[Importing the Win3xO and eXoDOS Collections (Now with Win3xO+eXoDOS images!)]

6 hours ago, eXo said:

Figured I'd drop in and provide an update;

 

I'm close to finishing the phase of adding new games to the Action volume. Around 500 games have been processed for adding, so it's a very large update. Once I finish getting the games into the pack, I'll run a process to start importing the base metadata into launchbox. At that point I have to go through the entire set and make sure each game gets all of it's require data. So probably a few weeks of work there. At that point I'll put out Action v3.11.

 

While working on the final volume of 3.11, I've also been working heavily on the release that follows it. I've decided to do away with the genre split. the next release will be a single, complete, eXoDOS release. Apart from merging the volumes, I am also adding quite a few other things.  Some of those are:

 

• Manuals/Extras project. Hundreds of missing manuals have been located and added to the collection. Also, many extras and manuals have been replaced with higher quality versions. Currently I'm at 9gb of manuals just for vol 1-4, and another 10gb of extras (clue blooks, hint books, strategy guides, reference cards, journals, documents, etc...)
• MT32/Sound Canvas project. Games that have MT32 and Sound Canvas support are being given launch options to choose between the various sound cards. I have opted not to force any particular sound card, as each person has their own preferences. In addition to this, select Gravis and Tandy games are having those options added as well. In some cases these options simply sound a little better than their Sound Blaster counter parts. In other cases, they have a totally different score. It all depended on what the original sound designers provided with the game. I will provide documentation on the differences between these different sound cards with the full release, as I expect there to be a lot of questions about them.
• Patches\Fixes etc... Many problematic games have been identified and fixed. In some cases extra versions have been added, with launch options to choose between them. In other cases, special fan patches of games have been added, such as the NewRisingSun patches from the dosbox forums. One example of this is the KQ4 patch which enables the high res graphics on the original SCI floppy release (removed from later releases to shorten the number of disks), the AGI easter eggs, the amiga background sounds )emulated via the gravis ultrasound), the mt32 score, and the soundblaster effects. In other cases, disabled sound effects such as brief speech in Space Quest 3 have been patched back in and re-enabled.
• All of this will be packed with the newer version of LaunchBox as well as made compatible with LaunchBox.Next, the new version of the front end. Meagre support will remain, however metadata for MEAGRE is no longer being updated. New manuals and extras have not been enabled in meagre. Also, where-as all mobygames watermarks have been removed from the LB metadata, it remains in the meagre metadata. 

I initially thought 3.11 would be the final release for quite some time. However the eXoDOS discord channel has brought together a really great group of people, several of whom have spent quite a lot of time contributing to the above projects and enhancements. I plan to call the complete release v4. I will do any scan of moby games before releasing it to make sure nothing new has been added. I'm also hoping to have a comparison against TDC run soon in ordert o incorporate any games that may exist in TDC that have't migrated to eXoDOS yet.

 

it's worth noting that one fellow at Discord is working on a front end of sorts that mimics MAME or FS-UAE, but with DOS games. he is using eXoDOS as the base set, and it appears that simply taking a game from my set and popping it into his tool will allow it to launch on any setup. He is also working on joy mapping so all of the action games can easily be played with a controller. He understands it all much better than i do, but for anyone who would like to run eXoDOS on a cabinet, HTPC, raspberry pi, etc.... His project will be a huge benefit to you.

 

After v4 release, I'll start churning the machine towards an update of the Win3xO project. Based on feedback and suggestions I'll be renaming Win3xO to eXoWin3x. It's not as catchy in my opinion, but it is more descriptive of what it actually is and will allow those with familiarity of eXoDOS to know what they are getting into. It also makes it easier to then put out an eXoWin9x eventually, following the same naming convention. As of right now, the primary updates to the Win3x collection will be the addition of games and conversion to launchbox. I'm not sure if there are any improvements to be made on the sound side, as I'm not sure what type of compatibility exists between Win3x and Sound Canvas (MT32 would have pretty much subsided by then). If there is room for an audio project there though, then I'll look into it. 

 

And before anyone asks, yes, I am still looking at the possibility of a Win9x project, but no, the technology isn't quite there yet. PCem is getting close, but it still needs a handful of features to meet my requirements. As I have mentioned previously, it's not just about getting games to run, it's about doing it in a portable way that doesn't use up massive amounts of drive space dedicated to wasted virtual hard drive space. parent\child VHD relationships, expanding VHD's, and dynamic access to the VHD's are going to be needed.

 

And again, please feel free to join our discord channel to follow along, ask questions, or enjoy the comradery of fellow DOS nerds and ne'er-do-wells.

Had no clue you had a discord. Was that dropped here, PD, or elsewhere?

[ExoDOS Import]

on my way to PD now.

Edit- my seedbox has found yours. I'll keep seeding for a week.

[Phill's Doodles - Retrorama]

--or really, share his work at all.

[Phill's Doodles - Retrorama]

What you cannot do, is modify his work and share it as your own.

[Phill's Doodles - Retrorama]

4 hours ago, ALIE said:

Lets say we found a artist that would do systems at a reasonable price.

do people think  Phill would be ok with that?.  i guess if it was only for private use it wouldn't matter but if shared he should have the final say. 

You wouldnt need permission to make addon's Filipe's work so long as you arent sharing his work. So and addons you make can be uploaded as expansions onto Phil's Doodles Retrorama.

[ExoDOS Import]

Ah, I see. Then minimize is what we need. 
Maybe one of these solutions will work for him:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9232308/how-do-i-minimize-the-command-prompt-from-my-bat-file

[ExoDOS Import]

Just now, plutonick said:

I just tested it. I can close the 2nd windows and the main window runs fine.

Well, if that is the case, Im not sure why you cant just add exit as a new final line in said batch file?

[ExoDOS Import]

Exo, can the command window be closed after the game launches?

[ExoDOS Import]

Just now, plutonick said:

It's weird because I already had wizardry in my d-fend reloaded collection and when I load THAT version, there is no second window. I got the game from the http://dos.liquiddoom.net/

 

which is a d-fend repository package (like cydia for d-fend importable games). This mean that they are preconfigured, so I have no clue what they did exactly, but I can copy paste their setting if you'd like (or you can check them yourself)

not weird. He explained its part of his batch file and thus not even something to do with the game really. He just hasnt found a good way of hiding it.

[Nemos Bartop 32inch First Build]

Large bartop. Look clean. Think you need some decals, aside from that, looks fantastic. Good job!

[Zomb's Lair - Reviving Old Classics]

inb4 Launchbox, Zomb's Classic Games build.

[Zomb's Lair - Reviving Old Classics]

Can we get some Temujin? Was one of those multi-disc FMV adventure games. I had little luck finding it last I looked a few years ago. Wish there were a project that archived all those obscure FMV games from the mid-to-late 90s and early 2000s.

[Phill's Doodles - Retrorama]

On 27/02/2018 at 11:19 AM, alnyden said:

I'd be okay without the video snaps, but I can't get screenshots to show up properly in that location.  That area just stays blank or shows a screenshot that then doesn't change when I scroll the games.  Anyone else having that issue? 

Agree with others that CoverBox is the best substitute!

I dont have that issue at all. Only time I dont get a screenshot is when one isnt scraped. Go and check your views.

[Phill's Doodles - Retrorama]

21 hours ago, latin625 said:

Damn that looks pretty cheesy.  He was selling that?

No, this was the guy who made a recalbox image that he shared where he stripped Phil's Doodles out of all the images. The guys who were selling his front end were some random community of arcade vendors. And I dont think they were removing credit from Filipe, so much as refusing his asking that they not sell his artwork on their cabs. To which, their response was a lot of hate and belittling, from what I gather.

[Phill's Doodles - Retrorama]

Its not necessary. Filipe already did that work. All that is needed is more artwork. Im you want to extend the theme, just make your own pack of images and upload them as an optional expansion to the Retrorama theme. That way you dont have to share any work or code that Filipe made without permission.

[Zomb's Lair - Reviving Old Classics]

What about og Carmageddon?

[Phill's Doodles - Retrorama]

I think this is the guy who Filipe was talking about: 

All of the Retrorama system pictures has been edited to remove Phil's Doodles from it.

[ExoDOS Import]

6 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

You can help build ratio with the free(doesn't hurt your ratio to download them) MAME packs. They update monthly, on the last Wednesday, so lots of bandwidth is needed regularly.  The easiest way to go about it is to download them now, and when the next versions are added just rename the torrent folders to the next version and download the new ones on top of your existing files.

I'd recommend the merged sets, and particularly the CHD's if you have the HDD space.

 

Then you're helping the community, and building ratio.

Im building ratio seeding  both the merged mame set and the dreamcast iso set. but both are going slow AF and its going to take forever before im in the green enough to grab the two new Exodos torrents. I have exodos 2.0 from Archive.org but am really wanting the 3.0 updates with launchbox.

[ExoDOS Import]

My PD acc is rather new. and im struggling to get enough ratio to grab the exodos 3.0 packs. Are they not anywhere else?

[Zomb's Lair - Reviving Old Classics]

Yeah, that artwork is much better. 

[Zomb's Lair - Reviving Old Classics]

WTF @ThatCover

[ExoDOS Import]

Went through 10 pages, then skipped to the last two. Is the latest version of ExoDos completed? Whats this talk of importing? I thought the latest build was going to be using LB rather than Meagre? This proj deserves its own thread where Exo can update the first post.

[Zomb's Lair - Reviving Old Classics]

I'll have to check out Drowned God. Looks like one of those popular Myst clones from the mid 90s. I played many, but missed this one entirely.

[Zomb's Lair - Reviving Old Classics]

10 hours ago, Zombeaver said:

Thanks!

I've added some left and right arrows and I've made the dots a little bigger. If you're on mobile you can just swipe left and right.

Much better. They definitely make it more obvious on how to browse the games.

[Phill's Doodles - Retrorama]

He didnt publicly release a ton of consoles he was working on. Said he was working on nearly 100 platforms. I'd kill for some of the more modern ones like NDS/Wii/Gamecube/PS2 But now I've just got to look for another theme instead, which kills me. As I have been in love with Retrorama since it came to Raspberry Pi.