GoodTools

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Cowering's GoodTools is a suite of 35 ROM auditing applications for Windows (The ROMS can be used on all platforms) that contain a database listing known software for various video game consoles and home computers.

These tools, released as freeware, have established themselves as an important reference for ROM collectors, especially for older systems that don't have similarly authoritative sources and that have a perfect or almost perfect coverage in GoodTools.

The popularity of GoodTools originated the practice of distributing, instead of single or arbitrarily collected ROMs, the so-called "goodsets", packaged archives of every ROM for a particular platform that GoodTools recognizes.

List of systems covered by GoodTools

Name System Version ROMs listed
Good2600 Atari 2600 3.14 7,216
Good5200 Atari 5200 2.01 284
Good7800 Atari 7800 2.04 183
GoodChaF Fairchild/Luxor/Zircon/SABA Fairchild Channel F 3.1415 88
GoodCoCo Tandy Color Computer 3.21 171
GoodCol ColecoVision 3.14 459
GoodCPC Amstrad CPC 3.1415 27,103
GoodGB64 Commodore 64 3.00 17,067
GoodGBA Nintendo Game Boy Advance 3.23 36,125
GoodGBx Nintendo Game Boy/Game Boy Color 3.14 9,333
GoodGCOM Tiger Game.com 3.14 30
GoodGen Sega Mega Drive/Genesis/32X 3.21 8,563
GoodGG Sega Game Gear 3.20 1,020
GoodINTV Mattel Intellivision 2.03 238
GoodJag Atari Jaguar 2.01 139
GoodLynx Atari Lynx 2.01 300
GoodMO5 Thomson MO5 3.1415 391
GoodMSX1 Microsoft MSX 0.999.3
GoodMSX2 Microsoft MSX2 0.999.3 166
GoodMTX Memotech MTX 3.1415 98
GoodN64 Nintendo 64/Nintendo 64DD 3.21 3,389
GoodNES Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom 3.23 22,096
GoodNGPx SNK Neo Geo Pocket/Neo Geo Pocket Color 3.14 342
GoodOric Oric/Atmos/Telestrat 2.01 1,236
GoodPCE NEC TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine 1.09a 1,565
GoodPico Sega Pico 3.15 178
GoodPSID Commodore 64 PSID music 3.22 37,499
GoodSAMC Miles Gordon Technology SAM Coupé 2.03 796
GoodSMS Master System 3.20 1,516
GoodSNES Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom/Satellaview 2.04 11,337
GoodSPC Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SPC music) 3.22 57,154
GoodSV Watara Supervision 3.21 69
GoodVBoy Nintendo Virtual Boy 3.1415 179
GoodVect General Computer Vectrex 1.06 287
GoodWSx Bandai WonderSwan/WonderSwan Color 3.14 346

Hosting license

Cowering allows only GoodTools with a version number below 3.00 to be hosted online. Those of a higher version number are only obtainable legally from the author's site.

Ancillary tools

Several utilities depend on GoodTools:

GoodGUI is a graphical front end to GoodTools.

GoodMerge is a program that organizes and optimizes the compression of ROM collections by placing all versions of a particular game into one archive, reducing the number of files and significantly increasing compression when using solid file archivers such as 7-Zip.

UnGoodMerge is a program to extract ROM images from archives (such as those created by GoodMerge, hence the name) according to rules, such as only one variant of a game and no bad dumps, in order to leave behind redundant ROMs.

Good codes

The following are codes and naming schemes given to the majority (some system specific) ROM image sets for various home computer and video game consoles. Please note that some codes (such as the Sega Genesis country codes) are only on old GoodTools versions and only remain for reference.

Standard codes

Good code Meaning of code Explanation
[!] Verified good dump The ROM is an exact copy of the original game; it has not had any hacks or modifications.
[a] Alternative version The ROM is a copy of an alternative release of the game. Many games have been re-released to fix bugs or to eliminate Game Genie codes.
[b] Bad dump A ROM image which has been corrupted because the original game is very old, because of a faulty dumper (bad connection) or during its upload to a release server. These ROMs often have graphic errors or sometimes don't work at all.
[f] Fixed dump A fixed dump is a ROM that has been altered to run better on a flashcart or an emulator.
[h] Hacked ROM The ROM has been user modified, with examples being changing the internal header or country codes, applying a release group intro, or editing the game's content.
[o] Overdumped ROM The ROM contains more data than the original game. This extra data is useless and doesn't affect the game at all; it just makes the ROM bigger.
[p] Pirated version A dump of a pirated version of a game. These ROMs often have their copyright messages or company names removed or corrupted.
[t] Trained version A trainer (special code which executes before starting the actual game) has been added to the ROM. It allows the player to access cheats from a menu or ingame.
[!p] Pending dump This is the closest dump to the original game to date, but the proper ROM is still waiting to be dumped.

Country codes

Country code Country
(A) Australia
(As) Asia
(B) Brazil
(C) Canada
(Ch) China
(D) Netherlands (Dutch)
(E) Europe
(F) France
(G) Germany
(Gr) Greece
(HK) Hong Kong
(I) Italy
(J) Japan
(K) Korea
(Nl) Netherlands
(No) Norway
(R) Russia
(S) Spain
(Sw) Sweden
(U) United States
(UK) United Kingdom
(W) World
(Unl) Unlicensed
(PD) Public domain, free software and freeware
(Unk) Unknown country

Universal codes

Code Meaning of code
(NG-Dump Known) No good dump has been found
(REVXX) Revision number (00 is earliest)
(VX.X) Version number (1.0 is earliest)
(M#) Multilanguage; # of languages (selectable by a menu)
[T+XXX] Most recent translation
[T-XXX] Obsolete translation
??-in-1 Pirate multicart
(Vol #) Official multicart
(GCN) GameCube rip
[h#C] Hacked internal cartridge information
[h#+#C] Hacked internal cartridge information; #th variant
[hI] Hacked dumping group intro
[hIR] Hacked dumping group intro removed
[M] Mono-color game
(Alpha) Alpha version
(Beta) Beta version
(Prototype) Prototype version
(Pre-Release) Pre-release version
(Kiosk Demo) Demonstration version available at Kiosks
(Hack) ROM hack
(Menu) Multicart menu, unselectable options
ZZZ_UNK Unclassified ROM
BIOS Copy of console's basic in/out system
(N64DD) Nintendo 64DD ROM
(##MBit) ROM size in megabits
(##k) ROM size in kilobits
(19XX) Release year (20th Century)
(20XX) Release year (21st Century)
(Atmos) Atmos ROM (GoodOric only)
(Telestrat) Telestrat ROM (GoodOric only)
[R] RSID format (GoodPSID only)
(old) Old version
[R-XXX] Language
(SC-3000) SC-3000 cartridge (GoodSMS only)
(SG-1000) SG-1000 cartridge (GoodSMS only)
(SF-7000) SF-7000 cartridge (GoodSMS only)
(GG2SMS) Master System mode (GoodGG only)
(Cart) Cartridge format
(Adam) ADAM version (GoodCol only)
(Compilation) The ROM is a dump of a compilation
(Ch-Trad) Pirate traditional Chinese game
(Ch-Simple) Pirate simple Chinese game
[f1C] Hack, only cart name is changed
(PAL) European
(NTSC) American

Translation codes:

Code Country
Bra Brazilian Portuguese
Chi Chinese
Eng English
Dut Dutch
Fin Finnish
Fre French
Ger German
Gre Greek
Ita Italian
Jap Japanese
Kor Korean
Nor Norwegian
Pol Polish
Por Portuguese
Rus Russian
Ser Serbian
Spa Spanish
Swe Swedish

System specific codes

GoodGBA codes:

Code Meaning of code
[hIR00] Intro removed; replaced with 00 values
[hIRff] Intro removed; replaced with ff values
[f_?] Removed EEPROM_V124 patched
[v] Game Boy Advance video
[eb] E-book ROM
[eba] E-Book Advance ROM
[ebb] Book Reader Advance ROM
[f125] Removed EEPROM_V125
[f126] Removed EEPROM_V126
(IQue) Chinese Game Boy Advance ROM for IQue console
Coleco on GBA Emulated ColecoVision ROM via Coleco on GBA emulator
Cologne Emulated ColecoVision ROM via Cologne emulator
DrSMS Emulated Master System ROM via DrSMS emulator
FooN Emulated ZX Spectrum ROM via FooN emulator
PocketNES Emulated NES ROM via PocketNES emulator
FC2GBA Emulated NES ROM via FC2GBA emulator
Goomba Emulated Game Boy ROM via Goomba emulator
GBAGI Emulated Adventure Game Interpreter ROM via GBAGI emulator
Swanadvance Emulated WonderSwan ROM via Swanadvance emulator
PCEAdvance Emulated TurboGrafx-16 ROM via PCEAdvance emulator
PocketSMS Emulated Master System ROM via PocketSMS emulator
PocketSNES Emulated SNES ROM via PocketSNES emulator
SNESAdvance Emulated SNES ROM via SNESAdvance emulator
Snezzyboy Emulated SNES ROM via Snezzyboy emulator
VGB Emulated Game Boy ROM via VGB emulator
Pogoshell Program for Pogoshell tool
s##e## Series number and episode number for videos
(MB) Multiboot ROM
(MB2GBA) Multiboot game converted to GBA format
-e E-Reader ROM
+ ## NES Unlicensed multicart with ## NES games
NDS Nintendo DS slot-2 cartridge dump
GoodBook E-Book using GoodBook converter
TextReader E-Book using TextReader converter
PictureBoy E-Book using PictureBoy converter
ReadBoy E-Book using ReadBoy converter

GoodGBx codes:

Code Meaning of code
[C] Game Boy Color version
[S] Super Game Boy version
[BF] Bung fix (ROM fixed to work on a Bung cartridge)
(Bung) ROM from a Bung cartridge
NES Conversion NES ROM converted to Game Boy Color ROM
GBS Player Game Boy music ROM

GoodGen codes:

Code Meaning of code
(1) Japan & Korea (GoodGen v0.999.7 only)
(4) USA & Brazil (GoodGen v0.999.7 only)
(5) NTSC (GoodGen 0.999.7 only)
(8) PAL (GoodGen 0.999.7 only)
(F) World (GoodGen v0.999.7 only)
(B) Non-USA (GoodGen v0.999.7 only)
[c] Known bad checksum but good dump
[x] Thought to have bad checksum
(J-Cart) The original cartridge has two controller ports on it
(SN) Sega-Net game
(REVXB) Sonic the Hedgehog Japanese version 2
(REVSC02) Sonic Compilation version of Sonic 2
(MP) MegaPlay version
(MD Bundle) The ROM comes from Sega Mega Drive/Genesis pack-in game
(Alt Music) Alternative music version of Sonic Spinball

GoodNES codes:

Code Meaning of code
(PC10) PlayChoice-10 version
(VS) Versus version
[hFFE] Copied from Far East Copiers
[hMxx] Hacked to run on mapper xx
SMB# Unspecified Super Mario Bros. hack
(Aladdin) Runs with an Aladdin cartridge that locks out 10NES lockout chip
(Sachen) Unlicensed game by Sachen
(KC) Konami classic
(PRG0) Program revision 0
(PRG1) Program revision 1
[U] Universal NES image file format
(Mapper ##) Mapper number
(FDS Hack) Hacked from the Family Computer Disk System to NES
(GBA E-reader) Hacked from the e-Reader card
(E-GC) NES ROM ripped from European GameCube
(J-GC) NES ROM ripped from Japanese GameCube

GoodSNES codes:

Code Meaning of code
(BS) Broadcast Satellite (Satellaview) ROM
(ST) Sufami Turbo ROM
(NP) Nintendo Power ROM
(NSS) Arcade SNES ROM

GoodN64 codes:

Code Meaning of code
(Beta-WIP)
(Debug Version)
(GC) Nintendo GameCube rip
(Save) Changes the save routine. Instead of EEPROM16 the patched save is SRAM.[1]
(Save-PAL)
(Z64-Save)

See also

References

  1. [1] ASSEMblergames

External links