F29 Retaliator

[bored]

This will be brief and I'm only posting it for its historical significance as the first DiD game. Anyway, I picked this up in the Steam sale for 3.81€, but feel a bit ripped off.
The binary files are absolutely identical to those I had previously downloaded from somewhere.
The game had been cracked to remove the requirement to enter some symbols from the manual, but that was done already in 1991, and Steam have just renamed the file as x.exe.
Here's what the directories look like:

f29_files.PNG (18.62 KiB) Viewed 12782 times

The game is published by Cosmi Valusoft. A search shows that they bought some IP from THQ back in 2012 and there's a tenuous link back to DiD via Juice and Rage, so they may actually have the proper rights.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/73513 ... t-from-thq

There are only 3 files needed to run the game, the exe and two data files with extensions .00 and .01. I assume these would have been on separate floppy disks. The data contained within them has no obvious structure.

f29_bin.PNG (24.38 KiB) Viewed 12782 times

I won't look at this further unless I get really bored....

[Krishty]

Weird stuff. No high entropy – a 16-bit pattern can clearly be seen. Probably ancient RLE compression …

Fantastic documentation, as always 👍

[bored]

If I temporarily rename RETAL.01, I can play the game for a while, but then get prompted to insert disk 2. If I rename it back, it says 'Loading Data' and carries on normally.
No, I'm definitely not going to look into this further.

[Krishty]

F-29 Retaliator Demo from April 1991: https://discmaster.textfiles.com/browse ... /RETAL.LZH

Backup because the readme explicitly asks to distribute it:

RETAL.LZH

(217.77 KiB) Downloaded 36 times

This is interesting because Retaliator was released in 1989. By 1991, Retaliator 2 was already in the works.

Maybe it’s a different platform release – MobyGames lists a 1992 release in Japan for PC-98 developed by Imagineer.

RETALDEM/READ.ME:

Code: Select all

				- RETALIATOR -

			    By Jas.C.Brooke - Day 1
			   Graphics by Lyndon Brooke
		      3D Graphics by Digital Image Design
			     Sound by Jas.C.Brooke

		Original concept and design by Martin Kenwright
		       A Digital Image Design production

		    Copyright (C) 1991 Ocean software Ltd.
			      All rights reserved

			     ────────────────────



			      SEEING IS BELIEVING

	Your PC was made for this. RETALIATOR will be released by OCEAN
SOFTWARE LTD on 3rd May 1991. Start queueing at your local software store now!

	In this self run demo, an F22 Advanced Tactical Fighter is taken for a
ride in one of RETALIATOR's four war theatres, the Middle East. RETALIATOR
includes over 100 missions, an integral "Zulu Alert" arcade game and....

				 HEAD TO HEAD

	Modem owners, along with anyone who connects two PCs via a serial lead,
will be able to take full advantage of the HEAD TO HEAD section of RETALIATOR.
Challenge another PC / RETALIATOR owner in this highly addictive battle.
Air-to-ground and air-to-air combat, precision bombing and infuriating dog
fights allow you to employ your most recent and most fiendish tactics. Yes,
your MODEM was made for this!

			     ────────────────────



				 REQUIREMENTS

	To run RETALIATOR or this demo you need a PC with 512k or more RAM and
DOS 2.0 or higher. Unlike most flight simulators, RETALIATOR will run at
reasonable speeds even on XTs. A number of options are included to allow you to
optimise the performance of RETALIATOR on your machine.

	The following video cards are supported.

		VGA 100% compatibles with 256k or more RAM
		EGA 100% compatibles with 128k or more RAM
		Tandy 16 colour mode (320 by 200)

	A wide range of mice and joysticks are supported along with LA-PC1 and
ADLIB compatible sound cards.

			     ────────────────────



			       RUNNING THE DEMO

	This self running demo may be executed as explained below. You are not
permitted to access the program code or data in any other way.


      *	Unarc the RETAL.LZH file using LHARC X RETAL

	You will now have a new directory \RETALDEM which contains:-

		\RETALDEM \X.EXE
		\RETALDEM \RETALDEM.00
		\RETALDEM \RETALDEM.SR
		\RETALDEM \READ.ME		(This text file)

	The RETALDEM subdirectory must be in your ROOT directory.

	You will also have a batch file \RETALDEM.BAT


      * Select the drive containing the \RETALDEM subdirectory as the default
	drive

      *	Enter \RETALDEM or \RETALDEM\X to run the demo

      *	To return to DOS press ESC during flight

			     ────────────────────



			      DISTRIBUTION POLICY

	You are urged to freely copy and distribute the RETAL.LZH file
	provided:-

      *	The file must not be modified. Only exact duplicates of the RETAL.LZH
	file may be copied or distributed.

      *	No fee may be charged for use, copying or distribution.

			     ────────────────────



		     If you enjoy the demo, buy RETALIATOR
				27th April 1991

				      Jas