Exclusive CD demos

[MrFlibble]

Whoah, this is really cool! Do you know where it was originally used/distributed? Was it a special magazine preview type stuff? Anyway, that's a great find

[Litude]

I have no idea. Found it on an old cover disc from the French gaming magazine Joystick. I'd hazard a guess that it might have been handed out to press at CES 1995 but I don't know for sure.

[MrFlibble]

I've stumbled upon a link to a site with the Joystick archives rather recently, and checked it out. I was on the lookout for the Warcraft II shareware CD then though

[MrFlibble]

Can anyone tell me what magazine CDs did the Betony Demo of The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall appear on? The info on the net seems a bit vague on this, I've seen mentions PC Gamer Volume 4 Number 1 (January 1997), but I think other magazines had it too.

[Litude]

I can confirm that the PC Gamer January 1997 issue does indeed have a Daggerfall demo included on it. Don't know for sure if it's the Betony demo though; the game EXE is dated 1996-10-21. I could upload it if you want to have a look.

[MrFlibble]

Here's what Awoo, an Elder Scrolls enthusiast at BetaArchive.com Forums, writes on the matter (emphasis added):

These are all the demo's I have:

Daggerfall Demo 0.1 - 1995/11/09 (The one posted here)
Daggerfall Betony Demo 1.0.179 - 1996/10/18
Daggerfall Demo 1.0.181 - 1996/11/19 (Standard Dungeon Demo)

I still need to find the Betony and 0.1 demos unmodified with their original timestamps from the original CD's. There was also another 0.1 demo I am looking for that is slightly different and has a female character, this demo was released on the European Version of the April 1996 PC-GAMER. An early 0.1 demo was released first with a fifth level character but it was replaced very quickly with the build posted here, probably because it was too difficult. This one is very difficult to find since it was only posted on the old GAMBETA forum in Compuserve which is gone now. Also note that there was a build between the Betony and Standard Demos, which suggests another demo exists somewhere.

So I guess I wouldn't be the only person grateful for the original CD, so if it is not a problem for you to share it, that would be absolutely wonderful

[MrFlibble]

While I've already mentioned it somewhere else here, I just realized that it's totally worth mentioning again:

Command & Conquer 6 Level Interactive Preview
A shareware CD release of the DOS version of Command & Conquer, it features three more Nod missions in addition to the three GDI missions from the Internet demo, updated game files, and lots of music and video cutscenes that could not have possibly been included in a downloadable demo back in the day. This release has been discovered by Nyerguds:

I found myself a CD version of the C&C1 demo (from Ebay), which has 3 GDI and 3 Nod missions, and about 200 mb of videos and music. Now, since I collect unique official data and programs, this is really neat for me.

Odd detail: I tested the sell-stop cheat ingame, and it didn't work, meaning the demo, hiding behind version number "DEMO 1.2" is actually game version 1.22



ISO: http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/isos/ccdemocd.iso (208 mb)


Now, the part which is even more neat: to my surprise, it has an installer which (unlike that of the original DOS C&C) functions perfectly on WinXP, and which is 99% identical to that of the original game (it has the scary outro, but doesn't copy the \AUD1 folder from the CD).

[Litude]

Here's what Awoo, an Elder Scrolls enthusiast at BetaArchive.com Forums, writes on the matter (emphasis added):

These are all the demo's I have:

Daggerfall Demo 0.1 - 1995/11/09 (The one posted here)
Daggerfall Betony Demo 1.0.179 - 1996/10/18
Daggerfall Demo 1.0.181 - 1996/11/19 (Standard Dungeon Demo)

I still need to find the Betony and 0.1 demos unmodified with their original timestamps from the original CD's. There was also another 0.1 demo I am looking for that is slightly different and has a female character, this demo was released on the European Version of the April 1996 PC-GAMER. An early 0.1 demo was released first with a fifth level character but it was replaced very quickly with the build posted here, probably because it was too difficult. This one is very difficult to find since it was only posted on the old GAMBETA forum in Compuserve which is gone now. Also note that there was a build between the Betony and Standard Demos, which suggests another demo exists somewhere.

So I guess I wouldn't be the only person grateful for the original CD, so if it is not a problem for you to share it, that would be absolutely wonderful

I uploaded the CD here.

[Litude]

Found an interesting early demo of Cannon Fodder. Unlike that of the official retail version and that of the two official demo versions, the main theme has the vocals included similarly to that of the Amiga version of the game (it still doesn't have that awesome video though). Wonder why they decided to get rid of the vocals in the official release.

Cannon Fodder Cover Demo (03/09/94)

[leilei]

Wonder why they decided to get rid of the vocals in the official release.

Could be for memory or space reasons. Some games want to distribute minimum floppies as possible.

[MrFlibble]

Here's what Awoo, an Elder Scrolls enthusiast at BetaArchive.com Forums, writes on the matter (emphasis added):

These are all the demo's I have:

Daggerfall Demo 0.1 - 1995/11/09 (The one posted here)
Daggerfall Betony Demo 1.0.179 - 1996/10/18
Daggerfall Demo 1.0.181 - 1996/11/19 (Standard Dungeon Demo)

I still need to find the Betony and 0.1 demos unmodified with their original timestamps from the original CD's. There was also another 0.1 demo I am looking for that is slightly different and has a female character, this demo was released on the European Version of the April 1996 PC-GAMER. An early 0.1 demo was released first with a fifth level character but it was replaced very quickly with the build posted here, probably because it was too difficult. This one is very difficult to find since it was only posted on the old GAMBETA forum in Compuserve which is gone now. Also note that there was a build between the Betony and Standard Demos, which suggests another demo exists somewhere.

So I guess I wouldn't be the only person grateful for the original CD, so if it is not a problem for you to share it, that would be absolutely wonderful

I uploaded the CD here.

You're awesome! Words fail to describe my gratitude, thankies!!!

Found an interesting early demo of Cannon Fodder. Unlike that of the official retail version and that of the two official demo versions, the main theme has the vocals included similarly to that of the Amiga version of the game (it still doesn't have that awesome video though). Wonder why they decided to get rid of the vocals in the official release.

Maybe they decided the vocals somehow interfered with game play? Several in-game music tracks in the first Command & Conquer game had vocals, but those were edited out because they mixed with the game's sound effects. The vocals are retained in the CD soundtrack versions of respective tracks, and in some console ports of Command & Conquer. Also, the versions with vocals were actually included in the game files in the DOS release (but not in the Win95 Gold version), and could be activated by editing the configuration file.

[leilei]

Maybe they decided the vocals somehow interfered with game play?

The only ingame music while you play are Win/Lose ditties. The vocal music is in a separate executable and serves only for the intro.

Also, the versions with vocals were actually included in the game files in the DOS release (but not in the Win95 Gold version), and could be activated by editing the configuration file.

Not only that - the .var files are earlier mixes with different/older voice takes, possibly 1994 dated.

[MrFlibble]

Also, the versions with vocals were actually included in the game files in the DOS release (but not in the Win95 Gold version), and could be activated by editing the configuration file.

Not only that - the .var files are earlier mixes with different/older voice takes, possibly 1994 dated.

That's right, the AUD format mixes in the game files are not the same as those on the soundtrack CD (IIRC the DOS version's files also lack the mixes of No Mercy and We Will Stop Them a.k.a. Deception). I'm not 100% sure about the console versions of respective songs, I think some can be found somewhere at Nyerguds' website.

Also, I played around with the early HOMM1 demo a bit.

EDIT: Actually, seems like you can play it simply by deleting the file DEMOFILE.BIN from the game directory. It is quite unstable though (visiting artifacts or locations like mills will crash the game), but a nice early look at the game nonetheless.

Except said crashes when you try to pick up artifacts and enter special locations, the demo is quite playable. There is no movement limit, or building limit per turn (ending the turn will also crash the demo), and there is also no AI action at all (two enemy heroes are present on the demo map, and can be fought though). Picking up resource piles (but not the "enemy campfire" event) do not lead to crashes, and you can also capture mines, enter castles and cities, build structures in castles and hire troops as normal. Spells also work most of the time.

There are quite a few interesting things in the demo, for example, the hero list shows generic hero class icons instead of individual portraits:


Another interesting difference is that on battle screens, the hero is visible, much like in Heroes of Might and Magic II ad subsequent games in the series, while only the hero's tent is visible in the final version of the game:


Also notice there's a button to fire the catapult, which is done manually during castle sieges, and there's a corresponding "siege skill" in the hero's characteristics.

If you give it a try, note that you can actually save the game and then replace your save with the original one (for some reason or other newly saved games end up in the demo's root directory, not in the GAMES folder). This way you can experiment with the demo and be able to return to your saved position in case of crashes, rather than start everything from the beginning each time.

[MrFlibble]

Awooo has uploaded The Elder Scrolls Daggerfall - Interactive Preview CD-ROM:

Okay, Here's the Daggerfall Preview CD.

Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?88or6o8ubx5o8o5

I never knew about the Demo which came with the Collectors Edition, He mentions that it randomly generates both Male and Female characters which isn't found in any of the other available demo's as far as I know, apart from the demo on the European Version of the April 1996 PC-GAMER which starts you off with a Female character to begin with.

EDIT:

Just found some info on the missing 0.1 Demo which was featured on the 'European PC Gamer CD', apparently it was also found on 'PC Power'.

Source: https://groups.google.com/group/comp.sy ... aad8008837

Additionally, The 'Betony' Demo was also available on 'PC Games'.

Source: https://groups.google.com/group/alt.gam ... 0a9a696f86

As for the HOMM1 pre-release demo, Hallfiry has found some information to indicate that the demo map comes from Summer CES 1994:

http://cd.textfiles.com/ie/ie04/ARTICLES/NWC/ implies that the map from our demo isn't from Winter CES 1995, but Summer CES 1994!

[MrFlibble]

Shareware CD editions of Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Quake and Starcraft can be found at the Shareware CD Archive:
Duke Nukem 3D Shareware Episode v1.1 (1996)
Blood Shareware (Monolith Productions) (1997)
Quake Shareware CD (1996)
StarCraft Shareware (1998)

The CD edition of Blood shareware features extra content that includes video sequences and CD Audio soundtrack. You can also get the CD shareware at RTCM, a website dedicated to Build engine games.

Starcraft shareware CD contains the full five-mission Loomings campaign (also released as an add-on for the full game as Precursor Campaign), not the shorter three-level version from the downloadable demo. There's also the intro from the full version, more music tracks, full unit speech (the downloadable version only has a limited number of unit quotes for each unit), and video previews of other Blizzard games.