29/11/1999: 3427 Unique Visitors!

Hard Code, owner of Inwards, has informed me that the Fairway has received 3427 unique visitors, which I'm very glad to say has surpassed my expectation of just how popular the Fairway is. Having said that however, I'm disappointed there haven't been over 3000 offers to submit scans of the remaining game boxes that are still on the wanted list ;-)

Some fun links for you all: Ninjaforce has opened their funky new page at, oddly enough, www.ninjaforce.com. Nice domain! Check out the latest screenshots of their up and coming IIGS game Kaboom!

Also, check out Aaron R. Willis' page devoted to the IIGS game War in Middle Earth.

03/11/1999: ShrinkIt Archive Additions and other Udpdates

The ShrinkIt! archive is now online! Owners of real Apple IIGS machines are now able to download each archive to use on their real equipment. It is recommended that when downloading the ShrinkIt! archives, that you force your browser to download to a file, by either selecting the command by the contextual menu that appears when the mouse button is held down or using the right mouse button. Alternatively, hold down the option key on the Mac and click on the link and for the PC, I believe it's shift.

There's a whole new bunch of updated thumbnail images: 4th & Inches, Jack Nicklaus Golf, Shanghai, Hunt for Red October, Tower of Myraglen (thanks Lachlan Arnott), Roadwar 2000, Mini Putt, Space Quest 1, Paperboy (thanks Michael Bradley), Monte Carlo (thanks Frank Bannon) and Qix (thanks to myself on that one).

28/09/1999: Full Metal Planete

Added the virtually unheard of game, Full Metal Planete. Added better thumbnail images for Arkanoid II, Bubble Ghost, Dark Castle, Defender of the Crown, Final Assault, Jigsaw and Shadowgate. Thanks goes to John Balestrieri for all of these new scans. Subsequently, the wanted game box scan list has been updated. Keep em coming guys!

22/09/1999: Bernie ][ the Rescue v2.5 and iGS Released

Bernie ][ the Rescue 2.5 has been released! The new version supports better integration between GS/OS and the Mac OS, i.e. you can now simply drag and drop files between the Mac and IIGS desktops. More importantly for gamers however, is that sound has been improved - no more low volume problems. Testing the new version myself, I have to report that it's absolute aural bliss now. There don't appear to be any incompatibility fixes for games however, apart from the exception that Mean 18 now takes key input every fourth second or so, but the sound improvement has been worth waiting for.

On the same day that the new version of Bernie has been released, Mac users were doubly blessed. A new version of XGS, for PowerPC and 68k Macs has been released. The new version is now called iGS, the 'i' standing for 'improved'. The program is a lot easier to use now, not to mention that it's useable at all; previous versions of XGS failed to run with MacOS 8.5 or higher. Get it from Michael Bytnar's XGS page.

Still no joy for Windows users wanting to emulate the IIGS. I haven't heard of XGS development becoming anyone's priority, nor do I know what happened to reports of a promising emulator called dApple. If anyone has information regarding IIGS emulators for Windows, contact me so the word can be spread to relieve the suffering of Windows users everywhere. In the meantime, they could always install BeOS and checkout Sweet 16!

13/09/1999: The Fairway's New Home

As you may have noticed for the past two weeks, the Fairway has moved to its new home at Inwards. Thanks bigtime to Hard Code for hosting the archive on Inwards. Thanks also for helping sort out the early teething problems.

25/08/1999: Server Issues and Updates

Sorry about the archive not being enabled over the weekend. Server problems beyond my control I'm afraid. Anyway, to compensate, I'm going to keep download access enabled from now until the archive moves to its new home in two to three weeks. Thanks to all those who offered alternatives for the Fairway relocation! In the meantime, enjoy the new archive additions: The Lost Tribe and Revolution 76. I've also included a new thumbnail graphic to John Elway's Quarterback (thanks to Steve McCartt) as well as updated its documentation. I've also updated the docs for WindWalker.

06/08/1999: Archive Temporarily Disabled

Bad news I'm afraid. The archive has had to be temporarily disabled, with demand outweighing expectation, as downloads have exceeded a point where the connection for succeeding downloads must be paid extra for. Since I haven't paid for the connection thus far, the Fairway has been lucky up until this point. You can still view the web pages, but none of the links to archives are functioning.

I will sort something as soon as I can, but don't hold your breath for anything soon. I do apologise.

31/07/1999: Minor Updates and...Crash Bandicoot?!?

Added better thumbnail game boxes for Black Cauldron (thanks Paul Lunga), Man Hunter: New York (thanks Tyler Van Tighem), Roadwar 2000 and Battle Chess (thanks Willie Yeo). Finally got round to adding more of a plot description for Dungeon Master (thanks Nicholas Marx). Keep those best quality JPG, 300dpi, 1:1 scans of gameboxes coming in. I've updated the list below of what still remains to complete the archive.

Sorry for the recent lack of updates, I've been bogged down with Uni again since semester started three weeks ago, and I've also been addicted to Crash Bandicoot Warped, played under emulation on my G3. I haven't had so much fun with a new game in ages :-) For those that don't know, Crash Bandicoot is the brainchild of Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin, former IIGS developers who created Dream Zone and Keef the Thief. Interestingly, I've found five secret levels, one of which is called Ski Crazed, which was their first ever game on the Apple II. They haven't forgotten their roots, and it's also evident at their site www.naughtydog.com.

Anyone willing and able to write a SoundSmith/MegaTracker plug-in for SoundJam? :-)

19/07/1999: Minor Updates

Added better thumbnail game box images for Dungeon Master, Neuromancer, Balance of Power, Questron 2 and Transylvania 3 thanks to Mary Sauer. Also added better thumbnails for Spirit of Excalibur and Gold of the Americas (from the Mac versions). Thanks goes to Willie Yeo for these, and I'd also just like to thank Willie for scans he has provided in the past. Finally, I've also added a better thumbnail for Serve and Volley, which was included with a mint condition ROM01 Apple IIGS - much thanks to Barbara Brook, for allowing me to clean out your cupboard!

11/07/1999: Minor Updates

Added ChessMaster 2100, Shanghai II, The Secrets of Bahras and the rare, unreleased game Project Neptune. Thanks to Ton for ChessMaster and Bahras and thanks goes to someone who now wishes to remain anonymous for Shanghai II and Project Neptune.