Colonel's Bequest - 1993 Reissue?

[doctorfargo]

I came across this little bit of information on the Wikipedia article for The Colonel's Bequest:

From the Wikipedia article on the game:
"Originally released in 1989, the game was reissued in 1993 to supplement the release of the sequel, The Dagger of Amon Ra. This version corrects some errors with special effects (for example, the fireflies in the opening boat ride and around the dock are more visible and move less erratically)."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colonel%27s_Bequest

Since it is Wikipedia - it's hard to tell how accurate the above statement is...

But I would like to know more about it, if it is true, what version / release number shows up?

[Tawmis]

I came across this little bit of information on the Wikipedia article for The Colonel's Bequest:

From the Wikipedia article on the game:
"Originally released in 1989, the game was reissued in 1993 to supplement the release of the sequel, The Dagger of Amon Ra. This version corrects some errors with special effects (for example, the fireflies in the opening boat ride and around the dock are more visible and move less erratically)."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colonel%27s_Bequest

Since it is Wikipedia - it's hard to tell how accurate the above statement is...

But I would like to know more about it, if it is true, what version / release number shows up?

Oh. I have two versions of the first LB. I have one installed. I can check the version number and see if the Fireflies look different...

We can begin comparing notes.

[doctorfargo]

The version that I have is 1.000.046. (This is also the version that is on GOG).

Here's what the fireflies look like here - little yellow pixels.

[Tawmis]

The version that I have is 1.000.046. (This is also the version that is on GOG).

Here's what the fireflies look like here - little yellow pixels.

Drat. Same version as both of mine.

[OmerMor]

There are also the Amiga version (1.000.059) and Atari ST version (1.000.062). I might be able to check them later.

[doctorfargo]

This longplay is of the Amiga version - but it also the 1.000.046 version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV6EZyasaVk[/youtube]

[Tawmis]

From Douglas Herring (who worked on CB) - "I was gone from Sierra before the second Laura Bow came out, though I saw it (LB2) in progress. Updating the fireflies in the beginning of TCB? Never heard of such, it seems unlikely..."

[OmerMor]

A few findings:

• The PC v1.000.046 version that everyone seems to have, is from 1993; at least according to its file dates.
• Since the game was first released in 1989, it's reasonable to believe there's an earlier version out there.
• There's a demo from 1989. I looked into it, and the fireflies do act differently. The wander around the same (WANDER.SC script), but their blink pattern was changed (VIEW.101, loop 7) from [on/off] to [on/off/on/on/on/off]. Perhaps the 1989 edition was similar to the demo.

[Tawmis]

A few findings:

• The PC v1.000.046 version that everyone seems to have, is from 1993; at least according to its file dates.
• Since the game was first released in 1989, it's reasonable to believe there's an earlier version out there.
• There's a demo from 1989. I looked into it, and the fireflies do act differently. The wander around the same (WANDER.SC script), but their blink pattern was changed (VIEW.101, loop 7) from [on/off] to [on/off/on/on/on/off]. Perhaps the 1989 edition was similar to the demo.

I wonder if someone played the demo and saw the difference and perhaps assumed? I am pretty sure the copy I have of CB was the initial release. I will see if I can look at the file dates.

[OmerMor]

If it's indeed the initial release and it's not v1.000.046 I'd love to get a copy and analyze its scripts!

[Tawmis]

Mine is Version 1.000.046

But the files are dated 1989.

So I guess that should put it to rest.

[Collector]

The main resource in your copy was last compiled was the middle of Dec. 1989, which means that the game was most likely released sometime early in 1990.

[Tawmis]

I am pretty sure I mentioned this site somewhere around this forum, but this might shed some light:

http://colonelsbequest.net/extras/releases

There was only one released version of The Colonel's Bequest, the game was never updated. This public version was v1.000.046. This version was also used on the various re-releases over the years.

Re-releases
The Colonel's Bequest was re-released various times over the years. As noted, those releases are exactly the same version as the 1989/1990 version. Most of the times the manual/documentation/additions was simplified though, i.e. backstory and pictures removed. Also the additions like the map, magnifying glass, pencil and notebook were removed and the copy protection simply consisted of a sheet of paper or page in the manual with the fingerprints.

[OmerMor]

At least the last paragraph on this page is objectively wrong:

Demonstration versions

In the late 80's, Sierra did not create demonstration versions of most of their games, so Sierra never released a demonstration version of The Colonel's Bequest.

The demo can be downloaded from this page: https://www.scummvm.org/demos/

[Collector]

Which they got from this site. http://sierrahelp.com/Misc/Demos.html#LB

That aside, Sierra surly did release a number of demos from that era. Off the top of my head there are at least TCB, KQ1SCI, KQ4, Camelot, HQ, LSL2 and 3, PQ2 and SQ3 in SCI.