I've always wondered this because for many, many times, i've seen the game appear on shareware CD collections (up there with the mistaken inclusions of Blockout)

The readme.doc, however I'm wondering if a pirate did this to stir misinformation (like those "PUBLIC DOMAIN" pirated hacks). Can anyone who owns the game verify if these words are included in their legal copy?

"you may upload this Game to any bulletin board but it is not shareware. This is Freeware. This means that this program is free to everyone. It is copyrighted only to prevent duplication in a Commercial package. The program is written in C and took over 7600 lines code and over 7 months to write. Copying this game. Stargoose may be uploaded to bulletin boards with the stipulation that the following files remain intact. Goose.doc the document you are reading Goose.exe the program Bird1.x podz1.x intro.x newbird.x blox.x bird2.x hiscores Have Fun and may the force be with you."

Can't tell you if it's freeware or not, but this line suspiciously sounds like something someone with no legal background would write.

If it were truly freeware, there's usually a more official tone in the readme file, usually by the developer. Regardless, my opinion on this matter is still purely speculation.

Also all the high scores are "PATRICK"...... and there is no person named Patrick in the credits.