Transparent archive decompression for AmigaOS 3.x apps

[Leandro Jardim]

I have downloaded a pack of Famicom ROMs a while ago, and I would like to load them on an NES emulator for AmigaOS and I am needing a kind of a patch because the ROMs are compressed as .ZIP files and the emulator can't decompress them natively. I want to store the ROMs as ZIP files.

I searched on Aminet but I dont found such a patch. Can anyone recommend a patch for this purpose?

[emufan]

maybe DiskExpander can do this. download is one the eab ftp.
it uses the xpk libraries/compressors, which i think should handle zip archives. so you can just test this.
not tested, but the readme says so.
it does compress/uncompress all files on the fly - maybe there is an option just to uncompress.
read the guide or the review above before you are using it

#1) cannot find a xpk ZIP compressor library - gzip bzip2 are on aminet. maybe those are working with zip files. you have to try.

#2) pploadseg - this will uncompress any PowerPacker packed files on the fly - well, you must convert all, your zips into powerpacker files.

#3) xfdpatch from xfdmaster archive does the same as pploadseg - but it does not recognize zip archives ...

#4) xadmaster can handle zip archives - but it has no such loadseg patch

#5) while thinking about it - it my not work with zip archives at all.
bit of work but converting your zips into powerpacker compressed files, is perhaps the best solution.
while it is not about harddrive space, but convenience - this is too much trouble.
but you are free to test what i found above.

[Leandro Jardim]

Thanks emufan your explanation is excellent. What I think is that I will store the files uncompressed then.

[Leandro Jardim]

What do I need for XPK-enabled applications to decrunch GZipped files automatically? I downloaded this xpkGZIP from AmiNet and have put it in "SYS:Libs/compressors" directory but it isn't working. I launched the XPKPrefs and registered the GZip slave with it but it doesn't want to work.

Now I am trying to play a crunched ProTracker music module with HippoPlayer and I configured it's prefs to decrunch XPK-packed files but no game!

Please help me!

[Leandro Jardim]

Hmm, I don't know if I am right now but I have read that the XPK libraries are only for crunching files. Is for decrunching that the XFD libraries are for...

But please, I insist, how do I make HippoPlayer to decrunch GZipped modules automatically, since they are many in the Internetz? I could not find a way to make it work. But I think this feature really exists because the HippoPlayer's manual documents it...

Thanks.

[daxb]

Do you have http://aminet.net/package/util/pack/xfdmaster installed? If yes, then try to decrunch the files with xfdDecrunch. If that works enable "XFDmaster library" in HippoPrefs -> Loading. Now HippoPlayer should decrunch the files by loading.

[Leandro Jardim]

Originally Posted by daxb

Do you have http://aminet.net/package/util/pack/xfdmaster installed? If yes, then try to decrunch the files with xfdDecrunch. If that works enable "XFDmaster library" in HippoPrefs -> Loading. Now HippoPlayer should decrunch the files by loading.

Yes I have installed the "xfdmaster" package. When I try to decrunch the music module with xfdDecrunch it works.

But when I enable "XFDmaster library" in HippoPlayer it don't decrunch the file and displays a requester saying "Unknown file format!".

The file is really a music module because when I load the decrunched file in HippoPlayer it works!

I attached the crunched music module inside a ZIP archive if you would like to test it. The file is inside the archive because the forum doesn't allow to attach *.gz files.

Thanks for your help.

[daxb]

Sorry, can test it here but maybe someone else. You may start SnoopDos first then try to load the gzip file with HippoPlayer to see what happens.

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by Leandro Jardim

Yes I have installed the "xfdmaster" package. When I try to decrunch the music module with xfdDecrunch it works.

But when I enable "XFDmaster library" in HippoPlayer it don't decrunch the file and displays a requester saying "Unknown file format!".

The file is really a music module because when I load the decrunched file in HippoPlayer it works!

I attached the crunched music module inside a ZIP archive if you would like to test it. The file is inside the archive because the forum doesn't allow to attach *.gz files.

Thanks for your help.

Just tested in my "Classic WB Lite 3.1" .HDF... same issue as you i.e. can manually decompress using "xfddecrunch" and this will obviously play in HippoPlayer.

If I leave the file compressed, enable / save "XFDmaster library" in HippoPrefs and attempt to play this file I get "Unknown file format!".

[AMIGASYSTEM]

In the Amiga world it is not easy to find .gz files, in any case the .gz archives can be easily unpacked with Unarc.

About HIP Player you could insert xfdDecrunch in Hippo Prefs, but to do this you have to delete one of the three set (LHA,LZX,ZIP)

[Leandro Jardim]

Originally Posted by daxb

Sorry, can test it here but maybe someone else. You may start SnoopDos first then try to load the gzip file with HippoPlayer to see what happens.

Don't worry! I hope everything is well with your life.

Originally Posted by DamienD

Just tested in my "Classic WB Lite 3.1" .HDF... same issue as you i.e. can manually decompress using "xfddecrunch" and this will obviously play in HippoPlayer.

If I leave the file compressed, enable / save "XFDmaster library" in HippoPrefs and attempt to play this file I get "Unknown file format!".

Many thanks DamienD, your help was invaluable as always!

Originally Posted by AMIGASYSTEM

In the Amiga world it is not easy to find .gz files, in any case the .gz archives can be easily unpacked with Unarc.

About HIP Player you could insert xfdDecrunch in Hippo Prefs, but to do this you have to delete one of the three set (LHA,LZX,ZIP)

Thanks, I am not on AmigaOS 3.9 but I think I will try Voodoo-X here. Thanks for the observation, very kind as always.

[koobo]

Originally Posted by Leandro Jardim

What do I need for XPK-enabled applications to decrunch GZipped files automatically? I downloaded this xpkGZIP from AmiNet and have put it in "SYS:Libs/compressors" directory but it isn't working. I launched the XPKPrefs and registered the GZip slave with it but it doesn't want to work.

Now I am trying to play a crunched ProTracker music module with HippoPlayer and I configured it's prefs to decrunch XPK-packed files but no game!

Please help me!

xpkGZIP is not meant to decrunch gzipped files (extension .gz), it is just named in such a way because it uses the same compression algorithm as the gzip compressor. HippoPlayer does not support .gz-files, instead it supports .lha, .lzx and .zip. As a historical note, at some point, it did have support for .gz but I removed it because there seemed to be not a lot of mod files around in that format

[Ami]

Originally Posted by Leandro Jardim

and I am needing a kind of a patch because the ROMs are compressed as .ZIP files and the emulator can't decompress them natively. I want to store the ROMs as ZIP files.

Instead of zip, try lha/lzx, or crunch them with xpk and use xData or similiar.

[Leandro Jardim]

Sorry for the late answer guys.

Originally Posted by koobo

xpkGZIP is not meant to decrunch gzipped files (extension .gz), it is just named in such a way because it uses the same compression algorithm as the gzip compressor. HippoPlayer does not support .gz-files, instead it supports .lha, .lzx and .zip. As a historical note, at some point, it did have support for .gz but I removed it because there seemed to be not a lot of mod files around in that format

Oh you are the author of HippoPlayer! What a glory for me!

You are very kind of answering my thread and, of course, releasing HiP free for other AmigaOS users back then. Thank you!

Unfortunately there are some important sites like AMP that only compress MODs with GZIP.

Don't worry, nothing very important for me.

Originally Posted by Ami

Instead of zip, try lha/lzx, or crunch them with xpk and use xData or similiar.

Great! Thank you I will try it with Famicom ROMs.

Unfortunately I never could make A/NES and CoolNESs decompress them automaticaly, even the manual saying that it can be done...

[koobo]

Originally Posted by Leandro Jardim

Sorry for the late answer guys.
Unfortunately there are some important sites like AMP that only compress MODs with GZIP.

Don't worry, nothing very important for me.

GZIP support was added back in HippoPlayer v2.47, in case you might still be interested :-)

[Leandro Jardim]

Originally Posted by koobo

GZIP support was added back in HippoPlayer v2.47, in case you might still be interested :-)

Thanks, I will try it!