Forums > Game Forums > Command & Conquer > Windows version
Freeman (65099) on 11/22/2016 3:16 PM · Permalink · Report
Should Windows be added as a platform for this version as well? I realize the description mentions that there was an updated Win 95 version, but if you look at one of the inserts that came with the DOS version, it mentions that the game can be installed/played through Win 95. I have this version and it too has the same Win 95 insert.
Patrick Bregger (301030) on 11/22/2016 3:45 PM · Permalink · Report
No, that's only backwards compatibility.
Freeman (65099) on 11/24/2016 6:15 PM · Permalink · Report
I'm curious how this situation is different from something like Quake, which has a Win release date of 1996 (same as DOS) yet according to Wikipedia: "the original Quake had been written for DOS, allowing for launch from Windows 95".
Wouldn't this be the same as the original C&C being written for DOS but being able to be launch through Win 3.1 in the original (and later Win 95)?
Freeman (65099) on 11/25/2016 4:02 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Yes, that's what I thought. I was questioning the Windows 1996 release date as it seems only the DOS version would have been released in that year. The other ports were later. We have 1996 for Linux as well but that doesn't seem correct either. From the same Wiki page, "Finally in 1999, a retail version of the Linux port was distributed by Macmillan Digital Publishing USA in a bundle with the three add-ons as Quake: The Offering." They mention that Dave Taylor worked on a Linux port in 1996 but the interview they link to doesn't give any indication that anything was released that year.
One more thing. What was the reasoning that something like C&C Gold got a new release when it just offered 'a tweaked graphics engine that allows the display of SVGA graphics.' This is the same thing that WinQuake (and GLQuake) did. From the Quake manual,
"The following instructions will make it easy for you to get Quake up and running in no time. In addition to the original DOS version of Quake (QUAKE.EXE), this CD-ROM also contains three other versions: WinQuake, GLQuake and VQuake. Gameplay is identical in each version; the only differences are the computer systems on which they were designed to be run and the graphical quality."
Terok Nor (42009) on 11/25/2016 7:37 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Freeman wrote--]Yes, that's what I thought. I was questioning the Windows 1996 release date as it seems only the DOS version would have been released in that year. The other ports were later. We have 1996 for Linux as well but that doesn't seem correct either. From the same Wiki page, "Finally in 1999, a retail version of the Linux port was distributed by Macmillan Digital Publishing USA in a bundle with the three add-ons as Quake: The Offering." They mention that Dave Taylor worked on a Linux port in 1996 but the interview they link to doesn't give any indication that anything was released that year. [/Q --end Freeman wrote--]
The Linux version was actually released in 96. I remember researching this a while back and it looks like I actually submitted a correction for the Linux and Windows dates with sources, but for some reason I abandoned it. I don't remember why.
A lot of the existing release info is crap - there was no retail release on the 22nd of June, the complete version (all four episodes) wasn't finished until July.
[Q --start Freeman wrote--] One more thing. What was the reasoning that something like C&C Gold got a new release when it just offered 'a tweaked graphics engine that allows the display of SVGA graphics.' This is the same thing that WinQuake (and GLQuake) did. From the Quake manual,
"The following instructions will make it easy for you to get Quake up and running in no time. In addition to the original DOS version of Quake (QUAKE.EXE), this CD-ROM also contains three other versions: WinQuake, GLQuake and VQuake. Gameplay is identical in each version; the only differences are the computer systems on which they were designed to be run and the graphical quality." [/Q --end Freeman wrote--]
Good question.
Plok (214112) on 11/26/2016 4:10 PM · Permalink · Report
If you can tell from the sidebar UI and the resolution that it's identical to the DOS version, then it's the DOS version, regardless of what the box says. The Win95 version had 640x480 resolution with a sidebar copied from the 1996 Mac release.
To compare, there were boxes for the original C&C Red Alert that said only "DOS CD-ROM" or "WINDOWS CD-ROM", while both versions were identical to the boxes that mentioned both DOS and Windows, as they all had installers for both OSes. This was proven by my friend Tore29 on Twitch recently, when he unboxed a sealed "DOS-only" box. (at 0:20:54 in this video, you can see both Setup and Setup95 folders on the disc). Westwood wasn't very pedantic in general :P