old wc question

K

killerbee

Spaceman
I'm new to this forum, so forgive me if this has been addressed before. I have a computer with Windows XP and DEPERATLEY want to play WCI and WCII again. They are, bar none, my favorite games of all time. Was there ever a release version that was compatable with windows? If not, is there any way to get a modified downloadable version? I even have a Playstation 2 and have heard WCIII was available on that platform...what about WCI or II? As you can see, I would do just about anything to get those games back in my hands.

Thanks.
 
killerbee said:
I'm new to this forum, so forgive me if this has been addressed before. I have a computer with Windows XP and DEPERATLEY want to play WCI and WCII again. They are, bar none, my favorite games of all time. Was there ever a release version that was compatable with windows? If not, is there any way to get a modified downloadable version? I even have a Playstation 2 and have heard WCIII was available on that platform...what about WCI or II? As you can see, I would do just about anything to get those games back in my hands.

Thanks.
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Two words for you: Kilrathi Saga.

Try eBay. :D
 
Don't listen to him. We had reports of sucess getting the original copies of WC and WCII to run on Windows XP thanks to Weasel.
 
Or you could download Wing Commander: Kilrathi Saga for free (especially useful for those of us who don't have 5.25" floppy drives anymore) because of it's abandonware status.

*Link removed due to possible violation of rule 11*

EDIT: why did CIC block out that link!

EDIT x2: Okay...now that I just read through the list of rules in the Rules list, I understand and have removed the link. But why restrict the sites of abandonware?
 
Ein-7919 said:
Or you could download Wing Commander: Kilrathi Saga for free (especially useful for those of us who don't have 5.25" floppy drives anymore) because of it's abandonware status.

*Link removed due to possible violation of rule 11*

EDIT: why did CIC block out that link!

EDIT x2: Okay...now that I just read through the list of rules in the Rules list, I understand and have removed the link. But why restrict the sites of abandonware?
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Kilrathi Saga came on 4 CDs actually... and can still be found on eBay. I wouldn't call that 'abandonware' yet.
 
Haesslich said:
Kilrathi Saga came on 4 CDs actually... and can still be found on eBay. I wouldn't call that 'abandonware' yet.
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I was recommending downloading KS as opposed to using the original game (WC1 and WC2) disks as was suggested by LeHah.

Because a product is on eBay does not make it non-abandonware. Abandonware is software where the parent company no longer carries the license for said product. Basically, if the parent company does not support/sell/promote/evolve the product, it could be argued that that product is abandonware.

EDIT: However, if you can find a retail version of KS then by all means buy it. Support Origin Systems Inc. in their Wing Commander franchise. But if you buy it second-hand, then none of your money goes to the parent company...just to the person who originally bought the game and is now selling it (most likely for a significant profit too, I might add). I got nothing against abandonware...but I also have nothing against buying games/software brand new either (I'll support my favored game companies/programmers).
 
Kilrathi Saga is NOT abandonware. Just because it's not being made anymore doesn't mean that EA doesn't hold the copyright.
 
Actually, I can find no mention about the WC franchise what-so-ever in the EA support pages. It's not even listed in their product listing. However, I will concede that the product list most likely involves products that they still sell (but the question then becomes "Then why is Ultima 9 on the list when it is no longer sold in stores brand new?"). I will also concede that the WC trademark is still EA property (as is evidenced on the back of the WC:p GBA package).

IMO, we should all stop talking about abandonware and whether KS is considered abandonware because it is all just a flame-war waiting to happen. The reason of this is that there is no definitive definition of what 'abandonware' really is. Since there is no absolute definition of 'abandonware' it is contrued to mean whatever we the gaming public believe it to mean (and if I, or EA, has a high enough priced lawyer then 'abandonware' can mean something completely different). To me, 'abandonware' means that the parent company no longer supports/distributes/promotes/produces/and plans to evolve the franchise. But, then again...I suppose that would mean that the WC franchise is not truly abandonware (yet) because of the release of WC:p for the GBA. It may not be 'abandonware' yet...but it's standing on the chasm of abandonware titles and EA seems to be pushing it slowly off the cliff.
 
killerbee said:
I even have a Playstation 2 and have heard WCIII was available on that platform...what about WCI or II? As you can see, I would do just about anything to get those games back in my hands.
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Well, WC3 is actually for the PS1. I suppose you could get Super Wing Commander for the SNES. However, for the original 2 games, WC:KS would be the best bet. If you tried to run the original games as they were originally released, you're going to run into some speed issues (unless you use MoSlo programs...which will probably add another $30-$40 USD to the bill). I guess it's all up to you how you want to proceed.
 
What the hell, people? Seriously, what the hell?

especially useful for those of us who don't have 5.25" floppy drives anymore
Click to expand...

The original Wing Commander has been available on a variety of formats - from 5.25" disks (and 3.5" disks - upon release!) to CD ROMs without taking into account things like Kilrathi Saga. In fact, for over half a decade Origin allowed users to exchange their original floppies for copies of the Deluxe Edition CD-ROMs of WC1 and 2...

But why restrict the sites of abandonware?
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Because "abandonware" is not a real thing. It's a concept jerks made up to let themselves feel better about pirating software. "But I only download abandonware!" is to stealing video games what "But I only strangle hookers!" is to murder. Making up a catchy term doesn't make something right... and it's certainly not something that's open to debate. (And no, it is no more a moral issue than it is a legal one - the situation only exists because people don't want to pay market value or expend any effort towards gaining readily available products. That is not a high ground.)

Kilrathi Saga came on 4 CDs actually...
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Kilrathi Saga came on five CDs. One for Wing Commander 1 and 2 and four for Wing Commander 3.

I suppose you could get Super Wing Commander for the SNES.
Click to expand...

Super Wing Commander was a remake of the original Wing Commander for the 3DO and Macintosh. The SNES port was just plain Wing Commander.

(unless you use MoSlo programs...which will probably add another $30-$40 USD to the bill).
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A trial version of MoSlo is available for free use. The deluxe version costs $20. There are also a variety of freeware slowdown utilities available.

(That said, I personally have never had any trouble simply disabling my disk cache for playing the first two games... the various technical gaffes in Kilrathi Saga do not fix themselves this easily.)
 
More:

Actually, I can find no mention about the WC franchise what-so-ever in the EA support pages.
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They no longer maintain their support page - but they have asked that we continue to keep them online. You can access Origin's "old" tech support information at http://www.blacklance.org/loaf/tech/pshome.html.

It's not even listed in their product listing.
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It's still mentioned in the legal information at Origin's website (http://www.origin.ea.com): © Copyright, 2003, ORIGIN Systems, Inc. Origin, We Create Worlds, Wing Commander & ULTIMA are registered trademarks of ORIGIN Systems, Inc. AH-64D Longbow, Crusader: No Remorse and the distinctive Origin logo mark are trademarks of ORIGIN Systems, Inc.

However, I will concede that the product list most likely involves products that they still sell (but the question then becomes "Then why is Ultima 9 on the list when it is no longer sold in stores brand new?").
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To the best of my knowledge, Ultima 9 is still in its product cycle - it'll likely be available as whatever iteration of "EA Classic" exists in the next year and a half.
 
Did "Kilrathi Saga" include the Secret Missions and Special Operations attatchments for WCI and WCII??
 
No - but Origin made Kilrathi Saga versions of the addons available for download to use with the game.
 
LOAF, I pretty much agree with most of the things you said, and I don't condone KS pirating, but there's just one little point: I would say that, sure, abandonware is a kind of piracy, but I've never seen it applied to games still easily available. If you look for abandonware sites, you'll find mostly very old games, hundreds of them made by companies long gone... In several instances, it's the only single way of playing some games.

But, clearly, WC is NOT one of those.
 
I can think of perhaps *three* video games that it would be "impossible" for me to track down legal copies of within a weeks time.
 
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