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) 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) and help documents (text or PDF)

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. These features are also supported for ADZ and HDZ, however these carry an additional compression overhead which is redundant (RP9 is already compressed). All other formats supported by the player (IPF, DMS, etc.) may also be used, however undo and save state functionality may vary.

CD images may be simple ISO files, or CUE-referenced ISO/BIN/WAV/MP3 file sets.

Within the context of the RetroPlatform architecture, the main goal of RP9 is to introduce unity between "retro 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) and optional application identifiers and configuration data.

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 (e.g. VenerableSoft's RP9 Builder) 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

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.

Related Links

• RP9 Preview Images (Thumbnails)
• RP9 Manifest Examples and Test Cases