The Stealth Affair: I goofed :(

[skotafactor]

Okay, so today I checked ebay for The Stealth Affair, because I love adventure games and James Bond (a combination of the two is just a no-brainer). I found a $40 copy opened that uses 3 1/2" floppys and thought to myself "Oh, what a deal!" But then a copy that was unopened was selling for $20 and I instantly hit buy it now. The only problem with this impulse buy is that it was for a copy that uses 5 1/4" floppys, which my computer will not take. (The seller has one copy left if anyone wants it ). I tried downloading a rom of it today (because isn't it legal if you own a copy of the game?), but ScummVM won't read it. Is the game compatible, or am I just doing something wrong?

[clem]

The only problem with this impulse buy is that it was for a copy that uses 5 1/4" floppys, which my computer will not take. (The seller has one copy left if anyone wants it ).

You could always ask the seller to copy the disks to something usable for you before shipping the game to you. That's how I got Countdown

I tried downloading a rom of it today (because isn't it legal if you own a copy of the game?), but ScummVM won't read it.

I guess forum rule #0 applies here ("No, it's not okay to request parts of a game either, even if you already own another version of it, or to replace damaged media.")

Is the game compatible, or am I just doing something wrong?

At least it's not listed on the compatibility page, so you're out of luck.

[skotafactor]

At least it's not listed on the compatibility page, so you're out of luck.

But it's listed on the ScummVm wiki compatibility page. I had the seller of the LucasArts Classic Adventures back it up with a cd, but this copy's unopened. I'll see if he'll do it anyway. Oh, and it's not a different version than the game itself, and the media's not damaged, but I'll just ask for a cd backup

[md5]

"James Bond 007: The Stealth Affair" is the name that was used for "Operation Stealth" in the United States. If it's that game you're talking about, it is not yet supported by ScummVM. There is work being done for it though, as it uses a newer version of the engine used in Future Wars

[skotafactor]

Oh, ok. My fault, is the source code still needed or is that all worked out?

[timofonic]

It's part of a GSoC project by a student that done things in the past GSoC and even active part of the staff. here is the description of the proposal, that was accepted (of course).

You can see the progress of his efforts on the following blog:

http://buddhahacks.wordpress.com

So quite probably you will be able to enjoy the game after the summer (not sure if totally playable as it will depend on how hard will be to make it working on the Cine engine).

For able to read those floppies, you just need to move and find a way of reading those big floppies, like installing one on your computer and using a Catweasel (a floppy drive controller and other things like SID "sound card" and db9 joystick controller...) or finding some old computer out there and buying it by a few bucks... or find some friend that is a retrocomputing enthusiast.

If your computer has a floppy controller, you can get an old 5 1/4 floppy drive (I prefer the Teac brand) from ebay or any other second hand shop and installing it with a cable that has the specific connector for 5 1/4 floppies (those cables are easy to find by second hand or some of those geeks like me that collects all kind of cables).

PS: Please use *A LOT MORE* descriptive titles for the forum topics. An example for this one could be "The Stealth Affair: how to read the 5 1/4 floppy disks?"

[Ceri Cat]

See this is why I still have half a dozen functioning 5 1/4 inch disk drives sealed up and packed away in a drawer. Sometimes they're actually still useful.

[skotafactor]

PS: Please use *A LOT MORE* descriptive titles for the forum topics. An example for this one could be "The Stealth Affair: how to read the 5 1/4 floppy disks?"

Sorry about that

[skotafactor]

Well, I just received the game, but the backup cd the guy sent was of Operation Stealth. Is the only difference that James Bond's name is changed to John Glames?

[md5]

What you said is really hurt, try to avoid such things happening again.

?

[Longcat]

sounds like a bot..

[skotafactor]

I wish that some company would wise up and make a USB drive like what's been done with 3 1/2", but for some reason I doubt that's going to happen.

[Ceri Cat]

Pretty much. The 5 1/4 inch floppies had died off pretty much completely even before CD-ROMs became common. I had a rare computer that had HD 5.25 and 3.5 inch floppy drives back then, and I say rare because it wasn't standard configuration even then. I don't even think I've seen anywhere in over 10 years selling 5.25 floppies. Their only real advantage over the 3.5 was the fact they were more resistant to shock related damage.

[skotafactor]

The problem that I have is that they're just looking for products that will make the most money. There is a bit of a demand for such a product, but not a big enough one. Vinyl records are a thing of the past (Yes, I know some bands still record LP's for traditional purposes, but that's beside the point) and a new record players aren't hard to come by. If I want to use 5.25 floppys, I need to hunt down a drive, hook it to the computer (which I would have no idea how) and magically reformat it so the computer can read it. There are plenty of people that would not hesitate to buy a USB 5.25 floppy drive, but apparently they don't matter at all. Okay, I'm done ranting (for now).

[Ceri Cat]

Reformat? You don't need to reformat a 5.25 drive, you can reformat the disks but the drive itself is no different to a CD-ROM really except access is more like a hard drive. And it goes onto the floppy bus, if you find a cable that's old enough it'll usually have two types of plugs, one for the 3.5 floppy, and another for a 5.25 floppy which usually has a connection like an old cartridge game in the back.

There were really no practical advantages for the 5.25 apart from those of us trying to salvage our old games next to nobody uses them. Heck at one point a lot of software was released with both sets of disks in the box, the old Printshop DOS titles come to mind for a start. Wordperfect 5.0 and 5.1 as well.