Re: New Database Model ZXDB
Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:04 pm
Thanks for this list of (possible) issues! It's going to take me some time to check each one, I will report later my findings here.
The community forum for all Sinclair users
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/forums/
I just read this. Please don't waste time on this - this information came in from the SPA2 database, and the prices are mapped on a per-release basis there.Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:19 pm Column spanish_price wasn't moved. This is typically the release price of the Spanish release of each game, so I'm now working to identify the proper release for each case and assign this value properly. Approximately a thousand games had a spanish price, I have just reassigned about half of them. I will try to sort the rest in the next update.
and while you're looking at the releases table, I've found another problem! Everything has a release, whether it happened or not.Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:04 pm Thanks for this list of (possible) issues! It's going to take me some time to check each one, I will report later my findings here.
The compilation price is £9.95 though, not £7.95!
The problem is not the information itself. We shouldn't omit the information that Beyond Software was the publisher behind "Eye of the Moon" for instance, although this game was never published therefore it didn't have a publisher!StooB wrote: ↑Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:15 amand while you're looking at the releases table, I've found another problem! Everything has a release, whether it happened or not.Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:04 pmThanks for this list of (possible) issues! It's going to take me some time to check each one, I will report later my findings here.
This price came from SPOT/SPEX.StooB wrote: ↑Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:15 ameg: Duet was only released on the Hit Pak compilation, but apparently it was released in 1987 at £7.95
(where this price comes from is a mystery as it's not on the original WoS entry or the price of the compilation either)
Do they look correct now?StooB wrote: ↑Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:15 amUnfortunately, it's not just titles that were only released on compilations...
The Eye of the Moon was released by Beyond.
Mire Mare was released by Ultimate!
even Bandersnatch!
Thank you!!!jpablo wrote: ↑Tue Jan 22, 2019 8:24 amI just read this. Please don't waste time on this - this information came in from the SPA2 database, and the prices are mapped on a per-release basis there.Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:19 pm Column spanish_price wasn't moved. This is typically the release price of the Spanish release of each game, so I'm now working to identify the proper release for each case and assign this value properly. Approximately a thousand games had a spanish price, I have just reassigned about half of them. I will try to sort the rest in the next update.
I can send you a copy of the current (provisional) state of the SPA2 datase, so that you can work from this. Please pass me an e-mail address so that I can send a database dump to you.
Cheers
These prices also came from SPOT/SPEX.StooB wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:33 pm eg: Combat School at WoS had a release price of £7.99 and a budget price of £2.99, while the same entry here has a original release price of £7.99, with the £2.99 having moved to the Hit Squad re-release.
Similarly, ACE 2 at WoS has a budget price of £2.99 which has moved on to the Gamebusters re-release in ZXDB.
They are not really gone. If you download any version of ZXDB and look at table "spex_entries", you will find all these prices there.StooB wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:33 pmAlso, some prices seems to have been lost in the WoS/ZXDB conversion:
One of Corn Cropper's prices has gone.
The Damned Forest's budget price is missing.
Both prices for Airline have vanished completely!
All good!Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Wed Jan 23, 2019 4:25 amDo they look correct now?StooB wrote: ↑Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:15 amUnfortunately, it's not just titles that were only released on compilations...
The Eye of the Moon was released by Beyond.
Mire Mare was released by Ultimate!
even Bandersnatch!
Wouldn't it be better to change the Elite release from "Original Release" to "Never Released" and keep the intended price information?Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Wed Jan 23, 2019 4:25 amThis price came from SPOT/SPEX.StooB wrote: ↑Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:15 ameg: Duet was only released on the Hit Pak compilation, but apparently it was released in 1987 at £7.95
(where this price comes from is a mystery as it's not on the original WoS entry or the price of the compilation either)
And SPOT/SPEX took this price from Your Sinclair #13. Look at the bottom of this page:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/mag.php ... 34&page=10
It seems the game was announced as a standalone release for £7.95 but never released this way. Therefore this price should be removed. Right?
ZXDB adopts the convention (inherited from Martijn's WoS) that only actual releases are stored, for released games. Only if a game was never released, then it stores the publisher that was behind it, although it's not really a "publisher" since it wasn't really "published".StooB wrote: ↑Wed Jan 23, 2019 9:30 amAll good!
Wouldn't it be better to change the Elite release from "Original Release" to "Never Released" and keep the intended price information?Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Wed Jan 23, 2019 4:25 am This price came from SPOT/SPEX.
And SPOT/SPEX took this price from Your Sinclair #13. Look at the bottom of this page:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/mag.php ... 34&page=10
It seems the game was announced as a standalone release for £7.95 but never released this way. Therefore this price should be removed. Right?
Thank you!!! I received your material, it will be included in the next update!jpablo wrote: ↑Tue Jan 22, 2019 8:24 amI just read this. Please don't waste time on this - this information came in from the SPA2 database, and the prices are mapped on a per-release basis there.Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:19 pm Column spanish_price wasn't moved. This is typically the release price of the Spanish release of each game, so I'm now working to identify the proper release for each case and assign this value properly. Approximately a thousand games had a spanish price, I have just reassigned about half of them. I will try to sort the rest in the next update.
I can send you a copy of the current (provisional) state of the SPA2 datase, so that you can work from this. Please pass me an e-mail address so that I can send a database dump to you.
Cheers
Hi [mention]Einar Saukas[/mention]Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:40 am A new ZXDB update is available!
EDIT: Internal definition of table "relatedlinks" was changed. I'm sure this won't affect SC but it may affect other sites like ZX Info.
I'm trying to understand this so I can improve the contributions to the ZXDB, tell me if I'm wrong but I understand that:Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:34 pm ZXDB adopts the convention (inherited from Martijn's WoS) that only actual releases are stored, for released games. Only if a game was never released, then it stores the publisher that was behind it, although it's not really a "publisher" since it wasn't really "published".
Mixing information about real and imaginary releases for the same game would be confusing IMHO.
I wouldn't disappear down that rabbit hole if I were you... a lot of "software houses" were "imaginary" and still published games.
Haha, well, yes, that's why I made the distinction about intention. If they had the intention to sell or distribute the game (by mail, etc), even if in the end that doesn't happened, even if the name was a fantasy name, I think we can add the name as a publisher, since it was a commercial endeavor after all, but let's see what other people think about it
Martijn's criteria (that we still follow at ZXDB) was much simpler:druellan wrote: ↑Tue Jan 29, 2019 9:10 pmI'm trying to understand this so I can improve the contributions to the ZXDB, tell me if I'm wrong but I understand that:Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:34 pm ZXDB adopts the convention (inherited from Martijn's WoS) that only actual releases are stored, for released games. Only if a game was never released, then it stores the publisher that was behind it, although it's not really a "publisher" since it wasn't really "published".
Mixing information about real and imaginary releases for the same game would be confusing IMHO.
Not a publisher:
A game developed in the '80/'90 just for fun, they didn't have any intention to publish the game, but they created an imaginary software house.
Same as above, but they have several titles developed.
A publisher:
A game developed in the '80/'90, they HAD intention to publish the game, but that never happened.
A modern developer that sells physical copies of their games.
A modern developer that distribute digital copies of their games on their own page.
A modern developer that distribute digital copies of their games but does not have any proper Internet webpage or identity.