Posted: 6/1/2011 11:22 AM
(Edited: 6/4/2022 4:57 PM)
Post subject: Game database
Quote
hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
I've always supported TASing DOS games, and I've been really happy to see some of my favorite games getting whupped and accepted on this site. Most DOS game sites only include one version of each game (usually the latest version), whereas I try to archive every version of each game. Older, buggier versions are often preferable for TASing, so I had hoped that my site would be helpful to TASers. I've just rewritten my site's database to have a dedicated table for downloads, and I now have 1166 versions of DOS, OS/2, Win16 and Win9x games listed, with download sizes, release dates, and MD5 hashes. (Should I add or use SHA-1 instead?) A list is available here. I hope that this will help both TASers and voters to find copies of the games and ensure that everyone is using the same version (for those who want to watch the runs in an emulator instead of waiting for the encode). If there's a gamepad next to the name, you can click on it to test the file in your browser in jDosbox. For now, the page doesn't link directly to the files, as I'm afraid that having a single page with 1166 downloads (3.4 GB) will get tentacle raped by bots and spiders (my hosting package comes with "unlimited" bandwidth, but I don't want to push my luck), but I do link to the download page for the file once you've found what you want. Also, note that my site only hosts legal downloads, so most of the files are shareware, though we do have a lot of freeware games, and I actively contact copyright holders and convince them to declare their old games freeware. Although I can't host any illegal full version software, I could add file sizes and MD5 hashes to the database if that would be a useful resource. Finally, there are 131 versions of games in my database that are missing but known to exist. If you can help me find any of those files, please check out the list.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Posted: 6/1/2011 11:45 AM
(Edited: 6/4/2022 4:57 PM)
Post subject: Re: Game database
Quote
Ilari
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1142)
Joined: 5/1/2010
Posts: 1217
Rookie of 2010 New systems TASer of 2010 New systems TAS of 2010
hopper wrote:
I've just rewritten my site's database to have a dedicated table for downloads, and I now have 1166 versions of DOS, OS/2, Win16 and Win9x games listed, with download sizes, release dates, and MD5 hashes. (Should I add or use SHA-1 instead?) A list is available here. I hope that this will help both TASers and voters to find copies of the games and ensure that everyone is using the same version (for those who want to watch the runs in an emulator instead of waiting for the encode).
Looks very useful. Regarding using MD5: * This isn't about crypto-security, it is identifying files. And emulators should be able to withstand hostile code anyway. * And AFAIK, as long as the original isn't specifically constructed for breaking MD5, then one can't find file with identical MD5 (i.e. full second preimage attack on MD5 is infeasible).
Posted: 6/1/2011 11:56 AM
(Edited: 6/4/2022 4:57 PM)
Quote
hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
Right, the purpose of the MD5 is a download integrity check. SHA-1 shouldn't be necessary, but it can be used for the same purpose, and perhaps some people prefer it.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.