gaffa2002 wrote on 2021-04-13, 12:39:

xcomcmdr wrote on 2021-04-13, 10:21:

This is very old news from way way before it was released on Steam... ?

Maybe, but this is the developer’s site. I mean, this is the first place they would want to update unless they are OK with hurting their own sales...
Anyway, I’ll consider this game as not freeware for now.

Have no idea how anyone can read that as not freeware. Their reason for pulling a downloads off their site was you can have the game for free but "we are not paying webhosting fees so you can download it from us..." A quick wayback search of the site before they pulled the download clearly states its free and they provide a link. Not sure why the requirement of a free game mean that the developer has to give free downloads from their site They clearly say if you can find it for download for free do so.

https://web.archive.org/web/20001109222900/ht … w/download.html

They are selling it on steam now, it's not freeware anymore. This statement was there way before and has nothing to do with it.

That's how I see it. They have a steam forum page. The best way to know is to ask them there.

I know I'm late to the party and the list is closed as per the first post, just wanted to say thank you for this nice compilation. I learned about Igor: Objective Uikokahonia and killed some time playing through it. Also excellent installation interface, minimal and does the job as it should.

Some notable candidates in case you ever reconsider or update the list:
Galactix https://www.mobygames.com/game/galactix
Jazz Jackrabbit: Holiday Hare games https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/jazz-jackr … liday-hare-1994
Fracas https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/fracas_
Kroz series
Mario & Luigi https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/mario-luigi
The Black Cauldron https://www.mobygames.com/game/black-cauldron

MrD wrote on 2021-04-18, 21:58:

Surprised nobody suggested Amulets and Armor!

Never heard of this game, but now that I saw it, I just had to add it to the list.
Unfortunately the game is pretty big in size, so I had to remove Shadow Warrior (as this game has no music and was kinda incomplete) in order to add it.

konc wrote on 2021-04-19, 20:04:

I know I'm late to the party and the list is closed as per the first post, just wanted to say thank you for this nice compilatio […]
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I know I'm late to the party and the list is closed as per the first post, just wanted to say thank you for this nice compilation. I learned about Igor: Objective Uikokahonia and killed some time playing through it. Also excellent installation interface, minimal and does the job as it should.

Some notable candidates in case you ever reconsider or update the list:
Galactix https://www.mobygames.com/game/galactix
Jazz Jackrabbit: Holiday Hare games https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/jazz-jackr … liday-hare-1994
Fracas https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/fracas_
Kroz series
Mario & Luigi https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/mario-luigi
The Black Cauldron https://www.mobygames.com/game/black-cauldron

As for Galatix, I couldn't confirm it was freeware. Jazz Holiday Hare games are also shareware so I'll add them as part of another CD project specific for shareware. I really liked Black Cauldron and Fracas so they were also added.

In summary, the first post was updated with a new version which replaces Shadow Warrior by Amulets and Armor and also includes Black Cauldron and Fracas. Anyway, the older version is still available if anyone prefers it
Next step will be... shareware games

Thanks once again! And feel free to upload and distribute 😀

gaffa2002 wrote on 2021-04-22, 14:16:

As for Galatix, I couldn't confirm it was freeware.

This is a capture from wayback machine, "Galactix was our very first game released back in 1992, and it is now Freeware "
v1.5 says "free shareware" but it's the full game and cannot be registered (press R on the main menu)
https://web.archive.org/web/20000302140420/ht … ctix/index.html

konc wrote on 2021-04-22, 14:47:

This is a capture from wayback machine, "Galactix was our very first game released back in 1992, and it is now Freeware " v1.5 […]
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gaffa2002 wrote on 2021-04-22, 14:16:

As for Galatix, I couldn't confirm it was freeware.

This is a capture from wayback machine, "Galactix was our very first game released back in 1992, and it is now Freeware "
v1.5 says "free shareware" but it's the full game and cannot be registered (press R on the main menu)
https://web.archive.org/web/20000302140420/ht … ctix/index.html

Great, thanks!
Ok, now I really don’t know what to do with this game... I could either add it to this compilation or add it to the shareware compilation I’m planning to make. My understanding is that the developer created a special shareware version with all levels instead of just releasing the existing registered version as is. Guess I’ll add it to the shareware CD as I’m having trouble filling it.

xcomcmdr wrote on 2021-04-13, 20:41:

- Igor : objective Uikokahonia

Apologies for bumping, I just stumbled upon this thread while looking for something else. I've never heard of Igor having become a freeware game.

I just looked it up, the Wikipedia entry suggests that the freeware release was announced in 2007 here:

Das erste Pendulo-Spiel Igor: Objective Uikokahonia wird außerdem ab sofort als Freeware verbreitet.

"Additionally, Pendulo's first game, Igor, is from now on distributed as freeware."

The page links to this forum discussion with the developers, which ends with an extremely ambiguous reply.

But a different thread acts as the official announcement. The developers provided no official downloads though, as it seems.

MrFlibble wrote on 2021-08-25, 14:25:

Apologies for bumping, I just stumbled upon this thread while looking for something else. I've never heard of Igor having become […]
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xcomcmdr wrote on 2021-04-13, 20:41:

- Igor : objective Uikokahonia

Apologies for bumping, I just stumbled upon this thread while looking for something else. I've never heard of Igor having become a freeware game.

I just looked it up, the Wikipedia entry suggests that the freeware release was announced in 2007 here:

Das erste Pendulo-Spiel Igor: Objective Uikokahonia wird außerdem ab sofort als Freeware verbreitet.

"Additionally, Pendulo's first game, Igor, is from now on distributed as freeware."

The page links to this forum discussion with the developers, which ends with an extremely ambiguous reply.

But a different thread acts as the official announcement. The developers provided no official downloads though, as it seems.

Yeah, creating a freeware CD was a lot of trouble due to the lack of information on current status of each game. Another concern is that the developer can make a game freeware at some point, but then start selling it again for some reason. The freeware CD I made seems to be "legal" so far, but it's not guaranteed to remain like that for long.
I just uploaded another CD project, this time with shareware/demos only, a lot of work to fill 700mb of DOS games, but at least no need to worry with legality so much.
DOS Shareware Collection CD

By stumbling on this thread I wanted to download the cd yet found myself a bit saddened by the fact that the download host requires a subscription since the file is archived.

weedeewee wrote on 2021-08-25, 19:14:

By stumbling on this thread I wanted to download the cd yet found myself a bit saddened by the fact that the download host requires a subscription since the file is archived.

Don't be sad, I re-uploaded it 😀:
https://easyupload.io/h7vmjn
Note that everyone is free to distribute and upload it anywhere as the link will expire in 30 days.

gaffa2002 wrote on 2021-08-25, 20:00:

Don't be sad, I re-uploaded it :): https://easyupload.io/h7vmjn Note that everyone is free to distribute and upload it anywhere […]
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weedeewee wrote on 2021-08-25, 19:14:

By stumbling on this thread I wanted to download the cd yet found myself a bit saddened by the fact that the download host requires a subscription since the file is archived.

Don't be sad, I re-uploaded it 😀:
https://easyupload.io/h7vmjn
Note that everyone is free to distribute and upload it anywhere as the link will expire in 30 days.

Many Cheers & Jubilations !

gaffa2002 wrote on 2021-08-25, 19:10:

Yeah, creating a freeware CD was a lot of trouble due to the lack of information on current status of each game. Another concern is that the developer can make a game freeware at some point, but then start selling it again for some reason. The freeware CD I made seems to be "legal" so far, but it's not guaranteed to remain like that for long.

Well, some games are guaranteed to never revert to commercial distribution, at least in a way that could preclude further distribution of the free release, e.g. completely GPL'd stuff.

There are also plenty of games that have always been free as well.

Not to mention that a programme being shareware or demo does not guarantee anything either way. Recently an eager retro game selling company that I will not name demanded to take down free demos of their recently acquired line-up, demos that have been out there for ages and originally come from the developers or first publishers of said games. Even the proper shareware licenses which you can find in Apogee/3DR or Epic MegaGames shareware titles include a clause that the copyright holder reserves the right to revoke the license or any of its terms at any time.

Quick update, the ISO was added to Archive.org, this version includes an updated Readme.txt and also a splash screen before the installer opens.
https://archive.org/details/gaffa-dos-shareware-pack

MrFlibble wrote on 2021-08-26, 09:29:

Well, some games are guaranteed to never revert to commercial distribution, at least in a way that could preclude further distribution of the free release, e.g. completely GPL'd stuff.

There are also plenty of games that have always been free as well.

Not to mention that a programme being shareware or demo does not guarantee anything either way. Recently an eager retro game selling company that I will not name demanded to take down free demos of their recently acquired line-up, demos that have been out there for ages and originally come from the developers or first publishers of said games. Even the proper shareware licenses which you can find in Apogee/3DR or Epic MegaGames shareware titles include a clause that the copyright holder reserves the right to revoke the license or any of its terms at any time.

Unfortunately, the risk will be always there... 🙁

Tried both of the CD's (freeware+shareware) and they worked perfectly. Thanks for that!

Found 1 little "bug". There are a couple of lines in the install.bat which read "REM---" without a space between REM and the minus signs. This produces unknown command errors. It happens very quickly so it won't be noticed a lot I guess. 😀

Yoghoo wrote on 2021-08-27, 18:00:

Tried both of the CD's (freeware+shareware) and they worked perfectly. Thanks for that!

Found 1 little "bug". There are a couple of lines in the install.bat which read "REM---" without a space between REM and the minus signs. This produces unknown command errors. It happens very quickly so it won't be noticed a lot I guess. 😀

Oh crap... now that I noticed it, I can never un-notice it again!
Fixed the spacing and added @ECHO OFF so installation looks cleaner. Now I'm uploading the new ISOs back to archive.org (it should take a while).
Thanks for pointing it out 😀

EDIT: Upload complete. Newest version should be available on Archive.org

Apologies for the bump, but following the recent discussion in the actual freeware CD thread, I'd like to point out a few things for the benefit of anyone reading this topic:

ntalaec wrote on 2021-04-12, 23:21:

https://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/52292-battles-of-destiny-dos-screenshot-the-construction-menu.gif Battles of Destiny (1 […]
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Battles of Destiny (1992)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Destiny

Holistic relatively recently pulled back on the freeware release and are selling this game again through GOG.

xcomcmdr wrote on 2021-04-13, 20:41:

- Igor : objective Uikokahonia

There was indeed talk of this game becoming freeware, dating back to somewhere around 2007 IIRC, but the admin of dosgames.com recently contacted the devs and confirmed that the game is still non-free. I have updated the MobyGames trivia section upon dosgames.com admin's request to reflect this.

Jorpho wrote on 2021-04-09, 21:49:

Was Epic's Seek and Destroy ever released as freeware?

I don't think so.

Jorpho wrote on 2021-04-09, 21:49:

And there's the Pixel Painters trilogy: Electranoid, Xatax, and Laser Light. Not sure about Fuzzy's World of Miniature Space Golf being freeware, and I'm pretty sure Dig-It definitely isn't. Such a pity the people behind those games have vanished so completely.

I've seen a readme/license concerning these releases, however it clearly states that the games could only be downloaded from the official Pixel Painters website -- which has not been preserved by the Wayback Machine "thanks" to robots.txt. Perhaps someone from the Pixel Painters team could be tracked down and asked for a proper freeware release of these titles, but I've not attempted that yet.

xcomcmdr wrote on 2021-04-13, 13:54:

HACKX : Twitch'n'Kill is a full freeware game, compatible with GZDoom.
I did not find any FLOSS DOS Doom port that was 100% compatible. At best, the music is missing. Lack of DEH support it seems.

A while ago I put together a DOS port based on MBF 2.04 for HacX 1.2.

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2021-04-13, 22:01:

This sounds awesome and having all 3 Chex quests on it is just awesome. I was a kid when check quest came out in the cereal box. Lots of memories with that game good times.

What the CD includes as Chex Quest 3 is in fact a completely unofficial version. There's an official (acknowledged by the Chex trademark owners) Chex Quest 3 by Charles Jacobi, one of the creators of the original game, which runs on the ZDoom engine.

There's a more recent project by Doomworld's @Melodic Spaceship that converts the official Chex Quest 3 version to vanilla DOS-based game (with some changes) called Chex Quest 3: Vanilla Edition. It's based on a hacked DOOM.EXE with a DeHackEd patch and thus has a few minor differences from vanilla Chex Quest, and the levels from the third episode obviously had to be edited to conform to vanilla standards.