I found the final registered version of Extreme Violence!

[dreamkatcha]

Just when I'd given up hope of ever tracking this down... bingo!

I'm jolly chuffed to put it mildly.

[ Show youtube player ] - me playing the almost mythical one-player version complete with enemy AI. Stop laughing, it's proper tough. It's safe to say that human vs computer bouts are tad faster than human vs human ones.

Let me know if you're interested and want me to share it.

[DrBong]

Nice vid mate! The game reminds me a little of Turbo Tomato.

I'm shocked that the game author's final release - the fully registered Extreme Violence V7.23 - isn't available on Aminet! To be fair, I have to wonder how and where the game author made the final release available, as it's not exactly abound all over the net. The truth is out there, though, on this super secret website here! Where's Fox Mulder when you need him!!!

https://is.gd/4qAj2e

EDIT: Hmmm, the final release of the game was on Amiga Power Issue 49 CoverCD. I quite like an Easter egg hunt, but I probably should've checked AMR before trawling through my warez CDs + lists (and Aminet) - d'oh! For all my troubles, I might as well do a quick update of the HOL entry now.....

http://amr.abime.net/issue_49_coverdisks

[dreamkatcha]

Oh. Bugger. There it is. Well, well, erm...

...Obviously, you just uploaded it now to make me look stupid. It's a conspiracy and you're all in on it! Hmmf.

A few years ago I wrote a (sort of, ish) review of EV and turned it into a video. I searched everywhere for the full version at the time and found nothing in the usual haunts. I'm pretty sure I would have exhausted Google searches too.

Anyway, Simon's brother Dave (of Amiga Power fame) found my video and I asked him if he knew where I could get my mitts on the final, registered version. He didn't, but said he'd ask Simon for me. That turned out to be a bit of a dead end so I assumed if even the original author hasn't got a copy, I'm wasting my time.

Yep, there are quite a few of these arena combat games out there, though this is the one I fell in love with as a kid. Actually, I don't think I was aware of any others at the time. I spent hours playing the limited PD version against friends and my brother. Clearly it's nothing special in the visuals department, yet so insanely addictive when you factor in a human opponent who's sitting right next to you, rather than on the other end of a string and tin can on the opposite side of the globe.

I got as much of a kick out of EV as Worms (which I also played to death), if you can believe that. One of those "you had to be there" things I suppose.

Thanks for the detective work... interesting. You'd think with it appearing on a coverdisk, EV would be more commonly available.

[DrBong]

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

Oh. Bugger. There it is. Well, well, erm...

...Obviously, you just uploaded it now to make me look stupid. It's a conspiracy and you're all in on it! Hmmf.

A few years ago I wrote a (sort of, ish) review of EV and turned it into a video. I searched everywhere for the full version at the time and found nothing in the usual haunts. I'm pretty sure I would have exhausted Google searches too.

Sometimes you have to really deep-dive the bigger net sources to find what you're looking for! According to an old EAB post, Minuous has had the full registered version of the game on his website for some years now and, from the looks of it, has been about the only one to offer it for direct download in all this time (as you said, weird that it has remained so obscure despite being included on a mag coverCD!). Like me, he may well have had a helping hand from AMR to track it down way back when.

Anyway, Simon's brother Dave (of Amiga Power fame) found my video and I asked him if he knew where I could get my mitts on the final, registered version. He didn't, but said he'd ask Simon for me. That turned out to be a bit of a dead end so I assumed if even the original author hasn't got a copy, I'm wasting my time.

Minuous came to the same dead end that you did with the original author. Lucky for us (and some of the retro game coders out there) that covermounted disks and CDs, concocted by retro mag publishers back in the day, have preserved some software releases that would otherwise have been lost forever in the mists of time!

Yep, there are quite a few of these arena combat games out there, though this is the one I fell in love with as a kid. Actually, I don't think I was aware of any others at the time.

I think the first ones I might've come across (if memory serves!) were Brutal Homicide, Marathon, Knock Out and Burnout, the latter destined for shareware release by Mark Sheeky before being picked up by Vulcan for commercial release.

Thanks for the detective work... interesting. You'd think with it appearing on a coverdisk, EV would be more commonly available.

It's almost compulsively second nature for me as I've been doing it on the HOL front since 2002 and even longer in a professional capacity!

[dreamkatcha]

LOL. It was even here at EAB right under my nose all along. I can't explain how I missed that avenue too. And I really thought I was gifting jubilation and wonder to the Amigan masses. I'll have to look elsewhere for my superhero fix now.

Thanks for the similar game suggestions. I should do some sort of video rundown of them all sometime. It's always fun to showcase the more obscure titles.

[Predseda]

Good work. Now find full Moose Drive

[DamienD]

...or Genie

[Magno Boots]

Hi guys.. it's been a long time

I didn't realise Moose Drive was a rarity?

Check The Zone

[dreamkatcha]

Somehow I suspect these are more long-lost-but-not-really-at-all treasures buried in plain sight.

[Magno Boots]

long-lost-but-not-really-at-all treasures

Love that quote!


I must have 'catweaseled' the disks before throwing everyting out ten years ago.


Hopefully someone will enjoy the game

[Gzegzolka]

Cool to see another game preserved

[dreamkatcha]

Originally Posted by Magno Boots

Hi guys.. it's been a long time

I didn't realise Moose Drive was a rarity?

Check The Zone

Thanks. This looks like it could be fun; reminds me of Indy Heat or Ironman. There seems to be a distinct lack of mooseses though. Are they under the car bonnets/hoods, as in moose-powered?

[Magno Boots]

There seems to be a distinct lack of mooseses though

It's not a bad little game for a PD effort

It appears that the author is the 'moose' in moose drive

The other entries are by an old mate and his family. They must have saved their names before I got my got my thieving hands on his disks

[dreamkatcha]

Ah, now I see. Makes sense what with the llama angle already covered. I always secretly hoped for some alpaca spin-offs, but sadly Mr Minter's heart was already betrothed to his first love. I took one for a walk in the lake district once, that was fun. Incidentally, Jeff released a game called 'Moose Life' this year. This has all become very stream of consciousness...

[DrBong]

Originally Posted by Predseda

Good work. Now find full Moose Drive

Originally Posted by Magno Boots

Hi guys.. it's been a long time

I didn't realise Moose Drive was a rarity?

Check The Zone

Your wish is our command here at EAB Predseda! Well down MB for thieving the disks from your mate back in the day () and having the presence of mind to image them before ditching everything a decade ago!!

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

Somehow I suspect these are more long-lost-but-not-really-at-all treasures buried in plain sight.

Yep, probably a fair few scattered around my place in game boxes and on my various hard drives, zip/jaz disks, CDs etc. etc. I'm sure I'm thoroughly unaware that at least a few of them are long-lost-but-not-really-at-all treasures buried in plain sight (geez, try saying that line ten times in a row after having too many cuppas of coffee with grappa thrown in! )

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

LOL. It was even here at EAB right under my nose all along. I can't explain how I missed that avenue too. And I really thought I was gifting jubilation and wonder to the Amigan masses. I'll have to look elsewhere for my superhero fix now.

Maybe you can redeem yourself! Since you've been a big fan of Extreme Violence from way back, can you tell me if there were any public release versions prior to V6.9?! I can't seem to find any demo versions (shareware or otherwise) of the game prior to V6.9, which is quizzical given the high version number.

[dreamkatcha]

Originally Posted by DrBong

Maybe you can redeem yourself! Since you've been a big fan of Extreme Violence from way back, can you tell me if there were any public release versions prior to V6.9?! I can't seem to find any demo versions (shareware or otherwise) of the game prior to V6.9, which is quizzical given the high version number.

Afraid not. The first time I became aware of the game is when I played it via Amiga Power coverdisk 24 (April 1993) and that's the 6.9 shareware version everyone has.

There's no change history in the doc file for this or the fully registered release so I have no idea how we finally got to version 7.23. I'd imagine everything that came before was a prototype that never left Simon's bedroom or was only ever passed around between friends and family. That or the high number was a joke to make it look like the game had been through plenty of revisions and was now the equivalent of a finely matured Château Lafite.

I've just tried the one that was sent to Amiga Format subscribers (issue 51, October 1993) and noticed that's also the 7.2 final registered version. If I remember correctly, in-game it states it's version 7.2 and 7.23 in the doc file like the one that came with Amiga Power.

On my travels, I discovered that the son of James Kemsley (one of the artists behind Australia's oldest running comic strip, Ginger Meggs) was/is a fan of Extreme Violence (the game, not the spare time hobby/pursuit). Unfortunately, his dad was more into his Apple Macs before passing away in 2007. Never heard of it until now so I don't think it made it to the UK. I'm sure you know all about it though.

[daxb]

Try the version command on the executable. The V6.9 gives 1.34f as version. You may check the latest version with the version command.

[DrBong]

Originally Posted by dreamkatcha

There's no change history in the doc file for this or the fully registered release so I have no idea how we finally got to version 7.23. I'd imagine everything that came before was a prototype that never left Simon's bedroom or was only ever passed around between friends and family. That or the high number was a joke to make it look like the game had been through plenty of revisions and was now the equivalent of a finely matured Château Lafite.

Thanks for your response! Yeh, there's no change/release history included with any of the public releases. If V6.9 was the first public release, then I have to change the year of release for the game from 1992 to 1993 in the HOL entry.

I've just tried the one that was sent to Amiga Format subscribers (issue 51, October 1993) and noticed that's also the 7.2 final registered version. If I remember correctly, in-game it states it's version 7.2 and 7.23 in the doc file like the one that came with Amiga Power.

Hmmm?? All the archives of the AF 51 subscriber disk I've checked have contained V6.92. Only the AP 49 CoverCD published in 1995 contains V7.23 AFAIK.

Originally Posted by daxb

Try the version command on the executable. The V6.9 gives 1.34f as version. You may check the latest version with the version command.

Thanks for looking, but I'm certain that using the version command on the exec corresponds to the version of AMOS that was used to write/compile the game. The docs either list AMOS V1.34 or V1.36 being used for that purpose.

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by DrBong

Yep, probably a fair few scattered around my place in game boxes and on my various hard drives, zip/jaz disks, CDs etc. etc. I'm sure I'm thoroughly unaware that at least a few of them are long-lost-but-not-really-at-all treasures buried in plain sight (geez, try saying that line ten times in a row after having too many cuppas of coffee with grappa thrown in! )

If you could find Dogfight II that would be much appreciated

[dreamkatcha]

Originally Posted by DrBong

Hmmm?? All the archives of the AF 51 subscriber disk I've checked have contained V6.92. Only the AP 49 CoverCD published in 1995 contains V7.23 AFAIK.

Sorry, I'm losing the plot. I had a few different versions mounted in Workbench via various means and got confused over which one I was running. Like you say, it's just a shareware demo on the AF disk.