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General discussionAbout emulator used in Cinemaware / Amiga games(25 posts)(25 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 29, 2015
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shmerl: I dind't really research what kind of ROMs they are exactly (I never really played Amiga games before these).
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Rixasha: Okay, I got curious and bought the bunch of them as they're -75% at the moment anyway. The ROM that it uses appears from its checksum and google results to be the real kickstart 1.2. Perhaps not the most desirable ROM, but should run most old games.

I would say that the ROM is minimally hidden, as in it's not just laying around but it's not meaningfully obfuscated either. My theory is this has been a condition of licensing for the ROM. I think the GPL (that the UAE family is licensed under) wouldn't allow for such a thing. Perhaps the ROM licensing then is the sole reason for the custom emulator.
May be. Though I'm not sure why that ROM would have such weird restrictions. Anyway, since it's extractable or you can easily get others from that Amiga bunch, it's not that big of an issue, so these games are playable with fs-uae with some preparations steps.
Posted June 27, 2015
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shmerl: I dind't really research what kind of ROMs they are exactly (I never really played Amiga games before these).
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Rixasha: Okay, I got curious and bought the bunch of them as they're -75% at the moment anyway. The ROM that it uses appears from its checksum and google results to be the real kickstart 1.2. Perhaps not the most desirable ROM, but should run most old games.

I would say that the ROM is minimally hidden, as in it's not just laying around but it's not meaningfully obfuscated either. My theory is this has been a condition of licensing for the ROM. I think the GPL (that the UAE family is licensed under) wouldn't allow for such a thing. Perhaps the ROM licensing then is the sole reason for the custom emulator.
Long after....
The GPL says derivative works must also be placed under the GPL. However the Kickstart 1.2 ROM from 1986 or whenever is clearly not a derivative work of WinUAE, so there's definitely no problem shipping the kickstart ROM alongside UAE for GPL reasons.
Posted July 05, 2015
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jsjrodman: The GPL says derivative works must also be placed under the GPL. However the Kickstart 1.2 ROM from 1986 or whenever is clearly not a derivative work of WinUAE, so there's definitely no problem shipping the kickstart ROM alongside UAE for GPL reasons.
Alongside is probably okay, but the cinemaware games aren't like that. They are like single executables that are the emulator, the ROM and the game all in one.

I don't think you could integrate closed source binary blobs such as the ROM or the game into WinUAE in that manner, the GPL would forbid it.
Posted July 05, 2015
They aren't linked together, just put into single archive. GPL is talking about linking as far as I know.
Posted July 06, 2015
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jsjrodman: The GPL says derivative works must also be placed under the GPL. However the Kickstart 1.2 ROM from 1986 or whenever is clearly not a derivative work of WinUAE, so there's definitely no problem shipping the kickstart ROM alongside UAE for GPL reasons.
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Rixasha: Alongside is probably okay, but the cinemaware games aren't like that. They are like single executables that are the emulator, the ROM and the game all in one.

I don't think you could integrate closed source binary blobs such as the ROM or the game into WinUAE in that manner, the GPL would forbid it.
The integration of a rom image for which source likely is no longer available would be a matter of new exploration for both the law and the FSF opinionaters.

I doubt they would bother to embed the rom into the executable, though, because that takes more work than just putting it in a data file.
Posted July 07, 2015
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shmerl: They aren't linked together, just put into single archive. GPL is talking about linking as far as I know.
While it is true that it is a zip archive, it is called Defender of the Crown.exe, it's a PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386 for MS Windows, and you execute it to run the game. It may not be an entirely clear-cut case..

Regardless, I recall that embedded firmware in Linux kernel drivers was considered bad some ten years ago or so, and I think they have since made firmware separate to better abide by the GPL. Wouldn't an embedded ROM and game be rather analogous?
Posted July 07, 2015
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shmerl: They aren't linked together, just put into single archive. GPL is talking about linking as far as I know.
So, any news related to bringing the Cinemaware classics to open platforms?
Posted July 07, 2015
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shmerl: They aren't linked together, just put into single archive. GPL is talking about linking as far as I know.
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vicklemos: So, any news related to bringing the Cinemaware classics to open platforms?
You can use fs-uae, but with open ROMs it's not as playable. See http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/31794-How-to-run-GOG-Amiga-games-on-Linux

Just note that formatting is messed up in the code blocks on the forum there at the moment. I.e. all EOL are turned into spaces.
Post edited July 07, 2015 by shmerl
Posted July 08, 2015
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vicklemos: So, any news related to bringing the Cinemaware classics to open platforms?
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shmerl: You can use fs-uae, but with open ROMs it's not as playable. See http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/31794-How-to-run-GOG-Amiga-games-on-Linux

Just note that formatting is messed up in the code blocks on the forum there at the moment. I.e. all EOL are turned into spaces.
Thanks, shmerl!
I hope we'll see some amiga games for linux in here :)
Posted July 08, 2015
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shmerl: You can use fs-uae, but with open ROMs it's not as playable. See http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/31794-How-to-run-GOG-Amiga-games-on-Linux

Just note that formatting is messed up in the code blocks on the forum there at the moment. I.e. all EOL are turned into spaces.
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vicklemos: Thanks, shmerl!
I hope we'll see some amiga games for linux in here :)
Well, Cinemaware could just use fs-uae proper and release for all OSes at once. But for some reason they didn't. You can contact them about it if you want. Their representative is active on the forum from time to time: https://www.gog.com/u/Cinemaware/chat
Post edited July 08, 2015 by shmerl
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General discussionAbout emulator used in Cinemaware / Amiga games(25 posts)(25 posts)
(25 posts)