gamebase64 v1.2
Documentation
(c) 24th October 1998 James Burrows


CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Features
3. Installation
4. Configuring gambase64
5. Using gamebase64
6. The Category Window
7. Selecting Game Files
8. Selecting Sid Files
9. Selecting Screenshots
10. HV-Sid Updates
11. Clearing Database fields
12. Mouse/Keyboard Shortcuts
13. Disclaimer



1. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to gamebase64, the Frontend for CCS64 and Sidplay/W.  Originally I planned to create a small program for my own personal use to store an alphabetical list of my games and their filenames so that I could quickly find the game I wanted to play. One thing led to another, however, and eventually, gamebase64 emerged.  Hopefully it will help keep the C64 emulation scene active for a long time to come. The main purpose of this program is to automate as much as possible the process of loading/playing C64 games on CCS64 and to try to keep a database of most of the C64 games ever published.

Maybe in the future, someone else might take this database and create a more complete and accurate one and let people download that for use with gamebase64 instead of the one I've compiled.    Back to Contents



2. FEATURES



3. INSTALLATION

If installing the Update to v1.2, you must install it into your existing gamebase64 directory!

Run Setup.exe...
This will create the following:-

        gamebase64.exe -- The gamebase64 binary
        gamebase64.mdb -- The database
        gamebase64.html -- These Docs
        gamebase64.txt -- Text Docs
        Maketape.txt -- Info on Maketape.exe
        Starlynx.txt -- Info on Starlynx.exe

        Conversion (Folder)
        bmp2gif.exe -- Utility used to convert Screenshots to GIF format
        lha.exe -- Utility used to extract LHA/LZH Files
        gunzip.exe -- Utility used to extract Unix Zip archives
        zip2d64 -- Utility used to extract Zipcoded archives to D64

        Screenshots (Folder)
        Screenshots.txt -- Info on Screenshots


To use, run gamebase64.exe

NOTE: The gamebase64.mdb database is in Microsoft Access 97 format. Do not load into Access 95. You can view/amend/print from Access 97 if you wish (AT YOUR OWN RISK).

SOME POINTS BEFORE USING GAMEBASE64:

1. If you have MAKETAPE.EXE, you should copy it into your Conversion folder. This is needed if you want to extract games to T64's.

2. If you have STARLYNX.EXE, you should copy it into your Conversion folder. This is needed if you want to extract Lynx files to D64's.

3. If you have downloaded any Screenshots, you should unzip them into your Screenshots folder.   Back to Contents


4. CONFIGURING GAMEBASE64

You will need to configure gamebase64 before you can use it. Set the Preferences from the File Menu. From here you can set up the following:-

CCS64 v1.9 DOS Path -- You must point gamebase64 to the file ccs64.exe before you can run games with this version of CCS64 from gamebase64.

CCS64 v2.0 DOS Path -- You must point gamebase64 to the file ccs64.exe before you can run games with this version of CCS64 from gamebase64.

CCS64 v2.0 Win32 Path -- You must point gamebase64 to the file ccs.exe before you can run games with this version of CCS64 from gamebase64.

WINZIP Path -- You should point gamebase64 to the file Winzip32.exe if you have it.  This is for unzipping games with the .GZ suffix.   If you do not have Winzip, gamebase64 uses gunzip.exe in your conversion folder.

GAMES Paths -- These are the 'Root' paths of your C64 games, thus you can have subdirectories within these paths.  If you have the Blast collection on your hard-drive, make sure your Blast folder is a sub-directory of your one of your Games Paths. NOTE: The Blast folder MUST be called 'Blast'. You must set at least one of your Games Paths before you can select/run any games with gamebas64.

Sidplay/W Path -- You must point gamebase64 to the file Sidplayw.exe before you can play any Sid Tunes from gamebase64.

MUSIC Path -- This is the 'Root' path where your Sid Tunes reside. gamebase64 has been pre-configured to utilize the HV-Sid collection upto Update #11.  If you have the HV-Sid collection on your hard-drive, you should set your 'Music Path' to the root HV-Sid directory (usually 'C64 Music').  You must set your Music Path before you can select/play Sid Tunes from gamebase64.

NOTE: If after doing this, you find that when running Sid Tunes from gamebase64, some tunes are not found, make sure you have update #11 installed (HV-Sid updates usually move files around to different folders).  Back to Contents



5. USING GAMEBASE64

The gamebase64 Main Window, has 3 separate views, which can be selected with the buttons All, P and S:-

All = Current View shows All games in the Database
P = Current View shows Playable games only
S = Current View shows games with Sid Tune only

To set the 'P' and 'S' views up, you should run "Verify Available Games/Sids..." from the "Tools" Menu.  You should also run this after you download the Blast collection or HV Sid collection and have set their paths in Preferences.

Also, to help distinguish which games have files and which do not, they are also split into 4 colours:-

Black = Game is Playable and has a Sid Tune attached to it
Blue = Game is Playable but has no Sid Tune attached to it
Red = Game in not playable, but has a Sid Tune attached to it
Grey = Game is not playable and has no Sid Tune attached to it

On the Category Window (see below), Sid Tunes shown in Green have no particular game attached to them, e.g. Martin Galway's Ocean Loader.   Back to Contents



6. THE CATEGORY WINDOW

The Category Window is for viewing games by category, and for searching the database for specific games. It can also be used to play Sid-Tunes that have no games attached to them (which appear in green).

The Categories are arranged as icons at the top of the window:-

Publishers -- e.g. See all the games by Mastertronic
Years -- e.g. See all the games published in 1986
Musicians -- e.g. See all the games with music by Rob Hubbard
Genres -- e.g. See all Football games
Players -- e.g. See all 2 Player games
Difficulty -- e.g. See all games that are easy
Ratings -- e.g. See all games you rated as average

NOTE: The current view in the main window is reflected in the Category Window, hence if the current view is 'Games with Sid Tunes', only games with Sid Tunes will be displayed in the Category Window.  Back to Contents



7. SELECTING GAME FILES

gamebase64 supports the following CCS64 file formats:-

T64, D64, Prg, P00, P01, TAP

gambase64 also supports the following archived formats:-

Zip, Lha/Lzh, gz, Lnx, Zipcoded, Raw C64 files

There are some rules for archived files. If you find an archive is not supported, please read the Archive Info/Help box. Usually, it's just a case of renaming the archive to the same name as the file it contains. Also, if you have MAKETAPE.EXE or STARLYNX.EXE, they will increase the amount of archives gamebase64 supports. Just copy these files into your Conversion directory.

NOTE: When running games from archived files, gamebase64 unpacks them into a directory called CURRGAME. This directory resides in the root of your the current Games Path and makes it easy to swap disks during play.   Back to Contents



8. SELECTING SID FILES

You can add Sid Tunes for existing games, or add them as new Sid Tunes not associated with any game. To do the latter, simply press 'Add' from the Main Window and select 'Sid Tune (without game)'.    Back to Contents



9. SELECTING SCREENSHOTS

If you downloaded the Screenshot zip files from the gamebase64 web page, you will seldom need to add Screenshots to the games. However, when adding screenshots, you must save the Screenshot from CCS64 using F10 (v1.9) or ALT-F2 (v2.0).  This saves a 256 colour bitmap that gamebase64 trims and converts to a Gif. Saved out bitmaps in 16 colour format (Prnt Scrn) are not gamebase64 compatible.  gamebase64 automatically puts screenshots into the Screenshots directory.  Back to Contents



10. HV-SID UPDATES

Occasionally, if you use the High Voltage Sid Collection, you will be aware that they produce updates from time to time. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell just what files are updated/moved when the update occurs. I have included a utility in the 'Tools' menu that, once you've run the HV-Sid update, will tell you which files have been moved and cannot be found by gamebase64 anymore. While this is not ideal, it makes it fairly easy for you to update the database so that it points to the right Sid Files again.

If anyone can think of a better way to cope with Sid Updates, please let me know.    Back to Contents


11. CLEARING DATABASE FIELDS

If you don't have the Blast Collection or you do not wish to listen to Sid Tunes from gamebase64, you can clear these Filename fields at any time (not recommended) by selecting 'Clear Database Fields' from the Tools menu.

NOTE: Once these Filenames have been removed, there is no way to get them back other than manually entering them yourself (or re-downloading the database again).   Back to Contents



12. MOUSE/KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Left-Clicking a Field opens the Category window in that Field's category.

Right-Clicking a Field lets you edit the contents of that Field.

F12 - Non Stop Music On/Off  Back to Contents



13. DISCLAIMER   

This program and database are Freeware. The author accepts no responsibility for any damage incurred to you or your equipment as a result of using this software. This software is Copyright (c)1998 by James Burrows. If you wish to distribute this software, that's fine, so long as you adhere to the following rules:-

1) That the Full Setup program for this version is distributed in an un-modified form.
2) It must never be packed with CCS64 or any C64 game images.
3) That no charge is made for copying/distributing this program and database.
4) It may not be included in any commercial products or CDRom compilations without the author's express permission first.

You should not use gamebase64 with game files you do not legally own.

 

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