Category Archives: GameBase 64 Reorganizer

GameBase Regorganizer SD updated to 4.0.4.1

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It was discovered that a bug in GB Reorganizer was causing the games MoonShadow and Moonshadow to be extracted into the same folder, instead of getting separate folders with game IDs. This has been fixed, bringing the version number up tp 4.0.4.1.

Also, I have updated the supported Windows versions to 8, 10, and 11. It probably works on older versions going back to Windows XP, but I won’t be doing any testing on those.

Why doesn’t GameBase64 Reorganizer include Extras?

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Two reasons:

  1. When I originally wrote the Reorganizer, I had no interest at all in including the GB64 Extras. My goal was to keep the emitted archive as reasonably small as possible, and including a bunch of stuff I didn’t need wasn’t in keeping with that goal.  I didn’t even explore the possibility to including extras at that time.
  2. Now that the 1541 Ultimate has grown in capability and storage space is approaching “free,” I would actually like to include the Extras. For my European retroheads who really like their tapes, it would be nice for them to be able to play the original TAP files from their 1541 Ultimate, and I like the idea of being able to mount-and-run a .crt from a game, too. However, including these files is problematic because:
    • GameBase 64 Reorganizer uses the NFO files in each .zip file to figure out the name of the entry and the linked sid file. Without the NFO files, Reorganizer can’t do anything useful.
    • GameBase 64 doesn’t include any of the Extras information in the NFO files. This information is only included in the actual Microsoft Access database file that lies at the heart of GameBase 64. There is no pattern of file naming in the Extras folders that would make it clear which extras go with which entries– they are manually linked when the database is edited by its curators.

How could I work around this?

Essentially, I would also need to have Reorganizer open and analyze the Microsoft Access database file that GameBase 64 uses. This wouldn’t be all that difficult, but it does mean a lot of new code in Reorganizer and some significant retrofitting to its scanning engine.  Will I ever do this? Maybe at some point. But no time real soon.

Alternatively, the GameBase 64 team could opt to start including linked extras in the NFO files, just like they include links to the game sids in the NFO files. That would make this considerably easier, but I do not know if that is in keeping with their goals in curating the collection.

Why post this?

Because people have asked me to include Extras, and this is an easy answer to point them to. That’s all.

GameBase 64 Reorganizer 4.0.2.1 released

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A minor update to Gamebase 64 Reorganizer has been uploaded. The new version is 4.0.2.1.

In previous versions, the program would fail to extract the archives if there were 251 or more items in the Z folder. The most archives present in the Z folder up through GB v14 was less than 250, so nobody ever came across this until some recent testing and made me aware of it. It was a simple bugfix. Upgrading to this version is strongly recommended. You can download the new version or read the full changelog here.

Compatibility status of Gamebase Reorganizer SD 4.0.1.1

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Nothing major here, just a post confirming that (as far as my testing shows) GB Reorganizer SD 4.0.1.1 works correctly with Gamebase v14 and runs properly on Windows 10. I have not bothered to update the documentation in Reorganizer to reflect this information but wanted to post it somewhere.

I do not test in virtual setups that don’t use Windows drive volumes so I can’t comment on compatibility with something other than NTFS or ReFS file systems and Windows emulators or VMs.

 

GameBase 64 Reorganizer SD version 4 released

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GB Reorganizer has had quite an update today. I’ve posted version 4.0 with some important improvements and fixes. Don’t know what this is? Read about it here.

Someone pointed out to me that the Reorganizer was creating empty (no disk) output on archives with .TAP or .G64 images in them. Well, when I originally coded this utility for use with my 1541 Ultimate, the only image formats supported were .T64 and .D64. But that has changed and GameBase 64 is now using quite a few different image formats — .TAP, .T64, .G64, .D81, as well as the ubiquitous .D64. So now these are all recognized and extracted. (Whether or not your chosen device will support the images is a different matter — my 1541-U Mark 1 unit, with my custom firmware, can handle .D64, .G64, .CRT, and .T64 images, but not .TAP or .D81.) Still, it is better to include the files in the output for possible future support by your device.

Another important change for 1541-U users is how filename case is handled. Again, way back in the days of pre-2.0 1541-U firmware, the sorting and searching in the file browser were all case-sensitive, so it was necessary to upper-case all of the output for more useful browsing behavior. Somewhere along the line Gideon fixed all of the sorting and searching to be case-insensitive so this is no longer necessary. But if you are using a really old firmware, such as what was flashed in the old mark-1 units, you will want to restore the previous behavior with the “Ancient 1541-U Uppercase Mode” option. Or better yet, use my custom firmware so you don’t need to. (1541 Ultimate II users shouldn’t need to worry about it.)

I’ve also added a way to save and load your settings. This makes it easier to deal with different output configurations you want to have.

There’s a test mode now, too, which writes out the GameList.csv file but doesn’t build the folder structure or extract the archives.

There are some other changes. Download it here. sd2iec device users shouldn’t feel left out. There are bug fixes in here that affect output for the sd2iec optimized folders as well, so everybody should upgrade.

4.0.1.1:

  • Improved GameList.csv output includes error messages on each folder/game (if any).
  • Recognize and extract .D81, .CRT, .G64, and .TAP files from archives (in addition to .D64 and .T64 files).
  • Change 1541-U folder name case to be mixed instead of forced upper-case. Added “Ancient 1541-U Uppercase Mode” for 1541-U file optimization (uses the previous behavior for file case naming). Use this option if you prefer the old way or if you have a really old firmware and you need it for proper sorting/searching on the 1541-U.
  • Added Test Mode. THIS STILL DELETES ANY PREVIOUS REORGANIZER OUTPUT IN THE DESTINATION FOLDER. This mode does everything except create the folders and extract the files, and you can review the GameList.csv file for results.
  • Added Load/Save Settings function.
  • Some cosmetic changes such as an improved icon design and changes to the faux-C64 status screen, just because.