There was a time when PC game rips were hugely popular. They were hits among the gaming community especially during the late 1990s, when scene groups such as CLASS, BACKLASH, MYTH, etc were active (they guys obviously released a lot of ripped games). A rip is basically a stripped down version of a PC game with reduced file size. This reduced size is usually achieved by re encoding/removing in game movies (or FMV), removing music, removing extra languages or by simply using a better compression algorithm. The smaller size facilitated easier online storage and saved bandwidth, both of which were valuable resources back then. However, as internet speeds improved and transferring large files over the web became relatively easier, the demand for game rips gradually decreased. But does that mean the art of ripping games is a thing of the past? Well, not really. Although not as popular, game rips are still around. If you still seek to download them, this post is about a private torrent tracker that focuses solely on this type of releases.

The Powers That Be

Although not as hugely popular as groups such as RELOADED, Razor1911, SKIDROW or ViTALiTY, scene groups who still release rips still do exist (i.e. UNLEASHED). However when it comes to these releases, non scene groups are nowadays more active than the scene. Their releases are usually made available over file sharing networks such as private trackers or DDL forums instead of topsites.

However, you won’t find a lot of game rips on General/0Day scene trackers or surprisingly, even on dedicated games trackers. But here’s a private tracker that’s dedicated to tracking game rips. TPTB (short for ‘The Powers That Be’) tracks a lot of unique and exclusive releases that you won’t easily find anywhere else. TPTB runs on TS Special Edition 7.0 codebase and has been around for several years. The site currently tracks close to 500 torrents, vast majority of which are games.

TPTB index

As you can see from the screenshot above, TBTB’s game rips collection even includes titles released just a few days ago. Most of these are uploaded by the site’s internal groups (hence the ‘TPTB’ tag in torrent title) and are exclusive to the tracker. If you want to know what’s ripped from a game, you can usually find that information in a torrent’s description page. Most of the rips I have come across so far were done in a way that did not cause any serious harm to a game’s playability – in most cases only unnecessary info (such as extra languages from MULTI5 and MULTI8 releases) was removed. In short, these guys are pros and they know how to reduce the size of a game without screwing it up. While the content is great, one downside of this tracker are the download speeds – they are average at best and there are some torrents without enough seeder activity to keep them going.

Although a little shy on the publicity front, signups for TBTP are currently open. If you are interested in downloading PC game rips, you might find this tracker to be useful.

Site Name: TPTB (http://teamtptb.com)

Signup URL: http://teamtptb.com/signup.php

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17 Comments

  1. kushboy // 7/09/2010 01:05:00 AM  

    Registration is currently disabled.... wtf?

  2. S Bhakta // 7/09/2010 01:38:00 AM  
    This comment has been removed by the author.
  3. Unknown // 7/09/2010 02:53:00 AM  

    I've managed to register but I appear to be waiting for a moderator to authorize my account? Have other people had to do this?

  4. jaso100 // 7/09/2010 04:29:00 AM  

    I was just able to register so they are not disabled

  5. Anonymous // 7/09/2010 09:39:00 AM  
    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
  6. LIW Team // 7/09/2010 11:41:00 AM  

    An error has occured!
    Registration is currently disabled.

  7. LIW Team // 7/09/2010 11:41:00 AM  
    This comment has been removed by the author.
  8. Unknown // 7/09/2010 12:17:00 PM  

    Registration works fine for me.

  9. microd20 // 7/09/2010 02:54:00 PM  

    dont forget about

    http://www.seed-bytes.com/signup.php

    they're a great HD tracker only a year old. they are a lil on the small side due to random open signups (currently open) but still get great pre-times and ive yet to not hit multiple MBs Downloading

  10. kushboy // 7/09/2010 07:19:00 PM  

    Figured it out....
    you live in certain countries then you are screwed. Like they have banned the Indian subcontinent. Sucks....

  11. zoomby // 7/09/2010 08:04:00 PM  

    And I thought FN was from Sri Lanka which is ofc in Indian Sub-continent.

    Any way its foolish of site with such low Activity 2 ban certain regions.

  12. Lightning_Struck_Tower // 7/09/2010 08:21:00 PM  

    @zoomby,
    "And I thought FN was from Sri Lanka which is ofc in Indian Sub-continent."

    Yep from Sri Lanka and no registration errors here.

  13. Anonymous // 7/09/2010 09:23:00 PM  

    Signup Successful!
    Your account successfully created however Admin must validate new members before they are classified as registered members and are allowed to access site, thank you for your understanding.

  14. ossoss44 // 7/10/2010 05:34:00 AM  

    any one having trouble logging to FDD.RO
    OR http://fddbits.com/
    im in egypt is it blocked forme or what????

  15. Xen0veR // 7/10/2010 02:36:00 PM  

    Got in. Speeds are fine.
    Lol at subcontinent blocks :D
    Whatever ur country did, u should be mad^^
    Or, move to europe or smth.

  16. member101 // 12/01/2011 01:31:00 AM  

    invite info..IRC or ?

  17. member101 // 12/01/2011 01:32:00 AM  

    info on IRC..invite..??.....dummo@azet.sk