HowTo: Adding to the games database


skeezix

Internal Development
Joined
Mar 11, 2003
Messages
8,063
Website
www.codejedi.com
On the website:

http://www.codejedi.com/shadowplan/gp32.html

You find several interesting items..

1) Castaway/GP 008 - uploaded now
2) Casyaway/GP dos command line tool for making CRC32's - uploaded now
3) Link to downlaod the master games database original -- will be uploaded in an hour or so :)

Castaway/GP 008 will load up the STGAMES.TXT file from your GP's ATARIST directory on load. This means we can edit that file, and you can pop it onto your SMC anytime you want, to get immediate results. You don't need to wait for me to update the Castawya/GP executable.. the database is self contained.

It currently has all the Automation disks in it, but not too much else. We need to grow it. I can try and merge in some other files, but looks like we've got some manual labour ahead.

That means we need to be organized.. we don't want people redoing each others work!

So if you wish to help out adding to the database, post here in this forum to claim a group, or series of disks, or originals. ie: Make a posting saying "I claim Medway Boys disks 1 through 50, will have them done by Monday" or that sort of thing. Then you email me the medway boys *only* chunk of textfile, to support@codejedi.com, and I merge it into the database and check to make sure theres no duplicates.

So how do you do it?

The top part of the STGAMES.TXT file tells you how to format things.

You use the command line tool to generate a CRC32 number for the disk you have. I will make DOS, Linux and FreeBSD versions of the utility.. for now, the first one is a DOS command line one.

You just go like this..

crc32 FILENAME

And it spits out a number (assumign you have that file :)

Then you format it like this..

AU:35:1234567:game 1; game 2; game 3

Thats it :)

AU is the group name; the top of the STGAMES.TXT file lists the legend to use.
35 is the disk number.. Automaiton 35, for example.

If its an original, you use OR:1 ..

1234567 si the CRC number spit out by the tool.

Thent he game list; if one game, just put it. IF multiple games, separate with SEMICOLON AND SPACE!

"Dungeon Master; OIDs" is correct.

So if you claim Medway 1-50, then you'll give me a 50 line textfile.

Dont' give me the rest.. then I don't know which are new!

I will merge the submission into the database after checking for duplicates.. in case two peopel do medway 50 for instance.

Is this enough information to help?

jeff
 
By the way, for testing sake on your own.

You can edit a separate textfile with your new database additions.

Then open the STGAMEs.TXT file, add yours to the end of it, and pop it over to your device. Then you can try out the game listing service..

But dont' send me the works, send me the new stuff.

jeff
 
Hi, I will test the waters with the cynix menus (should be extremely fast) & I will deal with the SuperGAU (now we're getting serious...) right after that. If things go well, I should have that done this weekend. No promise, though...

Loic
 
Okay, I can probably handle "Flame of Finland" disks FOF_001.ST through FOF_054.ST to begin with..
 
Cool, thanks a lot guys! :)

Flame of Finland has some entries already in there, though I forget if they have any CRCs. That might save you typing in the game names.. maybe you just need to enter in the CRCs!

Same situation with Cynix.. some or all of them are in there, likely without CRCs. A good one to start with.

SuperGAU isn't in there at all I don't think, so if you wanted to start with "SG" as the group name, that'd be perfect.

Hows it working out for everyone, anyway? :)

jeff
 
WOW! We're up to database 1.1 already, as sloth submitted the Flame of Finland CRC's :)

Feel free to nab this latest version and try it out by renaming it to stgames.txt for your gp32. (the new version is stgames11.txt, so needs to be renamed to be used in Castaway/GP)

Nice :)

jeff
 
Beginning of next week I will get started, but will let you know then what ones I will take
 
done all the PP menu MSA files. converting to ST and doing them too in a minute!

using this batch tool:
http://www.cyberdyne-software.com/crc32e.zip

EDIT: done! i've created entries for the A/B and V1/V2 of some discs too. I've also checked and reordered the games on each disc, putting them in the same order as my master list (roughly alphabetical).

It would be nice to have the games on each disc in exact order - so you know that if the game is top of the list it's number one when you load the disc? but that is major work!
 
Do they work? ie: I've found several CRC32 alg's, all slightly different. (different quotient variable, mostly, or with some pre- and post- effefts). So it has to be compatible with the CRC variation we're using.

I'm it is or that you tried 'em out :)

jeff

Thanks for the work; wlooks like we'll be filled out in no time :)
 
A600 -- first, post a claim to a group of disks, so we dont' get redundant work.. (you'll notice above someone was workign on superghau.. they just sent me the first 100 disks :(

I checked your file.. its an empty .zip; the whole zip is about .. empty :)

jeff
 
Yes, bloody anycities is fucked now :(

I've sent you the database to your e-mail.

Oops, sorry I didn't notice that other person was working in the same database.
 
Just posted database 1.4; includes Cynix, and first 100 disks of SuperGAU; I'll take a look at A600's just posted SuperGAU (or when it comes into my inbox there) and see if theres any new CRCs for the first 100 -- you coudl both have simiale but different images, so might be good to have both to verify. I'll take disks 101-959 raw from A600.

Thanks; thats quite a pile.. how'd you do it all? :)

jeff
 
The link should work now :)

thats quite a pile.. how'd you do it all?

A mix of automatic (thanks to mighty Borland Delphi) and manual work :)
 
EVERYONE.. hold off on using my batch tool; I think Windows introduced a bug into the code. Stupid stupid windows :/

I'll check it though and report back, but mothers day will hold me up!

jeff
 
OKay, I rebuilt the CRC32 generator on my site; the old ones were screwy due to some bugs in Windows I found. The smallest little utility found some bughs. Howabout that?!

Damned annoying.

loic -- your GAU 1-100 -- I'll redo them, and the rest too, for you. KMy bug, I'll fix 'em. Also, I think I can script it.. I've got half the GAU disks downloaded. Once I get the other half, I can automate it, since I'll have them.

A600's GAU CRC32 are for the .ST versions; the Joe's versions are MSA.. so the two are complimentary, and not in collision. Will be good to have both.

Anyone else.. if you're using the old CRC32 from my site.. toss it, no good.. some of your numebrs will be bad :( Sorry about that. Stupid Windows :/

Jeff

Iv'e got submissions for Cunix (good), SuperGau (all, good, .ST version), Pompey (not sure yet, I'll check them), and SuperGAU 1-100 (bad, sadly, but I'll redo them)
 
Hi,
I will start on the Medway Boys.
Should be done by monday.
Hopefully we will not have aduplicate this time :)

Loic
 
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