The Baller 3 one looks like a variant of Baller! And Forget, which is shareware. No idea what the differences are, in terms of either gameplay/content or licensing.

https://www.mobygames.com/game/163650/baller-and-forget/

Also, have you tried Tyrian ?

I tried Tyrian one time but it did not have the Raptor feeling somehow. Not sure how to describe it.

I am also thinking about trying Mame because there seem to be a ton of arcade games like the above, mostly with anime style.

mombarak wrote on 2024-12-14, 15:25:

I tried Tyrian one time but it did not have the Raptor feeling somehow. Not sure how to describe it.

I am also thinking about trying Mame because there seem to be a ton of arcade games like the above, mostly with anime style.

I believe there are some you might want to try for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 console.

If you like The Reap you might have interest in Viewpoint (Probably PSX Viewpoint influenced The Reap) and Zaxxon Motherbase 2000

Thank you leileilol- will definitely check it out.

I'm the guy who added Baller! And Forget to MobyGames, and I'd very much like to learn more about Baller 3.

I discovered this game via the Wayback Machine, the author's site was here:
http://www.bad-bone.de/baller.htm

Perhaps you could look at the version from the site, and maybe recall the exact PC Games CD that you found your version on?

MrFibble, if you PM me your mail address, I can send it to you.
I am not sure from which PC Games magazine (Germany) it came from but I can check if I still have the Cover-Disk CD of this edition. I recently purchases completed by collection of all of the PC Games magazines from 1992-1999 but most of them have no cover disk.

Do you know if the 500 KB version of Baller! and Forget has all the levels or where I can get the full version now-adays?

mombarak wrote on 2024-12-16, 07:16:

Do you know if the 500 KB version of Baller! and Forget has all the levels or where I can get the full version now-adays?

The shareware version definitely does not have all the levels.

I realised I forgot to mention a few other games that might get you interested as per your original request, namely (these are all for DOS):
Firecrow
HalfLight
KRaptor

Also maybe Vanguard Ace or Day Of Pigs, but the latter is a bit on the simplistic side, yet still fun (IMO, at least).

UPD: I found Baller 3.

mombarak wrote on 2024-12-16, 07:16:

MrFibble, if you PM me your mail address, I can send it to you.
I am not sure from which PC Games magazine (Germany) it came from but I can check if I still have the Cover-Disk CD of this edition. I recently purchases completed by collection of all of the PC Games magazines from 1992-1999 but most of them have no cover disk.

I was able to track down the game to PC Games February 1997 coverdisk using Hallfiry's CD Catalogue.

It is indeed made by the same author as Baller! And Forget, Holger Wagner, and appears to be a very early demo version, with just three levels looping endlessly in ever increasing difficulty.

Here's a rough translation of the relevant part of README.TXT:

This programme is the very first version. Sometime in September [1996] there will be a shareware version with more weapons, levels, ships, items, enemies and bonus items. Anyone interested can download this shareware version via modem from a mailbox.
<...>
The shareware version will then be the first of three episodes. Information on the remaining two episodes will be available in the shareware version.

I just checked the final shareware version from Holger Wagner's website, and the LEVEL directory contains eight files. I've never played the shareware from start to finish, so I'm not sure if this is the entire eight-level episode, or if there are eight levels overall and the shareware game offers a limited selection of these eight levels.

Thanks a lot MrFibble. I will definitely try the recommendations and see if I can get the Baller full version somewhere.

Is the CDCatalogue offline? I can only access the https://www.kultcds.com/ page which holds only floppy disk images.

mombarak wrote on 2024-12-17, 08:43:

Is the CDCatalogue offline? I can only access the https://www.kultcds.com/ page which holds only floppy disk images.

The catalogue is currently a Python-based offline tool. The download link does not work for me ATM, somehow. Used to be this.

Gotta notify Hallfiry about this.

if you liked Raptor you should try Raiden and Raiden ][ on msdos. But as you mentioned with mame, it's really on arcade that those games are legions. I equally love their side-scrolling counterpart, they are just a different... perspective 😁

oh, I also very much enjoyed Tubular World back then, you should take a look at this one ! I think it's an amiga port on msdos. I seem to remember it's top but goes sideways, not so sure anymore, maybe it change between levels, does it really matters anyway ?

I know it's not a vertical shooter, but I always loved Stargunner for the same reasons I loved Raptor:

1- It was split in episodes
2-You had to collect enough money to upgrade your ship with better weapons.
3-The upgrades were permanent and lasted until the end of the episode (in Raptor, it lasted the whole game)
4- You were able to save between and even mid-level

Usually in console/arcade shooters you didn't have any of that... in most games your upgrades are gone when you die and you are supposed to finish the game in one sitting. Raptor and Stargunner are games that I always considered made with PCs in mind. Not sure if you ever tried Stargunner, but it was released as freeware many years ago and it's currently available on GOG and Steam for free.

gaffa2002 wrote on 2024-12-27, 14:08:

I know it's not a vertical shooter, but I always loved Stargunner for the same reasons I loved Raptor: […]
Show full quote

I know it's not a vertical shooter, but I always loved Stargunner for the same reasons I loved Raptor:

1- It was split in episodes
2-You had to collect enough money to upgrade your ship with better weapons.
3-The upgrades were permanent and lasted until the end of the episode (in Raptor, it lasted the whole game)
4- You were able to save between and even mid-level

Usually in console/arcade shooters you didn't have any of that... in most games your upgrades are gone when you die and you are supposed to finish the game in one sitting. Raptor and Stargunner are games that I always considered made with PCs in mind. Not sure if you ever tried Stargunner, but it was released as freeware many years ago and it's currently available on GOG and Steam for free.

Thanks a lot, I will definitely try it.
It seems if you have a MaMe emulator, you have access to trillions of these games, vertically and horizontally scrolling.

Hi all. Sorry to necro this thread but I too have been looking for this game.

I have found an address in Germany that I have followed. And it looks like bad news: seems the author might be deceased during the period of the covid pandemic. I was able to get the possible phone number of à relative but I’m unsure how I could present my request given the sensitive context.

Incidentally, I was thinking of pushing in order to try and find his partner. He goes by the name of Jakob golombek but is also hard to find.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also should we have someone capable of fluent German, it would be a plus.

starlord wrote on 2025-04-19, 15:33:

Hi all. Sorry to necro this thread but I too have been looking for this game. […]
Show full quote

Hi all. Sorry to necro this thread but I too have been looking for this game.

I have found an address in Germany that I have followed. And it looks like bad news: seems the author might be deceased during the period of the covid pandemic. I was able to get the possible phone number of à relative but I’m unsure how I could present my request given the sensitive context.

Incidentally, I was thinking of pushing in order to try and find his partner. He goes by the name of Jakob golombek but is also hard to find.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also should we have someone capable of fluent German, it would be a plus.

If you have a mailing address, I would consider writing a snail mail letter instead of calling. Taking the time to do that in the modern age is still meaningful to many people, myself included. It also has the advantages of not accidentally disturbing someone at a bad time AND allowing one to convey a more complete and thought out message.

EDIT: This might be the other person you are looking for https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakob-golombek/

I’m not 100% sure I can come up with a postal address. I can try and look it up.
However I certainly won’t be able to write that letter as I’m about to defend my PhD. Besides my level of German wouldn’t be satisfactory I think. I can still try and come up with an address though.

Incidentally, I tried to link with Jakob golombek on LinkedIn but he didn’t reply to my invite. If others can link with him, I would be very interested to know.
Many thanks

@mombarak: would you happen to be in Germany by any chance?

starlord wrote on 2025-04-21, 20:30:

@mombarak: would you happen to be in Germany by any chance?

Yes I am. Let me know how I can help.