Does anyone know why The Edge released Fairlight II twice?
Can anyone clear this up?
The original Fairlight II release appears to be a 48/128K dual release, in that if you have a 128K machine it loads both parts of the game in one go (on 48K you have to multi-load the second part in).
But there's also a second release, which has a gold sticker on the case reading "Special 128K/+2 Version". The release code for both versions is the same - EDG10 SC.
I assume this is the same as the original release, just sans the 48K version. So why bother release it? Maybe the second release was fixed so that it loaded on +3/+2A computers? (As the original release locks up when loaded on these machines).
The original Fairlight II release appears to be a 48/128K dual release, in that if you have a 128K machine it loads both parts of the game in one go (on 48K you have to multi-load the second part in).
But there's also a second release, which has a gold sticker on the case reading "Special 128K/+2 Version". The release code for both versions is the same - EDG10 SC.
I assume this is the same as the original release, just sans the 48K version. So why bother release it? Maybe the second release was fixed so that it loaded on +3/+2A computers? (As the original release locks up when loaded on these machines).
Post edited by MartynC on
Comments
I've never forgiven the Edge (who published Fairlight 1 and 2) for forcing Rich Jordan to abandon his (fantastic) PC port of Fairlight.
Aside from Fairlight 1 and 2, Brian Bloodaxe (a really good game that I thought was under-rated), and Bobby Bearing, what other good Speccy (and non-Speccy) games did the Edge release?
http://www.oocities.org/timessquare/portal/6986/bo.htm
I send to Bo Jangeborg this discussions post.
I should also mention that The Edge product codes aren't unique to each release. For instance there were two 48K versions of Fairlight (1) released under EDG5SC. The first version was keyboard only, while the second release had optional joystick controls. Way back when, you could contact The Edge to exchange version 1 for version 2. Fairlight 128 was also released under EDG5SC.
Inside Outing aka Raffles (82%), Mindstone (89%), Garfield (90%) and That's the Spirit (82%).
Fairlight (95%), Fairlight II (81%), Brian Bloodaxe (86%) and Bobby Bearing (94%)
(CRASH ratings in brackets)
I've only played PSI Chess and Inside Outing from that list, and neither were good. PSI Chess didn't play too well ( I remember I could beat it a few skill levels in, IIRC, which doesn't say much for the game at all, PSION Chess used to flatten me), and Inside Outing looked nice, but (again, IIRC) wasn't much fun to play and didn't grab me at all.
I don't have much to add about the old Fairlight II issues since I am not sure what the Edge did with it.
http://www.lemon64.com/?mainurl=http%3A//www.lemon64.com/games/list.php%3Fpublisher%3DThe+Edge
R.I.S.K on c64 was very nice , renamed KRIS
and of course alien syndrome
soldier of light c64 was a rush job and ian & mic ended up taking "mr litigation type person" to court
I thought Inside Outing was pretty good, but then I'm a sucker for isometric arcade adventures. There were better examples of the genre though.
I guess the question is: does the "Special 128K/+2 Version" also include the bog standard 48K version. Would someone with a copy be able to check? (I note a couple of copies recently sold on eBay, so there's definitely copies about).
It's certainly not possible that Tim "Scumbag" Langdell would have released exactly the same content under a new label just to attempt to sell it twice, since he is such a nice guy!
it's actually a pity certain folk gave up making games due to none payment etc.
is he even a proper "Dr." ?
Something similar happened with other developers:
http://imr.ip-design.com/imr/iview/c33i_m.htm
This comment is also interesting:
http://www.develop-online.net/news/32476/The-Chaos-Engine-rallies-against-Langdell#comment_2807
It seems so:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1329953&threshold=1&commentsort=0&mode=thread&cid=28995575
His resume makes some "interesting" claims:
http://www.zoominfo.com/#!search/profile/person?personId=180357509&targetid=profile
It's intended to make him seem particularly clever, although he's obviously not. After extorting a few developers that could not afford spending money on lawsuits, he tried to use the same tactics against Electronic Arts lawyers. That wasn't exactly bright...
I'm just glad that the Internet ensures scumbags cannot remain unnoticed anymore. As a bonus, now we even get satires like this.
Thanks for reminding me :(
That looked soooo good!
Blimey. He makes Paul McKenna look like a reasonable chap!
Basically, the more common 48/128 release *only* includes the 48 version. Despite the manual saying that the game will load in one go on a 128 and in two parts on a 48, it loads in two parts regardless of the available memory. This also means that 128 owners don't get any AY music.
The separate "Special 128/+2 Version" contains just the 128 version, as you'd expect. Loads in one go and features AY music on title screen and in-game. The manual is the same as the other release however, complete with instructions to type LOAD"".
So Fairlight II is just like the original game, with separate 48 and 128 versions. Edge confused matters by using the same manual for both, most likely to reduce costs.
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.