cheese obsessive
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 219
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cheese obsessive wrote:
Edit: Erik frowns upon abandonware sites being promoted; HOTU is allowed because it is more scrupulous than most. (See this post for an example of his position.) I have a copy of your post on e-mail and I can restore it if Erik deems it appropriate.

Yeah...now I feel wicked dumb.

I still believe that that particular site is more legal than other abandonware sites, however. They take down any game they find is still being distributed. Oh well.

Oneiromancer
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cheese obsessive wrote:
I still believe that that particular site is more legal than other abandonware sites, however. They take down any game they find is still being distributed. Oh well.

Well, that's pretty much HOTU's policy as well. If you can supply me some proof that your site has similar situational ethics, then I'll happily restore your post (after possibly consulting with Erik).

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

cheese obsessive
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Oneiromancer wrote:

cheese obsessive wrote:
I still believe that that particular site is more legal than other abandonware sites, however. They take down any game they find is still being distributed. Oh well.

Well, that's pretty much HOTU's policy as well. If you can supply me some proof that your site has similar situational ethics, then I'll happily restore your post (after possibly consulting with Erik).

Game on,

This link gives you the list of games they found out to be still being sold/distributed/protected in some way. Instead of giving you a link to download them free, they are being good citizens and giving you the link to where to purchase the game. I don't really care if you do or do not post the link back up, I am just trying to make a point. (sent to oneiromancer)

---

[Last edited by cheese obsessive at 06-26-2005 09:35 AM : I removed the link because I am dumb. ]

gamer_extreme_101
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Erm, I'd watch out with posting links at all in reply to Oneiromancer's post, as you've basically reposted the link. If you want to prove that your site has valid policies, then email the moderators at moderators [AT] caravelgames [DOT] com.

Just some friendly advice.

____________________________
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Oneiromancer
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Well, I agree that the PC games list does seem to be in the same spirit as HOTU. So if that was it, I wouldn't mind. However, the fact that there are emulators and ROMs for many consoles there isn't good...I am pretty sure that Erik has personally removed links to emulator/ROM sites, so that might be the nail in the coffin for this one. (And I was really surprised that they had both...usually sites have one but not the other, in an attempt to exploit loopholes.)

Sorry, man!

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

cheese obsessive
Level: Master Delver

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Registered: 10-10-2004
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Oneiromancer wrote:
Well, I agree that the PC games list does seem to be in the same spirit as HOTU. So if that was it, I wouldn't mind. However, the fact that there are emulators and ROMs for many consoles there isn't good...I am pretty sure that Erik has personally removed links to emulator/ROM sites, so that might be the nail in the coffin for this one. (And I was really surprised that they had both...usually sites have one but not the other, in an attempt to exploit loopholes.)

Sorry, man!

Game on,

It's all good. I'm not going to like lose sleep over it or anything.

ErikH2000
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Cheese,

I go back and forth on this one--it's a borderline case. I don't like seeing the ROMs up there because I know the console companies are generally against ROM distribution, but probably haven't gotten around to sending their nastygram to this particular guy (who seems well-intentioned enough).

Let's leave the link unshown. No hard feelings, of course.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

cheese obsessive
Level: Master Delver

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Registered: 10-10-2004
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ErikH2000 wrote:
Cheese,

I go back and forth on this one--it's a borderline case. I don't like seeing the ROMs up there because I know the console companies are generally against ROM distribution, but probably haven't gotten around to sending their nastygram to this particular guy (who seems well-intentioned enough).

Let's leave the link unshown. No hard feelings, of course.

-Erik

Of course! I still have DROD to waste my life away with, thanks to you.

...and from what I noticed, the only ROMs on that site are ROMS of systems that are no longer built or sold. I guess that that is more legal than like Xbox or Gamecube ROMs, but it is definately debatable. I am just pointing that out in case no one noticed that. I am not trying to start an argument.

gamer_extreme_101
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Ah yes, but in order for it to be legal to download, the publisher/developer has to announce that the game will no longer be sold and that he is offering it free now. That never happens with game systems, as there are places where you can buy used games from older consoles. Besides, for the $5 that it is a game, you might as well just buy it legally and sleep happier at nights. Rockstar Games is a good example of true and legal "abandonware", as they released GTA 1&2 along with another game for free. (Although it makes me mad that I actually bought the game about half a year ago).

And to go back on topic, here's the link to Rockstar's Classics section. Age verification is required, so if you aren't the proper age, you won't be getting the game.

And to clarify, this is 100% legal, lest there be any confusion.

____________________________
--That guy with a million different aliases since he doesn't like this name anymore.

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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gamer_extreme_101 wrote:
Rockstar Games is a good example of true and legal "abandonware", as they released GTA 1&2 along with another game for free. (Although it makes me mad that I actually bought the game about half a year ago).

Yes, this is how I wish things would work. Rockstar is to be commended.

By the way, Greg Costikyan wrote a nice article about this. I agree with him that there should be some kind of "game museum" website that keeps legal abandonware.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

cheese obsessive
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 219
Registered: 10-10-2004
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ErikH2000 wrote:

gamer_extreme_101 wrote:
Rockstar Games is a good example of true and legal "abandonware", as they released GTA 1&2 along with another game for free. (Although it makes me mad that I actually bought the game about half a year ago).

Yes, this is how I wish things would work. Rockstar is to be commended.

By the way, Greg Costikyan wrote a nice article about this. I agree with him that there should be some kind of "game museum" website that keeps legal abandonware.

-Erik

That IS a good idea (and article). Maybe someone should contact companies like Nintendo and Atari and ask them to make their own legal "ROM" programs, but they sell it, along with their games, because there are so many people that like 'old school' games, and the only way to get them is illegally through the internet. Those companies chould make a whole new business doing something like that. That way, it would be legal, and the old school gamers would be happy.


Back on topic, I just found a parody newspaper called, "The Onion." Some of these articles are absolutely hilarious. Some may be slightly inappropiate...more like PG-13.

http://www.theonion.com/

Oneiromancer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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Wow...you've only just discovered the Onion...I feel so old for some reason.

It should be pointed out that this week's issue is not the usual layout of the page...it will be back to normal next week. Also, this week a lot of the jokes are more "in" than usual, and are more appreciated if you've read a lot of their articles and are used to their style of humor (and regular columnists too).

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

DiMono
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Rank Points: 1181
Registered: 09-13-2003
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Think you're good at Diablo 2? Well this guy beat the game from start to finish in single player mode in under 2 hours! Watching this series of videos gave me new respect for the assassin class, he beats the game practically naked.

____________________________
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Mattcrampy
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Man, that's nothing. I have a video on my hard drive of someone beating the NES Monopoly in less than a minute from start to finish, although they note they used slowdown on emulators. (They worked out how to manipulate luck by pressing a button just at the right time so the dice and cards came up how they wanted.)

Along the same vein, there's a 27 minutes video of Super Metroid from start to finish that blows me away. (That's game time - Super Metroid doesn't count any frames in which you have no control of the character). Somehow they manage to move vertically in the most brilliant abuse of wall jumping I've ever seen.

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Doom
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3303
Registered: 07-05-2004
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Don't ask why, but I googled out for curiosity for word "teh" and found an interesting link at the top.
(The forum is finnish but at least some people try to speak english...)

F3ll0wsh1p of teh R1ng

Ok, it may be a little lame, but I found a few parts of it funny

Mattcrampy
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Rank Points: 2388
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http://www.seashanty.org/telltale/

The Telltale Body In The Trunk. An illustrated adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's classic work.

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Bombardana
Level: Roachling

Rank Points: 14
Registered: 12-31-2004
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illwillpress.com

Funny online series of animation about a squirrel called foamy and a gothic girl named germaine.

Watch out! Its got parental Advisory!

cheese obsessive
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 219
Registered: 10-10-2004
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http://www.wimp.com/subliminal

A flash video sort of thing. The first two subliminal messages are rather pointless, and I still can't quite make out what the first one is, but part three where a song (Dinner at Deviant's Palace) is played backwards and it says the lords prayer is pretty awesome. Check it out just for that song thing. Oh yeah. May be a little inappropiate. PG13, maybe.

You can also check out the rest of the site, too. It is really similar to ebaumsworld.com, because the site hoardes interesting videos, pictures, and games.

Oneiromancer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2936
Registered: 03-29-2003
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I bet you all wanted to know what Saturn sounds like!

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

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I keep expecting Saturn to break into either Metroid or Doctor Who.

____________________________
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Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

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cheese obsessive wrote:

A flash video sort of thing. The first two subliminal messages are rather pointless, and I still can't quite make out what the first one is, but part three where a song (Dinner at Deviant's Palace) is played backwards and it says the lords prayer is pretty awesome. Check it out just for that song thing. Oh yeah. May be a little inappropiate. PG13, maybe.

Because swearing out loud is easier than typing out loud, let me assure you that I'm cursing your name for that one.

In a similar vein, http://www.biteycastle.com/taken.htm, which is an exercise in suspense. I'm actually going to warn you for this one, unlike Stinky Cheese over here.

____________________________
What do you call an elephant at the North Pole?

cheese obsessive
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 219
Registered: 10-10-2004
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Mattcrampy wrote:

cheese obsessive wrote:

A flash video sort of thing. The first two subliminal messages are rather pointless, and I still can't quite make out what the first one is, but part three where a song (Dinner at Deviant's Palace) is played backwards and it says the lords prayer is pretty awesome. Check it out just for that song thing. Oh yeah. May be a little inappropiate. PG13, maybe.

Because swearing out loud is easier than typing out loud, let me assure you that I'm cursing your name for that one.

In a similar vein, http://www.biteycastle.com/taken.htm, which is an exercise in suspense. I'm actually going to warn you for this one, unlike Stinky Cheese over here.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Where is the fun if you are actually expecting something to pop out at you?!?!?!? When I first saw it, I wasn't expecting it either, so I basically fell out of my chair. I even turned my speakers up a lot, because the song was kinda cool. I was just waiting for some unsuspecting dude to come by and hate me before I warn anyone about the fact that halfway through the song, something happens.

drodette
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 25
Registered: 09-28-2004
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http://www.drtoast.com/adt_19_raisins.html

The whole philosophy of Dr. Toast is moderately amusing. Perfect for this rainy, rainy day at the office.

____________________________
Too much of good thing can be better thing. -- Cookie Monster

Oneiromancer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2936
Registered: 03-29-2003
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High speed photography

Or, blowing stuff up and taking pictures of the process.

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2388
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I've posted before about how much I like Media Watch. Turns out they have a website at http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/, including live streams of the most recent episode and transcripts of each segment. (Media Watch is produced by a government-owned media company, much like the BBC, so they can afford to do things like this.)

It may not have the same 'oh crap they're so screwed' resonance outside of Australia, but usually the only targets I know beforehand are ones that have no credibility anyway.



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Tim
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I'm not sure it's cool or not, but this link is quite strange (note that I'm living on the other side of the ocean, and don't really understand whether the text are really jokes or not...)

Katrina: The Gathering

But it does sounds likes a cool game to play...

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MeckMeck GRE
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That´s stupid ! Makeing jokes on a recent natural desaster which killed/injured many people and destroyed New Orleans.

Mattcrampy
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I thought it was somewhat clever - certainly, the US is far enough away from the tragedy to be able to laugh about parts of it, in particular the way it was handled by government and media.

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DiMono
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1181
Registered: 09-13-2003
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The funniest Family Guy clip ever

This is a direct link to a windows media player file, so right-click save as or click to view as you see fit.

____________________________
Deploy the... I think it's a yellow button... it's usually flashing... it makes the engines go... WHOOSH!

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

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Your link's dead, DiMono.

____________________________
What do you call an elephant at the North Pole?