MAME. In this case, only this rom will be converted.

For example, pretend you want to convert Metal Slug 1, using the japan-s2 bios. Create a new directory (C:\roms). Copy mslug.zip and NeoDsConvert.exe into C:\roms. To open a command line, click start, select "run...", type "cmd", and press enter. Type "cd c:\roms". Press enter. Then type "NeoDSConvert -bios6 mslug". Press enter.

If you want to use the universal bios, name the file uni-bios.rom, and add it to neogeo.zip. This enables lots of nice features like switching between home and arcade mode, and cheats. This is the recommended way to use NeoDS.

1) download a supported rom. check this list to see what games are supported and their MAME names. most sites will host by the MAME name. all files will download in an archive.
2) download the neogeo bios file. (google this). the file is called neogeo.zip on most sites. if you want to use the universe bios, grab it off their page and rename it to "uni-bios.rom" and then add it to the neogeo.zip
3) make a directory c:\neogeo
....in this directory put the neogeo.zip, the rom you want to convert (still zipped), and the neodsconvert.exe file.
4) in windows goto start > run and type "cmd". in windows 95/98 type "command"
5) navigate to the folder by typing "cd .." to change directory back 1 level. do this as many times as needed. when you are at "C" type cd c:\neogeo
6) to convert metal slug 1 you would now type neodsconvert -bios8 mslug
....-bios8 runs the universe bios.
....mslug is the name of the MAME named zip file that you might have downloaded. (ie: mslug.zip).

the app will then check the files in the zip and see if they pass. it verifies by name and CRC. if a name is incorrect, like it tells you that you are missing 1203984.bin or something, open the zip and look for that file name. rename it to ".bin". sometimes the files are the same but they have different extensions. renaming the file extension can fix some issues. if the whole zip fails to verify, grab another rom.

the output will be a file called "mslug.neo". this file must be in the ROOT of your msd. neogeo.nds can be anywhere.

i recommend the universe bios for compatibility, ease of use, and extra features. you can use it to load the arcade or console version. you can use it to turn on dip switch settings, etc.

like i said at the start, i hope this helps.

-another world

 

[Rayder]

Here's the txt file I used to convert games for NeoGeoDS:

#1
You will need the following items in addition to the NeoDS program:

Neo Geo Bios zipped file.