Purshasing DOS games in floppy format. How to tell if they're shareware or not? \ VOGONS

Purshasing DOS games in floppy format. How to tell if they're shareware or not?

Topic actions

First post, by MrSegfault

Posted on 2026-04-21, 20:27

MrSegfault Offline

Rank Newbie

Rank: Newbie
Posts: 39
Joined: 2025-06-01, 03:08
Location: United States

Dear, VOGONS community
I have this question regarding purchasing MS DOS video games that are listed on marketplaces like eBay.
There are some games that I may be interested in that happen to be available in 3.5 inch floppy format but I cannot distinguish between full version and shareware versions.
What are some ways to find out what version they are? Does the publisher logo indicate if you're getting the complete experience? Would the number of floppy disks also be a factor? I appreciate your answers.
A lot of them don't bring up the fact that they're shareware or demos. One of the hints I found out were that if you see weird OEM/third party names, especially ones where they bring up "value" or "price", then the game is determined to be shareware.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93 GHz Dual-Core
Graphics: EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT 256MB + Zalman VF900-Cu Cooler
Memory: 2 GB (1 x 2 GB) DDR2 Memory
Soundcard: Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Storage: 1TB + 500GB SSD + 120gb HDD

Reply 1 of 2, by Aui

Posted on 2026-04-21, 22:23

Aui Offline

Rank Member

Rank: Member
Posts: 426
Joined: 2020-12-23, 09:45

For any specific game, it is good to check Mobygames. They will show you different release versions, also releases for different countries, languages, number of disks etc. If you are looking for releases in a box, Shareware is often printed on the packing. On the other hand, there are also later releases of full games kind of a second edition and some brands became quite popular (e.g. KIX) - so it will depend on what you are actually looking for

Reply 2 of 2, by BitWrangler

Posted on 2026-04-21, 23:05

BitWrangler Offline

Rank l33t++

Rank: l33t++
Posts: 8646
Joined: 2017-10-11, 00:55
Location: Ontario

Doom is terrible for that, it's like, flip a coin, if it lands heads or tails it's a shareware demo version, probably not even official, if it lands on it's edge it's full retail.

Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.

Go to top of page Go to top of page

Back to Milliways