Alright. No mention of emulators.
I won't be doing this anyway, as I'm not into PC games and don't have the equipment or the expertise to know what works on what.
ADRIFT platforms
Moderator: Alastair
Re: ADRIFT platforms
After I started this thread in february 2021, a very good ADRIFT 5 interpreter has arrived called FrankenDrift. It is available on Mac, Linux and Windows and it is highly compatible as it is based on the open source code of ADRIFT 5. In comparison, the Android app Fabularium is less accurate but fine in most cases.
Thus I thought I would revise my understanding on how to specify platforms for ADRIFT games:
1. The platform is ADRIFT if a .taf-file or a .blorb-file is released (then it can be played with several interpreters)
2. The platform is (also) PC if a Windows executable is released (.exe)
3. The platform is (also) Browser if it is officially playable online (not sure how to determine official here, unless the author clearly states that the game can be played online)
So in the best case, there are three platforms for an ADRIFT game: ADRIFT, PC and Browser
Additional details can be given in the "notes" section. Comments are very welcome.
Thus I thought I would revise my understanding on how to specify platforms for ADRIFT games:
1. The platform is ADRIFT if a .taf-file or a .blorb-file is released (then it can be played with several interpreters)
2. The platform is (also) PC if a Windows executable is released (.exe)
3. The platform is (also) Browser if it is officially playable online (not sure how to determine official here, unless the author clearly states that the game can be played online)
So in the best case, there are three platforms for an ADRIFT game: ADRIFT, PC and Browser
Additional details can be given in the "notes" section. Comments are very welcome.
Re: ADRIFT platforms
I was updating my Adrift collection and database recently and the thing that really pissed me off was trying to work out which interpreter I needed to run each game. It all boiled down to Adrift 3.8, 3.9, 4.0 or 5.0. It doesn't matter which platform the interpreter runs on, so long as you know what versions it supports. This is information that CASA should be providing so that you can do sensible searches. When entering or updating data, it is much easier to select a system from a drop-down menu than to write notes. As we all know, the latter will generally not get done and, if it does, everyone will word it differently and it is not searchable.
On a related topic, I hate it when someone provides a Windows executable for their Adrift game and they do not provide the game file. My virus scanner always quarantines these Windows executables, so I have to recover them and forcibly exclude them from virus scans. Is there a way to extract the game file from those Windows executables?
On a related topic, I hate it when someone provides a Windows executable for their Adrift game and they do not provide the game file. My virus scanner always quarantines these Windows executables, so I have to recover them and forcibly exclude them from virus scans. Is there a way to extract the game file from those Windows executables?
Re: ADRIFT platforms
Delron's list of ADRIFT games is probably the best reference for which version of ADRIFT has been used for each game...
https://delron.org.uk/adrift-games.htm
https://delron.org.uk/adrift-games.htm
Re: ADRIFT platforms
Due to the history of ADRIFT this is a bit of a mess but I like to think of it this way: If you have an ADRIFT game, always open it with the ADRIFT 4 Runner. then you will be told what version it is, unless it is an ADRIFT 4 game. If it is an ADRIFT 4 game, the game will start.Garry wrote: ↑Sun Aug 28, 2022 2:50 pmI was updating my Adrift collection and database recently and the thing that really pissed me off was trying to work out which interpreter I needed to run each game. It all boiled down to Adrift 3.8, 3.9, 4.0 or 5.0. It doesn't matter which platform the interpreter runs on, so long as you know what versions it supports.
NB: If you are not sure which version a game was made with, do NOT try to open it with ADRIFT 5 Runner as it may (depending on your setup) convert the game from ADRIFT 4 to ADRIFT 5 without telling you and more often than not, the conversion is significantly bugged. Do not play ADRIFT 4 games with ADRIFT 5 Runner as it will probably ruin the game.
If it is a blorb-file, you can be sure that it is an ADRIFT 5 game. Practically all new ADRIFT games are made with ADRIFT 5. Since 2013, only four ADRIFT 4 games have been released. And as Strident mentioned, the Delron site tells you which version was used to create the game.
I agree. that is annoying. So far, those few "exe-only"-games I have seen, have not been good games. To my knowledge there is no tool available to subtract the taf-file but I guess a good programmer could do it(?).Garry wrote: ↑Sun Aug 28, 2022 2:50 pmOn a related topic, I hate it when someone provides a Windows executable for their Adrift game and they do not provide the game file. My virus scanner always quarantines these Windows executables, so I have to recover them and forcibly exclude them from virus scans. Is there a way to extract the game file from those Windows executables?
Finally a little bit of statistics using Delron:
Number of ADRIFT 3.8 games: 12
Number of ADRIFT 3.9 games: 143
Number of ADRIFT 4.0 games: 410
Number of ADRIFT 5.0 games: 106
Re: ADRIFT platforms
That's pretty much what I'd do if I just want to play a game, but to identify the correct version, I started with 3.9. If that didn't work, it would tell you that the game was created with a later version.
Good advice. This is one of the reasons why you need to know the version of ADRIFT used to compile the game file. Like you said, if it's a blorb file, then it's definitely 5.0.Denk wrote: ↑Sun Aug 28, 2022 10:46 pmNB: If you are not sure which version a game was made with, do NOT try to open it with ADRIFT 5 Runner as it may (depending on your setup) convert the game from ADRIFT 4 to ADRIFT 5 without telling you and more often than not, the conversion is significantly bugged. Do not play ADRIFT 4 games with ADRIFT 5 Runner as it will probably ruin the game.
There are some errors in Delron's list, but the proportion of the numbers is about right.