MAME is unique in the emulation world because its file structure changes frequently. A ROM that worked on MAME 2010 might not work on MAME 2003-Plus.
If you have a merged or split set, you can construct a non-merged set using ROM management tools: mame 2003-plus reference: full non-merged romsets
Use non-merged when you want per-game standalone archives; use split or merged to save space. MAME is unique in the emulation world because
Welcome to the gold standard of arcade preservation. let’s define the emulator.
Drop your self-contained ZIPs into your arcade ROMs folder.
: Because each file is self-contained, you can delete any game you don't want without accidentally "breaking" another game that might have relied on its files. Version Specificity
Before diving into file formats, let’s define the emulator.