VOGONS

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First post, by MrFlibble

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Previously I posted several queries here trying to find demo/shareware releases of some games that are pretty tough to track down for various reasons. Since some of them are still not found, and a few more appeared on the wanted list, it occurred to me to make a single thread for a centralised effort to find those.

Below I'll give brief descriptions for each such file, with links to any available information.

Tyrian 2000
Type: Demo (non-English)
File names and sizes (if available):

French	TYRIAN2000F.exe	3732 KB
German TYRIAN2000G.exe 3730 KB
Spanish TYRIAN2000S.exe 3743 KB

Additional info: VOGONS thread

Lord of Destruction
Type: Shareware
Developer: Gabe Macchia
Publisher: Rebelsoft
File names and sizes (if available): LD1.ZIP or LOD11.ZIP
The file list for the registered version is:

CHAR     LD1                 14
CONFIG LD1 1
IMAGE LD1 5,410
LD1 DOC 19,292
LD1 EXE 318,438
LODMAPS LD1 13,021
LODPICTS LD1 967,387
NAME LD1 5
SETUP EXE 18,833
SOUND01 LD1 5,437
SOUND02 LD1 1,025
SOUND03 LD1 40,332
SOUND04 LD1 22,778
SOUND05 LD1 23,788
SOUND06 LD1 2,128
SOUND07 LD1 4,732
SOUND08 LD1 13,210
SOUND09 LD1 8,184
SOUND10 LD1 28,658
SOUND11 LD1 1,420
SOUND12 LD1 4,052
SOUND13 LD1 3,521
WORLDMAP LD1 16,321

Additional info: VOGONS thread

Caesar II
Type: Demo (Windows)
File names and sizes (if available):

CSR2DEMO.EXE 	13671 K

Additional info: mentioned here

Revolt of Don's Knights
Type: Demo (English)
File names and sizes (if available): demorodk.exe
Additional info: mentioned here

Fox Ranger
Type: Demo
Demo file list:

FOXDEMO.EXE
VSPRITE.PAT
SC55.DAT
STAGE.DAT
FOX.DAT

Additional info: mentioned here
Gameplay video shown here
Note: in the 90s, the full commercial version of this South Korean game circulated as "freeware" on Western BBS's and sites, which may lead to some confusion. The demo version is clearly marked as a demo.

Gunmetal
Type: Demo (v0.99)
File names and sizes (if available):

GUNMDEMO.ZIP	22.720.259 bytes
GUNMUSIC.ZIP

Additional info: here
Note: The demo itself is available, it's just that the original ZIP files as provided by Mad Genius Software aren't.

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Reply 1 of 49, by MrFlibble

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To keep things interesting, here's the original installer for the Slovak demo of Revolt of Don's Knights: VZBURA.EXE

It's available from Score CD-ROM Issue No. 42:
https://archive.org/details/scorecd42

The installer is a DOS RAR SFX archive, which is probably the same with the English demo.

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Reply 2 of 49, by MrFlibble

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How about the Scorched Planet retailer demo?
Type: Demo (non-interactive)
File names and sizes (if available): SPDEALER.EXE (11M)
Originally available from: ftp://ftp.csl.com/pub/sp_demo/
Mentioned here.

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Reply 3 of 49, by Errius

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Does anyone have the floppy disk version of Jack in the Dark (1993). (I believe the archive is JACKDARK.ZIP.) I have the copy that came on CD and am interested to see if there are any differences with the floppy version.

ETA: Thanks to the user who sent me this. This is the U.S. version and differs in minor details from the European version on my CD. (I would still like to obtain a copy of the original European version ZIP for archival purposes.)

Attachments

  • Filename
    JACKDARK.ZIP
    File size
    1.32 MiB
    Downloads
    65 downloads
    File license
    Public domain
Last edited by Errius on 2021-11-16, 04:13. Edited 1 time in total.

Is this too much voodoo?

Reply 5 of 49, by MrFlibble

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Arctic wrote on 2020-06-09, 20:03:

I am looking for the additional "DLC" / downloadable Levels for the german "comedic" game "TV Total - Pulleralarm".

Where were they available from? I just briefly checked the dev website (address taken from MobyGames) via the Wayback Machine but the snapshots are not in a very good condition, and there were no downloads. The publisher, CDV, is better preserved but again, no extras like this seem to be available from them.

Errius wrote on 2020-06-09, 18:25:

Does anyone have the floppy disk version of Jack in the Dark (1993). (I believe the archive is JACKDARK.ZIP.)

The ZIP came on a floppy? Or it was downloadable from somewhere? I had the impression this game was not really freely distributable, but I may be wrong.

Anyway, Hallfiry's catalogue has only one instance of the game as it seems:

Name. ext	Size (Bytes)	Last modified
..
Adlibm.com 4,122 1993-09-03 00:35:08
Anim16.pak 28,906 1993-09-17 16:30:46
Camera16.pak 250,225 1993-08-27 21:08:06
Cleardrv.exe 8,426 1990-07-18 22:32:22
Defines.itd 30 1993-09-21 19:55:24
Deutsch.pak 3,457 1993-09-16 18:36:58
Drv_bz.com 761 1993-09-03 00:35:16
Drv_sb.com 1,571 1993-09-03 00:35:10
Drv_sbd.com 932 1993-09-03 00:35:12
Drv_smp.com 708 1993-09-03 00:35:20
Drv_ss.com 913 1993-09-03 00:35:14
Drv_vm.com 1,448 1993-09-03 00:35:18
English.pak 3,245 1993-09-16 18:36:54
Espagnol.pak 3,339 1993-09-16 18:37:00
Etage16.pak 2,736 1993-09-17 16:30:30
Francais.pak 3,373 1993-09-16 18:36:56
Indark2.exe 66,552 1993-09-21 17:19:36
Install.opt 6,719 1994-04-05 18:03:26
Italiano.pak 3,395 1993-09-16 18:37:00
Itd_ress.pak 272,741 1993-09-02 22:31:20
Jack.bat 42 1993-09-09 20:28:08
Jack.ico 766 1993-09-23 19:51:56
Jack.pif 573 1994-02-26 21:13:48
Listanim.pak 62,121 1993-09-20 13:17:32
Listbody.pak 57,221 1993-09-20 13:17:20
Listhyb.pak 3,039 1993-09-21 19:55:38
Listlife.pak 9,152 1993-09-21 19:55:44
Listmat.pak 360 1993-09-21 19:55:52
Listmus.pak 2,862 1993-09-13 14:00:54
Listsamp.pak 188,375 1993-09-13 14:00:52
Listtrak.pak 1,654 1993-09-21 19:55:50
Mask16.pak 12,013 1993-09-17 16:30:40
Objets.itd 1,784 1993-09-21 19:55:24
Pere.pak 296,437 1993-09-09 20:25:04
Priority.itd 26 1993-09-21 19:55:24
Vars.itd 104 1993-09-21 19:55:24

It was available from the Secret Service (Alone in the Dark) CD and I think it's likely the same as the CD version that you have.

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Reply 6 of 49, by Pierre32

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Has anyone heard of Surf and Destroy? Background in these tweets:

https://twitter.com/dosnostalgic/status/1270141488123523073

https://twitter.com/dosnostalgic/status/1270145612747603970

Reply 7 of 49, by Errius

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'Jack in the Dark' was released at Christmas 1993 as a free game on floppy disk. (Presumably as magazine coverdisk). The zipped archive was meanwhile made available on the Infogrames BBS.

Is this too much voodoo?

Reply 8 of 49, by MrFlibble

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Errius wrote on 2020-06-11, 14:48:

'Jack in the Dark' was released at Christmas 1993 as a free game on floppy disk. (Presumably as magazine coverdisk). The zipped archive was meanwhile made available on the Infogrames BBS.

I did not know that, thanks!

It's a bit odd that this release was not listed on the various "free games on the Internet" lists like Lord Soth's and the like.

In fact, a while ago I complied a selection of websites available via the Wayback Machine which list such then-available downloads:

Download lists

http://www.angelfire.com/ab/fernando/f1.html
https://www.oocities.org/timessquare/arcade/9575/demos.html
http://www.oocities.org/timessquare/arcade/9575/demos.html
http://www.oocities.org/timessquare/castle/23 … 6/a_dgames.html
http://www.oocities.org/timessquare/castle/23 … 6/e_hgames.html
http://www.oocities.org/timessquare/castle/23 … 6/i_pgames.html
http://www.oocities.org/timessquare/castle/23 … 6/q_zgames.html
http://dolk.host.sk/dolkpage96/jogos/demos.htm
http://dolk.host.sk/dolkpage96/jogos/games_a.htm
http://www.oocities.org/timessquare/cavern/2880/shot2.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/19961022180828/htt … .com/demos.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19970606143626/htt … /pcrl/index.asp
http://web.archive.org/web/19961231210438/htt … ectd/index.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19980613162411/htt … com/all_dos.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20020201221733/htt … com/dir_alldos/
http://web.archive.org/web/19990224223906/htt … pages/games/g2/
http://web.archive.org/web/19970330132248/htt … /coolh20/#games
http://web.archive.org/web/19961219014826/htt … ages/games/dos/
https://web.archive.org/web/19970606232345/ht … om/gamedemo.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/19970427062343fw_/ … soth/index.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19981203123414/htt … com/pcdl-0.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19991012214907/htt … 4212_index.html
https://web.archive.org/web/19980523202945/ht … om/fulllist.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/19961225234844/htt … ml/download.htm

Working Wayback Machine downloads

http://web.archive.org/web/19970101010541/htt … ers/00archives/
http://web.archive.org/web/19970707042918/htt … es/gamesdomain/
http://web.archive.org/web/20051207042050/htt … ameworld/demos/
http://web.archive.org/web/19961222203503/htt … ve/msdos/games/
http://web.archive.org/web/19961221095632/htt … ub/games/abuse/
http://web.archive.org/web/19961221085605/htt … om/pub/dresden/
http://web.archive.org/web/20020327052145/htt … ub/msdos/games/
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://wuarchive … _UPLOADS/games/*
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.cdrom … om/pub/dresden/*
http://web.archive.org/web/19970605130747/htt … iac/newdemo.stm
http://web.archive.org/web/19970529002910/htt … .com/pub/games/
http://web.archive.org/web/20021122091048/htt … s.terra.com.br/
http://web.archive.org/web/20010602223733/htt … nes_2/micro.zip
http://web.archive.org/web/19990418060159/htt … mersinn.com:80/
http://web.archive.org/web/19980613194807/htt … d/z/zyclunt.zip
https://web.archive.org/web/19970805122651/ht … files/index.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20020830074410/htt … /3dfiles/games/
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://ftp.plane … /3dfiles/games/*
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.plane … /3dfiles/games/*
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://wcarchive … archived_demos/*
http://web.archive.org/web/20010430164339/htt … .wv.us/pub/ibm/
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.psych … amer.com/demos/*
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://sunsite.d … o.uk/pub/demos/*

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Reply 9 of 49, by MrFlibble

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Here's what I believe to be the original ZIP of the BLAM! Machinehead demo that was available from the GamesDomain FTP: blamdemo.zip.

The Wayback Machine has preserved a pretty good mirror of said FTP, but the demo of BLAM! is not among the files that were archived. I found the demo using Hallfiry's catalogue on a coverdisk of a French gaming magazine called Joystick (issue No. 79). The same CD has a ZIP of the SkyNET demo which is confirmed to be the unaltered file from Bethesda's FTP, and some further corroboration comes from a third-party website which repacked the BLAM! demo contents into a RAR file but preserved the date stamps on the folders, which are an exact match of the folder date stamps in blamdemo.zip from that Joystick CD.

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Reply 10 of 49, by MrFlibble

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Thanks to Hallfiry's catalogue I found a very early demo of Age of Rifles: WCS3.zip. Unfortunately it's both incomplete and broken.

This version is found on the Generation 4 Issue No. 82 coverdisk. The date stamp on the binary executable, RIFLES.EXE (601 375 bytes), is from 19 Jul 1995, whereas the most recent demo of the game known before is from 18 Nov 1995.

The demo apparently has two scenarios but is missing almost all graphics files and the title screen file (TITLE.LBM) is corrupted. I tried filling the gap with the graphics files from the 18 Nov version, and I can get to the main menu but the mouse cursor never shows up so I cannot select any of the options, and hence play the game.

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Reply 11 of 49, by MrFlibble

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Lone Eagle - Colombian Encounter
Type: Shareware
Version: 2.1
File name: lone_s21.exe
File size: 2 655 050 bytes
Reference: http://www.gamersinn.com/library/adventure/?14

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Reply 12 of 49, by MrFlibble

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2FAST4YOU a.k.a. BiFi Race [FOUND]
Type: Full version (?)
Version: Disk version
File name: bifidisk.zip
File size: 1.4 MiB
Status: original file found
Reference: http://www.orangegames.com/games.htm

NOTES: 2FAST4YOU was a promotional advergame for BiFi snacks released in Germany in 1995. However it was developed by a Dutch team called Orange Games (apparently also involved in the development of Jazz Jackrabbit), which had a download link on their site (see above). The game was actually sold in Germany (for a much lower price than commercial games but still), and I only found a demo on a shareware CD. Yes, the full version is available from a number of sources but I'd like to find the original ZIP from the dev website.

UPD: The original floppy installer from the CD version was found and provided by K1n9_Duk3, as well as confirmation that the full floppy version is eligible for free distribution. It is now available here:
https://www.dosgamesarchive.com/download/2fast4you/

Last edited by MrFlibble on 2021-03-09, 21:29. Edited 2 times in total.

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Reply 13 of 49, by MrFlibble

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Drone [FOUND]
Type: Shareware
Version: 1.01
File name: drone_sw.zip
File size: 8 MiB
Status: original file found
Reference: http://www.pixelsplash.com/games/drone1/drone_sw.htm

I only found a repacked RAR version on this CD Action coverdisk:
http://cd.textfiles.com/cdaction/cdaction20a/DRONE/

UPD: I've uploaded what we believe to be the original zip file here:
https://www.dosgamesarchive.com/download/drone/

Thanks to cyclone3d for finding the file!

Last edited by MrFlibble on 2021-03-09, 21:29. Edited 3 times in total.

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Reply 14 of 49, by cyclone3d

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MrFlibble wrote on 2020-11-09, 21:03:
Drone Type: Shareware Version: 1.01 File name: drone_sw.zip File size: 8 MiB Reference: http://www.pixelsplash.com/games/drone1/ […]
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Drone
Type: Shareware
Version: 1.01
File name: drone_sw.zip
File size: 8 MiB
Reference: http://www.pixelsplash.com/games/drone1/drone_sw.htm

I only found a repacked RAR version on this CD Action coverdisk:
http://cd.textfiles.com/cdaction/cdaction20a/DRONE/

http://web.archive.org/web/20040625014239/htt … e1/drone_sw.exe

That is the Windows version though. the DOS .zip was not saved.

Edit:
Found a copy of the DOS demo on archive.org:
(edit by Dominus: link to this collection removed as it is offering a lot of warez there)

File name is not the same, but I am guessing that they may have just renamed the original zip when that collection was made.

Last edited by Dominus on 2020-11-10, 14:30. Edited 2 times in total.

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 15 of 49, by MrFlibble

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cyclone3d wrote on 2020-11-09, 21:33:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040625014239/htt … e1/drone_sw.exe

That is the Windows version though. the DOS .zip was not saved.

Yup, I checked the links on that page of course 😀 The same Windows version is actually also available from FilePlanet:
https://www.fileplanet.com/archive/p-70679/Drone-v1-01

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-11-09, 21:33:

Found a copy of the DOS demo on archive.org:
(edit by Dominus: Warez collection link)

File name is not the same, but I am guessing that they may have just renamed the original zip when that collection was made.

Thanks a lot! The file contents are the same as in the RAR repack I linked to above. PKZIP -vt says the archive was created by PKZIP 2.0 for DOS which is yet another strong argument for the file's authenticity.

Last edited by Dominus on 2020-11-10, 14:30. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 16 of 49, by Cyberdyne

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Interpose large demo. I have a full game, and got a hold of cristmas special and tiny demo, but there is a large demo, with more levels and full cutscenes. Have not find it in the wild.

(Edit by Dominus: link to warez collection removed)

Originals are here. No large demo, but I know it existed.

Last edited by Dominus on 2020-11-10, 14:07. Edited 1 time in total.
Reason: warez

I am aroused about any X86 motherboard that has full functional ISA slot. I think i have problem. Not really into that original (Turbo) XT,286,386 and CGA/EGA stuff. So just a DOS nut.

Reply 17 of 49, by MrFlibble

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I found the large demo/shareware of Interpose a while ago, I believe on a magazine coverdisk, and uploaded it here:
https://www.dosgamesarchive.com/download/interpose/

It's the original Webfoot installer, zipped up. I think Swizzle also added it to his collection too:
https://archive.org/details/interpos

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Reply 18 of 49, by Dominus

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Please do not link to warez!

Windows 3.1x guide for DOSBox
60 seconds guide to DOSBox
DOSBox SVN snapshot for macOS (10.4-11.x ppc/intel 32/64bit) notarized for gatekeeper

Reply 19 of 49, by Cyberdyne

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Dominus wrote on 2020-11-10, 14:08:

Please do not link to warez!

It is the same link that was few posts back, i just changed the release year from 1997 to 1996. Total Dos collection.

I am aroused about any X86 motherboard that has full functional ISA slot. I think i have problem. Not really into that original (Turbo) XT,286,386 and CGA/EGA stuff. So just a DOS nut.