My new WHDLoad site

[killergorilla]

Hello folks!

I have a new link for you all!

I will probably grab myself a domain name but for now it stays :)

The site currently has nothing at all on it just some locked forums :)

Hopefully I'll get a bit of time to unlock them and get some stuff up this week.

But feel free to register and... well wait really :)

http://www.guildserver.co.uk/kgwhd/

[P-J]

Well, suffice to say good luck with it buddy :)

[killergorilla]

Cheers mate, I know this is hardly an 'update' but I didn't want people thinking I'd stopped :)

By the way the reg button is the stupidly small button under 'PM' in the top right.

[lopos2000]

Thanks Killergorilla and all the best. Great to see your site back online. Hope nobody will spoil it this time.

[kriz]

Great work kG!

--- Where do I register ?

[keropi]

http://www.businessfundamentals.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/Great%20job.jpg

[killergorilla]

Great work kG!

--- Where do I register ?


The little icon under 'PM' which I think is supposed to look like a pen on paper.

For future reference... no downloads will be available to anyone who hasn't regged :)

[kriz]

Great! The way it should be done Kg!

[Marcuz]

regged and logged :) thanks!

[Zetr0]

yeah.... errr sorry about the small button....... :/

[killergorilla]

Ha ha. No worries mate, makes it more of a puzzle ;)

[keropi]

where is the small button that makes you an admin?

[Zetr0]

its the same one that the same colour as the background on the ??? of the page :D



errr seems i lost i now :( lol

[Jimbo]

Registered Thanks :)

[T_hairy_bootson]

I registered and it wouldnt let me log in,so I asked for a new password... no email yet :(

[Zetr0]

a PM hath been sent :)

[Murakami]

Yes !!! One new WHDLoad forum !

[Bamiga2002]

Regged! :cool

[Anubis]

Cool

Where are the DOWNLOADS??? :mad :banghead

:cheese

[Hungry Horace]

great... another forum to register to.... :rolleyes :laughing


nah, thanks guys! looking forward to the next updates KG :great

[mrodfr]

hello,

thanks a lot for all the work behind, KG and zetro :)

hum, this new forum is too Dark !!! change the color on the settings don't change apparently the forum ???

[Zetr0]

there are some subltes that KG is working on, with hope and a lot of hard work it should be up and full functioning within this weekend :)

[Graham Humphrey]

The words "complete" and "legend" suddenly spring to mind.

And I actually like the forum's colours.

[girv]

Great news KG - I'm looking forward to the angry "acceptable use violation" letters from my ISP when you get the archives up ;) And the colours work for me.

[Adropac2]

Thanks for all the effort.Colour scheme is nice and it's atmosphere is similar to when watching Amiga Demos.

[cooldude]

Registered :cool Good stuff KG :great

[Kristian95]

Registered too :) good work KG!!

[viddi]

Cool! Good work, really.

[HOL2001]

Registered, too ! :)

[fc.studio]

Registered, Thaks for your great work!

[Shoonay]

Been, seen, regged, logged and ready to rock and roll :D

[pbareges]

why a dedicated forum for whdload as eab's whdload section is great to deal with these matters!! BTW...BRING THE GAMES FOR GOD'S SAKE;) !!

[Fox]

Thx for the site and great work killergorila

:great

[killergorilla]

why a dedicated forum for whdload as eab's whdload section is great to deal with these matters!! BTW...BRING THE GAMES FOR GOD'S SAKE;) !!

To be honest I don't see the forum getting THAT much attention but it does mean people can point out any probs/issues directly if they want to.

I may also be setting up a forum for Girv (or for any other whdload coder to be honest) for beta whdload slaves.

[macce2]

Registered, wacky :-)

[pbareges]

I may also be setting up a forum for Girv (or for any other whdload coder to be honest) for beta whdload slaves.

that's real improvement!!! great news...:)

[Marcuz]

To be honest I don't see the forum getting THAT much attention but it does mean people can point out any probs/issues directly if they want to.

I may also be setting up a forum for Girv (or for any other whdload coder to be honest) for beta whdload slaves.
well my two cents is that there is a heavily used yahoo whdload site/bullettin where people actively send feedback and the whdload slavers contribyte answers. i personally cannot stand the bullettin structure, i don't get it much and while i'm registered there i've logged in just once in 6 months.
there are people such as you that are active instead in a number of amiga forums, like amigagames or others and like it so but also there are many whdload slavers that declared (and they have their ok reasons) not to read questions about the slaves posted outside the proper whdload forum. only some of them for instance read the section on this board, so even less would maybe support the forum you suggest. of course you could help people asking but in that case 1) they would have been referred from this board prolly, and so would have already all the info needed to address their questions to the best informed peoples (the slave writer) address and 2) there would be your filter, so you would spend time in doing what they could do alone.
so i'm not sure a board is a very useful tool, if there would not be more to it than that.

[killergorilla]

Well I'm sure Girv will take your points into consideration, he approached me and asked if it would be ok and I said yes. The beta slaves are from him and he'd have mod status within his beta-bit, so it's entirely up to him how much use he gets out of it.

I'm sure he'll post something on the subject himself :)

[girv]

For the record, after I'd asked KG privately to see if such a thing was possible I'd intended to publically post the question of "would such a forum be useful?" ... but I didn't quite get around to it and the discussion seems to have started ahead of me :)

And FTR II: it wasn't just for me, it was to be for all patchers. I guess I didn't make that clear to KG in my message (sorry).

Anyway, If we can take a step back from the specific idea of a forum on KG's site, the question is really to do with the testing of new slaves before general release on the main WHDLoad page. I can't speak for the other slavers, but I find it difficult to get feedback during development. There is the [WHDLoad] Yahoo! group but I see little (if any) testing going on there or on the developer list. There is another, closed group but it seems a little dead these days.

So what to do?

Is there a need (or desire) to beta test slaves within a small group before general release or am I just torturing myself? If there is a need, is the usual WHDLoad group the best place? What about the EAB WHDLoad forum?

I just want to open the question up for discussion and see what shakes out :)

@mods: is this better moved to a new thread?

[Antiriad]

Good work Killa... its a start! :D

Looks nice too :)

Hope we can get a link to this site on http://www.abime.net/

[Hungry Horace]

@ Girv, if you or any other whdload slave-authors would like a bit of beta testing, i'll gladly volenteer to take on a few to test. If you think feedback before release is useful, then why not? it's the least that a few of us standard users could volenteer to do, as payback for the hardwork you guys put in. tbh, i wasnt even aware of the yahoo group until it was mentioned here, and i've been a registered whdload user for 8 (?) years now... from what i've read, i still dont think i'll be joining it in a hurry. i could see myself using KG's forum a fair bit tbh, especially if a few of the authors get onboard (no pun intended) there. As nice as the forum here is, the whole of EAB is somewhat crowded anyway!

[Marcuz]

For the record, after I'd asked KG privately to see if such a thing was possible I'd intended to publically post the question of "would such a forum be useful?" ... but I didn't quite get around to it and the discussion seems to have started ahead of me :)

And FTR II: it wasn't just for me, it was to be for all patchers. I guess I didn't make that clear to KG in my message (sorry).

Anyway, If we can take a step back from the specific idea of a forum on KG's site, the question is really to do with the testing of new slaves before general release on the main WHDLoad page. I can't speak for the other slavers, but I find it difficult to get feedback during development. There is the [WHDLoad] Yahoo! group but I see little (if any) testing going on there or on the developer list. There is another, closed group but it seems a little dead these days.

So what to do?

Is there a need (or desire) to beta test slaves within a small group before general release or am I just torturing myself? If there is a need, is the usual WHDLoad group the best place? What about the EAB WHDLoad forum?

I just want to open the question up for discussion and see what shakes out :)

@mods: is this better moved to a new thread?
heh :) i'm a futurist then!

starting from the end of the thread: no i think it's better to leave the two parts of the thread together, because the question regards everybody interested in KG work/site and particularly those who registered in his/your board.

the nut of the problem is about the need of a testing before the slaves are released.
that scenario would need the following conditions: 1) all the slave writers support such a workflow; 2) there are betatesters.
about the first i say that that is unlikely because (without wanting to make counts in another people' pockets) the writer are already fatiguing following their own schedules, after all they volunteer in the project, so that a single slave / slave version could take several months for to be produced. to the second i say that the people involved in the board would be pretty much the same people downloading the installs: if not encompassing all of them, i think that the most of the people that downloaded the insalls in the old site were the people passing by eab (counting of course even the silent lurkers). this means that if the registration at the new board is not conditional to access to the finished installs, pretty much people will just download everything as usual, providing feedback as they would have before when something didn't work: fact is whdload users are not in the millions.
so, far from being against what you propose, i just say that it's an effort that maybe unproportional.

to resume my point about betatesting: all whdload users have already done betatesting and do currently betatesting. no matter where they have so far posted, sooner or later it gets to the writers. moreover, the monthly production of killergorilla installs and revisions, almost fagocitate the need of a betatest before the release.

but.
you are more in the whdload ambient than i could be, and you know more what are the needs of your part of the community. so if you noticed that parts of it are rusty (i don't say instead about the betatesting at the yahoo group, as i've already sayd betatesting it's not a point imho), then to have a congregating point where to discuss more actively whdload installs may be of your use. in that case tough you need to demonstrate other whdload writers, why that forum may be more useful than the one at yahoo and the one at EAB is. for instance, i know Codetapper, even being mod of the whdload section here, has often adressed users of tis board to yahoo or to whdload request module.
so the question is, would another forum be a not needed fragmentation? would have it more pros than the others?

[girv]

Thanks for the long and thoughtful reply.

I take your point about the patcher workload - is a slave worth a "restricted" beta test effort or does just testing it yourself then releasing it into the wild suffice for this situation? Perhaps this very public form of beta testing (release it and be damned!) actually is the best approach for whd slaves, but I guess the software engineer in me makes me hate releasing something as 1.0 that I know is really only 0.9 :)

I don't agree 100% with your point about the WHDLoad audience, though. Yes, anyone who is using WHDLoad will be an Amiga die-hard (the majority will be happy with cracks for use in UAE) and will probably be willing to do some beta testing, but I think that there are a few who are more dedicated again who would be willing to spend time on more thorough testing of more games. Maybe I'm wrong!

But let me ask a slightly different question: let's say I think the workload is worth it (and I don't think it's that much extra really) and let's also say I find a group of volunteers willing to test slaves before release. What's the best place / format to run such a beta test effort? And if I build it, will anyone else come?

[Marcuz]

But let me ask a slightly different question: let's say I think the workload is worth it (and I don't think it's that much extra really) and let's also say I find a group of volunteers willing to test slaves before release. What's the best place / format to run such a beta test effort? And if I build it, will anyone else come?
that's the difficult question! :)
i think the actual medium, be it forum, portal, blog or whatever's decision comes after deciding this: will you do it for your releases only or for all the whdload writers? in the first case, you could just go for a little blog-like page with comments or even a section of the forum on zetro/KG' domain, where you start a thread in a private area with the link to the beta, betatester people try it and post comments. in this case you could actual do whatever you would like to fit your area to your taste, as the centre of the question is you.
but in the case you have a bigger scope in mind, the real problem is to convince whdload writers, who already are active elsewhere, to select your platform as a privileged one, for not to spend energies inthousand of places, AND to flock all the betatesters already active elsewhere to this place for to have their questions answered in a betterly economic timeframe.
to do this you have to:
1) do a large publicity to your collegues, (actually discuss with them, win them to a better option if that's it)
2) make your mind (you + them) for a good medium; decide if there's need for a new medium or potentiate one of those already alive with an actual betatesting area.
3) make users known in all the canals available: whdload site, slaves readmes, yahoo site, EAB, others.

after all these considerations written down, i think that this can be in the first case of little use (don't take me wrong) for people and for you, but if it could help you as a tinkering table, do it! :)
in the second case, it would be very helpful to the users community, and i say so because whdload stuff is a little fragmented imho; but i guess almost impossible to do for the consuetude breaking needs for to accomplish it.
by all means, my suggestion is do a little pet blog or separate forum in KG board for your whdload releases only

[Paul]

Trust me to register and then find out the forum will be removed soon. DOH! :banghead :lol

[killergorilla]

Yeah I must appologise for that to everyone who registered. At least I made a few quid selling all your email addresses ;)

[Kristian95]

hehehehe :)

No need for apologies KG, I am sure we all appreciate the work you're doing and I can tell you I will patiently wait for the WHDloads to become available again :)

[killergorilla]

Update:

I have finished uploading all of the installs I've (re)made thus far. These are individual games singularly installed and they currently stand at exactly 1gb.

I have also finished around 8 of the letter packs and will be uploading tonight or tomorrow most likely.

[Marcuz]

wait a sec, letter packs contains the oldest installs or all the installs so far? and are they only updated to july?

[killergorilla]

These are new letter packs, they contain every whdload install for that letter.

[mrodfr]

hello,

and where It's possible to found ??? on the whdload forum ???
I'm registered and logically see on download but nothing :(

when clicking on news, It's for moderator only ???

[killergorilla]

There's nothing available yet, I didn't say there was :D

Just be patient sire.

[Tony Landais]

good news :)

[Marcuz]

These are new letter packs, they contain every whdload install for that letter.
let me rid you as a gorilla' flea: but when you'll update the stash, as you did monthly, then the letter packs gets obsolete least you'd delete the pack on the server and udload another one. it doesn't look really economic. and since alphabethic directories with single game lha archives would be too hectic to manage, i would say that the way you did before was the best: one downloads the new bunch and deletes the old version of the same game if updated.
the best would be however said alphabetic directories and a list/link to the updated games for direct download. of course, please ignore this post if the workload is unproportionate. :agree

[killergorilla]

This is how I see it working.

I am creating brand new letter packs. #,A,B,C....Z

I'm sure you are with me so far :)

These packs will be available to all who are registered.

And as always I will then be creating monthly packs which will also be uploaded and available to all (who've registered).

I will also be hosting each game individually but I may have different permissions on these files (not sure yet). The site is after all for the packs, not for individual downloads.

I didn't mean to say that I'd upload the letter packs yet as it's likely they will change by the time I've finished creating all the installs.

What is everyone's opinion on having the games in individual letters inside the monthly archives?

for example:

WHDLOAD AUGUST 2007.zip/A/Assassin_v1.0.zip
WHDLOAD AUGUST 2007.zip/B/Blastar_v1.3.zip

Would people prefer the monthly packs in one dir or to have seperate dirs for each letter to help when unarchiving?

[killergorilla]

Oh and I'll need to upload the clrmamepro dats each month too :D

[Marcuz]

i'm for 1 dir only inside the packs, but that's because of my arrangement of the files, that goes as this:
i have the original zip files, yours and DeCreator's, safe in a storage area. i rename your monthly files with a number at the start of the file once i've unzipped it, so i know what i have/miss, like this:

Commodore Amiga WHDLoad Games July 2006 Update.zip
>
31 - Commodore Amiga WHDLoad Games July 2006 Update.zip

all the files, decreators and yours go unzipped in a huge directory, inside the installs are lha and zip files. each time i update, i check for new version in the directory. if there are new versions of games i'm interested to, i unzip the new ones in the actual alphabetic directory in my games hardisk for Winuae. then i delete the old versions.
i guess that if you would do alphabetic directories inside your zips, nothing would really change, just i would have to subdivide files. but as the huge directory where i do the check is just for that purpose, for me subdirs are unuseful.
of course that's just me.

[Methanoid]

What is everyone's opinion on having the games in individual letters inside the monthly archives?

for example:

WHDLOAD AUGUST 2007.zip/A/Assassin_v1.0.zip
WHDLOAD AUGUST 2007.zip/B/Blastar_v1.3.zip

Would people prefer the monthly packs in one dir or to have seperate dirs for each letter to help when unarchiving?

I'd prefer letter packs with monthly updates each month and come Xmas each year the letter packs are renewed (re-done) and the monthly updates start again. :cool

[keropi]

@ Methanoid :great

[Antiriad]

I second Meth's suggestion. :xmas

[killergorilla]

@Methanoid

I edited that out of my previous post actually. I thought people might find it too much hassle...

It'd certainly be a lot neater and tidier for the site and much easier for me to keep track of things.

So... in December do you propose that I simply merge any new ones into the letter packs or would you prefer me to merge and release the december pack as well just as an overlap.

[mrodfr]

@Methanoid

I edited that out of my previous post actually. I thought people might find it too much hassle...

It'd certainly be a lot neater and tidier for the site and much easier for me to keep track of things.

So... in December do you propose that I simply merge any new ones into the letter packs or would you prefer me to merge and release the december pack as well just as an overlap.

the best method is the methoad that cost you the verry limited free time consuming. :)

monthly pack like before is great (with letter pack updated when you want). If you want to do more, It's much better for all but It's better a simple pack a month than more complicated sometime IMHO :)

I personally put myself to a to z drawers on my computer (and update at the same time) and burn all on 2 CDRW (sometime).

thanks for all you made. thats verry great :)

[Methanoid]

@Methanoid

So... in December do you propose that I simply merge any new ones into the letter packs or would you prefer me to merge and release the december pack as well just as an overlap.

I propose that Jan-Nov are update pack months. Dec/Xmas is a re-release of the lot (ie no update but a re-package). Saves you doing a pack that month but you still have work and plenty of UL to do instead ;) Give you a break once a year.

TBH its lots of work and I suspect you wouldnt manage a normal pack in December when buying all my (oooops) Xmas pressies. You have bought them or ordered them from Play.com by now?? :laughing :crazy :D

[Marcuz]

i don't get a thing tough, alphabetic dirs or not? and then, you wouldn't have anymore the batches DAT-like-zed so let's say that in january you delete a november update, you would do what? ask for it or download the whole big directory again instead of the updated batch? basically the way you propose is like it was just that instead of organizing the files yourself, it gets done at the origin by KG. i prefer the other way, but it's not a big deal either

[Methanoid]

Hey, don't get stressed.. I'm easy (and grateful) however KG does it.

[HOL2001]

the best method is the methoad that cost you the verry limited free time consuming. :)

monthly pack like before is great (with letter pack updated when you want). If you want to do more, It's much better for all but It's better a simple pack a month than more complicated sometime IMHO :) [...]

I agree with that ! :)

[Marcuz]

Hey, don't get stressed.. I'm easy (and grateful) however KG does it.
stressed? no way friend :) just looking into the thing.

[killergorilla]

Right...

Here's how it's gonna be :)

Initial #-Z packs released sometime in the near future...

Then monthly packs from January-November with no sub directories (i.e. no #-Z folders)

Dats for each letter updated each month and available to download by all.
(clrmamepro only as romcenter doesn't support subdirs in zips).

This seems to be the most sensible way of doing things.

It should never be a problem unarchiving all of the zips to the same directory as no single game shares the same directory name as another. This never used to be the case (e.g. MonkeyIsland in Fr or En would both install as "MonkeyIsland", JamesPond2 AGA and OCS would both install as "JamesPond2").

If anyone has anything to add or anything that they want to suggest I am still open to criticism/suggestions.

[Marcuz]

you mean that every game will be better labelled? thats great! some way to add the version of the release too it would be useful: the zips already had it, but not the directories.
like MonkeyIsland_ECS_FR_1.02 ? what do you think? it's ugly to see it in your game directory, but it's useful for updates. you can as well rename the file upon moving it where you use it.

last question. the big packs of what already has been done, will contain everything whdload? so it would be safe to delete all the old packs from DeCreator and KG?

[killergorilla]

It will indeed by safe to delete all of the old packs as these will encompass all whdload games, plus a lot more AGA/OCS differences and language variations.

Don't delete the demo/magazine packs though as these are not priority so won't be touched by me until I'm all games up!

The different language versions all have their language written in the name of the folder/slave/info

Your suggestion of MonkeyIsland_ECS_FR_1.02 is not feasible as the length will be far too long for what the Amiga can handle. (Amiga ignores the icon positioning/placement of info files if the filename is longer than something like 26 letters)

The zip files themselves look very similar to what you've suggested but the folder names need to be shorter to work properly.

Example:

MonkeyIsland2Fr

or

CivilizationAGADe

They don't look all that magical but it's the best solution IMHO :)

[Marcuz]

it's very ok with me. wish you a good work building up it all! :)

[killergorilla]

Thanks mate, it's going ok actually, some of it is fun as I've never seen some of the games before but installing adventure games is EVIL. PURE EVIL.

[Kristian95]

This has a big potential of being the best christmas present for sure :) :)

[Bloodwych]

KG, you know how much you are loved for making sure we get our meal of WHDload goodness.

After all, someone has to make sure all that hard work put in by the WHDload team gets noticed and more importantly used on Amiga's throughout the world. You are that someone and I thank you and the WHDload team for such fantastich devotion.

I'm really surprised that you are re-arching and re-naming all the WHDload collection, because it's a big job! Especially if you're making newicons out of HOL screenshots too!

So, are you still making newicons for the packs? If not I don't blame you, as that would slow you down quite a bit!

I actually have the old WHDload collection (zip/lzx mix) and placed them into separate directories based on their type: AGA/ECS-OCS/IPF/Foreign/CDTV/CD32 etc, so I sorted them slightly different to most peeps here. I found this made things easier when I wanted to choose a version of a particular game to install (eg IPF, AGA or normal).

The new packs do sound like an improvement, so I may burn these off and start fresh from your new site. Problem is, if everyone is thinking the same, the server is going to have a crazy time keeping up with everyone trying to grab 3GB+ at once!

Zetro, we are damn lucky to have you on EAB and your slick "unlimited" hosting. Again, a big thanks to you too!

[Zetr0]

@bloodwych

In honesty I have been looking for a way to contribute, and in this small way I have :). its an honour to Host KG's WHD project and if there is anyway I can help, KG know's all he has to do is ask.. (for that wich you are thinking please see Fred the Duck)

KG's WHD project means a lot to a lot of people, I am just glad that I can do a small part and help KG :)

the server is going to have a crazy time keeping up with everyone trying to grab 3GB+ at once!

from what my supplier states it should not have any trouble... I long to see. :D

[girv]

Especially if you're making newicons out of HOL screenshots too!

Is that what you're doing KG? If so, it should be possible to automate it I think. Bit of arexx, coupla utils, bish bash bosh - job done :)

[Bloodwych]

Is that what you're doing KG? If so, it should be possible to automate it I think. Bit of arexx, coupla utils, bish bash bosh - job done :)

KG mentioned it back here:

http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=230845&postcount=10

Not sure if he still is though, as it would be an arduous and long task without an auto-script. The whole reason behind this is Newicons are universally compatible with all workbench versions, while many game icons currently available are in 3.5+ format only. Frog has made a few excellent Newicons but we need more!

[Anubis]

The page cannot be found



:confused

Am I missing something? :blased

[MageMaster]

Any updates on the new whdload site gone 404 ?

[Zetr0]

indeed, I have no idea why, but the forum dont exist.. i will look into it later...

[Ultron]

Oh lord, the Ipswich sk got to it!

[Hungry Horace]

Oh lord, the Ipswich sk got to it!

never such a thing as "too soon" huh? ;)


and what are you implying about the site??

[killergorilla]

The forum doesn't exist because I pulled it down :)

I've set up a new one but don't want to get too many people regged as it's still in a state of 'unreadyness'.

Might have to alter my release plans, I still plan on releasing some downloads before christmas but its not going to be full packs.

Probably gonna release #-Z packs with all the currently done files and then just add whatever I do over the coming months to the monthly packs.

If anyone thinks this is a crap idea let me know :)

[Macca]

It may cause you bandwidth problems as everyone will be downloading say A for example because they want the updated files in that and every month as you update the pack you will have people re-downloading the lot again.

Monthly packs are probably the best way forward in my opinion.



M.

[killergorilla]

I will still be releasing monthly packs...

Not sure where you're heading with your comments...

But just to clarify :)

Gonna release #-Z packs for Xmas. (these will not contain every whdload game as I've not finished em yet :))

Every month I will release a monthly pack with the newly released installs from the whdload website, plus any games that I've installed that weren't in the original #-Z packs...

That maketh sense?

[Zetr0]

@KG
if theres anyway i can help my friend, let me know. :)

@Macca
Hosting has unlimmited bandwidth, *its designed for content streaming*, company asssures me that there will be no problems with high demand :)

thusly just pefect for KG :)

[killergorilla]

You are doing more than enough :)

(except coming on IRC - get on there from time to time :))

[Zetr0]

aye, my christmass hols are comming up, so i am sure by the end of it you will be sick of my persistant presence.... :D

[Methanoid]

KG

In order to avoid being hammered on the website bandwidth I would suggest you either Torrent it for 2 weeks before. Everyone who is keen will grab it that way and you could always hit a single set onto Usenet and that would probably reduce the bandwidth hit in total by 50% or more

[Zetr0]

in truth, I think that offering both might be a good idea Methanoid, lets hope that KG gets the time he need to get it up and running.

[Methanoid]

But something OUGHT to be in place to avoid the site getting closed on Day One cos of being overcome by continual demands for DLs.

Could I also suggest that KG offers a CMPro DAT for download that has all the WHDLoads covered and updates that as each pack comes out?

[killergorilla]

yep I'll have dats :)

[Methanoid]

Good man. I'll look forward to WH-D-Day then!

[aldo]

cmon KG get your finger out :laughing
just kidding mate, looking forward to all the whdload goodies:great

[killergorilla]

/me bans aldo's IP

[Zetr0]

@KG
LMAO!!!!! Funny!!!

@Methanoid

I have been assured by my Hosting company that the site will have no difficulty reaching any traffic demand. There is no limmit on bandwidth or traffic its (unlimmited & unmetered)

its a smarty slick package that is generaly used for streaming content :D

I hope that belays fears.

[astuermer]

Hmm, for me the site doesn't work :(

[DamienD]

I dont think it's up and ready as yet astuermer ;)

Patience young Jedi... :lol

[astuermer]

I dont think it's up and ready as yet astuermer ;)

Patience young Jedi... :lol

Ah damn... " The site currently has nothing at all on it just some locked forums" I shall read before write *chch*

[Anubis]

That maketh sense?

No, it's not making any sense. :nuts :p

Joke aside, I was hopping that you will have letter packs (#-z) updated yearly. So at the end of next year we have new #-z which includes all old ones with latest monthly versions.

Also I assume that all packs will have new icons as default and that naming will be the same. (for images vs. files and aga vs esc/ocs...)

[killergorilla]

My god you people are hard work! :D :D :D :D

Here it is again:

This month I will release #-Z packs.

This will be the same every december.

This month however, the #-Z packs are not complete i.e. they do not contain every whdload game installed. They do however contain a good chunk of them.

Next month I will release the January pack. The January pack will contain any games that had installs released in January.

I will still continue to install games that were not in the #-Z packs, and the ones I do in January will go in the January pack, the ones I do in February will be in the February pack... and so on.

This will continue until I have caught up with the monthly releases on the WHDLoad page.

Next year I will still release a December pack, but everything in every previous pack will be rebuilt into the #-Z packs.

Savy?

[billy]

But something OUGHT to be in place to avoid the site getting closed on Day One cos of being overcome by continual demands for DLs.

Could I also suggest that KG offers a CMPro DAT for download that has all the WHDLoads covered and updates that as each pack comes out?

KG

If nothing better comes along, any opositon to seeding on this (http://full.pleasuredome.org.uk/)site?

[Marcuz]

i don't agree on pleasuredome, it's a site that requires 1:1 downloading:seeding wich, even if you leave stuff to be downloaded for months is almost impossible, because if you have not already a big archive on your pc not downloaded from there, it's really unlikely that people will ever need to get from your seeds, as the stuff is already well spread around.
it's more difficult to explain than to test yourself: download a popular big file from there (one that gets updated every month) then leave it there in seed. the same goes with the little files which purpose is to build up yiur ratio... wait and hope style. you got some year to spend for that?
i don't mean to debate the policy of that site, they do what's good for them, no problem. but i don't think it is well suited for this project
if you would go that line, at leat the archives should be free downloads ( = not counting for the share ratio) and that should need you to discuss it with the site owners

[killergorilla]

People are more than welcome to seed on pleasuredome but I personally am not a member and won't be joining anytime soon.

If I do ever decide to torrent it, I'll probably put in on underground gamer instead.

[Hungry Horace]

i always think it's better to keep it on a public tracker myslef too.

if it's of interest, i uploaded my amiga-online torrent via demonoid in april, and it's still being seeded. i only ever seem to seed it when someone needs (asks for) me to, in order to speed thei download.

if it's tracked elsewhere to demonoid though, i'll still upload the torrent to their searches there... seems to have a few amiga bods over there.


KG: could you please explain how you are doing the releases again... :banghead :lol


:HH runs:

[woody57]

All this talk of trackers,bandwidth,Usenet pay services.....essentialy these are files created for free...

Poor KG is getting hassled because he chooses to package them together in a format that makes it easier for EVERYONE to download from one place.

Why don't those of you who have Usenet or tracker site membership just write a promise in thread that EVERY TIME a new pack is released...you will be the prime seeder/distributor for it on your chosen portal ?

This way KG & Co can be left to get on with each months distribution ..knowing that it's distribution outside of the primary site release is..


FULLY COVERED :agree

[killergorilla]

Ah the godfather is here!

Hi Woodstuff!

Good idea, someone else torrent it, I can't be arsed :)

[Zetr0]

@KG
:laughing :lol :laughing

@Woody

Long time no post, good to see you...

[Marcuz]

but... but... why now KG is no more to be treated as a slave!? me sad...

:laughing

[woody57]

but... but... why now KG is no more to be treated as a slave!? me sad...

:laughing


As useual Marco you forget you STILL owe me an E-mail address...for your last contract delivery ...at this time of year you can't be using KG as a Gopher TOO!

He is already buzy with his nightime "extra job" supervising Kombat Santa's :xmas riendeer...who esle can he trust ?? ;)

[Hungry Horace]

Poor KG is getting hassled because he chooses to package them together in a format that makes it easier for EVERYONE to download from one place.

a bit harsh woody... i would hardly call "a discussion on the matter" a case of "getting hassled"... :(

Why don't those of you who have Usenet or tracker site membership just write a promise in thread that EVERY TIME a new pack is released...you will be the prime seeder/distributor for it on your chosen portal ?

regardless of any torrent, i always share KGs packs on ed2k (and still do atm) - i was simply making the point that on a public tracker, the torrent can be spread across loads of torrentsites, without people worrying about 1:1 seeds and stuff (as was mentioned re: pleasuredome)

Good idea, someone else torrent it, I can't be arsed

fair enough mate, if you give me an idea of the total size, i could probably do the torrent for you, although my upload rate sucks, so it may take a -long- time to get started!

but... but... why now KG is no more to be treated as a slave!? me sad...

he IS! he's a WHD slave... :laughing :rolleyes


... taxi!!

[Marcuz]

As useual Marco you forget you STILL owe me an E-mail address...for your last contract delivery
do i? pm in 30 seconds my good sir :)

[Methanoid]

All this talk of trackers,bandwidth,Usenet pay services.....essentialy these are files created for free...

Poor KG is getting hassled because he chooses to package them together in a format that makes it easier for EVERYONE to download from one place.


Woody, in the past I've been in total agreement with you but on this I think you've missed the point. Well certainly mine. All I asked was that was consideration given to other methods that might avoid the site being hammered for bandwidth. But since Zetro says its OK then I am happy to butt out.

HOWEVER the suggestion was purely to benefit KG (and Zetro's bills) not out of ANY other motivation.

AND NO HARRASSMENT was made. You're wrong there! :bash

[woody57]

Of course I am wrong methanoid :D

The circulation of WHDload files has NOTHING to do with me anymore

Also even though I have been given moderator status does not mean I am specialist mod of this area

Like all of you in this thread I state an opinion....while I may not have used formal addressing to make that clear, I am most happy to do so now.

Over the last few years despite setbacks it has been KG alone that has been the one taking the time to make the releases into packs for eazy distribution...while I made a POOR job of outlining it more clearly I am of the opinion that those who actually do use other sharing portals could ....if they choose too....make an offer in thread to be the regular conduit for that method.

There were NO direct written shots at individuals who had suguested one thing or another...but casting your mind back across the last few years of threads written about WHDload monthly packs ..most contained in this thread have been suguested before.

Equally you are right to be concerned over an enterprise with ANY server that claims it gives it's customers UNLIMTED TRANSFER BANDWIDTH...as by my experience as well these sorts of offers end up with a download speed average across most of the day as low as dialup !..

Maybe not for a dozen or so conections at a time...or for small sized forums but once a file of any real size over 5mb is concerned then "on go the brakes"

This is also true even of sites with "Adult content" that stream short video clips..so that as a promise is not watertight...the size of each streamed file means that even in these cases they are seldom larger than 2mb

So I am NOT dismissing the suguestion of using other methods to ensure their distribution....just asking for members to promise to do so :great

[bippym]

Well i'll certainly seed all these via torrents if Zetr0 and KG want me to.

I'll up them to underground gamer and anyone who is a member there can get them, they'll be well received and well seeded :D

[Marcuz]

i'm a member in almost all the disreputed and unfamed most sultry places around the internet. i did not want to, but it seems that people signs me up to their silly cabalas out of misplaced respect to me... the worst of all is the horrible EAB, when, oh when i have ever signed up to it?

[Anubis]

As useual Marco you forget you STILL owe me an E-mail address...for your last contract delivery ...at this time of year you can't be using KG as a Gopher TOO!

He is already buzy with his nightime "extra job" supervising Kombat Santa's :xmas riendeer...who esle can he trust ?? ;)

Has anyone seen that swede lately?

I was under impression that KS trust only his lover Fred to take 'good' care of... :D him. :laughing

[woody57]

Although we both are going VERY off topic Anubis { where else would we go with Kombat Santa :xmas ? } :D

I last saw him proping up the bad in Dizzy's Amiga board...rumour has it he has recently stared in a commercial & needs to keep a low profile..:blased

I am suprised you havent seen it ..or at least published it on this board :agree


nb] {photo's removed as contained PG content }

[bippym]

Let's get back on topic boys and leave KS out of Amiga Scene threads.. he's too much of a biatch to be anywhere but OT :p

[killergorilla]

I am really drunk,

[Anubis]

Thx woody, I was worried that he (KS) will not be able to give presents to bippym. Can you imagine santa bringin' all that viagra... :cheese

Now back on the topic. KG - thanks for explanation. :)

[Anubis]

tick-tack, tick-tack, tick-tack...

[mrodfr]

hello,

some news about the project ????

[Chain]

DrunkenGorilla still sleeps, let him rest after n.y. party :D

[Kristian95]

KillerGorilla could you please give us a short update as to how things are proceeding with the new site ?? :)

Cheers mate!!

[Dizzy]

He is testing food for the O.T. Corp. :laughing

[killergorilla]

http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=293808&postcount=14

:D

[Kristian95]

Sounds great!! Thanks for the update KG :) :) :)

[Methanoid]

http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=293808&postcount=14

:D

Ah thanks... can I put a polite request in for a CLRMamePro dat at the same time. That makes it easy to manage. I think I have about 3 of every install at home due to having LHA, LZX and ZIPs plus a load that were before yours and DeCreators time... I want to make sure I have the proper "set" before I zap the others... HD straining to capacity!! :laughing

[killergorilla]

Yeah no probs, it was all part of the original plan :)

[Methanoid]

OOOOh getting excited now....:lol

[killergorilla]

You won't want to delete all of your old stuff because my update this month won't contain every whdload game :)

Ah thanks... can I put a polite request in for a CLRMamePro dat at the same time. That makes it easy to manage. I think I have about 3 of every install at home due to having LHA, LZX and ZIPs plus a load that were before yours and DeCreators time... I want to make sure I have the proper "set" before I zap the others... HD straining to capacity!! :laughing

[Methanoid]

wot about the dat tho?

[killergorilla]

What about it?

[Zetr0]

dat is a bit like dis methanoid :laughing :lol :laughing

[killergorilla]

just like dat.

[Marcuz]

drats!

[bippym]

Is this thread in off-topic?

No didn't think so, get back on topic or i'll either delete the shite or move it to off-topic!

[P-J]

Is this thread in off-topic?

What kind of moderator doesn't know which forum the thread is in?

*ducks*

:)

[Methanoid]

What about it?

Will it be a DAT containing all the WHDload titles not just those released in this pack?

[killergorilla]

Well it'll be a fresh dat, with only the new ones in it.

Besides, some of the older files are .lzx which clrmamepro can't see inside of :)

[Marcuz]

Well it'll be a fresh dat, with only the new ones in it.

Besides, some of the older files are .lzx which clrmamepro can't see inside of :)
lzx are about an half of the whole whdloa directory here, so yeah, either we decompress them all, zip them and make a dat... considering there are many obsolete releases in that number, it's better just the reduced dat for the new files

[Kurtz]

lzx are about an half of the whole whdloa directory here, so yeah, either we decompress them all, zip them and make a dat... considering there are many obsolete releases in that number, it's better just the reduced dat for the new files
...which would make the old lzx archives obsolete for sure, or am I missing something?

[killergorilla]

Well not 'obselete' as such because if you want to play the games not in the new dat, you either wait for me, use the lzx or install em yourself :)

Just move em out of the dir your keep your files organised using the dat.

[Marcuz]

...which would make the old lzx archives obsolete for sure, or am I missing something?
i said there are obsoletes in the number of lzx, not that all of them are. many are however, as new slaves have been written, released and zipped of many games that were archived as lzx before.

[Methanoid]

Ah, is there a simple batch way on a PC you can unLZX them and re-zip them keeping same structure and doing the lot in ONE hit (ie set it running and Walk away) ??? Even better if it preserved file name (ie TITLE.LZX becomes TITLE.ZIP) ???

Yeah I know.. hopeful! ;)

[killergorilla]

Well there's probably an easy enough way to do it on an Amiga (or in WinUAE).

I won't be doing this or adding these to my dat though as the naming structure wouldn't be right, it'd be old files... etc etc.

[MageMaster]

Ah, is there a simple batch way on a PC you can unLZX them and re-zip them keeping same structure and doing the lot in ONE hit (ie set it running and Walk away) ??? Even better if it preserved file name (ie TITLE.LZX becomes TITLE.ZIP) ???

Yeah I know.. hopeful! ;)


This bat could possibly do what you want on windows
create a go.bat in the folder or in your path


unlzx -x %1


and execute from the command line like


for %a in (*.lzx) do go.bat %a


you will need to make sure of the proper syntax of the unlzx.exe program of course. The unlzx.exe I used at the time only had an extract option with nothing about extracting to a folder. Most of the lzx files I had were already packed with a folder so I didnt worry about it. Only other thing I had a problem with on windows was the filesystem didnt like some filenames.

Hope this helps.
MageMaster

PS: This doe's not rezip the files, but you can use ClrMamePro to rebuild from the folder using the supplied dat file.

PSS: if you have a unlzx that can extract to a folder you can add "md %1" without quites to the beginning of the go.bat file and add the appropriate syntax to extraxt to a folder and add %1 again to the unlzx command line.

PSSS: Noting that if you dont extract to a folder you can just use


for %a in (*.lzx) do unlzx.exe -x %a


Clear as Mud?

[killergorilla]

I said you can do it on an amiga because (like I've said hundreds of times before) not all of the whdload installed games have filenames that are compatible with Windows. So you'd have to do it within WinUAE or an Amiga environment to guarantee you aren't breaking them.

[Mad-Matt]

Im finding this out the hard way. maybe i should have used a hardfile from the start, but at the time a directory was easiest way to make a dvd of amiga files from windows side.

if i try to transfer all my games across to hardfile or even after burned to dvd, some games get broken. batman the movie comes to mind, with its odd file names. i want a disk image version again ;).

ill try making an iso with makecd again within winuae, but i had issues last time i tried. the programe crumbled under the sheer ammount of game files (all direct access folders, no lha/lhz arcs), infact nero is the same, just doies under the load . atm i use UltraISO, but its not perfect due to odd breaking game.

My Amiga only has a 4 gig hd and so with all the games and need for greating iso images...it got too much for my poor ami, so moved everything over to winuae.

[Olecranon]

Whats the link for the site? I tried the one on the first page of this thread but I get an error. Or is the site down until all uploads are finished?

Thanks!

[killergorilla]

the site isn't up at the moment, it will be soon :)

[Ultron]

OOOOh getting excited now....:lol

:: Slowly backs away from the thread :: :help

[Methanoid]

:: Slowly backs away from the thread :: :help

Just wait till your OLD you whippersnapper!

[killergorilla]

See here for the new link:

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=27662

[ADDiCT]

Hey, this is my first post here, hope i don't sound too smart-assed... :) I've been reading this board for a while now, and finally decided to post, regarding the "WHDLoad-Pack/Datfile"-topic.

Are you guys aware of these dats (http://armaxweb.free.fr/)? In the past, they always seemed to be in sync with KG's packs, and the naming scheme is very advanced.

I have no idea how the new packs will look like filename-wise, or how the workflow is to produce the packs. But it might be interesting for KG to get in touch with the guy doing these dats - maybe there are ways to distribute workload (i presume it's hard work keeping up to date with the WHDload releases, and preparing the packs).


Anyway, looking forward to the new site!

[killergorilla]

Hi mate, yeah I saw the dats quite a while back, I think Duke told me of their whereabouts.

The idea of updating my site/the packs wasn't to get a dat going, that is just a nice side effect of moving to the zip format. I was getting fed up of the lack of consistency in the packs and felt that an overhaul was the best way to go.

The old packs still exhist 'out there' so people are more than welcome to still use the old installs, I'd just rather have a consistent set of files setup the way I like with all of the games I like. I've pretty much covered all the games I really enjoy playing and I will still be releasing monthly packs based on a few things:
1 - Monthly updates on www.whdload.de
2 - Replacement, if any errors are found
3 - Requests in a request thread I plan on settting up once the dats are available.

I don't find it a chore, in fact I quite enjoy doing it (can't say this 100% of the time but hey, who can?)

I'd rather continue as I am, taking in any feedback & constructive criticism anyone has along the way :)

EDIT: Oh, and hello and welcome to EAB :) Hope you stick around (we need more whdload fans, the adf whores are starting to gather in numbers)

[keropi]

adf whores, emu whores. :lol

[Kristian95]

Hi again KG :)

I took a look at your new site, I figured I could register while waiting for the uploads.
Alas, I only get the "patience, uploading" message...
Any news on ETA of the site ??

[killergorilla]

Hi Kristian, we're just waiting to here back from the sys admins.

Zetr0 says it should be in the next couple of days so here's hoping :)

If it isn't up before the weekend I'm going to host the files as regular downloads and put up with the leeching whores ;)

[gizmomelb]

yes, definately needs more whores :)

[Kristian95]

Hi Kristian, we're just waiting to here back from the sys admins.

Zetr0 says it should be in the next couple of days so here's hoping :)

If it isn't up before the weekend I'm going to host the files as regular downloads and put up with the leeching whores ;)

Sounds great :) It's appreciated a lot! :) Hope I don't sound like an impatient b*****d :lol :lol

[killergorilla]

don't worry, I'm as impatient as you.

Zetr0 is lucky I haven't sent him 80 pms this week :)

[Zetr0]

@KG
LMAO!!!

its only been 79 pm's this week instead LOL!!

sorry guys i feel pretty bad, I had to prioritise Uni these last few weeks, I have an oral presentation on Combinatorial science in micro-biology.

My hosting got back to me yesterday, unfortunately unless i change to a linux hosting there is no-way to change the underlying config of the wintel server.

When i get more time i will contact the hoster and have them transfer cgi/php hosting over to a linux server...

sorry for holding this project up guys...

[Kristian95]

No worries Zetr0 :) Hope your presentation goes well :)

[Bamiga2002]

...I have an oral presentation on Combinatorial science in micro-biology.Sounds pretty g@y, could you describe "oral presentation" for us in more detail please ;)? Fred...? :D

[killergorilla]

Hehe. He would explain but he has his mouth full. ;)

Alright then... if the hosting is going to be held up, I'll rehost my old site with the new files on it. It's a piece of piss, should have time to make the necessary changes on saturday morn/sunday day.

[killergorilla]

As promised here is a familiar looking site, slightly updated for you.

http://www.guildserver.co.uk/kgwhd/temp.html

Please be gentle :)

[Graham Humphrey]

Top work KG!

[Bamiga2002]

As promised here is a familiar looking site, slightly updated for you.

http://www.guildserver.co.uk/kgwhd/temp.html

Please be gentle :)Are those packs the NEW A-Z WHDLoad packs or the old ones?

[killergorilla]

Of course the new ones!

Take a look at the filenames.

[AMIGAZ]

Of course the new ones!

Take a look at the filenames.

Whoo-hoooo :)

Hope you get enough bandwidth, mr. killer-chimp :p

[AMIGAZ]

Damn...seems like the whole Amiga gaming community is leeching the site now, I'm getting like 20k/s max :blased

[killergorilla]

And I can't keep an eye on who's being a whore :)

Just you guys wait.

[mrodfr]

hello,

thanks for the work.

when seing the news, I just imagine you give the access for august to january month packs.

you will made august to january month packs later or one day or the users must take all to be up to date (and monthly pack in the futur) ???

sorry if has been discuted before. good week end.

[killergorilla]

there are no august to january packs.

This has been discussed quite a bit in previous threads :)

[Mad-Matt]

thats a shame, an aug to jan pack would have been handy as i just need 8-9 games ;) what is the util called that will allow opening the zip online and just downloading wanted files ? ive seen it mentioned but damned if i remember where what its called.

I have to say the download speed of the packs is impressive (maxes my connection 450 kB/s). I dont want to leech on your bandwidth however but rarther just select the few files if thats possible.

[bornemannen]

Excellent work KG, you truly rock. :bowdown

Just to prove how much greater you are than the rest of us I suggest that you apply for citizenship and nobility in the Republic of Ladonia: http://www.ladonia.net/index.html :D

[Bamiga2002]

Of course the new ones!

Take a look at the filenames.Groovy! :D thanks!

[Kristian95]

Thanks KG :) Already been there leeching my a** off :P

[Olecranon]

Thanks KG :) Already been there leeching my a** off :P

Same here! Much easier than the old days with a USR 14.4K HST :laughing

[mrodfr]

hello,

a verry big thanks, KG, for this long awaited and big update for whdload games. thanks for our great works underground for maintaining the months packs for our great pleasure for all. thanks, thanks, thanks !!!!! :-)

we are all updated untill end of january. all now IMHO could wait without stress after new site running.

[cane]

Great work, already downloaded what I was missing.
Biiiiiig thanks KG :bowdown

[killergorilla]

hello,

a verry big thanks, KG, for this long awaited and big update for whdload games. thanks for our great works underground for maintaining the months packs for our great pleasure for all. thanks, thanks, thanks !!!!! :-)

we are all updated untill end of january. all now IMHO could wait without stress after new site running.

hehe, thanks for the many thanks. Thanks, thanks, thanks :)

The february pack is looking quite small at the moment, but we'll see!

[HOL2001]

I leeched them all ! Many thanks !!!!!! :bowdown

[another_two]

Thanks KillerGorilla for all your work!

Now questions:
1. Is there anything like Armax dats for the new collection?
2. Isn't there really any way to get updates since August 2006? The last time I looked at the whole WHDLoad collection it was like 3GB (with spearate zips for different versions). Downloading it again (be it only 1GB with no separated versions), just to get some 10's of megabytes seems pretty useless...?

a_t

[aldo]

Thanks from me too :great

[killergorilla]

Thanks KillerGorilla for all your work!

Now questions:
1. Is there anything like Armax dats for the new collection?
2. Isn't there really any way to get updates since August 2006? The last time I looked at the whole WHDLoad collection it was like 3GB (with spearate zips for different versions). Downloading it again (be it only 1GB with no separated versions), just to get some 10's of megabytes seems pretty useless...?

a_t

1. At the end of the month there will be dats for the majority of files. Not all of the files can be successfully added to the dats due to incompatibilities with the amiga filenames.

2. Nothing in the new packs was in ANY of the old packs so it'd be pointless. I installed everything again from scratch so I could guarantee the consistency across every game (filename/slavename etc.) So the new packs ARE effectively the updates from August onwards.