Fixed games
Moderator: Alastair
Fixed games
I'm sure we've discussed this before - the regulars on the forum (myself included) have sometimes fixed bugs in game to allow them to be be played to the end, and some of the solutions reference them (e.g. Ziggurat of Dread). Is it in the scope of this site to archive these somewhere for future use of others wanting to play the game?
Note I'm not talking about cheating on the games - just fixing (obvious) programming errors.
Note I'm not talking about cheating on the games - just fixing (obvious) programming errors.
Re: Fixed games
Yes, good idea Dave. Not only you, but Alastair has "fixed" some games, too. Maybe others as well.
- Gunness
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Re: Fixed games
Excellent idea. As the # of games in question must be limited, I don't see why we should be able to host those games. Please send them (or upload them, if you're one of the admins - I have created a suitable file type for these games).

No, I don't see any reason to further thisdave wrote:Note I'm not talking about cheating on the games
- Gunness
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Re: Fixed games
Suggestion: when uploading a fixed file, please include a brief textfile explaining what has been fixed.
Re: Fixed games
That requires me to remember what I fixed 
- Gunness
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Re: Fixed games
Ah. Good old-fashioned amnesia setting in! Well, looking forward then 
Re: Fixed games
Is this a comment for the admins, or information for everyone using the site? If the latter then where should we put this information, a text file included with the game in the zip file or somewhere else?Gunness wrote:Suggestion: when uploading a fixed file, please include a brief textfile explaining what has been fixed.
The next question is how much information do you want? Sufficient to allow anyone else to make the correction (e.g., as the game stands a bug prevents you from moving west from location 0 to location 4, to fix this change line 12587 so that 1,2,3,3 reads 1,2,3,4), or a simple overview (e.g., fixed an exit so that you can now move to the proper location)?
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Re: Fixed games
Everyone, really. Or, more specifically:Alastair wrote:Is this a comment for the admins, or information for everyone using the site? If the latter then where should we put this information, a text file included with the game in the zip file or somewhere else?Gunness wrote:Suggestion: when uploading a fixed file, please include a brief textfile explaining what has been fixed.
1) People checking in from external sites and wondering what's wrong with the version found elsewhere
2) People wondering whether a bugs they've read about elsewhere is fixed in our version
3) Original authors who might wonder what was wrong with their game in the first place.
And yes, a text file accompanying the game - preferrably both files should be zipped into one "package".
A brief desciption should be sufficient - but I'll the final decision to the fixers. If they think more detail is warranted, they should just add it.Alastair wrote:The next question is how much information do you want?
Re: Fixed games
There's still one game where I am not sure what I fixed
The best I've managed is to find is a line stating that a flag was being compared against the wrong variable...
But, that's not why I am posting. I've just uploaded a fix for another game (A Message from Deep Space http://solutionarchive.com/game/id,1270/ ), but this time it is not a fixed game but rather a text file that gives instructions on how to fix the game (actually it's the same text as found at the beginning of the solution). Currently it's described as "Fixed game" as that is the nearest file type description available, but I suspect that anyone clicking on the link will expect a fixed game rather than instructions. So the question is, should there be a new file type created solely for bug fix instructions?
But, that's not why I am posting. I've just uploaded a fix for another game (A Message from Deep Space http://solutionarchive.com/game/id,1270/ ), but this time it is not a fixed game but rather a text file that gives instructions on how to fix the game (actually it's the same text as found at the beginning of the solution). Currently it's described as "Fixed game" as that is the nearest file type description available, but I suspect that anyone clicking on the link will expect a fixed game rather than instructions. So the question is, should there be a new file type created solely for bug fix instructions?
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Re: Fixed games
Why not simply include the game file with the instructions? That way, no new file type will be needed. People can then apply the bug fix themselves.
Re: Fixed games
Alastair's A Message from Deep Space bug fix note sounds very similar to one I included in my solution to Hitch-Hiker, which was a single line poke to fix an error in the programming logic.
I didn't consider such a minor change warranted the hosting and distribution of a new version of the game - it's really only an extra few keystrokes required before running the game.
I think, given the site isn't intended to host the original games, it should probably only host greatly modified games that have required a lot of time and/or skill to create. For single-issue fixes like this, I think a note in the hints and/or solution/walkthrough suffices. This also means that users of original machines don't have to worry about how to get the fixed game back onto original media.
Of course, if you include both a complete detailed description of the fix as well as an image, it's not a problem either way.
My 2p's worth,
Sam.
I didn't consider such a minor change warranted the hosting and distribution of a new version of the game - it's really only an extra few keystrokes required before running the game.
I think, given the site isn't intended to host the original games, it should probably only host greatly modified games that have required a lot of time and/or skill to create. For single-issue fixes like this, I think a note in the hints and/or solution/walkthrough suffices. This also means that users of original machines don't have to worry about how to get the fixed game back onto original media.
Of course, if you include both a complete detailed description of the fix as well as an image, it's not a problem either way.
My 2p's worth,
Sam.
Re: Fixed games
Well, yes and no; you, Alastair and I (and others) are happy to have instructions to alter the BASIC programs apply simple pokes ad nauseam, but some of out readers and the great unwashed don't have the knowledge and confidence to do the same.Samwise wrote:I think, given the site isn't intended to host the original games, it should probably only host greatly modified games that have required a lot of time and/or skill to create. For single-issue fixes like this, I think a note in the hints and/or solution/walkthrough suffices. This also means that users of original machines don't have to worry about how to get the fixed game back onto original media.
Hence why providing a simple image is a good idea, especially as they don't take up too much storage space. We really ought to provide a description of what was changed (if we can remember), it'd be nice if there was some mechanism for the site to show this too.
Re: Fixed games
Because in this instance I don't know how to create a new game file, I know only how to modify the program once it has been loaded by the computer or emulator.Gunness wrote:Why not simply include the game file with the instructions? That way, no new file type will be needed. People can then apply the bug fix themselves.
Re: Fixed games
dave, my point was that the textual fix is more important than the image - because if someone comes to the site and is playing the game on the original machine, and only finds the fixed image then that's going to require an awful lot more work to transfer to the original machine than it would be to read a text document and copy the single poke required to fix the issue.
If both are included it's a non-issue, but what I meant was that I think it's probably a bit overkill to host complete new images for single poke fixes where the solution is to type something like (beeb example):
I think most people can cope with that - they don't have to understand what it does.
*shrug*
Obviously, big modifications - such as the LotR one I'm playing now, are a different kettle of fish and those are the ones where an image is the only reasonable method of distribution.
Sam.
If both are included it's a non-issue, but what I meant was that I think it's probably a bit overkill to host complete new images for single poke fixes where the solution is to type something like (beeb example):
Code: Select all
LOAD "game"
?&3448=&10
RUN*shrug*
Obviously, big modifications - such as the LotR one I'm playing now, are a different kettle of fish and those are the ones where an image is the only reasonable method of distribution.
Sam.
Re: Fixed games
That's me - the "great unwashed". Thanks, Dave
Having asked both Dave and Alastair for their help in games that I thought were not finishable, I would suggest/vote for a place where one could find "fixed" games, with someplace for about who fixed it, when, where the original was found (if anyone remembers), and other pertinent data. One can add how to fix this, but people like me cannot do that, and it far more satisfying, albeit frustrating, to replay a game from the beginning and actually finish it. This is of course, if one cannot locate the author and see if s/he can fix it.
Hurrah for us "great unwashed". Much better epithet than others I've had.
Having asked both Dave and Alastair for their help in games that I thought were not finishable, I would suggest/vote for a place where one could find "fixed" games, with someplace for about who fixed it, when, where the original was found (if anyone remembers), and other pertinent data. One can add how to fix this, but people like me cannot do that, and it far more satisfying, albeit frustrating, to replay a game from the beginning and actually finish it. This is of course, if one cannot locate the author and see if s/he can fix it.
Hurrah for us "great unwashed". Much better epithet than others I've had.