Writing Multi-Disc Playlists

Most DAT groups that catalog optical media-based consoles (e.g. PS1, Dreamcast, GameCube) consider different discs of a multi-disc game to be separate "games," with no relation between them other than having a similar name. This is because ROM managers may not process games unless all of its ROM files are present, but there may be bonus discs that you don't care about for storage reasons.

Many emulators and frontends support .m3u playlist files that group multiple discs together:

Note

Different frontends have different instructions on how to show or hide individual discs when using playlists. See your frontend's documentation for any settings you may need to change.

Grouping multiple discs of the same game together is beneficial for a few reasons:

Emulators and frontends typically provide an easy way to swap between discs in a playlist
Save files typically mirror the input ROM's filename, so when using playlists, the save filename is typically named after the playlist and therefore shared among all discs

`playlist` command

Igir can create .m3u playlists for your multi-disc games with the playlist command like this:

For already sorted ROMs that don't need to be copied or moved:

Windows macOS Linux

igir playlist ^
  --dat "Redump*.zip" ^
  --input ROMs\

igir playlist \
  --dat "Redump*.zip" \
  --input ROMs/

igir playlist \
  --dat "Redump*.zip" \
  --input ROMs/

When writing ROMs to an output directory:

Windows macOS Linux

igir copy extract playlist ^
  --dat "Redump*.zip" ^
  --input ROMs\ ^
  --output ROMs-Sorted\

igir copy extract playlist \
  --dat "Redump*.zip" \
  --input ROMs/ \
  --output ROMs-Sorted/

igir copy extract playlist \
  --dat "Redump*.zip" \
  --input ROMs/ \
  --output ROMs-Sorted/

Note

The igir playlist command uses the same logic to group discs together as the --merge-discs option, which means it shares the same suggestions and limitations.

The --merge-discs option isn't required for the igir playlist command, but it may be helpful for file grouping.

Note

Most frontends require discs to be extracted before they can be included in .m3u playlists. See the igir extract command for information on how to do this.

Example scenarios

Already sorted ROMs

Let's say you already have a well-sorted ROM collection that looks like this:

ROMs/
└── Sony - PlayStation
    ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 1)
    │   ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 1).bin
    │   └── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 1).cue
    ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 2)
    │   ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 2).bin
    │   └── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 2).cue
    ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 3)
    │   ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 3).bin
    │   └── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 3).cue
    ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 4)
    │   ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 4).bin
    │   └── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 4).cue
    ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 1)
    │   ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 1).bin
    │   └── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 1).cue
    ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 2)
    │   ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 2).bin
    │   └── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 2).cue
    ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 3)
    │   ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 3).bin
    │   └── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 3).cue
    ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 4)
    │   ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 4).bin
    │   └── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 4).cue
    └── Vagrant Story (USA)
        ├── Vagrant Story (USA).bin
        └── Vagrant Story (USA).cue

Igir can automatically generate .m3u playlist files for these games without modifying them:

Windows macOS Linux

igir playlist ^
  --dat "Redump*.zip" ^
  --input ROMs\

igir playlist \
  --dat "Redump*.zip" \
  --input ROMs/

igir playlist \
  --dat "Redump*.zip" \
  --input ROMs/

The resulting files would look like this:

ROMs/
└── Sony - PlayStation
    ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 1)
    │   ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 1).bin
    │   └── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 1).cue
    ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 2)
    │   ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 2).bin
    │   └── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 2).cue
    ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 3)
    │   ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 3).bin
    │   └── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 3).cue
    ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 4)
    │   ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 4).bin
    │   └── Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 4).cue
    ├── Final Fantasy IX (USA).m3u
    ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 1)
    │   ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 1).bin
    │   └── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 1).cue
    ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 2)
    │   ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 2).bin
    │   └── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 2).cue
    ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 3)
    │   ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 3).bin
    │   └── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 3).cue
    ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 4)
    │   ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 4).bin
    │   └── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 4).cue
    ├── Legend of Dragoon, The (USA).m3u
    └── Vagrant Story (USA)
        ├── Vagrant Story (USA).bin
        └── Vagrant Story (USA).cue

The two created playlists will have the contents:

Final Fantasy IX (USA).m3uLegend of Dragoon, The (USA).m3u

Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 1)/Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 1).cue
Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 2)/Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 2).cue
Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 3)/Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 3).cue
Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 4)/Final Fantasy IX (USA) (Disc 4).cue

Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 1)/Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 1).cue
Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 2)/Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 2).cue
Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 3)/Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 3).cue
Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 4)/Legend of Dragoon, The (USA) (Disc 4).cue

Note

A .m3u playlist file was not created for Vagrant Story (USA) because it is not a multi-disc game.

When writing & sorting ROMs

Let's say you haven't sorted your ROM collection yet and want to do that, while writing playlist files at the same time. Your input files might look like this:

ROMs/
├── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!]
│   ├── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!].gdi
│   ├── track01.bin
│   ├── track02.raw
│   └── track03.bin
├── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!]
│   ├── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!].gdi
│   ├── track01.bin
│   ├── track02.raw
│   └── track03.bin
├── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!]
│   ├── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!].gdi
│   ├── track01.bin
│   ├── track02.raw
│   └── track03.bin
├── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!]
│   ├── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!].gdi
│   ├── track01.bin
│   ├── track02.raw
│   └── track03.bin
└── Typing of the Dead, The v1.004 (2000)(Sega)(US)[!][req. keyboard]
    ├── Typing of the Dead, The v1.004 (2000)(Sega)(US)[!][req. keyboard].gdi
    ├── track01.bin
    ├── track02.raw
    ├── track03.bin
    ├── track04.raw
    └── track05.bin

Let's say you also want to use the --merge-discs option to group multiple discs together into one folder:

Windows macOS Linux

igir move extract playlist ^
  --dat "TOSEC*.zip" ^
  --input ROMs\ ^
  --output ROMs-Sorted\ ^
  --dir-dat-name ^
  --merge-discs

igir move extract playlist \
  --dat "TOSEC*.zip" \
  --input ROMs/ \
  --output ROMs-Sorted/ \
  --dir-dat-name \
  --merge-discs

igir move extract playlist \
  --dat "TOSEC*.zip" \
  --input ROMs/ \
  --output ROMs-Sorted/ \
  --dir-dat-name \
  --merge-discs

The resulting files would look like this:

ROMs-Sorted/
└── Sega Dreamcast - Games - US
    ├── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)[!]
    │   ├── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!]
    │   │   ├── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!].gdi
    │   │   ├── track01.bin
    │   │   ├── track02.raw
    │   │   └── track03.bin
    │   ├── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!]
    │   │   ├── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!].gdi
    │   │   ├── track01.bin
    │   │   ├── track02.raw
    │   │   └── track03.bin
    │   └── Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)[!].m3u
    ├── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)[!]
    │   ├── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!]
    │   │   ├── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!].gdi
    │   │   ├── track01.bin
    │   │   ├── track02.raw
    │   │   └── track03.bin
    │   ├── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!]
    │   │   ├── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!].gdi
    │   │   ├── track01.bin
    │   │   ├── track02.raw
    │   │   └── track03.bin
    │   └── Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)[!].m3u
    └── Typing of the Dead, The v1.004 (2000)(Sega)(US)[!][req. keyboard]
        ├── Typing of the Dead, The v1.004 (2000)(Sega)(US)[!][req. keyboard].gdi
        ├── track01.bin
        ├── track02.raw
        ├── track03.bin
        ├── track04.raw
        └── track05.bin

The two created playlists will have the contents:

Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)[!].m3uSkies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)[!].m3u

Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!]/Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!].gdi
Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!]/Resident Evil - Code Veronica v1.000 (2000)(Capcom)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!].gdi

Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!]/Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 1 of 2)[!].gdi
Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!]/Skies of Arcadia v1.002 (2000)(Sega)(US)(Disc 2 of 2)[!].gdi

Note

A .m3u playlist file was not created for Typing of the Dead, The v1.004 (2000)(Sega)(US)[!][req. keyboard] because it is not a multi-disc game.

ROM extensions

By default, Igir will include only certain file extensions in playlist files. See the igir --help message for the default list.

You can override the default extension list with the --playlist-extensions <exts> like so:

igir playlist --input ROMs --playlist-extensions ".cue,.gdi"

Writing Multi-Disc Playlists

playlist command

Example scenarios

Already sorted ROMs

When writing & sorting ROMs

ROM extensions

`playlist` command