Most of my earlier productions, now converted to files

For a while, I have wanted to run some of my old productions directly from UniDOS, as ordinary files instead of floppy-disk images. I finally managed to free up some time for it, and the work now covers fourteen of my old productions. They are now all available again, next to their original downloads, as 2026 file editions.

The original productions have not been changed artistically: this work is about making their original content dependable in a different way of using a CPC. After RUN, every program now opens on a short introduction listing the changes made for maximum compatibility.

Some releases accessed the disc controller directly, which naturally does not work from UniDOS: it is a layer on top of the firmware’s disc routines, and it never touches the floppy drive, since everything is read from mass storage (an SD card, a USB stick and so on). Their loaders now go through the firmware routines. Others relied on CRTC timings that were only stable on one chip type: where needed, I retimed the CRTC changes and VSYNC so that the picture stays locked. Finally, the oldest productions, from the 1990s, used the top of the memory, which the expansion ROMs claim for their own workspace; every edition now runs with HIMEM >= &A100, so none of them crashes any more on a CPC fitted with many ROMs. And of course, the original archive stays available for preservation!

Please note that the file-based version of phX now needs a 512 KB RAM expansion, and Phortem 1 MB. Both demos play music while they load, and that kind of musical loader cannot be fed through the firmware’s disc routines. The answer was to load the whole demo into memory at once, then use that memory as its storage: the demo then plays exactly like the original, with nothing changed in its pictures or its sound.

This was never meant as a “remaster” here. I simply wanted these productions to be as pleasant to launch from a modern mass-storage setup as they were from their original discs, while keeping the originals available exactly as they were.

So I can now enjoy these productions without going through the Gotek, and I am very happy about it!

The updated productions

• 2018 — phX. A 512 KB edition replaces the direct FDC loader with packed files loaded at launch, then unpacked as needed; it opens on the same kind of short introduction as the other editions.
• 2013 — Phortem. The original sector loader gives way to firmware file loading. The complete data set is staged at launch in a 1 MB expansion so there is no loading interruption during the demo.
• 2010 — Phreaks. Large file blocks replace the disc path, with an introduction, a low-HIMEM guard and CRTC-safe timing around the loading screen and its error path.
• 2009 — Pheelone. A compact file layout loads the demo safely under a low HIMEM. Its loading picture, CRTC programming and VSYNC have been rebuilt so the demo no longer rolls or freezes on incompatible CRTC types.
• 1996 — Ghoul’s Fanz 4. The intro no longer belongs to CRTC 1 alone: its loading and video changes were rebuilt to keep a stable picture on every CRTC type.
• 1996 — Mystery Megademo. A three-file edition keeps the large parts in a safe loading layout, restores a usable exit, and retimes the CRTC-specific code that only behaved properly on one type.
• 1995 — Baba Fanz 6. Its menu, intro and rubriques are served as files, with the split-screen timing corrected on every CRTC and an ESC exit added to the end part.
• 1995 — Baba Fanz 5. The protected BASIC startup was replaced with a binary file loader. Keyboard paths, the menu and the CRTC-sensitive scrolling now work reliably from files.
• 1995 — Ze Meeting 95. The five parts now keep a stable VSYNC on every CRTC; the code selects the timing appropriate to the chip instead of assuming the machine used for the original release.
• 1995 — X-File 2. Another single-file ZX0 edition: the title’s stray line is hidden, VSYNC changes are synchronized, and ESC once again reaches BASIC.
• 1995 — X-File. This one became a single ZX0-packed file. Its video timing is synchronized across CRTC types and the originally broken exit now returns cleanly to BASIC.
• 1994 — Ghoul’s Fanz 3. Its packed parts are now loaded as files without trampling the system workspace; the Plus keyboard issue and unstable CRTC changes have also been corrected.
• 1994 — Ghoul’s Fanz 2. The existing file structure was made safe for UniDOS, including the packed content; the end screen and the CRTC transitions were synchronized on every CRTC type.
• 1993 — Ghoul’s Fanz. The protected, unusual disc startup was replaced with a file-friendly launcher; its CRTC transitions now stay synchronized and the release accepts HIMEM as low as &A100.

What appears after RUN

Every edition now opens on a short screen of its own, shown right after RUN and before the production itself starts. It says what was changed and what the machine needs: in French for the fanzines and the first X-File, in English for the others, like the productions themselves. Click a screen to read it full size.