Flashback Game Release Informations

[dlfrsilver]

Ok, i've read quite a bit of mess about Flashback from Delphine Software.

The very first version to be released was the Amiga version, in french language in End of November 1992/First half of december 1992.

Here the source from the french magazine tilt :

"Tilt n°108 - Novembre 1992
Amiga (Novembre 92), PC et Atari ST (Fin Janvier 93)

Editeurs : Delphine Software / US Gold ; Développeurs : Paul Cuisset, Benoist Aron, Philippe Chastel, Frédéric Savoir, Patrick Daher, Thierry Levastre, Denis Mercier, Thierry Perreau, Christian Robert, Fabrice Visserot et Jean Baudlot."

The game has been tested in the joystick magazine number 033 of December 1992, and was released for Xmas.

In fact, retro-nerd is only right for the english and german releases, which were released only in April 1993.

The SPS 1885 release has no codes and from the informations i got from Benoist Aaron, they made this release with no copy protection for the Classic adventure compilation.

[dlfrsilver]

Found : the PC version was released in shops early April 1993.

[Amiga1992]

HOL info should be updated.
Maybe this thread belongs on the HOL corrections forum instead?

[dlfrsilver]

I will correct the information on HOL.

Damien, can you move this to the HOL correction thread please ? thank you

[DamienD]

Moved accordingly

[AMIGASYSTEM]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

In fact, retro-nerd is only right for the english and german releases, which were released only in April 1993.

There was also the Italian version

[kamelito]

Eric Chahi should be in the credit as they use it's tech to produce Flashback

[dlfrsilver]

Originally Posted by kamelito

Eric Chahi should be in the credit as they use it's tech to produce Flashback

Mmmhh no Kamelito. Another World technology is based on GFA basic and Assembler.

Flashback has been programmed by a totally different team, in a mix of C and ASM 68000.

Benoist Aaron,one of the lead programmers of Flashback, never teamed with Eric Chahi in anyway for Flashback.

Eric chahi NEVER worked nor participated on Flashback, Another World has no links with Flashback.

Many people are mixing up the 2 titles, but they have nothing in common.

Another World use an engine made in GFA Basic, and the cinematics of Flashback were made with a delphine internal tool called D-Poly running on Amiga 4000/025.

[MigaTech]

@dlfrsilver, Thank you for finally clearing this one up! It was getting rather frustrating to say the least. Looks like I was also right about HOL not getting the release year correct.

Incidentally, The movement of the main character are very similar to that of "Prince of Persia" wonder if they implemented it into Flashback?

I actually remember back in the day when I first played Flashback and thinking it was a sequel to Another World. It wasn't until reading a monthly subscription of Amiga Format, I realised it wasn't.

You are correct though, Another World and Flashback have nothing in common except for game play and/or slight layout appearance and of course, software house. Although I am sure Chahi commented once on his thoughts regarding Flashback.

Difficult to say which is best out of these two video games? Probably Another World for the intro and being the first of them. Although I have to say the music on the game option/intro screen of Flashback is simply stunning! Funny, both titles went on to do great things after their launch on Amiga. Such a shame Delphine went defunct in 2004, specially after bringing two of the best video games titles to Amiga.

[dlfrsilver]

Another world was the precusor. But Flashback is really better in every possible way.

Scenario, graphics, animations, etc. The only problem is that your need a soupped up Amiga with a CPU running faster than the stock A500 one, which has nasty slowdowns at critical places inside the game.

An A1200 run finely the game, and at the right speed

[CodyJarrett]

For the purposes of recording research information does anyone have some scans of Flashback reviews in French magazines?

On a general side note, the copyright year in games themselves are often misleading because they mark the date of creation rather than the date of release.

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by CodyJarrett

On a general side note, the copyright year in games themselves are often misleading because they mark the date of creation rather than the date of release.

Exactly CodyJ

Retro-Nerd tried to make that point in the other thread:

Originally Posted by Retro-Nerd

This is off-topic btw: More than one game shows an older copyright, while it was released in the following year. This is nothing new.

[MigaTech]

@DamienD, Yes Retro-Nerd did make this point in another thread. But you still cannot get away from the fact that Flashback was released in 1992. Which is all I was trying to confirm.

Software houses today release next year titles in the previous year, example: WWE titles on the XBOX and PS4.

@dlfrsilver, I agree with you the graphics on Flashback surpass that of Another World and even maybe the game play. But the atmosphere that Another World offers is incredible, not to mention it only had one programmer!

[kamelito]

@Dlfrsilver
If you think that AW use the GFA for the game engine you’re wrong. It is written in asm. Eric used the GFA to build the tools not the game. I’ll need to find the link where Eric talked about FB.

Update : http://obligement.free.fr/articles/itwchahi.php

[lilalurl]

Originally Posted by CodyJarrett

For the purposes of recording research information does anyone have some scans of Flashback reviews in French magazines?

Here you go for Tilt:
http://www.abandonware-magazines.org...=319&album=oui

You want page 48-49:
http://download.abandonware.org/maga...t%20049%20.jpg


Joystick magazine:
http://www.abandonware-magazines.org...=583&album=oui

Pages 204-207:
http://download.abandonware.org/maga...1992-12%29.jpg
http://download.abandonware.org/maga...1992-12%29.jpg
http://download.abandonware.org/maga...1992-12%29.jpg
http://download.abandonware.org/maga...1992-12%29.jpg



Here is another review in another major French magazine called Génération 4 (issue 50, december 92):
http://www.abandonware-magazines.org...=437&album=oui

You want page 42-43 and 44:
http://download.abandonware.org/maga...%20page043.jpg
http://download.abandonware.org/maga...%20page045.jpg

The review (top of page 42) states:
"Disponible sur Amiga et PC en début 93"
which means:
"Available on Amiga and PC in early 93"

A bit ambiguous.
It could either mean "on Amiga right now" and "later on PC"
or
"both Amiga and PC versions will be available in early 93"



I had been wondering about all this since the Flashback on A1200 thread (DamienD ).

What seems to be sure is that reviewers had received a (final?) copy before the end of 1992.
They probably had been told that the game would be avaialble before the end of the year (for the Christmas period at least I guess?).

Was it actually released in shops before 1993? I frankly don't know (almost never went there at the time).


As I was a late comer to the Amiga world, the only magazine I had actually bought was Amiga Concept (scans also available on the same site) but since it started in 1994 it was not useful to check it.
Not sure if there were specialized French Amiga magazines at the time that could have tested the game with more precise release information.


Edit:
Interesting stuff in the Joystick review, hinting at a potential non-final copy of the game:
page 206 (picture middle left): blue aliens (not green)
page 207: bottom right frame states: "2 disquettes", ie 2 floppy disks. Maybe a misprint?

My guess would be a partial review copy (indeed 2 floppy disks). Only the first levels and additional pictures provided by the developer/publisher. Which would explain the blue aliens.

Edit2:
Blue Aliens too in Tilt and Génération4

It seems to be the same picture in Génération 4 and Joystick. Génération 4 has an additional picture of the alien level though (but blue aliens remain)

The picture in Tilt seems to be the same too but I am not 100% sure (the scan is more blurry than the others)

[malko]

Thank you for the links

Didn't know that the French magazines were available in abandonware.org

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by lilalurl

page 206 (picture middle left): blue aliens (not green)

<snip>

Which would explain the blue aliens.

<snip>

Edit2:
Blue Aliens too in Tilt and Génération4

<snip>

Génération 4 has an additional picture of the alien level though (but blue aliens remain)

In the Mega Drive and SNES versions the aliens are blue instead of green... they must have used screenshots from these

[lilalurl]

Originally Posted by DamienD

In the Mega Drive and SNES versions the aliens are blue instead of green... they must have used screenshots from these

If by "they" you mean developer/publisher, I guess so. The screenshots may be from the MD version.

But if by "they" you mean the magazines, it is unlikely since the console versions were not yet released.


Or perhaps the Amiga version had blue aliens at some point and they were later changed to green?

Actually, that alien colour question is quite interesting because unless I am mistaken, only the Amiga version has green aliens.

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by lilalurl

Actually, that alien colour question is quite interesting because unless I am mistaken, only the Amiga version has green aliens.

As far as I know, and trust me I've played a lot of different system versions; yes

[dlfrsilver]

Originally Posted by kamelito

@Dlfrsilver
If you think that AW use the GFA for the game engine you’re wrong. It is written in asm. Eric used the GFA to build the tools not the game. I’ll need to find the link where Eric talked about FB.

Update : http://obligement.free.fr/articles/itwchahi.php

that's a supputation from him. Anyone can say "they picked my technology".

He never saw flashback source code. He was the precusor, but of course, many other engineers can also do what he did.

It's like for instance John Carmack saying to the other coders "they picked my technology without crediting me". lol

Conrad character is a 2D sprite, in another world, not ! The only parts that would possibly do the same thing as AW, are FB cinematics.

And those were made with the D-Poly custom tool, which is running on Amiga 4000


the story behind the late release of Flashback in english, german and italian is due to the piracy of the french version, translated directly in english when released in the Interpol crack.

The PC was released in january 1993. About the Amiga version, the legal deposit at the french national library (the moment you depose it for selling) for the Amiga version is 1992. All the other releases legal deposit is 1993.