[oasiz]

Powerslave / Exhumed - PC A mapping tribute

What the hell?

Some might have seen oasiz / methy / daedolon spread around information about PS/EX maps in one of the threads earlier 2016.

What initially started as a curiosity project to quickly see if mapping was possible at all with PS/EX, rather quickly evolved into a documentation effort and later on to a small map pack along with some never before utilized features of the game.

As far as we know, there is only one custom map by LAW done before this one, which was more of a proof of concept.
So for the first time, there is proper mapping documentation for this game and some example maps to go with for any interested modder out there.

Shut up and take me to your leader!

CLICK HERE FOR DOCUMENTATION
DOWNLOAD EPISODE
DOWNLOAD MAP TOOLS
And some youtube videos of the maps, behind a spoiler.

Spoiler

MAP01 (oasiz)
MAP02 (methy)
MAP03 (methy/oasiz/daedolon) https://www.youtube....h?v=BqCW2RHoChc can't embed more than 2 videos.

The project

What was discovered rather quickly is that PS/EX uses the same map format as TekWar (v6) with some minor differences. Which means that the TekWar's build can open the map files natively.
Upon initial inspection the maps look very similar to any build engine type maps, major findings being that the player scale is different and shading had some isses.
Shading turned out to be a rather unique first quirk of the game, instead of typical 32 shades, you have 64 shade steps instead.
This shading issue has been offset when loading the palette, however it only looks correct on shade 0 and any +- shade is visually just a half of what it is ingame.. A small annoyance but nothing too bad.
One other hack that had to be done is that the normal black value for editor background is close to white, this had to be manually stabbed in as basepal and that's why you have an extra 256 byte RMP file for it.

For the first few days we utilized the TekWar build editor that I compiled some time back and JonoF's custom 640x480 version.
Documentation of the game proceeded systematically by grinding tag by tag and effect by effect with trial & error (My approach)
While Methy / Daedolon went through the stock maps and documented everything they found (esp. level specific ones). This resumed for a week/two.

Anyway.. once a toolchain was done to CONV/BACKMAP stuff properly, this was pretty quick..
After around 2-3 weeks in, we had mapster32 support implemented in with all the required hacks to get around and this is when I decided to mess around and see how the engine would react to slopes.
TekWar and it's build doesn't support these so it was safe to assume that this v6 is from the same branch, only to discover that engine actually rendered them!



Ok.. now this is pretty cool, that means that pyramids / sand and whatnot can be done... damn! So much wasted potential.
Tekwar and exhumed still share v6 build but slopes simply used the groudraw attributes as they replaced it, thus the map format is compatible but you'll get glitchy groudraw instead of slopes with TekWar.
After wasting about 60min on testing stuff around, I inserted some slopes to the first map just to see what was wasted..



OK! Got about half of the common effects documented by this point and we already discovered slopes, discovered that there is very little use of transparency in stock maps (only ~2 instances) and other more unused advanced effects and combinations of those..
soon the ideas started flooding in and we decided that this needs to be demonstrated. Loads of potential.
After some time, we landed on a 3+1 map pack (everyone does one map + 1 collab. boss map).

We quickly sketched together a friendlier edit package with stabbed dosbox/mapster32 configs to auto launch the game for playtesting at the location you're in (mapster32 -> dosbox).
This involved automatic BACKMAP to playtest / gettig rid of excess configs or the game wont start quickly / uploading to gdrive / etc..

I sketched mine quickly with paint.net (I love doing designs this way) on a lowres image, looks like this:



Dark green on the left would be minecart (Something I had to scale down a lot later) and it would loop back like it does in final map.
All of this was laid out here before I even did the first sector. Pretty much all of the major ideas you see in the final map got already visualized here.
Unfortunately I had to add a bunch of visual blocks, thanks to the slopes bugging out and other game play / performance issues.. Didn't help that enemies can spot you across the map.

Methy was also working on his map during this and around early summer we both had working maps and Daedolon had started his.
Unfortunately busy things got in the way and stuff we had planned for the first map didn't make it in time.
However the collaboration did live on with the boss map, Daedolon did the round arena base, Methy added in some effects and the first arena that you encounter.
I made a full visual pass on daedolon's area and tweaks in the first one, plus helped to add some effects in. This got done around august and we decided that everything is feature ready for first public release aside from the first map and some game engine tweaks.

In the end, we combined some new tricks and some nasty ones too to get what we want, for example I discovered a way to make exploding walls based on a touchplate.. Looks pretty cool and I wonder why they didn't make anything like that as an effect..

So check out: CLICK HERE FOR DOCUMENTATION
We are proud to be able to document this game and it has some really weird oddities noted in the "Mapping tips" column.

The documentation also ships with a bonus map that all the common effects and game play elements laid out, along with a reference document.
You can easily find all sorts of ready effects here !

I have to admit at this point that I haven't completed a single level of exhumed so I have no clue what the balancing is supposed to be, approached this game "blind"
Thanks to Methy for telling me "No, that's actually a boss door texture!" and suggesting changes / introducing me to new stuff

[MetHy]

Before I start, I know some of you will want to pirate the game. Watch out for that as it's easier to find bad rips than good versions, there are glitchy BETA versions of the game spread widely and other bad rips with no musics.

To make sure you have the retail version of the game, check the date of the .exe file. For Powerslave it should be Dec 04 1996 and for Exhumed Mar 19 1997.
We strongly recommend you use Exhumed but everything works the same in PS as well, PS just has a couple of glitches that got fxied in EX.

----------------------------------

So in short what this package holds:

A new 3 maps episode for the game
Two big and long maps + a final boss map.
Sadly Daedolon's map couldn't make it in time but I hope we can update the episode soon with his. I'm looking forward to it.
The only map ever made for this game before was Elgizeh by LAW, and while it gets credit for being first and existing, it was rather rudimentary.


Mapping / modding support for the game

Tools that help you map for the game:
- Mapster32 support: thanks to Hendricks32 Mapster fix we could load all the palettes in the editor; and thanks to Ken Silverman's Backmap program, any map file saved with M32 can be converted back to the map format of the game (Build v6). Oasiz even built a handy script which automatically converts and renames the map when you playtest in Mapster so you don't have to worry about it every time.
Also Daedolon rewrote the names.h file as much as he could, so the game's picnums will have a related name in the editor.

The spreadsheet, the FAQ map (and its txt file) :
- This will help you understand how the game and its effects work. We have listed and figured out how to build not only every effect present in the original game, but also effects present in the code but un-used in the final game, as well as a few tricks of our own to give you an idea of the possibilities.

There are some things that this package doesn't support, but if enough people are interested perhaps it will with time :
- 64 shade steps system. The shading in Mapster32 is close enough but not accurate.
- Proper scale of the game. PS/EX uses a bigger scale than DN3D, it is very very close to SW's scale.To help you I implemented a "scale room" in the FAQ map that showcases the heights and distances of basic things. It's something that you get used to with time though. Frankly when I started fucking around the game in I didn't even notice the scale difference myself at first because I had been mapping for Shadow Warrior using M32 just before that.
- Sprites structures offset. For some reasons the 'real' placement of floor and wall aligned sprites aren't completely accurate with their placement in 2D mode. It can be worked with and there are tricks to help you work with them. More info about this in the FAQ map text file.
- Sky editing. Skies use a different system than DN3D, the manual edits you do to them in M32 won't be taken into account. Again, this can be worked around, for instance you can copy paste skies from other maps until you get a satisfactory result.

----------------------------------

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. In the FAQ map text file I've tried to provide explanations that can be understood by even novice mappers, but some things might not be evident still.
I hope we get to play more PS/EX maps in the future. I'm glad this project reached the state it did, when I started fucking around in Tekward Build I had no idea it would reach this scale, thankfully Daedolon and Oasiz joined. Honestly had they not I probably still wouldn't have figured out what the hell palettes are used for in this game and Tekwar Build (with no slopes support) would have been all we had.

and Merry Christmas!

[DavoX]

Very nice work guys. I never played this so it might be a good place to start. Looks great

[Micky C]

Holy cow what a surprise! Too bad I don't own the game.

So slopes are possible in the engine, and yet they completely ignored the feature? Very confusing. Perhaps sloped surfaces are more computationally intensive to render?

What's groudraw?

[Kawa]

Micky C, on 23 December 2016 - 02:34 PM, said:

Perhaps sloped surfaces are more computationally intensive to render?

Or perhaps they weren't as... finished as they are in Duke3D.

Quote

What's groudraw?

Slopes' predecessor, a kind of voxel-based bumpmapping for floors. IIRC, what is now the slope angle used to be a lookup index into a set of bumpmap images, where 0 = flat.

[Master O]

"Powerslave" is one of Iron Maiden's greatest albums.

Wait, wrong Powerslave...

[oasiz]

Micky C, on 23 December 2016 - 02:34 PM, said:

Holy cow what a surprise! Too bad I don't own the game.

So slopes are possible in the engine, and yet they completely ignored the feature? Very confusing. Perhaps sloped surfaces are more computationally intensive to render?

What's groudraw?

Yeah, predates slopes. You can see it some old kenbuild videos where the globe and some other weird height patterns are. Very unfinished and prone to crashes. I kinda want to try messing with these some day. Essentially what Kawa said, a height map. You could technically slopes with them.

Apparently apogee/3dr hid some features from licensees, I guess slopes were one of them.

There are bugs and limitations to slopes but in no way big enough to limit things too much. They could have spent 2weeks adding some slopes in places had they known it.
A slope&transparency pass is something I want to do to the stock maps when I have time, no new build projects for the time being.

Limitations are detailed in the doc, all I could find when experimenting with them. Biggest two being steep angles not rendering properly with distance and visibility being always full, rest can be worked around.

[Dynamo128]

Great work guys! I'll be sure to play through this very soon and I hope it is the first in a line of powerslave mods to follow. In my opinion it's a great game that definitely deserves this treatment. Cheers and happy holidays!

[MetHy]

I've updated the 2nd post with some info.

Here are some examples of cool stuff you can do with this game:

- Doors locked by several keys.
While the original game doesn't make use of it, it's in the code. While in DN3D usermaps you'd have to awkardly build several doors in a row, here you can lock doors by any set of 2, 3 or 4 keys.

- Effects triggered by enemy death (works with Am-Mit, Magamantis enemies and all 3 bosses)
In the original game this was designed to only work with a specific door tag, but if you hightag-link that door to other effects, they will trigger as well.
I think the only other Build game with a kill trigger is Blood.

- Transparency and slopes.
For some reasons transparency was barely used in the original game. Apart from the energy balls spawning of dead enemies, there is only one instance of it in a secret place (and one more in the beta version of lev20.map)

The game also has some cool effects that aren't too common in other Build games that you should be aware of if you've played it like fireball/arrow shooters, pushable blocks, etc
There are also a few cool effects which, for some reasons, are exclusive to map lev20.map. This includes light cyclers and destroyable pillars, and once you destroy the last of it, all remaining enemies get killed and the game ends.

Micky C, on 23 December 2016 - 02:34 PM, said:

So slopes are possible in the engine, and yet they completely ignored the feature? Very confusing. Perhaps sloped surfaces are more computationally intensive to render?

Like he said, Oasiz' theory is that Lobotomy didn't know about it.
Another possible theory is that they didn't bother update the game with them. Indeed, most of the game had been developed quite early (before slopes made it to the engine) but they sat on it until they developed and released the Saturn version. It is possible they updated the engine at some point.

[quakis]

Dropping in to say thanks for the work put into the mapping documentation. I've tinkered around the editor earlier in the year since I have an interest playing around in different Build engine game's editors, but didn't quite feel like figuring out what everything did just yet. This will help a ton.

No comment on the episode for now, I'll probably get around to checking it out after the xmas buzz is over.

[oasiz]

Thanks for the feedback so far !

If anyone runs in to any questions when mapping then I'm sure that we'll gladly help, or even just setup help for editor / episode.
We tried to make it as easy as possible and explain how things work in general but there are a few quirks that make editing a bit different experience than Duke and the rest.

[Jimmy]

You are all good men.

[MetHy]

I've added a moddb page for the game and for the episode.

quakis, on 25 December 2016 - 09:54 AM, said:

Dropping in to say thanks for the work put into the mapping documentation. I've tinkered around the editor earlier in the year since I have an interest playing around in different Build engine game's editors, but didn't quite feel like figuring out what everything did just yet. This will help a ton.

No comment on the episode for now, I'll probably get around to checking it out after the xmas buzz is over.

Glad to see some interest on the mapping side

MetHy, on 24 December 2016 - 02:59 AM, said:

Here are some examples of cool stuff you can do with this game:

Another cool thing is the surface based visibility. Other Build games edit visibility per sector, PS/EX has that but also the possibility to do it per surface (ground, wall, sky, also works on sprites) and that's what palettes are used for (it's visibility, not shading like I wrote in the FAQ map text, that's a mistake I'll fix in an update). The are two different visibility levels that way (medium and max) and it's mostly used for skies and to ensure that enemies and important items are always seen in the distance.

[mrjoshua]

Do i need to buy full game? Where can I get it on abandon-ware sites? Is this even legal?

[Emmanuelexe]

Thank you very much for the 3 maps and the map tools, i think, i will give a try for the map tools even if im not good at mapping !
I like a lot the PC version of Exhumed for the level design, each time I played it, i was so impressed, mazed with a big relief ! Really cool !
And the inventory system is interesting, especially with some items like the "berserk" boost.
And the game was really a great challenge, even with some lifes, if you don't have enough ammo or lifes in the last map, it can be hard to finish it !
I like the ps1 version, but the level design and difficulty of the PC version impressed me a lot !

Must i play the 3 maps without the strafe patch ? Are the maps made to play it like vanilla ? (with the strafe type of the original game)
Do the 3 maps can delete my save ? (i try to 1life all the maps of the original game with the strafe patch).

Also, the game have a deathmatch mod, i suppose, if people want try to make maps for it, is it possible ? (even if Dosbox is hard to configure for it, it could be fun ^^)

[MetHy]

mrjoshua, on 04 January 2017 - 06:12 AM, said:

Do i need to buy full game? Where can I get it on abandon-ware sites? Is this even legal?

You need the full game yeah, but we don't give links sorry. If you pirate it just make sure you don't download a bad rip without music or a beta version, they are common warez sites.

Manhs, on 04 January 2017 - 07:19 AM, said:

Must i play the 3 maps without the strafe patch ? Are the maps made to play it like vanilla ? (with the strafe type of the original game)
Do the 3 maps can delete my save ? (i try to 1life all the maps of the original game with the strafe patch).

The maps were designed to be played either way, with or without the strafing patch. If you use it, you shouldn't be able to sequence break, and if you don't use it, all the jumps are possible.
Actually even if you use the glitch with strafing with the mouse to gain insane speed, you shouldn't be able to sequence break, or really not much (might be able to make a couple of jumping segments and puzzles a bit easier that way)

The maps don't delete your save, but you have to use a new save to launch a new game with the new maps yeah. If all your save slots are taken and you don't want to lose one, I suppose you can make a copy of them, I'm guessing SAVGAMEA.SAV should be it, but I'm not sure.
An easier way is to simply launch the episode by typing ex /1 (or ps /1). That won't go through a save slot, and you still warp to the next map when finishing one.

[Emmanuelexe]

The strafe patch make the move easier to fight the enemies, i thought it could break the fun of fighting them with the original gameplay if the team have based the maps on it ! I will play it without then ^^
For the save, it's ok ! I have a lot of slots for it.

[oasiz]

I designed mine without strafe patch so i have no clue how much it affects. I only play with keyboard (as seen in the map01 vid).

I know methy plays with kb ans mouse, along with strafing.
My map shouldnt have breaks except for maybe one bit that i havent tested..

[MrFlibble]

MetHy, on 23 December 2016 - 01:26 PM, said:

Before I start, I know some of you will want to pirate the game. Watch out for that as it's easier to find bad rips than good versions, there are glitchy BETA versions of the game spread widely and other bad rips with no musics.

To make sure you have the retail version of the game, check the date of the .exe file. For Powerslave it should be Dec 04 1996 and for Exhumed Mar 19 1997.
We strongly recommend you use Exhumed but everything works the same in PS as well, PS just has a couple of glitches that got fxied in EX.

I have just played the first level for a while (up to the puzzle with two moving blocks) in the December 1996 demo version of the game. Haven't encountered any missing textures or anything. IIRC the demo also has both code and graphics at least for the Cobra Staff weapon, even though it's not used in SP levels, but I think it is available in the MP map. I guess any level not using textures or graphics that are unavailable in the demo GRP should be perfectly playable that way.

Personally I would very much prefer this method as opposed to downloading the warez full version. The demo readme does not explicitly prohibit creation and distribution of demo-compatible levels (unlike shareware licenses for Duke3D etc.), so technically this would be a correct approach. Moreover, the earlier August 1996 demo GRP contains more graphics and I think sounds, perhaps up to a few complete enemies IIRC (gotta check that). That should provide for some flexibility in map making without overtly encouraging people to pirate the game (or at least provide a more legal alternative to those who'd prefer it), and perhaps bring Powerslave to a wider audience in a safe, non-infringing manner.

That said, you guys did a great job! Your findings, especially that of the sloped floors, should greatly enhance the game, and what I've already experienced of the new episode is awesome. Waiting for more stuff!

[MetHy]

I don't encourage pirating the game, and like I said warez sites isn't the best place to find it because most have crap rips or beta versions. If you want to pirate it it's better to find an iso of the retail version from a reliable source.

Now like I said I don't encourage piracy but it's really obvious that since the game isn't for sale anywhere, it's the only choice. I doubt there would even be enough copies of the game to find on ebay and whatnot for everyone's interested, and that's for those who'd actually want to hand out 50 bucks to resellers.

If there was a GOG or Steam version we'd have never brought this up, but since there isn't, I felt my warning of the bad versions widely available was required because one is likely to get the game this way and not be aware they've downloaded the beta version. At one point, even us were confused by that beta version shared widely.


Using the late, post release, 4 levels demo isn't a bad idea per se but I can't guarantee everything will work.
However, because there is no warning about the legality of sharing usermaps for the demo version, doesn't mean it's legal. More likely there is no warning about this, simply because the game had no mapping/modding support to begin with. Not sure we'd want to risk that.

[oasiz]

I think the most important bit is that:
-> Visibility is correct, this was broken in the warez beta
-> Effects reset properly, this is also broken in the warez beta
-> One or two broken effects, I can't remember which.. I'm not sure if I use them in my map (map01)

Butchering the 4 level demo to work could be interesting as we'd potentially have to replace a single tile as an ending pic and have the campaign be only 3-4 levels. Currently there is no proper ending since the game is hard coded to have full levels.

[MrFlibble]

MetHy, on 05 January 2017 - 04:40 AM, said:

I don't encourage pirating the game, and like I said warez sites isn't the best place to find it because most have crap rips or beta versions. If you want to pirate it it's better to find an iso of the retail version from a reliable source.

Now like I said I don't encourage piracy but it's really obvious that since the game isn't for sale anywhere, it's the only choice.

I'm sorry, I did not want to imply that you personally, or any other author of the new levels, encourages piracy. But as you said above yourself, this might seem as the only choice to people who want to play the new levels, so I felt that pointing out a possible more legal alternative would be a good thing to do.

MetHy, on 05 January 2017 - 04:40 AM, said:

However, because there is no warning about the legality of sharing usermaps for the demo version, doesn't mean it's legal. More likely there is no warning about this, simply because the game had no mapping/modding support to begin with.

Of course. I believe it's almost certain the case that the developers did not prohibit creation and distribution of levels solely because they did not think it possible in the first place. However this presents us with a technicality that would allow for an approach different from outright piracy. Neither did I imply that the absence of such clause automatically makes demo-compatible content made by third-parties legal. I specifically used the much more vague term "correct" in my post above to suggest that this is somewhat "better" than if someone illegally obtains the full version of the game.

Note that if you create a level that only uses assets found in the demo version, it will still be compatible with the full version, because the format is the same and the assets are shared. Hence, it will be no more illegal than producing any other level compatible with the full version (which, theoretically, might also be considered violation of the EULA or whatever). Yet at the same time such demo-compatible levels would give an opportunity for users to play the new levels without resorting to piracy.

Don't get me wrong. With Powerslave not being sold currently (and the ownership of rights to it unclear as far as I know), all discussions pertaining to the legality of non-licensed distribution of the game are inevitably theoretical. Even if literally everyone downloads and plays the game without paying, I fancy there will still be no financial loss to talk about. Yet if we strictly observe the rules and no one pirates the game, Powerslave will remain in obscurity, confined to those who bought physical copies.

Conversely, your findings and the new episode you have created are a chance to revitalise the game and bring it to a wider audience. Perhaps, a surge in interest from players will even pave the way for Powerslave to be sold again sometime in the future. Demo compatibility is an alternative that seems to me "less illegal" so to speak. At the same time you as authors do not need to advertise it, leaving the whole issue in the grey area.

Maybe I'm just being too idealistic, but I would really like it if Powerslave mapping flourished. Yet with the game not being sold the audience would be inevitably narrow. I know not everyone shares my sensibilities regarding pirated software, but a safer alternative to warez would always be welcome.

I'm also secretly hoping that someday Powerslave will get a proper version running on modern systems, either built directly from the source or by other means our respectable programmers might come up with

[Emmanuelexe]

I had a question, i don't understand this kind of stuff really well, but with TeckWar v6 (or idk), you were able to reverse the sourcecode or something ? What happened exactly ?
Do you think, it could be possible to make a windows port in the future or more, or like a better windows launcher for mp/sp and for modding tools for people who are lost with dosbox ? Again, i don't know how it works but a launcher who need the original game yes.

For me, the mapsters is actually pretty neat, i haven't crashed at all for now
I will play the maps soon ^^ It's awesome, there is so much possibilities to make new atmosphere, like, dark night in a pyrammid hehe with a atmospheric theme.
Can people add new textures or sprites ?

Anyway, thank you a ton of this again ! There is so much possibilities to make fun and special and fun maps !

[oasiz]

Tekwar source is out there, just a compile away.
Ps has none of that..

Launchers and such are possible, sure.

Regarding demo or warez, i dont really care much. Its lost, outdated stuff that is near impossible to get and if someone sends a cd letter, i will frame it on the wall.
I think for the devs, the best thing that can be done is that people rediscover the game and enjoy it. I doubt that have been getting money for years from this anyway and the only angry party will be the publisher rising like a phoenix from the ashes in order to figt this terrible injustice..
Anyway, to me games are art after all

[MetHy]

oasiz, on 05 January 2017 - 07:56 AM, said:

I think for the devs, the best thing that can be done is that people rediscover the game and enjoy it. I doubt that have been getting money for years from this anyway and the only angry party will be the publisher rising like a phoenix from the ashes in order to figt this terrible injustice..

Well, PowerslaveEX got taken down for a reason, but it may not be that whoever owns Powerslave these days lifted a finger, but rather that the people he works with didn't like this kind of publicity.

[quakis]

Good work on the levels, not long played through them. 1st map had a nice spin on the typical PS/EX themes. There's a minor hiccup with the early mummy floor-raise since I jumped past the initial trigger - just a little odd seeing him sunken in the ground like that. Also liked how upon returning to the main area it's been redecorated with barriers and traps. 2nd map felt a little drawn out at times, perhaps some sections were longer than necessary? (a replay is needed to pinpoint exactly what) but still had some neat moments to spice it up; the switch 'maze', the trap ridden parkour section and watching the main entryway completely transform at the end were nice touches. Another minor hiccup here; in the room you fill with sand - those side decoration panels are panning vertically which I'm assuming was only intended for the sand texture beneath it after pulling the lever. 3rd map was alright and serves its purpose, however pure boss maps (at least build engine games) have never appealed to me unless there's some unique twist on the level itself (think the Metropolitan Cycloid fight) so excuse my lack of thoughts here.

I'll wait for the remaining map before writing up any full review incase there's also any further updates to existing maps.

[Hendricks266]

MrFlibble, on 05 January 2017 - 05:37 AM, said:

With Powerslave not being sold currently (and the ownership of rights to it unclear as far as I know),

The IP, games, and publishing rights belong to Playmates Toys, unless they somehow are no longer in possession of their Playmates Interactive Entertainment catalog. I reached out to the Executive Producer of Powerslave and he gave me contact information for one of their VPs but I never heard back. Apparently Night Dive was also met with silence.

[TerminX]

MetHy, on 05 January 2017 - 08:15 AM, said:

Well, PowerslaveEX got taken down for a reason, but it may not be that whoever owns Powerslave these days lifted a finger, but rather that the people he works with didn't like this kind of publicity.

Yeah, but that reason was because morons thought it was an actual re-release and started contacting various companies originally associated with the game for support...

[MrFlibble]

oasiz, on 05 January 2017 - 07:56 AM, said:

Regarding demo or warez, i dont really care much. Its lost, outdated stuff that is near impossible to get and if someone sends a cd letter, i will frame it on the wall.

Well, I'm certain I'm not the only person who cares about warez. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not on some kind of crusade against copyright infringement (God forbid!), I just find it unacceptable for me personally to download and use software in manners proscribed by copyright laws.

oasiz, on 05 January 2017 - 07:56 AM, said:

I think for the devs, the best thing that can be done is that people rediscover the game and enjoy it.

I completely agree. What I really believe is that video games, as a form of art, truly belong both to their creators and to the players, without whom a game as a work would be incomplete. Even more so if players go on to discover new things to do with a game, such as make new levels, mods or TCs etc. In a sense, it is the perfect realm of ongoing creativity.

Yet at the same time, we all have to abide by social norms, and if a law says that downloading warez is against the rules I would pretty much not want to break them, no matter how small and insignificant they may be and/or how negligible the possible consequences. If you want, it's a matter of personal choice. I'm assuming that other users who share such views might also want to play the new levels, this is why I have mentioned a possible alternative with the demo version. It's not a perfect solution, but intuitively it seems to me that it gives a bit more freedom both to the creators of new content and to the players. If Powerslave were a truly free game anyone could've picked it up and continued its development. That would be a really awesome thing, but since it's non-free we have to find some kind of compromise.

[Gambini]

MetHy, on 23 December 2016 - 01:26 PM, said:

Before I start, I know some of you will want to pirate the game. Watch out for that as it's easier to find bad rips than good versions, there are glitchy BETA versions of the game spread widely and other bad rips with no musics.

To make sure you have the retail version of the game, check the date of the .exe file. For Powerslave it should be Dec 04 1996 and for Exhumed Mar 19 1997.
We strongly recommend you use Exhumed but everything works the same in PS as well, PS just has a couple of glitches that got fxied in EX.

Now, you made me realize for first time in 20 years that i have that glitchy beta (september 1996 - no music). Haven´t had luck finding the good one yet