Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From The Dragon Archive
(Whats New?)
(Whats New?)
(40 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
__NOTOC__
 
__NOTOC__
__NOCACHE__
 
 
<div align="center"><font size="7"><font color="#cc0000">The </font><font face="Arial Black"><font color="#ff0000" size="7">D</font><font color="#ff9933" size="7">R</font><font color="#ffff00" size="7">A</font><font color="#00ff00" size="7">G</font><font color="#009900" size="7">O</font><font color="#6699ff" size="7">N</font></font><font color="#008080" face="Arial Black" size="7"></font><font color="#6699ff" size="7"> Archive</font></font>
 
<div align="center"><font size="7"><font color="#cc0000">The </font><font face="Arial Black"><font color="#ff0000" size="7">D</font><font color="#ff9933" size="7">R</font><font color="#ffff00" size="7">A</font><font color="#00ff00" size="7">G</font><font color="#009900" size="7">O</font><font color="#6699ff" size="7">N</font></font><font color="#008080" face="Arial Black" size="7"></font><font color="#6699ff" size="7"> Archive</font></font>
 
<br>
 
<br>
Line 25: Line 24:
 
<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(228, 222, 222); margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0.5em 1em; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">
 
<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(228, 222, 222); margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0.5em 1em; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">
 
=== Recent Forum Posts  ===
 
=== Recent Forum Posts  ===
<phpBB3></phpBB3>
+
 
 +
[http://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3 Click here to go to the forums]
 +
 
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
Line 36: Line 37:
 
'''Ray Smith''' - Boxed Dragon 64, multiple Dragon Data Disk Drives and Disk Controllers. Dragon software on tape and disk. Every issue of the National Dragon Users Group newsletter, and every issue of his own UP-2-DATE disk magazine.
 
'''Ray Smith''' - Boxed Dragon 64, multiple Dragon Data Disk Drives and Disk Controllers. Dragon software on tape and disk. Every issue of the National Dragon Users Group newsletter, and every issue of his own UP-2-DATE disk magazine.
  
'''Paul Burgin''' - Paul has worked with me to update his Dragon Convert program for archive use. Its original purpose was to convert Dragon information for use with his Dragon emulators, and in doing so create the smallest possible file. My requirement was to preserve the content of Dragon tapes so that they could be re-created and loaded into a real Dragon. Paul was kind enough to provide me with the source code and allow me to develop the program.
+
'''Sarah Burgin''' - Sarah has worked with me to update the Dragon Convert program for archive use. Its original purpose was to convert Dragon information for use with the Dragon emulators, and in doing so create the smallest possible file. My requirement was to preserve the content of Dragon tapes so that they could be re-created and loaded into a real Dragon. Sarah was kind enough to provide me with the source code and allow me to develop the program - source code I have since lost :-(.
  
 
'''Richard Harding''' - Custodian of the Dragon Data archive. He has been kind enough to allow me to use some of his scanned images on this site (no point in scanning the same image twice). He and I are working together on our respective archives and collaborating where possible.
 
'''Richard Harding''' - Custodian of the Dragon Data archive. He has been kind enough to allow me to use some of his scanned images on this site (no point in scanning the same image twice). He and I are working together on our respective archives and collaborating where possible.
Line 70: Line 71:
 
[[Special:NewPages|New Pages]]
 
[[Special:NewPages|New Pages]]
  
'''July 2011''' - 35 new Dragon tape items added to the download section - many thanks to the contributor for taking the time to upload the WAV files to the forum so that I could convert them and make them available as CAS files. A large collection of CoCo2/3 files have also been made available in the downloads area - although this is primarily a Dragon website, the lack of a good software archive for the CoCo has prompted me to make available all the CoCo content I have.
+
'''February 2020'''
 
+
''PLAY NOW'' - Go visit the software download area and where you see the "Play Now" link you can play cassette and disk games in your browser courtesy of Xroar Online.
'''February 2011''' - The [http://www.retrocomputermuseum.co.uk Retro Computer Museum ] are hosting a weekend long event in Leicestershire, UK. The event is very hands on with a wide range of computers (Sinclair, Amstrad, Commodore, Memotech, Sord, Atari etc) and consoles (Nintendo, Sega, Atari etc) available with a selection of games for all to enjoy. Dragon will be represented by at least a Dragon 64 and hopefully a Dragon 200 - with one of the Dragon Professionals available for private viewing if requested.
 
 
 
[[File:RCM_Banner.jpg]]
 
 
 
 
 
'''November 2010''' - Found this via the Dragon User Group on Yahoo. [http://www.myspace.com/gosub8bit/music/songs/dragon-32-10918992 Dragon 32 Song]
 
 
 
'''October 2010''' - Over 300 Dragon tapes for sale - [http://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=296 See the For Sale forum.] - Offer now closed. Remaining items will appear on ebay some time in the new year.
 
 
 
'''September 2010''' - Initial upload of the Dragon CAS files in the TOSEC Naming Convention format. I am still in the process of going through and checking all of these so there will be another upload in the future with corrected dates and status flags. The downloads area has also been expanded to offer downloads for the Tandy CoCo - This area will slowly be populated with content - Many thanks to Steve for sending me his collection of CoCo files. I don't intend to change the focus of this site, it is still all about the Dragon.
 
 
 
 
 
<wikiFlv width="160" height="120" logo="false" position="right" autostart="true" volume="0" repeat="always">Factory_1.flv</wikiFlv>A small clip of the Dragon Data Ltd factory from "The Money Programme" in 1982, recently used as part of the BBC4 Electric Dreams series.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
<wikiFlv width="160" height="120" logo="false" position="right" autostart="true" volume="0" repeat="always" >Factory_2.flv</wikiFlv>A 2nd small clip of the Dragon Data Ltd factory from "The Money Programme" in 1982, recently used as part of the BBC4 Electric Dreams series.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
'''August 2010''' - The archive has now aquired a truely "Mint In Box" Dragon 200 and photos will be uploaded to the [[Dragon 200]] page. Along with the computer comes all the included documentation in Spanish and 6 games in Spanish. In addition to this, recent forum activity has uncovered a pre-release version of [[Wings of War]] which differs slighly from the published version of the game and on the same disk a copy of [[The White Cliffs of Dover]] which is both the sequal to [[Wings of War]] and thought to be unreleased.
 
 
 
'''August 2010''' - Collectors Corner is now being populated with genuine rare and hard to find items and 17 issues of Dragon Magazine have now been uploaded to the downloads area to compliment the 88 issues of Dragon Update. Next up is adding all the software publishers histories - such as Preston taking on the Blaby range, Computape taking on the Microdeal range etc.
 
 
 
'''July 2010''' - Thanks to a friend with a lot of patience and a scanner, a large number of N.D.U.G Dragon Update newsletters have now been scanned to PDF. These are now uploading to the Dragon Downloads area from issue 45 to the final issue. Scanning of Dragon Magazine has now started.
 
 
 
'''June 2010''' - Some pictures from VCF-GB showing myself and the range of Dragons Richard and I had managed to accumulate for the day, including a much asked about Dragon 200 and 3 out of the 5 known Dragon Alpha/Professionals and possibly together for the 1st time since they were made back in 1985. From left to right - For display only Dragon Alpha Prototype, Dragon Alpha 00002, Dragon Alpha 00008, and then hands on Dragon 64, Dragon 32(topless), Dragon 200 and Dragon 32. We would on request power on the only fully working Dragon Alpha but had to limit it due to overheating concerns. Over the two days we spent most of the time telling the story of Dragon Data Ltd, GEC and Eurohard and the events that led to the production (or not) of the Dragon 200 and Dragon Alpha and Beta.
 
 
 
[[File:VCF-GB01.JPG|thumb|left]] [[File:VCF-GB02.JPG|thumb|left]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
'''21/06/10''' - 9 new ROMS in the download section, including DOSPlus 4.8, 3 FarmFax titles, 3 pre-release versions of Dragon DOS and the boot rom from the very rare prototype Dragon Alpha/Professional.
 
 
 
'''25/05/10''' - Uploaded 17 new disk images to the software archive - includes several different versions of FLEX plus FLEX Software from [[Compusense Ltd]] and some titles from [[PamComms]] and others
 
 
 
'''24/02/10''' - Just uploaded 20 new tapes to the software archive - more tapes and disk images to come as and when I get time. There is quite a good but simple semi-graphics mode game in this latest bunch from Blaby Computer Games.
 
  
'''06/02/10''' - Many thanks to all those who have contributed content, scanned and converted media. Please feel free to add new articles and content directly to the wiki - if your username and password do not allow you to edit then please let me know via the forums.
+
'''February 2019'''
 +
Lots of updates behind the scenes. Forum is now running on the latest version of phpBB3 - Wiki is next !!. The downloads archive continues to grow with additional software and is now >5GB in size. More planned for 2019 so watch this space !
  
'''24/03/09''' - Games page and publisher pages being updated by a number of people - starting to add game information and screen shots as well as publisher information.
+
'''February 2018'''
 +
Massive archive update just uploaded - including 400Mb of additional content. Mostly new scans of inlays and manuals but also some MIA titles are now no longer MIA and we now have a large number of the master disks used at Orange Software/Pulser Software/PSE to master their disk and tape products - scans of the disk labels (for all disks) are on the to do list. Still more to sort out, and a huge "dump" of files not in the new archive to work through.
  
'''21/03/09''' - Emulators page is now up to date - I didn't know that you could emulate a Dragon on so many different platforms! - Mainly thanks for XROAR.
+
'''January 2018'''
 +
A new year and a new archive (well the start of one). Combining the excellent work of various contributors, plus a lot of scanning from the archives own collection, we now have much more content available and still more to come. Over the next few months the content in the downloads section will be re-organised as I introduce a new structure and content. The most important changes will be when looking for Tape/Disk and Rom content to download - these will now ALL be under "Software" and follow the same structure and the TOSEC naming standard (The important bit is the [!] which indicates a PERFECT dump and [u] which indicates an under-dump - IE there is content missing and the title needs to be re-dumped - usually this is sync bytes on headers, but could also be level data or graphic data for 64K games). For a time it will be split between the two locations as I work through each publisher.
  
'''20/03/09''' - All the known publishers and software have now been imported into the Games section, these still need work to seperate Games, Applications and System Software but its a start - Feel free to start populating information about each game etc. See [[GLOVE]] for the current layout/template - and don't forget to add them to the right categories so we can see which games still need to be uploaded to the archive.
+
'''June 2017'''
 +
Saturday 3rd June 2016 saw a gathering of Dragon and 680x friends at the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge, where once again THREE Alphas/Dragon Professionals were on display and the Dragon Beta too. Thanks to Tony for organising and all those who came or brought something to exhibit - lots to see - playing Dunjunz on real hardware was manic and seeing other works in progress was amazing. I have also recently uploaded a large number of VDK disk images that were not previously online - mostly FLEX related with a couple of DragonPlus specific titles in there too.
  
'''19/03/09''' - All known Books, Magazines and Fanzines are now listed on their respective pages. Some books now have pictures but are lacking text - please feel free to contribute - See Inside The Dragon for an example.
+
'''November 2016'''
 +
Started an overhaul of the download area - this will sadly break most of the links between the Wiki pages and the files, but fixing those is on the TODO list. I am now grouping the files into folders as it had become hard to find stuff - 90% done. I have also moved all the older incomplete [u] files into a zzBadDumps folder where we now have a perfect image of the tape content. There are still many more that need to be re-imaged. I am also going through my collection and converting more tapes - according to my spreadsheet I have over 100 titles that are not available in CAS/WAV form - something for the long winter nights. Over 20 have already been done and are available. I am also being very cautious about adding content from other sites as some of it is CoCo software that just happens to work on a Dragon (unless it needs key presses, then you have to work out the kepmap differences) - these will be put into the CoCo folder rather than the Dragon folder based on the machine they were originally intended/sold for.
  
 +
'''June 2016'''
 +
Its been a while and a lot has happened. All pages are now assigned to one or more categories to help visitors find information and there has been a regular stream of updates from the core contributors. Thanks guys for your hard work - you know who you are :-).... Admin
  
 
</div>
 
</div>

Revision as of 19:37, 16 February 2020

The DRAGON Archive



There are now 1,069 articles online.


Welcome to The Dragon Archive, a complete archive of everything related to the Dragon series of machines (Dragon 32, Dragon 64, Dragon 200, Tano Dragon).

The Dragon Archive is a wiki that contains information about these machines, emulation of the Dragon 32 and Dragon 64, Dragon related Publications (Books, Magazines, Newsletters), Adverts and the Dragon Software Archive containing games, applications and system software.

You will need to register to be able to contribute to the site and its forums, so please don't be shy. I encourage all members to take and active role in providing new content.

With over 700 files in the software archive and still more to be uploaded as I get them sorted this is the largest collection of original Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 software on the internet. If you are looking to emulate a Dragon then the archive recommends either the excellent XROAR from www.6809.org.uk or MESS from www.mess.org

This site is a Wiki and its success depends upon your contribution.....so get involved today!

Recent Forum Posts

Click here to go to the forums

Contributors

Phill Harvey-Smith - All his help in getting the Dragon Alphas and Beta running again, creating the emulation of these machines in MESS and his recent help in creating a multi-load cart that we used at VCF-GB and for taking time out to dump a load of ROMS for me.

Ray Smith - Boxed Dragon 64, multiple Dragon Data Disk Drives and Disk Controllers. Dragon software on tape and disk. Every issue of the National Dragon Users Group newsletter, and every issue of his own UP-2-DATE disk magazine.

Sarah Burgin - Sarah has worked with me to update the Dragon Convert program for archive use. Its original purpose was to convert Dragon information for use with the Dragon emulators, and in doing so create the smallest possible file. My requirement was to preserve the content of Dragon tapes so that they could be re-created and loaded into a real Dragon. Sarah was kind enough to provide me with the source code and allow me to develop the program - source code I have since lost :-(.

Richard Harding - Custodian of the Dragon Data archive. He has been kind enough to allow me to use some of his scanned images on this site (no point in scanning the same image twice). He and I are working together on our respective archives and collaborating where possible.

Paul Grade - Paul was kind enough to re-visit his days of running the National Dragon Users Group and search his attic for the schematic diagrams the group once sold for a pound each. He scanned them in and they are now available from this site.

Ross Hamilton - The original owner of The Dragon Software Archive. Ross was kind enough to send me the archive as a starting point for my site.

Robert Olive - Robert has kindly scanned in some covers for games that I don't yet have in the archive, he as also agreed to try to archive these games and send them to me. Many thanks Robert.

Soren Roug - Virtual disk images of OS9 C and OS9 Pascal. My disks seem to be in a format that VCOPY cannot read. Many thanks Soren for sending me these files.

Tom Wilkinson - Tom has sampled and converted many Dragon games into .CAS files for the archive, many thanks Tom for your input.

Alastair Shewan - Alastair has sent me some additions to the software archive, many thanks for your input into this site.

Eddie Freeman - Has been most helpful with information and tracking down Dragon related people for me, many thanks Eddie. He has also donated boxes full of Dragon related documents, adventure solutions etc.

Terry Chittock - Terry has been kind enough to donate a number of software items to the archive. Many Thanks.

David Linsley - Permission to publish an edited version of his History of the Dragon article



Whats New?

Recent Changes

New Pages

February 2020 PLAY NOW - Go visit the software download area and where you see the "Play Now" link you can play cassette and disk games in your browser courtesy of Xroar Online.

February 2019 Lots of updates behind the scenes. Forum is now running on the latest version of phpBB3 - Wiki is next !!. The downloads archive continues to grow with additional software and is now >5GB in size. More planned for 2019 so watch this space !

February 2018 Massive archive update just uploaded - including 400Mb of additional content. Mostly new scans of inlays and manuals but also some MIA titles are now no longer MIA and we now have a large number of the master disks used at Orange Software/Pulser Software/PSE to master their disk and tape products - scans of the disk labels (for all disks) are on the to do list. Still more to sort out, and a huge "dump" of files not in the new archive to work through.

January 2018 A new year and a new archive (well the start of one). Combining the excellent work of various contributors, plus a lot of scanning from the archives own collection, we now have much more content available and still more to come. Over the next few months the content in the downloads section will be re-organised as I introduce a new structure and content. The most important changes will be when looking for Tape/Disk and Rom content to download - these will now ALL be under "Software" and follow the same structure and the TOSEC naming standard (The important bit is the [!] which indicates a PERFECT dump and [u] which indicates an under-dump - IE there is content missing and the title needs to be re-dumped - usually this is sync bytes on headers, but could also be level data or graphic data for 64K games). For a time it will be split between the two locations as I work through each publisher.

June 2017 Saturday 3rd June 2016 saw a gathering of Dragon and 680x friends at the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge, where once again THREE Alphas/Dragon Professionals were on display and the Dragon Beta too. Thanks to Tony for organising and all those who came or brought something to exhibit - lots to see - playing Dunjunz on real hardware was manic and seeing other works in progress was amazing. I have also recently uploaded a large number of VDK disk images that were not previously online - mostly FLEX related with a couple of DragonPlus specific titles in there too.

November 2016 Started an overhaul of the download area - this will sadly break most of the links between the Wiki pages and the files, but fixing those is on the TODO list. I am now grouping the files into folders as it had become hard to find stuff - 90% done. I have also moved all the older incomplete [u] files into a zzBadDumps folder where we now have a perfect image of the tape content. There are still many more that need to be re-imaged. I am also going through my collection and converting more tapes - according to my spreadsheet I have over 100 titles that are not available in CAS/WAV form - something for the long winter nights. Over 20 have already been done and are available. I am also being very cautious about adding content from other sites as some of it is CoCo software that just happens to work on a Dragon (unless it needs key presses, then you have to work out the kepmap differences) - these will be put into the CoCo folder rather than the Dragon folder based on the machine they were originally intended/sold for.

June 2016 Its been a while and a lot has happened. All pages are now assigned to one or more categories to help visitors find information and there has been a regular stream of updates from the core contributors. Thanks guys for your hard work - you know who you are :-).... Admin

Did you know?

  • That BGMICRO can supply the ICS2797 as a replacement for the WD2797 disc controller IC - Once the new IC is inplace you may need to use a scope to calibrate it correctly.
  • That you can buy clothing with the Dragon Logo on it from zazzle
  • That the author of the Dragon BIOS encoded his initials into the final image so ALL dragons have the initials DNS hidden within their ROM?
  • That the once managing director of Microdeal now sells custom made cars on the south coast of the UK?
  • That MESS can emulate the Dragon 32, Dragon 64, Alpha and Beta?
  • That in 2007 a new game was written for the Dragon 32/64 (and CoCo 2/3). That game was GLOVE (a Gauntlet style game) and the same author has just released a 6809 remake of 3D Deathchase in 2009. Good work James, two new Dragon games in the last 2 years.