SOMAC - Play A Bit Of History - The Childhood Preserver
SGIL - SOMAC Game Intelligent Listing database is available for download right here.
This database is almost an exact copy of what I'm using on my SOMAC. The only missing and not uploaded is PC & Playstation1 games listing and screenshots as these are vastly uncomplete.
A total pack of 218MB which yield 26034 screenshots + game entries ( All pictures are embedded with the titlename onto the screenshot. PNG format, 336 x 240 x 24bit)
Scroll down to the bottom to download, or read my rant about others attempts to create game databases!
As a curiosity, let me give you a extremely detailed background for the concept behind my database, and why any other databases are totally irritating and crowded with too much information.
Happy reading, you'll enjoy the truth and my findings...you might even get pissed off!
Unfocused people make unfocused game databases!
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After searching through a wealth of internet sites for the data I needed to construct my own SOMAC game database I experienced a lot of crap. They have completely forgot what really is important and what's not.
Yeah, I've seen them all. Really good databases, with no GOOGLE CRAP AD, no commercials and just clean navigating. But, they are totally uncomplete and do not contain either the genre or the actual IN-GAME screenshot. Even the 404's are there. Unknown genre is also a hate breeder. Not to mention a whole lot of homegrown sites with ugly backdrops... aaaww the 90's!
They might have all the IN-GAME screenshots for a multitude of games, but lacks GENREs Another scenario is that they have the Titlename, Genre and In-GAME screenshots sorted nicely out....but then the database covers 10% of all the games available for a chosen system. Uncomplete or at least suffering a great deal of not being fully complete.
And to add to the problem, they got "smart" and compress the BITMAPPED screenshots using JPEG, because their crappy database eats up to much space (they think....wrong!). Cause someplace, somewhere they know that JPEG will compress their file to a minimum and they save A LOT of space.. think again!
What these people don't know is a little thing called pixels. Using JPEG on a NES screenshot would:
1: Bring the size 70% up
2: Pixels gets smoothed, and the picture looks more blurry which then complexes the compressing scheme.
Use GIF or PNG to secure no quality loss in the screenshots, and also optimizing the size by lowering the amount of colors, 4bit,8bit,16bit based on what system the screenshot is for is what should be done. 16 color on Commodore64 would need a setting for 4bit compression. Saves A LOT of space.
JPEG is for photos, GIF/PNG for simple bitmap pixel graphics (typical low resolution nostalgia systems) you morons!
But what do they do? Well, they see that JPEG image (at about 80% setting) is like 45KB. So, they compress it again....until they reach 13kb..and the now the JPEG setting may be 20-40% (equals crap on bitmap graphics)
And to top it all, they use a crappy looser JPEG compression software they found for free dated 1998. (The SAVE FOR WEB in Photoshop will do wonders...but not on strictly bitmap pixeled graphics)
Well, by saving this in GIF or PNG that same file (without losing quality) would easily become 8KB. Make you go wonder..... Some people just don't know basic compression knowledge from 1+1=2. You learned this at preschool for gods sake!
They might be a huge database contributor on Gameboy Advance, Playstation I or PC databases, but not on NES, SNES, Amiga, C64 and other nostalgic systems that have become ever more popular as the years pass. Childhood flashback is all.
This is what my SGIL database is 90% based on. Old systems that meant something, and a game world that will never expand because it's obsoleted, which makes it fully possible to finish the database 100% with only limited and quite achievable easy information for the gamer.
If you want to seek out a game for playing, some things logically strikes your mind:
1: The name of the game! (Hi, TCM!)
2: What genre is it?
3: How does it look? (Just fine, honey)
Three simple elementary logic rules for playing a old game that you've never played before, or for recognizing a game that you know the gameplay of, but forgot the titlename. The above points can vary in any order for the different gamer, of course :)
So, all the databases out on the internet have gotten it all wrong.
They include everything else like JUST the titlescreen, ratings, reviews, historical shit, scans from old magazines, no genre, and a whole lot of other crap. And "WOW", they have 39 shots of IN-GAME screenshots. I mean, hello?!
One screenshot really tells a human what the game looks like in terms of playability and graphics.
A gamer knows his way around. Don't underestimate their intelligence. Like they say, a picture's worth a thousand words, don't mess up the simplicity!
Therefore, the soul of SOMAC database genre format (SGIL) is this:
Input: I want to play a game now, what can you show me?
Output: Provide the titlename, the genre and a HIGH QUALITY screenshot of IN-GAME action ONLY.
Again, three point for a perfect game database.
In my anger and frustration I sniffed out a lot of different info+screenshots I needed from a lot of internet sites to construct such a list (along grabbing a few thousands myself). This resulted in my own database: SGIL - SOMAC Game Intelligent Listing.
Complex people make complex databases
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Ok, so you found the perfect database on the internet for old consoles and computers. Well, then they have gotten way too complex in defining the genres.
They have multiple genres, like "Action, Shooting, Platform, H-Scrolling" in one-go. They have "Action/Shooting" and then "Shooting/Action" defined. Well, it's the same, morons! Really, come on! If you said it was action, then it's action. But wait, they included platform! Well, that's easy then. It's a platform game. If they can see a platform in there, then it's platform. No matter if you shoot or jump. End Of Story.
Or what about such a genre: "Role-Playing>Console-Style RPG"?
Ehm....did you not say in the first category here, "ROLE-PLAYING" a.k.a. RPG" ??
No, they add as well a "Console-Style RPG" into there to even narrow it down...
Why complicate things and release uncomplete databases that dies next month, anyway? Yeah, you have user editing available...but my god. Letting thousands of confused people into your already confused database really doesn't sort things out, now do they?
A even worse example would be: "Simulation>Flight>Civilian plane".
For the love of god, why don't you create a unique genre for "planes with blue colors" in them as well? Or even "Plane with two guns" genre. (hint: I've actually seen that!)
Do we really need the "Fishing" genre? How many games per system does that apply to, not many. Fishing is under the category MISC, end of story. Some might consider it to be sport, I don't. Base the genre for the game ONLY for what the game mainly consists of.
Compilation packs with more than one games/genres are a grey zone to place. But, with SGIL logic it's also placed under MISC. The screenshot would show part of the full/partly menu of games that are included in that particular pack (no in-game screenshots). Yet, not so hard to specify. The power of SGIL shows through.
"Light Gun" based games are also placed in its own genre. Yeah, it's tempting because they are unique and cool to play. But really, again, how many games can be placed for several systems in such a genre, not many. So what then, where to we place it? Well, it's logic again, its shooting, namely SGIL's: "Action/Shooting".
It says gun, right? "Edutainment" and/or "Learning" category's are possible mind or tabletop based, but not always and that precise. It's therefore also placed in the MISC category for simplicity and to prevent going back to school instead of having fun!
And hey, I've even seen this "action/reflex adventure beat'em'up platform rpg".
Those guys really crammed eveything in there just to be sure eh?
I mean, come on. Seriously. It's action and shooting with adventure elements with you beating the crap out of people, (and loose the gun?), and it is all being peformed on a platform where you ALSO are exercising Role Playing?". Now, thats too much!
But wait, they obviously noticed this themselves, so they created a ALL-IN-ONE genre on themselves, yep it's now named "Fantasy Tie-In". Yeah, they also have created a own "Fantasy" genre. But really, if you already have created unique RPG & Adventure genres it would fall under one of those, so why why WHY?
Simple, they lost completely focus on what they are trying to accomplish.
This is directly from a well known database on internet, won't name them here. Just giving you the details.
For your information, this is a strongly Adventure / RPG game...hence it falls under the SGIL category "Maze/Adventure/RPG" Simple as 1-2-3.
And dude, they call themselves "the biggest on-line database". As more appropriate heading would be: "the biggest (well we got all titlenames sorted out, but the rest we don't care about) on-line database"
They have 44746 games covered and they call themselves the biggest?
As you will learn the SGIL format is covering 26000, all 98% complete with Titlename, Filename, Genre and In-GAME Screenshot. All what a regular or hardcore gamer would need.
They have 9944 screenshots diveded on 124 systems. Thats about 80 screenshots for each system. The biggest database? Now, you really should be put out of commission! SGIL Database have ca 2545 screenshot for each 11 systems. As a reference: They have 227 unique screenshots for SNES games. SGIL have 1810. I mean, come on. Super Nintendo are one of the most known nostalgic systems, and during 8 years this is all they have accomplished? 227 screenshots, uncompleted genres and also no real logic structure with those genres already specified, big ain't big anymore. The B in Big stands for Bad BAD BAD BAD times 10000!
Conclusion: Let's say they have a 50% complete database (questionable yes), that means that they have 22373 covered. Well, as you will learn the SGIL database have 26000 games and 98% complete. Hmm... my database suddenly earned a secure 1-st place for sure! My database is 26000 entires for only 15 systems. They have 22373 for 124 machines...again...hmmm
And you know what? They spent 8 years doing this. I spent 3months with my automatically coded tools. 1 dude, not several. Impressive comes to mind.
Well, of course they have more info about the games etc.....really not interresting when I just wanna play a unknown game and not read the whole crappin' background for it and not give me any clue for what type of game it is or how da hell it looks!
Yes, but back to the complexity on genres, which gets more stupid as we investigate!
Heck, they even have "Misc/Misc" genre categories...My god, if it's MISC, it's MISC!!!!!!!!
A category like "General/Misc/Wierd" is not a good category at all. I mean, how many games can you put into such as category anyway? The database would become very "loose" and it would be extremly boring to browse for anybody.
What's the usefullness in detailing the genre so much?
If you stepped over the common sense barrier, why do you stop? Why don't you also dissassemble the code, and add to the genre specification how many lines the code are? Or even add the size of the game?
Like "Action>Platform>27560lines>324kb" genre...wow COOL!
Even that could help a gamer to understand what quality/genre the game is in, but that's taking it to the extreme, and god forbids, some of they have probably inlcuded such a info already in the stinkin' databases.
And then the madness is really complete. That database is useless and over bloated.
All the 20-30 biggest and most bragging sites I've checked contains such shit!
They don't deserve the heading "biggest game database on the internet".
A more appropriate heading would be: "biggest uncomplete/complex game database on the internet".
You really now see that complex people are not at all that complex, they are just plain stupid and behaves unlogically. They completely lost focus on what they are trying to accomplish with their fuckin' databases. Bloating comes to mind. Using Google ADS crap all over comes to mind, etc etc. Or those handy LINKS that are automatically inserted on specific words...so that you can enter their site and buy some fucking crap. FUCK OFF!
And then, of course it's all JUST available on the internet, no downloads, no software to support their crappy databases for you to run locally on the computer, and even take advantage of the lists they created. Getting the screenshots to your harddrive would take forever if you want to create your own personal structured database locally. Everybody have their own way of organizing files and how they work fluid on a computer.
It's like walking past a store with lots of interresting items in the shelves and windows for you to glare at, but do not touch and buy or get for free...because the store is always closed, you can't reach it. Too add to the irritation the store puts up new items each day for you to stare at, but you can't get hold of them and bring them back to your precious sanctuary, cave or home whatever.
For a primitive human, this quickly becomes uninterrersing and he walks to another possible open store where he can get and bring along what he found/bought there!
It's just really simple elementary and humanlike behaviour that applies, and your database looses users and they get quickly angry and confused. They leave in search for a better database. SGIL that is.
If they place a database on the internet and start using IP-blocking routines so that limit number of hits each day per user, they really gotten paranoid. If they are so paranoid and scared about people ripping their work of, why don't they just have the database on their local harddrives and show it to their trustable friends instead?! Because it seems totally obvious that they don't trust us or wanna provide user friendliness and gain friendship and world domination together with us!
Well, this will also happen to SGIL, as of NOV 2005 this project is closed forever. Why? Because I'm done with what I needed for my SOMAC, and that's it!
iya, we are all thieves..jaaarhhh
They should give people possibilities and not take it away from them.
That's how you gain a world leader's place in any area of life.
Authors of GameBase (http://www.bu22.com/) have understood this, and I respect them for this action.
(DB's fully downloadable for a specific system, the C64 Gamebase for instance - VERY complete.)
However, they suffer from a dreadfull and quite horrible genre specification, for which the text above applies to them!
They also suffer from TOO-MUCH-INFORMATION. I don't give a two-cents if the "game was included in a C64 magazine from Sep 1986". Don't give me nothing, and only make the database quickly vast for the authors to complete (if they have such a goal). And it also bring up the database size, making it more slugish blah blah blah yada yada yada you know.
There is just too much information to comprehend, and focus is lost.
To add something in the surralistic manner, if the author gets a girlfriend, gets married or becomes a father and you know what's happening then. The database gets ignored and never gets finsihed properly. I've seen it before, and I will see it again. History repeats itself, no wondering about that.
Now, back to the issue at hand:
Would not a simple text file be sufficient instead, with just the elementary info a gamer needs to find a game he likes or wants to play, or not to?
Titlename, Genre & Screenshot says it all (again a.k.a. the SGIL database).
Anybody can do anything with a text file, write own tools, users can edit them in a human understandable way etc without having the latest Microsoft-ware installed.
End Conclusion:
"Is this in your normal behaviour, or did you leave your brain at home?"
Looking through a bunch of game databases on internet, we will all agree - my points proven!
Logic people make logic databases, namely SGIL
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SGIL database was constructed using own programmed tools to automatically/batch derive information from respective databases on the internet for the systems that SOMAC runs emulators on (see list below). This includes fetching screenshots. A few thousands screenshots were snapshotted by myself for various systems.
The goal behind SGIL was to skip the rest, and leave the best. Keep the Genre specification down to a minimum and have IN-Game screenshot of every game available. 1-2-3.
It's seen from a gamer's perspective, not a collector or a "must_have_it_all" perspective.
It's not also a very good frantic collector's tool list or whatever, the SGIL Database is strictly based on "what do I want to play today, and how does it look. GIMME GIMME GIMME!"
High-up for SGIL:
- Covers a multitude of hardware
- Covers 28000 games split on mentioned hardware above.
- Most simple info needed to illustrate a game for a user. (Titlename, Genre, 1 x IN-GAME Screenshot).
- World's first 9 Genre Logic (see below).
- Database available for everybody as a plain parsable text file (write your own tools if you want).
- Screenshots only as PNG (due to best compression), no JPG shit as these drastically increases the file size quality.
- Optimized screenshots with labeled titlename for quick loading purposes in own directory.
- Entries in the SGIL database is considered to be 90% correct in terms of Titlename, actual game filenaming, genre placing, and in-game screenshots.
- Filenames was verified with the respective tools needed. MAME (tm), Amiga, GoodTools, Dats, TOSEC etc.
- Titlename with ", The" was edited to be placed under the letter T instead. Also applies for ", A". why da heck not?!
- SGIL database is sorted Alphabetically on titlename.
- SGIL database contains a unique ID for each filename, except Amiga games which have same_ID multidisks with own separator for NUM_OF_DISKS. ID numbers are applied as this is much easier to search through, both manually and automatically.
- No file extension in the filename entry. This allows the files to be .SMC, .BIN, .ZIP or whatever you want. The file extension you have control of in your own tool for instance. Like I did for my 3D Matrix Core Menu for SOMAC.
Low-down of the SGIL: (some are still positive, in respect of simple database rules).
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- Titlenames not verified (as this is taken automatically from either gamename.zip or from databases on internet).
- Genre's may not reflect the soul of the game (as this is taken automatically from databases on internet).
- Actual filename inside SGIL may not be the "correct" one in respect for Goodxxx tools, TOSEC, DATS etc.
- Clones and duplicated titles (like [H1] [A1]) etc were removed when found, as this serves little purpose for a clean database. Either the game works or it don't. Don't give a sqaut if the game uses MEMBANK 1 instead of MEMBANK 2! It all is confusing when searching for and playing games.
- SGIL was a 3months project that will not be updated after NOV 2005. This because the database was created ONLY to supply my Arcade Menu System with a proper database, and I do not intend to spend the rest of my busy life doing this.
- This database was given free to the world, just because it will provide a good starting point for other's that would like to continue the best logic database in the world. Or similar :)
- Foreign games are not that supported. They were removed as these give me absolutely nothing. German, French, Japanese etc. The SGIL was slightly reduced, but yet again: The SGIL format was made for my own purpose (SOMAC) and this action may seem ignorant to other people. If you feel this is not good, download the SGIL and starting including them yourselves. It's up to you. SOMAC is happy where it's at. SGIL was created and maintained by a European.... Me that is. I'm limited and only understand scandinavian and english languages..haha!
- No MD5 checksum supported. But this can easily be added by yourselves by inserting a new separator.
- SGIL database for C64 only included the first disk, multidisk entries was not included due to limited time on coding.
Really, I don't care what you do with the SGIL. Credit me should be in place, but putting your name on it would be wrong! It was a free gift to the world, and a UP-YOURS to people for making uncomplete/unlogic//messy/complicated game databases.
I had to make something anyway for SOMAC, and the focus was not to supplement the world forever, so I had no issues releasing it for free. If you find it totally useless, it's your case. You've found another way of organizing your games. No problem, and good for you. Use it or loose it.
Genre Logic:
Think of a game that can not be placed in any of these below categories. Easy, it's impossible!
1: Action / Shooting
2: Fighting
3: Driving / Simulation
4: Platform
5: Sports
6: Maze / Adventure / RPG
7: Mindgames / Puzzle
8: Tabletop
9: Miscellaneous
Examples of logic behind the SGIL database structure:
- Mahjong games are table based.
- Pinball games are MISC.
- Strategy is close to RPG.
- Yes, chess may be considerd a sport, but this is placed in Tabletop, since its played on a table.
- Quiz games are Mindgames.
- Tetris based games are considered as a mindgame.
- A action game (seen from above/perspective) with story being told is considered to be a Adventure.
It's not that hard to simplify game genres at all. Just use some logic. Not dwell too much into details. In the end, the IN-GAME screenshot is all what will interrest a user to try a game, so suddenly genres may not be of importance for the user anyway.
Hope that cleared a bunch of shit out!
Best Regards, Stone Oakvalley - October 2005
(This logic behaviour is Copyright Stone Oakvalley Studios 2006)
Please review these related article links:
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Example listing from SGIL database