[mark-wd]

Verifying Alter Ego - Male Version (1986) (Activision)

Checklist

Have adequate installation instructions been provided to match any config files in the DOSZ?

No installation is required for this extracted fileset. The DOSC supplies the runtime settings.

Have any official patches been applied, if necessary?

No additional patches have been applied. The existing TDC-matched files are unchanged.

Is the game data in the root of the ZIP (unless game does not work that way)?

Yes. All 428 DAT members are in the archive root.

Is the entry in the right variant file (i.e. Freeware)?

Yes. This promotes the existing primary entry to PureDOSDAT.xml.

Have digital versions (Steam, GOG) been checked for matching?

The Steam listing describes a modern edition with an updated interface and bug fixes. No digital DOS fileset was obtained for a hash comparison. No matching GOG release was identified in the store search.

Can the game benefit from using embedded data or embedded patches in the datfile?

No new embedded data or patches are needed for the successful DoDAT rebuild. DoDAT creates the existing zero-byte BABY.SCR member without a source file.

Can DoDAT build the game from the install media?

Original installation media was not tested. DoDAT v0.8 successfully rebuilt all 428 members from the preserved Alter_Ego_1986.zip archive, then passed full SHA-1 verification.

If the game requires a yml in the DOSZ, has it been added to the yml folder in the repo?

Not applicable. DOS.YML is inside the DOSC; there is no external YML reference.

Are there .PIF or .ICO or Win32 .EXE files that could be excluded?

No. The existing DAT contains no PIF, ICO, or Windows executable; the DOS executables are AETV.EXE and AEGV.EXE.

Do the file timestamps match the installation media?

Not checked against original media. All rebuilt timestamps exactly match the existing DAT. The supplied source ZIP has uniform 1996-12-24 timestamps, so those source timestamps were not used.

Does the DOSZ run standalone?

The DOSZ contains all game files, with no external media required. Runtime testing used the rebuilt DOSZ with its existing DOSC; a separate test without the DOSC was not recorded.

For CD games, can the game be set up to run without a CD mounted?

Not applicable; no CD image is included.

For games which include CD images, is there a smaller installation variant that offers the same features but needs less files?

Not applicable; no CD image is included.

Can the game benefit from using CHDtoOGG?

Not applicable; no CD audio is included.

Is the game creating a swap file in the .pure.zip that could be avoided by increasing memory size? Or is it creating other bloated files that could be prevented by adding them in the DOSZ?

Runtime files were not separately inspected for this. The existing memory settings are unchanged.

Does the DOSC contain problematic data (i.e. copyright issue)?

No. The unchanged DOSC contains only DOS.YML, with the launch path and CPU-year setting.

Does the DOSC have copy protection removed, if possible?

No protection patch is included in the DOSC; no new patch is proposed.

Is the game running at the correct speed? Is CPU year specified?

Yes. Tested with the existing cpu_year: 1982 setting.

Is the DOSC auto-running and skipping past any obstructions? Does it use WAITMODECHANGE if possible?

Yes. The DOSC automatically launches C:\AETV.EXE. It has no run_input or WAITMODECHANGE setting.

Does the game have MT-32 support? If so, is it correctly using MT-32 (old) or CM-32L (new), going by the Vogons Wiki?

Not separately checked. The existing DOSC has no MT-32 configuration.

Does the game have General MIDI support?

Not separately checked. The existing DOSC has no General MIDI configuration.

Is the game set up to run with the best quality graphics options by default?

The existing AETV.EXE default was verified and is retained. The alternate AEGV.EXE was not separately compared for graphics quality.

For certain old games only - are the graphics/audio improved by specifying video_card: pcjr, tandy, or generic_cga?

No video-card override is configured. Alternate PCjr/Tandy/CGA modes were not separately compared.

Does the game have a mouse cursor that benefits from enabling input_directmouse?

No. The IBM PC instructions in the original Activision manual specify keyboard controls: arrow keys and Space.

Does a game with separate episodes/executables have the options named and ordered properly in the DOSZ? Do they use the run_utility feature?

The Female and Male versions remain separate packages. This version retains its existing AETV.EXE launch path. AEGV.EXE remains in the DOSZ, but no separate launch option is added.

Does the game share saves with a sequel, expansion, etc? If so, is it updated to use the .savename feature?

Not applicable. The Female and Male versions keep separate saves; no .savename is used.

Comment

• Promotes only the Male Version from the unverified DAT to the verified DAT.
• Moves its DOSC to dosc/ byte-for-byte unchanged.
• Normalizes the description to Alter Ego: Male Version to satisfy the verified-DAT naming check; filenames and every ROM attribute are unchanged.
• Rebuilt all 428 files with DoDAT and passed full SHA-1 verification.
• Tested the rebuilt DOSZ with the existing DOSC.