Wolfenstein 3D Alpha?

pjVgt · 07-02-2010, 12:23 PM

I don`t know if it was mentioned before but there is a Wolfensteind 3D "alpha version" circulating across the internet (no links - search on Your own responsibility).

There are some differences but not that much:
- it is first episode with 10 levels (other 11 maps are inaccesible via game)
- secret 10th level is inaccesible via secret elevator
- enemy sprites are complete with exception of Hans Grosse
- guards and SS are functional with the exception of Hans Grosse
- there are no officer, mutant and other boss enemies
- title screen is different and looks the same what Romero posted on his site
- there is a VGA version sign instead of publisher logo on the loading screen
- different background on the credits roll
- some textures look like made for EGA mode
- some differences in level design
- game cannot be completed last boss is not functional
- music is somewhat different
- enemy fire sound is diffrent
- some enemies appear to be still (but killable)
- secret walls are not pushed they simply dissapear
- cheats works via F10+key scheme

It looks for me like the game was in state before selecting its publisher (lack of publisher logo) and decision how much episodes will be made. Does anyone know something else about this version? Is it real or a hoax?

Litude · 07-02-2010, 03:40 PM

Yeah that alpha is pretty widely known, too bad it has been modified and the clean version is nowhere to be found.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjVgt

It looks for me like the game was in state before selecting its publisher (lack of publisher logo) and decision how much episodes will be made.

Apogee Software is mentioned in one of the text files somewhere, I don't think there was ever any consideration of having Wolfenstein 3D published by another developer seeing as Scott Miller specifically "ordered" id Software to produce a 3D game for his company. Also, the episode number was set in stone I'm pretty sure, they just hadn't gotten around to complete them yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjVgt

Does anyone know something else about this version? Is it real or a hoax?

It's real, just the text files (readme and order info) have been modified from the original. An EGA version would've been so much cooler though.

Seeing as we're talking about Wolf 3D I thought Blake Stone might be quite related. Has the beta that leaked a month or so before release resurfaced?

Frenkel · 07-02-2010, 04:54 PM

I think I read in Masters of Doom that it was planned to let Wolfenstein 3D have the usual of three episodes, but when someone (Scott Miller?) found out new levels could be created really fast the number of episodes was raised to six.

Xgthug · 07-03-2010, 01:22 AM

What disturbs me is how they actually "dumbed down" the game play. You used to be able to drag bodies, wear enemy clothing... and there were some other stealth elements to it. But then they were like "Durr... People want dumber, simpler game play. Run and gun for the win, durrr..." and the sad part is, they were right.

I can understand them not allowing Carmack to make sloped floors and stuff, as that would have added more development time and would have taken away from Doom... But ID seems to have a history and habit of just butchering perfectly good content, and their games suffer a tremendous decrease of replay value because of it.

By the way... Is this the same alpha that has the modified ReadMe file with all that dumb crap in it?

pjVgt · 07-03-2010, 02:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Litude

An EGA version would've been so much cooler though.

Seeing as we're talking about Wolf 3D I thought Blake Stone might be quite related. Has the beta that leaked a month or so before release resurfaced?

As far as I know John Romero is in position of unmodified alpha (both EGA and VGA). Sure thing EGA version would look like crap and works on it were propably cancelled after the alpha, but the nostalgic value!

But I would really prefer to play the beta version - title screen is just cheesy. I know nothing about Blake Stone beta - but it would be fun to see how game was different on earlier development stage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frenkel

I think I read in Masters of Doom that it was planned to let Wolfenstein 3D have the usual of three episodes, but when someone (Scott Miller?) found out new levels could be created really fast the number of episodes was raised to six.

I also remember reading something like that - also that they were joking about Nocturnal Missions title of the expansion pack - by the way, has anyone ever saw Wolfenstein 3D version with only 1-3 epsisodes or only 4-6 episodes version? I think I saw something like that with 4-6 episodes coloured in green on one old PC in my school.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xgthug

What disturbs me is how they actually "dumbed down" the game play. You used to be able to drag bodies, wear enemy clothing... and there were some other stealth elements to it. But then they were like "Durr... People want dumber, simpler game play. Run and gun for the win, durrr..." and the sad part is, they were right.

I can understand them not allowing Carmack to make sloped floors and stuff, as that would have added more development time and would have taken away from Doom... But ID seems to have a history and habit of just butchering perfectly good content, and their games suffer a tremendous decrease of replay value because of it.

By the way... Is this the same alpha that has the modified ReadMe file with all that dumb crap in it?

Yes it is the same version with stupid crap (and propably the only one with the exception of what John Romero has on his disk) - however reading the history of it we should be glad that it ever surfaced earth. I mean who was this guy who had this on his disk? Propably someone fromer working for Apogee or his friends/family.

Regarding the dumbing down version of id games I found those pics on Planet Romero.

For me it looks like You had different functions under 1-9 keys (like weapons) with:
1. looking under the rug
2. dunno what it is (use?)
3. opening doors
4. dragging dead bodies
5. fist weapon (obvious why it was cut)
6. knife weapon
7. pistol weapon
8. explosive weapon (grenade/c-4?)
9. machine gun weapon
0. guard uniform

It was similar to what in Castle Wolfenstein You could do. In the long term I think game benefits from simplicity - when those complicated routines would pass the game would be less accesible. Those were obvioulsy dropped before game went alpha. It is sad when people with ideas like Hall and Romero were cut out by cyborg Carmack. Hall gave the story, Romero ideas and Carmack the execution - that was making games new, fresh and innovative. Id shifted towards "no story policy", "nothing innovative" and "it`s the engine demonstration baby!". However this is now what hits new id games - boredom and repetiveness. Quake 3 was shallow and dull and Doom 3 was painful to play. Maybe Rage will be different.

PimPamPet · 07-03-2010, 02:52 AM

I wish there was an earlier version of Wolf 3-D out there. Romero posted screenshots of an early version with the stealth elements on his website some years ago (2000 or 2001, I think) and it looked pretty cool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frenkel

I think I read in Masters of Doom that it was planned to let Wolfenstein 3D have the usual of three episodes, but when someone (Scott Miller?) found out new levels could be created really fast the number of episodes was raised to six.

Correct.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xgthug

By the way... Is this the same alpha that has the modified ReadMe file with all that dumb crap in it?

Yes. Unfortunately, the alpha was modified from it's original state with stupid references to some BBS.

edit: Beat me to it, pjVgt. :-)

Litude · 07-03-2010, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjVgt

As far as I know John Romero is in position of unmodified alpha (both EGA and VGA). Sure thing EGA version would look like crap and works on it were propably cancelled after the alpha, but the nostalgic value!

I know John posted a few EGA pics somewhere but I also remember him stating that if he had the EGA version he would release it. Chances are he just happened to have some old unused graphics (title screens and some other stuff he posted) somewhere lying around.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjVgt

I know nothing about Blake Stone beta - but it would be fun to see how game was different on earlier development stage.

Yeah, I've only managed to find about half of the files (and taking the rest from 1.0 shareware doesn't work).

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjVgt

I also remember reading something like that - also that they were joking about Nocturnal Missions title of the expansion pack - by the way, has anyone ever saw Wolfenstein 3D version with only 1-3 epsisodes or only 4-6 episodes version? I think I saw something like that with 4-6 episodes coloured in green on one old PC in my school.

There was a version with just three episodes (it's quite rare but not impossible to find, actually seen it on eBay a few times), but there was no version with just episodes 4-6. Ordering those would give you a disk to upgrade the 3 episode version to 6 episodes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjVgt

Yes it is the same version with stupid crap (and propably the only one with the exception of what John Romero has on his disk) - however reading the history of it we should be glad that it ever surfaced earth. I mean who was this guy who had this on his disk? Propably someone fromer working for Apogee or his friends/family.

Well I think he didn't modify the ordering information himself. That was done by whatever BBS the thing was originally uploaded to. I actually mailed the guy who found the alpha a few years ago regarding the possibility of getting the untouched readme and he said he would look if he still had it somewhere lying around. Haven't heard from him since.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjVgt

It was similar to what in Castle Wolfenstein You could do. In the long term I think game benefits from simplicity - when those complicated routines would pass the game would be less accesible. Those were obvioulsy dropped before game went alpha. It is sad when people with ideas like Hall and Romero were cut out by cyborg Carmack. Hall gave the story, Romero ideas and Carmack the execution - that was making games new, fresh and innovative. Id shifted towards "no story policy", "nothing innovative" and "it`s the engine demonstration baby!". However this is now what hits new id games - boredom and repetiveness. Quake 3 was shallow and dull and Doom 3 was painful to play. Maybe Rage will be different.

I doubt those features were even close to being complete before they were canned.

Litude · 07-07-2010, 05:05 AM

I really had no idea this thing was out there:

Also I did manage to find all the files to get this Blake Stone thing running:

Scary disclaimers, especially that last one.

I guess I had never heard of them simply because they are the full games so only few risk sharing them.

pjVgt · 07-08-2010, 05:14 AM

Screw Raptor - but...

Yes Blake Stone BETA! Please make next topic share some differences/post pictures please! This just made my day!

Litude · 07-08-2010, 12:15 PM

You know I've been looking through it and haven't noticed any differences in the beta at all. It is just one month before the game was released and it was stated as being the final beta so I guess there aren't many differences. Still I'm no expert at Blake Stone either so I have probably overlooked something obvious.

Jeffpiatt · 07-08-2010, 01:48 PM

I would guess it probaly looks like the screen shots on the back of the old formgen boxes those had to be beta shots.
http://www.mobygames.com/game/blake-...eCoverId,3959/

Litude · 07-08-2010, 03:17 PM

No, this beta is from one month before release, those shots are from almost a year before release (if you seach for 1bspix.zip and 1bspix2.zip you can see some very early screenshots, but they are not from this beta!). If you really want to see screenshots (and as I said, they will look identical to final stuff), I've taken a few:

Jeffpiatt · 07-08-2010, 07:13 PM

There are noticeable differences between this and the gold version.
Goldfire is still called goldstern
the level loading bars are marked for what they are for.

pjVgt · 07-08-2010, 10:53 PM

I don`t think Goldstern sounds jewish - it is more like german name. In case of Goldberg, Goldbaum or Goldstein - yep that is pure yiddish but I still can`t understand why we can have english named villians and not jewish named villians?

Jeffpiatt · 07-09-2010, 12:18 PM

This was part of the same reasoning that almost got wolfenstine 3D canned. That and goldstern sounds too close to a real name

8IronBob · 07-10-2010, 06:32 AM

Ah yes, Blake Stone...how can I forget Aliens of Gold? I definitely did like that more than Wolf 3D itself, basically...good sci-fi shooter mod if I do say so myself.

Litude · 07-10-2010, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffpiatt

There are noticeable differences between this and the gold version.
Goldfire is still called goldstern
the level loading bars are marked for what they are for.

Teaches me how much I know about Blake Stone.

Jeffpiatt · 07-10-2010, 07:35 PM

the beta was only given some minor changes to get it out before Doom beating it by a week. Planet Strike actually uses more finished graphics for the weapon sprites. we need a separate thread for this beta.

K100 · 07-12-2010, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Litude

I know John posted a few EGA pics somewhere but I also remember him stating that if he had the EGA version he would release it. Chances are he just happened to have some old unused graphics (title screens and some other stuff he posted) somewhere lying around.

I don't know if there are others screenshots of this version.

Litude · 07-12-2010, 02:09 PM

Yeah those pics were already posted and can also still be found from Romero's website here.

But talking about beta title screens, there's this screenshot of Wolfenstein 3D shown when installing the Wolfenstein 3D shareware from my Rise of the Triad CD.

If you didn't spot the difference, the final title screen doesn't have the Apogee logo. I wonder why the Apogee logo was removed from the title screen...

pjVgt · 07-12-2010, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Litude

Yeah those pics were already posted and can also still be found from Romero's website here.

But talking about beta title screens, there's this screenshot of Wolfenstein 3D shown when installing the Wolfenstein 3D shareware from my Rise of the Triad CD.

If you didn't spot the difference, the final title screen doesn't have the Apogee logo. I wonder why the Apogee logo was removed from the title screen...

Propably it was removed because not only Apogee was the distributor - I think in other countries You had diffrent companies. Instead of making each title screen for different distributor hey removed it - to simplify things.

It is a real pity EGA version seems to be lost - if Romero doesn`t have it who could have? I think no one really - Carmack is known for his lack of sentiment and he is the only one who could have it.

Jeffpiatt · 07-12-2010, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjVgt

Propably it was removed because not only Apogee was the distributor - I think in other countries You had diffrent companies. Instead of making each title screen for different distributor hey removed it - to simplify things.

It is a real pity EGA version seems to be lost - if Romero doesn`t have it who could have? I think no one really - Carmack is known for his lack of sentiment and he is the only one who could have it.

the sad thing is that wikipedia uses that image as the title screen shot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wo...tle_screen.png

Iron_Man · 07-12-2010, 07:30 PM

The most interesting comment I've seen in a long time is in this post:

http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20855
Joe's post #21

I think, with the developer's permission, that guy needs to throw that EGA beta build into a zip file and put it on the interwebs.

Naturally that won't happen, as ID/3drealms won't allow it... but that lucky SOB has a copy of it!

pjVgt · 07-13-2010, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Man

The most interesting comment I've seen in a long time is in this post:

http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20855
Joe's post #21

I think, with the developer's permission, that guy needs to throw that EGA beta build into a zip file and put it on the interwebs.

Naturally that won't happen, as ID/3drealms won't allow it... but that lucky SOB has a copy of it!

Dude hat was like 4 years ago...

Iron_Man · 07-13-2010, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjVgt

Dude hat was like 4 years ago...

So? If the guy had them then, why wouldn't he have them now?

robotman5 · 07-13-2010, 08:55 PM

that looks pretty cool.

Litude · 07-31-2010, 06:37 PM

Well, it looks like the fun didn't stop there.

(Wacky Wheels version 1.1 was the first official release)

Curiously the end screen looks like this:

Couldn't find any do not distribute kinda disclaimers from anywhere in this version.

It's from about a month before release (apparently sent to some magazine in the UK or something). I haven't managed to find any other differences yet than the fact that the cheat codes don't work and you don't get an ice cube by holding down your fire key. And the file structure is a bit different. Sadly it seems the /NOFUN parameter doesn't work.

Phil Carter · 08-01-2010, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Litude

I haven't managed to find any other differences yet than the fact that the cheat codes don't work and you don't get an ice cube by holding down your fire key. And the file structure is a bit different. Sadly it seems the /NOFUN parameter doesn't work.

The ice cube cheat doesn't work in shareware version 1.1 either.

Where did you find that? Could you send it to me? I think it would be safe to redistribute it, since it says that it's shareware.

Phil Carter · 08-01-2010, 11:11 AM

Litude: thanks.

Since it appears to be shareware, I uploaded this file to my website: 1ww10.zip. Here are some changes I've found comparing Wacky Wheels shareware version 1.0 to shareware version 1.1:

Some of the cheat codes don't work (as Litude said)
Some of the graphics are different
A few ordering and instruction screens have different wording. In particular, one screen calls the time trial mode a "practice mode," but it's still called a time trial in the race selection screen.

WACKY.LID in version 1.0 is the same file format as WACKY.DAT in version 1.1, so you can extract its contents with the Wombat game tools or libgamearchive.

Comparing WACKY.DAT and WACKY.LID, these files are different: CAMEL.SP, CARS.SP, GIGGLES.SP, INT1.PCX, INT3.PCX, INT4.PCX, OFONT.SP, OR2.PCX, PELICAN.SP, RINGO.SP, SHARK.SP. All of them are graphics files.

WWREG.BIN and WWSW.BIN are present in WACKY.DAT (version 1.1) but not in WACKY.LID (version 1.0). WWSW.BIN is a separate file in version 1.0. I don't know what it's used for.

EDIT: Looking in WW.EXE from version 1.0, there is a /TRACE command line option. I don't know what it does, other than saying "Trace on" when starting the game. Alas, as Litude said, /NOFUN isn't there.

Litude · 08-01-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Carter

The ice cube cheat doesn't work in shareware version 1.1 either.

Ah, my bad. It was such a long time ago that I played the shareware version, must've forgotten.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Carter

WWREG.BIN and WWSW.BIN are present in WACKY.DAT (version 1.1) but not in WACKY.LID (version 1.0). WWSW.BIN is a separate file in version 1.0. I don't know what it's used for.

The .BIN files include the end screens that appear after quitting the game.

By the way, the 21st issue of GameBytes that this build was produced for can be downloaded in its original form from here (graphics file 1, file 2, file3).

Altered Reality · 08-01-2010, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xgthug

What disturbs me is how they actually "dumbed down" the game play. You used to be able to drag bodies, wear enemy clothing... and there were some other stealth elements to it. But then they were like "Durr... People want dumber, simpler game play. Run and gun for the win, durrr..."

Or maybe they were unable to implement their ideas and they were like "Damn, we can't stall the whole production of this game for this! You can run, you can shoot, let's release it!"

Jeffpiatt · 08-02-2010, 01:21 PM

The game came out when a 486 was considered a fast processor. the systems of the time could not handle that kind of game play in a 3d environment.also id could not implement a smooth control setup in a era where most computers had a keyboard for input and a mouse was still a gaming accessory.

moron · 08-04-2010, 12:29 AM

If you have had read the apogee FAQ file (from the old dos days) you would know that wacky wheels and mystic towers were released to Europe early (possibly Like a open beta?) in a 1.0 form. The 1.1 was the first USA release also I think this was in apogee's anti cheater days

Flying Techbot · 12-06-2012, 09:32 AM

I like this topic. I want to talk about the beginning.

Yeah, Wolfenstein 3D had a simplified version of the original Castle Wolfenstein's gameplay, though I am still trying to learn how to play the first Wolfenstein game without knowledge of the controls (It's available on XTC Abandonware, but I haven't found Beyond Wolfenstein yet). However, look at it this way: they had to simplify in order to smooth out the gameplay. Other ambitious FPS/FPRGS tried to implement these features, any they usually ended up convoluted, buggy, and clunky. Well, except for maybe Ultima Underworld at that time. Though, to be fair, I think that id could have pulled the complex gameplay off, considering how they were the masters of programming previously thought to be impossible stuff on low-end computers. The innovation of smooth side-scrolling for computers is an example. Maybe they have found a way to implement that espionage gameplay with the relatively simple yet progressive engine they had then.

Even if they didn't, look at it this way: its been over a decade after its release, and now that huge leaps in computer technology has been made, and that the source code is released, perhaps the modding community could implement the stealth gaemplay into some advanced Wolf mods? Or have they already? May have to check.

By the way, I like seeing alpha textures of the pale Keen-esque version of the hero's head, and the cut icons indicating more complex gameplay. It's color scheme would probably look like Commander Keen's and Dangerous Dave's, but that's not bad. Even with Keen colors, it's engine is still smoother than the use of the DD engine (later CK engine) in the Catacombs-3D series.

07-02-2010, 12:23 PM	#1
pjVgt	Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? I don`t know if it was mentioned before but there is a Wolfensteind 3D "alpha version" circulating across the internet (no links - search on Your own responsibility). There are some differences but not that much: - it is first episode with 10 levels (other 11 maps are inaccesible via game) - secret 10th level is inaccesible via secret elevator - enemy sprites are complete with exception of Hans Grosse - guards and SS are functional with the exception of Hans Grosse - there are no officer, mutant and other boss enemies - title screen is different and looks the same what Romero posted on his site - there is a VGA version sign instead of publisher logo on the loading screen - different background on the credits roll - some textures look like made for EGA mode - some differences in level design - game cannot be completed last boss is not functional - music is somewhat different - enemy fire sound is diffrent - some enemies appear to be still (but killable) - secret walls are not pushed they simply dissapear - cheats works via F10+key scheme It looks for me like the game was in state before selecting its publisher (lack of publisher logo) and decision how much episodes will be made. Does anyone know something else about this version? Is it real or a hoax?

07-02-2010, 04:54 PM	#3
Frenkel	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? I think I read in Masters of Doom that it was planned to let Wolfenstein 3D have the usual of three episodes, but when someone (Scott Miller?) found out new levels could be created really fast the number of episodes was raised to six. __________________ Groeten van Frenkel Visit us at the Official S&F Prod. Homepage

07-03-2010, 01:22 AM	#4
Xgthug	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? What disturbs me is how they actually "dumbed down" the game play. You used to be able to drag bodies, wear enemy clothing... and there were some other stealth elements to it. But then they were like "Durr... People want dumber, simpler game play. Run and gun for the win, durrr..." and the sad part is, they were right. I can understand them not allowing Carmack to make sloped floors and stuff, as that would have added more development time and would have taken away from Doom... But ID seems to have a history and habit of just butchering perfectly good content, and their games suffer a tremendous decrease of replay value because of it. By the way... Is this the same alpha that has the modified ReadMe file with all that dumb crap in it? Last edited by Xgthug; 07-03-2010 at 01:24 AM.

07-07-2010, 05:05 AM	#8
Litude	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? I really had no idea this thing was out there: Also I did manage to find all the files to get this Blake Stone thing running: Scary disclaimers, especially that last one. I guess I had never heard of them simply because they are the full games so only few risk sharing them.

07-08-2010, 05:14 AM	#9
pjVgt	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? Screw Raptor - but... Yes Blake Stone BETA! Please make next topic share some differences/post pictures please! This just made my day! __________________ "Imma want my dukemz to pley!!!" - chaosomega

07-08-2010, 12:15 PM	#10
Litude	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? You know I've been looking through it and haven't noticed any differences in the beta at all. It is just one month before the game was released and it was stated as being the final beta so I guess there aren't many differences. Still I'm no expert at Blake Stone either so I have probably overlooked something obvious.

07-08-2010, 01:48 PM	#11
Jeffpiatt	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? I would guess it probaly looks like the screen shots on the back of the old formgen boxes those had to be beta shots. http://www.mobygames.com/game/blake-...eCoverId,3959/ __________________ junk for sale http://raptr.com/jeffpiatt

07-08-2010, 03:17 PM	#12
Litude	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? No, this beta is from one month before release, those shots are from almost a year before release (if you seach for 1bspix.zip and 1bspix2.zip you can see some very early screenshots, but they are not from this beta!). If you really want to see screenshots (and as I said, they will look identical to final stuff), I've taken a few:

07-08-2010, 07:13 PM	#13
Jeffpiatt	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? There are noticeable differences between this and the gold version. Goldfire is still called goldstern the level loading bars are marked for what they are for. __________________ junk for sale http://raptr.com/jeffpiatt

07-08-2010, 10:53 PM	#14
pjVgt	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? I don`t think Goldstern sounds jewish - it is more like german name. In case of Goldberg, Goldbaum or Goldstein - yep that is pure yiddish but I still can`t understand why we can have english named villians and not jewish named villians? __________________ "Imma want my dukemz to pley!!!" - chaosomega

07-09-2010, 12:18 PM	#15
Jeffpiatt	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? This was part of the same reasoning that almost got wolfenstine 3D canned. That and goldstern sounds too close to a real name __________________ junk for sale http://raptr.com/jeffpiatt

07-10-2010, 06:32 AM	#16
8IronBob	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? Ah yes, Blake Stone...how can I forget Aliens of Gold? I definitely did like that more than Wolf 3D itself, basically...good sci-fi shooter mod if I do say so myself. __________________ PC Specs (a.k.a. "Galacticus Prime"): http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7Vk7FT

07-10-2010, 07:35 PM	#18
Jeffpiatt	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? the beta was only given some minor changes to get it out before Doom beating it by a week. Planet Strike actually uses more finished graphics for the weapon sprites. we need a separate thread for this beta. __________________ junk for sale http://raptr.com/jeffpiatt

07-12-2010, 02:09 PM	#20
Litude	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? Yeah those pics were already posted and can also still be found from Romero's website here. But talking about beta title screens, there's this screenshot of Wolfenstein 3D shown when installing the Wolfenstein 3D shareware from my Rise of the Triad CD. If you didn't spot the difference, the final title screen doesn't have the Apogee logo. I wonder why the Apogee logo was removed from the title screen...

07-12-2010, 07:30 PM	#23
Iron_Man	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? The most interesting comment I've seen in a long time is in this post: http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20855 Joe's post #21 I think, with the developer's permission, that guy needs to throw that EGA beta build into a zip file and put it on the interwebs. Naturally that won't happen, as ID/3drealms won't allow it... but that lucky SOB has a copy of it! __________________ eVGA 680i LT MB + C2Q 6600 @ 3.0GHz 3GB DDR2 675 (Corsair XMS2) ATI Radeon 4870x2 Graphics 300GB WD Veliciraptor PC Power and Cooling 860w PSU

07-13-2010, 08:55 PM	#26
robotman5	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? that looks pretty cool.

07-31-2010, 06:37 PM	#27
Litude	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? Well, it looks like the fun didn't stop there. (Wacky Wheels version 1.1 was the first official release) Curiously the end screen looks like this: Couldn't find any do not distribute kinda disclaimers from anywhere in this version. It's from about a month before release (apparently sent to some magazine in the UK or something). I haven't managed to find any other differences yet than the fact that the cheat codes don't work and you don't get an ice cube by holding down your fire key. And the file structure is a bit different. Sadly it seems the /NOFUN parameter doesn't work.

08-01-2010, 11:11 AM	#29
Phil Carter	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? Litude: thanks. Since it appears to be shareware, I uploaded this file to my website: 1ww10.zip. Here are some changes I've found comparing Wacky Wheels shareware version 1.0 to shareware version 1.1: Some of the cheat codes don't work (as Litude said) Some of the graphics are different A few ordering and instruction screens have different wording. In particular, one screen calls the time trial mode a "practice mode," but it's still called a time trial in the race selection screen. WACKY.LID in version 1.0 is the same file format as WACKY.DAT in version 1.1, so you can extract its contents with the Wombat game tools or libgamearchive. Comparing WACKY.DAT and WACKY.LID, these files are different: CAMEL.SP, CARS.SP, GIGGLES.SP, INT1.PCX, INT3.PCX, INT4.PCX, OFONT.SP, OR2.PCX, PELICAN.SP, RINGO.SP, SHARK.SP. All of them are graphics files. WWREG.BIN and WWSW.BIN are present in WACKY.DAT (version 1.1) but not in WACKY.LID (version 1.0). WWSW.BIN is a separate file in version 1.0. I don't know what it's used for. EDIT: Looking in WW.EXE from version 1.0, there is a /TRACE command line option. I don't know what it does, other than saying "Trace on" when starting the game. Alas, as Litude said, /NOFUN isn't there. __________________ Phil's Wacky Wheels Site Last edited by Phil Carter; 08-01-2010 at 11:27 AM.

08-02-2010, 01:21 PM	#32
Jeffpiatt	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? The game came out when a 486 was considered a fast processor. the systems of the time could not handle that kind of game play in a 3d environment.also id could not implement a smooth control setup in a era where most computers had a keyboard for input and a mouse was still a gaming accessory. __________________ junk for sale http://raptr.com/jeffpiatt

08-04-2010, 12:29 AM	#33
moron	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? If you have had read the apogee FAQ file (from the old dos days) you would know that wacky wheels and mystic towers were released to Europe early (possibly Like a open beta?) in a 1.0 form. The 1.1 was the first USA release also I think this was in apogee's anti cheater days

12-06-2012, 09:32 AM	#34
Flying Techbot	Re: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha? I like this topic. I want to talk about the beginning. Yeah, Wolfenstein 3D had a simplified version of the original Castle Wolfenstein's gameplay, though I am still trying to learn how to play the first Wolfenstein game without knowledge of the controls (It's available on XTC Abandonware, but I haven't found Beyond Wolfenstein yet). However, look at it this way: they had to simplify in order to smooth out the gameplay. Other ambitious FPS/FPRGS tried to implement these features, any they usually ended up convoluted, buggy, and clunky. Well, except for maybe Ultima Underworld at that time. Though, to be fair, I think that id could have pulled the complex gameplay off, considering how they were the masters of programming previously thought to be impossible stuff on low-end computers. The innovation of smooth side-scrolling for computers is an example. Maybe they have found a way to implement that espionage gameplay with the relatively simple yet progressive engine they had then. Even if they didn't, look at it this way: its been over a decade after its release, and now that huge leaps in computer technology has been made, and that the source code is released, perhaps the modding community could implement the stealth gaemplay into some advanced Wolf mods? Or have they already? May have to check. By the way, I like seeing alpha textures of the pale Keen-esque version of the hero's head, and the cut icons indicating more complex gameplay. It's color scheme would probably look like Commander Keen's and Dangerous Dave's, but that's not bad. Even with Keen colors, it's engine is still smoother than the use of the DD engine (later CK engine) in the Catacombs-3D series.