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Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 8:36 pm
by admin
All,
I am in the process of updating the Dragon Downloads section (the one part of this site that isn't open to everybody to update) and am renaming all the tapes, disks and roms using the TOSEC naming convention - This will result in a naming format that looks like this:
Defense (198x) (Microdeal)
The flag at the end is used to identify the status of the image - = underdump which I am using to signify that the content of the CAS file is missing bytes (usually the sync bytes). A flag of [!] means it is an exact image of a real tape (or as exact as we can get) - not sure if a CAS that has been "fixed" but contains the same content as the real tape should be [!] - probably will be.
Once done, I will be doing a bulk replace of the existing files with the new set. I will also be releasing a corresponding TOSEC style DAT file that can be used with tools that support that format (clmamepro etc.) to compare and update your existing collections (based on CRC/SHA1 etc.) and rename your collection etc.... Identify images you have that are not part of the set (pls upload) and identify images that you don't have.
There is an existing TOSEC set, but on inspection that contains so many date and publisher errors that its going to be quicker to simply start again.
Once done - would there be any interest in offering a bulk download option for members who have contributed to the site?
Rgds
Simon
Re: Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 11:56 pm
by robcfg
I think it's a good idea to comply with the TOSEC standard as some emulators like MESS are moving toward that direction too by having "fixed software lists" that ensure you're using the right images of the software.
Also, the bulk download would be interesting because it would enable the creation of tools like C64 Memories or CPCGamesCD but for Dragon software.
Thank you for your great work!
Re: Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 11:52 am
by prime
robcfg wrote:I think it's a good idea to comply with the TOSEC standard as some emulators like MESS are moving toward that direction too by having "fixed software lists" that ensure you're using the right images of the software.
If there's one thing that bugs me about the MESS team it's their mentality that the emulator should know what to do with the file better than you should
Also, the bulk download would be interesting because it would enable the creation of tools like C64 Memories or CPCGamesCD but for Dragon software.
Thank you for your great work!
I'll second that also.
Cheers.
Phill.
Re: Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:36 pm
by sixxie
admin wrote:not sure if a CAS that has been "fixed" but contains the same content as the real tape should be [!] - probably will be.
To be honest, as no CAS can accurately represent even the simplest Dragon tape content (no encoding of silence!), it seems perfectly reasonable to flag it like that if it's at least an exact logical copy and loads!
Re: Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:37 pm
by admin
Script written, tested and bulk rename now done - flagging all files as .
Now to go through each one and check if its a full dump and if not, fix it... Have done all the "A"s and found 2 bad dumps that will not load correctly at all. Moving onto the "B"s soon....takes time to look at each file... the process is currently:
1. Open file as text - if its bit inverted (IE the leader bytes are not uppercase U) then use XROAR to read in the file and write out a new one (using the tapemangle feature!) as this outputs the corrected data.
2. If the header bytes are less that 128 then use CASFIX with default settings to add a 128 byte header and also the interblock sync bytes.
3. Load using XRoar to confirm that its a valid, working image - There are some copy protection routines out there that use an alternative number of interblock bytes or fail to put an EOF block on the tape, or have extra blocks followed by an EOF block.
4. Make a judgement based on age of game, source of image etc as to whether or not its a full dump or if its missing the original autorun or loading screen.
5. Label as appropriate.
Next step before uploading is a script to rip through and use Phills' CASCAT tool to add a readme.txt if one does not exist (or append CASCAT output to an existing one).
Re: Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:41 pm
by admin
sixxie wrote:admin wrote:not sure if a CAS that has been "fixed" but contains the same content as the real tape should be [!] - probably will be.
To be honest, as no CAS can accurately represent even the simplest Dragon tape content (no encoding of silence!), it seems perfectly reasonable to flag it like that if it's at least an exact logical copy and loads!
Thats the plan - As long the image is a close representation of the tape content then thats the best we can do (IE includes original autorun, loading screen etc if present). I have found at least one loader that uses the timing between blocks as a copy protection..but I have found that using the sync byte as silence works.
Re: Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:19 pm
by Alastair
admin wrote:sixxie wrote:admin wrote:not sure if a CAS that has been "fixed" but contains the same content as the real tape should be [!] - probably will be.
To be honest, as no CAS can accurately represent even the simplest Dragon tape content (no encoding of silence!), it seems perfectly reasonable to flag it like that if it's at least an exact logical copy and loads!
Thats the plan - As long the image is a close representation of the tape content then thats the best we can do (IE includes original autorun, loading screen etc if present). I have found at least one loader that uses the timing between blocks as a copy protection..but I have found that using the sync byte as silence works.
How does this scheme treat cases such as "Donkey King" or "Return of the Ring" where individual programs on the tape have been turned into separate CAS files?
Re: Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:32 pm
by admin
Alastair wrote:admin wrote:sixxie wrote:
To be honest, as no CAS can accurately represent even the simplest Dragon tape content (no encoding of silence!), it seems perfectly reasonable to flag it like that if it's at least an exact logical copy and loads!
Thats the plan - As long the image is a close representation of the tape content then thats the best we can do (IE includes original autorun, loading screen etc if present). I have found at least one loader that uses the timing between blocks as a copy protection..but I have found that using the sync byte as silence works.
How does this scheme treat cases such as "Donkey King" or "Return of the Ring" where individual programs on the tape have been turned into separate CAS files?
Quite well - It has the concept of multiple "roms" belonging to one "set"... So it assumes that all "sets" are zipped folders that contain "roms". In our case the folder has the correct naming standard, and we are not to worried about the content (cas files, readme.txt etc.). It will treat the folder as a single image of a single side of a tape.
Donkey King (198x) (Microdeal) [!] would be the name of the folder (which becomes a single ZIP file) and the content would be the seperate CAS files.
Re: Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 12:05 am
by prime
Alternatly you could of course re-join the multiple files back to a single CAS file. Since CAS files don't have a header or anything like that a simple copy /b file1.cas +file2.cas fileout.cas will work.
Cheers.
Phill.
Re: Renaming the downloads !
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 11:31 pm
by Alastair
admin wrote:Script written, tested and bulk rename now done - flagging all files as .
Now to go through each one and check if its a full dump and if not, fix it... Have done all the "A"s and found 2 bad dumps that will not load correctly at all. Moving onto the "B"s soon....takes time to look at each file...
How far are you currently through this process? For the sake of Rob, has "Keys of the Wizard" been tested?