Exile AGA installer for Windows

[Mequa]

Following on from my other UAE-based emulation packages, I have created an out-of-the-box Windows installer for Exile AGA. This is graphically the best version of Exile on any platform.

This uses a fully configured WinUAE 2.4.0 with built-in AROS ROM, and the hard-drive version of Exile AGA available from Back To The Roots. The installer itself was created with Clickteam's Install Creator.

Disk saving/loading is currently not working (due to a bug with AROS ROM), however snapshots work fine, and this has been confirmed as fully completable.

Included PDF manual is from the ECS version, as I couldn't find the AGA version's manual.


Download here

[Mequa]

Update: After some testing, I changed the default filter from Scale2x to null, as the former was too slow with WinUAE 2.4.0 on lower-spec PCs I tested it on (such as Core2Duo 2GHz). The above installer has been updated.

[Ezrec]

Originally Posted by Mequa

Disk saving/loading is currently not working (due to a bug with AROS ROM), however snapshots work fine, and this has been confirmed as fully completable.

Toni recently made some major bugfixes to AROS's Amiga Floppy support for writing. Hopefully those will make it to the next WinUAE beta release, and resolve the Exile issues.

[Mequa]

This doesn't appear to be a floppy issue, as I get the exact same freeze-up with the BTTR hard-drive version (saving to hard drive) as with cracked ADFs.

What's funny is that loading/saving snapshots is much faster anyway.

[Mequa]

Update: I've also made a "Light Edition" of this using WinUAE 1.4.6, latest AROS ROM and alternative configuration settings. Snapshots seem to work fine between the two versions.

This runs full-speed on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom netbook (and similar slower PCs) using Scale2X filter, which is enabled by default in this build.

Download here:
Exile for Windows LE Installer

[Photon]

Originally Posted by Mequa

Update: After some testing, I changed the default filter from Scale2x to null, as the former was too slow with WinUAE 2.4.0 on lower-spec PCs I tested it on (such as Core2Duo 2GHz). The above installer has been updated.

I know with PCs, 'mileage may vary' but I can run every filter I like at any FPS rate I like with my 2GHz C2D. Have you checked Direct3D mode? (Not DirectDraw)

I'm not sure I get the reason for the package - is it related to problems running it with WHDLoad on WinUAE/A1200 or such?

Just wanted to this up cos I loved this game so I like the effort If the AGA gfx are like CD32 they are smashing! - even if I've only played my OCS version 'properly' cos I have the cheapo CD32 controllers...

Bummer about the save game thing. This game is enjoyable but pretty big, so I hope you get it sorted, it's really useful in this game, especially if you get stuck in a mushroom spore cloud...


Remember I had dinner at an Indian restaurant in West End with Jez San and the two coders who made this game, they were agreeable and unpretentious, nice guys. I was shocked to (not that much later) hear of the suicide.

Here's to good times and awesome games.

[kriz]

Cool, works great !! Great with aros rom now !!!

[Mequa]

Originally Posted by Photon

Bummer about the save game thing. This game is enjoyable but pretty big, so I hope you get it sorted, it's really useful in this game, especially if you get stuck in a mushroom spore cloud...

RAM saves still work fine, and WinUAE snapshots also work fine as a replacement for save to disk (also saving any RAM saves in the process - note however that restoring a snapshot will also overwrite any RAM saves).

[Mequa]

Update:
The standard installer now uses fullscreen mode by default (press CTRL+F12 to switch to windowed mode in both), as well as Scale2X in lowres mode - this should work better on more machines, and improve the in-game graphics quality.

Both versions are available below:

Exile for Windows installer
Exile for Windows installer (Light Edition)


Since WHDLoad was mentioned, this game does not currently work with WHDLoad, however an alternative hard drive installable version was created which doesn't use WHDLoad. This is better for this kind of distribution as it can be redistributed freely (and legally!) without a WHDLoad licence without imposing a time delay.

The purpose of this, of course, is to be able to install Exile AGA (the most advanced version of Exile) easily on any Windows PC out-of-the-box, without having to mess with emulation settings, multiple downloads and setting up an emulated hard drive to run Exile from.

[Photon]

Originally Posted by Mequa

RAM saves still work fine, and WinUAE snapshots also work fine as a replacement for save to disk (also saving any RAM saves in the process - note however that restoring a snapshot will also overwrite any RAM saves).

I've never used snapshots, so I didn't even think of this.