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Postby **FadedOne** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 5:24 pm

I was randomly curious about finding an old DOS game I used to play...Arctic.....and in searching, found it on this site. Far as I can tell, all are legal shareware or freeware, and there's some great memory-inducing stuff there. :jump:

I dl'ed Super Mario VGA, Arctic, Fire & Ice, and some other random stuff. Haven't virus-checked yet(must do that!) but it all seems quite reputable so far.

so yeah...enjoy! :cool:

Postby **CreatureArt** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 12:48 am

Uh... where do I enjoy these games?

I remember Cosmo's Cosmic Adventures, Crystal Caves, Lemmings, Worms (the original versions), Jazz Jack Rabbit (was that DOS?)... good times. ^_^

Postby **shooraijin** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 5:37 am

FadedOne, please PM one of the moderators the URL first before you post it. Some of these sites do have warez up for download, and those are against policy because of their questionable legality. Let us check first.

Obviously, as you pointed out, there may be viruses within those archives, so even if the files themselves are legit, take all necessary precautions. Even DOS-era viruses can be nasty.

Postby **BigZam** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 6:25 pm

questionable legality....? most abandonware is legal because the company is no longer selling or distributing them. it'd only be illegal if it was protected, and most abandonware isn't...

Postby **glitch1501** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 9:00 pm

there was just an interesting article in pcgamer about abandonware, and if i wasnt about to pass out, i would quote some of it.

i love old dos games, kings bounty is a fav!

there is a great opensource dos game called "dave gnukem" i recommend original duke nukem fans to give it a try

Postby **shooraijin** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 11:14 pm

BigZam wrote:questionable legality....? most abandonware is legal because the company is no longer selling or distributing them. it'd only be illegal if it was protected, and most abandonware isn't...

Wrong. Copyright is copyright, even if not (at the moment) enforced -- you're thinking of trademarks, which do require enforcement to stay valid. Copyright does not.

Also, with this "everything old is new" world we live in, a number of companies are revisiting their old catalogues through emulation. Activision is the biggest name in this list, but there are quite a few others. So, you may be surprised to find out just how currently sold some of your older titles are.

For that reason, abandonware links are not allowed here (as with other things, such as copyrighted non-distributable music, video, etc.).

FadedOne, I have your URL -- I will check it when I get a chance tomorrow. Thanks for being patient -- the Expo was great.

Postby **glitch1501** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 5:49 am

shooraijin is right, technically a copyright lasts 95 years after the game was orginally published, so the publisher has the right to pursue legal action even if the abandonware distributors are not gaining financially

Postby **BigZam** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 11:21 am

well i'll still download abandonware and i've downloaded from that url, as far as I know it's safe; I haven't had any problems.

Postby **FadedOne** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:21 pm

kk..here we go, got sir shooraijin's approval of the site. ^_^

http://www.dosgames.com/

and also...if anyone knows of a way to make DOS games run on Win XP....right now i'm having alot of trouble lol.

Postby **shooraijin** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:34 pm

I think DOSBox (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/) may be what you're looking for. I use it on the Mac, and it works wonderfully. I'm sure the Windows version works well also. And it's free!

Postby **Arnobius** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:25 pm

Thanks for posting that link again. I want to get my copy of Princess Maker 2 working on XP...

Postby **Zilch** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:39 pm

Ahh...DOS games...King's Quest, Warcraft, Marathon...waitaminute...Marathon was for Mac...

Postby **Arnobius** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:41 pm

Zilch wrote:Ahh...DOS games...King's Quest, Warcraft, Marathon...waitaminute...Marathon was for Mac...

Heck, I remember "Eamon" for the old Apple IIe

Postby **glitch1501** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:45 pm

try the windows compatability wizard? i havent tried, makes me want to though

Postby **Arnobius** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:47 pm

glitch1501 wrote:try the windows compatability wizard? i havent tried, makes me want to though

Many old DOS games just aren't compatible with the modern soundcards, so these emulators are needed to make them work.

Postby **shooraijin** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:55 pm

Marathon was for Mac..

Actually, I think there was a Windows port, eventually.

It is a point of some soreness that Halo was originally a Mac game until Microsoft bought Bungie out.

Postby **FadedOne** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 8:20 pm

shooraijin wrote:I think DOSBox (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/) may be what you're looking for. I use it on the Mac, and it works wonderfully. I'm sure the Windows version works well also. And it's free!

I love you! :lol:

aka...thanks. :sweat:

Soon as I get the computer working properly(currently sticking every minute on the minute. o.o)i'm going to test that out. ^_^

Postby **shooraijin** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:17 am

Lol. I'm flattered. ^_^

Postby **BigZam** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 4:26 pm

you can't get those games to work? interesting they worked fine for me without and emulator. Except for Elder Scrolls Arena. Hey shoorajin mebbe you could help me run a game on DosBox i'll PM you about it

DOS games ^_^

DOS games ^_^

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