Dolphin Emulator Wiki

GameID Confirmation Guide: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

GameID Confirmation Guide (view source)

Revision as of 08:06, 3 December 2017

8 bytes removed ,  3 December 2017
no edit summary
No edit summary
Line 42: Line 42:
*Please note that when adding a new ID it takes a little while for the page's infobox to pick it up, so don't be alarmed if it doesn't pop up right away. Those impatient beings, a new ID can be forced to show up with [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Purge purge].
*Please note that when adding a new ID it takes a little while for the page's infobox to pick it up, so don't be alarmed if it doesn't pop up right away. Those impatient beings, a new ID can be forced to show up with [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Purge purge].


== Where can IDs be sourced? ==
== Good sources ==
The following is a list of publicly available sources for obtaining both GameCube and Wii IDs, in order of reliability.
The following is a list of publicly available sources for obtaining both GameCube and Wii IDs, in order of completed to incomplete ID.


=== Source #1: A personal dump ===
=== A personal dump ===
Since the wiki's IDs are used for functionality in Dolphin, the database here has to align to what Dolphin gives for different games (given that the dump is valid). Therefore, the perfect source of IDs for the wiki is by obtaining them through Dolphin itself. However, this requires owning a copy of the game and being capable of dumping it and viewing its properties within Dolphin.
Since the wiki's IDs are used for functionality in Dolphin, the database here has to align to what Dolphin gives for different games (given that the dump is valid). Therefore, the perfect source of IDs for the wiki is by obtaining them through Dolphin itself. However, this requires owning a copy of the game and being capable of dumping it and viewing its properties within Dolphin.


=== Source #2: The game's cover/disc ===
=== Nintendo's Update Server ===
The above method of looking for IDs on game covers is effective, but around half the games with pages on the wiki are digital titles that don't have a cover. So, the IDs instead need to be acquired from somewhere else. Thankfully, Nintendo's update server is publicly accessible from any web browser, and allows anyone to freely download TMD files with title information. This can be done by using the following link:
 
<pre>http://ccs.cdn.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/00010001<ID prefix>/tmd</pre>
 
The <ID prefix> bit needs to be replaced with the first four characters of the ID being confirmed in hex ([http://ccs.cdn.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/000100014A414C54/tmd here] is a working link for prefix JALT as an example). If the prefix exists, a download will begin for an extensionless file named "tmd"; otherwise, a 404 will be reached. This file can then be opened with a hex editor, and the full ID can be seen (with a small gap between the prefix and publisher code) around halfway through the file in cleartext.
 
The major problem with this method is that it can only be used for ID confirmation and not addition, since the prefix must be known ahead of time. There's been efforts to scrape the entire update server for all TMDs and therefore never run into this problem, but the work is still pending.
 
=== [http://www.redump.org/ Redump.org] (incomplete ID) ===
Redump.org is a trustworthy site dedicated to disc preservation across many different game consoles; its archives can be considered close to the game's cover in validity. When there's no good cover scans available for a title, this is the next most verifiable source for IDs available. The site itself also includes some helpful formatting, such as showing region flags next to the IDs in the database and listing game languages to pinpoint where European IDs had their release. Redump's main flaws are: a) it uses the same four character prefixes that game covers do, and b) it only includes GameCube games, no Wii data is available. On top of having only the four character prefixes, Redump doesn't document any publisher data like the cover does, so piecing together the last two characters is even more challenging. In conclusion, Redump is a great place to check outlier GameCube IDs, but it doesn't quite have enough information on its own overall to be a good main source.
 
=== The game's cover/disc (incomplete ID) ===
On the back of all GameCube and Wii games (besides Asian releases where it's on the front), near the barcode, the Game's ID will actually be printed out. This makes searching for a scan of the game's cover a viable means of confirming IDs. The ID is also printed directly on the disc as well, in the little subscript text along the edge. This can be considered a perfectly reliable source, however the ID on the cover uses a different format from those used in Dolphin; namely, the four character product code is used, which leaves out the publisher code. The publisher code can be pieced together using the publisher information on the cover, separate sources like GameTDB, and the [[GameIDs]] page if need be, however complete reliance on these sources is not recommended.
On the back of all GameCube and Wii games (besides Asian releases where it's on the front), near the barcode, the Game's ID will actually be printed out. This makes searching for a scan of the game's cover a viable means of confirming IDs. The ID is also printed directly on the disc as well, in the little subscript text along the edge. This can be considered a perfectly reliable source, however the ID on the cover uses a different format from those used in Dolphin; namely, the four character product code is used, which leaves out the publisher code. The publisher code can be pieced together using the publisher information on the cover, separate sources like GameTDB, and the [[GameIDs]] page if need be, however complete reliance on these sources is not recommended.


Line 96: Line 108:
|}
|}


=== Source #2.5: Nintendo's Update Server ===
== Source with caution ==
The above method of looking for IDs on game covers is effective, but around half the games with pages on the wiki are digital titles that don't have a cover. So, the IDs instead need to be acquired from somewhere else. Thankfully, Nintendo's update server is publicly accessible from any web browser, and allows anyone to freely download TMD files with title information. This can be done by using the following link:
=== [http://www.gamefaqs.com/ GameFAQs] ===
 
GameFAQs, on the whole, is a terrible place to get IDs, plagued with filled-in ID characters and false assumptions between different regions. But as it is recommended to find release data for games while doing ID confirmation, GameFAQs ends up being a high priority visit anyways as their release information is extremely good. The rule of thumb here is, never trust GameFAQs' IDs without a second source. The first three characters are all that can reliably be obtained from them; not only do they omit the publisher code again, they also just fill in the region code by the region of release, NOT what the ID actually is. So do NOT blindly trust the region codes from GameFAQs; instead check their uploaded covers instead.
<pre>http://ccs.cdn.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/00010001<ID prefix>/tmd</pre>
 
The <ID prefix> bit needs to be replaced with the first four characters of the ID being confirmed in hex ([http://ccs.cdn.shop.wii.com/ccs/download/000100014A414C54/tmd here] is a working link for prefix JALT as an example). If the prefix exists, a download will begin for an extensionless file named "tmd"; otherwise, a 404 will be reached. This file can then be opened with a hex editor, and the full ID can be seen (with a small gap between the prefix and publisher code) around halfway through the file in cleartext.


The major problem with this method is that it can only be used for ID confirmation and not addition, since the prefix must be known ahead of time. There's been efforts to scrape the entire update server for all TMDs and therefore never run into this problem, but the work is still pending.
=== [http://www.gametdb.com/ GameTDB] ===
 
=== Source #3: [http://www.redump.org/ Redump.org] ===
Redump.org is a trustworthy site dedicated to disc preservation across many different game consoles; its archives can be considered close to the game's cover in validity. When there's no good cover scans available for a title, this is the next most verifiable source for IDs available. The site itself also includes some helpful formatting, such as showing region flags next to the IDs in the database and listing game languages to pinpoint where European IDs had their release. Redump's main flaws are: a) it uses the same four character prefixes that game covers do, and b) it only includes GameCube games, no Wii data is available. On top of having only the four character prefixes, Redump doesn't document any publisher data like the cover does, so piecing together the last two characters is even more challenging. In conclusion, Redump is a great place to check outlier GameCube IDs, but it doesn't quite have enough information on its own overall to be a good main source.
 
=== Source #4: [http://www.gametdb.com/ GameTDB] ===
GameTDB is huge and contains almost all GameCube and Wii IDs and covers, along with some other miscellaneous data like game languages similar to Redump. The problem though is that GameTDB is not as reliable. There are invalid entries on GameTDB, low resolution/wrong covers making it hard to check entry validity (___X__ region European IDs having ___P__ region covers as a consistent problem), questionable developer and publisher information, etc. The actual IDs though are generally correct, and this is the only source other than a personal dump or the NUS that contains full 6 character IDs like the Dolphin wiki uses. Because this is pretty trustworthy but not perfectly so, it is still recommended to check against one of the more reliable sources above before mindlessly posting IDs from GameTDB onto the wiki. However, in the case of a retail Wii game with no good cover scans for example, this becomes the most reliable source and there's no choice but to trust it until someone with the game can confirm/deny the ID directly.
GameTDB is huge and contains almost all GameCube and Wii IDs and covers, along with some other miscellaneous data like game languages similar to Redump. The problem though is that GameTDB is not as reliable. There are invalid entries on GameTDB, low resolution/wrong covers making it hard to check entry validity (___X__ region European IDs having ___P__ region covers as a consistent problem), questionable developer and publisher information, etc. The actual IDs though are generally correct, and this is the only source other than a personal dump or the NUS that contains full 6 character IDs like the Dolphin wiki uses. Because this is pretty trustworthy but not perfectly so, it is still recommended to check against one of the more reliable sources above before mindlessly posting IDs from GameTDB onto the wiki. However, in the case of a retail Wii game with no good cover scans for example, this becomes the most reliable source and there's no choice but to trust it until someone with the game can confirm/deny the ID directly.


Keep in mind that the way the website is organized, every single ID has a set of links at the top that allows instantly browsing to the next or previous ID alphabetically. At first this might seem like an oddity but it's one of the best features of the site. This can be useful for example in cases where the wiki erroneously contains two separate pages for the same game, as they will often come next to each other in an alphabetical listing. Multi-region releases of games often don't share a name between countries, so sometimes overseas if a publisher is not clear that it's the same title, databases can get confused and list them as separate. The one flaw with the next/previous ID system is that GameTDB lists hacked IDs in along with their normal IDs, so for very popular titles like New Super Mario Bros. Wii for example, many page loads would have to be gone through to reach the official IDs for the game. In these situations, try and use GameTDB's .txt inventory of all IDs instead, which can be acquired [http://www.gametdb.com/wiitdb.txt?LANG=ORIG here] (starts download).
Keep in mind that the way the website is organized, every single ID has a set of links at the top that allows instantly browsing to the next or previous ID alphabetically. At first this might seem like an oddity but it's one of the best features of the site. This can be useful for example in cases where the wiki erroneously contains two separate pages for the same game, as they will often come next to each other in an alphabetical listing. Multi-region releases of games often don't share a name between countries, so sometimes overseas if a publisher is not clear that it's the same title, databases can get confused and list them as separate. The one flaw with the next/previous ID system is that GameTDB lists hacked IDs in along with their normal IDs, so for very popular titles like New Super Mario Bros. Wii for example, many page loads would have to be gone through to reach the official IDs for the game. In these situations, try and use GameTDB's .txt inventory of all IDs instead, which can be acquired [http://www.gametdb.com/wiitdb.txt?LANG=ORIG here] (starts download).
=== Source #5: [http://www.gamefaqs.com/ GameFAQs] ===
GameFAQs, on the whole, is a terrible place to get IDs, plagued with filled-in ID characters and false assumptions between different regions. But as it is recommended to find release data for games while doing ID confirmation, GameFAQs ends up being a high priority visit anyways as their release information is extremely good. The rule of thumb here is, never trust GameFAQs' IDs without a second source. The first three characters are all that can reliably be obtained from them; not only do they omit the publisher code again, they also just fill in the region code by the region of release, NOT what the ID actually is. So do NOT blindly trust the region codes from GameFAQs; instead check their uploaded covers instead.


=== ID abnormalities ===
=== ID abnormalities ===
Lucario
6,576

edits

Retrieved from "https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Special:MobileDiff/151994"