****************************************************************************
*                                                                          *
*                              gamebase64 v1.2                             *
*                                                                          *
*                       (c) 24 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
                           9. HV-Sid Updates
                          10. Clearing Database fields
                          11. Mouse/Keyboard Shortcuts
                          12. Contacting the Author


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             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. 


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               2.  FEATURES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


*  Currently supports CCS64 v1.9 and v2.0b DOS Versions and v2.0b Win32
   version.

*  Supports Sidplay/W.

*  Database includes over 2500 pre-entered games.

*  Database includes Filename entries for the Blast Collection (1-300).
   If you have the Blast Collection on your hard-drive, these games are
   instantly playable from gamebase64.

*  Database includes Filename entries for the HV-Sid Collection (update 11).
   If you have the HV-Sid collection on your hard-drive, these tunes are
   instantly playable from gamebase64.

*  Database includes Filename entries for Game-Screenshots.  You need to
   download the Screenshot zip-files from the gamebase64 Home Page and
   unpack them into your Screenshots directory to be able to view them.

*  Supports all major archive formats: Zip, Lha/Lzh, Gz, Lynx, Zipcoded.

*  Supports standard CCS64 game formats: D64, T64, PRG, P00, P01, TAP.

*  Category Window allows viewing games by Publisher, Year, Musician, Genre,
   Difficulty, No.of Players and Personal Rating.  Also has a Find-text
   function to specifically search the database.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             3.  INSTALLATION
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

If running update to v1.2 you must install into existing gamebase64 folder!

Run Setup.exe

This will create the following:-

gamebase64.exe  --  The gamebase64 binary
gamebase64.mdb  --  The database
gamebase64.htm  --  These Doce in html form
gamebase64.txt  --  This text file
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.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       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 Paths  --  You must point gamebase64 to the various versions
                             of the emulators before you can run games with
                             them from gamebase64.

            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 one of your Games Path.  NOTE:  
                             The Blast folder MUST be called 'Blast'.
                             You must set at least one Games Path 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).


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           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

The P and S views are set up with "Verify Available Games/Sids..." from the
"Tools" Menu.  This should also be done after downloading the Blast collection
or the HVSID collection (set their paths in Prefs first).

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.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         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.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         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 and 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
       the current Games Path and makes it easy to swap disks during play.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         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)'.  


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        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.  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.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            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.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      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 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).


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      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


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       13.  CONTACTING THE AUTHOR
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Please feel free to contact me if you have any comments/suggestions about
gamebase64:-

Email : gb64@cord.dircon.co.uk

  Web : http://www.geocities.com/~gamebase64/
  
   ICQ: 6543640


Enjoy!! - James


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             14.  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.