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RetroGamerUK @RetroGamer_Mag [email protected]YOUR QUESTIONS
ANSWERED...
A selection of smaller questions from readers...
DEC AY AWAY
How do I protect old floppy
disks against bit rot?
Lewis Packwood via TwitterSadly, this advice will
only get you so far. The
unpalatable truth is that
many floppy disks are
now coming to the end
of their operational lives.
The December 1983 issue
of Creative Computing
(volume nine, issue 12)
carried an article on floppy
disk storage and handling,
with advice from Maxell
and Verbatim. While
Maxell claimed that a disk
would last ‘practically
forever’, Verbatim
estimated 30 years – and
reality has shown that this
was a pretty optimistic
guess. So while we’re not
letting go of our original
disks any time soon, our
advice is that any data you
have on floppys should be
backed up as soon as is
practical, particularly if it is
rare or unique. For advice
and resources on backing
up floppy discs, visit The
Archive Team’s page on
rescuing floppy disks at
bit.ly/floppybackup.SPACE TREK
How can I play the classic
game Elite?
dave4shmups via Retro
Gamer forumIan Bell’s Elite Homepage
website offers a number
of versions of the game to
use in various emulators,
as well as links to a
browser-based emulation
of the BBC Micro original.You can find the site at
elitehomepage.org.ROTTEN CORE
I’ve just bought Metal Wolf
Chaos from an eBay seller,
but the disc’s got a weird
dark patch of what I think
is disc rot on it – there was
no evidence of that in the
pictures. The seller says he’s
tested it and it plays fine,
though. Should I take the
chance on it?
Darran Jones via
unfortunate real life
experienceSend it back. The chances
that the seller tested the
game to completion are
very slim indeed, and even
if it does work now, there’s
no guarantee that the rot
won’t creep further in and
ruin it. Since eBay policies
generally favour buyers
over sellers quite heavily,
you should absolutely ask
for an exchange or refund.
Nick finds that being single
means that he has come
to cherish faulty eBay
items, as the disputes he
enters into with sellers
provide him with the
kind of human contact
that he rarely receives
outside of the office. He
has told us that if we’re
ever lonely, we should
search for unintentionally
misleading listings, buy
the items and then strike
up a conversation with
the apologetic sellers.
It’s certainly one way to
experience more social
interaction, but as always,
you may feel this is rather
too drastic.05
If all has gone well, you should be playing some
Doom levels that an enterprising player has come
up with. Of course, if you want to start the game
as normal without the extra PWAD levels, you can just open
gzdoom.exe as normal and select your preferred IWAD.Q: Wait a minute, what’s Sigil?
A: Sigil is a set of Doom levels
by original developer John
Romero, it was set to be released
as a free download or a paid
physical release in February this
year, however it has since been
pushed back to April. The levels
are a new fifth episode which
takes place between Doom and
Doom II, and sees you fighting
through further depths of Hell
after the final transporter back to
Earth is glitched. We interviewed
John about the project in issue- For more information, please
visit the game’s official site at
romerogames.ie/sigil.
Q: So how do I get my hands on that
doom.wad file?.
A: You’ll need to get it from your
copy of Doom, as we mentioned.
That will be an actual, registered
version of the game, not the
shareware version, and you
won’t be able to get it from any
home console versions you might
have. If you don’t already have
a computer version to hand, old
copies of The Ultimate Doom are
readily available on eBay either
as standalone games or as part of
a trilogy pack. Alternatively, you
can pick it up via digital retailers
such as Steam and GOG, where it
should set you back less than £5.ANY QUESTIONS?
If you don’t already have a computer
version to hand, old copies of The
Ultimate Doom are available on eBay
RETRO GAMER | 107HOW TO: GET READY FOR SIGIL