------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description for THE PATCHER, written by Egon, now maintained by Harry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What is it? THE PATCHER is an utility to patch your originals to work on higher processors and/or AGA or to help to install them on your hd. How does it work? Simply start it, choose your game by clicking on the selection requester and press Patch! . Then insert a COPY of your original (unless your original is EXPRESSLY demanded). Even if only one parameter is displayed you have to select it first. Which advantages has it? Easily addition of parameters due to the module-concept. It works like the soundplayers of Delitracker. If you get a new parameter without install, just copy it to the PARAMETER/-directory of THE PATCHER. But for most parameters should exist an installscript so you dont have to do anything. For programmers: Mighty interface to OS-functions. Look at the developers description. System requirements: Kick1.3 or higher. Ruby_8 font. The parameters may not be crunched, except with an installed XPK-system. Contents: The package contains THE PATCHER-mainprogram, the compareprogram MAKECOMPTAB, some examples of parameters (as binary) and this readme. The developers package contains additionally some more parameters (as source and binary), the compareprogram makecomptab as source and binary, the patcher-sourcecode and the developers readme. These packages are freeware, you shouldnt change this text or the mainprogram and keep it completely, but feel free to add parameters. Command line parameters: Unless otherwise specified, source- and destinationdrive will be DF0: (affects only some parameters, which converts NON-DOS disks). DOS disks will always be converted in that drive where they are inserted. Parameter Example Description -s -sDF3: Set source drive (for NDOS disks) -d -dRAD: Set destination drive The specified drive must be already present. -p Execute The Patcher as pseudo-commandline- version, eg for using it in hd-install- scripts. Comment to "Error in parameter execution": This means nearly everytime a reading/saving error and may have the following reasons: -If it accesses the source disk rather shortly: Other game version -If it stops after reading a lot from the source disk: Disk error on your original disk :( -Not enough space on the destinationdrive -Bad sector on the destination drive (rather seldom, also you should get a system requester about such thing) History: V1.00 First working version. Release date 20-07-1994. V1.01 Harry took over. Minor fixes. Commandline-option -p added. (09-may-1997) V1.02 Some things added (PTB_FSSM*PTR, inhibiting/enabling drives). (02-jun-1997) V1.03 Versionstring added (requested by Bert Jahn). Possibility to evaluate a CRC16 implemented. (09-jun-1997) V1.04 Errormessage added if no parameter is selected and Patch! clicked. I dont want to have mails about that anymore. Docs a bit revised. (17-jun-1997) V1.05 Function to display information added. Bug in makecomptab for files exceeding 1 MB corrected. Examples reworked. (12-jan-1998) V1.06 bug when using PCH_FILENAME without PCH_DISKNAME fixed (Wepl) And last but not least a bit of music is needed to entertain me while patching (just a choice, a list of my 150 cds would be a bit long...). The list is unordered and in no way a ranking list: Grave Digger Wargames (Heavy Metal) Incubus Beyond the Unknown (Death Metal) Heather Nova Oyster (Rock) Zarah Leander Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein? (German gramophone music of ~ 1930 :)) ) Bruce Springsteen The River (Rock) Paddy goes to Holyhead Ready for Paddy? (Irish Folk) Philip Boa &... Hair Army of Lovers Glory, Glamour and Gold (Very nice fun-music) Helloween Walls of Jericho (Heavy Metal) Unleashed Across the open sea (Death metal) Tiamat Wildhoney (Melodic Black Metal) Amorphis Tales from the 1000 lakes (Melodic Metal) Eloy Dawn (Art Rock) Uriah Heep Very best of (compiled by Arcade) (Rock) Alice Cooper Trash (Metal) Anne Clark Pressure Points (Dark Wave?) Chris Hülsbeck Turrican Soundtrack Winter Into darkness (Gothic) And of course a lot of computer music, eg from Beast1 (Whittaker), various from Chris Hülsbeck, from Hybris, from Wings of Death (Hippel), Onslaught and Dragon Wars (Maniacs of Noise), some from Dr. Awesome and many of unknown authors.