Zombeaver

It's the same nonsense that kindof drove me out of the MUGEN scene years ago. It has one of the absolute worst/most insane communities I've ever encountered, full of this same petulant BS. People would, almost universally, maintain a stance of "This is my character. I created it. You can't host it anywhere on your site and you have to link to my site or else I'll just stop sharing them altogether." I just wanted to say "No dude, you didn't create Wolverine. You ripped some sprites and added in a hitbox and possibly some AI. Hurray for you. I'm not saying it's not cool, I'm not saying I don't appreciate it, but you don't suddenly own Wolverine now. Sorry bub." I'm not saying this stuff doesn't take time - I know it does first hand. I'm not saying credit shouldn't be given where credit is due. But beyond that, who in the hell cares? If people want to use the images I've created (specifically for this community, mind you) for a different front-end, be my guest. I'd like to know about it at least, but beyond that go right ahead. This is a really cool hobby; I see no reason to take some heavy-handed approach at segregating the emulation community into front-end pockets. To me that's completely off-message, counter-intuitive, and in some cases even hypocritical. People just need to chill. EDIT: I guess the only other caveat to them being used elsewhere is that they would need to be freely available. I'm sure as shit not gonna let somebody charge people for work that I've done and distributed for free.

Yeah I actually noticed that a day or two ago. Strangely satisfying...

Yeah that's kinda what I'm thinking as well; that's why I would suggest testing one with an edited notes section. You could always just put in "BLAH BLAH TEST" or something at the end of the notes to see if it appears on re-import. If you haven't actually edited any and are just using the DB description you should be totally fine. You might still be fine if they're edited, it's just not something I've ever tried. I'm gonna test it out myself tonight regardless because I'm curious now

Unless you specifically tell LB to delete it, it shouldn't. Test it out with a game or two and see what happens. I'm not sure what would happen to the "Notes" section if you've manually edited it, so if you have a game where that's the case, copy the notes into a text file and test it as well. As far as I'm aware the media isn't deleted unless you actually edit a game entry and click on the "remove image" button (from right-clicking on an image). Try removing a game and then reimporting and after the import hit F5 on the entry to refresh the images for that entry - that will confirm that they're still there.

Really interesting video. It went way more in depth than I expected. TLDR seemed to basically be "It's a shitty port that didn't take advantage of the unique strengths of the hardware and instead tried to shoehorn PSX programming into a Saturn."

Right. Obviously any new games will have to be imported since they were never there in the first place, but for old games you shouldn't have to do anything - your old LB entries will be directed to the same file name so it will still work. You can specifically tell the importer to allow duplicates if you so choose but it's not checked by default, so anything you import that has the same file name as what's in your current library will be skipped (which is what you want in your case).

I'm confused... aren't the file names the same? You shouldn't have to change anything if so.

You won't really lose anything if you delete/re-import. You should already have all the media on you computer, so re-importing should just add your discs into additional apps.

World of Illusion is really good! I like Mickey Mania quite a bit too. People definitely shouldn't just dismiss some of the games from that era that look a bit "kiddie". Goof Troop and all of the Disney games are good examples of that as well. @lordshaithis since you've got a Genesis thing going on, have you ever played Ranger X? Another perfect example of a hidden gem in my book. It got practically no marketing and nobody I knew as a kid had it. It's one of my favorites on the system though. The controls take a bit of getting used to (and require a six-button controller) but they're actually quite intuitive after a bit of practice, and give it a degree of depth beyond most shooters. It has really great graphics and even has some really nice parallax effects. Plus I mean... you're in a robot suit with a jet pack and you can ride in a sweet robo-cycle...so there's that. Highly recommended!

Well, Amiga, Atari ST, TurboGrafx-16, and TurboGrafx-CD are all my newest additions. They're all new to me and I've found some pretty interesting stuff among those. TG16 and TGCD are extremely easy to setup thanks to RA. Atari ST and Amiga are a bit more difficult/time consuming to setup, especially Amiga. Amiga's the main thing I'm working on now. I'm also a C64 nut from childhood, so if you want to go down that route I have plenty of recommendations for it as well.

Nice @lordshaithis! I only played it briefly quite a while back so based on this it sounds like I'll have to give it another go. Thanks!

Yeah, were it not for the weird/limited color palette on it I'd say it was the the definitive version. I kept hoping someone savvy enough with such things would make some kind of custom dubbed DOS version but it hasn't happened. It's probably not sufficiently well known for such a thing to be likely. Another good one! I like pretty much all of Lucasarts' adventure games. Full Throttle, The Dig, and Grim Fandango are probably my favorites. They're basically all good though. I've heard of that one but never actually played it. I've never been a huge Sim City-type guy to be honest. I like some Tycoon games, but the city-builder style games never were my thing.

I was gonna hold off on this one for a bit but I just noticed that it's currently on sale for $1.74 over on Humble Bundle so now's as good a time as any. Anachronox Platform: PC I really can't praise this game enough. It's unique. It's hilarious (I don't mean like occasionally subdued "heh"-inducing, I mean genuinely hilarious). It has completely awesome and memorable characters with perfect voice acting and a great story. It's for PC but strangely plays a bit more like a JRPG, but without all the cringe (I like a lot of JRPGs, don't get me wrong, but my interest and tolerance for them has waned somewhat post PSX-era, probably mostly due to predominantly atrocious voice acting). It clearly had a ton of love put into it and it's chock-full of unique ideas. I love it. One of my all-time favorites for sure. It's also criminally overlooked. It's the perfect example of a hidden gem in my book. Highly highly recommended! And hell, you can't even buy a sandwich for $1.74...

Yeah I've been keeping an eye out for it to pop up on Steam or GOG for years now and it just hasn't happened. I hate to recommend piracy but when it's to the point that you literally can't purchase it through any official means - the developers and publishers get nothing from it if you were to buy a copy off of say Ebay, the only way that you'd probably be able to get your hands on it at this point - then I can't say I have any particular issue with it. There is no strict legal concept of "abandonware" short of outright copyright expiration (which has basically never been applicable to the common usage of the term given that that lasts for 50 years...) but I feel like if I have no means of paying the legal party(ies) associated with it (assuming they even still exist) I'm not left with many options. Put it on Steam/GoG! I'll buy it! Barding is a stat that you can increase in the game. If you don't and you try to play a lute at an inn people will boo and the tavern keeper will ask you to stop If you do increase it you can make a little extra money for your performance! Definitely some goodies in there! I loved Rise of the Dragon. Have you played the Sega CD version? It actually has voice acting. It's got this kinda ugly greenish tint to everything though I was a huge fan of the Space Quest series as a kid. Love them all!

You can also delete them directly from the game entry edit screen by clicking the X icon. DOS' recommendation would probably be best if it's a recurring issue across several games.

I'm not sure if you've played Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, but that's another one I'd recommend since you mentioned RTS. Rise of Nations is pretty well known, but I never hear anybody talk about Rise of Legends, which was their fantasy off-shoot. I really really enjoyed that game. Each race has very unique units, but it's still well-balanced. Each one gets a really powerful top-tier unit, and the "Vinci" race get one called the "Land Leviathan" which is a giant mechanical spider that can dig underground and pop up elsewhere. It's pretty sweet It doesn't seem to available anywhere digitally though

I actually loved Battle Realms! I remember really liking how cover and the landscape factored into combat, more than just about any RTS I'd played before (or since, really). GoG is a good place to start for DOS stuff since they do all the work for you for setup. BaK is in a pack there along with Betrayal at Antara, the "sequel" which is made by different people and that I really don't recommend. The graphics while navigating through the game are pretty primitive, keep that in mind, but the game is worth getting passed that if you're able I've got tons of other stuff to recommend for DOS if it's something you want to dive into.

Thanks Jason, that'll be great!

I thought it might be fun to have a thread dedicated to game recommendations; preferably for lesser-known titles that are worth people's attention. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with telling someone they should play Super Mario Bros. 3... just that they probably already know about Super Mario Bros. 3 Try to include at least a sentence or two about your recommendation and why you think it's worth checking out. I'm always on the lookout for new (old) games to try, so I'm curious what people have to suggest. Here are a couple lesser-known DOS titles to get us started: Betrayal at Krondor Platform: DOS I've talked a bit about this game before. This is one of my all-time favorite PC RPGs. This would definitely be in my "desert island" pile. The things that really set this game apart for me are the world-building and writing. You'll find few games that are as completely packed with lore and a sense of well-realized history as Betrayal at Krondor. Nearly every object in the game can be examined via right-click, each with a bit of very well-written lore and history to establish the world you're in. The characters and story are interesting and memorable. The combat is a bit on the simplistic side, but it's unique at least. If you appreciate well-written fantasy, you'll probably dig this game. If you're a fan of the writings of Raymond E Feist, upon which the game is based, you'll enjoy it even more. Personally, I was motivated to read some of his novels as result of this game. One interesting thing on that point is that Feist's book "Krondor: The Betrayal" was written after and inspired by the game - not the other way around, which should probably tell you something in and of itself. "The book, based on the game, based on the books" Dreamweb Platform: DOS I think that oftentimes when people think about point-and-click adventure games, a couple of specific developers come to mind - Lucasarts and Sierra primarily. Part and parcel with those developers is the presence of humor (in general, anyway). One of the first things I noticed about DreamWeb was just how dark and distinctly serious it was by comparison to so many other adventure games I had played at the time. Whether that's a good or bad thing is subjective, but it was certainly unique. I won't spoil the story, but it involves a downward spiral that leaves you questioning what to believe. It's highly atmospheric with a fantastic soundtrack reminiscent of a John Carpenter score. It's a very unique experience that's worth checking out! I'm curious what other people have in store for their recommendations!

That's totally understandable. We all appreciate your time and dedication in attempting to improve the DB, just try and bear with us a bit and be patient. We'll get there

You're not a crusader for organizational justice @Freestate. These things absolutely should be discussed... in these forums. Tying up valuable moderator time to send some "message", knowing full well that it's going to be rejected, isn't the way to do that, and it isn't going to continue. Trust me, discussions like this do not go unheard. Jason is probably one of the most receptive devs that I've ever dealt with when it comes to listening to and actually implementing changes based on the needs of the community. It will happen. You don't need to bludgeon people over the head.

You're not helping your case. Stop doing this. If you persist, we'll need to take action. They're being rejected, repeatedly, for reasons that have already been explained. It's going to happen, just chill.

Does it not show the user name for who's submitting it? We may need to take a look...

That seems completely reasonable to me @CliveBarker. People just need to understand that it's something that's presumably going to happen but the infrastructure isn't there yet to make it happen. Until it is (and until we come to an official policy conclusion, for that matter), all this is going to do is create unnecessary work for moderators.

There are other user-made programs/batches available on the forums, that's not against the rules - just no linking to actual rom files.