"Black Dawn" series

[NeoHippie2016]

Introduction:

It all started in 1994 with a little PD game that Andrew Campbell conceived and programmed. Already after the first release "Black Dawn" was very noticed, what was not so easy in the big market of Amiga games for PD.
In the end there was a series of probably nine titles which were finished between 1994 and 1998 and which were linked to the original program in terms of content or playing technique.
The Black Dawn series is not an RPG game in the actual sense, since all games of the series are only played with 1 person and no groups are formed.
The Black Dawn series is more of a first person action game with some role playing elements. Of course there is no 360° 3D scrolling in the labyrinths, but you can always turn 90° as usual.
Even the first part of the series caused a sensation in the PD area, because the quality of this game
even eclipsed many commercial games.
This also resulted in the fact that the other demo versions were still available as PDs, but the full versions with more levels and add-ons were now distributed by the Licenceware companies 5th Dimension and later F1 Licenceware on a "semi-commercial" basis. A full version then cost about 5 English pounds.
I did some research in the course of this report and give some hints where and how to get the Black Dawn titles.

[NeoHippie2016]

BLACK DAWN I:

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Andrew Campbell (Black Dragon Design)
1994 as Public Domain
Black Dawn - Berliner Spielekiste SK 509
Black Dawn Special Edition - Nordlicht PD - 68-09

The first title in the series was released as PD software by Andrew Campbell in 1994. In the same year there was a special edition but also the public domain was released and cost 1,50 GBP. It runs on an A500 with 1 MB. All Black Dawn parts were made with AMOS.
Black Dawn starts with a start screen and then goes directly to the start menu, where you can load the level. The game itself is played in a screen that doesn't fill the screen and where you can mainly see the labyrinth. Similar to the well known "Dungeon Master". You can collect things, open doors, find keys and store them in an inventory.
The mouse control works perfectly and the sound in the game isn't very rich and makes sounds when fighting, when you collect something or when you run against locked doors. As far as the graphics are concerned, you can of course see that the levels were created with a kind of modular system, but they still look very good. As already mentioned. It was all PD.

https://ibb.co/album/c6eWbF

[NeoHippie2016]

BLACK DAWN II:

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Andrew Campbell (Black Dragon Design)
1995 with demo version as Public Domain and full version as Licenceware.
Black Dawn 2 (Demo) - Nordlicht PD - 21-02
Black Dawn 2 (Full Version) - 5th Dimension Licenceware

The second part of Andrew Campbell was released in 1995 and was distributed by 5th Dimension Licenceware as mentioned above. The full version with 30 levels cost only 5 GBP. Amazing what was on only one disc. Also here an A500 with 1 MB was enough.
The first thing that came in BD2 was a title music in the opening credits. Also in the reference "In Game Sound" something happened. Now you can hear his step noises when you move in the labyrinths, as well as some other sound effects like shooting, screaming or howling in the wind. The level design looks a bit more colorful overall, but still retains its dark atmosphere, which is supposed to be the case. In the game you can find boards on the walls that can give hints and there is a kind of computer terminal (replicator) where you can improve your equipment with the money you found.

https://ibb.co/album/n7u3qa

[NeoHippie2016]

LEGIONS OF DAWN - Black Dawn III:

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Andrew Campbell (Black Dragon Design)
1995/96 with demo version as Public Domain and full version as Licenceware
Legions of Dawn (Demo) - Berliner Spielekiste SK 806
Legions of Dawn (Full Version incl. Story) - F1 Licenceware No. 085
Legions of Dawn (Full Version HD) - F1 Licenceware No. 086

Black Dawn III - Legions of Dawn again set new standards and came out in 1995/96. As a minimum now 1.5 MB Ram were needed, but best one plays LoD on the A600/A1200, because under kick 1.3 the game does not start from disk. This title was also distributed as licenseware for 5 GBP. There was also an extra HD version from Legions of Dawn. Programmer was again Andrew Campbell.
Also LoD brought some innovations. So you could now choose a fighter for your escape attempt through the labyrinths yourself. Each character has its advantages and disadvantages. Here you can also play around 20 levels, which you can choose from a nice level screen as soon as you have the necessary experience.
The game screen is similar to the previous parts but still a bit better and more varied. In later levels you also run over free landscapes and not only through labyrinths. Opponents now also consist of robots and other creatures. That not all refugees came out of the labyrinths can be seen on the tortured ones, who are partly chained to the walls. Fortunately they can investigate and get equipment and keys. Replicators that can be strengthened for money are of course also available again.
The dark atmosphere of the graphics is intensified by dark clouds, rain and lightning. The game has a really good title sound and the in-game sounds are accompanied by dark music in some levels, while there is howling wind and thunder and lightning in the open air. The shooting noises of the weapons are also well done. And as a bonus you can see the remaining blood spatter on your own game screen.

https://ibb.co/album/m4hOqa

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by Predseda

On Lemon we have these 9 Black Dawn games:

http://www.lemonamiga.com/?name=black+dawn

Surely the "Parasite" games are not in the same series as "Black Dawn" though; it's a different series no?

Also, from the Lemon entries it's very hard to tell the "Black Dawn" series releases i.e. I / II / III / IV etc...

[NeoHippie2016]

BLACK DAWN STORY - HELL AND GONE:

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Kevin Murphy in collaboration with Magnetic Fiction (online books)
1995/96 as Licenceware together with Legions of Dawn at F1 Licenceware

Hell and Gone is not a game of the series but actually belongs to the third part of the series "Legions of Dawn". It is an interactive novella. As an addition to LoD, the novella was also available as Licenceware in 1995.
Hell and Gone is a kind of science fiction story based on the games Black Dawn 1+2.
The story was written by Kevin Murphy. Coder of the online book was Andrew Campbell again

https://ibb.co/album/mbwiqa

[NeoHippie2016]

THUNDER DAWN (Black Dawn IV):

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Andrew Campbell (Black Dragon Design)
1996 only with full version as Licenceware
Thunder Dawn - 5th Dimension Licenceware

Thunder Dawn is from 1996 and Andrew Campbell's last part. Also here a minimum of 2 MB Ram is needed, but it also runs under Kick 1.3.
The biggest difference to the previous titles is that Thunder Dawn doesn't need any more
in the future, but the fighter now fights with bow and arrow.
But Thunder Dawn also plays a different game principle and level design.
If there was always a menu with direction arrows, this is omitted here.
In Thunder Dawn you move the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen to move forwards, backwards, sideways or rotate.
Also the optics is completely different in Thunder Dawn. The screen is now mostly grey/blue, but now fills the screen completely. The somewhat limited colour splendour, however, benefits the movement, because although the whole screen
playing, the game doesn't jerk anywhere, even if you move outside the castles.
The title music in the opening credits and the sound effects with rainplatter, lightning and thunder create a real atmosphere. The enemy monsters now look much better graphically.

https://ibb.co/album/hL153v

[Predseda]

Originally Posted by DamienD

Surely the "Parasite" games not in the same series as "Black Dawn" though; it's a different series no?

Hard to tell, it is more like spin-off, but I feel it fits to BD world. I think least related is ThunderDawn, which is more fantasy than sci-fi. Also there is a story missing in many parts.

Originally Posted by DamienD

Also, from the Lemon entries it's very hard to tell the "Black Dawn" series releases i.e. I / II / III / IV etc...

Yes, but the entries are named after the real game name. For example Hellbound - it is only Dawn, not Black Dawn. But has no. VI in its name. Naming of those games was really confusing.

[NeoHippie2016]

DAWN - A NEW BEGINNING (Black Dawn V):

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Shaun Watters/Tim Gilbert (Z-Soft)
1995/96 with demo version as public domain and registration version at the programmer.
Dawn - A New Beginning (Demo) - Berliner Spielekiste SK 901
Dawn - A New Beginning (Full Version) - Only by registering with the programmer

Dawn - A New Beginning probably came out almost at the same time as Tunder Dawn, but it starts from the story and game design somewhere between Black Dawn 2 and 3. Dawn is no longer written by Andrew Campbell but by Shaun Watters and Tim Gilbert. Dawn is officially considered to be Black Dawn V.
A demo version with 6 levels was released here, the full version (20 levels) was available via registration at Shaun Watters. The registered version even had an A500 and an improved A1200 version.
The game optic now rather follows the first parts again, with a smaller screen, direction arrows and side menu. The game graphics itself offers more colored labyrinths which is well done, but doesn't make the game look so gloomy.
Also here you can find items to collect or replicators to improve the equipment. Dawn - A New Beginning also runs on an A500 despite the colorful graphics and doesn't require an A1200 in the basic version.

https://ibb.co/album/j4B53v

[NeoHippie2016]

HELLBOUND - BLACK DAWN VI:

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Shaun Watters/Tim Gilbert (Z-Soft)
1996 only as full version (21 levels) as Licenceware
Hellbound (Full Version) - F1 Licenceware No. 115

Also Black Dawn VI (Hellbound) was written by Shaun Watters and is the successful attempt to create the Black Dawn series for the first time with a real roleplaying game. Of course there is enough action left as with the predecessors, but for the first time real role-playing elements are accommodated in the game principle.
So this time you can create a crew of 4 before the start, each character has different characteristics (warrior, adventurer, magician, thief). Furthermore, it is now possible to record, store and use things directly from the game screen. There is even a possibility to address various characters in the game now.
The atmosphere in the game is now a bit darker again which comes across well. Also in the level design there is the innovation that you can run within the level in several levels. So you suddenly find yourself in the underground sewer system. The graphics are very nice again and remind you a bit of the look of the Psygnosis classic "Obitus" in the first level.
Sound technically there is a title music again and while the game howls again the wind, the rain splashes and it thunders in the dark forest. I think it's very harmonious.
Hellbound is a really successful leap into the real role-playing camp.

https://ibb.co/album/hQVnGF

[NeoHippie2016]

CHAMPIONS of DAWN - BLACK DAWN VII:

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Shaun Watters/Tim Gilbert (Z-Soft)
1996 as public domain e.g. in the Berliner Spielekiste SK 973

Shaun Watters was tired of programming more Black Dawns, so Champions of Dawn was actually the official last part of the series. Also in the menu navigation, there was now only "Start Game" and "Instructions" was already saved. Also there was no title music anymore. But there were also some interesting innovations in this part.
So the game was no longer programmed with AMOS but Blitz Basic 2.1 was used. But now also A1200 (or at least Kick 2.0) is needed, because the game didn't run on the A500 (also with 2 MB) anymore. The graphics are again relatively gloomy and this time it's all over the screen again. Nevertheless, the whole thing seems a bit loveless. You know the clouds and the rain from the earlier games, otherwise the graphical interface reminds of a kind of early Doomclone. However, the movement here is still limited to 90° turns and has no free scrolling.
Although it's more like Doom in the way it's played, we're now only playing as lone fighters again, so there are also some role-playing elements. By clicking on persons you can get some information about the inmates of the labyrinth and by clicking the right mouse button you get to the inventory menu. In the upper area there is a power bar and a damage bar. You can also tell that you have saved everything by the fact that there is no sound anymore in the whole game and even after your death there is no "Game Over" anymore but you simply fall back into the menu. The last part, a bit loveless.

https://ibb.co/album/gnV9Va

[Predseda]

@NeoHippie2016:

is Dawn: A new beginning the same game as Dawn: A new beginning Remix?

[NeoHippie2016]

BLACK DAWN REMIX (BLACK DAWN VIII):

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Shaun Watters/Tim Gilbert (Z-Soft)
1997 published as Public Domain
Black Dawn Remix - Public Domain at Nordlicht No. 143-01 and PD-Soft No. 4125

The Black Dawn Remix (Black Dawn VIII) is in principle nothing more than the released full version of (Dawn so BD V). The game itself is the same, but first of all there are all 20 levels to play, the introduction screen indicates the current free distribution and the start menu and level screen have been changed. The start file of the game is still called "Dawn5" and the levels themselves are still the same. The game was now simply released as a hard disk folder and no longer on 2 discs. Possibly adjustments (assigns) are necessary here so that the computer finds the game in the suitable folder. Furthermore, the mouse cursor on the A600 had disappeared, everything worked on the A1200.

https://ibb.co/album/cTRiqa

[NeoHippie2016]

BLACK DAWN IX - WORKBENCH INVASION

Manufacturer: Shaun Watters/Tim Gilbert (Z-Soft)
1998 published as Public Domain
Black Dawn IX - Workbench Invasion - Berliner Spielekiste SK 1294

This title is again only in the game box and not at Nordlicht PD, furthermore the game can be found on the Assassins CD No.4.

I have now found the game for Black Dawn 9 - Workbench Invasion. Unfortunately I didn't get the folder to run. By clicking on the icon the game does not start. Therefore I describe the game briefly from the link of a Youtube video. Also the creator of the video probably had problems with starting the game, but he managed it somehow.
The graphics seem to come from the same kits of ThunderDawn and Champions Of Dawn and therefore look the same.
The only difference is that the game now only runs in the window on the Workbench. If it runs. Apart from that everything looks very spartan and other versions will surely do more.
I have the archive times here with adjusted. So everybody can test it.
Who gets it to the run, can let it be announced times, how it goes.

Here the description from the game box SK1294 found.
BlackDawn 9:
... or the Workbench Invasion is a small WB-
Continuation of the well-known action series. The
the actual "manual" consists of only a single
a sentence: Find the exit from the levels and kill
and all those nasty aliens. (That's all of it!) - From OS 2.0.
Author: Shaun Watters

https://ibb.co/album/nwd7GF

[NeoHippie2016]

PARASITE 1 and 2 - Black Dawn Clone but somewhat different...

Shaun Watters and Tim Gilbert released the "Black Dawn - Clone" Parasite 1 and Parasite 2 almost simultaneously. One each at F1 Licenceware and 5th Dimension. You can see that it comes from the Black Dawn construction kit, but both titles have a completely new game variant, which is why they were probably not released under Black Dawn.

[Predseda]

Originally Posted by NeoHippie2016

BLACK DAWN REMIX (BLACK DAWN VIII):

The Black Dawn Remix (Black Dawn VIII) is in principle nothing more than the released full version of (Dawn so BD V).

Now I am completely confused.

If BD V is officially called Dawn: A new beginning and BD VIII is Black Dawn Remix, what is this???



The screen clearly states: Dawn: A new beginning REMIX

[NeoHippie2016]

PARASITE 1

Appeared:
Manufacturer: Shaun Watters/Tim Gilbert (Z-Soft)
1996 only full version as Licenceware
Parasite 1 - F1 Licenceware

In outfit Parasite resembles the Black Dawn series, but it has some other game elements. While in the Black Dawn series you can usually select a level directly, this option is omitted here.
In Parasite you have to get out of the level within a certain time limit as well as commercial Black Legend titles like "Behind the Iron Gate". Therefore you normally play the levels in order.
But the clou is, that Parasite selects at the beginning at least between 2 differently generated start levels. When I started the game a second time, the level structure and even the sound were a bit different.
In the levels you have to collect money, items and keys, which you need to get out of the labyrinth. For example, a green key in the inventory opens a green laser barrier.
But the special thing about both parasite parts is that you can play them via a splitscreen in pairs. Either with 2 mice or a player uses the keyboard. However, the other player is not visible in the labyrinth. Graphics and sound are again very harmonious and well done.

https://ibb.co/album/etOwAa

[Solo Kazuki]

For me this Black Dawn Remix it just modified fifth part.

[Predseda]

Originally Posted by Solo Kazuki

For me this Black Dawn Remix it just modified fifth part.

Unfortunately the linked game doesnt work for me, doesnt get even to the title screen. Accepts assign, but end in black screen. But on-disk Readme talks about Dawn: A new beginning.

[NeoHippie2016]

PARASITE 2

Appeared:

Manufacturer: Shaun Watters/Tim Gilbert (Z-Soft)
1996 only full version as Licenceware
Parasite 2 - 5th Dimsion Licenceware

Parasite 2 is only the continuation of its predecessor and doesn't offer much new besides a slightly different graphics and "In Game Sound". Even the title melody is the same. Also you have to leave the labyrinth within the time limit and you can play in "-player mode again.

https://ibb.co/album/fG1GAa