"Unofficial" Update Packs - DamienD's WinUAE Collection

[DamienD]

Hi all,

Have decided to create a new thread for "unofficial" update packs for my collection as I'm slowing down with updates after 14 years of hard work.

If I'm honest, not a path that I really wanted to go down but...

Anyway, this thread is for others who want to create / share what extra stuff they enjoy and feel is missing.

Let me start by saying the following important things:

• None of these "unofficial" update packs are endorsed by me.
• In the future, quality and time permitting, I may add some content into my "official" collection after my own personal processing.
• These "unofficial" updates may not be up to my usual standards in terms of <gamedirs>, filenames, configurations, title / screenshots, windowed / fullscreen, game ports, set resolution / filters, centering, diskswapper slots or indeed anything else.
• Use at your own risk.
• I will not be assisting in any manner i.e. structure / content, creating / modifying files, or bug fixing / supporting anything posted here.

I'm probably opening a whole can of worms by doing this but... at the end of the day, I'm not responsible and if that's what the community wants then...


BTW; ignore the thread opening date. it's actually the 30/07/2019... I had to copy / edit an older post of mine, previous to Gzegzolka's, so that I could add an introduction.

[Gzegzolka]

Hi team,
I made little update for this collection:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_J...5tqLlZcAka8EpW
Inside is 28 demos on various coverdisks, some games are on single disks, on some disks there are more games. I try to collect different demos that somehow are different from final versions. Some demos got different levels made specialy for different magazines, some got different stuff that were cut from final versions.
I have some more demos but I do not know how to cut them from cd32 disks or run them from wb as stand alone.

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by Gzegzolka

Hi team,
I made little update for this collection:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_J...5tqLlZcAka8EpW
Inside is 28 demos on various coverdisks, some games are on single disks, on some disks there are more games. I try to collect different demos that somehow are different from final versions. Some demos got different levels made specialy for different magazines, some got different stuff that were cut from final versions.

Thanks Gzegzolka, I'll take a look when I get some time

...I know that you mentioned this before in the following posts and also a PM to me, which I haven't forgotten about:

• http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=...postcount=1853
• http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=...postcount=1949

Just been busy

Originally Posted by Gzegzolka

I have some more demos but I do not know how to cut them from cd32 disks or run them from wb as stand alone.

I might be able to assist with this, send me a PM or something.

[majestyx]

Originally Posted by Gzegzolka

Hi team,
I made little update for this collection:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_J...5tqLlZcAka8EpW
Inside is 28 demos on various coverdisks, some games are on single disks, on some disks there are more games. I try to collect different demos that somehow are different from final versions. Some demos got different levels made specialy for different magazines, some got different stuff that were cut from final versions.
I have some more demos but I do not know how to cut them from cd32 disks or run them from wb as stand alone.

Thanks for this unofficial add-on. Would be cool to see others do the same so Damien can keep his core collection the way he wants it while others (like me, and I'm sure numerous additional members here) who are OCD and want items outside of the core can add them on.

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by Gzegzolka

Hi team,
I made little update for this collection:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_J...5tqLlZcAka8EpW
Inside is 28 demos on various coverdisks, some games are on single disks, on some disks there are more games. I try to collect different demos that somehow are different from final versions. Some demos got different levels made specialy for different magazines, some got different stuff that were cut from final versions.
I have some more demos but I do not know how to cut them from cd32 disks or run them from wb as stand alone.

Regarding this; firstly let me thank Gzegzolka for sourcing files and putting something together

I haven't said that I will or won't include some of this stuff in my official update packs at some stage; just got a lot happening personally at the moment, therefore don't have the time to go through and organise properly etc...

You guys know that I'm a perfectionist right? It's those high standards, small details and extra effort that I put in which makes my collection what it is.

As mentioned, I haven't had the time to really go through Gzegzolka's pack... my next points are not meant to be negative, it's just a quick list of things that I would need to do in order to include at some stage.

• Convert any .ADZ or .DMS files to .ADFs.
• Run files through TOSEC .DATs for correct naming; if not found rename correctly manually.
• Title / screenshots not centered.
• Most configuration files are set to "Windowed" so need to be set as "Fullscreen" and then either "640x480" or "720x576" selected accordingly.
• Configuration files have Diskswapper entries still listed from the base games they were copied from so need removing.
• Check all configuration file settings thoroughly and then test everything.

Brief game notes:

... Alien Breed 3D DEMO 3 - Needs to be setup / installed onto a self-booting / bare bones .HDF
... Superfrog DEMO 2 - remove "one54_1993_03_d2_002.png" and "one54_1993_03_d2_004.png" from the <gamedir>.
... Superfrog DEMO 3 - remove "superfrog1 CU Amiga_002.png" from the <gamedir>.
... Wolfchild DEMO - Create a new disk that only contains the Wolfchild demo and boots directly.


Also, I've assisted Gzegzolka with these:

Originally Posted by Gzegzolka

I try to make my demos pack to be compatible with Your collection. There are some minor little changes, but everything can be changed back in winuae settings - like switch full screen/window display or control scheme. My pack is not as perfect as Your updates. I just stick to one simple rule - if demo have nothing more than level or few levels from final version and end-screen that "full version will be finished soon" it is not worth to be included in my update.

Some stuff could be done better:
- Alien Breed 3D second demo is just a bootable folder with files, it could be changed into hdf file.
- Wolfchild demo also is no perfect, it require interrupt booting with Ctrl+D combination and type wolf.exe in cli otherwise coverdisk will load different game. [DamienD - Fixed, self-booting disk created]

Some stuff could be added in near future in Your updates:
- Fears first demo that look more like wolfenstein, but it require to run it from workbench. [DamienD - Fixed, self-booting disk created]
- Marvin Marvelous Advanture got demo on CD32 Gamer issue 5 there are some different sprites, monsters and graphics. It would be cool to just cut this demo from cd rather that putting cd image into Your collection that is full of other boring stuff. [DamienD - Extracted files from CD compilation, got intro running from HD and created a self-booting .HDF]

Originally Posted by majestyx

Thanks for this unofficial add-on. Would be cool to see others do the same so Damien can keep his core collection the way he wants it while others (like me, and I'm sure numerous additional members here) who are OCD and want items outside of the core can add them on.

Obviously people could make their own "unofficial" update packs for my collection.

Guess the point I'm trying to make is that they won't be as well made / tested / perfect as what mine are... if that doesn't bother you then all good...

The other thing to note is that obviously I can't support these, so if there are issues I won't be looking into / fixing them.

[Dunny]

I've installed the game demos update into DamienD's WinUAE archive, but maintained a divide between them;

configs are stored in C:\WinUAE\Configurations\Game demos\
game files are stored in C:\WinUAE\Game demos\

And the configs have been modified to reflect the new path to the game demos' disks.

We might want to do something similar for the downloadable archive to prevent users from "polluting" (if that's the right word, this is a great idea after all) the main DB.

[DamienD]

Maybe I should create a new thread under this section i.e. "DamienD's WinUAE Collection - Unofficial Update Packs" or something and people can put stuff there...

Originally Posted by Dunny

I've installed the game demos update into DamienD's WinUAE archive, but maintained a divide between them;

configs are stored in C:\WinUAE\Configurations\Game demos\
game files are stored in C:\WinUAE\Game demos\

And the configs have been modified to reflect the new path to the game demos' disks.

We might want to do something similar for the downloadable archive to prevent users from "polluting" (if that's the right word, this is a great idea after all) the main DB.

Also, regarding keeping things separate. I agree with you but I guess it's really up to anyone that wants to create these.

I do think that you need to set some guidelines / standards / rules though, otherwise it will get very messy indeed

A suggestion could be to create a folder under the "C:\WinUAE\Configurations" directory called "Unoffficial" which people could expand / collapse and looks like:



<gamedirs> could be stored in a folder under the "C:\WinUAE\Games" directory and also called "Unoffficial".

Anyway, not my call or something I'll get involved with.

[enigma776]

Originally Posted by DamienD

Maybe I should create a new thread under this section i.e. "DamienD's WinUAE Collection - Unofficial Update Packs" or something and people can put stuff there...


Also, regarding keeping things separate. I agree with you but I guess it's really up to anyone that wants to create these.

I do think that you need to set some guidelines / rules though, otherwise it will get very messy indeed

A suggestion could be to create a folder under the "C:\WinUAE\Configurations" directory called "Unoffficial" which people could expand / collapse and looks like:



<gamedirs> could be stored in a folder under the "C:\WinUAE\Games" directory and also called "Unoffficial".

Anyway, not my call or something I'll get involved with.

Like this idea alot, keeps it at arms length but close enough to be useful and played without messing with the original set. Like the idea of a separate thread too.

Maybe a set of config templates and bare bones HDF images too.

[DamienD]

New thread created and posts moved; knock your socks off guys

[Gzegzolka]

Big thanks goes to DamienD for helping me with running some of those demos . Right now I have not much spare time so I didn't post nothing new.
It would be cool if we could have three stand alone updates with cdtv, cd32 and cubo games. Something like pack with configuration and screen shoots. Since cd images got bigger file sizes, they could be downloaded from eab file server.
Also it would be great to have optional update with all those arcade games that are FMV and use amiga hardware to play them.
And maybe who knows, maybe one day we will have working games that use early VR tech.

[DamienD]

Hi Gzegzolka,

I've taken a look at this:

Originally Posted by Gzegzolka

- Alien Breed 3D second demo is just a bootable folder with files, it could be changed into hdf file.

It's so small that it fit's onto an .ADF

Anyway, at the very least, you may want to update your pack to include the above plus:

Originally Posted by Gzegzolka

- Wolfchild demo also is no perfect, it require interrupt booting with Ctrl+D combination and type wolf.exe in cli otherwise coverdisk will load different game. [DamienD - Fixed, self-booting disk created]

Some stuff could be added in near future in Your updates:
- Fears first demo that look more like wolfenstein, but it require to run it from workbench. [DamienD - Fixed, self-booting disk created]
- Marvin Marvelous Advanture got demo on CD32 Gamer issue 5 there are some different sprites, monsters and graphics. It would be cool to just cut this demo from cd rather that putting cd image into Your collection that is full of other boring stuff. [DamienD - Extracted files from CD compilation, got intro running from HD and created a self-booting .HDF]

Archive in The Zone! called "Gzegzolka_adf update_DamienD.rar"

...it's just the game files though.

[DamienD]

I know I said I wouldn't... but I've just spent the last 3 hours making changes to Gzegzolka's "unofficial" update pack to bring it in line with my standards.

Things that I undertook:

• Renamed some configuration files to be consistent.
• Recreated / setup all configuration files from scratch which fixed:

... setting of "Fullscreen".
... setting of either a "640x480" or "720x576" resolution.
... making sure no "old game" inserted disks or disk swapper slots were populated.
... making sure no weird "custom" game port / inputs were set.

• Centered all title / screenshots properly, or sometimes took new ones.
• Replaced "Wolfchild" demo with the self-booting .ADF that I created.
• Added "Fears" first demo with the self-booting .ADF that I created.
• Added "Marvin's Marvellous Adventure" demo which I ripped from a CD32 compilation, setup on a .HDF and got the intro running from hard drive.
• Deleted the <gamedir> "Blork" from Gzegzolka's original pack; which had no associated configuration file and is already in my main collection.
• Configuration files are now extracted to "C:\WinUAE\Configurations\Unofficial" to keep separate from my main collection.
• <gamedirs> are now extracted to "C:\WinUAE\Games\Unofficial" to keep separate from my main collection.
• Other stuff that I forgot to document.

If you'd downloaded / extracted Gzegzolka's "unofficial" update pack previously then you need to do the following first:

Delete the following configuration files from "C:\WinUAE\Configurations":

Alien Breed - Tower Assault [AGA]   [1level demo].uae
Alien Breed - Tower Assault [AGA]   [2level demo].uae
Alien Breed 3D [AGA]   [first demo].uae
Alien Breed 3D [AGA]   [rolling demo].uae
Alien Breed 3D [AGA]   [second demo].uae
Apidya   [demo].uae
Arabian Nights   [demo].uae
Assassin [demo].uae
Cardiaxx   [demo].uae
Chuck Rock II - Son of Chuck   [demo].uae
Disposable Hero   [demo].uae
Donk! - The Samurai Duck! [AGA]   [demo 1].uae
Donk! - The Samurai Duck! [AGA]   [demo 2].uae
Donk! - The Samurai Duck! [AGA]   [demo 3].uae
Fears [AGA]   [demo 2].uae
Jaguar XJ-220   [demo].uae
Myth - History in the Making   [demo].uae
Powder   [demo].uae
Ruff 'n' Tumble [demo].uae
Soccer Kid   [demo].uae
Super Methane Bros [AGA]   [demo 1].uae
Super Methane Bros [AGA]   [demo 2].uae
Superfrog   [demo 1].uae
Superfrog   [demo 2].uae
Superfrog   [demo 3].uae
Titus the Fox - To Marrakech and Back   [demo].uae
Traps 'n' Treasures   [demo].uae
Wolfchild   [demo].uae

Delete the following <gamedirs> from "C:\WinUAE\Games":

Alien Breed 3D DEMO
Alien Breed 3D DEMO 2
Alien Breed 3D DEMO 3
Alien Breed Tower Assault DEMO
Alien Breed Tower Assault DEMO 2
Apidya  Elfmania DEMO
Arabian Nights  Alien3 DEMO
Assasin DEMO
Cardiaxx DEMO
Chuck Rock 2 DEMO
Disposable Hero DEMO
Donk The Samurai Duck DEMO
Donk The Samurai Duck DEMO 2
Donk The Samurai Duck DEMO 3
Fears DEMO 2
Jaguar XJ-220 DEMO
Myth DEMO 2
Powder DEMO
Ruff n Tumble DEMO
Soccer Kid DEMO
Super Methane Bros DEMO
Super Methane Bros DEMO 2
Superfrog DEMO
Superfrog DEMO 2
Superfrog DEMO 3
Titus the Fox  Project X DEMO
Traps n Treasures DEMO
Wolfchild DEMO

Now download and extract the following into "C:\WinUAE": /~Upload/Gzegzolka/Gzegzolka_Unofficial Update Pack 1.rar

[Leandro Jardim]

What do you think of putting the name of the magazine between parenthesis in the filename and trim the demo number in some files?

[Dunny]

Hey, I was gonna post some suggestions for config improvements (as requested) - just not had the time

Glad to see you've done it already - thought you might not be able to resist!

[liveevil]

Originally Posted by Leandro Jardim

What do you think of putting the name of the magazine between parenthesis in the filename and trim the demo number in some files?

That sounds like a good idea.

Are these and the ones in your (Damien) pack actually classed as Demos ? Most are 'exclusive levels' so not really 'Demonstrations' ?

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by Leandro Jardim

What do you think of putting the name of the magazine between parenthesis in the filename and trim the demo number in some files?

Originally Posted by liveevil

That sounds like a good idea.

Yes, it does seem like a good idea.

Problem is that sometimes you don't know where the demo came from so not easy to be consistent.

Are these and the ones in your (Damien) pack actually classed as Demos ? Most are 'exclusive levels' so not really 'Demonstrations' ?

Well, they are really "playable-demos" and not full games.

In my collection I just added the tag "[demo]" to the configuration file names as opposed to "[playable-demo]".

[ransom1122]

Originally Posted by DamienD

Yes, it does seem like a good idea.

Problem is that sometimes you don't know where the demo came from so not easy to be consistent.


Well, they are really "playable-demos" and not full games.

In my collection I just added the tag "[demo]" to the configuration file names as opposed to "[playable-demo]".

I test your update fix, and it is well organized my friend, nice job. I also would find it interesting to see where the demo comes from, as there could be heaps of demos of the same game.

[Seiya]

many amiga demos come, i think, from Amiga Format, Cu Amiga, One Amiga magazine floppy cover disk. However from these magazine there aren't alls game demos that are available in some fan sites.
today of found monkey island demo 1 from Lucas Arts fan site

[Gzegzolka]

Yes, I grab most of those files from RACK, few from eab ftp because it was more actual, and from PPA, Aminet sites. Some demos were shared in magazines, some were exclusive done for only one magazine and other ones were made by game authors and share on BBS or elsewhere. Usually those demos got altered title screen with information from what magazine they come from.
I am only interested with demos that are somehow different from final resales, got levels made specifically for demonstration purposes or got some early stuff that were cut from finished product.
I congrats DamienD for his work on this for me it was fine because it was working, but he made it more "professional". I understand that there could be additional information about source magazine, but it was not that much important for me since usually in game those stuff were displayed or at winuae screen shoot.

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by Seiya

many amiga demos come, i think, from Amiga Format, Cu Amiga, One Amiga magazine floppy cover disk. However from these magazine there aren't alls game demos that are available in some fan sites.

So true, can sometimes be quite difficult to source the exact origin of a demo when not advertised / available on a coverdisk...

Originally Posted by Seiya

today of found monkey island demo 1 from Lucas Arts fan site

Nice find there Seiya

...not sure why it's just a .ZIP archive (without an "S/Startup-Sequence") and not converted to a bootable disk

Anyway, fixed... see attached