Author Topic: GameBase 64 OS X frontend - Dead and burried  (Read 5742 times)

Offline grasstust

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GameBase 64 OS X frontend - Dead and burried
« on: February 22, 2008, 10:51:28 PM »
Well,
a question many of us are wondering is, will there be an update to GameBase 64 OS X, since the last version available has been removed from all download sites.

The answer is, sadly, no, not from the same programmer at least. I finally managed to track down the programmer and he doesn't have the source code anymore.

I think it's very sad, as now with spotlight functionality and a MacVice which is looking to get really good, a GameBase frontend is sorely needed.

I really hope someone will pick up the axe... Anyone one?

Offline ElB

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Re: GameBase 64 OS X frontend - Dead and burried
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2008, 02:47:07 PM »
Recently I enquired about porting Lemonade to OS X, but lack of documentation and underwhelming response to my enquiries led me to abandon it.  Until a couple of days ago I'd never heard of GameBase, but on the surface it looks like a doable task.  As I already have about a billion* unfinished projects on the go, though, I'm not sure that a) I have time to take on another, or b) I'd ever get far enough to make it worth starting before something else distracted me.  I'll go as far as making enquiries on the GameBase forums for guidance, though, and see what happens.

* For small values of billion.

Offline ElB

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Re: GameBase 64 OS X frontend - Dead and burried
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2008, 03:57:17 PM »
Crud.  Turns out the database is stored in an Access MDB file, and it seems there exists no easy solution to opening them under OS X.  The options are either force people to pay for a commercial Access ODBC driver, or convert the data to something less tiresome and be forced to distribute a different database file for OS X users, neither of which seems like a viable option.  Anyone out there got any bright ideas?  How did the original OS X version work?

Offline grasstust

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Re: GameBase 64 OS X frontend - Dead and burried
« Reply #3 on: November 24, 2008, 03:40:23 PM »
Hmm... I really want to help make this happen. I can send you the old Gamebase, would that help? I think also askin for advice on http://www.gamebase64.com/ could help you. Anything I can do, just tell me. I think it's a real pitty we don't have an OS X GB.

Offline ElB

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Re: GameBase 64 OS X frontend - Dead and burried
« Reply #4 on: November 24, 2008, 09:18:10 PM »
Quote
I can send you the old Gamebase, would that help?
It's worth taking a look at; I've tried emailing some of the people involved on gamebase64.com but the emails just bounce, so I put a plea for help on the forums but so far no joy so right now I have nothing at all to go on!

I'll try and get access to a Windows machine some time this week and convert the existing MDB, and then I can at least make a start on a plan of action once I know exactly what sort of data lives inside it.  There's also a project on SourceForge that might prove useful; it won't even come close to compiling on OS X but it may provide enough information to work from -- as I'll only need to cope with the GB database rather than implement a full-featured solution it may not be that hard.  (On the other hand, this is a Microsoft product we're talking about, so there's a chance it's extremely convoluted and painful.)

Still no promises, but if I can get over this first hurdle in a reasonably satisfactory way then the project becomes more appealing. :)


Offline ElB

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Re: GameBase 64 OS X frontend - Dead and burried
« Reply #5 on: November 26, 2008, 01:26:14 PM »
For those of you following at home, I've now got a copy of the old OS X front end (thanks to grasstust) and unfortunately it seems that the developer had a similar problem and resorted to the "convert the MDB and ship an OS X specific version" solution.  This is fine as far as it goes (as far as I can tell the C64 database is pretty much complete now so updates should be few and far between), but it means that if you want to use it for the Amiga, ST, Spectrum, etc., databases they'll also need converting, and they're incomplete and liable to change more often.

All is not lost, though -- I'm borrowing a Windows machine over the weekend so I can convert the database and examine the Windows frontend so I know what to aim for, and I should have enough free time to make some progress soon.  I'll update here when I have any news, but don't expect miracles! :)