Quote:
Originally Posted by absence
Thank you for the insight. I've written software to convert WWarp dumps of copy protected floppies to extended ADF format, so I'm well aware that producing IPF files from a flux stream isn't a simple automatic process. I also agree that releasing a tool that attempts to hide the complexity in order to let laymen convert to IPF without understanding what goes on would cause more harm than good. A tool for analysis would be useful for learning and research however, especially if people can be taught how to identify modified floppes.
If almost nobody has the technical skills to produce IPF files, it's better to share that knowledge and get other technical people who understand copy protection involved. What if the Istvan guy you mention gets killed in a traffic accident? I'm sure it's possible to work in a way where outsiders assist with the heavy lifting, and SPS can review the work and have the final say in whether it's good enough for an official release. If they worry about poor third-party releases, they can even cryptographically sign their own releases to remove any doubt about authenticity.
There's also the problem of SPS being very opaque. It's good to hear they have a flux dump of Killing Game Show, but how can the public know? It's not listed on their page. Are both PAL and NTSC versions dumped? Similarly, regarding the games that triggered this thread in the first place, does SPS have flux dumps of more versions of Lotus 2 and 3 as well? An up-to-date list of secured flux dumps would be useful, even if it takes another 15 years for them to be converted to IPF.
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i have personally submitted (and i'm not the only guy) the psygnosis games with their special encoding. this means Nitro, Killing game show, OBitus, Armour Geddon in their pal releases. But i think that we also have the ntsc versions (i'll ask them confirm).
About the kryoflux board, it's clear that you need to have one in order to dump. a stream dump can only be done with a kryoflux board. This means that if a collector has a lot of software, he must buy a board to dump his disks, there's no other options.....