Coolcrab Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 (edited) I love atarimania as it is a beautiful database with all roms and game descriptions that I could wish for. One thing that I noticed though is that they only list games until 1992. So all homebrews and hacks that were made afterwards are still mostly floating around and (I think not documented elsewhere?) Is there some site that does something similar? Could the atarimania people add a homebrew section or does anybody have other solutions? Like the real games these games should be conserved I think. (And I'm.not just saying that because I'm making a game myself, but it did make me think) Edited December 9, 2017 by Coolcrab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 http://www.atari2600homebrew.com/ http://atariage.com/forums/topic/268230-homebrewproto-release-levels-and-source-material/?hl=%2Balfred+%2Bchallenge+%2Binstructions&do=findComment&comment=3814990 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 The problem with homebrews is, that there are just too many and also too many unfinished or even barely started. When compiling such a list, you are hunting an ever moving target. Many people have tried such an index, but most gave up soon. Here is the most recent index (from AA member arenafoot) I know about: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/259839-homebrew-list/?do=findComment&comment=3652591 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SvOlli Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 Afaik there is some effort on putting up an AtariAge Wiki, which would be rather fitting for "collecting" homebrews. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 Yeah, I was trying to track homebrews in development, but I didn't realize how many people put out quick games to test a concept or just because they can as opposed to completely developing a game for physical release. Turns out I didn't have the hutzpah to keep chasing down every time someone announced a new game about running up and down avoiding footballs or whatever. It would be nice to have a searchable index to keep track of such things. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KaeruYojimbo Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 I tried to do a listing of bB games a few years ago and got discouraged trying to sift through all the abandoned and half-finished games, not to mention trying to track down all the games that are posted places other than AtariAge. atari2600homebrew.com was great but hasn't been updated in over a year. Even keeping an updated list of only games that get physical releases is daunting when you start taking into account all of the websites that offer homebrews plus individuals or shows that do limited releases of games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 Maybe such a list should be limited to games which were/are released by the author on physical carts. Either unlimited only or at least e.g. 50 carts. That would avoid all unfinished games plus those which are especially tailored to milk collectors. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vidak Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 I have almost finished reading and taking notes on the Stella Mailing List, I think I might be able to put some time into documenting down all the Atari homebrew games. Can't take more than a few months... right? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackAttack Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 I agree with limiting such a list to games that were published to physical carts in some minimum quantity. It would probably be good to call it "Published Homebrews" or similar in order to avoid repeated debates about what qualifies a game to make the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolcrab Posted December 12, 2017 Author Share Posted December 12, 2017 I agree that complete and published should be a criterion, otherwise there are way too many. I really like the atarimania website while the homebrew solutions are spreadsheets and blogs at best, but not really searchable properly. I wouldn't mind helping setting up a good site for the homebrews. I have a nice library site from some years ago, and I think that with light modifications it could be used for this purpose. http://pietrow.net/lib/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 IMO a wiki would be most likely most effective and lasting. I am sure Al would host it, but someone else has to set it up. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Yeah, gotta be limited to those that make it to physical form in one way or another. I think games like Defend Your Castle and Ature qualify, but not sure exactly what the criteria could be. Would love to have such a resource. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vidak Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 I'm down to help set this up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolcrab Posted December 14, 2017 Author Share Posted December 14, 2017 (edited) A wiki is fine too, can I suggest dokuwiki? https://www.dokuwiki.org/dokuwiki# with monobook template https://www.dokuwiki.org/template:monobook Edited December 14, 2017 by Coolcrab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolcrab Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 I made a wiki on my server, if people can help out we can build it up and maybe move it to its own domain or atariage? http://pietrow.net/atari_homebrew 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arenafoot Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 I love atarimania as it is a beautiful database with all roms and game descriptions that I could wish for. One thing that I noticed though is that they only list games until 1992. So all homebrews and hacks that were made afterwards are still mostly floating around and (I think not documented elsewhere?) Is there some site that does something similar? Could the atarimania people add a homebrew section or does anybody have other solutions? Like the real games these games should be conserved I think. (And I'm.not just saying that because I'm making a game myself, but it did make me think) There's my Comprehensive List here: https://1drv.ms/x/s!ArXu52QZivTrgVbQayev1Wc1QprN I've included everything (homebrews, hacks, WIPs, Demos, etc) in my list and its a 4 year project, so far (constantly updating all the time). BTW, the game titles in bold font on the list were released for sale and the normal font titles were not. and then there is this one I was helping out also (Video Game Homebrew Wiki): http://www.videogamehomebrew.com/index.php/Main_Page It used to be in a forum version and now moved over to a wiki page. The problem with homebrews is, that there are just too many and also too many unfinished or even barely started. When compiling such a list, you are hunting an ever moving target. Many people have tried such an index, but most gave up soon. Here is the most recent index (from AA member arenafoot) I know about: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/259839-homebrew-list/?do=findComment&comment=3652591 Thanks for the shout out! Yeah, I was trying to track homebrews in development, but I didn't realize how many people put out quick games to test a concept or just because they can as opposed to completely developing a game for physical release. Turns out I didn't have the hutzpah to keep chasing down every time someone announced a new game about running up and down avoiding footballs or whatever. It would be nice to have a searchable index to keep track of such things. I have them listed on my list as "WIP" and the others are listed as "Abandoned". I tried to do a listing of bB games a few years ago and got discouraged trying to sift through all the abandoned and half-finished games, not to mention trying to track down all the games that are posted places other than AtariAge. atari2600homebrew.com was great but hasn't been updated in over a year. Even keeping an updated list of only games that get physical releases is daunting when you start taking into account all of the websites that offer homebrews plus individuals or shows that do limited releases of games. I created a column on my list for bB games (blue background column "I"). Maybe such a list should be limited to games which were/are released by the author on physical carts. Either unlimited only or at least e.g. 50 carts. That would avoid all unfinished games plus those which are especially tailored to milk collectors. sorta like http://www.atari2600homebrew.com/ most of the release titles are posted there, just not updated in over a year - its a shame :-( I have almost finished reading and taking notes on the Stella Mailing List, I think I might be able to put some time into documenting down all the Atari homebrew games. Can't take more than a few months... right? LOL... if you do compile a list, can you send me a copy so that I may compare it to my list and see if I'm missing any titles? I'm currently 4 years into my list..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arenafoot Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 I made a wiki on my server, if people can help out we can build it up and maybe move it to its own domain or atariage? http://pietrow.net/atari_homebrew there is this one already on wiki: http://www.videogamehomebrew.com/index.php/Main_Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 First we should decide what kind of Wiki we want. Should it be Atari 2600 only? Atari only? Classic homebrews? All homebrews? Only released ones? What are the requirements for a valid release? Are hacks allowed? Etc pp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 I would say Hacks get their own database. I'd like to keep it as clean as possible. I'd also prefer either only listing games that got a physical cart release or at the very least a way to indicate games that were physically released. I'm very old, so to me a game isn't complete until there is a physical copy I can buy. I realize that these days young whipper snappers are all about the DLC and Harmony Carts and emulation and whatnot, but dang it, this is classic gaming! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Hunter Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 Like Thomas said, you have to make boundaries, otherwise you'll drown, trust me.IMO archiving all post 1992 cart released VCS homebrews is already more than enough work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 For what it's worth, AtGames is going to be working on a retro gaming portal to house vetted homebrews. We're still working out the logistics, but it's hoped to be a good way for customers to find games to put on SD cards. This is going to be particularly important as the whole line-up may be moving to have SD card support in the future. The catch as I see it is that as a corporate portal, we need to be careful of copyright infringement (no direct copies/clones of games), and of course only want to host homebrews where authors give explicit permission for use. There may be a way to have paid ROMs at some point (with some type of DRM attached) for those authors who prefer compensation, but that's not currently in the plans. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHairy Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 (edited) I am currently working on a embeddable version of 6502.ts/Stellerator (as a JS library). If there is a portal / database of homebrews, it could be used to emulate them directly in the browser. Edited December 28, 2017 by DirtyHairy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 (edited) there is this one already on wiki: http://www.videogamehomebrew.com/index.php/Main_Page I never had heard about "Isaiah's_Wii_Chase" before and the store link is for "Incoming". It looks like the former was released on carts (20 copies max) and sold for only a few days, probably to collectors only. IMO such a low number and sale time should not qualify here. BTW: Trying to create an account there lead to "Database error - A database query error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software." The problem I have with the page is, that I have no clue how long it will last, if there is a backup strategy or what will happen when the owner looses interest (or worse). That will stop at least me from investing a lot of time into completing it. Something hosted on and (co)owned by AtariAge (or anyone with a similar reputation) would solve the problem. Edited December 29, 2017 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHairy Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 (edited) Another possibility would be hosting the database as a git repository on GitHub (with a dedicated organization NOT related to Stella) and serving it via GitHub pages. Github can directly render markdown, and the underlying engine (jeckyll) supports theming and templating. This would come with quite a few advantages No issues with backups: everyone who clones there repo has a whole copy of it, including history Versioning via git Contributions happen via git clones and pull, which enforces and editorial process that would make sustaining a quality baseline much easier Hosting is done by GitHub -> no issues with speed and availability Jeckyll is open source; if the database has ever to move away from GitHub, it could be easily hosted elsewhere (the source could even stay on GH) There'd be a issue tracking system for discussing database entries The unavoidable disadvantages that I see: Contributing is slightly more difficult and requires a GitHub account. However, all steps necessary to create or edit a page can be done in the web interface, so that should not be much of a hurdle There are soft 1GB limits on the page size and 100GB on the monthly traffic Reliable people have to volunteer as maintainers. However, that'd be a requirement for a high-quality wiki, too. Edited December 29, 2017 by DirtyHairy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jeff Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 You could offload a lot of the work by letting others upload images and let users vote it up or down and then just rank them. Also, that could build a rating of the user who posts them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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