RIP ftp.idsoftware.com

[Xymph]

Since the previous century, Gamers.org ran a mirror of ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/ into the /idgames archive. After this mirror started failing some weeks ago, I inquired after its status and -- with the kind assistance of loonyboi -- it has now been confirmed that id's ftp server was decommissioned.

 

End of an era...

 

Naturally, the /idgames archive (and its mirrors) will continue to host the idstuff/ tree indefinitely.

[Vorpal]

The only time I ever grabbed a file off it was the q3a beta.

 

But it was a cool concept probably lost on current generations, some very 90's shit! Accessing a web page and its files sortof divorces you mentally from the hardware. Accessing a ftp server however feels more elemental, a minimal amount of software between you and the hdd of the machine run by your Lords and Masters. Only a direct ssh connection would be closer to the capacitors and chips and cables.

[Avoozl]

This is depressing even though I haven't really used it before.

[Cire]

And Another one bites the dust. It lives on at Internet Archive though: https://archive.org/search.php?query=ftp.idsoftware.com'

[Xymph]

14 hours ago, Cire said:

It lives on at Internet Archive though: https://archive.org/search.php?query=ftp.idsoftware.com'

True, and such backups are good to have. But those are massive .tar files rather than a browsable directory tree like on the ftp servers that are still alive.

 

Still, it was very 90's and early 00's stuff indeed. Back then it was the primary channel through which id issued their files, and the /idgames archive (initially at ftp.cdrom.com before moving to ftp.gamers.org) mirrored it hourly. :)  In the past decade we lowered that frequency to daily because little was being released there anymore. The final entry was the Doom 3 source code in 2011.

[Cire]

You can browse the .tar and .zip files by adding a trailing / (slash) sign after the adress. E.g. adding it to the id FTP redirects you here: https://ia801705.us.archive.org/tarview.php?tar=/26/items/ftp.idsoftware.com/ftp.idsoftware.com.tar

[HeyItsDuke]

On 9/14/2017 at 7:54 AM, Xymph said:

Since the previous century, Gamers.org ran a mirror of ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/ into the /idgames archive. After this mirror started failing some weeks ago, I inquired after its status and -- with the kind assistance of loonyboi -- it has now been confirmed that id's ftp server was decommissioned.

 

End of an era...

 

Naturally, the /idgames archive (and its mirrors) will continue to host the idstuff/ tree indefinitely.

That explains why I could not download Winquake... :(

[Gato606]

On 9/14/2017 at 6:54 AM, Xymph said:

Since the previous century, Gamers.org ran a mirror of ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/ into the /idgames archive. After this mirror started failing some weeks ago, I inquired after its status and -- with the kind assistance of loonyboi -- it has now been confirmed that id's ftp server was decommissioned.

 

End of an era...

 

Naturally, the /idgames archive (and its mirrors) will continue to host the idstuff/ tree indefinitely.

Thanks for posting this links.  Sad the FTP server doesn't work anymore :-(