Help required for the new BBC games archive

[Arcadian]

I've noticed if you click a page number using the set of numbered boxes at the bottom of a page, the new page doesn't display from the very 'top' - when loaded it instead appears about 2.5 'rows' down, meaning you have to manually scroll back up to the top. Could this be looked into if you get a minute, Paul?

[pau1ie]

the new page doesn't display from the very 'top'

Yes, I had noticed this. I will look into it when I get a chance. As you know we are quite busy with some site updates not least authors at present, so will be a few weeks.

[richardtoohey]

includes/makegrid.php

function pager($limit, $rows, $page, $state) {
...
function(data){ $("#maingrid").html(data); $(\'html, body\').scrollTop(0); return false;
...

Put the bit in bold in the same place (about 4 lines) ... (still RTFMing github!) ... or could make the JS block a variable and reuse it in 4 places.

Tried on FF and Chome and works for me (couldn't get the animation to work, but not needed):

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4147 ... owser-page

[pau1ie]

Thanks Richard, that worked eventually. I might have broken the website slightly for a while until I remembered I had reworked some of it to try and do trickys idea for the release types

I realise the javascript could be more efficient. I hope to do that together with reworking the release types...

[Jeremy Grayson]

Hello again,

Apologies if any of the following is known, or in the throes of being updated/corrected, but what follows are some observations having been through all of the adverts for issue #2 of Acorn User (September 1982) this afternoon. It's viewable on https://archive.org/details/Acorn_User_ ... -Wesley_GB if you'd like to triple-check anything.

I have already added all of the details pertaining to potentially missing titles in the correct thread elsewhere on this forum, but include them here again, as well as game date and name queries, for completeness sake.


- Beebtrek is dated as 1983 on the Complete BBC Games Archive, but features in a Software For All advert in Acorn User #2.

- I'd love to know whether any copies of Bugbyte's Beebgammon were ever badged and released as Backgammon, under which name it featured in adverts for BBC suppliers Eltec Services and Q Tek Systems in this edition of Acorn User. Has anyone ever seen this?

- An advert for Computer Concepts' wares in this edition implies that Hitch Hiker and Rubik Cube might also have been known as Adventure 1 and Cube respectively - they were both certainly advertised here under the latter names. Has anyone ever seen physical evidence of these games under these other names?

- An advert for Golem unearths two more possibly undiscovered games - Super Life and Cruncher (the latter's description reads like a Pac-Man clone, so this will not be the same Cruncher (a Danger! UXB clone) as released by Virgin).

- 3D Noughts and Crosses is dated as 1984 on the Complete BBC Games Archive, but features in a Beebug advert in Acorn User #2 as being one of two games on Beebug's Games 2 tape.

- Moon Lander is given as the other title on Beebug's Games 2 tape (along with 3D Noughts and Crosses) but appears to have been hitherto undiscovered.

- Magic Eel is dated as 1983 on the Complete BBC Games Archive, but features in a Beebug advert in Acorn User #2 as being one of two games on Beebug's Games 4 tape.

- The Manhole Game is dated as 1984 on the Complete BBC Games Archive, but features in a Beebug advert in Acorn User #2 as being one of two games on Beebug's Games 4 tape (and named Man Hole).

- Starfire is dated as 1984 on the Complete BBC Games Archive, but features in a Beebug advert in Acorn User #2 as being the sole game on Beebug's Games 1 tape.

- Rat Splat is given as one of three titles on Beebug's Games 3 tape (along with Mindbender and Shape Match) but appears to have been hitherto undiscovered.

- Bomber is advertised as having featured in the May 1982 issue of Beebug, but appears to be absent from the Complete BBC Games Archive.

- Mazetrap is advertised as having featured in the June 1982 issue of Beebug, but appears to be absent from the Complete BBC Games Archive. Frustratingly, I had a copy of this on a C90 audio tape about twenty-five years ago which has long since been chewed up by an errant tape player and slung in the bin...

- Beeb Invaders is advertised as having featured in the July 1982 issue of Beebug, but appears to be absent from the Complete BBC Games Archive.

- Something called Astro Run appears as an example of one of the games in the CJE published book "30+ Programs for the BBC Microcomputer" (ISBN 0946190003).

- World Geography is dated as 1984 on the Complete BBC Games Archive, but features in a Micropower advert on the back page of Acorn User #2.

- Space Maze is dated as 1983 on the Complete BBC Games Archive, but features in a Micropower advert on the back page of Acorn User #2.

- Chess is dated as 1983 on the Complete BBC Games Archive, but features in a Micropower advert on the back page of Acorn User #2.


Hope this helps! More Day Job-avoidance strategies to follow some time soon

Ta,

gc

[bakoulis]

Will be very nice, if someone will create a same archive for Electron with Elkjs.
I just dreaming...

[pau1ie]

It's a lot of work to get the games and metadata together then create the site. It should be possible to get something working with the bbcmicro code on github. There is no way I am going to have time to do it though I'd be really happy to answer questions if anyone else wanted to take the code to do something like this. Code is at: https://github.com/pau1ie/bbcmicro.co.uk

[Pernod]

There's a game missing that was available on the last issue of Disk User. It's Operation Sealion which i doubt many know was by Matthew Atkinson.

[Michael Brown]

This was on TDU14.
Didn't know Matthew was the author (not mentioned in listing/data) - so thanks for that.
Does anyone have the instructions?
Currently on Disc115 waiting and waiting...

Mick.

[Pernod]

Didn't know Matthew was the author (not mentioned in listing/data) - so thanks for that.

Neither did I. I knew him 30 years ago and recently got back in touch for drinks. He's currently posting about his software releases on FB.

Does anyone have the instructions?

You're best bet is to cobble something together from the DU issue.

[Jeremy Grayson]

Hello again,

Quick note to raise with regard to IJK's predictably underwhelming version of the Simon electronic game.

Bbcmicro.co.uk gives its name as Beeb Beep. However, the on-screen displays render the title Beeb-Beep, and on the physical copy (both tape and inlay) of the cassette version I've just sold on eBay the title is given as Beep-Beeb!

Is there any way of recording all three variations of this, such that a search for any one variation will lead the searcher to the game just as easily as the other two variations?

Ta,

gc

[pau1ie]

Yes, if it is called

Beep-Beep!

in the website, a search for any of those will return it, you just need to convince Lee.

I think Lee wants the "Most correct" name to appear in the website listing, so if anything else is more correct, he often does an AKA to ensure it is returned in search results. It's all doable.

Don't hold your breath though, I am not being very responsive at the moment (Sorry Lee) but we will get there in the end.

[davidb]

Are there plans for adding links and other meta-data to games? I happened to encounter the original listing for Jump Jet Assault and thought it would be interesting if the entry for that game linked to it.

[pau1ie]

Are there plans for adding links and other meta-data to games?

If you look at the original spec, there are no plans to add links to the bbcmicro.co.uk site. I think this is correct, apart from one link for each game to it's page on the grand Acorn Preservation project. This is because links take a lot of effort to keep links current as websites change URLs on upgrade, disappear appear and rename links keep changing, so the effort would need to be crowdsourced. There isn't really an admin back end for the bbcmicro site. I have to use SQL for most updates. I think writing a friendly user interface with user permissions, input validation and error checking will take more time than I have available, and a wiki (As suggested in the spec) is probably more appropriate anyway.

So I suppose the next question is: Are there plans to start the Grand Acorn Preservation Project. I am not aware of any...

[richardtoohey]

There isn't really an admin back end for the bbcmicro site. I have to use SQL for most updates. I think writing a friendly user interface with user permissions, input validation and error checking will take more time than I have available

This is on my TODO and promised list but time and distractions ...

NOTHING flash, just somewhere where at least very trusted & careful admin users can fix titles, years etc.

[leenew]

Hi Richard,
Have a quick chat with Paul

Lee.

[richardtoohey]

Thanks, Lee, have done so and I'm going back to learning git to get the code ... then I can get back into things.

[lurkio]

Just noticed that the publisher links are all broken on the bbcmicro.co.uk homepage: if you click on the link labelled "A&F Software" under 180! Darts, it should take you to a list of all the games by A&F, but instead it doesn't do anything. The pubid URL parameter is unassigned.

[pau1ie]

Just noticed that the publisher links are all broken

Oops, sorry. I hope I have fixed it now.

[John_Acorn]

There were several games released on the BBC Micro subscription disc and tapes in the late days of Acorn User in the early 1990s.

Also Bladedancer from omicron Technologies who still have a website

Explorer from Dragonssoft

Everton Intelligentsia : http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/details.php?id=2376 This was advertised for the BBC B as well.

[lurkio]

There were several games released on the BBC Micro subscription disc and tapes in the late days of Acorn User in the early 1990s.

Yes, and many of them are already on bbcmicro.co.uk:

• http://bbcmicro.co.uk/index.php?pubid=92

• http://bbcmicro.co.uk/index.php?pubid=78

Also Bladedancer from omicron Technologies who still have a website

Yes, and a couple of years ago I emailed them to ask if they still had any old copies of Blade Dancer, but they didn't reply. Blade Dancer is on the list of games that are "missing in action":

• http://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/viewto ... 90#p140075

Explorer from Dragonssoft

... is below, but has yet to be wrangled into a form that's playable in JSBeeb (if that's even possible):

• http://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/viewto ... 598#p27152

Everton Intelligentsia : http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/details.php?id=2376 This was advertised for the BBC B as well.

Interesting. Have you got links to any magazine ads, etc., that list the game as being available for the Beeb?

[John_Acorn]

C&VG Issue 107 p.113 - Everton Intelligentsia

And what is the Acorn Preservation Project - JASP?

[lurkio]

Ad for Everton F.C. Intelligensia by Amfas
from Computer + Video Games (C+VG)
magazine issue 107

So, apparently there's a "fun" filter on this forum that detects when users type the word "Ever-ton" without the hyphen and replaces it with "BS" instead.

It's hilarious and all, but it doesn't really help people who might be searching the forum for this game.

[1024MAK]

Arcadian is the person to speak to about the "fun" filter...

Mark

[sydney]

I've removed the filter. I thought it had already been taken out earlier this year but obviously it wasn't.

[Elminster]

I've removed the filter. I thought it had already been taken out earlier this year but obviously it wasn't.

You sure Arcadian doesn't put it back when you arent looking?

[lurkio]

I've removed the filter. I thought it had already been taken out earlier this year but obviously it wasn't.

Thanks!

[1024MAK]

Relevant posts above edited to show "Everton" as required.

Mark

[John_Acorn]

Thanks.

Would it help to list all the Acorn Users/Micro Users for which cover discs/tapes you have seen? Then we can check what is missing?

[lurkio]

Would it help to list all the Acorn Users/Micro Users for which cover discs/tapes you have seen? Then we can check what is missing?

I believe that Lee has sent any missing AU/MU games to Mick, who will "remaster" them onto DSDs, which will then be converted to .SSDs for uploading to bbcmicro.co.uk.

That's how games tend to get added to bbcmicro.co.uk now, as I understand it.