I made a script that uses ird files to find PS3 discs which, for some reason, contain empty folders in their headers. I only analyzed American titles, but may do other regions if requested.
Note: I used a backup of Jonnysp's library, and only ran the script on a single version of each game (accidentally, I forgot some irds would have the same title-id but different versions while renaming the database).
If you have a problematic dump of a game, try adding these empty folders to see if it'll make your game run correctly. For example, Assassin's Creed titles are known to boot to a black screen if the empty ASSASSIN_ISO folder isn't included in a dump. It is also interesting to note that both WWE 2K16 and WWE 2K17 are on this list, so missing empty folders may very well be the reason why some people still get problems when running the game (do try adding the folders on the list and check if your game runs).
Most of this empty folders seem to be included in the original discs due to oversights. For example, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time has probably the biggest amount of empty folders, which appear to have been used to store game files before packaging them up in some container format (but form some reason the folders themselves weren't deleted).
Anyway, hope some of you find this interesting!
Note: I used a backup of Jonnysp's library, and only ran the script on a single version of each game (accidentally, I forgot some irds would have the same title-id but different versions while renaming the database).
If you have a problematic dump of a game, try adding these empty folders to see if it'll make your game run correctly. For example, Assassin's Creed titles are known to boot to a black screen if the empty ASSASSIN_ISO folder isn't included in a dump. It is also interesting to note that both WWE 2K16 and WWE 2K17 are on this list, so missing empty folders may very well be the reason why some people still get problems when running the game (do try adding the folders on the list and check if your game runs).
Most of this empty folders seem to be included in the original discs due to oversights. For example, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time has probably the biggest amount of empty folders, which appear to have been used to store game files before packaging them up in some container format (but form some reason the folders themselves weren't deleted).
Anyway, hope some of you find this interesting!
