After several days of digging, reading about CP/M and plain trying various things, I think I now have the most complete archive of Amstrad PCW 8256 games to date. All games have been made autoboot, for easy usage with Gotek-equipped PCWs and with PCW emulators. If you are interested, the archive can be found at:
http://8bitchip.info/commodore/Amstrad_PCW_8256_Games_Archive.tar.gz
If you have some games that aren't in the archive (I know there are more), and you are willing to share them, please contact me.
Really cool pack.
Thank you.
Cool thanks ! :D :D :D :D
Hi @zzarko (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=633) , it would be nice to include a readme file with the list of sites you got the games from.
That way, people interested in knowing more will have a list of places where to start. Also, many people spend money and time buying, dumping and scanning all that software and it feels like basic courtesy just to credit them for their efforts.
Other than that, great work! Nice pack of ready to use PCW software!
I initially started with CPCGamesCD (http://amstrad.es/cpcgamescd/), and I informed the author of that compilation. After that it was numerous forums, small collections and ftp sites, and I really do not know from where each file originated. To my defense, most collections had exactly the same dsk files (I checked with CRC checksum), and I have no idea who originally made them. Also, for all other collections (especially FTP sites), I didn't see acknowledgments, so it didn't occur to me to track origins of every file I downloaded.
I made clear that files were collected from numerous sources and didn't took credit for them. Files that are made by me are numerous autoboot dks files for games that didn't have them (of course, I didn't write CP/M files that are the core of those, but I think that is pretty obvious).
I have also spent money on my 3" disc collection, transferred them to dsk files and found that their files are the same as in other dsk files I found around. And I spent the time to make the compilation.
PCW section for CPCGamesCD is mostly made from ftp.nvg.ntnu.no, and I checked that ftp server for updates and found almost no PCW files. Also, most sites with PCW games that I found through Google do not exist anymore. Web archive had some copies, but mostly without files. So, even if I did record from where I got each file, that information would be outdated in a year or two, as sites come and go.
So, if you have the knowledge of origins of dsk files, please share, as I do not.
Quote from: zzarko on 23:27, 20 January 19
After several days of digging, reading about CP/M and plain trying various things, I think I now have the most complete archive of Amstrad PCW 8256 games to date. All games have been made autoboot, for easy usage with Gotek-equipped PCWs and with PCW emulators. If you are interested, the archive can be found at:
http://8bitchip.info/commodore/Amstrad_PCW_8256_Games_Archive.tar.gz (http://8bitchip.info/commodore/Amstrad_PCW_8256_Games_Archive.tar.gz)
If you have some games that aren't in the archive (I know there are more), and you are willing to share them, please contact me.
Very well done, thanks!
So how do i transfer these images to a 3" Floppy? Are there a guide somewhere on how to attach a 3" Floppy to a PC or is there another way?
Quote from: mikjaer on 02:07, 23 February 19
So how do i transfer these images to a 3" Floppy? Are there a guide somewhere on how to attach a 3" Floppy to a PC or is there another way?
I would strongly suggest to install a Gotek into PCW. This compilation is first and foremost made for that use case, as most of the images aren't 100% full. Alternatively, make an external Gotek for CPC and use that one for PCW transfer using full disk copy (https://collection.onceuponabyte.org/Pictures/drive/Drv0018a.JPG). AFAIK, it is possible to connect 3" drive to PC, but I think that Gotek is much easier way.
Hey zzarko,
Here are Jai Alai passwords.
Cheers.
8)
Hello 'mikjaer'
If you specifically want to attach a 3" drive to a PC, then this is possible (just as you can attach a 3.5" drive to a CPC/PCW). The Dutch PCW site at http://www.fvempel.nl/index.html has a page about this.
Depending on how you're going to operate the progs on a PC, you may well be much better ot use the Gotek route. Or you could use an emulator system (such as Joyce for PCW, or various others for CPCs) which will allow you to access the images directly from your PC drives, this will also provide the Z80 environment.
Geoff
Quote from: HigashiJun on 11:03, 11 February 20Here are Jai Alai passwords.
Wow, thanks! I'm preparing the updated archive as I have found more games...
You're welcome.
I have also completed your game archive with more games and versions for 8256/8512 and 9256/9512.
Let's wait your update !
Cheers.
Here is the new archive, version 1.1:
http://8bitchip.info/oub/Amstrad%20PCW/Amstrad_PCW_8256_Games_Archive_1.1.tar.gz
History
-------
1.0 - Initial version
1.1 - Added many games from www.habisoft.com:
Bridge Player 2000 With Tutor, Clock Chess 89, Draughts, Growing Pains
of Adrian Mole, Halls of the Things, Jai Alai, Kasekastchen, Loopz,
Mister Gas, Quatris 2.0, Sirwood and Spirits
- Added Arnhem and World of Soccer, received by mail (thanks!)
- Replaced Matchday 2 with another image
Nice !
Haven't found this in any PCW collections but thought I'd give it a try:
(https://i.postimg.cc/bJDWDdkT/980-C3601-2-B68-4-CE2-8236-AABA673-A2370.jpg)
Classic Super Trek for CP/M, written in M Basic ;-)
Hi TynH, if you can send us the game file it would be great to preserve it. regards
It's not a rare game as such:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_(1971_video_game) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_(1971_video_game))
However it's fun to play once you understand the concept and seems to run fine. Here's the file I've used:
https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZQsuMkZBg5ULGx2Ad7ak9t4nV2haLlguux7 (https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZQsuMkZBg5ULGx2Ad7ak9t4nV2haLlguux7)
http://www.dunnington.info/public/startrek/ (http://www.dunnington.info/public/startrek/)
Quote from: TynH on 01:50, 25 March 20
It's not a rare game as such:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_(1971_video_game) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_(1971_video_game))
However it's fun to play once you understand the concept and seems to run fine. Here's the file I've used:
https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZQsuMkZBg5ULGx2Ad7ak9t4nV2haLlguux7 (https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZQsuMkZBg5ULGx2Ad7ak9t4nV2haLlguux7)
http://www.dunnington.info/public/startrek/ (http://www.dunnington.info/public/startrek/)
Thank you very much, regards.
Quote from: TynH on 01:50, 25 March 20However it's fun to play once you understand the concept and seems to run fine. Here's the file I've used: ...
Thanks!!! And here is autoboot DSK file for that game :)
After a long time, a new version of the game archive, you can download it from:
http://8bitchip.info/oub/Amstrad%20PCW/Amstrad_PCW_8256_Games_Archive_1.2.tar.gz
Changes in 1.2 version:
Added many games from www.habisoft.com:
Knight Lore, Bridge Player Galactica, Corruption, Blackstar, Cozumel,
Amstra-Dames, Fish, Mission Detector, Force Quatre, Giantkiller,
Heroes of Karn, Supernova Invaders
Star Trek, file shared by TynH from cpcwiki
As before, all added games were made to autoboot.
After almost a year, here is 1.3 version of the archive:
https://8bitchip.info/oub/Amstrad%20PCW/Amstrad_PCW_8256_Games_Archive_1.3.tar.gz
Changes:
- Added a game from www.habisoft.com: Acheton
- Added many BASIC games from PCW_GameBase(Ox_and_Mad_2020):
(taken from https://acpc.me/ACME/AMSTRAD_PRO/AMSTRAD_PCW/LOGICIELS/)
Aerial Antics, Ams-Tenis, Burglar Bill, Car Park, Crash Landing, Dominoes, Ethernet, Gravity,
Lokomotive, Mario's Cement Factory, Magic Maze, One Armed Bandit, Tetris (BASIC), Widget Factory - From the same archive, also a several cracked games that no longer need password sheet:
Golden Basket, Jai Alai, Poli Diaz El Potro De Vallecas, Rescate En El Golfo - From the same archive, two games were added to WIP directory:
Nemesis (playable) and OrbQuest (unplayable).
Last two added games are CP/M RPGs from 1981. Nemesis is playable, but I guess it can be better. There is a TERMDEF program that is used to describe terminal capabilities. For now, I have found that VT52/VT100 works well with PCW, but I do not know if entering answers to many questions inside TERMDEF can make a better experience. Unfortunately, I do not know the answers to most of them.
Regarding OrbQuest, it is currently unplayable. There used to be a SETTERM program for it, but it is not recovered so far. Someone managed to find out what the data inside TERM.CTL is (see last post here: https://groups.google.com/g/comp.os.cpm/c/mfTdhZttbTo/m/xj838HKuCAAJ), but again I do not know what the values for PCW should be. Game starts, but text output is bad.
Anyhow, enjoy newly added games in your PCW with Gotek drive :)
Hi Zarko, thanks for sharing.
Clarify that ACME games are from PCWWiki. Almost all the material is taken from there.
http://www.habisoft.com/pcwwiki/doku.php?id=es:juegos
Quote from: jevicac on 01:42, 15 February 22
Hi Zarko, thanks for sharing.
Clarify that ACME games are from PCWWiki. Almost all the material is taken from there.
I really do appreciate all the work you are doing to preserve PCW stuff, I really do! I do not want to take anyone's credit about that, not yours, nor anyone else's and that is clearly stated in archive's readme. I did not create any of the software included (except that I have created autoboot DSK files for many games), nor have I backed up from original disks myself.
I took the files from the place I clearly described, and inside that archive there were no information about where they came from. Do you suggest that I should search all the internet every time I add something to my games collection, and hunt down where the file originated from? And even if I manage to do that, then why stop there? Should I track down all the magazines where the listing is printed, and credit all the staff that was employed at the magazine at the time? Should I track down who wrote the program and send it to the magazine, and ask for a permission to to credit them also? How about workers who cut down trees to make the paper for the magazine?
Just to amuse everyone here that are concerned about crediting other people's work, here are md5 checksums for two BASIC games from Habi's site and those that included in my collection:
13b4106fda2a289f5481f08a35269f88 Dominoes.dsk
10e81b72454068bedff16450495a3dd7 Dominoes-Habi.dsk
18837d092e13c59d57fc443506f9e7ee Tetris (BASIC).dsk
fef49b134cf8a20656e53064c5841943 Tetris-Habi.dsk
They are of different sizes, too:
194816 Dominoes.dsk
204544 Dominoes-Habi.dsk
199680 Tetris (BASIC).dsk
199168 Tetris-Habi.dsk
So, what now? What is the original file? How could I know that? Should I extract every file from DSK and check if the files in DSKs are the same as anywhere else on the internet? If they are, who made the original backup? If they are not, what then?
I'm not doing this for fame, I certainly do not do it for money, I make a collection for myself and a few friends and I'm sharing it on my site. If it is preferred, I will simply not share it here and be done with it.
Hello again, I don't want there to be misunderstandings. Just specify where most things come from. Our work is 100% original copied from the original discs. The games in Mallard Basic were typed and prepared by me from the magazines. This material is free to share among all. Each one can give it the use that they like the most. But it is not the first time that they attribute the work of others that is so difficult to upload. It's just a clarification. Greetings
Quote from: jevicac on 08:21, 15 February 22
Just specify where most things come from.
And I did, if you cared to read my post, almost all of the added games in the last batch are taken from
https://acpc.me/ACME/AMSTRAD_PRO/AMSTRAD_PCW/LOGICIELS/ (https://acpc.me/ACME/AMSTRAD_PRO/AMSTRAD_PCW/LOGICIELS/)
and, as stated, one game from you site. A few DSK files from the archive that I checked aren't from your site. I have no idea how they are made, that you need to ask the author of that site, not me. If you or anyone else is that concerned about giving credit, feel free to check all the programs inside DSK files from that site and to compare them with other copies, I'll gladly include whatever you find in the readme. I have no intention of spending my free time on that.
Looking from my side, I have nothing more to add to this topic. And, I will refrain myself from posting any updates here in the future, that way at least I'll not be accused of stealing something that I did not stole in the first place.
Hello and apologies, do not take it the wrong way nor do I want misunderstandings. I have never accused him of stealing material, far from it. What PCWWiki publishes is free and for everyone. I just clarified that a lot of material is from the PCWwiki, nothing more than a record. I don't want you to get angry, this is to share with everyone. I hope you haven't misunderstood me. And you are free to publish whatever you want and like. I haven't called him out on anything. Things can be misunderstood and it is not my intention. This has been a misunderstanding. My apologies. Greetings
Quote from: zzarko on 11:58, 14 February 22Regarding OrbQuest, it is currently unplayable. There used to be a SETTERM program for it, but it is not recovered so far. Someone managed to find out what the data inside TERM.CTL is (see last post here: https://groups.google.com/g/comp.os.cpm/c/mfTdhZttbTo/m/xj838HKuCAAJ), but again I do not know what the values for PCW should be. Game starts, but text output is bad.
The following TERM.CTL values seem to work for me, at least as far as starting the game on a PCW is concerned:
00000000 1B 78 00 67 0B CD 1B 4B 00 C1 77 D8 1B 59 00 C5 .x.g...K..w..Y..
00000010 E5 00 5C 1D 3A 00 02 D6 0D 00 00 01 01 20 00 21 ..\.:........ .!
I found that on many of these games, all that is needed to make them work on the PCW9512 is to rewrite the checksum in the boot sector to 01 instead of FF.
Previously, someone worked out that it's possible to boot from a PCW9512 disk, and pop the disk out as soon as it changes to the bar screen, and loads the boot sector, then to switch disks to the PCW8256 disk, and that would work, and the game could be manually loaded.
However while investigating, I noted that it was possible to just change the boot sector checksum, and then the 8256 disk was recognized as a 9512 disk, and the game would just load.
I wonder if it's worth rebuilding a lot of these images from 8256 to 9512 format so that people who download them can play them OK if they have a 9512?
David
Hi guys,
I wanted to go back through some of my old game on the PCW8256 and one of the games is Santa's Grotto.
Every time I load it, it plays for a few seconds and then comes up with the "Tough Luck" message. Do you get the same thing?
Any idea how to fix it?
Thanks all.
Quote from: Aristodest on 12:06, 11 January 23Hi guys,
I wanted to go back through some of my old game on the PCW8256 and one of the games is Santa's Grotto.
Every time I load it, it plays for a few seconds and then comes up with the "Tough Luck" message. Do you get the same thing?
Any idea how to fix it?
Thanks all.
Hi Aristodest,
Sorry for the late response, haven't been here for a while... I have just tried that game on my PCW for a few minutes and it seems to work OK. Could you maybe post some more details abut the problem? Are you trying on a real PCW or in an emulator? If on a real PCW, do you use a real floppy or some hardware floppy emulator (Gotek, HxC)?
santa.JPG
Cheers,
Zarko
Quote from: zzarko on 11:58, 14 February 22After almost a year, here is 1.3 version of the archive:
https://8bitchip.info/oub/Amstrad%20PCW/Amstrad_PCW_8256_Games_Archive_1.3.tar.gz
Anyhow, enjoy newly added games in your PCW with Gotek drive :)
Hi there, I appreciate this is an old post, however I've only just discovered the potential joys of the PCW (acquired an 8256 AND an 8512).
I've downloaded the file, but when I try to open it opens as a Raspberry Pi image file - do I just unpack the image to an SD Card for the Gotek, or am I missing something?
Appreciate your amazing work.......Carlos.
@Carlos0371 It's a .TAR.GZ file, so it's compressed (.GZ) and bundled (.TAR) ...
So, after unzipping the GZ, you will get one file (Amstrad_PCW_8256_Games_Archive_1.3) with no prefix, but this is the bundled archive. You will have to extract that a second time to get the files inside. How to do that depends on the OS you are using ;)
Thank you for that, I'm using Windows, so do I just extract straight to SD, then put that in the Gotek and it'll work? Sorry, not used a Gotek yet.......
Quote from: Carlos0371 on 12:39, 03 June 23Thank you for that, I'm using Windows, so do I just extract straight to SD, then put that in the Gotek and it'll work? Sorry, not used a Gotek yet.......
After extracting you get a GAMES folder with DSK Images, guess you have to put that in your Gotek :)
I don't think you can put folders on your removable usb drive and expect the Gotek interface to navigate them. The archive consists of .dsk image files, put them in the root and access each like an actual 3" disk. Even with a rotary selector you probably don't want to put more than say 20 disk images on one drive.
Quote from: TynH on 21:29, 09 July 23I don't think you can put folders on your removable usb drive and expect the Gotek interface to navigate them. The archive consists of .dsk image files, put them in the root and access each like an actual 3" disk. Even with a rotary selector you probably don't want to put more than say 20 disk images on one drive.
With a rotary encoder and a OLED display you can navigate folder structures.