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comp.sys.amiga.games Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)


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Archive-name: amiga/games-FAQ
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1997/4/27
Version: csag_faq 2.12 (27.4.97)

See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
General Information
*******************

   comp.sys.amiga.games FAQ $VER: csag_faq 2.12 (27.4.97)

New this version
================

   * Corrections

Introduction
============

   If you're new to this group, READ THIS.  All of it.  Please.

   This FAQ provides the answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions
on this newsgroup; readers new to this group should read it before
posting.

   It is posted on or about the 25th of each month to
comp.sys.amiga.games, comp.answers and news.answers. New users of
Usenet news should be sure to read all of the articles in
news.announce.newusers to familiarise themselves with the general
etiquette of communicating on the net.

How to get this FAQ
===================

   Listed below are possible methods of obtaining the latest version of
this FAQ.  Unless noted it comes in an archive containing AmigaGuide,
ANSI text, and postscript formats.

FTP
---

Usenet FAQ Archive:
`ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.sys.amiga.games/games_FAQ' Text
only.

MSOR FTP server: `ftp://msor.ex.ac.uk/pub/amiga/'

Aminet: `ftp://ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk/pub/aminet/docs/help/'

Games Domain: `ftp://wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/pub/djh/faqs/'

WWW
---

   These are HTML versions of the FAQ

MSOR WWW server: `http://msor.ex.ac.uk/Staff/ken/faq_toc.html'

Games Domain: `http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/'

E-mail
------

Usenet FAQ Archive
Mail `mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu' with the line
*send usenet/news.answers/amiga/games-faq* in the body.

Aminet Mail Server
Mail `ftpmail@doc.ic.ac.uk' or `ftpmail@ftp.luth.se' with
*SEND pub/aminet/docs/help/csag.faq.lha* in the body.

Me :-)
Mail `ken@msor.ex.ac.uk' with *Games FAQ* in the subject line.  This is
not a 'bot answering so you could also say hi!

Correspondence
==============

   Corrections, suggestions, comments and cash bribes :-) are welcome,
please send them to Ken Powell at ken@msor.ex.ac.uk.

Copyright
=========

   This document copyright (C) 1995-1997 by Ken Powell.

   It may be placed on Aminet (including Aminet CD) and Fred Fish (any
format he wants).  Mail me for permission to use in any other material.

   Some terms used in this document are trademarks and registered
trademarks of their owners, these are not necessarily indicated in the
text but are acknowledged.

Credits
=======

   Thanks to Christina Schulman (schulman+@pitt.edu) for letting me use
her comp.sys.mac.games FAQ as the basis for this FAQ.

   Nick Ridley (nick@mentaur.demon.co.uk) for the CivAGA patches.

   Suggestions and additions to this FAQ have been contributed by:
   * ML Hewitt (u3f88@cc.keele.ac.uk)
   * Rowan Crawford (dljar1@giaeb.cc.monash.edu.au)
   * Mikali (u9162828@uow.edu.au)
   * Geoffrey Newman (grn@alcove.apana.org.au)
   * Nicholas Fisher (kau10@central.sussex.ac.uk)
   * Elliott Mitchell (ehem@cyro.cryogenic.com)
   * Bill Bennett (bill.bennett@zoology.oxford.ac.uk)
   * dEN (ma3dhcy@midge.bath.ac.uk)
   * Nigel Hughes (ngh94@aber.ac.uk)
   * Jan Ellgring (mozart@orgasmatron.ppp.lrz-muenchen.de)
   * Peter Olafson (Peteroo@aol.com)
   * Jason Murray (59507594@minyos.its.rmit.edu.au)
   * Alex Amsel (alex@teeth.demon.co.uk)
   * David Kinder (kinder@teaching.physics.ox.ac.uk)
   * Markus Castren (slice@xgw.fi)
   * Mark Knibbs and Paul Doherty (h0142kdd@rz.hu-berlin.de)

   * Nicholas Stallard (Snowy@studbox.uni-stuttgart.de)

   Thanks!

A Word About Flaming
====================

   Every now and then some moron posts something along the lines of
"Amiga games suck!!!!! Get a real machine!!!!!" And immediately 30 or
40 people take the bait and post long, vitriolic replies and exhort
everyone to mail-bomb the perpetrator.

   Please, please, please don't waste your time and our bandwidth
replying to this kind of idiocy.  More often than not it was posted as
a practical joke from the account of some hapless user who left
themselves logged in at a public computer cluster.  The owner of the
account then logs back in a day or two later to find several megs of
hate mail and uuencoded core dumps in their mail spool.

   If you feel that you absolutely have to share your witty, concise
flame on the complete superiority of the Amiga above all other gaming
platforms, take it to comp.sys.amiga.advocacy, where it will be
appreciated.

Sources of games and information
********************************

PD and Shareware
================

   There are many Amiga games available to try for free.  These games
go under many labels including freeware, PD, shareware, giftware,...

   Most of this software is avaliable on the 'net although some is only
avaliable from PD Houses which advertise in various Magazines.

Aminet
------

   The major site for ftp'ing Amiga software is the Aminet chain.
There is the *mother* site at `ftp.wustl.edu' and mirror sites around
the world.  (A mirror site is a site that contains an exact copy of the
contents of another site, in the hopes of diverting some traffic away
from the more popular site.  The mirror sites are usually several hours
behind the *mother* site.)

   It is usually faster to get files from the nearest mirror.  A full
list of sites (correct at 28/5/96) is below - mirrors are being added
all the time so this is subject to change.

Location     Name                     IP Address      Path

USA (MO)     ftp.wustl.edu            128.252.135.4   pub/aminet/
USA (WI)     ftp.netnet.net           198.70.64.3     pub/aminet/
USA (AZ)     ftp.ninemoons.com        165.247.33.6    pub/aminet
Australia    ftp.livewire.com.au      203.16.26.3     pub/aminet/
Australia    ftp.tas.gov.au           147.109.237.5   pub/aminet/
Italy        ftp.unina.it             192.132.34.17   pub/aminet/
Scandinavia  ftp.luth.se              130.240.18.2    pub/aminet/
Switzerland  ftp.eunet.ch             146.228.10.16   pub/aminet/
Germany      kelly.uni-paderborn.de   131.234.128.206 pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-paderborn.de     131.234.2.42    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-stuttgart.de     129.69.18.15    aminet
Germany      ftp.uni-erlangen.de      131.188.3.2     pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de      130.149.17.7    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-trier.de         136.199.8.81    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.tu-chemnitz.de       192.108.33.193  pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.fh-augsburg.de       141.82.16.242   pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-oldenburg.de     134.106.40.9    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-bremen.de        134.102.228.2   pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-kl.de            131.246.9.95    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-siegen.de        141.99.128.1    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.rz.uni-wuerzburg.de  132.187.1.2     pub/aminet/
Austria      ftp.giga.or.at           131.130.12.58   pub/aminet/
France       ftp.grolier.fr           194.51.174.67   pub/aminet/
France       sunsite.cnam.fr          163.173.129.5   pub/aminet/
Portugal     ftp.ua.pt                193.136.80.6    pub/aminet/
Denmark      sunsite.auc.dk           130.225.51.30   aminet
UK           sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk     155.198.1.40    pub/aminet/
UK           micros.hensa.ac.uk       148.88.8.84     pub/aminet/
Spain        ftp.gui.uva.es           157.88.36.190   pub/aminet/
Ireland      atlantis.ucc.ie          143.239.1.200   pub/aminet/
Greece       ftp.acropolis.gr         193.92.228.7    pub/aminet
Portugal     ftp.ua.pt                193.136.80.68   pub/aminet/
Hungary      ftp.iit.uni-miskolc.hu   193.6.4.31      pub/aminet/
Czech Rep    amiga.chemi.muni.cz      147.251.64.18   pub/aminet/
Poland       ftp.man.szczecin.pl      193.59.3.9      pub/aminet/

   People with only e-mail access can use ftpmail from ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk
and ftp.luth.se. Send e-mail to `ftpmail@doc.ic.ac.uk' or
`ftpmail@ftp.luth.se' with *HELP* in the body.

Commercial
==========

   If you want commercial games then several companies will sell them
to you cheap.  National chains in the UK, including Future Zone and
HMV, have special offers on at various times (including new releases).
Mail order companies also offer good discounts on new and old games.

   National firms that may ship orders abroad are:
   * UK
        * Premier Mail Order : +44 1268 271172
        * Special Reserve    : +44 1279 600204 (joining fee)

   * AUSTRALIA
        * Sigmacom           : (02) 524 9846
        * Solutions Rendered : (02) 838 0733

Magazines
=========

   Various magazines either discuss games or are dedicated to them.
This is a list of various magazines worldwide.

   * UK
        * Amiga Computing 3.95	(2 disks)
        * Amiga Format    3.95	(2 disks)
        * CU Amiga        3.95	(2 disks)
        * CVG             2.75 (multi-format)
        * GamesMaster     ?.?? (multi-format)

Hints
=====

   Solutions and hints for many popular games are available via
anonymous ftp at `ftp://risc.ua.edu/pub/games/solutions' and
`ftp.uu.net/pub/games/solutions'. There's also a large solution site at
`ftp://nic.funet.fi/pub/doc/games/solutions', but you will need unzip
or gzip to uncompress these files.  (Avaliable on *Aminet* as
`/util/arc/unzip51x.lha' and `/util/pack/gzip124x2.lha')

   *Aminet* has hints in the `/game/hint' directory.

   There is also the *Games Domain* site which has walkthroughs for
several popular games at `http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/GamesDomain'.

   Most Amiga Magazines publish walkthru's for new games.

   A new web site with most known cheats is available over the web -
http://www.netrover.com/~timt/amicheats.html.

   If you can't find an answer there, post your question-chances are
*somebody* on comp.sys.amiga.games has gotten farther than you!

   If someone posts a question for which you also want the answer,
instead of posting "Send me the answer too!" send email to the original
poster and ask him or her to relay the answer to you.

FAQs
====

   There are FAQ's for some popular Amiga games, especially if they are
multi-platform.  A good place to look if you have WWW access is Dave
Stanworth's Games Domain, at `http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/GamesDomain' and
by ftp at `ftp.wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/pub/djh/faqs'.

   Another good bet is the `comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.*' newsgroups if
there is a PC version of the game.

   Some are available directly from the maintainers:

   * Civilization FAQ:
        * FTP:    `ftp://wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/pub/djh/faqs/'

        * WWW:
          `http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/GamesDomain/civfaq1.html'

        * e-mail: send to djh@wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk with the subject *Civ
          FAQ please*

   * Sim City 2000 FAQ:
        * FTP:    `ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/thx'

        * e-mail: send to thx@netcom.com with the subject *SC2K FAQ
          please*

   * Frontier (Elite II) Hints and Tips:
        * Avaliable from *Aminet* as `game/hint/frontier.lzh'

Archivers
=========

   DMS files are packed with the DiskMasher.  This packs whole disks
and is the main way to distribute Non-DOS disks over the internet.  A
copy of DMS can be found on Aminet as `/util/arc/dms111.run'.  To undms
to a disk in df0: type `dms WRITE file.dms TO df0:'.  *DMS files are
now banned from Aminet.*  For reasons, see the
file`docs/misc/dms-sucks.txt'.

   LHA and LZH files are packed with an LHA compatible packer.  The
main one is LHA which is shareware.  A freeware alternative is LZ.
Both of these are on Aminet as `/util/arc/LhA_e138.run' and
`/util/arc/lz_1.92.lzh' (this needs LHA to unpack it however so you'll
have to get LHA ...).  To unlha to a formatted disk in df0: type `lha
-a x file.lha df0:'.

   The dms and lha archives are self-extracting files so executing them
will leave you with the appropriate files.

New Releases
============

   Markus Castren provides a list of new releases at
`http://www.xgw.fi/~slice/month.html'.  It is also posted to this group
at the end of the month.

All about...
************

DOOM
====

   It's not avaliable.  ID Software have stated that there will not be
port of DOOM to the Amiga for technical reasons.  There are usually one
or two threads on comp.sys.amiga.games and comp.sys.amiga.programmer
discussing the validity of these reasons.

   Several demos on Aminet show DOOM-type engines.  These demos include:

   * `demo/aga/dentects.lha' (updated version of dentwolf)
   * `demo/euro/Pearl.Doomed.lha'
   * `dev/misc/wolf3d.lha'
   * `game/demo/AlienBreed3D.lha' (Playable version)
   * `game/demo/engine.lha'
   * `game/demo/fearsnew.dms'
   * `game/demo/Gloom.lha'
   * `game/demo/walls.lha'
   * `game/misc/DamageWolf3DV1.lha'
   * `gfx/aga/poom_02.lha'
   * `gfx/misc/DamageWolf3D_2.lha'
   * `gfx/misc/TextDemo57.lha'
   * `gfx/misc/wolf.lha'
   * `gfx/misc/wolf3.lha'
   * `gfx/misc/bsp1.0.lha' I've been informed this shows DOOM .wad files
   * `gfx/misc/dog3d.lha'

   Several commercial DOOM-type games have been released including
Alien Breed 3D (1 and 2) from Team 17, Gloom and Gloom Deluxe by Black
Magic, Breathless from Power Computing and Fears from Manyk.  I'm not
going to express a preference, sorry.

   The TextureMapping FAQ, posted to the newsgroup regularly,  has more
details of the methods and the games.  FTP from *Aminet* as
`docs/misc/tmapfaq1.05.lzh'.

   Discussion of the Amiga clones of DOOM, and comparisons of DOOM to
similar Amiga games and demos are appropriate in csa.games.  Discussion
of DOOM gameplay does not belong in csa.games.  Try
rec.games.computer.doom.playing or comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action instead.

Programming
===========

   The Amiga FAQ posted in comp.sys.amiga.programmer is a good place to
start.  You can also ftp it from *Aminet* as `docs/misc/AmigaFAQ.lha'.
You'll need a compiler, assembler or programming language which can
cost from a few pounds to over one hundred.  You'll also need lots of
time and a good idea (or two).  Good luck!

Releasing Software
==================

   Do *not* post binaries to comp.sys.amiga.games. The best way to
release your game to the csa.gamers is to make it available at an
*Aminet* site and then post an announcement about it to
comp.sys.amiga.games and comp.sys.amiga.announce with a description and
the path.  People without ftp can email it from an Aminet ftp-mail
server such as src.doc.ic.ac.uk.  See PD. If you are unfamiliar with
FTP then see FAQ: All about Amiga FTP by Urban Mueller posted in
csa.[introduction|misc|datacomm] every 2 weeks.

   A plea - unless your game does not use AmigaDOS directory structures
then pack it with an lha type packer.  Please only use dms for those
files that really need it (and you don't need dms to keep the directory
structure intact...)

Chess
=====

   GNUChess has been ported to the Amiga (on *Aminet* it is
`game/board/GnuChessBin.lha') with a front end
`game/board/AmyBoardBin.lha'.

   Amiboard is on Aminet as `game/board/AmiBoard_V1_0.lha'.

   There is also UChess which seems to be updated regularly and comes
in several versions for different specced machines.  You really need at
least a 68020 and a few megabytes of RAM though.  Aminet has the latest
version as `game/think/UChess289.lha'.

Classics
========

   So you want to play old Spectrum, C=64 and arcade games on the
Amiga?  Can you do it?

   Probably.  *Aminet* is a good place to start (the `games' directory
obviously).

   You can also use a *Spectrum* emulator (Spectrum 1.7
`/misc/emu/spectrum-1.7.lha' and ZXAM `misc/emu/ZXAM20b.lha' are the
best) and play the originals of these programs.  There is an FTP site
in Norway with freely distributable Spectrum games
(`ftp://ftp.nvg.unit.no/' or use WWW to
`http://www.nvg.unit.no/spectrum').  An A1200 with FastRAM will be
needed to approach Spectrum speeds though.

   For *C=64* freaks, Frodo is avaliable on Aminet as
`misc/emu/FrodoV1_5.lha'.  This will need rather more power to approach
C=64 speed though.

Gurus
=====

   Many games have not been coded to follow Commodore's guidelines, a
lot of these break on Amigas with accelerators (especially 68040s),
FastRAM and the AGA chipset.  If a new game fails to run, people will
usually mention it on csa.games.  Nigel Hughes has created the "030+
Compatibility List", try his web page at
`http://www.dcs.aber.ac.uk:80/~ngh94/comp.html'.

   The main ways to try and get such programs to run are:
   * Use the boot-menu (KS 3) and turn off caches, hard disks and the
     AGA chipset.  This will work with a lot of games.

   * Only start games from a PAL or NTSC workbench with mode promotion
     turned off.  Some games assume a PAL/NTSC WB and get confused if
     there isn't one.

   * Use Degrader (/util/misc/Degrader.lha on Aminet) or similar
     programs such as KillAGA (/util/misc/killaga2.lha) to turn your
     A4000 into an A500 - ain't progress wonderful :-/

   * Consult Mark Knibbs' Amiga Patch List at
     `http://www2.rz.hu-berlin.de/inside/angl/people/pdd/amipatch.html'

   Ask the publisher if there is a patch avaliable - sadly, most
software houses only make patches for the PC versions of their games.

   Finally, Gerald Yuen has a WWW page with tips on it.  Try
`http://web.ukonline.co.uk/Members/gc.yuen/gamesfixes' or mail
gcy3@aber.ac.uk.

Civilisation AGA
================

   Civilisation AGA is very slow, luckily it can be sped up
dramatically.  There are three speed ups, the first moves the game into
FastRAM (so you must have FastRAM for this to work), the second stops
the pointer being changed and the third removes the screen fades; these
work on all Amigas.  To perform these patches you need a binary file
editor (like AZap, FileX - there are lots avaliable on Aminet) and a
program to decrunch PowerPacker 4 files (either PP4 or DLD which is in
the VirusZ distribution on Aminet `/util/virus/virsz307.lha').

   Unpack the main program and load it into the file editor and change
the following:

   * Move to FastRAM:
        * At offset &14 change &40 to &00

        * At offset &1C change &40 to &00

        * At offset &20 change &40 to &00

   * Stop the pointer changing:
        * At offset &2D17C change &4EAEFEF2 to &4E714E71

   * Remove the screen fades:
        * At offset &2CCF2 change &6728 to &66B0

        * At offset &2CE60 change &59466002 to &4E714E71

   Resave the file (and recrunch if you want) and start as normal.

M.U.L.E.
========

   Is M.U.L.E. avaliable?  No, but Subtrade (a M.U.L.E. clone with
changed graphics) is.  It takes place on the ocean ground of Irata with
near identical gameplay.

   "It is a commercial game by a German company.  I don't think it's
available in the shops anymore." - Jan Ellgring

   There is also a similar game on Aminet called FutureTrade,
`game/demo/FutureTrade_[1|2|3].lha'.

   Traders, a game by the Swiss firm Linel (distributed by Merit in the
USA), is also meant to be similar.

Infocom
=======

   Most Infocom adventures, including those not released for the Amiga,
can be played if you buy the PC version and transfer the datafiles to
the Amiga (using CrossDOS or similar) and then use a PD interpreter to
run the datafiles - Dave Kinder's Frotz is reported to be good (on
Aminet as `/game/role/Frotz222r8.lha').  It can even play the Level 6
(graphics) adventures such as Shogun.

Dungeon Master I and II
=======================

   A sequel to the original Dungeon Master WAS released some years ago
- this was called *Chaos Strikes Back* and was much like DM I.  DM II
was released at the begining of November and has a, supposedly, much
better game engine.  It needs an 020 or better and ECS/AGA chip sets to
run.

   If you want to play the originals (DM and CSB), Psygnosis released a
double budget pack in 1992 which should still be avaliable.  These
versions have been patched to run under OS 2.04+ and can be installed
on a hard-drive using `game/patch/csbhd.lzh' from Aminet.

CD
====

   CD games are talked about in csa.games and there are also two
CD specific newsgroups which are ideal for talking about technical
aspects of the CD versions.

   These groups are comp.sys.amiga.cd32 and rec.games.video.cd32, the
latter is most appropriate for games related talk.

HD Installable games
====================

   There is a list of games on the WWW that shows what is needed to
install various games on HD.  Thanks to dEN for providing this.  Point
your browser at `http://www.bath.ac.uk/~ma3dhcy/hd.txt' and have a look.

Ken
-- 
Ken Powell - Home Page http://msor.ex.ac.uk/Staff/ken/home.html
      Mail me for a copy of the comp.sys.amiga.games FAQ
       

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Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM