This is a non-profit making site. I do not benefit financially from this site in any way. This site is merely based around a hobby: any costs incurred are covered by myself (including connection charges).
When people ask for help in whatever area, be it for BBC software, emulation configuration, I will try and help. I DO NOT deal in illegal software outside that of providing BBC disk images/ROMs. This most definitely includes registered versions of emulators.
The mission of this site is to provide ex and current Acorn users the games and firmware from the Acornsoft and Superior Software houses. Quite a few people (including me!) still want to play Repton, Elite, Starship Command, Citadel, Exile etc. But actually finding the stuff on the net, when Superior is still exercising its copyright, means most sites will not carry any of their titles.
As you may know, David Bradforth sent an email to me shortly before I pulled the plug:
"With regret I must inform you that the inclusion of the BBC/Electron titles from Superior/AcornSoft on your website cannot continue. The inclusion of these titles is not beneficial to the gaming market; far from it - there are plans afoot to resurrect all of the titles, in a suitable format for emulation users. We're quite happy to supply versions of these games suitable for emulation, but cannot allow them to be freely available on the internet: that is infringing the copyright of Superior Software/Superior Microcomputing. I would therefore implore you to please remove the titles. I have passed details to the MD of Superior Software: he may contact you separately shortly."
I think the people who love the Superior's games so much should be allowed to have access to them again. People may still own the tape versions for example, which makes it hard to play on an emulator, despite owning the rights to use the code! So whilst this free site is kept open, you will find most of their back catalogue available to download.
Despite being shut down once already (whilst under my own domain), I hope Superior/ ProAction will let people play the games that surely have no commercial value today in their present state. Whilst a CD specifically written for emulation would be welcome, it seems that paying for the game twice is really asking too much, unless it contains more than what was originally available. Until then, this site will stay open.
I was mailed recently, whereby some had contacted ProAction with requests to buy games from them - they sent the Electron User Group a 'catalogue' - and they simply returned his cheque immediately with an insulting little note saying (in hard to read scribble) 'We can no longer supply these games'! Hardly a decent company set up! Car boot sales it is, then…!
The adage in law is 'If it's worth copying, then it's worth protecting'. That is surely true. But when something is not WORTH protecting, it's not worth preventing others FROM copying it if that's the only option. And if ProAction won't SUPPLY these games any longer, what is their problem?! How do they even profit by not allowing them to be available?
This site is also dedicated to Acorn's series of computers, specifically the BBC Micro, although I spent most of my youth using an Electron and wishing it was a BBC :-)
I've finally got my hands on a Master and a BBC B now, but emulation, certainly using pcBBC, is accurate and that's what this site is all about.
I spent a large amount of time converting my old collections in 1996 to work with the then only BBC emulator for DOS by Tom Seddon. I had quite a few titles by Acornsoft and Superior Software, and the rest were kind donations.
I would say that there won’t be that many users who still buy the games for the BBC- certainly Superior, from whom I used to buy many Electron tape games with my pocket money, cannot expect to sell many more of their titles nowadays. If Superior were still developing new titles, then you would respect the copyright issues involved with new software.
Most people will not be interested in this site, nor the BBC scene at all. As for the rest of us mad and/or sad people, we should be allowed to play the games of yesteryear! Superior Software were the cream of software houses for the BBC. They still have the monopoly. But cashing in on ancient software? That isn't fair: Superior should stop milking the titles for everything they are worth. I implore Superior/ ProAction to allow this site, and any other, to carry old back catalogues of their software (just offering a 40% discount to people is not on).
You would have thought the amount of money (two months of saving per game when I was buying as a child) that I and many others have spent would shame Superior into releasing these games into the public domain. Hopefully, this site will be left alone, especially if its not mentioned in too many newsgroups ;-)
DISCLAIMER AND WARNING: Laws vary from country to country on the legality of owning or transmitting ROM and disk images. To download anything from this site, you must own, or have previously owned, the actual title which you choose to download. Check with your local authorities before downloading from this site if you are unsure. Regardless of your actions, the maintainer of this site will not be held legally responsible. If you download anything from this site, you do so, implying consent that you alone, hold all due responsibility. Consider yourself warned!
