Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

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MrFlibble
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Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by MrFlibble »

Like many other publishers of its time, Interplay hosted their downloads on an FTP site, and thus the Wayback Machine did not archive it (either there was no full-fledged HTML mirror, or its preservation was blocked by robots.txt). There doesn't seem to be any mirror made by a third party too.

However, the Wayback Machine has, at least, preserved the demo download page listing all available files and their approximate size (regrettably, not the exact size in bytes, which complicates matters a bit). As Interplay was a large and well-known developer, many files are not hard to find, but there isn't one single place where all may be obtained.

The demo download page, in its iterations from various time periods, displays most files - at least, from the DOS era - as plain ZIP archives. However, some of the distributions had self-extracting PKZIP counterparts, which are a bit less preferable but still original alternatives if the ZIP files are nowhere to be found.

Sources that appear most reliable include FilePlanet and the SimTel, the Coast to Coast Software Repository mirror. Some file are of course found elsewhere, including some archives preserved by the Wayback Machine.

On a side note, Interplay also released some demo versions that were, for whichever reason, are not mentioned on the downloads page (and, presumably, were not available from the FTP). This includes the demo of Battle Chess II (BC2DEM.ZIP), the Blood & Magic demo (bamdemo.zip) and possibly some others.

Here's the list of the playable demo distributions, with links to working downloads if known/available:
  • Alone in the Dark II Demo: A2DEMO.ZIP
  • Alone in the Dark Demo: ALONE.ZIP
  • Apache Havoc Demo: APHAVOC-11.EXE
  • Atomic Bomberman Alpha Demo (Version 2) w/add on sounds: BM95ADEM.ZIP
  • Atomic Bomberman Alpha Demo (Version 2) sound add-on: BM95SND.ZIP
  • Battle Chess 4000 Demo: BC4DEMO.ZIP
  • Battle Chess Demo: BCDEMO.ZIP
  • Blackthorne - 3 Level Playable Demo: BTDEMO.ZIP
  • Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space Demo: BUZZDEMO.ZIP
  • Carmageddon Demo: CARMDEMO.ZIP
  • Carmageddon 2 - Carpocalypse Now!: CARMA2DEMO.EXE
  • Castles Demo: CASTDEMO.ZIP
  • Conquest of the New World Demo: CNWDEMOA.ZIP
  • Conquest of the New World Demo w/Enhanced Sound: CNWDEMOB.ZIP
  • Conquest of the New World Demo w/Enhanced sound and movies: CNWDEMOC.ZIP
  • Descent 1.4 Preview version: DESC14SW.ZIP
  • Descent: FreeSpace - The Great War Playable Demo: FSDEMO10.EXE
  • Descent II 3-Level Interactive Preview: D2DEMO10.ZIP
  • Descent III Interactive Preview version 1.1.1: D3DMO111.EXE
  • See the Descent III Site for important Compatibility information!: DESCENT3DEMO2BETA.EXE
  • Die By The Sword Demo: DBTSDEMO.ZIP
  • Die By The Sword Demo - Voice Pack: DBTSVOICE.ZIP
  • Dungeon Master II Demo: DM2DEMO1.ZIP (dm2demo.1exe)
  • Earth 2140 Demo: EARTH.ZIP
  • Evolution Demo: EVOLDEMO.EXE
  • Fallout Demo: FALLDEMO.ZIP
  • Fragile Allegiance Demo (With Sound): FADEMO2.ZIP
  • Fragile Allegiance Demo (W/O Sound): FADEMO3.ZIP
  • Freespace 2 Interactive Demo: FS2DEMO10.EXE
  • Jet Fighter III beta demo: JF3TEST.EXE
  • Lexi-Cross Demo - The full game is no longer available: LEXIDEMO.EXE (lexidemo.zip)
  • The Lost Vikings Demo: LOSTDEMO.ZIP (lostdemo.exe)
  • Mario Teaches Typing Demo: MARIODEM.EXE (mario.zip)
  • M.A.X.: MAXDEMO1.ZIP
  • M.A.X. 2 Demo: max2demo.exe
  • Revised MDK Demo: MDKDEMO.ZIP
  • Norse By Norsewest - The Return of the Lost Vikings: NRSEDOS.ZIP
  • Norse By Norsewest - The Return of the Lost Vikings: NRSE95D.ZIP
  • Omar Sharif On Bridge Demo: OMARDEMO.ZIP
  • Out Of This World Demo: OOTWDEMO.EXE (ootwdemo.zip)
  • VR Sports Powerboat Racing Playable Demo: PBOAT.ZIP
  • Peter Jacobsen's Golden Tee Golf: GTGDEMO.EXE
  • Pro Pinball Demo: PPINDEMO.ZIP
  • Rags To Riches Demo: RAGSDEMO.EXE (ragsdemo.zip)
  • Redneck Rampage Demo: REDNECKD.ZIP
  • Sand Warriors Interactive Demo: SWDEMO.ZIP
  • StoneKeep Non-Interactive Demo: SKNIDEMO.ZIP
  • Solitaire For Windows Demo: SOLWDEMO.ZIP
  • Star Reach Demo: SR_DEMO.ZIP
  • Shattered Steel: SSDEMO11.ZIP
  • Starfleet Command self extracting demo: SFCWWWDEMO.EXE
  • Starfleet Command zipped Demo: SFCCDDEMO.ZIP
  • Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Demo: TREKDEMO.EXE (trekdemo.zip)
  • Star Trek: Judgment Rites Demo [1 of 2]: RITESDM1.EXE
  • Star Trek: Judgment Rites Demo [2 of 2]: RITESDM2.EXE
  • SWIV Demo for Windows 95 (requires DirectX): SWIVDEMO.ZIP
  • SWIV Demo for Windows 95 with 3DFX video cards (requires DirectX): SWIV3DFX.ZIP
  • Virtual Pool DOS Demo: VRPOOL10.ZIP
  • Virtual Pool Windows 95 Demo: VP95DEMO.ZIP
  • Virtual Snooker Demo: VSNOOKER.ZIP
  • Virtual Tennis Demo: VRTNSID.ZIP
  • Whiplash Demo: WHIPDEMO.ZIP
Cire
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by Cire »

Nice job! :)
Cire
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by Cire »

You might already know this, but Internet Archive has a partial listing of Interplay's FTP: https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://ftp.interplay.com/*
A few of the downloads actually works too.
Hope you find the missing demos! :)
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MrFlibble
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by MrFlibble »

Cire wrote:You might already know this, but Internet Archive has a partial listing of Interplay's FTP: https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://ftp.interplay.com/*
A few of the downloads actually works too.
Hope you find the missing demos! :)
I did check that a while ago (by the analogy with the MPS FTP), but I don't remember any working downloads (or it was something that can be found elsewhere).
Cire
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by Cire »

Yeah, I tried every link there. Some Fallout bibles, one demo (can't exactly remember, Think it might have been Virtual Pool 3?) and a Fallout Tactics patch is all I Think. But yeah, can be that those few can be found somewhere else.
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MrFlibble
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by MrFlibble »

MrFlibble wrote:
  • Revised MDK Demo: MDKDEMO.ZIP
I have reasons to believe that this demo is identical to this one: mdkpcw95.exe (also found here), which appears to be the latest version (v3.0) released by Shiny Entertainment.
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MrFlibble
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by MrFlibble »

I changed the Carmageddon demo link, as the file I linked to previously (carmdemo.zip) appears to be an earlier version distributed by Sales Curve Interactive. It's smaller in size and does not mention Interplay in the supplied readme file.
Cire
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by Cire »

Right thanks for notifying! I've also noticed that the cnet download links doesn't work, at least not for me. Most of them can be found elsewhere fortunatly. Also, I've Googled the filenames and found some working downloads for some of the ones that you have unmarked. Not 100% sure they are the exact files you're looking for, but maybe you would be interested? If we could manage to reconstruct the Interplay FTP as good as possible I should make a new better upload at my IA account than the current one I upped there
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MrFlibble
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by MrFlibble »

Cire wrote: March 24th, 2018, 9:52 pm I've also noticed that the cnet download links doesn't work, at least not for me.
Hmm, the recent Carmageddon one I posted does work but I randomly picked the Die by the Sword demo and it returns a page not found. Weird.
Cire wrote: March 24th, 2018, 9:52 pm Also, I've Googled the filenames and found some working downloads for some of the ones that you have unmarked. Not 100% sure they are the exact files you're looking for, but maybe you would be interested? If we could manage to reconstruct the Interplay FTP as good as possible I should make a new better upload at my IA account than the current one I upped there
Sure, post them or PM me.

I haven't worked on this for a while, so some stuff might need to be updated in the first post. I remember finding a Wayback Machine link to the Descent 3 beta demo, cant' find it ATM though.
Cire
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by Cire »

Yup, a bit weird, also unfortunatly the Carmageddon one is actually the only one that still works iirc.

Here are some of the links I've found:

https://www.dosgamesarchive.com/file/ma ... /maxdemo1/
https://www.fileplanet.com/10977/10000/ ... oat-Racing
http://volftp.tiscali.it/pub/pc/windows ... iv3dfx.zip
https://www.fileplanet.com/11355/10000/ ... al-Pool-95
https://www.fileplanet.com/11358/10000/ ... ual-Tennis

Non-Interactive (movie type) Previews

https://www.fileplanet.com/84639/80000/ ... ve-Preview
https://www.fileplanet.com/11123/10000/ ... Sword-Demo
https://www.fileplanet.com/11360/10000/ ... -2000-Demo

Those links doesn't include any of the broken cnet downloads, which can also almost all be found elsewhere
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MrFlibble
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by MrFlibble »

BTW, it appears that there might have been two different M.A.X. demo versions, because this one does not match the declared size at Interplay's website (15 MiB). However an earlier page mentions a demo that is 10 MiB, much closer to the actual size of the file. Of course this could also be the result of some clerical error but I also think I had been able to find an unpacked demo on a CD via Hallfiry's catalogue which did not match the content of the available zipped demo. Might be that 15 MiB thing but I haven't investigated further yet,
Cire
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by Cire »

Ok, that I was unaware of, sorry
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MrFlibble
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by MrFlibble »

MrFlibble wrote: March 28th, 2018, 6:42 amI also think I had been able to find an unpacked demo on a CD via Hallfiry's catalogue which did not match the content of the available zipped demo. Might be that 15 MiB thing
I run a search in the catalogue again and it turns out that there are at least four different demo versions, with the latest one (v1.03a, 16 January 1997) found on the PC-X coverdisk from issue No. 8 (March 1997).

I zipped it up using PKZIP: maxdemo1.zip

The file is indeed slightly over 15 MiB in size, matching the description on the Interplay page.

One of the two other versions (dated 21 August 1996) is found on the Secret Service CD from November 1996, and possibly on an earlier SCORE CD which is not indexed in the version of the catalogue that I have (seeing how Secret Service tracked SCORE publications). The other is very common, for example you can get it on the Riki Issue 25 coverdisk. It's dated 15 August, the version number is 1.0, and there are some notable differences such as a completely different title and main menu screen. The demo missions are the same and take place on the same snow map.

UPD: Packed an uploaded demo v1.00: maxdemo1(1.0).zip
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MrFlibble
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by MrFlibble »

I just found a possibly good source for investigation of FTP contents:
http://www.bsoftware.com/v2/a8top.htm

It gives exact file sizes in bytes which can be useful (not only for Interplay downloads).
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OleBumma
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Re: Reconstruction of Interplay FTP demo area

Post by OleBumma »

MrFlibble wrote: February 23rd, 2019, 4:32 am I just found a possibly good source for investigation of FTP contents:
http://www.bsoftware.com/v2/a8top.htm

It gives exact file sizes in bytes which can be useful (not only for Interplay downloads).
I've been over at that website before, didn't take notice about the filesize thing. great tip on your side!
Currently looking for Quake 2's early patches. If you can help me, hmu!
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