Two files can carry the same game title and contain different bytes. One may be another region’s release, a later revision, an incomplete read or a modified copy. No-Intro maintains records intended to make those distinctions inspectable.
The project supplies DAT files for collection managers and an online database, DAT-o-MATIC. These describe recorded software images; the catalogue is separate from a collection of the games themselves.
A record has several jobs
A useful name identifies more than the main title. No-Intro’s convention provides fields for region, language, revision and development status, among other distinctions. A prototype and a released version can be related without being treated as interchangeable copies.
The convention also separates naming choices from information stored elsewhere in the record. A shortened filename cannot carry every detail somebody may need when investigating a particular release. (Naming Convention, filename and record-field sections.)
Compare the contents too
Checksums give software a way to compare a file’s contents with a recorded value. No-Intro’s platform documentation includes examples with file size and hashes such as CRC32 and SHA-1; the exact fields depend on the dataset.
Renaming a file does not turn different data into a matching copy. Conversely, a matching checksum identifies agreement with the catalogue’s recorded data, not a fresh physical examination of the cartridge or disk from which the file supposedly came.
That distinction leaves a role for source information and further verification. The catalogue can improve as contributors identify revisions, document new reads or correct an earlier record. A downloaded DAT is a dated view of that work, not a promise that every release has already been found.
One part of preservation
No-Intro’s home page describes cataloguing and explicitly separates the project from distributing the listed dumps. The game-preservation problem is wider: identifying a binary copy does not preserve its packaging, manuals, hardware dependencies or the circumstances in which people used it.
For emulation, identification is still valuable. It helps distinguish a program’s behaviour from a problem caused by using another revision or a damaged file. Keeping that identity alongside the file makes later comparisons more meaningful than relying on a familiar title alone.
Sources
- No-Intro, project description and DAT-o-MATIC: the maintainers’ catalogue and DAT service.
- No-Intro, Naming Convention: names, release variants and record fields.
- No-Intro, DSi digital/CDN DAT notes: one documented example of size and checksum fields, not a universal schema for all platforms.