What are MD5 hashes?
For files, MD5 values are used to check if the file you've downloaded exactly matches the one on the server. For the most part, transfers that go to completion without any resuming are usually perfect matches. If the transfer is resumed, however, it depends on how good one's download manager is. This is also the case with transfers that are "accelerated" by downloading different parts of the file at once. I've personally had data integrity problems with the acceleration feature of old versions of FlashGet but the newer editions are probably fine. Either way, calculating MD5 values are easy and relatively quick so there's no reason not to do it for at least a couple downloads to check if your download manager or browser is decent.
For calculating the MD5 hash values of individual files, I recommend HashCalc by Slavasoft.
For the .MD5 files used on this site, you should now be able to use any common program like MD5summer or wxChecksums. I use Brad Smith's Easy MD5 Creator, which is slightly outdated but can be downloaded here.
How does the voting system work?
When the total vote count reaches 20, I will take the top two choices and start working on their rips. These can be seen in the "Queue" tab of the voting box. The queue list matches the order I'll be ripping in. Then I will remove these two games from the poll and add two others. Any options with no votes will also be removed. The old games will keep their old vote counts and everyone will be allowed to vote again. If the game you wanted didn't come out on top last time, you can vote for it again.
What's this about no images?
The no images function requires a browser that supports JavaScript to work. Ideally, it would prevent the loading of images but for now it just keeps them from being displayed and downloads them in the background. You can, of course, just hit your browser's "Stop" button after all the text has loaded to stop the images from downloading.
How do I play this movie?
Get DivX, XviD, and OGM...because it's cool. You can actually just use ffdshow to handle your videos rather than getting tons of codecs, though you'll still need the Ogg Vorbis DirectShow filters for OGM files.
How do I run this game?
You can either mount the game onto a virtual drive or burn it to a disc. If you take the mounting route, I recommend using Alcohol's virtual drive feature simply because it supports so many formats. In fact, Alcohol can burn or mount any of the formats listed below. Unfortunately, Alcohol costs money so if you're looking for a free virtual drive program, DAEMON Tools is pretty good.
- IMG/SUB/CCD - CloneCD
- MDF/MDS - Alcohol
- BWI/BWS/BWT - Blindwrite
- NRG - Nero
- BIN/CUE - CDRWIN but other programs like Nero work
- ISO - Standard image format, any image burning program works
What is the difference between manga, doujin, and original doujin?
A manga is usually considered to be an original creation by a major company. Doujin, on the other hand, are produced by artist circles themselves. I also define them as works that are based on or use characters from established anime series or video games. Since they're created by more poorly financed groups, only a few hundred copies of a single doujinshi are actually put into distribution, compared to the perhaps thousands for a manga. Original doujin are made by similar groups but they are not based on anything else; they are their own complete creative productions. Regular and original doujin are often thought of being produced underground by amateur artists but this is not always the case. There are many major artists that fund the production of their own doujin for whatever reason. Manga and original doujin are usually much longer than doujin, which are often less than a 50 pages. Original doujin are usually around 100-200 pages, while manga sometimes go well into the 300 page range.
I can't get this thing to work!
Send me an e-mail (pkgoliath @ google's mail service).