leileilol wrote:

Softkey shovelware should be a filler, especially that very multilingual multi-voiced one.

I was very close to covering an old Softkey program as such once I got Windows 3.1 working in DOSBox, but I decided against it because I couldn't really think of much to say about it... that, and it kept crashing at random. :P

I suddenly realized how few Windows 3.1 games I've played. The only ones I remember playing, originally, for any significant period of time were Solitaire, Minesweeper, Ski Free, King's Quest V, Dare to Dream, and Honeycomb Hotel. I recently played one called "The Adventures of Microman" that I think I would have enjoyed as a kid. I'll have to give that Lunar Lander-type game a shot sometime.

Hey, this filler is amazing, it brought back many images long forgotten! In my opinion, this could have been a full and lengthy episode with some additional games.
Or maybe it's just me having played too many lame windows 3.1 games 😀

konc wrote:

Hey, this filler is amazing, it brought back many images long forgotten! In my opinion, this could have been a full and lengthy episode with some additional games.

Probably, but I felt five was good enough and it still ended up being the same length as a typical ADG episode. ;)

I'll probably do another video like this one in the future as it was actually really easy to do and saved me lots of time to nurse two days of having an upset stomach. :P

I remember the shareware version of Castle Master, and at least one other game using the same engine.

That scene at the end where you open the lid in the granary and go down reminds me of a place in Daggerfall where you open a casket and go down into a lich lair. I wonder if Bethesda did that as a nod to Castle Master, or if it was coincidence?

Regarding Windows 3.1: I can't believe you didn't cover Castle of the Winds 😜 Also, Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is interesting but less well-known.

HunterZ wrote:

Regarding Windows 3.1: I can't believe you didn't cover Castle of the Winds :P

Err...

http://www.pixelships.com/adg/epf024.html

...prepare to facepalm really hard. ;D

Gemini000 wrote:

Err... […]
Show full quote

HunterZ wrote:

Regarding Windows 3.1: I can't believe you didn't cover Castle of the Winds 😜

Err...

http://www.pixelships.com/adg/epf024.html

...prepare to facepalm really hard. ;D

Er, what I meant to say was:

I can't believe you didn't plug your Castle of the Winds video so that it would jog my memory 😜

Yeah, that's the ticket.

HunterZ wrote:

Er, what I meant to say was: […]
Show full quote

Gemini000 wrote:

Err... […]
Show full quote

HunterZ wrote:

Regarding Windows 3.1: I can't believe you didn't cover Castle of the Winds :P

Err...

http://www.pixelships.com/adg/epf024.html

...prepare to facepalm really hard. ;D

Er, what I meant to say was:

I can't believe you didn't plug your Castle of the Winds video so that it would jog my memory :P

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Yup. That must be exactly what you meant. No doubt about it. *nod nod*

leileilol wrote:

Aren't there also "13" cuts of the Megatech localizations? I know Knights of Xentar had one.

Yes, Metal and Lace and Knights of Xentar where sold in NR-13 versions though they could be converted back to NR-18 with a patch

The CD talkie version of Knights of Xentar has that funny bad 90s dubbing that is common in English Dubs of anime at the time (The Non-Talkie Version is actually rare) Actually an OK RPG

Metal and Lace on the other hand is a crappy fighting game (Both Floppy and CD versions had speech)

Ancient DOS Games Episode 141 - Starflight is online!

...with apologies to the first gaggle of people to send in guesses as they all guessed Star Control 2 or Elite. I think the first correct guess was the 7th person, or someone around there; I'd have to root through my eMails again and I'm too lazy to do that. :P

But yeah, Starflight was actually a game I mostly played on the Genesis, so I had next to no knowledge about the PC version going into this, other than the fact that it looked EXTREMELY primitive by comparison. Coming from the Genesis version one thing I noticed right off the bat was that the PC version was simpler and easier than the Genesis version, plus it wasn't anywhere near as fast-paced for things like combat.

All that said though... I think I like the Genesis version better because GEEZE that's the weirdest saving/loading mechanic in the history of ever. >_>;

Thoughts while watching the Starflight video:

Starflight is one of my favorite games of all time. It was also the first commercial PC game I ever owned, and I still have the box and contents for both Starflight 1 & 2.

I think I may have an early 360KB 5.25" EGA release, as it came in a tri-fold sleeve style packaging. I think I got it for Christmas 1988 or 1989. The files on disk 1 are dated 7/31/1986 through 1/28/1988, except for a couple of .BAT files dated 1/3/1980.

Someone released a fix for DOSBox that I think may be in the SVN and/or Ykhwong builds that fixes the Tandy color issue. Anything is definitely better than running in EGA mode in the EGA version, as there are some animations missing (planet in intro, docking bay doors) and such.

I would really like to see a definitive list of differences between the original and EGA updated versions. Some people have suggested that there may be deeper gameplay differences and/or other minor issues, but I'm not sure if this is true.

I've tried playing the Genesis version a couple of times, but always hated the added action elements (especially orbiting, landing and surface exploration).

Regarding diagonal starport movement, my memory is that holding down a diagonal direction makes you alternate between horizontal and vertical movement.

Anyone who doesn't plan to play Starflight should read spoilers on its story, as it has an interesting twist.

HunterZ wrote:

I think I may have an early 360KB 5.25" EGA release, as it came in a tri-fold sleeve style packaging. I think I got it for Christmas 1988 or 1989. The files on disk 1 are dated 7/31/1986 through 1/28/1988, except for a couple of .BAT files dated 1/3/1980.

This wouldn't surprise me given what I've seen... It's possible the game was "silently" updated at some point. My copy of the first Test Drive actually has Tandy 16-colour support and an altered copyright on startup, yet every copy anyone seems to know anything about lacks this. This was the first game we ever bought for our Tandy 1000 SX computer too, so the packaging is long since lost. :/

Yeah, I also got a copy of the SCI1 VGA remake of Space Quest I directly from Sierra via mail order that came in the original AGI version's box because it was probably sold that way before the retail packaging was printed.

HunterZ wrote:

Starflight is one of my favorite games of all time. It was also the first commercial PC game I ever owned, and I still have the box and contents for both Starflight 1 & 2.

Starflight was also the first commercial game I owned as well. Good purchase back in the day, since completing the game start to finish without cheating took roughly 40 hours.

I think I may have an early 360KB 5.25" EGA release, as it came in a tri-fold sleeve style packaging. I think I got it for Christmas 1988 or 1989. The files on disk 1 are dated 7/31/1986 through 1/28/1988, except for a couple of .BAT files dated 1/3/1980.

The 1986 folio release (which I still have) supported only CGA; the later boxed release supported EGA, Tandy, and Herc.

Trivia: Starflight was written in Fortran (!). Also, was the second game after Elite to make extensive use of procedurally-generated content; there are hundreds of star systems with thousands of planets to explore.

MobyGamer wrote:

Trivia: Starflight was written in Fortran (!).

Forth, actually, but you probably knew that and just mixed up the names. 😉

Okay, I've taken photos of my Starflight game bits and made a Google album out of them: https://plus.google.com/photos/10244740230421 … CMT8-5K82uyNlgE

Sorry about the blurriness, but you should be able to see the tri-fold album-style over, the 1986 copyright, and the EGA support note. I can confirm that the version on the disks supports EGA, as that's how I originally played it (Wyse 8MHz 286 with EGA card/monitor).

There must have been a second folio release -- nice work, I didn't know that existed! The original folio does not have a sticker on the package, but on the wrap outside. (That didn't last long, thanks to software stores engaging in the practice of re-wrapping.) My original folio has only CGA and Hercules mentioned in the quick reference card, and the original requirements sticker is long gone.

@ripsaw: Forth, yes, sorry 😀 Very unconventional language to program a game in (so is Fortran).

Actually, the notion that there's two different sleeve releases makes me think back to my first DOS game, Test Drive. I'm fairly certain I have an updated version as I found out a bit later in life that every version anyone knows anything about lacks Tandy 16-colour support and came out in 1987, yet my copy DOES support Tandy 16-colour graphics and the copyright on startup is 1987,1988. :o

Which is part of the reason why I haven't covered it on ADG yet because none of the methods out there for breaking the copy protection work on the Tandy-capable release, only the earlier EGA release. :P

If you have a Test Drive that supports Tandy graphics and sound, I'd call that pretty damn rare. Upload the protected files to my FTP site and I'll crack it for you.

Well everyone, that super-special video I mentioned casually at the end of the Staflight episode is up: 1st Patreon Milestone Video!

This has been awhile coming, as I hit my first milestone really quickly thanks to a bunch of you guys, but ended up completely stumped as to what could possibly be a fitting video to commemorate such an event. I did eventually come up with an awesome idea though and I think the end result is something incredibly special that you'll never see from something like a television series. :3

And of course, even if you're not supporting me on Patreon, no worries. Just enjoy the series and the videos I make as always! That's what they're there for! :D

Also...

MobyGamer wrote:

If you have a Test Drive that supports Tandy graphics and sound, I'd call that pretty damn rare. Upload the protected files to my FTP site and I'll crack it for you.

I'll go fetch them when I have the time since I'd have to hook everything up and hunt for the disk. Won't be tonight or tomorrow for sure. Probably mid-weekish. :B