Luke Plunkett @ Kotaku wrote:For that price you're getting not just the special editions of the games (which had slightly higher resolutions and improved sound, as well all of both games' expansions), but more importantly they'll be editions of the games that will run on a modern PC without the need to tinker
A note on these "Special Editions": Luke Plunkett is only about 50% correct. While 1998 (Collector Series) versions of both X-Wing and TIE Fighter had superior graphics (including hardware acceleration), they did not have superior sound. Some of the cutscenes are also inferior because they are stretched to fit more modern displays. See this older thread for more details.
The older 1994 (Collector's CD) versions sported inferior graphics, but much better midi music.
This website detailed more clearly what the differences were:
http://tempestkappa.isdchallenge.org/tf_versions.htm
Those 1998 versions (Collector Series) of the game used a poorly recorded redbook version of the original iMuse midi sountrack. The older iMuse soundtrack was cool because it changed depending on the situation you currently found yourself in during the game. It really added to the mood and atmosphere of the games.
It looks like both the 1994 and 1998 versions of TIE Fighter will be available with the GOG release, but only the 1998 version of X-Wing. I tried to view the info on GOG directly, but both of the linked pages in the Kotaku article are currently dead and unavailable.
I think that for many folks, any version that will run is good news. However, for the majority of folks here who run Win9x machines already, the old 1994 versions are superior and more desirable. Even without a Win9x machine, you could always run the 1994 (Collector's CD) versions in DOSBox.
For the past two months, I've been slowly working my way through X-Wing on my 1Ghz Coppermine with a Voodoo 3 and SB Live sound card. I have both the Collector Series versions and the Collector's CD versions of both games. I have both installed so that others can enjoy the prettier graphics of the 1998 versions while I've been playing with the 1994 versions of the games. I just like the music much better. While the graphics aren't as good as the 1998 versions, the games are just so damn immersive that I don't even notice the crappy picture.
I don't remember X-Wing being as difficult as it currently is for me. I'm currently stuck on TOD 2 Mission 1. By the time I'm done with X-Wing, I'll probably need a new joystick so I can play TIE Fighter. These games really put a ton of wear and tear on your hardware.
