I had all kinds of great material ready for a one-shot (or maybe two-shot) review of Pirates! but I can't get the damned game to work. In part, I'm confused by the game history. The original release was in 1987 for the Commodore 64. MobyGames says there was a DOS release but lists it as 1994, which doesn't make any sense, because by 1994, Pirates! Gold had already been out for a year. Wikipedia lists no DOS release at all but says there was a PC booter version in 1987; apparently, DOSBox can emulate a PC booter but I can't find a download. Meanwhile, I did find a DOS version (from which the screen shot above comes), but the introductory text is different than I remember and the game doesn't work: it keeps freezing after the opening text and battles. I've messed around with the settings in DOSBox to no avail. The existence of this game is a bit mysterious given the insistence of both MobyGames and Wikipedia that it doesn't exist, and I only found it on one abandonware site.
So...any ideas? (Other than playing a non-DOS/PC version; that ship has already sailed.) I'll keep trying to figure it out, but in the meantime I'll move on to The Seven Spirits of Ra. Worst case, I have to wait until Pirates! Gold in 1993.
Later Edit: problem solved (see comments). I'm still a bit mystified as to the history and origins of this DOS version, but I won't trouble myself too much. Posting coming soon.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Pirates!: ThwARRRted
I had all kinds of great material ready for a one-shot (or maybe two-shot) review of Pirates! but I can't get the damned game to work. In part, I'm confused by the game history. The original release was in 1987 for the Commodore 64. MobyGames says there was a DOS release but lists it as 1994, which doesn't make any sense, because by 1994, Pirates! Gold had already been out for a year. Wikipedia lists no DOS release at all but says there was a PC booter version in 1987; apparently, DOSBox can emulate a PC booter but I can't find a download. Meanwhile, I did find a DOS version (from which the screen shot above comes), but the introductory text is different than I remember and the game doesn't work: it keeps freezing after the opening text and battles. I've messed around with the settings in DOSBox to no avail. The existence of this game is a bit mysterious given the insistence of both MobyGames and Wikipedia that it doesn't exist, and I only found it on one abandonware site.
So...any ideas? (Other than playing a non-DOS/PC version; that ship has already sailed.) I'll keep trying to figure it out, but in the meantime I'll move on to The Seven Spirits of Ra. Worst case, I have to wait until Pirates! Gold in 1993.
Later Edit: problem solved (see comments). I'm still a bit mystified as to the history and origins of this DOS version, but I won't trouble myself too much. Posting coming soon.
13 comments:
I welcome all comments about the material in this blog, and I generally do not censor them. However, please follow these rules:
1. DO NOT COMMENT ANONYMOUSLY. If you do not want to log in or cannot log in with a Google Account, choose the "Name/URL" option and type a name (you can leave the URL blank). If that doesn't work, use the "Anonymous" option but put your name of choice at the top of the entry.
2. Do not link to any commercial entities, including Kickstarter campaigns, unless they're directly relevant to the material in the associated blog posting. (For instance, that GOG is selling the particular game I'm playing is relevant; that Steam is having a sale this week on other games is not.) This also includes user names that link to advertising.
3. Please avoid profanity and vulgar language. I don't want my blog flagged by too many filters. I will delete comments containing profanity on a case-by-case basis.
4. I appreciate if you use ROT13 for explicit spoilers for the current game and upcoming games. Please at least mention "ROT13" in the comment so we don't get a lot of replies saying "what is that gibberish?"
5. Comments on my blog are not a place for slurs against any race, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or mental or physical disability. I will delete these on a case-by-case basis depending on my interpretation of what constitutes a "slur."
Blogger has a way of "eating" comments, so I highly recommend that you copy your words to the clipboard before submitting, just in case.
I read all comments, no matter how old the entry. So do many of my subscribers. Reader comments on "old" games continue to supplement our understanding of them. As such, all comment threads on this blog are live and active unless I specifically turn them off. There is no such thing as "necro-posting" on this blog, and thus no need to use that term.
I will delete any comments that simply point out typos. If you want to use the commenting system to alert me to them, great, I appreciate it, but there's no reason to leave such comments preserved for posterity.
I'm sorry for any difficulty commenting. I turn moderation on and off and "word verification" on and off frequently depending on the volume of spam I'm receiving. I only use either when spam gets out of control, so I appreciate your patience with both moderation tools.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have to versions that claim to be bootable. Tried to make them into a disk image with WinImage so I could use DOSBox's BOOT command but neither one booted properly [I've used DOSBox's BOOT command to run the booter versions of King's Quest games so it does work], so I tried running both from just the disk. Same problem as you, freezes in the middle of the first battle.
ReplyDeleteTwo versions*, argh.
ReplyDeleteTry typing "loadfix" before you run the game.
ReplyDeleteIf that doesn't help, check out this thread: http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=24363&sid=c157f1b318a5ca4f893340f64b6aaa2b
Maybe try some of the special DosBox builds they are linking to. I remember an SVN build helping me run an old interactive movie game I once tried.
If THAT doesn't work, you can always play the online dos-port version found here: http://dosdose.com/game/746/pirates!/
There's a video of someone playing the PC version with DOSBox, so there must be some secret handshake we're missing here.
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot about LOADFIX, but that did it. I lost the battle, but it at least didn't freeze.. I'll stick to the C64 version.
ReplyDeleteJust loaded up my own copy of Pirates! that I got off abandonia. Works fine throug dosbox, no need to boot off a disk or anything.
ReplyDeletelink: http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/746/Pirates!.html
I remember Pirates! for the PC. It was the second game i ever played, after Nethack. So many fond memories of both of those games You've finally worked your way up to my childhood, and I can't wait to see these games.
ReplyDeleteLOADFIX was the answer. Thanks, Fartarget. I've never heard of this command before. I'm not 100% sure what it does, and I'm even more unsure why I've never had to use it before. But whatever--it works!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what loadfix does. I just know it's a part of DOSBOX and it has something to do with memory requirements of really old games.
ReplyDeleteYou will need LOADFIX for Might&Magic 2:Gates to another world as well.
ReplyDeleteThe DOS version is most likely a hacked booter version. This is actually true for many of the 80s DOS games floating around the net, warez-groups used to do that alot.
ReplyDeleteThe '94 version seems to have been released on Kixx, which was a budget label that re-released old games.
Oh, and about loadfix, here's what the Dosbox documentation has to say:
ReplyDelete"Program to reduce the amount of available conventional memory. Useful for old programs which don't expect much memory to be free."
Vilse the bootable game was a game release because I actually owned the game (and has been lost since forever) with the box and the manual. The best part of the manual was experts from the memoir of a pirate, who claimed to have captured a frigate with a pinnace once (and said that pirates nowadays are sissies).
ReplyDelete(sorry for bumping such an old thread)