Shareware & PD - Full Registered Games

[Peter]

That's fantastic news Robert!

What you need to do is to make an ADF of the disk and then somehow get the ADF file from your Amiga to you PC and upload it here to the EAB Zone Area - TCD can then put the ADf file safely on the EAB File server in the area designated for registered full versions of shareware games.

If you aren't able to do this then I can PM you my address and I can do it - I could then send the disk back to you...

Great news either way... thanks for sharing the game!!!

Now have you any others.... Scavenge for instance???
OK - just wishful thinking...


Everyone here is encouraged to contact authors to attempt to get back full versions of games that are lost - it is a bit hit and miss but a few games have turned up - check the server for the games we have...

[roberthazelby]

Leave it with me. It'll be good for me to learn how to ADF a game, and will mean that I can start getting some use out of my networked Amiga.

I'll also scan in the disk label, as it's a proper one and not simply a handwritten jobbie.

I also registered the Mr. Numpty and The Alien Invaders. The game was full anyway, but I think I ended up with the map and a level designer for registering.

Would this be something you'd be interested in archiving if I can find it?

[Peter]

Definitely...

Don't hate me for saying this but please make back up's of them both!!

If you need help with the ADF process just give me a shout!

Thanks Robert - if only everybody (and this includes me!) had kept their registered games!!!

[Heavy Stylus]

AT LAST! Mate, I have been waiting to play the full version of Beetle for years! Thanks in advance for sharing

[kriz]

This is cool, get it online before its gone forever !!!

[vidarh]

Originally Posted by Heavy Stylus

The zip disk with the source and his other games has been formatted, and unless he still has some disks at his parents house, this is all that remains. However, one game is better than none

I realize the message I'm quoting is quite old, but for future reference, don't assume that if the disk seems to be unreadable or has been formatted that everything is lost.

It quite possibly is, but unless the disk has been filled with data again (and so it depends on how it's been formatted - whether the full disk was overwritten or just the directory wiped), it might not always be impossible to recover some or all file data. Depending on filesystem it can even be easy to recover.... (OFS for example is extremely redundant, and even if the entire directory is blown away you can recover most things quite easily).

The thing to do in cases like this is to have them create images, either ADF/DMS or if it's on formats like zip disks they can also easily create images under Linux with "dd".... Someone with suitable filesystem knowledge can then try to recover files.

It's not the first thing to try, but it doesn't hurt to ask people nicely if they don't mind trying to make disk images anyway for a last ditch effort if no other disks show up.

[Heavy Stylus]

Ok, this is going by memory of our email discussion, but I think this is what happened...

* The coder finds an old Amiga formatted zip disk that he used to have the source on.
* He inserted it into his PC Zip drive to see if it was blank or contained data.
* He opened it and couldn't see any files in it.
* He then tested the disk by copying over some pc files onto the drive. The transfer works. This mistake would obviously make trying to recover any lost/overwritten data very difficult
* He then assumed that he must of formatted the Zip disk a long time ago.

This is why I didn't pursue the matter further.

[vidarh]

Originally Posted by Heavy Stylus

* He then tested the disk by copying over some pc files onto the drive. The transfer works. This mistake would obviously make trying to recover any lost/overwritten data very difficult
* He then assumed that he must of formatted the Zip disk a long time ago.

This is why I didn't pursue the matter further.

I agree it probably isn't worth pursuing in this case. Copying stuff to the disk, ouch Just wanted to leave that out there since I don't think people often think about how easy it can be to recover data from Amiga disks in some cases.

[roberthazelby]

Originally Posted by Heavy Stylus

AT LAST! Mate, I have been waiting to play the full version of Beetle for years! Thanks in advance for sharing

You're welcome.

I've dug out the Beetle disk, so will test it out (and also back it up, and scan the label in) over the weekend.

I'm just waiting for my network card and PCMCIA flash adaptors to arrive from Amigakit. Once I have those I should be able to get it over to you guys.

[Peter]

Nice work Robert, thank you - good to see you got your OS.3.9 issues sorted out also!

[roberthazelby]

Originally Posted by Peter

Nice work Robert, thank you - good to see you got your OS.3.9 issues sorted out also!

Thanks Peter. It was just before midnight last night when I finally got it up and running.

I tried the system again this morning, just before setting off to go to work, and was half expecting a "not a DOS disk in DH0:", but all is well with the world.

I've left it copying over my first CD of WHDload stuff back to the hard disk.

Once I've got Beetle knocked on the head, I'll move on to Mr. Numpty and The Alien Invaders. I'm pretty sure that as well as the map I may also have a demo disk that the author enclosed, and possibly even a letter giving some background information about the game.

It's all handwritten, and not that easy to read, but it is a piece of Amiga history.

Would you want the demo disk, too? (If I still have it). The author explained that they were demos he'd been sending off to game companies in an effort to get an interview.

[Peter]

I'd love to see the demo disk!

[Heavy Stylus]

roberthazelby - do you recall if it is the OCS or AGA version of beetle?

[Adropac2]

Well done guys this is great news.Beetle has bags of charm and atmosphere.Always wanted to get stuck into the editor in a bigger way too.Very much looking forward to seeing the full version of this beauty

A big thank you to Robert and of course the guy who originally wrote the game

[roberthazelby]

Originally Posted by Heavy Stylus

roberthazelby - do you recall if it is the OCS or AGA version of beetle?

I'm pretty sure it's just an OCS version. Was an AGA version available?

In other news - I've also found my Mr Numpty level editor disk, which also features a few tech demos from the author.

I'll be installing the Amiga network card tonight, so hope to have these uploaded soon.

[TCD]

Just moved Beetle and Numpty And The Alien Invaders including extras to the file server. Thanks roberthazelby

[Peter]

Thanks TCD, Rob did pm me and when I get 5 minutes I am going to take a look at what he has uploaded to the zone... seems like we have got another lost gem back which is great news... many thanks go to Rob - he has put a lot of effort into getting these Amiga games back on-line for us.... another good day for EAB Users!

[Adropac2]

Well done people awesome news

[roberthazelby]

I've really enjoyed getting these two packages uploaded. Peter's been a continual source of help and encouragement.

I hope you enjoy the extra bits I added such as the map scans and notes for Numpty (along with the 'sampler' disk), and the registration letter for Beetle.

I'm just pleased that I'm getting some use out of my Amiga again, and that these disks and their accompanying documentation have a chance at being preserved.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by roberthazelby

I hope you enjoy the extra bits I added such as the map scans and notes for Numpty (along with the 'sampler' disk), and the registration letter for Beetle.

I surely do