On mobile platforms, these games can still be quite appealing, I think.

thats true; especially the msx2 ones

Absolutely!! Many mobiles have shitty control buttons unfortunately...

@ Masaxi:
Actually the concept of Abandonware is not a re-publishing of old games by their former publisher for money. It's simply a statement from their publisher/author to make it freely available to the public.

I know, maggoo As now I read again my reply, I think I quoted abandonware by mistake.

Abandonware is great thing to have.

Not a lot of stuff actually *is* abandonware though, half of the time the original copyright-holder has no clue their products were declared "abandoned" by someone else...

half of the time? make that 95% of the time...
there's still the "If you don't have the original ROM, you should delete this file within 24 hours" crap lots of people seem to believing too...

I've found SMA SCC Sounds & Musics VOL.2 in my collection.
Does anybody have VOL.1?

And are there more volumes?

I saw that SMA did the crack intro for Saurus Lunch available on Funet
{mod: no warez links please, see our policies}

MCS...

no warez links please.

Never heard of those demo disks
and what does this have to do with this thread?

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no warez links please. Never heard of those demo disks and what does this have to do with this thread?

Oeps?!
I'm sorry I thought all files from Funet were cleared.


Without SMA we did not see a lot of software in the Netherlands ever "released".
And when you read this thread there is a lot of talk about SMA (and other crack groups) and the origin of those groups.

So I thought that a demo the SMA group made was of some interest.
Maybe this message will fit better in "The history of the MSX scene" topic?

MCS...

Sorry to jump in at the tail end of this topic on Japanese games, and cracked games, etc...

But I have a question regarding "non-legal" methods of distribution.

Aren't the unnofficial translations people have done, and then sold, technically speaking, illegal? I'm no expert, but I've been told about games like SD-Snatcher and Xak 1 being sold at fairs, in translated form.

Just to clarify, this is basically selling copied games, right? I mean, I hate to sound like a jerk here, and I apologise in advance, but according to Snout, MSX.org openly frowns on piracy, yet has photos of conventions selling fan-translated games?

For the record, I support fan-translations, and regard them as one of the best things to happen in the games industry. And I certainly hope they continue, so I hope I don't come across as someone stepping on toes here. That's not my intention at all, mainly I'm curious to see an official opinion on the sale of fan-translations.

I'm new to the MSX (as most of you know), and so am not certain of the etiquette behind some things, etc.

Quote:

but according to Snout, MSX.org openly frowns on piracy, yet has photos of conventions selling fan-translated games?

Is placing a screenshot of Emule 'at work' on internet illegal? Guess it's the same point..

Quote:

Sorry to jump in at the tail end of this topic on Japanese games, and cracked games, etc... But I have a question regarding "non-legal" methods of distribution. Aren't the unnofficial translations people have done, and then sold, technically speaking, illegal? I'm no expert, but I've been told about games like SD-Snatcher and Xak 1 being sold at fairs, in translated form.

No, these translations were released as 'patch disks'. These were programs designed to patch the original version of your game, modifying it in such a way that the result would be a translated version. Of course you would have to be high to actually consider patching your original SD-Snatcher, but that was the idea behind it at least. Anyhow, the patchdisk would work only once, and would destroy itself after the game was patched. (actually during, but that's a technical detail) I don't know if people other than Oasis sold ready-made disks (well, I had to distribute a few patched systemdisks once, after running into a problem with a patch that wouldn't work on all MSX models), but as far as I know most were indeed patches.

Quote:

Just to clarify, this is basically selling copied games, right? I mean, I hate to sound like a jerk here, and I apologise in advance, but according to Snout, MSX.org openly frowns on piracy, yet has photos of conventions selling fan-translated games?

Like said, I think most were patches. Mind you, it's not so much that MRC looses any sleep if you or anyone else copies a game, but we don't want to be turned into a warez portal. That's why we're particularly strict about linking to copyrighted game, since that'll probably result in that nasty-ass RIAA lapdog shutting us down. So, what everyone does or does not do is really not MRC's business, as long as they don't do it here.

Quote:

For the record, I support fan-translations, and regard them as one of the best things to happen in the games industry. And I certainly hope they continue, so I hope I don't come across as someone stepping on toes here. That's not my intention at all, mainly I'm curious to see an official opinion on the sale of fan-translations.

Like said, releasing patches is not in itself illegal. That's why MRC will often post about these kinds of things. Talking about patching or even hacking is not illegal either, as long as it doesn't turn into a 'how to hack SD-Snatcher' like thread.

Quote:

I'm new to the MSX (as most of you know), and so am not certain of the etiquette behind some things, etc.

Well, most MSX users don't have too strong an opinion on the matter. These games aren't sold anymore, half of the companies don't even exist anymore, and while by law it is technically illegal to copy these games, most MSX users don't seem to mind. It's prolly fair to mention that most of those MSX users spend loads of time and money to actually *try* to find an original if at all possible. It's a sad fact however that most of these beautiful games are now very hard to find, and many of them are now so rare that they're worth far more than they were back in the old days.

When it comes to new software there does seem to be a "don't copy" feeling though, and I think most MSX users will not copy new game (if it is sellware that is) and usually make an effort to buy it, just to support the author. You usually won't find these new games on any of the popular MSX-wares sites either, since most users seem to respect the authors and take the fact that the game is still sold into consideration.

Ahh, fascinating. Thank you for that explanation! I'll be sure to amend some points in my translation article. Many thanks!

For example, I have the following text under a convention photo:
“Unofficially translated games are still sold at MSX fairs. Deltasoft’s Xak 1 displayed at the Tilburg 2004 convention. (Courtesy MSX.org)”

If Xak 1 was just a patch, I'll change it slightly.

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Ahh, fascinating. Thank you for that explanation! I'll be sure to amend some points in my translation article. Many thanks! For example, I have the following text under a convention photo: “Unofficially translated games are still sold at MSX fairs. Deltasoft’s Xak 1 displayed at the Tilburg 2004 convention. (Courtesy MSX.org)” If Xak 1 was just a patch, I'll change it slightly.

I'm not sure if Xak was a patch or not. I do know that all Oasis products were tho (Apart from that Great Strategy II patch-issue). I'd say the mayority of these products were patches, even if only because a patch needs fewer disks.