Hello everyone!

Thanks to the notification by BSA Starfire I've acquired a really weird piece of retro hardware - Sharedware Savage!

front side (with VIA keyboard/mouse controller)

front side (with Winbond keyboard/mouse controller)

back side

bracket

box

Despite several reviews written back then, the technology has not made it widely to the market. There might be different reasons for that, one being the lackluster performance of the video core used there (S3 Savage3D), second being the dot-com bubble, etc.
Nevertheless, the card itself represents a great example of technology that could pass the prototype stage and get released (although in small quantities as evidenced by low number of Google results for the card itself as well as the deals involving second-hand items).
I'd like to share the information that I've been able to collect before the package arrived (and I have to admit that I won't put my hands on it in the next few years due to my moving, leaving the package behind at my parents' place).

So, the card is the second known device based on ESS Agogo-XP while the first one is much more known and acknowledged Videologic Apocalypse 5D Sonic (PowerVR PCX2 + Tseng Labs ET6100 + ESS Agogo-XP). I haven't found any other examples of cards with this chip. It is basically a ESS Maestro-1 soundchip with an added PCI-PCI bridge for additional integration of other devices (mostly video chipsets as evidenced by the two known examples). However this '97 press-release by ESS states other possible applications:
"AGOGO-XP PCI audio accelerator is targeted at multimedia add-in card vendors and features an embedded PCI 2.1-compliant PCI-to-PCI bridge that will support the addition of up to ten other devices on a multimedia accelerator card. Graphics accelerators, DVD, video capture/conferencing, ISDN, modems, FireWire, USB technology or any other PCI-based device could be combined with the AGOGO-XP on a single add-in card. The AGOGO-XP is shipping in production quantities now. The AGOGO- XP is priced at $28.00 in quantities of 10,000."
Both known cards added video to the sound provided by the ESS Agogo-XP, producing a complete multimedia solution. While Videologic put 2 separate devices with separate RAM (thanks to its affiliation with the PowerVR), Sharedware opted for an integrated 2D/3D core (S3 Savage3D) with 8 Mb of RAM.

What makes it really different is that it is not intended to be the primary sound/video card. It is meant for creating second console on the same PC - with a second user working simultaneously on the same computer, that being possible on the Windows 9x platform thanks to Applica technology implemented in the drivers and an onboard keyboard/mouse controller by VIA or Winbond (perhaps, other vendors also participated, but that can't be confirmed by any pictures available on the net). That's been another luck for me that someone uploaded the last driver package to the DriverGuide - otherwise I would have never been able to get the device working (at least, for its original 'secondary' purpose). What's even more interesting is that its drivers also create a virtual network for deathmatch rounds between both users! And even more - multiple Sharedware Savage cards can be installed increasing the total amount of users to 5 (one primary + 4 Sharedware consoles)! It's unbelievable how great can be some technologies that have been buried in oblivion!..

While praying to win the listing, I've collected all available software (modded the original Sharedware by including the most recent files from S3, uploaded to VogonsDrivers, please explore if interested) and read all available reviews:
http://www.hardware-one.com/print_review.asp?reviews=174 (main English article)
http://www.ibik.ru/ru/pci-card (Russian translation of an article from http://www.gamepc.com)
http://www.chip.de/artikel/SharedWare-Savage_12806050.html (German)
http://cooler-online.com/cl300599.html (Russian again)
http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/06/03/two-players-on-one-pc (news)

So, what I'm planning to do when I finally get the card is trying to make it function as a primary sound/video card. In order to achieve that an S3 Savage3D VGA BIOS has to be embedded as an option ROM into the system ROM BIOS image. If that proves to work, I'll think about a hardware mod - if you look closely at the PCB, you'll notice 3 unused solder spots for a PLCC ROM and 2 chips to drive it. And as noname S3 Savage3D are still somewhat available for low prices, we'll have a donor for that 😀

Stay tuned 😁