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A few random Apple II questions


youxia

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I was wondering ...

1) what is the most comprehensive AII games collection?

2) is there a game/software database site similar to Atarimania, or Hall Of Light (Amiga)? Alternatively, what's the best scans (manuals, inlays, etc) source?

3) is it possible to load wav. tapes into an emulator? Or is there perhaps some other tape format?

4) how to log on into asimov ftp with a ftp client (not web browser)?

 

Thanx in advance.

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Here are some other hard drive volumes full of games and applications and can be downloaded from Asimov.

 

Total Replay - already mentioned

8-bit games

Apple II games (DosMaster)

IntBasicPdos8 (Prodos8) - run Integer Basic programs and games under Prodos

Prodos32 (January 2018 HD image)

 

 

2) There is a spreadsheet online somewhere, where someone starting collecting the name of every Apple II game.  Can't find it right now and my link is on another computer.  Will post it here once found.

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Thank you for the replies.

 

Regarding collections, I did have a little look before posting and have gathered most of the more obvious ones. Just wanted to make sure if there isn't something even better than the ones mentioned here and the likes of TOSEC. As great as the likes of Total Replay or 4am's efforts are, there isn't a single truly comprehensive collection though. Even TOSEC has some significant gaps. I find it really odd, at least when compared to other platforms, most of which are thoroughly covered (and being still researched). After all Apple II was hugely influential and the brand is still extremely popular (unlike, eg, Tandy or TI), so the lack of organised efforts is somewhat surprising.

 

It's similar when it comes to an online database. There's nothing out there resembling resources for the other 8/16 bit micros. The one I think @Iamgrootmentions is : http://tanrunomad.com/apple-ii-games/. It's a great site, but not really comparable to the likes of Lemon, Atarimania or Spectrum Computing.

 

One of the reasons I started this topic is that I'm actually considering having a stab at making a comprehensive 1G1R collection myself, seeing as I'm finally about to finish/release my current preservation project and would like to tackle something else. Hence my inquiry about the tapes. I have tried using CiderPress yesterday, following this guide, and managed to transfer wavs to disk. The files are readable using (AppleWin) but refuse to work. I've tried several tapes from that French site: Apple Barrel, House of Seven Gables, Softape Module 1, Sublogic, Lunar Lander, but with no good result. Basic files throw up Syntax Error, and binary ones display some * stuff. Has anybody done it before and could give an example I could try to replicate?

Edited by youxia
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What's most "disappointing" in the Apple II community is the lack of attention paid to documentation scanning relative to the amount of cracks/images made available. That needs to be improved. Especially completeness in the scans themselves.

 

As far as there being no single central repository, sure, that indicates lack of care and dedication, and all that. But what we do have is pretty good. In a distributed sort of way. I'm perfectly fine with having to visit multiple sites in order to assemble a comprehensive collection. In fact it reminds me of the old days. And as I perused those multiple sites over the years, the decades, I tended to pull out my favs and build my own repository.

 

Trundling through the many disks with different versions, different cracks, is always an enlightening experience. Finding something new or different happens all the time. Reminds me of searching through my "WaReZBuDdIeS'" disks in the 300-baud days. Never know what you'll find.

 

I like the Lunar Lander type games. Naturally. And just the other day I was looking at something and discovered another clone in the genre. Love it!

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7 hours ago, youxia said:

Regarding collections, I did have a little look before posting and have gathered most of the more obvious ones. Just wanted to make sure if there isn't something even better than the ones mentioned here and the likes of TOSEC

I think part of the issue is that Asimov was so good early on.

Most of the other retro systems fans for years would look at Asimov and think, why don't we have something like that?  Almost everything is there!!!

And then the other people started adding their own for the other systems, using more modern technology.  (More modern than an FTP repository)

And all of a sudden, Asimov is looking pretty crusty compared to some others...

 

I think there is definitely opening there for someone(s) to set up something newer...

 

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Thing that makes Asimov valuable (to me) is that it is easily mirrored. And that means local. And local means Windows XP search functions and MDC from Ciderpress. And the site_index.txt, too. 

 

Oldskewl FTP technology or not. It works!


How it all looks shouldn’t really matter. 

Edited by Keatah
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Yes that would be interesting. I don't know if Asimov's admin consortium would agree to the bandwidth required. It would likely have to be mirrored and updated from the "master" site.

 

IDK.. I grew up with 300-baud AE Lines. And Asimov is just a huge-ass AE Line. Little more. I mean its faster of course, and you can pull complete folders with a click instead of typing.

 

10 hours ago, The Usotsuki said:

And a lot of the Apple ][ community is still in the stone ages, me thinketh...

No doubt about that. Many many many members are really set in their ways. Not all of them are bad. Many old-school members are hacks from the discrete logic and early TTL DIP IC days, before custom chips were a thing. And that is OK.

 

And if they're not from those bygone days, then they are ones that can appreciate the technical artistry in and commensurate with owning and using a TTL computer built from generic parts. The more integrated //e and //c included - as they're essentially the same circuitry packed into lesser chips for power savings, efficiency, and reliability. The same timings (essence) are flying around the silicon.

 

There's also great innate knowledge hidden in the community. Especially since scientists used the Apple II more than is commonly made known.

 

12 hours ago, desiv said:

I think part of the issue is that Asimov was so good early on.

Thankfully it hasn't changed much. And the longevity is noteworthy.

 

12 hours ago, desiv said:

Most of the other retro systems fans for years would look at Asimov and think, why don't we have something like that?  Almost everything is there!!!

Indeed. I remember all that.

 

12 hours ago, desiv said:

And then the other people started adding their own for the other systems, using more modern technology.  (More modern than an FTP repository)

And all of a sudden, Asimov is looking pretty crusty compared to some others...

That's alright. It works efficiently without all the pomp and circumstance of slow-loading java-laden metro-messes other sites have.

 

The one thing the Apple II community needs to do, however, is beef up their documentation scans. So much is missing and incomplete.

 

12 hours ago, desiv said:

I think there is definitely opening there for someone(s) to set up something newer...

Maybe. It's gonna take some effort because you have tons of these compilation disks. And they keep popping up too. Much of it is useless but still a record of hobby computing in the late 70's and what not.

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Asimov is great, obviously - as a base file resource. It's just an ftp repo after all, a big mess of files - as it should be. But it's in no way a substitute for an organised, filtered game collection or a proper database. Sure, it's nice for browsing stuff and some random discoveries, but you can do it in a place like HoL as well, plus you have an ability of making specific searches. Want to find all the isometric, dinosaur-themed RPGs from 1987-89 with manuals? No problem.

 

You also know that places like this are a pretty accurate historical representations of a platform's library, since they have been researched over many years, and people are still contributing. Once you have a template like this in place it's easy to file and describe items properly, not just throw them in some directory on a server.

 

The lack of scans is probably most disappointing of all, at least the files are there, even if unorganised.

 

I'm just doing a quick and dirty "by year" and 1G1R filtered compilation based on several sources, at the moment  I'm around year 1983. Depending on how much work there is cross-referencing later I might go the whole way, or give up and just use TOSEC, if there are too many discrepancies between it and the TanRu site.

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10 hours ago, youxia said:

Asimov is great, obviously - as a base file resource. It's just an ftp repo after all, a big mess of files - as it should be. But it's in no way a substitute for an organised, filtered game collection or a proper database. Sure, it's nice for browsing stuff and some random discoveries, but you can do it in a place like HoL as well, plus you have an ability of making specific searches. Want to find all the isometric, dinosaur-themed RPGs from 1987-89 with manuals? No problem.

 

Probably the closest thing I know of to an online Apple II software database is Virtual Apple ][. Whilst the emulation side of things hasn't managed to keep step with modern browsers (this site has been around for ages), the database is still quite large and is searchable.

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  • 3 months later...

Can anybody see the full TanRu Nomad's game list using this google doc link? https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ggfUzUZDyZJ8LPOpPBOA9AQNBBnF959OdL-2Vs_JCjw/edit?usp=sharing

 

The main sheet on my computer shows only ~20 records with random cell numbers (the full list is >2500). I have all sorts of adblocks and anti-google things on my machine so was wondering if it's just me, or is this doc really borked? (though the "French sheet" on the same page seems to be okay, showing entries 1-117)

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7 hours ago, youxia said:

Can anybody see the full TanRu Nomad's game list using this google doc link? https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ggfUzUZDyZJ8LPOpPBOA9AQNBBnF959OdL-2Vs_JCjw/edit?usp=sharing

 

The main sheet on my computer shows only ~20 records with random cell numbers (the full list is >2500). I have all sorts of adblocks and anti-google things on my machine so was wondering if it's just me, or is this doc really borked? (though the "French sheet" on the same page seems to be okay, showing entries 1-117)

Going to that site I got the same thing. Go here:

 

http://tanrunomad.com/apple-ii-games/

 

This is his website and you can access the entire list from there.

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  • 1 month later...
7 hours ago, youxia said:

There's a game in TOSEC named "Real Life v5.1.0 (19xx)(-)" . Can anybody run it in AppleWin or some other emu?

I tried running it in both Virtual II and clock Signal, no go. Then I booted Microm8 and dropped the image on it and it ran. Interesting game, if you like playing one that simulates real life, as the title suggests.

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9 hours ago, magnusfalkirk said:

Now this interesting. Changing the image from a .po to .dsk it now runs on both Virtual II and Clock Signal. As a .po image Virtual II's virtual disk drive just spins and nothing happens. On Clock Signal it comes up with a garbage screen.

Yes. The ProDOS order and standard DOS order formats. CiderPress help file makes very brief mention of it, perhaps enough to start you on a path to learning more about it. If you want to.

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