X3peri_MENTaL

Sorry, I don't have an up to date version of the 'favourite.txt' file from the winston emulator but to use other group menus with STew/WinSton/Steem/SainT you could try the Disk Detective: Get it here: http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/diskde...skDetective.htm Hope this helps.

Exactly. To the user the game would be absolutely identical to their original. (this is exactly what the disector patches do - i.e. other than removal of the copy protection no other changes are made).

Most people who are interested in ST emulation will already have a stack of original software. The reason no one dumps disk images from them is that they are continually told that the copy protection stops the image running, and this in most cases is true. If there was a patch database then I guarantee you there would be clean dumps of virtually every game inside a year on the net. This is important as when I bought my games I though they were for life not a 20 year rental ! (yes bitrot will soon render them all useless). At the time cracked software menus appeared in the 90's of course it made sense just to pass around cracked copies. But we're in the internet age now and if it was done again then it would be done with patches. Also, I don't regard the copyprotection as being part of the game as it is usually added by others at a later date (also consider that full price games re-released on budget never usually had the protection put back on and games re-released as part of a compilation always had their protection removed). So if you know anyway with the skills to start such a project give then a nudge.

The solution is not the CAPS project in my opinion but the creation of a 'Patch' Database. I believe it would be far better if people in the community with the know-how started such a database. This database would simply contain game patches which you would apply to a disk image taken from an original in order to neutralize the copy protection and allow the game to run. You would then be left with a clean version of the game (no scrollers, crew 'tagging' menus etc.; just the original game minus the copy protection) which would run on emulators. Perhaps patches could be reverse engineered from cracked game versions on menus, but I don't really no about these things so cannot comment further. If the game was on a disk with an exotic disk format then of course you would have to create the disk image on your Atari ST, but the patch could be applied to the image on your PC just the same. An example of the kind of thing I'm talking about can be seen on the Atari ST program Disector v5. This contains 80 patches for popular games. Using a disk image of this in an emulator you can actually patch a protected disk image so it runs. It works as I've done it numerous times. Like turning water into wine it turns a non working game into one that runs. Also, there was an Amiga project of this kind, but I don't know what happened to it - check the link http://ee.tut.fi/~heikki/amiga-cracking/Am...atchList.readme CAPS is an admirable project but for me patchings the way to go. This would also allow the Atari ST emulation community to be masters of their own destiny and grow at a speed which is determined from within. Going this way would also see the number of disk images available grow exponentially as most people would create images from their disks. I don't know why this idea has never been mooted before, yes its a lot of work, but in the end it would be worth it.