New version of ArchiveRL

akeley akeley at yandex.com
Thu Jun 21 18:33:51 PDT 2018


*@@@@@@ ArchiveRL v0.8 released 20 June 2018 @@@@@@*

https://archive.org/details/ArchiveRL.7z
New in v0.8
-new PLATFORM directory : all the roguelikes not available on Windows 
and exclusive to other systems (68 new archives)
-some games were updated since the 0.7 release
-new games were added to previous sections
-ability to browse the collection here and pick individual games

Full changelog here: http://arkhammanor.com/rpgbase/ARLv0.8changelog.txt

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

ArchiveRL is a project aiming to build an ultimate roguelike archive, 
with emphasis on preservation, historical accuracy, search for lost 
games and including not only game files itself but also as much 
documentation as possible. It was inspired by TOSEC and other 
retro-gaming archival projects. Version 0.8 is its fourth release: it 
includes the majority of non-commercial games contained in the 
International Roguelike Database and also gathered from other sources.

Complete list of games is included below. Available as a torrent or a 
direct download.
You can also browse the zip file here and download individual files. If 
you already have the 0.7 version, you can just download the 0.7 to 0.8 
update (3.2 GB)

-Stats: 1191 archives - 12.9 Gigabytes - 776 games - ~712 individual 
ones - 415 sources

-at the moment the collection is only forĀ  DOS/Windows platform (due to 
the lack of time for building Mac/Linux versions) although this release 
adds the PLATFORM directory which contains all the games only found on 
non-Windows systems.
The game version included is almost always the latest available (as of 
June 2018 for this edition)

-the collection is organised using directories and tags, with a unified 
naming system. This is based mostly on IRLDB categories. It allows for 
easy reshaping, structural control and flexible searches. Presently it 
includes games classified as ALPHA / BETA+STABLE / VARIANT / MISC / 
SOURCE / PLATFORM

-next releases will add these categories: XDRL ("compo" RLs such as 
7DRLs, game jams, etc) / VERSION (earlier available versions)

-it contains some games that were never released before, such as 
MysteryHack and new Halls Of Mist, plus numerous ones that are 
increasingly hard to locate or were not compiled for Windows before

-historical context and accuracy is a crucial part of this project: 
every game included was treated as individual case and at least some 
research conducted. Extra care has been put into obtaining correct files 
and version numbers. Every individual archive includes a separate DOC 
directory containing available info regarding the game.

-equally important is the drive to rescue/rediscover some "lost" games: 
these are covered in the MISSING doc 
http://arkhammanor.com/rpgbase/ARLMISSING.ods

-all main directories have corresponding doc files which are based on 
IRLDB but do try to correct some of its errors and add updates (fields: 
name-version-dates-platforms- devs-trad-source-comments and some web links)

For an in-depth description of ArchiveRL, methods and motives behind its 
structure and decisions taken please read the ARL README doc in the 
archive or check the website:www.arkhammanor.com/rpgbase/RLdb.html
Contact the author:
akeley at arkhammanor.com There are also ARL threads on assorted forums 
(mainly Roguetemple) and Reddit's r/roguelikes.

*HOW YOU CAN HELP & CONTRIBUTE*

Up till now this project has been mostly an individual effort, only 
announced on Roguetemple forums and plagued by slow pace due to IRL 
debuffs. However, it now reached a major completion stage, where it 
makes sense to publicize it more widely and ask for rogulike community's 
assistance.

Here's what would be most appreciated:
-simple "bug reporting" - despite thorough examination there are bound 
to be mistakes: spelling errors, archive/files/directory problems, 
doc-file mismatches and so on.
-trying to find & rescue games from the MISSING doc 
(http://arkhammanor.com/rpgbase/ARL MISSING.ods)
-testing the games: I've personally tried quite lot of them - but not 
all, and mostly on x64 Windows
-any historical and informational error corrections and contributions
-adding more games/sources/docs/info
-compiling sources that have no corresponding binaries
-building either Linux or Mac side of this archive.
-providing feedback regarding structure and methodology of this project

Please read the ARL README or check the website for more details 
regarding this section.

*VIRUS/MALWARE*: before uploading the files have been scanned with a 
freshly updated Windows Defender , there were no warnings. I'm fairly 
certain that all files in this collection are absolutely safe, however I 
do not take any responsibility if somehow they destroy your computer 
and/or open a rift to a parallel universe.

*COPYRIGHT*: to my best knowledge all the files contained in this 
torrent are publicly available free of charge and fall under assorted 
licenses that make it possible to release them here. If you have an 
objection regarding any of the content included here - be it files, docs 
or anything else - please contact me (akeley at arkhammanor.com) so we can 
discuss it, any valid claims will be of course respected, content 
removed and the collection updated accordingly.

*THANKS*
To everybody who helped out with this project by contributing files 
and/or comments. And of course to the 
IRLDB/Roguebasin/Roguetemple/reddit crews, without these resources ARL 
would not be possible. Check out the Credits section of the main readme 
for more details


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