Shareware, demo and freeware downloads
Re: Shareware, demo and freeware downloads
I just went through the first post and marked with an asterisk all FTP sites that are now down. Luckily some were archived by the Internet Archive.
MrFlibble wrote:Game developer and publisher FTP sites
ftp://ftp.atari.com/demos/
*ftp://ftp.bluebyte.com/demos/
*ftp://ftp.gtinteractive.com/demos/
ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/
*ftp://ftp.lucasarts.com/demos/pc/
ftp://ftp.team17.com/pub/t17/demos/pc
*ftp://ftp.ubisoft.com/Demos/
ftp://ftp.wizworks.com/demos/
http://largedownloads.ea.com/pub/demos/
Mirrors:
*ftp://ftp.games.skynet.be/spool1/games/ ... com/demos/
*ftp://ftp.games.skynet.be/spool1/games/ ... twood.com/
http://ftp.gameaholic.com/pub/mirrors/ftp.blizzard.com/
DOS games
*ftp://ftp.padua.org/pub/msdos/dos/games/local/
ftp://nic.funet.fi/pub/msdos/games/
http://ftp.icm.edu.pl/pub/coast/games/
*ftp://ftp.pgp.net/pub/msdos/dos/games/local/
http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/games/PC/
ftp://ftp.uni-potsdam.de/pub/systems/dos/games/
ftp://delphi.hs-niederrhein.de/pub/dos/games/
http://www.ftp.funet.fi/index/msdos/games/
http://www.gamers.org/pub/archives/uwp-uml/ [mirror]
Windows games
*ftp://ftp.icm.edu.pl/vol/rzm1/ntware/games/files/
*ftp://ftp.farlep.net/pub/clubix/demo/
*ftp://ftp.farlep.net/pub/clubix/demo2/
*ftp://ftp.farlep.net/pub/clubix/demo3/
ftp://ftp.fi.netbsd.org/.m/archive1l/ft ... n95/games/
ftp://ftp.gamers.org/pub/mirrors/ftp.ga ... .uk/demos/
*ftp://ftp.peliplaneetta.net/pelidemot/
ftp://ftp.uni-potsdam.de/pub/systems/win95/games/
*http://elektron-bbs.dyndns.org/files/win95/spiele/
http://ftp.gameaholic.com/pub/demos/
Guimo
o Public Beta v1.0 (10.09.1996): guimo!.zip
o Public Beta v1.1 (24.09.1996): guimo!.zip
o Public Beta v1.2 (08.10.1996): guimo!.zip
o Shareware v2.1 (26.04.1997): GUIMO.ZIP
o Shareware v2.2 (18.12.1997): guimo.zip
o Wallpaper (BMP): guimo-w.zip
o Public Beta v1.0 (10.09.1996): guimo!.zip
o Public Beta v1.1 (24.09.1996): guimo!.zip
o Public Beta v1.2 (08.10.1996): guimo!.zip
o Shareware v2.1 (26.04.1997): GUIMO.ZIP
o Shareware v2.2 (18.12.1997): guimo.zip
o Wallpaper (BMP): guimo-w.zip
KKND: Krush Kill 'N Destroy
o Survivors English demo (27.01.1997): kkndsurv.exe
o Evolved English demo (29.01.1997): kkndevol.exe
o Evolved German demo (31.01.1997): kkndevlg.exe
William Shatner's TekWar
o demo v0.90: tekwar.zip
Witchaven
o demo v0.1 (18.07.1995): whaven.zip
o demo v0.1 (21.07.1995): whaven.zip
o v1.0 demo patch (29.07.1995): witchfix.zip
o v1.0 demo patch (31.07.1995): wtchfix2.zip
o Survivors English demo (27.01.1997): kkndsurv.exe
o Evolved English demo (29.01.1997): kkndevol.exe
o Evolved German demo (31.01.1997): kkndevlg.exe
William Shatner's TekWar
o demo v0.90: tekwar.zip
Witchaven
o demo v0.1 (18.07.1995): whaven.zip
o demo v0.1 (21.07.1995): whaven.zip
o v1.0 demo patch (29.07.1995): witchfix.zip
o v1.0 demo patch (31.07.1995): wtchfix2.zip
A working DOS demo of Scorched Planet: spdos.zip
Magic Carpet 2
o Demo (10 July 1995): mc2nosnd.zip [file name should be mc2demo.zip]
o Demo (7 August 1995): mc2nosnd.zip, mc2sound.zip
These are two different demo versions with different levels, the first one has some other differences from the final version as well.
o Demo (10 July 1995): mc2nosnd.zip [file name should be mc2demo.zip]
o Demo (7 August 1995): mc2nosnd.zip, mc2sound.zip
These are two different demo versions with different levels, the first one has some other differences from the final version as well.
I just found another old site which has some of its file archived preserved by the Wayback Machine: The Gamer's Inn. It was listed here. Some notable highlights:
o The Terminator: Rampage Demo v1.20: ramdemo.zip
o The Terminator: Future Shock Demo v0.144: shockdem.zip
o Zyclunt DOS Demo: zyclunt.zip
o Cool Spot Demo: coolspot.zip
o Magic Carpet Demo: carpet.zip
o The Terminator: Rampage Demo v1.20: ramdemo.zip
o The Terminator: Future Shock Demo v0.144: shockdem.zip
o Zyclunt DOS Demo: zyclunt.zip
o Cool Spot Demo: coolspot.zip
o Magic Carpet Demo: carpet.zip
Apparently this pre-release version was originally a CD exclusive published on the cover disk of the September issue of the Computer Gaming World Magazine (as attested by this and this newsgroup discussion). As the demo does not require the CD to play, a user replaced the 13 MiB intro sequence with an empty file and uploaded it at wuarchive.wustl.edu. Interestingly, it appears that Bullfrog later uploaded the same demo without intro to their FTP site (it is inked to from the official Magic Carpet 2 page).MrFlibble wrote:Magic Carpet 2
o Demo (10 July 1995): mc2nosnd.zip [file name should be mc2demo.zip]
[...]
These are two different demo versions with different levels, the first one has some other differences from the final version as well.
Later the full version of the demo (w/ the intro) was also published on the coverdisk of the October 1995 issue of PC Gamer.
XCar: Experimental Racing
o Demo v1.0 (1997-01-02): xcardemo.exe
o Demo v1.20 (1997-07-10): xcardemo.zip
o 3dfx demo v1.0 (1997-07-18): xdemofx.zip
o Demo v1.0 (1997-01-02): xcardemo.exe
o Demo v1.20 (1997-07-10): xcardemo.zip
o 3dfx demo v1.0 (1997-07-18): xdemofx.zip
At the suggestion of 486 player, here are two websites with freeware (mostly) DOS games:
WIP Games by Georg Rottensteiner
The Hamster Republic Download Museum
WIP Games by Georg Rottensteiner
The Hamster Republic Download Museum
I was just browsing some old topics and found a link to a shareware RPG called Enchantasy:
http://freelicensegames.com/Enchantasy.htm
The site is only accessible via the Wayback Machine now but it looks like there could be some other interesting titles as well.
UPD: I found the home page of the project:
http://members.aol.com:80/enchantasy/
The download works too (link at the bottom of the page):
http://members.aol.com:80/egaftp/index.htm
There's also a mirror page (sort of) that has a list of shareware RPGs from the era.
UPD2: Here's the working download link: enchants.exe
http://freelicensegames.com/Enchantasy.htm
The site is only accessible via the Wayback Machine now but it looks like there could be some other interesting titles as well.
UPD: I found the home page of the project:
http://members.aol.com:80/enchantasy/
The download works too (link at the bottom of the page):
http://members.aol.com:80/egaftp/index.htm
There's also a mirror page (sort of) that has a list of shareware RPGs from the era.
UPD2: Here's the working download link: enchants.exe
The Bard's Lore freeware (2002-03-15): bardfree.zip
M.A.X. Mechanized Assault & Exploration
o demo v1.00: maxdemo1(1.0).zip
o demo v1.01: maxdemo1.zip
o demo v1.03a: maxdemo1.zip
o demo v1.00: maxdemo1(1.0).zip
o demo v1.01: maxdemo1.zip
o demo v1.03a: maxdemo1.zip
I found an updated demo of Fantasy General. It has the same scenarios as the regular FTP demo but has more sound effects and proper fullscreen images for all units (the FTP demo uses the Orc Warrior image as placeholder), as well as some fixes. This makes the demo around 2 MiB larger than its FTP counterpart.
Here's the file: fg_demo.zip
Here's the file: fg_demo.zip