Why the fuss about IPF images?

[fiath]

I think that is a fair question given that I dropped the ball with Mikerochip's games. I don't think there is another situation like this, and I'm not aware of anyone else that is waiting on their games back. The only one that comes close is where I lost a game as I was moving house. Strange that I remember that one, but forgot about poor Mikerochip!

You can read my comment above about my own inactivity. Burn out is where I stopped, and health issues (needing to limit my time using a computer) limit me taking things up again.

A large number of the games I hold were bought by me. Both from before we started Softpres, and the completely stupid amount of money I spent on eBay trying to preserve as much as possible (cleared out my savings in fact). There were also donations, but the single biggest contributor of the physical games I hold (not of softpres generally) was me.

While I do hold a lot of games, I don't consider myself a collector. They're in storage for the most part, which is a bit sad. I did try to convince some libraries to take on some games on at one point, but they were unable due to limited resources in some cases, apparent lack of interest in others.

I made no money (very much the opposite!) from softpres, and I made no money from KryoFlux (a very niche product). I understand why you'd ask the question, but money has never been a motivation for any of us.

I do understand the frustration about submissions for you guys, and I'd really love to be able to get involved again, but it's just not something I am personally able to do. The only suggestion I can make is to go on the KryoFlux forums and see what you can do to volunteer.

[haynor666]

Uff, finally IPF is not forbidden here at EAB. It was never make sense to forbid distribution IPFs since adfs and eadfs are here all the time and IPF is just another format.

Too bad that some long time missing IPFs are still horded (yes, I still think that some people just don't wan't to share with us) or forgotten due not active users/invalid e-mails. I understand this rule anyway. No-Intro, GoodTools, Redump (plenty dumps are still MIA) and TOSEC (at least ISO part) worked the same way through years. I hope this will change eventually. After all preservation does not make sense in my opinion where games are stored only on couple secret HDDs.

On the bright side some dumps are surfaced recently some there is after movement after all. What I see in database I still have boxed games that have IPFs but I don't have files. Looks like it's time to request those

[haynor666]

I've uploaded 3 new IPFs in Zone.

Adventures of Quik and Silva
Catch'em
Moonbase

Soon I'll prepare my miss dat using official SPS dat (sadly up to 3729 release).

Request your amiga IPFs people !!!!!

[matburton]

If we're supposed to be making requests, anyone able to dump Fightin' Spirit?
Doesn't look like it's ever been preserved by SPS?

I have an original copy of Impact 95 which maybe hasn't been preserved, but I have a strong suspicion that as a kid I modified the disk

[dlfrsilver]

Fighting Spirit is seen as not duplicated, same as Black Viper from the same publisher.

[haynor666]

Request can be made only for games that are preserved so far. Others have to be dumped and as for now only by KryoFlux :/

Many games even popular are not preserved due modified disk (All Terrain Racing)or fact that disks wasn't duplicated my machine but rather copied on amigas (many polish games). Of course there are still games that are not preserved due custom protection that is not supported in current ipf library (Deep Core ?).

[demolition]

Originally Posted by matburton

I have an original copy of Impact 95 which maybe hasn't been preserved, but I have a strong suspicion that as a kid I modified the disk

You can usually tell from the RAW dump whether the disk was modified or not.

[dlfrsilver]

Originally Posted by haynor666

Request can be made only for games that are preserved so far. Others have to be dumped and as for now only by KryoFlux :/

Many games even popular are not preserved due modified disk (All Terrain Racing)or fact that disks wasn't duplicated my machine but rather copied on amigas (many polish games). Of course there are still games that are not preserved due custom protection that is not supported in current ipf library.

All Terrain Racing is not preserved ? indeed as it seems. I will try to get my hands on an original.

[matburton]

Originally Posted by demolition

You can usually tell from the RAW dump whether the disk was modified or not.

I have a KryoFlux but have yet to take any RAW dumps.

Any tips on what command line parameters I should use to dump with DTC and how I can then determine if the disk has been modified?

[haynor666]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

All Terrain Racing is not preserved ? indeed as it seems. I will try to get my hands on an original.

I've dumped my originals but it was too late to supply new CT raw dumps but I still have CT raw files from various copies. Sadly disk 1 of new sealed copy was bad
It's not preserved because game saves it's data on game disk so creating perfect IPF won't be easy.

Now some games that I've dumped but still not in SPS database:

MANY polish games - polish publishers almost never used hardware for disks duplication. Only Forest Dump Forever (at least it's the only game I know) had disk protection

Ishar (AGA) - some time ago I've made wwarp for You dlfrsilver and dumped CT raw file long time ago for SPS.

Insanity Fight - I've dumped budget release long time ago.

Demon Blue - I dumped two disks.

Obitus - dumped two copies but game uses some strange protection so probably that's why it is not released

Ganymed - dumped long time ago.

Ultimate Pinball Quest is also MIA but I still have original disks and last I install whdload patch everything was fine.

Leatherneck - copy will soon arrive at my house.

Traps'n'Treasures english - sadly the only copy I have was from polish distributor Mirage but long time ago I was informed that SPS team have already some copies. Sadly no IPFs so far.

King's Table: The Legend Of Ragnarok - dumped years ago

Rorke's Drift - dumped small box version some time ago

Super Skidmarks Data Disks - dumped about year ago

Robin Hood: Legend Quest - dumped, second copy will arrive soon

Web Of Terror - dumped years ago, I still have second copy

Sword (PL) - still have but not dumped

T-Bird - dumped years ago, sadly this game does not use any checksums

Some Vulcan Software games - copied on amigas :/



Now games that are really interests me but still not IPFs



Nicky Boum, Nicky II - those games are not rare, Nicky II does not have even disk protection as far I remember !

XP8 (AGA) - rare ?

Tubular Worlds - what happened to this game ?

Apano Sin - released or not ?

Tin Toy Adventure - rare and probably copied on amigas

Banzai - never had this game.

Spell Bound (Psyclapse) - not so rare

Big Nose - quite common, why IPF was not released?

Kwik Snax - the same situation.

Ghost Battle - Thalion format probably not supported in IPF library and very expensive

Gnome - unknown and rare game.

Gotcha - the only Prestige game that does not have IPF. Seems to very rare, unreleased ?

Most of Vulcan Software games (Vahalla, TimeTroopers, Hillsea lido etc) - probably copied on amigas.

Most of Neo Software games (Cedric, Black Viper) - probably copied on amigas.

Most of APC&TCP - again probably copied on amigas.

Caesar Deluxe - original version is preserved but deluxe does not, quite populat title so why it's not preserved?

Castles: The Northern Campaign - I wonder if amiga version actually exists

Castlevania - rare so I'm not suprised

Clik Clak - GearWorks version is preserved

Dungeon Master and Chaos Strikes Back - custom protection ?

Fright Night - rare ?

Sirius 7 - rare sadly

Slackskin & Flint - rare

Killing Game Show - unofficial IPF exists.

Lost Dutchman Mine - expensive title

Narco Police - rare

Venom Wing - rare ?

[BarryB]

@haynor666

I have dumps of:

Big Nose The Caveman
Castles: The Northern Campaign - Yes, it exists
Insanity Fight - Budget (Tenstar Pack)
Killing Game Show
Lost Dutchman Mine
Obitus
Robin Hood: Legend Quest

Have Unoffical IPF's of all of them too

[haynor666]

I see I miss some unofficial IPFs. I'll update list.

Here is what I got from your list:

Insanity Fight
Obitus
Killing Game Show

so the other are welcome, I can provide another two copies of Robin Hood for verification

[mc68060]

Fighting Spirit is seen as not duplicated, same as Black Viper from the same publisher

Originally Posted by haynor666

or fact that disks wasn't duplicated my machine but rather copied on amigas (many polish games)

Hmm, so why games not duplicated by machines aren't preserved? I don't get that....

[haynor666]

Probably because it's hard to verify it's authenticity (anyone can copy original and later claim that he dumped original).

Anyway most of or maybe all such games does not have disk protection. Only manual or not at all.


Still it's better to have official IPFs - those are from multiple source disks and verified againt any modification including data errors. After all Christian Bartsch was working for Cachet Software so SPS team knows what to do better that we

Sadly after years of success SPS almost abandoned amiga (probably not to much left to do) so community right now make unofficial IPFs. Better than nothing I guess.

[BarryB]

From what dlfrsilver said in an email to me, their analyser only recognises the Trace Mountain duplicators, so any disks duplicated on other equipment are seen as 'modified'.

The only tool so far to create Amiga IPF's is Keir Frasers Disk-Utilities for Linux, but each protection/disk format has to be manually dis-assembled and added to Disk-Utilities. It's not been updated with new formats for quite a while as it's very time consuming, and Keir has better things to do with his time than the tedious task of adding new disk formats/protections

[mc68060]

Probably because it's hard to verify it's authenticity (anyone can copy original and later claim that he dumped original)

So who is preserving those games then? Nobody?

[haynor666]

Well, if game was sealed and You can proof this (ie. send for example sealed game to SPS members) and the have various copies from trusted sources then maybe they will preserved it. So far not even single polish game is preserved so my guess they are avoidining such cases only concentrating on really duplicated disks.

Right now we have unooficial IPFs as substutute.

[dlfrsilver]

@haynor :

Ishar (AGA) - some time ago I've made wwarp for You dlfrsilver and dumped CT raw file long time ago for SPS.
=> this specific release use an IBM/ST protection track.

Insanity Fight - I've dumped budget release long time ago.

Demon Blue - I dumped two disks.

Obitus - dumped two copies but game uses some strange protection so probably that's why it is not released
=> yes same as Nitro and KGS and Armour Geddon.

Ganymed - dumped long time ago.
=> never saw this one.

Ultimate Pinball Quest is also MIA but I still have original disks and last I install whdload patch everything was fine.
=> got it in original, was modified.

Leatherneck - copy will soon arrive at my house.
=> use Steve Bak disk format with IBM/ST tracks + protection track.

Traps'n'Treasures english - sadly the only copy I have was from polish distributor Mirage but long time ago I was informed that SPS team have already some copies. Sadly no IPFs so far.
=> I think i did some IPF from one of my contributors disks.

King's Table: The Legend Of Ragnarok - dumped years ago
=> did proper IPF from Dr Bong original dump, but very buggy game.

Rorke's Drift - dumped small box version some time ago

Super Skidmarks Data Disks - dumped about year ago
=> got it as well, has faulty tracks.

Robin Hood: Legend Quest - dumped, second copy will arrive soon

Web Of Terror - dumped years ago, I still have second copy

Sword (PL) - still have but not dumped

T-Bird - dumped years ago, sadly this game does not use any checksums

Some Vulcan Software games - copied on amigas :/



Now games that are really interests me but still not IPFs



Nicky Boum, Nicky II - those games are not rare, Nicky II does not have even disk protection as far I remember !

=> those have been preserved in IPF. official ones exists.

XP8 (AGA) - rare ? => not really.

Tubular Worlds - what happened to this game ? => modified most of the time.

Apano Sin - released or not ? => yes but not common.

Tin Toy Adventure - rare and probably copied on amigas => possible

Banzai - never had this game. => never heard of it

Spell Bound (Psyclapse) - not so rare => official IPF exist and already available.

Big Nose - quite common, why IPF was not released?
=> I did an IPF out of my own original, but indeed, there's no official IPF for it.

Kwik Snax - the same situation.

Ghost Battle - Thalion format probably not supported in IPF library and very expensive
=> you bet so !

Gnome - unknown and rare game. => yes quite so.

Gotcha - the only Prestige game that does not have IPF. Seems to very rare, unreleased ?
=> yes seems very rare.

Most of Vulcan Software games (Vahalla, TimeTroopers, Hillsea lido etc) - probably copied on amigas.
=> valhalla's are duplicated, but very often modified.

Most of Neo Software games (Cedric, Black Viper) - probably copied on amigas. => indeed.

Most of APC&TCP - again probably copied on amigas. => never had one to check.

Caesar Deluxe - original version is preserved but deluxe does not, quite populat title so why it's not preserved? => who knows ?

Castles: The Northern Campaign - I wonder if amiga version actually exists
=> never saw it.

Castlevania - rare so I'm not suprised
=> one of the rarest amiga games.

Clik Clak - GearWorks version is preserved

Dungeon Master and Chaos Strikes Back - custom protection ? => weak bit protection

Fright Night - rare ? => Steve Bak IBM/ST disk format + custom protection

Sirius 7 - rare sadly => ?

Slackskin & Flint - rare

Lost Dutchman Mine - expensive title

Narco Police => spanish game, using a weak bit protection, same style as AMC or Satan.

Venom Wing => this game uses an custom format, and long MFM generic tracks.

[haynor666]

Some additional info:

Nicky II does not have IPF only first part, at least I don't see it in SPS database

Spellbound! (Lander) has IPF but looking at SPS database Spell bound (Psyclapse) does not

Traps'n'Treasures - deutch version has IPF (not yet in public sadly), english (Krysalis) does not


About Deep Core, Obitus, Killing Game Show and Armour-Geddon - why unofficial IPFs exits when ipf library cannot works with it's protections ?

Ultimate Pinball Quest - would be helpfull if I dump my disks ?

King's Table: The Legend Of Ragnarok - so why it's not released?

Banzai - written by Peter Tuleby (of Alien Breed fame) and probably self published as so called Swedish Software :/

Big Nose - care to made this into public

[dlfrsilver]

[QUOTE=haynor666;1269267]Some additional info:

Nicky II does not have IPF only first part, at least I don't see it in SPS database

=> indeed. This game exists in 2 versions, one protected by codes (retail), and a second one from the jump compilation (i own it), with no codes.

Spellbound! (Lander) has IPF but looking at SPS database Spell bound (Psyclapse) does not

=> you're wrong here. It's the psyclapse release that is preserved in IPF (1788), not the Lander version.

Traps'n'Treasures - deutch version has IPF (not yet in public sadly), english (Krysalis) does not

=> indeed, i only have IPF set from the english version but not official.


About Deep Core, Obitus, Killing Game Show and Armour-Geddon - why unofficial IPFs exits when ipf library cannot works with it's protections ?

Obitus, Killing game show and Armour Geddon needs another layer inside the SPS lib.

Deep Core use a weak bit protection on each disks.

Ultimate Pinball Quest - would be helpfull if I dump my disks ?

=> yes please, dump them

King's Table: The Legend Of Ragnarok - so why it's not released?

=> I can send you the IPF i did from Dr Bong original, minding you send me your own dump in CTraw.

Banzai - written by Peter Tuleby (of Alien Breed fame) and probably self published as so called Swedish Software :/

=> never heard about it.

Big Nose - care to made this into public

=> i did an IPF from my original, and also from Barry's