Special error report

[Petari]

 Of course, it is related with Atari ST SW, games preservation, and what bad I will write here stays not only for them, but in more-less part for the other similar crews. And not only that, for many people's behavior .

 So, there is a crew called D-Bug, with leader calling self Cyrano Jones (C.J.) - they are actually in some way followers of older (floppy times) crew named Automation - who did plenty of pirate cracks in times when Atari ST games were still copyrighted (not only in words) . Well, they went somewhere around 2005 in so called hard disk patching . And what ? As it is usual with this kind of crews, declared self as best in it .
 The 'genius' C.J. developed so called Universal Loading System (ULS) , published it's sources, and offered (+ I would add expected that lot of people will use it) for free. What was happened is that only one man, Klapauzius (Klaz) used it - he released about 50 game hard disk adapts (pardon, patches) witch used ULS system. But not only that - there were TOS function calling ones, for which no any support in so called 'ULS' - he added some special code for that .
 And here comes first big bad thing about geniuses - DeBuggers - they wrote about ratio of games using TOS call and those which not use them - like it is 70% of those not using TOS calls, and rest is what use it. It was around 2008 - and even then I was sure that most of it using TOS calls. So, I did some research, looking lot of games, and I wrote at couple places that ratio is pretty much the opposite. Stupid popular forums did not react on it.  Anyway, I was in that time in process of learning about TOS, version differences, how disk loading system works and so on ...  And realized that for successful game running from hard disk we need TOS in RAM, with some changes which will help in that + extra functions - like state saves, simple exit to Desktop - at pos. as it was at game start, and something really relevant : solving TOS version incompatibility problems (of course ULS did not care about it, as it is universal ! - so, no need to take care about such 'small' details :-) - their universality is over such pity problems :-) ) After this sarcastic mine talk - who is pity here really ?
 Then, ULS is actually just Atari ST version of Amiga WHDLoad system - something what great mind C.J. 'forgot' to mention. What is that system ? Simply - use original RAM, OS config state, what was before game start - it is needed because running of floppy games may change complete RAM config a lot, and lot of system variables, TOS related RAM content is just overwritten - because no need for it with custom floppy load code - huh - what I'm talking about ? Of course it is that when TOS is 'killed' there is need for own floppy access code - what will load 'files', data needed for game run. And to add : very early ST games were such - not because their coders hated TOS - it was just that TOS was not completed in 1985 . But things changed in following years - TOS calling was used by most. And in case of some best Atari ST games - like Dungeon Master - and it was one what used something special (will not go in details here) - of course, geniuses of Dbuggers did not do that game . Could continue this list ... Instead it - some remainder about all bullshit they wrote on forums (and not only them, but their funboys) : 

 To be continued ...

 

[Petari]

So, around 2009, when I released my first version of TOS (1.04) in RAM, only GEMDOS part, for AUTO folder running games DBug fanboy marcer put some of it on his compil. of Atari ST games, without any question, consultation from me. What is incorrect and stupid - there are some details good to know for easier and proper usage. Little later on stupid forum appeared some writes how my game adapts (patches) for hard disk destroyed marcers hard disk partition(s) ... And after that DeBuggers added text on their site where writes things like: "wipe out whole Windows partitions without any sort of recovery" - and that was about my program Floppy Imager (FloImg) :-)))  I will say only that everyone who believes it has no clue how computer SW, OS work. And worse, who after such bullshit still respects them is idiot. Yes, we are in world of lies, extreme self propaganda, exaggerated adverts, dirty trick and like.
 Worse comes: in 2012 I released my new hard disk supporting system, what called HAGA (hard disk gaming Atari) - it used Amiga WHDload concept, adapted for Atari, and there is support to TOS calling games too - those with AUTO run. That covers about 90% of Atari ST games . What is not covered are GEM/AES using games. But big part of them is startable from hard disk DIR , may need some smaller corrections in code.
 And I did lot of hard disk adapts in 2012-13 . There are state saves, of course, easy to start them.
 What did DBug ? Instead saying something positive or just remain silent, they announced that will no do more hard disk patches, because I stole ULS code, use it without crediting them, and like ...
 Here to add that I made over 400 games until end of 2012 - way more than Dbug and Klaz together .  Ah, Klaz - he just left Atari ST scene, without any explanation, and do not answer e-mails, not on forums. I guess that he want not to say anything bad about DBug - while he know that what they talk is pure lie .
 Well, such behavior does not help against bad.
And somewhere around 2021 great C.J. wrote at atariage forum (where he is very little active in Atari ST section) that I 'stole ULS code, byte by byte'  :-)))  Again stoopid lies, what everyone can check (who has some medium computer knowledge) and see what a bullshit is.  And btw. how is that I have now support for all ST game types, including those AES/GEM using ones - that's with complete TOS 1.04 in RAM, and that is with state saves too, with TOS version incompatibility problems solved - like game works not under TOS 1.62, 2.06 - it will on such machines, as game runs under 1.04 . And all it still with 1 MB RAM for games running with 512 KB from floppy. Plus, process of adaptation is really fast and not complicated in some 70% cases. That allowed me to reach count of 2000 adapted games . Of curse it, and having more and more experience. Over 2 million downloads, thousands DLs of images with many games - something what DBmorons did not. They just continue with self praising - everything what they did is best, unlike what did rest :-)  Not only in game patching - they made best, fastest floppy copy program (for ST) - somewhere in 2021 - as they brag. Well - my, from 1988 is faster and more versatile. And I programmed several disk util programs. Used by many people, and no one reported data loss problems.
 If we would live in society where there is real care about truth, fairness, intellectual property and like, some could charge them for such accusations. But what matters is money, big words, never admitting mistake, posing self and so on ....   
 And all it is just bad for preservation too. For instance I released some less known game adapt, after one French man sent me image . And of course DBmorons wrote that I stole they patch, as only they have floppy image of that game . Sure, they know every my move :-)    What about sending image to atarimania and other sites which hosting game images ? No, that is too much for 'greatest crew' on planet.
 And here we where we are - still no images of some good games online, mostly because there are some who selling old floppies - like new ones - huh - unpacked, old some 35 years is new :-)  And those who won't share it, as they care only about that people use their 'patches' and praise them . And saddest part - there are such . I don't think that we are on football (pardon soccer) match ...

[Ronald J. Hall]

Thanks for the explanation.