A: RP9 (from
RetroPlatform, the technology used in Amiga Forever and
C64 Forever) is a packaging format largely compliant with the
format endorsed by the W3C for
web applications.
In its simplest form, an RP9 file is a ZIP archive (.zip
renamed to .rp9) compressed using the "deflate" method and containing one or more
disk image files (e.g. ADF, D64, etc.) and an XML manifest
(rp9-manifest.xml, as per
RP9 XML Schema). The file allows for one-click download
and playback of applications such as Amiga or C64 games and
demoscene productions.
Benefits of RP9 include:
- All required media images are packed in a single file
- Natively compressed format (additional ZIP is not
necessary)
- Is recognizable as its own content type when downloading
and opening (unlike the generic ZIP)
- Preserves and respects original image files and names
(original files can be extracted back from RP9)
- May include visual preview images (PNG), help documents (text or
PDF), box and media shots (PNG or JPEG), soundtrack and other related audio
files
The MIME type of RP9 files is application/vnd.cloanto.rp9.
For the initial Amiga implementation, the preferred formats for disk images
stored in RP9 files are ADF and HDF, for which disk change undo and save state
is supported. ADZ, DMS and HDZ compressed disk images are converted to ADF or
ADZ by RetroPlatform Player instances, both to simplify playback support by
simpler players, and because compressed formats carry an additional overhead which is redundant (RP9 is already
compressed). CD images may be simple ISO files, or CUE-referenced
ISO/BIN/WAV/MP3 file sets. Some other formats supported by the player may also
be used, however undo and save state functionality may vary, and compatibility
with third-party applications cannot be guaranteed.
To ease content grouping by authoring
tools, format-specific file extensions (e.g.
"example.mod", not "mod.example") are
required for all embedded files (media,
documents, images and audio, etc.)
Within the context of the RetroPlatform architecture,
the main goal of RP9 is to introduce unity between "application" and "file" (i.e. one application = one file) and to
simplify the download and organization of such applications
without having to deal with ZIP archives or multiple files. RP9 files contain applications (e.g. disk images),
optional application identifiers and configuration data and
ancillary document and multimedia content (manuals, audio tracks, box
shots, etc.)
The configuration data, if present, is
relative to a specified RetroPlatform
Library version. Manual user changes are
also flagged as such. This makes it easier
to automatically "clean up" RP9 files,
applying new updates over old data, rather
than vice versa, and respecting individual
user changes, if so desired. If version data
were missing, old RP9 files would
contaminate the RP9 ecosystem, as emulation configuration
improvements would not be as easily recognizable as such.
RP9 files do not require installation, and are independent of
file name and location. We want users to be free to organize,
rename and play RP9 files just like they do with MP3 music. And,
why not, even peek inside the archives.
Full support for RP9 was introduced in C64 Forever 2009 and Amiga Forever
2009, which were released in the first half of 2009. Support for embedded
configuration data was introduced in the 2009.2 update. As of August 2009,
several third-party developers were already working on independent tools
to support the RP9 format, and Cloanto's RetroPlatform team was working on
improving the content of RetroPlatform Library based on the
previously announced cataloging effort. The combination of RP9
Manager (included in Amiga Forever and C64 Forever) and RetroPlatform Library,
and similar third-party tools, are working towards making the vision of "one
click to play, no configuration required" possible.
Here are some sample game files, ready for playback*:
-
Death Trap (Anco, 1990, Amiga).rp9
-
After the War (Dinamic, 1989, Amiga).rp9
-
Breathless (Fields of Vision, 1995, Amiga).rp9
-
The Persian Gulf Inferno (Innerprise Software, 1989, Amiga).rp9
-
Super Scramble Simulator (Magnetic Fields, 1989, Amiga).rp9
-
Wrangler (Magnetic Fields, 1989, Amiga).rp9
-
Aquanaut (Phil Ruston, 1995, Amiga).rp9
-
Giddy II - Hero in an Egg Shell (Phil Ruston, 1994, Amiga).rp9
-
Metal Warrior (Phil Ruston, 2004, Amiga).rp9
-
Operation Firestorm (Phil Ruston, 1993, Amiga).rp9
-
Christmas Demo (Commodore, 1983, C64).rp9
If you are interested in offering RP9 files for download from
your site, please contact us. Given
the simplicity of RP9 you could be up and running in less than a
day, at no cost. We mainly need to assign site-unique manifest
data to you, and understand whether you require special support,
for example by the Express Edition of Amiga Forever.
* After the War is
Copyright © 1989 Dinamic SA, distributed under license. Aquanaut
is Copyright © 1995 Phil Ruston, distributed under license.
Breathless is Copyright © 1995 Fields of Vision, distributed
under license. Death Trap is Copyright © 1990 Anco Software
Ltd., distributed under license. Giddy II: Hero in an Egg Shell
is Copyright © 1994 Phil Ruston, distributed under license.
Metal Warrior is Copyright © 1993-2004 Covert BitOps,
distributed under license. Operation Firestorm is Copyright ©
1993 Phil Ruston, distributed under license. Super Scramble
Simulator is Copyright © 1989 Magnetic Fields, distributed under
license. The Persian Gulf Inferno is Copyright © 1989 Innerprise
Software, Inc., distributed under license. Wrangler is Copyright
© 1989 Magnetic Fields, distributed under license.
RetroPlatform, RetroPlatform Player, RetroPlayer, Amiga Forever, C64 Forever,
the daisy mark, RP9 and Workbench are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Cloanto Italia srl in Italy and other countries.
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