How did you get games in the glory days?

[TCD]

I will not buy this floppy, it is scratched!

[killergorilla]

Originally Posted by T_hairy_bootson

FA-18 Interceptor didnt work on your bbc micro floppy licker.

No but it worked on my glorious Amiga, using the glorious codewheel, which you pirate scum will have no idea about.

Think about Bob Dinnerman!?! How would he give his kids dinner, man?

[seuden]

Originally Posted by killergorilla

I used to lick the floppy drive clean with my tongue.

You scwatcht my seedee, you pwicked itup in bwoard daylaight n you scwatcht it!!

[Paul_s]

I bought mine from a shop...

[cosmicfrog]

Lol

was part of a nice big ring of ppl here in stoke on trent

first off the club was at the YMCA on monday nights till we out grew that , then moved to chell, the sound of 10 - 20 machines going boing is a happy memory from the past.
but we were warned on many occasions not to copy stuff

Those were happy days in the 90`s waitin for ya mates to turn up so ya could go to the club, even more so for me as I shared my A500 with a friend as we could`t afford to buy one each so he had it one week and I had it the next, worked out quite well till we both got A1200`s

[DH]

@Paul_s
SwapShop per chance

[Dizzy]

we got a nice second hand shop Where I bought a lot of cheap amiga games. Bought some games from some english companies too (found in the amiga magazines)

I also had one of those "subscriptions" where a friend & I got 150 disks pr month with all kinds of amiga software mostly games...

[zipper]

I bought everything from British shops! Got no cracks until I was given a friends A500 with loads of copied disks, I counted some 20 different virii from them...

[waal]

I had used to go to Boulevard Voltaire in Paris in the beginning of the 90's, a famous shopping street. It's still worth visiting today for imports, retro and modded consoles.
At the time of 16-bits computers, you could meet there many members of the crack scene (Paranoimia, MAD/Paradox, Angels, Quartex etc.) , especially original suppliers (and also prominent journalists...). One of these original suppliers is still part of my good friends and he was the one who also had a modem ! Nice time...
I bought some originals, though. I remember two of them: Drakkhen and Midwinter.

[Paul_s]

Originally Posted by DemonHellraiser

@Paul_s
SwapShop per chance

Yeah, it was called Fairlight


I did have loads of originals... I did have a few copies but I got those off me mates every Friday... always had a new batch for me to try... gawd I miss those days Friday nights was always amiga night for me and 2 chummies

[DH]

Yeah! Those days are long gone It was a different way of life, those were the days where you met real people 'n' not just some name and avatar on some forum Mind, I know more people today regarding the Amiga than I did all those years ago

[BrooksterMax]

Ha, some great stuff there, love the YMCA thing.

I just remembered when I moved up north after wales that I got my games second hand from the market in Northwich. These were original games but very good prices, I remember that it was harder for me to get "copies" as my friends had SNESes etc. I think I had to live off the remains from my early days!

I also remember X-Copy very much for formatting blank disks for saves - honest! Good times

[illy5603]

1) I worked at a software store (Software Etc)
2) See signature

The funny thing is I never had time to play any of them running a BBS.

[petran]

Originally Posted by killergorilla

You all killed the Amiga!

I hope you guys feel guilty!

You're the reason CDXL isn't used in DVD players!

During that time law regarding software copyright was not that well defined. And even computer shops took part in copying games. Same occured with music and vhs.

Eg in 1990 in the US:

A “computer program” is a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result. {FN10: Final Report of the National Commission on the New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU Rep.), ISBN 0-8444-0312-1 (1978) at 12}
It also recommended that Section 117 be replaced with:
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement for the rightful possessor of a copy of a computer program to make or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer program provided:
(1) that such a new copy or adaptation is created as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner, or
(2) that such new copy or adaptation is for archival purposes only and that all archival copies are destroyed in the event that continued possession of the computer program should cease to be rightful.
Any exact copies prepared in accordance with the provisions of this section may be leased, sold, or otherwise transferred, along with the copy from which such copies were prepared, only as part of the lease, sale, or other transfer of all rights in the program. Adaptations so prepared may be transferred only with the authorization of the copyright owner. {FN11: CONTU Rep. at 12}

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by killergorilla

No but it worked on my glorious Amiga, using the glorious codewheel, which you pirate scum will have no idea about.

Think about Bob Dinnerman!?! How would he give his kids dinner, man?

You dick! I actually laughed quite hard over that one, and now have to wipe spaghetti bolognaise from the laptop!

[DamienD]

I used to swap games at school, get them from my father's friend and also from a guy who used to download via various BBS.

I still can't believe that another member here; -=SPY=- knew exactly the same person when I gave so little details. See these 3 posts:

http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=220477&postcount=2
http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=220856&postcount=3
http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=220899&postcount=4

It really is a small world

[Titler]

I bought my Amiga A500 late in it's life, around 1994 I think it was, when I first was living by myself; I had a Sega Master System too, so I was still in the habit of actual computer shopping due to knowing nothing about console piracy, and there were still Amiga games stores around even then... So when I saw a game I really wanted, I'd go out and buy the original, making a day of it really; a little adventure where you locate your dream, explore and imagine the potential on the way home, and finally get to plug it in and experience it yourself. I picked up Knights Of The Sky when I couldn't find Wings after travelling as far as 20 miles away on buses looking for it; and I remember buying all the Ultima games because I loved them, and loved the little maps and goodies that came with them; I remember searching magazine adverts for the incredibly obscure early Ultimas without success, and I can remember trying to buy Ultima VI twice as late as 1998 from a store in Stoke when at university... the discs were scratched, and it was second hand and missing some of the goodies, so they asked me to come back the next day when they'd have a different copy in; I genuinely wanted it, so I did... and I got home and found it was the same copy. I remember debating whether to take it back and claim the £8 (oooh £8!) back and hold on for a different, complete and working copy, or keep it for the cloth map instead. I took it back in the end, but I never did find it for the Amiga again though, having to resort to buying the Ultima Collection for PC later (no goodies, paper maps, boooo!). I guess I just enjoyed the experience of locating, and purchasing an actual boxed copy of something I'd read about and desired and could now hold in it's completest form; I bought Elite as an original in Stoke too, then spent ages writing up what I saw in it for alt.faq.elite. And Syndicate, I bought that because of the reviews. Wizkid too from Amiga Power's recommendations. And god knows how many discounted and second hand Amiga originals over the years... I've two 3 foot by 3 foot boxes and a 5 foot by 3 cardboard box with originals in still mouldering away in a cupboard somewhere now...

However the Amiga itself was second hand, and so it came with a number of originals, but also two whole disc boxes full of pirated software, and X-Copy which I didn't know what it was at first... And as all my friends in Nottingham had Amigas with similar huge levels of piracy, I very quickly got into the habit of just trading X-Copied discs with my friends for games I wouldn't normally want, or we'd play occasionally together but not otherwise, or just to fill gaps in each others lists. I purchased Sensible Soccer 1996 for instance, but pirated Goal! which we'd only crack out when we all got bored of Sensible Soccer and the one kid who was just too damn good at it. And their friends pirated games to them in turn...

By the time I went to Uni in Stoke in 1995 that stopped, because even that recently in time it wasn't that common for people to having gaming computers, or even consoles on campus, at least as a social thing, let alone Amigas... but I was already sitting on about 300 pirated games I think. So with those, second hand and the University computers that had Civ 2/Doom on them if you knew where to look, I managed to get through the degree, and 2 years on into 2001 when I finally got a gaming PC and put the Amiga away to sadly yellow and brittle with age, not forgotten but a little bashed around with the constant moves and lack of attention since. But I'd have been even less happy than I already was, much more damaged if I didn't have that huge wad of pirated games during those years too; The Amiga and the variety of games I had for it helped keep me sane, keep me entertained whilst money was short and friends were few, so I don't regret having the pirated software at all. Far from it.

And so I've come full circle again; I still buy originals when I really, really want them on PC... I guess I'm nostalgic for just that sense of adventure in going somewhere and coming home with something you can physically hold on the bus; But at the same time, I've no contrition about the enormous amount of ways it's possible to take things from the internet now either, especially as the whole world is prepared to share with you without your ever having to leave your room these days. And yup, I've downloaded emulated versions of games for the Amiga I never even purchased for the original for that matter... Piracy of piracy! But you know, I managed to dump most of my saved games from then just for nostalgia's sake, because those memories I consider MINE... and perhaps it's selfish, but when most companies try to nickle and dime and DRM you so badly these days on the PC, I don't feel too bad about hoarding things for when I may no longer be able to keep up with all the "innovations" and hardware changes.

however... now I think I've paid for that maybe twice since I got a PC :P

[tero]

I had just a few games in the glory days
My hometown were in the very north of germany and the next Shop
where Games could be bought was 20km away. (a long way with 13/14years)
we had ~50 games, 15 of them original.
later we changed hometown but the shop's were on win games then.

always people went to x86 i ask for they're Amiga stuff,
so in my case - the more people left Amiga the more i get in

Shame on me when i sold all my stuff 2003, the last i get was the AmigaOne
devStation(noone wanted to buy so i have it till today)

now i spent money to get things back

[killergorilla]

Originally Posted by petran

During that time law regarding software copyright was not that well defined. And even computer shops took part in copying games. Same occured with music and vhs.

Eg in 1990 in the US:

A “computer program” is a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result. {FN10: Final Report of the National Commission on the New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU Rep.), ISBN 0-8444-0312-1 (1978) at 12}
It also recommended that Section 117 be replaced with:
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement for the rightful possessor of a copy of a computer program to make or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer program provided:
(1) that such a new copy or adaptation is created as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner, or
(2) that such new copy or adaptation is for archival purposes only and that all archival copies are destroyed in the event that continued possession of the computer program should cease to be rightful.
Any exact copies prepared in accordance with the provisions of this section may be leased, sold, or otherwise transferred, along with the copy from which such copies were prepared, only as part of the lease, sale, or other transfer of all rights in the program. Adaptations so prepared may be transferred only with the authorization of the copyright owner. {FN11: CONTU Rep. at 12}

Pirate.

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

You dick! I actually laughed quite hard over that one, and now have to wipe spaghetti bolognaise from the laptop!

Hurrah Glad to be of service

[rare_j]

Me and my brother saved up and bought them.
About 60 origianls, all in boxes with manuals still in a cupboard somewhere at my parents.

I had a couple of cracks off a mate. Rick Dangerous, Robocod, and Turrican 2. Ironically these games were amongst the best and I wish I'd paid for them now.