Games: Info Needed thread

[Twistin'Ghost]

I will use this thread for times when even us Sherlock HOLmes types can't work out stuff on games in the HOL. We turn every stone in most cases, so these will be brain teasers for sure. And I'll start the ball rolling with a doozy:



There was no title screen on this CDTV disk, but the filename was (get ready for this...)

Fremdsprachenraetsel Spanisch 1

No, I can't pronounce the word, but it turned up zero on Google. Maybe it's spieled wrong (sorry...terrible pun, I know), maybe anything really. Can we at least confirm that Fremdsprachenraetsel is a word?

Publisher name on file was Ingenio, so does that make Joker the developer? I'm hoping Andreas or Bernd (or anyone else, really) has more info on this title, as I consider it an anomaly.

Stay tuned to this channel for more anomalies as I stumble across them!

[CodyJarrett]

Fremdsprachenrätsel (note the ä) means "Foreign Language Puzzle" e.g. crossword puzzle.

[Paul]

Eh?

Good luck Twist This has lost me.

[Feltzkrone]

Well, Ingenio at least released some other educational software. Look here: http://www.amigaplus.de/service/ago/otha3.htm

There's a software named "Vokabel-Trainer Spanisch" but I guess it's different from the game you want info about. BTW: Vokabel (de) = Vocabulary (en).

[Twistin'Ghost]

Thanks, Feltzkrone - I had that page tucked away somewhere and haven't gotten back to it yet. Now I need it, so that's a big help.

[Twistin'Ghost]

Dunno if anyone else has yet run across ths next pair of disks, but according to the info on the files as supplied by the alleged crack team TRSI, it should be:

TITLE: The DreamScape
PUBLISHER: Empire
DATE: 1996
NUMBER OF DISKS: 2

I have never heard of any such game. The bootup message from TRSI indicates that it's a sequel to DreamWeb, but I am aware of no sequel to that game (although there probably should have been one...). Somewhere on the disks, either the bootup or file datestamps, indicated 1996 and I am quite certain Empire released no such game in 1996. In fact, Empire released nothing for the Amiga that year, just strategy and simulation fare for the PC. In fact, DreamWeb is (IIRC) the last Amiga title from Empire. So far this reeks of fake, but it gets worse.

When attempting to load the game executable, an OS-type message pops up telling you that the game requires OS 3.2 and some (V4.1xxx) version number, which is also a load of bollocks. I am aware of no 3.2 and the version numbers for 3.5 weren't even as high as 4.1. I even tried the game with all the 3.x ROMS to no avail.

Somewhere on the disks is a message that to install the game to hard drive, just copy the files and launch the loader, stating no special dirs or assigns are neccesary. I copied them all to ram: and tried to run from there, but got that same stupid OS request again (shouldn't it have been a KS request?)

So I dumped the ASCII contents from each file hoping for some indicative text strings, but there was mostly just binary garbage. The few text strings present looked like HD data that had nothing to do with any game.

So it seems pretty clear that this is a fake of the lowest degree. Anyone know anything about it, though? The real TRSI would never put their name on crap like this, so it was probably either some rivals (in 1996?) or more likely some lamer looking for upload creds. I was not as entrenched in the scene in 1996, so I don't have any readme's about the origins of this release. Anybody?

[DrBong]

@Twistin'
Around that time I remember that there were occasional game or util scene releases that were faked. It was usually a good way of spreading a virus coz people always identified with releases from bigger names like TRSI and at the time Ami releases were getting thinner. Other times it was a good way for lamers to get credits on leet boards/ftps, which had a ratio.

Having said that I can't remember a game called Dreamscape being released in '96.

Why doesn't someone check out http://www.trsi.de/ ?
That's the official TRSI site. Go to the forum and ask them. Direct them to HOL and tell them you need help with some info.
Who knows? Maybe they'll become members here and have some info on how to get Putty Squad (wishful thinking, but how many of ya's have contacted TRSI, Digital Corruption, Hoodlum, etc? They should be the one's to contact....them and magazine reviewers)

[Twistin'Ghost]

Good idea, Amigaboy. I've emailed TRSI.

[Twistin'Ghost]

OK, time to add another game to this thread. We are all aware of the classic game Atomix from Thalion. But I ran across this image of the same-named game from Kingsoft. Can anybody shed any light on this release?

[DrBong]

Seen that game too......probably on Ebay. Looks to be a later release by Kingsoft as it's compatible with the A4000 according to the sticker on the box. I'm at work right now, but I might have some info. about it at home.

[Codetapper]

A french fellow requested someone to update Archer Maclean Pool so that it would support his version. I have since done this but notice that the title pic doesn't say POOL like the other game, but instead Billard Americain.

It's the French version of the game as the manual protection screen asks you to type in the word from the French manual (other 2 versions I have seen both show English instead).

Should this be added as a new HOL game now and link to the other one? Double barrel attached for your thoughts:

[Twistin'Ghost]

Originally posted by Codetapper
Should this be added as a new HOL game now and link to the other one? Double barrel attached for your thoughts:

Actually, yes, since there is a unique title screen and somewhat unique code (loader, protection) the same way we would list any foreign language title, or even English title (ie, Explora).

Edit: I wonder if there's a unique box and disk with that name, too.

[DrBong]

It could be that the Kingsoft release of Atomix is a budget re-release of Thalion's 1990 game. Kingsoft and Thalion are both German companies and we know that a lot of them had links when it came to Amiga games.

I've got one or two Kingsoft games here in the exact same packaging as that pictured (with Toys R US price tags to boot!), and it's a lot crappier than even the early boxed Kingsoft full price releases of the late 80s.

The pictured box would also indicate that the game was released no earlier than 1992 because of the A4000's appearance on the compatibility sticker. Kingsoft's full price releases in the 90s, however, came in nice big solid boxes.

I'm really just making guesses here based on a few observations. The fact that Google doesn't turn up anything whatsoever on a 90s release of Atomix by Kingsoft also seems quite odd and makes me lean in the direction of my guesses.

Of course, it would be nice if one of us could lay our hands on the Kingsoft release of Atomix. May have to keep an eye on the German Ebay auctions to do that methinks!

[Twistin'Ghost]

Yup. By the way, that was was seen recently on an auction at Hood.de along with a crapload of other obscurish Kingsoft games.

[DrBong]

No wonder the Kingsoft release of Atomix looked so familiar.......I actually own a copy! I found it in a box of games the other night whilst looking for another game. As I guessed, it is indeed a budget release of Thalion's 1990 game. Case solved!

[Twistin'Ghost]

Originally posted by DrBong
No wonder the Kingsoft release of Atomix looked so familiar.......I actually own a copy! I found it in a box of games the other night whilst looking for another game. As I guessed, it is indeed a budget release of Thalion's 1990 game. Case solved!

Excellent work, Sherlock. I really didn't know Kingsoft did Budget releases from other publishers. You will be scanning this next, yes?

[Codetapper]

I looked up Lotus 2 and found somebody had credited 4-Mat (Matthew Simmonds) with the music for Lotus 2. On booting the game it credits music to "Imagitec Design" (Barry Leitch used to work there) and on his site www.barryleitch.com it says he did the music - also the main mod has his name right at the top (and one instrument is named 4matchip1 just to confuse the issue).

Another Barry Leitch game has Imagitec and Barry Leitch in the credits so I've done it the same way by crediting both.

Does anybody know why 4-Mat would have been credited? I can't see anything which indicates he did anything on the game.

Also if somebody has Lotus 1, could they confirm that Shaun Southern did the music? I've got a mod of the game from the net and it claims Shaun Southern did all the music - it would be good to verify this though!

[Off topic here but the Exotica info for the Lotus games is full of incorrect data! Andrew Morris supposedly programming part of the games etc! Hahahaha!]

[CodyJarrett]

Originally posted by Codetapper
[Off topic here but the Exotica info for the Lotus games is full of incorrect data! Andrew Morris supposedly programming part of the games etc! Hahahaha!]

It's worth noting that map makers often put minor mistakes in their maps, which they can use in court if another map maker is accused of copying their work. This has happened in the UK.

I'm not sure if any Amiga websites do this (e.g. adding a dummy name to the credits), but it's one reason to avoid copying other websites like this - credits info should come directly from the games themselves.

[Codetapper]

You also have to be careful when copying data from the game anyway - and I'm not talking about lots of spelling mistakes I've found in HOL from people not typing correctly - but in "Super Cars 2" on the credits screen somebody decided to put "Music by Barry Leech" on the screen.

This is of course incorrect, as his name is Barry Leitch! Perhaps Andrew Morris or Shaun Southern were playing silly buggers?