[MrFlibble]

Corvin, on 30 April 2016 - 10:04 AM, said:

@MrFlibble, the other shareware of PS has the bbs files in it, I think I put them there, they maybe a comment and batch files, I forget. So the beta file on my site and the one your linking for me are identical. Thanks tho.

The file you have (pwrslavebeta.zip) has an archive comment from the German LEO archive:

Apart from the comment, the files are indeed identical. Also pwrslave.zip is presumably the correct, authentic file name of the archive.

Corvin, on 30 April 2016 - 10:04 AM, said:

I'll have to check out the other PS demos tho, not sure I have those.

You already have all the rest, including the magazine CD four-level one

[Corvin]

Alright. I'll swap that file out as soon as I can. Thanks.

[MetHy]

It says that the first Powerslave demo I posted (the beta one) has 2 levels but I can't seem to end the first level. After getting the 2nd key I just can't find the door... How do you access the 2nd map?

[MrFlibble]

I have updated the first post in this thread with a list of known demo/shareware versions of Build games. Using Hallfiry's catalogue I checked the various versions of TekWar and Witchaven.

For TekWar, there's an apparently CD-exclusive demo which comes with the entire intro sequence. The date stamp on TEKD1.EXE is from 1995-08-07 (making it the earliest known demo version), and its size is 701,065 bytes, compared to 491,153-491,677 bytes for the later two versions. The CITY.MAP level is also different from the other versions. This demo was published in a CD called Electronic Entertainment (US) 12/95 (folder contents). I think its image can be downloaded off archive.org.

For Witchaven, the catalogue shows a zipped version of the earliest v0.1 demo from July 18, 1995. I have found this file at cd.textfiles.com: WHAVEN.ZIP. This version contains an external FILE_ID.DIZ and a BBS archive comment, but removing those results in a file that is 6,670,493 bytes in size - just like the file in the catalogue, suggesting that this is an authentic archive.

Also I've realised that MetHy's earlier finding suggests that the July 31 demo version of Witchaven might have been distributed as an archive as well, and not just as a patch. The patch contains a version of the setup programme dated July 29, 1997, whereas the archive found by MetHy includes a different version of the setup executable dated July 31.

For the record, I replied to MetHy's question here.

[MetHy]

In the OP, I don't think you've included the Duke3D demo I mentionned earlier ITT (there is a link to another thread where I uploaded it); which comes from PC Collector special issue #02.

It's kind of a special demo anyway, it's basically the shareware version cut down to 3 levels. Like stated earlier ITT if you reach level 4 it says Toxic Dump on the loading screen, plays the Toxic Dump music, but you're back to Hollywood Holocaust.
So it's like... a cheap hack demo of the shareware? Pretty sure it says "shareware version" when you launch it, too, but I could be remembering it wrong. Probably the only difference with the official shareware release is that they replaced map 4 and 5 by map 1 and 2 again.

I have no idea if this was distributed anywhere other than that French magazine though.

Also, since Duke It Out in DC had one, now I wonder if other add-ons had demos too.

[oasiz]

I remember trying that cut down shareware, you could still trigger the other levels if you launched it from command prompt I recall.
You just had to use really stupid level numbers or something.
Levels are there but from what I remember but just locked out.

Tekwar demo is the same, sort of a weird beta fork since they pimped up the subway area to be a bit more detailed than the final.
Similar to what you see in Sonny Hokouri's map with the slow moving train and one platform.

Could be that they just re-did the whole thing once they had the actual train effect coded in.
Beta has more changes to the final than duke 0.99 did to duke, should compare it more some day.
Setup program was broken but I recall the music being unique to this version and it resembled the adlib version of stage2 in final but with proper MIDI.
Final game has different stage2 music depending on which audio you have.

[MrFlibble]

MetHy, on 01 May 2016 - 11:17 AM, said:

In the OP, I don't think you've included the Duke3D demo I mentionned earlier ITT (there is a link to another thread where I uploaded it); which comes from PC Collector special issue #02.

It's kind of a special demo anyway, it's basically the shareware version cut down to 3 levels. Like stated earlier ITT if you reach level 4 it says Toxic Dump on the loading screen, plays the Toxic Dump music, but you're back to Hollywood Holocaust.
So it's like... a cheap hack demo of the shareware? Pretty sure it says "shareware version" when you launch it, too, but I could be remembering it wrong. Probably the only difference with the official shareware release is that they replaced map 4 and 5 by map 1 and 2 again.

I have no idea if this was distributed anywhere other than that French magazine though.

I remember that demo. In fact, browsing some coverdisk or other I discovered via Hallfiry's catalogue I found another one of the same kind, but that was based on shareware v1.0, and hacked to only allow playing the first level. Like with your demo, this was accomplished by editing the level table, so after completing E1L1 it throws you into E1L1 yet again, but with all previously collected items and weapons.

The problem is, both are evidently unofficial hacks, and quite pointless ones to that. Conversely, the CGW demo was official (although likely a result of misunderstanding), with a unique executable. BTW, you can get a zipped version of that demo (dukecgw.zip) off this CD (although IIRC the readme says that it's not allowed to distribute this version).

Quote

Also, since Duke It Out in DC had one, now I wonder if other add-ons had demos too.

Good catch, I just added links to the demo/teasers of Cryptic Passage and Wanton Destruction to the first post.

oasiz, on 01 May 2016 - 11:50 AM, said:

Tekwar demo is the same, sort of a weird beta fork since they pimped up the subway area to be a bit more detailed than the final.
Similar to what you see in Sonny Hokouri's map with the slow moving train and one platform.

Could be that they just re-did the whole thing once they had the actual train effect coded in.
Beta has more changes to the final than duke 0.99 did to duke, should compare it more some day.
Setup program was broken but I recall the music being unique to this version and it resembled the adlib version of stage2 in final but with proper MIDI.
Final game has different stage2 music depending on which audio you have.

Interesting! I've never played the full version of TekWar so it's hard to tell the differences for me. It's pretty cool that the demo has such major changes.

[MrFlibble]

MrFlibble, on 01 May 2016 - 09:03 AM, said:

For Witchaven, the catalogue shows a zipped version of the earliest v0.1 demo from July 18, 1995. I have found this file at cd.textfiles.com: WHAVEN.ZIP. This version contains an external FILE_ID.DIZ and a BBS archive comment, but removing those results in a file that is 6,670,493 bytes in size - just like the file in the catalogue, suggesting that this is an authentic archive.

I've just found a clean version of the same archive at cd.textfiles.com: whaven.zip

Corvin, I've noticed that you mention in the WHAVENDiffDemo readme that the July 18 version might be leaked. I have compared both ZIP files using PKZIP's view file information function (-v and -vt), and both the July 18 and July 21 versions have the same compression rate, and the files were archived in the same order, which is non-trivial (see attached PKZIP logs). I think this is a strong indication that both files come from the same source. I guess that the July 18 version had some flaw the developers quickly released an updated version, which got more widespread. I wonder why they removed the WHREF.TXT file from the updated archive.

I would suggest adding the whole July 18 archive to the database, storage space considerations permitting. It's always nice to have authentic archives if possible.

As for the July 31 demo MetHy found, I noticed another difference. Both 0.1 demo distributions (July 18 and 21) include a file called HMISET.CFG dated 1995-07-14 with the size of 233 bytes. The version where both WH.EXE and SETUP.EXE are dated 1995-07-31 includes HMISET.CFG which is 213 bytes in size and has the date from 1995-06-30 (examples; notice that HMISET.CFG in the TekWar demo has the same size, but a different date stamp). This seems to suggest that the July 31 demo could have been distributed electronically as well.

Anyway, I've just realised that there are actually two demo patches for Witchaven, one from July 29 (witchfix.zip) and the other from July 31 (wtchfix2.zip). Here's a clean version of the first patch: witchfix.zip. It' doesn't seem likely that the July 29 version was distributed as a whole archive.

The RUNSETUP.BAT and RUNWHAV.BAT found here seem to be third-party additions of no value. The same CD also adds similar BAT files to the Apache demo. I suggest removing them altogether from your collection.

To sum up, it appears that official online distributions of the Witchaven demo include two whole ZIP archives (July 18 and 21) and two patches (July 29 and 31).

As for TekWar, one obvious difference between the downloadable (1995-08-15) and the CD (1995-08-25) versions is that the downloadable one has static images of the title, logo and the mission briefing, while the CD version plays Smacker videos instead. Thus the distributions of the CD version without the Smacker videos are simply incomplete, as starting the game will throw the player straight into the game without an briefing or intro.

Attached File(s)

•  WH950718.TXT (3.25K)
  Number of downloads: 2
•  WH950721.TXT (3.18K)
  Number of downloads: 1

[Corvin]

Thanks for your time MrFlibble. I was going to mention the patches today...

The HMISET.CFG file is set when someone ran the game so it has little value as its just a config file.

But I'll look into getting the rest of the files, thanks.


Edit: So it looks like I can remove the WHAVENDiffDemoFiles archive all together then, There seems to be no purpose for it?

[Daedolon]

Might want to look into this for those Blood files.

[MrFlibble]

Corvin, on 03 May 2016 - 05:17 AM, said:

The HMISET.CFG file is set when someone ran the game so it has little value as its just a config file.

Technically yes, but since a version of it was included with the original distribution(s) we can distinguish between an "authentic" and a modified version of this file (same with SETUP.DAT). For example, the archive MetHy provided has a modified version, while the 1995-06-30 version seems to be the right one (especially since its date is older than that of the earliest demo release). Additionally, the downloadable demo of TekWar also contains a HMISET.CFG of the same size, which may or may not suggest the same sound configuration on the developers' machine where they compiled the demo.

It's a trivial matter, but the fact that the same file is present across as many as five different instances of this July 31 version, it seems reasonable to suppose that this file came from the same origin (and is, presumably, official).

Corvin, on 03 May 2016 - 05:17 AM, said:

Edit: So it looks like I can remove the WHAVENDiffDemoFiles archive all together then, There seems to be no purpose for it?

Pretty much, yes.

Daedolon, on 03 May 2016 - 06:14 AM, said:

Might want to look into this for those Blood files.

That's indeed worth investigating! Archive.org seems to have a couple of TEN CDs:
https://archive.org/details/tencd
https://archive.org/...tainmentNetwork

[Edit] I briefly checked the first link. The CD is from Febraury 1997 - too early for any Blood release. It includes the shareware versions of Duke Nukem 3D v1.3D (haven't checked if there are any differences from the regular version UPD: nope, no differences except some non-essential extra files) and Quake v1.06 plus Panzer General Online. The rest are TEN patches for C&C, Red Alert, Deadlock, Master of Orion and Darksun. Also there's DirectX3.

[Edit 2] The second CD is even earlier - from January 1997. It includes the same Duke3D and Quake shareware, plus the demo of Deadlock (the same as its regular downloadable demo) and Warcraft multiplayer beta 7 (also known), plus an earlier DirectX, and some of the patch stuff found on the February CD as well.

[Daedolon]

Those are the same CD, neither of which have the Blood files inside them.

EDIT: Well that sounded pretty convoluted... Anyway, I guess we should call out to FPS lovers from the US for this, someone's bound to have one or two of them as coasters.

[MrFlibble]

It also seems reasonable to check MPlayer distributions - they have separate data files for each demo/shareware game, making it a bit easier than with TEN. So far I've only found stuff with Terminal Velocity and their Warcraft MP version though.

[Edit] It seems that Blood might not have been supported by MPlayer though.

[Daedolon]

MPlayer would not have the TEN specific versions like blood10.exe.

[Daedolon]

Are you looking for FATE.EXE (21-Nov-1996 12:09, 7 659 315)?

[MrFlibble]

Daedolon, on 03 May 2016 - 09:37 AM, said:

Are you looking for FATE.EXE (21-Nov-1996 12:09, 7 659 315)?

This file being found on PC Collector CD alongside many other PKZIP SFX archives of demo versions which are known to have been originally distributed as plain ZIPs (like the SkyNet demo) makes me suspect this is just a repack for the users' convenience by the authors of the CD.

[Daedolon]

Makes me wonder where exactly Fate was originally even distributed, and how.

[MrFlibble]

I think there's no reason to doubt the authenticity of fate.zip, considering it was found at places like the 3D Action Gamers' Archive (known to upload unaltered distributions), or this CD which is verified to have authentic ZIP archives. In fact, the game's page at 3D Action Gamers' suggests that the file was downloaded from http://www.intracorp.com/html/fate.html, which, a bit surprisingly, is well preserved by the Wayback Machine. The zip file was hosted there as well but not preserved by the WM.

[Corvin]

Thanks guys for the directions pointing to files. I thought my investigation into these files was long since done. But MrFlibble keeps impressing me with his research skills.

The Fate zip I got I believe it came from 3d action gamers or something of the like, it was sitting there for a year before I knew about it and downloaded it. It was the only known download remaining at the time.




EDIT: Before I retired the WHAVENDiffDemoFiles archive for deletion I realized that the SETUP.EXE 7-31-1995 was the only file that was different with CRC check and was not included in the official whfix2 archive, so i kept it. I'll post it as a separate archive when I able too.

Scratch that, wrong information.

[MrFlibble]

It appears that TekWar had a pre-release downloadable screenshot pack called TEKSHOTS.ZIP. Anyone have it?

[MrFlibble]

It was mentioned at the RTCM website that a CD-exclusive demo of Witchaven II was published on the coverdisk that shipped with the August 1996 issue of PC Gamer UK. Apparently this CD is now featured at archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/WH2DEMO

[Edit] According to the CD cover scan, it also contains a demo of SideLine.

[sirlemonhead]

MrFlibble, on 02 July 2017 - 06:56 AM, said:

It was mentioned at the RTCM website that a CD-exclusive demo of Witchaven II was published on the coverdisk that shipped with the August 1996 issue of PC Gamer UK. Apparently this CD is now featured at archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/WH2DEMO

[Edit] According to the CD cover scan, it also contains a demo of SideLine.

Cool! I have that magazine and disc somewhere in the attic!

[MrFlibble]

If it doesn't explicitly state it cannot be distributed, perhaps this demo should be uploaded somewhere separately, if only for historical purposes.

[TerminX]

MrFlibble, on 03 July 2017 - 11:50 AM, said:

If it doesn't explicitly state it cannot be distributed, perhaps this demo should be uploaded somewhere separately, if only for historical purposes.

Even if it did say that, I'd still be in favor of preserving it anyway.

[MrFlibble]

I totally agree with that. In fact, some legally distributable demo versions from the 90s have some form of "do not distribute" warning in them, which is usually a leftover from the full version (e.g. Eradicator demo v1.1). I'm just being (overly) cautious here

[MrFlibble]

I just noticed that the Witchaven 2 demo has been added to the Internet Archive's Classic PC Games collection:
https://archive.org/.../wh2demo_201806

[Sanek]

You can add the Nuclear Winter demo in the list.

NW Demo

The launcher says:

"Thank you for downloading the Nuclear Winter free preview. This package contains 1 single player, 1 Santa Match, and 3 of the new monsters. The full version includes all of this, 6 more levels, and 3 more monsters."

There's also a README file:

Spoiler

NUCLEAR WINTER
add-on for Duke Nukem 3D ™


:: INTRODUCTION ::

Thank you for downloading the free preivew of Nuclear Winter for Duke Nukem
3D. This file will help you through installation process of the Nuclear
Winter add-on pack and get you up and gaming.

:: MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS ::

- Registered and installed version of Duke Nukem 3D Plutonium or Atomic
Editions (Versions 1.4 or 1.5).
- Pentium ™ 75MHz or compatible.
- 8MB RAM, 16MB if running under Windows® 95
- DOS 5.0 or later, Windows 3.1, or Windows 95
- VGA local bus video
- 2X CD-ROM drive.
- Sound Blaster ™ or 100% compatible
- 13MB free hard disk space. (Full version requires 15 meg)

:: INSTALLATION ::

DOS Installation:

The Install will set up the files necessary to run Nuclear Winter.

1: Unzip the NWDEMO.ZIP in to a temporary directory. Make sure you use
the -D options to include subdirectories.

2: Change in to that above directory and type INSTALL and press Enter.

3: The installation program will now look for your copy of Duke Nukem 3D
Plutonium or Atomic edition.

4: Type Y to install Nuclear Winter to the directory shown. Type N to
search for another copy of Duke Nukem Plutonium Pak or Atomic edition.

After the installation process has completed, you can begin playing Nuclear
Winter. From DOS go to the directory where Nuclear Winter is installed
(Default directory is C:/Duke3d). Type NWINTER and hit the Enter key to
launch the Nuclear Winter Interface. Select Single Player or Santamatch
(multiplayer) to begin playing. See How to Start a Single Player Game or
Multiplayer Gaming for more information.

Windows 95 Installation:

1: Unzip the NWDEMO.ZIP in to a temporary directory. Make sure you use
the -D options to include subdirectories.

2: Select My Computer. Find the temporary directory
above and select the SETUP program.

3: Nuclear Winter's setup will ask you for the location of your copy
of Duke Nukem Plutonium Pak or Atomic Edition.


The setup will install the necessary files to run Nuclear Winter. After the
installation process has completed, you can begin playing Nuclear Winter.
Select Start, Programs, Nuclear Winter and then Nuclear Winter to launch the
interface. Select Single Player or Santamatch (multiplayer) to begin playing.
See How to Start a Single Player Game or Multiplayer Gaming for more
information.

:: THE STORY ::

The aliens have returned to spoil the holiday season for all of the little
boys and girls. After successfully brainwashing Santa and turning him into
their evil minion, the aliens are threatening to take over the world.
Realizing that they need assistance, the aliens team up with
FEM (Female Elven Militia).

A telegram alerts Duke Nukem to the horrible plan. Without any hesitation,
Duke springs into action.


:: THE LEVELS ::

Deja vu - A familiar winterized version of the original, only backwards!

(the follow levels are included with the full version)

Where it All Began - Los Angeles with snow? What are the aliens up to?
Land of Forgotten Toys - Welcome to the frozen tundra, Duke.
Santa's Corporate HQ - Check Santa's list to see if you've been naughty or nice.
The Backdoor - There's always a way in, but sometimes you have to get a little bit wet.
Christmas Village - The villagers here don't appear to be very friendly.
Here Comes Santa Clause - And he's packing some holiday punch.

:: NEW ENEMIES ::

Nuclear Winter offers six new enemies to tangle with.


The Snowman - They taunt, they tease, and they throw snowballs as they please.
They're nothing a few pistol rounds can't handle from a
distance.

Flying Frosties - The cold cousins of the Assault Commander. These sinister
snow demons attack with a frozen bite.

Frosted Battle Mobiles - What happens when you mix a nasty frosty with an
armored snowmobile? You get one pissed off pile
of snow.


The following monsters are included with the full version)

Grunt - Evil elves that pack a lot of heat. These members of FEM (Female
Elven Militia) want to show Duke where he can stuff his stocking.

Groans - Often found proceeding a bunch of grunts, these FEM's brandish a
shotguns. Keep your distance and shoot and scoot to stay alive.


Evil Santa - He's fast, he's mean and he packs a punch. Carrying everything
from a Ripper to Rockets, this is one jolly old elf that needs
a beating.

Of course, all of your old favorite enemies are back decked out in holiday
attire.


:: LEGAL AGREEMENT ::

1. Ownership And License. This is a license agreement and NOT an
agreement for sale. The software contained in this package (the
"Software") supplied for evaluation purposes only and is the property of
the Company and/or its Licensors. Your rights to use the Software are
specified in this Agreement, and the Company and/or its Licensors retain
all rights not expressly granted to you in this Agreement.

2. Permitted Uses. You are granted the following rights to the Software:
(a) Right to Install and Use. You may install and use the Software
on a single computer for evaluation purposes only. If you wish
to use the Software on more than one computer, please contact
the Company for information concerning an upgraded license
allowing use of the Software with additional computers.

( Right to Copy. You may make and maintain one copy of the
Software for backup and archival purposes, provided that the
original and each copy of the Software are kept in your
possession.

3. Prohibited Uses. The following uses of the Software are prohibited.
If you wish to use the Software in a manner prohibited below, please
contact the Company at the address listed below for information
regarding a "Special Use License". Otherwise, you may NOT:
(a) Make or distribute copies of the Software or documentation, or
any portion thereof, except as expressly provided in this
Agreement.
( Use any backup or archival copy of the Software (or allow
someone else to use such copy) for any purpose other than to
replace the original copy in the event it is destroyed or
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© Alter, decompile, or disassemble the Software, create derivative
works based upon the Software, or make any attempt to bypass,
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(d) Rent, lease, sub-license, time-share, or transfer the Software
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Software or documentation;
(f) Upload or transmit the Software, or any portion thereof, to any
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(g) Include the Software or any portion of the Software or
documentation in any commercial products intended for
manufacture, distribution, or sale; or
(h) Include the Software in any product containing immoral,
scandalous, controversial, derogatory, obscene, or offensive
works.

4. Termination. This license is effective upon the first use,
installation, loading or copying of the Software. You may terminate this
Agreement at any time by destruction and disposal of the Software and all
related documentation. This license will terminate automatically without
notice from the Company if you fail to comply with any provisions of this
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to warranties, limitation of liability, remedies or damages shall survive
termination.

5. Copyright Notice. The Company and/or our Licensors hold valid
copyright in the Software. Nothing in this Agreement constitutes a
waiver of any rights under U.S. Copyright law or any other federal or
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6. Miscellaneous. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the
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or any portion, of this Agreement is found to be unlawful, void, or for
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THE COMPANY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING AND
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ANY REPRESENTATION REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE
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IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COMPANY OR ITS EMPLOYEES OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR
ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF
OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE LICENSE GRANTED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT INCLUDING
AND WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATE, LOSS OF INCOME OR
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COMPANY OR AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED
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COMPANY FOR DAMAGES WITH RESPECT TO THE SOFTWARE EXCEED THE AMOUNTS
ACTUALLY PAID BY YOU, IF ANY, FOR THE SOFTWARE.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR
LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO
THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT ALWAYS APPLY.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT, UNDERSTAND IT AND AGREE
TO BE BOUND BY ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOU ALSO AGREE THAT THIS
AGREEMENT IS THE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN
YOU AND THE COMPANY AND SUPERCEDES ALL PROPOSALS OR PRIOR ENDORSEMENTS,
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THIS AGREEMENT.


The WizardWorks Group, Inc.
A GT Interactive Software Company
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And for some reason, NWINTER folder include SWTC.exe, which says "Shadow Warrior TC utility version 1.00". What it's doing here?!
On the positive side, I like that readme have a small descriptions of a new monsters that you'll meet in the full version.

Now, the preview itself is just the very first level, Deja Vu (aka E1L2 in reverse). There's no noticeable changes in the level itself, except this thing:

 NWDEMO.png (8.36K)
Number of downloads: 8

Instead of ending you'll get in the full version, you get this ugly looking sector with a sign in front of you:

 duke0089.png (99.79K)
Number of downloads: 18  duke0090.png (230.76K)
Number of downloads: 12

And get a load of this, you can't even escape the level itself! There's no nuke button, no end game sector, just this stupid thing.
I'm sorry to say that, but as much as I respect Sillysoft for trying, I'll never buy the full version on account of this demo!

[FistMarine]

I remember playing the NW demo a while back and yeah, I definitely remember that the ending of first level was replaced with this room that contains this sign and map can't even be exited. Also actually like the text file says, there is also the Santa Match level included in demo as well (replacing E2L8 in map files). Oh and here is an alternate link to download the demo version of NW, as well as the demo version of Duke Zone 2 which could be added to first post as well:
http://hendricks266....tuff/nw_demo.7z
http://hendricks266....ff/d!z2_demo.7z

BTW there is something I don't understand about the demo versions of Redneck Rampage. While I'm not a fan of the game, I know the game has two demo versions known as Early Years and Possum Bayou. The first post includes download only to the alpha 0.7 version of the game which is the only demo version I could find online. But I was never able to find either of the 2 actual demo versions of the game. Is the game really that obscure that you can't find the demo versions at all or they were sold in stores along with the full version? If the latter, then the creators must have been greedy bastards that wanted every bit of money from all versions of the game. Well I know that the demo/shareware versions of Doom, Duke3D, etc were also sold in stores but I just found weird how you can't find the demo versions of RR online at all.

[Sanek]

RunningDuke, on 21 August 2018 - 10:27 AM, said:

BTW there is something I don't understand about the demo versions of Redneck Rampage. While I'm not a fan of the game, I know the game has two demo versions known as Early Years and Possum Bayou. The first post includes download only to the alpha 0.7 version of the game which is the only demo version I could find online. But I was never able to find either of the 2 actual demo versions of the game. Is the game really that obscure that you can't find the demo versions at all or they were sold in stores along with the full version? If the latter, then the creators must have been greedy bastards that wanted every bit of money from all versions of the game. Well I know that the demo/shareware versions of Doom, Duke3D, etc were also sold in stores but I just found weird how you can't find the demo versions of RR online at all.

Both Early Years and Possum Bayou was sold in stores, after the original game was released. Funny thing is that Early Years, unlike any other versions of the game, was distributed by Softkey Multimedia (not Interplay), while Possum Bayou comes from Interplay.

Chopping games in seperate parts was (thankfully) a short-lived practice by a number of retail shareware distributors in the mid-to-late 90s. You buy only one part of the game for a lower price than full version. Epic MegaGames and B&N Company was especially notorious in that regard - for example, they released all episodes of Xargon and Jill of the Jungle seperately, in addition to the full versions!

[FistMarine]

Sanek, on 21 August 2018 - 02:16 PM, said:

Both Early Years and Possum Bayou was sold in stores, after the original game was released. Funny thing is that Early Years, unlike any other versions of the game, was distributed by Softkey Multimedia (not Interplay), while Possum Bayou comes from Interplay.

Chopping games in seperate parts was (thankfully) a short-lived practice by a number of retail shareware distributors in the mid-to-late 90s. You buy only one part of the game for a lower price than full version. Epic MegaGames and B&N Company was especially notorious in that regard - for example, they released all episodes of Xargon and Jill of the Jungle seperately, in addition to the full versions!

Ah, I see. I actually had a recent discussion about the shareware system in the Shadow Warrior corner topic but yeah, it's interesting how things have changed over the years.

EDIT: On topic: The first post should also include earlier alpha/beta versions such as LameDuke, Duke3D 0.99 beta, SW 0.90 beta, Blood alpha and Blood 0.91 shareware.