Good effort.

Excellent, I think I will stuff Dustin the DOStin with both of these collections when it's finished.

Just a quick note, please feel free to distribute and upload the ISO as the link expires after 30 days. I also re-uploaded the Freeware CD in case anyone missed it:
https://easyupload.io/h7vmjn

You must have used dosgames.com as your primary reference when compiling the list of games to add, am I right?

MrFlibble wrote on 2021-08-26, 09:30:

You must have used dosgames.com as your primary reference when compiling the list of games to add, am I right?

It started with a personal list of favorites, once the list was exhausted, I browsed through dosgames.com, classicdosgames.com and dosgamesarchive.com to fill the gaps. Also got some games from archive.org as part of compilation disks I used to have back then.
Finally, installed all of them in a mounted dosbox folder, did some quick testing on each and zipped them back for the installer.

These discs are very fun. :) I've had the urge to make a compilation disc myself, even though there's plenty out there already.

A couple of things I'd suggest:
- Giving the disc a name. Is it just called 'MS-DOS Shareware Collection'? That's fine if it is. :) I've been adding '... by gaffa2002 2021_08' to the iso filenames on my HD so they don't get mixed up with other compilations.
- Adding some info to the readme.txt on the disc, like the compilation date, your username and/or a link to this thread in case anyone is curious about the origin of one of your discs if they get a copy of one of them.
- Cool bbs-style text mode splash screen before the menu comes up. :P

MrD wrote on 2021-08-26, 11:50:

These discs are very fun. :) I've had the urge to make a compilation disc myself, even though there's plenty out there already. […]
Show full quote

These discs are very fun. 😀 I've had the urge to make a compilation disc myself, even though there's plenty out there already.

A couple of things I'd suggest:
- Giving the disc a name. Is it just called 'MS-DOS Shareware Collection'? That's fine if it is. 😀 I've been adding '... by gaffa2002 2021_08' to the iso filenames on my HD so they don't get mixed up with other compilations.
- Adding some info to the readme.txt on the disc, like the compilation date, your username and/or a link to this thread in case anyone is curious about the origin of one of your discs if they get a copy of one of them.
- Cool bbs-style text mode splash screen before the menu comes up. 😜

You're right about the readme file, I'll add the thread,user name and date and re-upload. Also loved the BBS splash screen idea, will check it as well.

I'm really having a hard time picking a name as there are so many compilation discs already. Super Shareware, Ultimate Shareware, Extreme Ultimate Super Shareware Turbo Package... every name sounds corny.

Sorry for the double post, but the update is relevant.
Added both the Shareware and Freeware collections to Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/gaffa-dos-shareware-pack

As suggested, added some extra information into the README file like the url for this topic and the current date for preservation purposes. Also added an old school splash screen as the idea was too cool (thanks MrD for the suggestions).
Finally, I decided for a name for both compilations: GAFFA DOS Shareware/Freeware Pack, very corny I know, but adding my user name to it will make it easier to identify both collections.

gaffa2002 wrote on 2021-08-27, 02:24:

Sorry for the double post, but the update is relevant. Added both the Shareware and Freeware collections to Archive.org: https:/ […]
Show full quote

Sorry for the double post, but the update is relevant.
Added both the Shareware and Freeware collections to Archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/gaffa-dos-shareware-pack

As suggested, I added some extra information into the README file like the url for this topic and the current date for preservation purposes. Also added an old school splash screen as the idea was too cool (thanks MrD for the suggestions).
Finally, I decided for a name for both compilations: GAFFA DOS Shareware/Freeware Pack, very corny I know, but adding my user name to it will make it easier to identify both collections.

Fits the ye olde dos theme...😉

Great title screen 😁

Yeah almost any name will sound corny, but that's part of the charm of these discs.

Nice! Downloading them now. I'm curious what games I may be missing... or games I don't even remember I played back in the good old days!
Thanks for sharing it!

I just downloaded something even better from archive.org today. REMOVED. I still managed to think up a few that weren't on the list but most of the best games from the '80s and '90s are here. Naturally, I don't encourage piracy but what you do is up to you. Just exercise caution. A comment on the page references the presence of trojans in a couple of files...
I will be scanning every individual zip file prior to unpacking them and installing them in a virtual machine to verify they work and aren't going to mess up my system. I think a lot of people forget there are viruses that can destroy hardware...

This post has nothing to do with the topic. Stay on topic.

Nice collection other than there being no Morphello, the most aesthetic Othello game in the universe. It'd be cool if you could include this if you ever do an update to the collection, since it's quite obscure.

https://archive.org/download/mrphlo20/mrphlo20.zip

Btw, I could list other missing worthwhile games if you'd like.

Hi,

FYI, the freeware cd installation of Blackthorne doesn’t include the setup.exe and is unusable. Thanks!

Maybe use the version that is still free directly from Blizzard: https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/download/confi … n_US&product=bt

shan2752 wrote on 2021-10-31, 22:04:

Hi,

FYI, the freeware cd installation of Blackthorne doesn’t include the setup.exe and is unusable. Thanks!

I used the version provided as freeware by Blizzard. They removed the setup.exe for some dumb reason…
Didn’t add the original version because it’s technically abandonware (I guess)

Apologies for bumping the topic, but I just downloaded the freeware CD to look at the installer, and I have to say a few things about the games offered too!

gaffa2002 wrote on 2021-08-25, 19:01:

Each game can be installed by running INSTALL.EXE and selecting the games you want to install, note that the installer is meant to run under DOS.

Did you write your own installer, or did you use a template from a third-party installer kit?

Now onto the games, the freeware disc includes several that are unfortunately not freeware and/or have limitations on redistribution:

1. Igor: Objective Uikokahonia -- there were indeed rumours about this game allegedly becoming freeware, but the admin of dosgames.com researched this matter and contacted the developers, who replied that the game is not freeware:

Hello DOSGAMES team! Thank you very much for contacting us and for verifying the information before proceeding, it means a lot t […]
Show full quote

Hello DOSGAMES team! Thank you very much for contacting us and for
verifying the information before proceeding, it means a lot to us 😀 I
inform you that currently Igor: Objective Uikokahonia does not present a
freeware license, although in some sites it is listed as such. We hope
we have helped you by confirming it, thank you and have a nice day!

2. Battles of Destiny -- while Holistic Design had indeed offered this game for free from their website, recently they backpedalled on this, so the game is now sold at GOG.

3. Amulets & Armor -- the download from their site includes the file license.txt which says:

Amulets & Armor (executable) is released for free. No sale or distribution is allowed of the
game except by Exiguus Entertainment or those who have received written permission to distribute
the game.

So it's okay to include on the CD if you obtained such permission from them I guess.

4. Paratrooper -- I don't remember this ever being released as freeware, and it's not even a DOS game, it's a PC Booter game, so the file which you offer is an "unofficial" conversion into DOS format.

There's a perfectly free DOS clone of Paratrooper from PLBM Games called Ack-Ack Attack, which was originally a shareware game but now completely freeware since 2006.

5. MAD TV -- here I cannot blame you, since you were likely mislead by the English Wikipedia article. However, in German wikipedia it is stated that the free release was temporary:

Von 2001 bis 2002 wurden sowohl Mad TV als auch Mad TV 2 zeitweise (bis zur Insolvenz der Greenwood-Entertainment-Muttergesellschaft Phenomedia) als Freeware angeboten.

"From 2001 to 2002 Mad TV and then Mad TV 2 were temporarily given away as freeware until the bankruptcy of Phenomedia, the parent company of Greenwood Entertainment."

You can also see proof in the news section at PC Welt here in the news about Mad TV 2:

Erst im Oktober war der Spieleklassiker "MadTV" kostenlos zum Download angeboten worden. Mittlerweile ist das Spiel allerdings nicht mehr verfügbar.

"In October (2001) the classic game Mad TV was offered as a free download. Meanwhile the game is now no longer available."

6. Death Rally -- while the Windows port is indeed free, the registered DOS version was never officially offered as freeware. The version that you have included obviously comes from an abandonware website and even advertises such in the included text file.

7. Ishido -- a few years back I was in contact with the author Ian Gilman, who told me that while he may offer the game as a free download from his website, the rights belong to different people so it's up to them to decide if the game may be redistributed or not.

8. Blizzard's freeware games -- I'm not sure if it was okay to include those if you have not asked for permission first. The same goes for the Ultima games.

9. Cinemaware's TV Sports games -- these were at some point available from Cinemaware's website, but only to registered users, and have apparently been pulled since around 2014. While the current status of these games appears unclear (in spite of being listed on Wikipedia), plain common sense suggests to play safe and not redistribute these titles.

10. Elite Plus -- considering the rather complicated story between David Braben and Ian Bell, perhaps it would also be prudent to not assume that this game is simply freeware. Unless, of course, you received permission from Ian Bell.

On a side note, I would also advise against offering the "no-CD" version of Daggerfall. At least when running the game in DOSBox or another emulator, there's no reason not to do so as intended, i.e. by mounting a virtual CD. The game is already unstable enough as it is, and using the no-CD trick with edited Z.CFG might introduce further complications. At any rate, Daggerfall is a game big enough to warrant a separate release, outside of a compilation CD.

On another side note, the use of PKUNZIP is also a bit questionable, I suppose you could easily replace that with alternatives such as Info-ZIP (assuming that the installer routine is customizable enough for that)? ESPECIALLY since you have included a registered version of PKUNZIP which says:

This is a registered version of PKUNZIP and is only for use on those machine(s) that it is licensed for. […]
Show full quote

This is a registered version of PKUNZIP and is only for use on those
machine(s) that it is licensed for.

This version is NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED as Shareware.

PKWARE, Inc
9025 N. Deerwood Drive
Brown Deer, WI 53223

Ironically that makes it even more period authentic.