Sega-CD: multiple titles are incorrectly detected by RetroArch as "Midnight Raiders (USA)"

[c0d3h4x0r]

The following redump.org-checksum-verified titles are being wrongly detected by RetroArch 1.19.1 (on both Windows and Android) as Midnight Raiders (USA):

• Star Strike (USA) (Unl)
• Bug Blasters - The Exterminators (USA) (Unl) (Rerelease)

I've not yet dug into the reason why.

[i30817]

It's usually bugs (random string that looks like a serial before the actual one) or factory misprints of games serial numbers. In the ps1 I have a game of urban chaos that is detected as threads of fate or vice versa.

Redump says the serials have the last two digits flipped but looking inside the (checksum verified) cd image with a hex viewer has the numbers flipped. I concluded redump is not above putting in the serials "as intended" as opposed as they really are, and serials are unreliable even with redump data (serials are also unreliable to scan hacks - appear as the original, or unlicensed but not on redump games - don't appear, not that checksums are any better in the cases - they don't appear both or if you softpatch, the hacks appear as the original).

So... I basically never use the automatic scanner, only use manual and keep my names up to date with the latest redump\nointro with another tool (rhdndat-rn if you're curious). That's enough to get thumbnails and randomly named hacks in the playlists which don't appear correctly with the scanner (the tag\browser playlist doesn't work though. As disappointing as it is).

If RA wants to associate games to metadata it should get real and gate those features behind actual checksums. But it won't because then people complain about several days collection scans. So it should bite the bullet and just associate redump names to metadata as the foreign key, for a single system only\per playlist and quit trying to correct peoples collections from "wrong" filenames.