well following the readme from inside the package:
So here we have the long lost pre-release demo for UFO: Enemy Unknown.
Found this in a badly mangled state on an old PC Format cover CD (Gold '95) - it was in a ZIP archive together with a demo for Dragon Sphere, but with no folder structure.
This would actually be my first ever copy of UFO, but I was never able to play it. Just recently I decided to take a closer look, and was surprised no end to find out what it actually was.
So! By hunting through the executable and comparing the file names to those from the final release of the game, I've rebuilt the folder structure and got it running. The sound settings are configured for use with DOSBox.
The demo announces itself as being made for PC Gamer, so I'd assume it originally came from one of their cover discs - though whether it was broken there too, I wouldn't know.
When you run the demo, you'll first be shown some old screen shots, then the soldier inventory screen. There's no "OK" button in this version, so you'll need to right-click to clear it and start the actual game.
"Trigger" scroll mode is active by default, you'll probably want to use the options screen (click the "?" icon) to switch to "auto" mode and turn the game speeds down.
Many of the items hidden in this demo appear different to those from the final release of the game, but you're only granted "vanilla" equipment by default. If you want to see and use all the other stuff, move the files from the EXTRA folder into the MISSDAT folder (overwriting the previous versions). This'll fill your SkyRanger with junk and grant one of the soldiers some psi skill.
Post subject: Re: UFO - Enemy Unknown (Pre-Release Demo) Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:45 am
Amateur Beta Collector
Joined Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:41 pm
Posts 290
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Nice find! On In'side Multimedia 7/94, I found a German demo of the game, dated to May 27, 1994. Your demo is from February 25, 1994. I noticed that some of the files in my demo are older than files in your demo. For example the MISSDAT files are about 5 days older. http://www63.zippyshare.com/v/15453723/file.html
Post subject: Re: UFO - Enemy Unknown (Pre-Release Demo) Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 7:58 pm
Amateur Beta Collector
Joined Sun Jul 31, 2011 9:29 pm
Posts 171
Favourite OS DOS
ChuckBROOZeG wrote:
Quote:
Found this in a badly mangled state on an old PC Format cover CD (Gold '95) - it was in a ZIP archive together with a demo for Dragon Sphere, but with no folder structure.
This would actually be my first ever copy of UFO, but I was never able to play it. Just recently I decided to take a closer look, and was surprised no end to find out what it actually was.
So! By hunting through the executable and comparing the file names to those from the final release of the game, I've rebuilt the folder structure and got it running. The sound settings are configured for use with DOSBox.
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