Unfortunately I come only as an idea man here, but I would love to see a comprenhensive and organized nsf archive. One that offers a level of organization and functionality that's more up to speed with something like unexotica or project 2612 (although I know the latter isn't a wiki).
Nsf archives are a bit too disjointed. Some confused folk will still look to zophar. Then there was akumu's nsf archive, and now there is knurek's which as far as is I know is only available in a bulk zip. There is also arc-nova, but it only has the game titles like akumu's archive (although is much more up to date!).
I don't mean to sound too critical of anyone's efforts, but I think we could do something much better as a collective. Something that'd make it easy for everyone to come together and contribute their new rips and information.
Having information fields that are each browsable- where you could click on composer or company names and find all nsfs indexed as such would be great. Including both m3u and NSFE files. Allowing for a 'notes' section that would offer whether or not track names are official or unofficial. Offer more information on how the composers were specifically credited in-game, point out known errors or relevant details about the nsf, etc. There could be a section for known games that still unripped, maybe have information on why...
The reason a wiki format would be best, is that everyone who could be trusted with contributing could be given some sort of admin status to make updates. For example, in tagging a bunch of nsfes I often find composer information in game credits that aren't already in the original nsf. As it stands now, I can update an nsf myself, but what good does that do for anyone else? Would knurek update his entire archive just because I added 'Neil Baldwin' to Drop Zone or 'Kyohei Sada' for Palamedes 2?
Right now there is no easy and organized way to share these sort of updates with the whole community and that's what needs to change.
TLDR - A sort of 'ultimate nsf archive' would be awesome! One that embraces having more information and more ways to index / search. Thoughts?
Nsf archives are a bit too disjointed. Some confused folk will still look to zophar. Then there was akumu's nsf archive, and now there is knurek's which as far as is I know is only available in a bulk zip. There is also arc-nova, but it only has the game titles like akumu's archive (although is much more up to date!).
I don't mean to sound too critical of anyone's efforts, but I think we could do something much better as a collective. Something that'd make it easy for everyone to come together and contribute their new rips and information.
Having information fields that are each browsable- where you could click on composer or company names and find all nsfs indexed as such would be great. Including both m3u and NSFE files. Allowing for a 'notes' section that would offer whether or not track names are official or unofficial. Offer more information on how the composers were specifically credited in-game, point out known errors or relevant details about the nsf, etc. There could be a section for known games that still unripped, maybe have information on why...
The reason a wiki format would be best, is that everyone who could be trusted with contributing could be given some sort of admin status to make updates. For example, in tagging a bunch of nsfes I often find composer information in game credits that aren't already in the original nsf. As it stands now, I can update an nsf myself, but what good does that do for anyone else? Would knurek update his entire archive just because I added 'Neil Baldwin' to Drop Zone or 'Kyohei Sada' for Palamedes 2?
Right now there is no easy and organized way to share these sort of updates with the whole community and that's what needs to change.
TLDR - A sort of 'ultimate nsf archive' would be awesome! One that embraces having more information and more ways to index / search. Thoughts?
Perhaps an an alphabetical index on the left for game nsfs with a header like "Classic Game Soundtracks", and another index below or link for "Artist Pages"...?