Amiga software development
 

Quick question from somebody completely new to this Amiga thing:

Is it just me or are quite a few of the people writing Amiga software a little unfriendly when it comes to the issue of software registration/donations?

I'm noticing quite a few seem to take a "pay up now or I'll stop working on the program and then you'll be screwed" stance which is surprising coming from a BSD/Linux background where it leans more towards "if you like my program, feel free to send me a little beer money to show your appreciation".

I don't thing it's wrong to expect money for your work or anything like that but is this just the way it is with the Amiga or am I missing something?

Firstly, welcome to EAB :)

Secondly, I have no idea really, I only use WHDLoad which doesn't force you to register and the people who work behind it are awesome.

You have any examples?

Oops, the WHDLoad site was what got me noticing it in the first place. From the registration page:

"If nobody registers I will do nothing more for WHDLoad - it is that simple."

I'm sure they're great people and as I said I'm totally new to the Amiga so I'm not exactly in a position to comment. I just expected more of a Linux style development system, you know, all nice and open so everyone can help keep the machines alive and running.

Well don't be put off by that :)

Maybe that line could be changed to something more friendly!

Don't worry though WHDLoad really is a superb piece of software and I heartily recommend you do register if you find you like it. It can be used without registering with very few restrictions.

If you do decide to get whdload up and running within workbench you might want to check out my site for some game downloads.
http://guildserver.co.uk/kgwhd/

Yeah, I'll register a copy 'cos it looks like a useful bit of software.

Monkey Island is wearing my floppy drive out and it's a damn nuisance trying to use a mouse, change disks and drink beer at the same time.

Sounds exactly like you need whdload then :)

Always a prob with the beer and the mouse and the drive and stuff ;)

Get yourself an avatar too, I'm crap at remembering names.

There we go.

Does WHDLoad suck up the Amiga's precious memory or is it usually not a problem? You forget how small 2MB actually is (A1200HD).

Strange avatar you have there, but memorable :)

WHDLoad doesn't use any memory until you load a game. A lot of the games won't be able to run with 2MB, especially the multidisk games.

WHDLoad needs the RAM because it kills the operating system, loads the entire game into RAM and plays it from there. Then when you quit the game it restores the OS as it was before. Pretty clever stuff, but you really need a RAM upgrade to make the most of it.

It's a Gyroid statue from Animal Crossing on the Nintendo but to be honest I think it looks more like a novelty...erm...anyway...

Looks like I need to keep trying to get hold of an accelerator off eBay then. Cheers for the advice.

:lol

yep, your avater does look a tad... erm... yeah! Especially with the "reservoir tip".

Yeah accelerator's are the way to go, I'd pick up a blizzard 030 if you can. With 32/16mb of RAM if possible.

How big's your HD?

Ha, "reservoir tip", genius.

Been trying to get an 030 with a nice chunk of RAM but I keep missing out, last one I bid on went for £150 in the end (!). I've seen 'em go for less so I'll have to keep looking.

HDD is about 200MB so I'm guessing I'll be alright for a bit.

Ah ok, I was thinking it might be one of the amazing 20MB ones you used to get :)

200mb should do you for a while, I think I still have my 214mb drive sitting somewhere with a load of old whdload games on it.

Trouble is once I started doing the packs it ran out pretty quickly :)

200 meg wont last long once you start installing... it does get a bit addictive - I'm up to around 800 meg of games and I'm sure there are many more people on EAB will a lot more than this...

Yeah it soon goes once you get your teeth into it.

If I didn't have beneath a steel sky and t-zer0 installed on my drive I'd probably be around 2gb I think.

3 gb ? lol

4gb ! ;)

Does the Amiga have any tools for disk checking then? In which case how long does it take to check 3GB of files on an A1200 for example? Wouldn't the disk have gone rusty and seized up by the time it finished?

ofcourse not! I used Quarterback tools in the past..

But now I use SFS filesystem, never had any problems really..

Hi tootoid,
A warm welcome to EAB.
Someone (not me) on a.org is selling a Blizzard IV for €100 --> Link