: You can move or delete any single ZIP file without breaking other games in your collection. Comparison of MAME Set Types Contents of a "Clone" ZIP Storage Efficiency Non-Merged Clone files + Parent files + BIOS files (Lots of duplicates) Picking specific games, "All Killer No Filler" sets Only the unique Clone files Standard MAME setups; requires keeping Parent files Both Parent and all Clones in one ZIP Archiving or full-set collectors Why Choose a Non-Merged Set? Individual Portability
| Feature | | Split | Fully Merged | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Parent ROM | Complete (all files) | Complete (all files) | Contains parent + all clones inside one ZIP | | Clone ROM | Complete (all files) | Contains only unique files; requires parent | Does not exist as separate ZIP; inside parent | | File Duplication | High (files repeat across clones) | Minimal (files stored once) | None (only one archive) | | Ease of Use | Very easy (drag & drop any game) | Moderate (must keep parent + clone) | Complex (needs special tools to extract single game) | | Hard Drive Space | High (largest size) | Low (most efficient) | Medium (can be inefficient if updating) | | Best For | Casual users, frontends, single-game setups | Archiving, bandwidth saving, collectors | Complete set preservationists | non merged mame rom set
: A merged ROM set combines all the files necessary for every game into a single zip file or collection. This means that if multiple games share the same ROMs (which is common, as many games are based on the same hardware), those shared ROMs are included only once in the set. The advantage of merged sets is their simplicity; you only need to manage one file for each game. However, they can be cumbersome for updates, as changing one game can potentially affect others. : You can move or delete any single
Unlike "split" or "merged" sets, a non-merged set contains , regardless of whether those files are shared with other games. This means that if multiple games share the
roms/ ├── sf2.zip (Parent) │ ├── sf2a.rom │ ├── sf2b.rom │ ├── sf2c.rom │ └── sf2d.rom └── sf2ce.zip (Clone) ├── sf2ce.rom (Unique to clone) ├── sf2a.rom (Duplicated from parent) ├── sf2b.rom (Duplicated from parent) └── sf2c.rom (Duplicated from parent)
A is a collection where every single ZIP file contains all the data required to run that specific game or version. Unlike other formats, it eliminates "dependencies," meaning you can copy a single game file to another device and it will work without needing a "parent" file or BIOS set. Key Characteristics