Better coverdisks, games talking ?

[kremiso]

i would like to search deep into Amiga coverdisk world, because in past i have played a couple of demos that imo were better than the final product, in some aspects (little smooth, more playable, different graphics, faster loadings etc)

well, the coverdisk tosec is 1.5 GB, so any hint to where starting from or what to freely skip would be great, to avoid garbage lol
i am testing the Amiga Action atm

[Matt_H]

This is a pretty vague question. Do you remember any of the games? Knowing that we can then figure out which coverdisks the demos were on.

[kremiso]

oh, my bad, i'm not searching for the same demos, it was a general talk
just want an hint to what coverdisks are better to test, because the entire tosec is quite big

the thread title clarify what im searching for, i have no particual preferences in Amiga versions or games genres, just some ones you think worth a try, or some magazine collections to avoid

ie i'm already ok with public domain games

[dreamkatcha]

It's already pretty commonly known, but the one that immediately springs to mind is Donk, which underwent a slight name change as well as main sprite swap.

I don't think you'll find a huge number of other dramatic examples because by the time games are ready for a playable preview, most elements are too entrenched to adapt. I'd enjoy being proven wrong though.

[idrougge]

I remember Jaguar XJ220 being sufficiently dissimilar, as well as that other Core game, Chuck Rock 2.

[kremiso]

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

...I don't think you'll find a huge number of other dramatic examples because by the time games are ready for a playable preview, most elements are too entrenched to adapt. I'd enjoy being proven wrong though.

prolly
you know, it's just how many demos/preview games are developed
sometime i have more fun in playing some of them, old school style, ie trying to have the better score, limited in a single/couple of level/s

one single loading, no intros, press fire and go

[Retro1234]

there are a number of games where the demo is different in someway not necessarily better.

[dreamkatcha]

It would definitely be a fun project to root them out/showcase in a video.

I'm sure there's a similar thread around here somewhere that identifies cases where paper previews showed graphics that were later changed. It may be worthwhile to see if those made it onto coverdisks.

[Matt_H]

If you’re just looking for coverdisks to try, I think your best bet is to browse AMR, look at the coverdisks page for each issue and see if anything appeals to you.

As far as specific differences from commercial releases go, the original Lemmings demo has a different title screen, different levels, and a tiny tweak to the UI. WormsDC had slightly different demos for CU Amiga and Amiga Format.

One coverdisk that I enjoyed was Mortal Kumquat III, or something like that, from Amiga Action. I really don’t like one-on-one beat-‘em-ups but thought this was a marvelous parody.

[chip]

Music can be different on coverdisks

I well remember Benefactor demo has different module for example

[kremiso]

thank you for the entries

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

It would definitely be a fun project to root them out/showcase in a video...

i'm not good in doing videos, but is indeed a cool idea
prolly most of these demos are already in the .adf tosec too...
if i'll find something strange/interesting, i'll share it here for sure

Originally Posted by Matt_H

If you’re just looking for coverdisks to try, I think your best bet is to browse AMR, look at the coverdisks page for each issue and see if anything appeals to you...

yes, i'm using this approach, but sadly for many magazines it's difficult to reach to read in the image (sometime the content of the disks is not written at all in the cover), so the direct test remain the best option

the latest coverdisks releases require in first to decompact all the demos in hard drive/multi floppy before test them
i have discovered a little big underworld

[Dan]

I remember playing body blows preview,you could chose ninja and one other char.
But when we got the main game, something was different ... very.

[Matt_H]

Originally Posted by kremiso

yes, i'm using this approach, but sadly for many magazines it's difficult to reach to read in the image (sometime the content of the disks is not written at all in the cover), so the direct test remain the best option

the latest coverdisks releases require in first to decompact all the demos in hard drive/multi floppy before test them
i have discovered a little big underworld

Did you see the coverdisk index? That might save you some time.

[kremiso]

Originally Posted by Matt_H

Did you see the coverdisk index? That might save you some time.

oh thanks, yes it is helping a lot for sure, just miss some issue number details, but i presume due to some crappy pd games lol
btw i'll check the same

wondering also about if the demos in the non english magazines had some differences too, maybe i'll check for that too

AC's Tech for the Commodore Amiga (US)
Amiga Dream (FR)
AmigaForum (NO)
Amiga Games disc & mag (DE)
AmigaMagazine ondisk (IT)
Amiga Plus (DE)
Amiga Review (CZ)
Amiga Shopper (GB)
Amiga User International (GB)
Amigo! (DE)
DatorMagazin (SE)
RAM Magazine (FR)

i don't know anything of these magazines

gasp, not a short term project

[Matt_H]

@ kremiso



AC's Tech is a programming magazine, so its disks are going to contain code samples and similar. Amiga Shopper is a productivity magazine, so its disks will contain utilities and application demos. You can skip those two if you're only interested in games.

Amiga User International is a general all-around magazine with a mix of productivity and games and its disks will reflect that. I think their productivity/games split leans more to productivity compared to CU Amiga and Amiga Format.

Originally Posted by kremiso

gasp, not a short term project

No, definitely not.
That's why I was wondering if we could help you narrow down what you were looking for.

[kremiso]

Originally Posted by Matt_H

AC's Tech is a programming magazine, so its disks are going to contain code samples and similar. Amiga Shopper is a productivity magazine, so its disks will contain utilities and application demos. You can skip those two if you're only interested in games.

many thanks, two collection less then

i'm searching mainly two things, games differents from the final release,
and games that have just one or more levels, but with an highscore enter at the end, so entirely playables despite shorter/cutted

ie atm i'm playing an XP8 AGA only level 2 demo lol

[chip]

XP8 AGA title music is wonderful

[kremiso]

Originally Posted by chip

XP8 AGA title music is wonderful

it is

you know, i'm just breaking the standard gameplay pattern (in general)
sometime these demos contain only the better that the final release can give

usual pattern :
first stage - easy tutorial - often boring/useless
second stage - grabbing first weapons/power ups/abilities - fun
third stage - most weapons/abilities unlocked - great fun
fourth stage - increased difficulty x 10 - end of fun
fifth and later stages - just waiting for trainer

[chip]

Have fun then

[rare_j]

The demo of Zool on the cu amiga coverdisk had significantly different (better) gameplay mechanics and much better music than the final release of the game.