Preserving my old games

Navvarr · Post by **Navvarr** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:42 pm

Really appreciate you doing that for me- its great to see those games running again after all this time and I'm happy to share them with the community on here.

If I manage to get more TAP files - will I send them to Jeff-20 or Mayhem -or both?

Thanks again guys

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:47 pm

I had also taken a look at the *.tap file, Mayhem just beat me by a few minutes in providing a nice archive of your games.

It was possible for me to load the files the standard way (i.e. typing in LOAD + Return at the READY prompt) when I first played the tape to position 2, within VICE 2.3. The first few seconds contain a signal which causes the VIC-20 to make a warmstart.

Navvarr wrote:will I send them to Jeff-20 or Mayhem -or both?

If you take a look at the Software releases threads in the General section, you'll see that a lot of fellows here have successfully learned the basics of data exchange. It would do no harm to you to try the same.

*.vsf files are generally specific to the exact version of VICE you are using. You can't count on that others will use your version. Furthermore, chances are that the snapshot will become unusable with the next revision of VICE, making it unfit for archival purposes. The main use of snapshots is for debugging, and creating a save state from games which themselves do not provide a means to save the progress within the game. Last, they have no equivalent on the real hardware: a VIC-20 can't process snapshots.

*.tap files are, as you surely have noticed, 'images' of tape recordings. The can be either produced from real tapes, and loaded into VICE - or the other way round. They are accessed by 'mounting' them, and then using LOAD or SAVE at the READY prompt. The double-clicks in the window menus of VICE are just convenient shortcuts.

*.d64 are, likewise, 'images' of floppy disks of the 1541 disk drive. They have a directory, and can be handled in many aspects like real floppies. 'Mounting' means insert the disk, 'unmounting' means eject the disk. *.d71 and *.d81 are the equivalent formats for 1571 and 1581, respectively.

*.prg files are most often stored within the host PC's file system. The surrounding directory can be attached as huge 'floppy' within the 'Settings > Peripherals' menu - just be sure to switch True Drive Emulation off, and also tick off read/write *.p00 files. A quite easy way to mount that directory is simply by dragging the *.prg into the VICE main window.

Greetings,

Michael

P.S.: @mods - I think this thread now should go into the 'Emulation and Cross-developing' section.

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 5:51 pm

I've moved and renamed the topic now, hopefully people can still find it

Mike wrote:The first few seconds contain a signal which causes the VIC-20 to make a warmstart.

Ah, that explains that then, I had noticed it too.

Navvarr · Post by **Navvarr** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:00 am

Hi guys- sorry, not posted for a few days- real life eh?!- kinda gets in the ways sometimes!

I'm making some progress with my old games- managing to load them and save then to a new tape- will send on any TAP files I manage to create for you to look at them if you like.

Who shall I send the TAP files to?

Navvarr · Post by **Navvarr** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 6:47 am

More games emailed to Mayhem and Jeff20 - got another Tape to send.

Managed to load all the games and then ReSave them onto a new Hi Quality Cassette -then created a TAP file of the new Tape- works a lot better now.

Will send the B-side shortly....

Navvarr · Post by **Navvarr** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:04 am

Well guys that all my games- make of them what you will- all were written about 1985 - 1986.

Great to have saved them as TAP files- it certainly gives my kids an idea of what old games were like - can't see them dropping their Wii mind to play them- you really had to have been there- eh?!!

rhurst · Post by **rhurst** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 3:58 pm

Heh-heh, today's kid playing any 8-bit game -- not a chance in the world.

Five years ago, it took a lot of arm-twisting of my teenage nephews just to make them play a few MAME games on a custom arcade cabinet. While there was initial curiosity of the homebrew machine, controllers, and its frontend to explore, once they played a few games, they got bored and were turned off by it almost as quickly.

Post by **Jeff-20** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 6:16 pm

It's sad because to me most modern games look like army recruitment tools.

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:10 pm

Jeff-20 wrote:It's sad because to me most modern games look like army recruitment tools.

Yeah. Like Choplifter, Battle Zone, Artillery Duel and Capture the Flag.

dabone · Post by **dabone** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 5:06 am

Five years ago, it took a lot of arm-twisting of my teenage nephews just to make them play a few MAME games on a custom arcade cabinet. While there was initial curiosity of the homebrew machine, controllers, and its frontend to explore, once they played a few games, they got bored and were turned off by it almost as quickly

5 years ago I was single after a divorce and had gotten back into arcade game collecting. My children at the time were 6 and 8 and I had a arcade setup at my house. Two rooms with 12 games. (2 mame machines, 1 pinball, and the rest original games.)

They couldn't get enough of them and all the neighborhood kids would come over all the time to play. During the summer it was always packed.
So children can enjoy the oldies, it just usually takes the pack mentality to get them to stick with it long enough to get into it.

I still have 3 mame machines. (I remarried in 07 and sold off most of the games.) and this weekend I'll take 2 to a local Sci-fi convention. I've been doing this for years and the kids always love them.

I run the computer room there, and I'm also thinking about taking my 128 running ezflash for some old school commodore gaming.
(The vic is a little too old school for most. and I not taking my pet 2001-8.

)

Later,
dabone

Navvarr · Post by **Navvarr** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 2:17 pm

A big thanks to Jeff-20 for hosting my old games-

http://sleepingelephant.com/denial/members/abtape.zip

Really appreciate it- Its spurred me on to maybe sit down and write few new ones.
The Vic may be pretty basic, 3.5k with only 8 colours - but to me its chunky blocky graphics have something that a lot of old computers don't have.
I gravitated from the Vic20 to the Spectrum to the Amiga and on to the consoles (PS1, PS2, PC gaming) etc etc.

Always did keep hankering back to the Vic20 - you just don't forget your first computer do ya- bit like your first love!!

heres is a link to some of my collection- not been updated for a few years mind

http://www.gamestm.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1533

Post by **Jeff-20** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 6:27 pm

Navvarr wrote: heres is a link to some of my collection- not been updated for a few years mind

http://www.gamestm.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1533

Amazing! You even have Radiant Sivergun??

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:56 am

Mmmm... fun time sorting these out and separating them given you liked to reuse titles heh...

Navvarr · Post by **Navvarr** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 3:09 pm

Hey I was only 14 or 15!

I liked Scramble and Pacman!!

But yeah, point taken! -anything new I write will have an original title!

rhurst · Post by **rhurst** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 7:42 am

dabone wrote:So children can enjoy the oldies, it just usually takes the pack mentality to get them to stick with it long enough to get into it.

A home arcade layout (2-rooms, 12-games, etc.) as an old school gaming venue _should_ attract and entice human beings of all walks of life. But unless you're swapping out dedicated machines every month, I suspect you packed them in on those days when the pool was opened and/or hamburgers and hot dogs were being served, too.

As far as the children and adolescents go, though, I would be curious what games that "pack" would gravitate too. I mean, a dedicated pinball machine never gets old, even if the playing session times are short-lived each. But, Pac-Man? Asteroids? Atari Baseball? I would be shocked to hear of a 10+ year old (pre-adult, not mentality) today having sincere (and more than 5-minutes of lasting) interest in such games.

My observations of that generation is that there is some initial interest in old school arcade (not consoles and certainly not home computers) video games, but centered around the best and well-known few like Mortal Kombat and Bubble Bobble.