Rollercoaster Tycoon Original US Release

[comradesean]

I've been researching the launch of RCT for a week so far and I've found out the US release date was 3/20/99. You can tell the region of the disc by the language selection including American instead of British.

sources:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic ... laJECZf6p8
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic ... 0GhUcupkKA
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic ... UQj6vrYMOQ

I found a boxed copy on eBay which hadn't been reviewed yet, had not received any awards yet and had a quote from the Wall Street Journal written on it which I believed to be an original release, but when it turned up in my mailbox it ended up being a CD that went gold in 5/29/99.



Now, I've been all over the internet including filesharing sites and private trackers and I've downloaded at least 20 to 30 different rips of this game and the earliest US release I've been able to locate is the copy that was duped on 5/29/99.

I did manage to locate a particular UK release that was printed on 3/12/99 (v1.08.164), but this copy is rather strange. It actually has a bit of a history from what I've gathered on the web and was apparently specifically excluded from all patch processes. (I'm not sure how?) One rumor is that it's an Australian release that wasn't meant to be.



I believe that I'm looking for a copy dated similarly to the UK release, running v1.08.164 and contains only the American language, but for everything I've tried I've only come up empty and I've hit a deadend. Might there be anyone out there able to provide me with any additional insight or maybe even be able to provide physical proof of this missing disc?

[Hallfiry]

There are at least 4 demos of the game that are earlier than the earliest retail version:
http://kultcds.com/Games/index.php?page=game&game=76

1999-01-04 English
1999-01-14 Multi Language
1999-02-10 English
1999-02-10 Multi Language

[comradesean]

Thanks, Hallfiry. Those are helpful, but my primary purpose is to create a digital or physical archive of the original retail release in disk or cd images. This is especially difficult since I live in a city who doesn't seem to have any retailers like Game Craze or Bookmans.

I've done some more research and this 3/12/99 (v1.08.164) copy I've located seems to be a leak by the group Fairlight. Probably a pre-release or cracked copy since the patcher doesn't recognize it.
I've also come to the conclusion that this is the version that was shipped internationally and America got v1.08.165 which splintered the add-on fanbase for a short while before the first patch was released.

EDIT:
Just purchased the following from e-bay which looks to be a school release? If that sticker is a date, it's dated eight days before the release I keep finding everywhere and it also has the front artwork which the copy I purchased previously didn't.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351137879094?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Second Edit:
Found more screenshots of that particular cd-case. It looks like they repackaged it into an older box since there's a 2001 copyright on the bottom left of the back of the case. Looks like I'm still no closer to finding this. -_-
http://www.amazon.com/Roller-Coaster-Ty ... 0439468973

Final Edit:
I finally got lucky and not only got someone on eBay who could actually use his print screen button and also has a copy of the launch disc. Ordered it and awaiting delivery now. He says it's a little scuffed, but I'm hoping it's not too bad and I can make a backup for http://redump.org.



*sigh* now I just need to find the 1994 Sam & Max Talkie on CD-ROM release.

[Hallfiry]

Thanks, Hallfiry. Those are helpful, but my primary purpose is to create a digital or physical archive of the original retail release in disk or cd images.

I've also uploaded a disk image of the official Demo CD. It is yet another build and features "American" (in contrast to English) as a language.