Game wishlist

[Dracula on a bike]

Does anyone remember this RPG: Incunabula: The Unspoken Secrets [Added to the site]

I was clearing out the contents of an old hard drive and found a copy of the shareware episode. I could send it if this site would host it (it's legally redistributable; the README.TXT says "This version may be distributed freely in an unchanged format.")

Incidentally, it doesn't appear to be available anywhere on the Internet currently.

[DOSGuy]

Interesting. That website describes it as a Final Fantasy-style RPG, while Wikipedia and MobyGames list a game called Incunabula as a CGA strategy game from 1984. I'm thinking there were two games with the same unlikely name.

I'm intrigued. I love having anything on the site that's rare. Please send it to over.

[Dracula on a bike]

I sent it in an email to the "requests" email address. And, yes, this is a different game; it's from 1997.

[MrFlibble]

I wonder if you would consider adding the following games to the site:

Powerslave (a.k.a. Exhumed) (DOS)
An Egyptian-themed Doom lookalike that uses an earlier version of the renowned Build engine. The game was re-titled Exhumed for the European release.
Powerslave Demo: The demo contains a tutorial, the first four levels from the full game, and one multiplayer map. The archive and its filename seem to be unmodified. Contains an installer.
Exhumed Demo: The European demo that contains the tutorial and the first level of the full game (maps of levels 2 and 3 are also found in the game files, but the game quits after level 1). Again, the archive itself and its name seem to be unmodified.
Powerslave Public Beta: This is an officially released two-level beta preview of the game. It has a different title screen, quite a few different sprites, background MIDI music, and a few bugs. Unfortunately, the archive's name had been changed, and the archive has an added comment indicating the FTP that hosted it.

There are a few other games that use the Build engine which are not (yet) on the site, maybe you'd find them of interest too. Here's a list of them (with downloadable demos).

Eradicator (DOS)
A very nice, although seemingly not widely known sci-fi/futuristic 2.5D shooter with a graphics engine comparable to Duke Nukem 3D or Shadow Warrior (sloped floors, mouselook, security cameras etc.). The demo contains three levels and two out of three playable characters. There are two versions of the demo known to me, this one seemingly more recent that this. Other demo versions may exist too.

In Pursuit of Greed (DOS) [Added to the site]
Yet another not well-known futuristic FPS that looks like something in between Rise of the Triad and Doom and has five weird characters, each with unique weapons and abilities, and a ton of powerups among other things. The demo is hard to find, one is located at DOS Museum, while a different one can be found on a Russian gaming site (not sure if the download there is going to work though).

Marathon 2: Durandal (Win9x)
This game has been released as freeware by the developers, if I'm not mistaken. There's also a three-level demo. The engine is comparable (and, in some aspects, superior) to that of Doom, but the style of design and game play is very different. AFAIK, it's the only game of the series that was released for the Windows platform.

ZPC (Zero Population Count) (Win9x)
A very unusual game created by a British underground artist Aidan Hughes using the Marathon 2 engine. The game explores a dystopian theme and is designed in the style of 20th century propaganda posters. One demo is found on C|NET, and a seemingly different one at DOS Museum.

Command & Conquer (DOS) [Added to the site]
Quite recently, Nyerguds, a C&C enthusiast, has found a different demo of the DOS version of Command & Conquer. This demo was distributed on CDs and has three Nod missions in addition to the three GDI missions from the regular downloadable demo, plus more videos and music tracks. It is also based on a more recent version of the game. Read more here.

Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars (Win9x)
Heroes of Might and Magic II Demo: The demo contains one "Standard Game" map and allows to play as any of the Hero classes without any limitations. I don't know if a demo of the DOS version is available.

The Settlers and The Settlers II (DOS)
These seem like worthy additions to the site. The demo of the second game, as well as its Gold edition (with a different level) can be found at the official FTP:
ftp://ftp.bluebyte.com/demos/eng/

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans [Added to the site] and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (DOS) [Added to the site]
Those two are definitely classics, especially the second one, which has two unique mini-campaigns, one for each side, and a built-in preview slideshow.

Warlords and Warlords II (DOS)
Warlords Demo: Allows to play as the Elvallie for 40 turns. The archive appears to be unmodified.
Warlords II Deluxe Edition Demo: The demo has one tutorial and one standard game map (Illuria), which can be played for 40 turns as any side, with modifiable difficulty levels and other map settings. The archive appears to be unmodified.

Also worth mentioning is the Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome demo, which contains a unique (not included in the retail version) three-mission campaign about the First Punic War.

Ohh, and I've almost forgot about NightHawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter 2.0 from MicroProse, a 256-colour remake of my old time favourite, F-19 Stealth Fighter. I've found a demo of F-117A at DOS Museum; dunno if the demos for either F-19 or F-15 Strike Eagle II (which uses the same, or slightly modified, engine) exist, but if they do, that would be a nice find as well

[MrFlibble]

Chasm: The Rift could be a candidate too, for the 3D Shooters section, developed by Action Forms Ltd., released in October 1997 by GT Interactive (Atari).

There are 3 demos I know of:
- The September 1996 test demo with 3 weapons and 3 monsters
- The Mid-97 single player/dm demo with 5 weapons and 3 levels
- The early-98 deathmatch-only demo with all weapons, and its data unpacked (officially, as file dates tend to go back to even 1994)

I have been able to locate two of the three demos of the game, the one from '98 is at dosgames.com (it has one Egyptian episode level playable in single-player mode and as a multi-player map as well), and Theodor Lauppert's Game Gallery hosts the three-level demo from '97.

[MrFlibble]

I just noticed that the site does not feature a definite classic shareware 3D shooter, The Catacomb Abyss. Although it's not the first game of the genre, but one of the very first. The EGA graphics are quite nice, and there's a variety of monsters and locations, as well as some unique features like destructible pickups (watch where you fire those fireballs!) and an artifact that stops time for a while, allowing the player to safely navigate a level or set traps for the enemies (e.g. surround a monster with fireballs floating in the air until the time stop effect wears off, at which point those fireballs will simultaneously fly into it).

I've also found a demo of a strategy game called War Diary:
War Diary Demo
There's also a split download as well:
War Diary Demo Part 1
War Diary Demo Part 2
War Diary Demo Part 3
The demo features the first two levels of the full version, and if you never played this game before, I suggest you check it out. The graphics may look outdated for 1996, but it has some interesting features like day/night cycle, weather effects (rain and lightning), the ability to trade resources, weapons that wear down and break (and thus units have to be re-equipped) among other things. It also explores a historical theme, rather than a medieval fantasy one, although some fantasy elements like the ability to summon spectres is present as well.

BTW, I've also checked the demo of Chasm from 1998. It turns out it has two levels, not one: one Egyptian level from the single-player mode, with monsters but also usable for multiplayer, and one DM-only level without monsters, in a futuristic setting from the last episode of the game.

[MrFlibble]

A few more suggestions, if you please

Master of Magic (DOS)
This is one of the influential precursors to the Heroes of Might and Magic series, and it seems to have inspired many other medieval/fantasy TBS games as well.
Master of Magic Demo

Ultima Underworld: the Stygian Abyss (DOS)
The 3D RPG set in the Ultima universe reportedly inspired John Carmack to write the engine for Wolfenstein 3-D. Indeed, the engine of Ultima Underworld is pretty much comparable to that of Doom or Duke Nukem 3D, with textured floors and ceilings, dynamic lighting, sloped floors and wall height differences.
Ultima Underworld Demo

Fury³ (Win3x/Win9x) [Added to the site]
A game very similar to Terminal Velocity, and created by the same team. The demo features one level in an Egyptian-themed setting.
Fury³ Trial Version

Hellbender (Win9x)
A sequel to Fury³ with some improvements and gameplay tweaks.
Hellbender Trial Version

[MrFlibble]

Recently I've stumbled upon yet another beta demo of Powerslave, presumably released somewhere between the first public beta and the demo builds that are identical to the final release of the game. This demo (it's called "freeware" in the readme) still has the beta title screen, and a rolling introductory text not found in the other versions of the game. The two demo levels are practically identical to the first two levels of the full game, albeit there are minor differences. Some graphics and sounds are different as well.
Powerslave Freeware Part 1
Powerslave Freeware Part 2
Powerslave Freeware Part 3

[leilei]

DOS4GW in that one is dated May 1993 - interesting time to start development on a Build game......

[MrFlibble]

DOS4GW in that one is dated May 1993 - interesting time to start development on a Build game......

Well, I suppose it's just an old version they happened to have during that stage of development BTW, I remember reading somewhere that Powerslave was the very first Build engine game to be released, and in any case, the version of Build it uses, even in the final release, is pretty old. Anyway, more stuff:

The Catacomb Abyss [Both unique versions added to the site]
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode v1.3
The Catacomb Abyss Demo Part 1
The Catacomb Abyss Demo Part 2
The Catacomb Abyss Demo Part 3
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode

Note, however, that it's pretty hard to tell if those are different versions or not, since the version number is, in most cases, not shown explicitly, but in any case there are differences in the sizes of packages.

I also thought, what about including the old patches for shareware titles? Apogee/3D Realms have repackaged their games and patches with a boring generic installer on their site, while the original patch files have unique installer screens. Here's what I've found so far: [All added to the site]
Rise of the Triad v1.0 to v1.1 Shareware Patch
Rise of the Triad v1.1 to v1.2 Shareware Patch
Rise of the Triad v1.2 to v1.2a Shareware Patch
Rise of the Triad v1.2/v1.2a to v1.3 Shareware Patch
Terminal Velocity v1.0 to v1.1 Shareware Patch
Terminal Velocity v1.1 to v1.2 Shareware Patch
Duke Nukem 3D v1.0 to v1.1 Shareware Patch
Duke Nukem 3D v1.1 to v1.3d Shareware Patch

[Litude]

The Catacomb Abyss
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode v1.3 [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Demo Part 1 [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Demo Part 2 [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Demo Part 3 [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode [1.12]

Note, however, that it's pretty hard to tell if those are different versions or not, since the version number is, in most cases, not shown explicitly, but in any case there are differences in the sizes of packages.

I know of two versions of The Catacomb Abyss, 1.12 and 1.13. Old Softdisk games usually show their game version if you press 1 in the launcher and then scroll a few pages down. I added the versions that each distribution has into the quote above.

[leilei]

BTW, I remember reading somewhere that Powerslave was the very first Build engine game to be released,

That can't be true - the first public tech demo for it was released many months after Tekwar and Witchaven.

Of course, no one is going to 'beat' the unauthorised one from 1994 Legend of the 7 Paladins. Contrary to popular belief, that one did have a retail release. in CHINA!

[Litude]

Of course, no one is going to 'beat' the unauthorised one from 1994 Legend of the 7 Paladins. Contrary to popular belief, that one did have a retail release. in CHINA!

Is there any proof of this other than that one box turning up at some auction site? That is hardly any proof, since pirate releases in China are not exactly a rarity.

[MrFlibble]

The Catacomb Abyss
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode v1.3 [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Demo Part 1 [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Demo Part 2 [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Demo Part 3 [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode [1.13]
The Catacomb Abyss Shareware Episode [1.12]

Note, however, that it's pretty hard to tell if those are different versions or not, since the version number is, in most cases, not shown explicitly, but in any case there are differences in the sizes of packages.

I know of two versions of The Catacomb Abyss, 1.12 and 1.13. Old Softdisk games usually show their game version if you press 1 in the launcher and then scroll a few pages down. I added the versions that each distribution has into the quote above.

Cool, thanks a lot

[MrFlibble]

I've just realized that the Prince of Persia games are absent from RGB Classic Games. Here are the demos:
Prince of Persia Playable Demo [Added to the site]
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame Playable Demo [Added to the site]

It would also be nice if you added Alien Rampage, a pretty impressive platform game with good graphics and game play. [Added to the site]

Speaking of patches, here are the patch files for Raptor: Call of the Shadows (should work with shareware versions too). Notice the file names are different from those on the 3D realms site: [Added to the site, from the 3D Realms site, I think]
Raptor: Call of the Shadows Patch v1.0 to v1.1
Raptor: Call of the Shadows Patch v1.1 to v1.2