NES game contents database and long term goals for databases

[Gloves | 11,760]

51 minutes ago, LaytToTheParty said:

Exactly. Once we have the list of games in, you guys can make edits and revisions. I'm not really a CiB collector, so I'll leave the "contents" up to y'all to decide. However, I would like to add descriptions for games, plus genre, release date, publisher, and more. Once that's done, we can add even more, and then branch out to other systems.

We need to make it easy enough so anyone can edit and add missing information, but also include a way to see past edits and who has made them. For example, if @Gloves kept trying to change the platform of Super Mario Bros from NES to Phillips CDi, we would be able to see that and issue a warning or suspend his editing privileges. This way, we can have multiple people editing and revising at once, but a way to make sure no one spams or trolls. We could also add a "lock" feature, which would allow the mods to "lock" a section that is confirmed to be accurate from further edits (i.e. @Gloves wouldn't be able to change the platform of Super Mario Bros).

Nothing against you, Gloves, just thought you'd be fun for the example. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

We can do Wiki style editing as you describe, and Staff can see edit history.

[Bubbapauls | 250]

I’m willing to help out. I’ve been waiting patiently to see what @LucasWeatherby comes up with.

 

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

Yeah, I he mentioned his "prototype" a few months ago. @LucasWeatherby Any update yet?

[0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277]

Ok, I started an invision demo and have a rough prototype. There's still some formatting work that could be done and I now have a bunch of questions regarding the fields.

Game page (thanks to @DoctorEncore for the game contents info I stole for the demo):

Barebones Entry for comparison:

Entry form:

Spoiler

Drop downs (options from Austin's 100% NES Guide)

Here's the questions I have:

• What should be changed about the fields?
  • Should we add a field for cart datecodes / ROM markings?
  • ... the source of the info (usually who opened the game)?
  • ... type of styrofoam block?
  • I know Wikipedia has it on some games, but composer feels like a weird field to add considering it's the only one that lists people (why not list other creators? but that's a rabbit hole that I don't know is necessary)
  • Anything to add to the drop downs?
• How do we feel about the drop downs?
  • We might run into trouble with older games that weren't specific with the texture of the dust cover. Any suggestions to handle this?
• How should we handle variants of the same game?
• I can implement Custom Input Validation (such as force the cart field to be with the form "NES-??-USA[-#]"), but I'm not sure if this is necessary. It can also get tricky if we want to allow things like "NES-BK-USA-1 (T)" which is what the Tecmo NBA Basketball manual was listed as.
• Any formatting suggestions?

(Tagging people actively contributing to the NES Sealed Game Contents thread: @Dr. Morbis @DoctorEncore @austin532 @Trifecta @jonebone)

[austin532 | 467]

There is no need to add each individual creator(s) or composer(s). Thanks just going down another rabbit hole.

[Joshua Rogers | 77]

I know Wikipedia has it on some games, but composer feels like a weird field to add considering it's the only one that lists people (why not list other creators? but that's a rabbit hole that I don't know is necessary): link to vgmpf if the game exists on there.

 Should we add a field for cart datecodes / ROM markings? : no. link to tcrf instead.

... type of styrofoam block?: yes.

How do we feel about the drop downs?  let multiple be chosen, same as inserts.

We might run into trouble with older games that weren't specific with the texture of the dust cover. Any suggestions to handle this?: unknown, not important, ambiguous, etc. option

How should we handle variants of the same game?: you have to decide which is going to be the 'first version' of a game, then others are variants. co-variants may exist too. up to you how you want to display these; split them up between 'pieces'(cart,box,manual,etc) or by product. e.g. does a 5-screw game constitute a whole new entry for a CIB or does it constitute a 'cart only' entry.

also please don't use wikipedia for publisher/developer. as you can see here https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Nintendo_Entertainment_System_games&action=history i've edited a whole ton of different nes games that had incorrect publishers/developers. some games are very ambiguous or unknown due to uncredited sub-developing (ocean comes to mind..)

otherwise looks good

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

7 hours ago, Joshua Rogers said:

How should we handle variants of the same game?: you have to decide which is going to be the 'first version' of a game, then others are variants. co-variants may exist too. up to you how you want to display these; split them up between 'pieces'(cart,box,manual,etc) or by product. e.g. does a 5-screw game constitute a whole new entry for a CIB or does it constitute a 'cart only' entry.

The "first version" should be determined by release date ofc. I think the type of variant should be noted as well (cart, artwork, 5 screw vs 3 screw). I'm not sure what we should do about the last part. My guess would be a "cart only" entry unless the variant had different CiB contents than the so-called first version, but I'm not quite sure about that. @Dr. Morbis Would be a good resource for this kind of thing.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

Well that's quite the rabbit hole you're diving down.  This sort of thing is easy for a game like DK Jr. Math that most likely only had a single print run so all cartridges will look the same, and all copies will have come with the same contents (notwithstanding the fact that a "sealed" DK Jr. Math probably can't exist as it was probably only sticker sealed, not wrapped).  But for a game like Super Mario Bros. that was probably in print from the NES debut in 1985 until very near the end of the NES's run in the mid 90's, attaching particular cart styles to particular contents becomes overwhelming.

Then there is the issue of code revisions.  So take Castlevania, for example.  The game was originally released in 5-screw format with a fatal flaw that frequently froze up the game at the Grim Reaper.  Konami was quick to fix this little glitch with a revised ROM: Revision A.  You can tell if you have a NES cart with a revised ROM because it will have an embossed A on the back warning label (or very rarely other games can have a B; but I've never seen a C).  So the question becomes, when did the revision happen?  If all 5-screw carts are original code with round Seals of Quality, and all 3-screw carts are Revision A code with the letter on the back and an oval Seal, that makes it somewhat easier, but something tells me it won't be that easy.  And to make matters worse, back-swapping is really easy to do, so you can't always trust the cart you're looking at when determining if you've got a code revision without further confirming with Bootgod's site that a particular game actually does have a code revision to begin with.  And for those who might not know, a LOT of NES games have code revisions.  So, like I said, HUGE rabbit hole, but who doesn't like a good challenge!

I think cartridges should be noted with following columns and then have particular contents tagged to them, when known:

-Artwork Style - Descriptive (so, for example, Roger Clemens' Baseball might say 'Black End Label' or 'White End Label')

-Screws - 5 or 3

-Seal of Quality - Round or Oval

-Code Revision - 'No' or 'A' or 'B'

 

Since this whole thing is such a Clusterfuck, what Mike and I have done with the Sealed Contents List from the start is record 'instances' of a particular game coming with particular contents.  No one on earth is ever going to have every copy of every game ever released with every content that came with every print run, but having one full CIB from one print run of each title is what I'm personally shooting for, and that's where the Sealed Contents List comes in.

But whatever you guys decide to do, best of luck with this endeavor!

[O.G. CIB | 415]

Sometimes as they say if it’s not broke don’t fix it. The gamefaq list of sealed contents, now that Dr Morbis has taken over, should be fine as a baseline reference for NES collectors. When you have for example 7-10 (depending on who you ask) variants of pack in inserts, board revisions for a single Zelda game it becomes to burdensome and at what point where does it end. I have used the gamefaq list for years along with what was posted in NA and VGS to make my own “educated guess” on what should be in each box. Austin’s list helped with things that I never tracked such as type of foam insert (I do track cardboard and thin blue) and release years for warning inserts.....All the research is awesome and it help me put together my own personal list that I’ve been working on the better part of a decade.  The list is not perfect but it’s for me and it’s been fun over the years piecing the mystery together. Will it ever be perfect .... never.... short of having a verified list from Nintendo or opening every sealed it’s next to impossible to know what contents game in every game.   In the end this is a hobby .... nothing more and nothing less. My goal was always to have a CIB set and it graduated to all all major variants.... then all posters, inserts and pack in items, which I have. Do I have enough inserts for every single game.... nope but I have them all and that’s good enough. As they say don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good. 
 

P.S. shout out to Doctor Encore who’s just about done with his CIB set! Big achievement.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Mr. CIB

[Speedy_NES | 102]

One quick suggestion for addressing what release "set(s)" a specific item was a part of --> footnotes would be suitable. For example:

Krazy Kreatures box^1,2
Krazy Kreatures manual^1,2
Krazy Kreatures cut-corner cart¹
Krazy Kreatures square cart²

1Confirmed set
²Confirmed set
³Unconfirmed, likely set

This way each set could be separately confirmed or unconfirmed.

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

What about consoles? So the NES had two NTSC console variations, the vanilla system and the toploader. However, consolevariations.com counts the classic edition system as an NES console variation. Should we do the same? I mean, it plays the same games using a near replica controller, but on different hardware. To me it's like counting the Switch, which has  these controllers and plays NES games via Switch online, as an NES console variation.

Edited May 25, 2020 by LaytToTheParty

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

On 5/23/2020 at 2:19 AM, 0xDEAFC0DE said:

Ok, I started an invision demo and have a rough prototype. There's still some formatting work that could be done and I now have a bunch of questions regarding the fields.

Game page (thanks to @DoctorEncore for the game contents info I stole for the demo):

I think everything you've done here looks great. Personally, I wouldn't go into much more detail than this. Bootgod's site already has pretty much all the cart info.

So the only question is if you guys want to mark things as confirmed or not. That should be able to be done with a checkbox (I assume).

Box and cart variants that didn't get a revision number would be cool, but I'm not sure how you would easily implement that.

That being said, the database functionality of the website is not something I'm passionate about, so you guys should proceed how you feel best.

Edited May 25, 2020 by DoctorEncore

[0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277]

On 5/23/2020 at 12:14 PM, Joshua Rogers said:

I know Wikipedia has it on some games, but composer feels like a weird field to add considering it's the only one that lists people (why not list other creators? but that's a rabbit hole that I don't know is necessary): link to vgmpf if the game exists on there.

 Should we add a field for cart datecodes / ROM markings? : no. link to tcrf instead.

4 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

I think everything you've done here looks great. Personally, I wouldn't go into much more detail than this. Bootgod's site already has pretty much all the cart info.

I had thought about linking to Bootgod, but kind of forgot about it so thanks for reminding me and giving other useful sites.

On 5/23/2020 at 12:14 PM, Joshua Rogers said:

How should we handle variants of the same game?: you have to decide which is going to be the 'first version' of a game, then others are variants. co-variants may exist too. up to you how you want to display these; split them up between 'pieces'(cart,box,manual,etc) or by product. e.g. does a 5-screw game constitute a whole new entry for a CIB or does it constitute a 'cart only' entry.

22 hours ago, Speedy_NES said:

One quick suggestion for addressing what release "set(s)" a specific item was a part of --> footnotes would be suitable. For example:

Krazy Kreatures box^1,2
Krazy Kreatures manual^1,2
Krazy Kreatures cut-corner cart¹
Krazy Kreatures square cart²

1Confirmed set
²Confirmed set
³Unconfirmed, likely set

This way each set could be separately confirmed or unconfirmed.

I have some ideas to handle how to display variants, so I'll try some out and see what works.

4 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

Box and cart variants that didn't get a revision number would be cool, but I'm not sure how you would easily implement that.

You would just describe what changed. That's what I do for my Zelda variant list.

23 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

Then there is the issue of code revisions.  So take Castlevania, for example.  The game was originally released in 5-screw format with a fatal flaw that frequently froze up the game at the Grim Reaper.  Konami was quick to fix this little glitch with a revised ROM: Revision A.  You can tell if you have a NES cart with a revised ROM because it will have an embossed A on the back warning label (or very rarely other games can have a B; but I've never seen a C).  So the question becomes, when did the revision happen?  If all 5-screw carts are original code with round Seals of Quality, and all 3-screw carts are Revision A code with the letter on the back and an oval Seal, that makes it somewhat easier, but something tells me it won't be that easy.  And to make matters worse, back-swapping is really easy to do, so you can't always trust the cart you're looking at when determining if you've got a code revision without further confirming with Bootgod's site that a particular game actually does have a code revision to begin with.  And for those who might not know, a LOT of NES games have code revisions.  So, like I said, HUGE rabbit hole, but who doesn't like a good challenge!

I know at least for the Legend of Zelda the ROM revision change seems to have happened at a consistent time (with the addition of the code to the cart), but it's highly possible that it isn't that simple for other games.

I know I have a Link's Awakening DX cart that has a C revision stamp (oddly the ROM chip shows its the -2 ROM), but I don't know if any NES games have that many code changes.

On 5/23/2020 at 12:14 PM, Joshua Rogers said:

... type of styrofoam block?: yes.

We might run into trouble with older games that weren't specific with the texture of the dust cover. Any suggestions to handle this?: unknown, not important, ambiguous, etc. option

4 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

So the only question is if you guys want to mark things as confirmed or not. That should be able to be done with a checkbox (I assume).

23 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I think cartridges should be noted with following columns and then have particular contents tagged to them, when known:

-Artwork Style - Descriptive (so, for example, Roger Clemens' Baseball might say 'Black End Label' or 'White End Label')

-Screws - 5 or 3

-Seal of Quality - Round or Oval

-Code Revision - 'No' or 'A' or 'B'

These are all good suggestions. Thanks!

On 5/23/2020 at 12:14 PM, Joshua Rogers said:

also please don't use wikipedia for publisher/developer. as you can see here https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Nintendo_Entertainment_System_games&action=history i've edited a whole ton of different nes games that had incorrect publishers/developers. some games are very ambiguous or unknown due to uncredited sub-developing (ocean comes to mind..)

Yeah, I've corrected that page twice and I'm not even super knowledgeable about release information. When we start filling out the database, I'll definitely look at more sources.

5 hours ago, LaytToTheParty said:

What about consoles? So the NES had two NTSC console variations, the vanilla system and the toploader. However, consolevariations.com counts the classic edition system as an NES console variation. Should we do the same? I mean, it plays the same games using a near replica controller, but on different hardware. To me it's like counting the Switch, which has  these controllers and plays NES games via Switch online, as an NES console variation.

That's something we can get into later, but for now we should focus on just games.

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

2 hours ago, 0xDEAFC0DE said:

That's something we can get into later, but for now we should focus on just games.

Alright. So after games is console variants, and after that is peripherals/accessories?

[Divingninja | 47]

Hi guys,

Exciting Thread. Is this database going to also be turned into a checklist for people to track their collections with all the variations for cart, manual, boxes, and inserts as well?

I have a lot of NES cartridge variants, and kept all my manual and box variants as well, but I couldn't tell you with 100% certainty which manual variant went with which game and which box etc. And there could be like 5 cart variants but only 3 manual variants and only 2 box variants.

As a variant collector I would love to know or have people to contribute pictures of all their variants even if it was only like a manual that looked different from the ones on the site and we couldn't with 100% certainty say what box it went into.

Will that type of functionality be incorporated?

On nintendoage I had made a bunch of custom collection lists that basically broke down the types of variants one could collect from all cartridge variants, to another list that was just 3/5 screw, another that was just black box, another that was just seal variants etc, etc. I had started to try all manual variants and boxes, but with 5 kids ran out of time. Had always wanted to compile a variants database with pictures. Keep me updated with how this goes.

 

[Joshua Rogers | 77]

On 5/24/2020 at 2:36 AM, LaytToTheParty said:

The "first version" should be determined by release date ofc. I think the type of variant should be noted as well (cart, artwork, 5 screw vs 3 screw). I'm not sure what we should do about the last part. My guess would be a "cart only" entry unless the variant had different CiB contents than the so-called first version, but I'm not quite sure about that. @Dr. Morbis Would be a good resource for this kind of thing.

"first version" may not be determined by release date if there is no indication of  release date. e.g. the Australian release of battletoads was distributed by Metro Games (and Mattel but that's another story.) 3 different versions exist. One with no sticker, one with  competition sticker, and one with a big Metro Games sticker. 1: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Battletoads-Complete-NES-Game-in-Box-Nintendo-PAL-Australia-/254509197399?hash=item3b41ee2857%3Ag%3AsgAAAOSwPqZeQgwi&nma=true&si=nPWFPbyh3crCFdTmVR08IBayDME%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 2: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BATTLETOADS-NES-BOXED-COMPLETE-WITH-BOOKLET-NINTENDO-NES-PAL-/124129362368?hash=item1ce6afc1c0%3Ag%3AcHAAAOSwZWpeevtS&nma=true&si=nPWFPbyh3crCFdTmVR08IBayDME%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 3:  https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/battletoads-nes-game-aus-pal-A-nintendo-cib/143410782723?hash=item2163f2e203:g:apkAAOSwVR9do-c5 and all of these were 'released' at the same time, and the stickers were applied by the distributor. In this case it would be my decision to make the non-sticker version the 'first version', with the sticker versions the second/third (in this case I would make the big metro games sticker the second version because many other games had this sticker)

If there is an ambiguity as to what something could contain, maybe it's possible to have something like "A or B." So for e.g. nintendo power inserts it could say "PMG-AA-USA or PMG-BB-USA or PMG-CC-USA or..."  Same with sleeves. Then maybe have a little note somewhere which says why it could be any of them.

 

On 5/24/2020 at 8:36 PM, Dr. Morbis said:

Well that's quite the rabbit hole you're diving down. But for a game like Super Mario Bros. that was probably in print from the NES debut in 1985 until very near the end of the NES's run in the mid 90's, attaching particular cart styles to particular contents becomes overwhelming.

Then there is the issue of code revisions.  So take Castlevania, for example.

Since this whole thing is such a Clusterfuck, what Mike and I have done with the Sealed Contents List from the start is record 'instances' of a particular game coming with particular contents.  No one on earth is ever going to have every copy of every game ever released with every content that came with every print run, but having one full CIB from one print run of each title is what I'm personally shooting for, and that's where the Sealed Contents List comes in.

These are good points. SMB 1 had the same thing in PAL regions. It was originally released with 60hz, then was updated to 50hz but without a revision in cartridge code. However: if somebody has the ability to change a backplate, they have the ability to check the ROM (unless you mean someone is being malicious) I think '[VERY] minor variants' such as revisions of code without new cart codes can be put in a "notes" section" of a game, and not count towards a variant. I think that's where most people draw the line (of course there will be people that may say it is a variant and thus should have a new result..) So, instead of a new entry for a code revision variant, it is just stated in the notes of the game "this game underwent a revision of the code [..] link: tcrf, link: bootgod. You can check which version you have .." I don't really think that many games had code revisions either to be honest.. If there's not too many, perhaps "X or Y" could be listed under cart code. That way both versions are in the database and 'available', at least. Hmm.. Maybe 40 games had code revisions. One of (I think) 3 or 4 games that had a B revision comes to mind too.. https://tcrf.net/The_Untouchables_(NES)

Otherwise I agree with everything else you said. I don't think every instance needs to be recorded, just where there are fairly significant differences. After all, who cares whether a SMB was made in factory 1 vs. factory 2, if everything is the same?

On 5/24/2020 at 9:38 PM, Speedy_NES said:

One quick suggestion for addressing what release "set(s)" a specific item was a part of --> footnotes would be suitable. For example:

Krazy Kreatures box^1,2
Krazy Kreatures manual^1,2
Krazy Kreatures cut-corner cart¹
Krazy Kreatures square cart²

1Confirmed set
²Confirmed set
³Unconfirmed, likely set

This way each set could be separately confirmed or unconfirmed.

In my case I have "Confirmed to be complete", vs "Unverified completeness." This way we can show games that we haven't taken the time to investigate but they still show up and can be used or whatever (by default every game would be unverified i guess.)

8 hours ago, Divingninja said:

 

On nintendoage I had made a bunch of custom collection lists that basically broke down the types of variants one could collect from all cartridge variants, to another list that was just 3/5 screw, another that was just black box, another that was just seal variants etc, etc. I had started to try all manual variants and boxes, but with 5 kids ran out of time. Had always wanted to compile a variants database with pictures. Keep me updated with how this goes.

 

 

NA's database was cool because you could create your own variants names for games in your own little portal.. That would be nice to have again.

All of this is going to be quite difficult to do natively in ipb though..

Edited May 26, 2020 by Joshua Rogers

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

Just for clarity's sake, the database will include every NES cartridge ever know to exist, right? So prototypes, competition carts, Miracle Piano, unlicensed games, and the Aladdin Deck Enhancer? (I know the Deck Enhancer can fall into the category of unlicensed games, but I count it as a separate entity.)

[Tulpa | 3,488]

10 minutes ago, LaytToTheParty said:

Just for clarity's sake, the database will include every NES cartridge ever know to exist, right? So prototypes, competition carts, Miracle Piano, unlicensed games, and the Aladdin Deck Enhancer? (I know the Deck Enhancer can fall into the category of unlicensed games, but I count it as a separate entity.)

Are you also counting homebrews? Those fit every bit the definition of unlicensed NES cart.

Prototypes are also turning up to this day, so it would have to be a living document of what constitutes an "NES cartridge."

There would also be vaporware like the Minnesota Lottery cart, which only exists in a blurry photo, or the original NWC Gold that had a full label (likely a mockup, though.)

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

Just now, Tulpa said:

Are you also counting homebrews? Those fit every bit the definition of unlicensed NES cart.

Prototypes are also turning up to this day, so it would have to be a living document of what constitutes an "NES cartridge."

There would also be vaporware like the Minnesota Lottery cart, which only exists in a blurry photo, or the original NWC Gold that had a full label (likely a mockup, though.)

I'm not counting homebrews. But I can see where the line would get blurry. My original thought was only unlicensed games that came out during the system's lifespan in the US, but it would be hard to justify what would count and what wouldn't.

As for prototypes like the ones you mentioned, we could just use that confirmed/unconfirmed feature that's been suggested a few times by @Joshua Rogers I believe.

[Tulpa | 3,488]

Just now, LaytToTheParty said:

I'm not counting homebrews. But I can see where the line would get blurry. My original thought was only unlicensed games that came out during the system's lifespan in the US, but it would be hard to justify what would count and what wouldn't.

Well, then it becomes what is the lifespan.

NES was shipped from 1985-1995, but it was available in stores up until at least 2000. It also had servicing up until around that time (Famicom had it until 2007, which would overlap with when the first homebrews came out.)

If the lifespan is fixed at 1995, then Cheetahmen II doesn't count.

And technically no prototype ever came out, and there's debate whether the Aladdin Deck Enhancer ever truly made it to stores.

Homebrewers were every bit as legit as say, Active Enterprises and Color Dreams, which were literally four or five people at most.

[LaytToTheParty | 22]

2 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

Well, then it becomes what is the lifespan.

NES was shipped from 1985-1995, but it was available in stores up until at least 2000. It also had servicing up until around that time (Famicom had it until 2007, which would overlap with when the first homebrews came out.)

If the lifespan is fixed at 1995, then Cheetahmen II doesn't count.

And technically no prototype ever came out, and there's debate whether the Aladdin Deck Enhancer ever truly made it to stores.

Homebrewers were every bit as legit as say, Active Enterprises and Color Dreams, which were literally four or five people at most.

Exactly. Unless we want to go down the road of homebrews, I'm afraid we're on shaky ground. The NES was discontinued in Japan in 2003, but I'm not sure if that means anything if we're only logging NTSC games at the moment. But I'd love to get to PAL and JPN variants sometime in the near future.

[Tulpa | 3,488]

The NA database had a homebrew category, and they could be sorted with the retail carts.

I think if you're truly going to have an NES database, you need to include everything, and let people pick categories to exclude what they want (licensed, lifespan retail, Europe, etc.) when they access it, just like the NA database did.

It's the option with the fewest question marks.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Tulpa

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

10 hours ago, LaytToTheParty said:

Just for clarity's sake, the database will include every NES cartridge ever know to exist, right? So prototypes, competition carts, Miracle Piano, unlicensed games, and the Aladdin Deck Enhancer? (I know the Deck Enhancer can fall into the category of unlicensed games, but I count it as a separate entity.)

This new database should not be fundamentally based on cartridges.  I'm not the one making it, so it's not up to me, but IMHO the best way to do it is to make all primary listings based on game TITLE at the root level, and then within each title entry (ie: Zombie Nation) list all known cartridges, all known boxes, all known manuals, all known inserts, etc, and give it an overall designation such as "Regular release" or "Homebrew" or "Test Cartridge" etc...

[Speedy_NES | 102]

8 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

This new database should not be fundamentally based on cartridges.  I'm not the one making it, so it's not up to me, but IMHO the best way to do it is to make all primary listings based on game TITLE at the root level, and then within each title entry (ie: Zombie Nation) list all known cartridges, all known boxes, all known manuals, all known inserts, etc, and give it an overall designation such as "Regular release" or "Homebrew" or "Test Cartridge" etc...

This is how I'd suggest to do it, too, and then use superscripts/footnotes to denote which part belongs to which set(s) of parts.

[0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277]

FYI, I don't have a whole lot of time to work on the prototype this week, so I probably won't have an update until next week at the earliest.

On 5/26/2020 at 1:10 AM, Divingninja said:

Exciting Thread. Is this database going to also be turned into a checklist for people to track their collections with all the variations for cart, manual, boxes, and inserts as well?

I currently don't have any plans to turn this into a collection tracker. That's not stopping anyone else from prototyping something. But implementing that kind of thing will be a lot of work.

19 hours ago, LaytToTheParty said:

Just for clarity's sake, the database will include every NES cartridge ever know to exist, right? So prototypes, competition carts, Miracle Piano, unlicensed games, and the Aladdin Deck Enhancer? (I know the Deck Enhancer can fall into the category of unlicensed games, but I count it as a separate entity.)

Eventually, that's the plan. Like I've said we'll just start with what's on the sealed NES game contents list and expand from there.

19 hours ago, Tulpa said:

Are you also counting homebrews? Those fit every bit the definition of unlicensed NES cart.

So, we already have a homebrew database. I think at first we should not add homebrews to this database. Then when we get this database up and running, we can evaluate if it makes sense to merge them or keep them separate. 

19 hours ago, Tulpa said:

The NA database had a homebrew category, and they could be sorted with the retail carts.

I think if you're truly going to have an NES database, you need to include everything, and let people pick categories to exclude what they want (licensed, lifespan retail, Europe, etc.) when they access it, just like the NA database did.

It's the option with the fewest question marks.

I would love for the database to highly filterable too. That's definitely something I'd like to work on.