Count Zero
Registered: Jan 2003
Posts: 2013 |
Ultimate Tape Archive V6.0 release - please read
We have released our latest version of the archive. This is also the last version of the archive as you know it, but this does not mean the end. At the current time, it is not yet available at archive.org but we're confident it'll be there shortly. We attach here the readme to the latest version, along with another point of distribution of the archive. The readme contains information about the changes, why they're done and what it means to you. TL;DR, it's really only good news!
Please read the full readme below which also includes the address to our other point of distribution. Thank you all for your continued support! :)
- The Ultimate Tape Archive Team
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The Ultimate Tape Archive V6.0
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Release date: 1st of July, 2025
Welcome to the most complete Commodore 64 cassette archive in existence!. By complete, we don't mean it contains all the titles ever made, but all the included titles are complete, with coverscans, manuals and other included material all in one place for you to enjoy.
We know it's been more than a year since the last update, but sometimes motivation is lacking, and real-life (TM) gets in the way! But finally we're back, with 250 newly added releases, increasing the total count to 2750! "Finally" is also a related keyword for this release.
This version of the The Ultimate Tape Archive, will be the last one in its current form. Thanks to the awesome guys at pokefinder.org, we have gradually also phased in another distribution point in addition to archive.org, which some of you might have already discovered. This new site will be regularly updated with new tape releases as and when we can process them, rather than saving them up for large packs which we've done up until now. The new site can be found at: https://uta.pokefinder.org
What this also means, is that we will be able to fix mistakes much more easily (if and when we're made aware of any), and we may even occasionally do the odd request if we possess the required material to do so. Jason Scott at archive.org will, of course, continue to maintain a copy of the archive at his discretion for you to browse or even play online.
The new site has the collection in a browsable, uncompressed form, but is also be available as a zip-file that will be updated nightly (if there have been changes).
As we've mentioned for every release, we absolutely strive for 100% complete releases, but we have included a few releases that currently miss content such as posters or audio tapes, since they don't directly affect the playability of the games.
For the tapes that can benefit from index files (.idx, supported by DC2N, NOVA64 and the Ultimate products), we've still done our best to create them, particularly for multi-game compilations and multi-load games. A few of the multi-load games are poorly programmed, and do not stop the tape once a title screen or level is loaded. There are no workaround that we can apply for these, so if you find a game not loading properly, be sure to check if this is the cause. There is also one version of the Burner fast loading system we are aware of, that will not work on all C64s. This is because the loader is written using unofficial machine code instructions, some of which are unstable and create different results on different C64s.
We have, as usual, used Tape Manager V1.3 (Tape Manager V1.3) to organize the content, and again exported an sqlite-file for the NOVA64 front end (or any other applications that have already, or wish to implement it). The latest version of the NOVA64 front end can be downloaded from CSDB (NOVA64 V1.05). The front end will enable you to run the images on both emulators and on real C64s (with additional hardware). The latest version will also make it possible to start VICE (later versions) using the offsets in the index files, making game compilations more useful in VICE if that's how you choose to launch your games from within the front end.
And also as before...
Feel free to distribute this archive to your friends, but please let it remain 100% free, and kept away from any solutions that require any kind of registration or payment. Apart from that, we do not care much about what happens, as we consider this a piece of preservation of OUR history.
Thanks to the following people for their contributions:
- Stadium 64
- danc256
- AmigOS
- Jason Scott at archive.org
- The team at pokefinder.org
If you for any reason you would like to get in touch with us, you can reach us at ultimatetapearchive@proton.me
Signed,
The Ultimate Tape Archive Team |
