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Nyerguds

6-mission DOS C&C demo

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I found myself a CD version of the C&C1 demo (from Ebay), which has 3 GDI and 3 Nod missions, and about 200 mb of videos and music. Now, since I collect unique official data and programs, this is really neat for me.

Odd detail: I tested the sell-stop cheat ingame, and it didn't work, meaning the demo, hiding behind version number "DEMO 1.2" is actually game version 1.22 :)

cncdemodisk_1_front.jpgcncdemodisk_2_back.jpg

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/file/tls2evseplzec65/C%26C+DOS+Demo+CD.rar (144.98 MiB; unpacked iso is 208 MiB)

archive.org mirror: https://archive.org/details/ccdemocd/

 

Now, the part which is even more neat: to my surprise, it has an installer which (unlike that of the original DOS C&C) functions perfectly on WinXP, and which is 99% identical to that of the original game (it has the scary outro, but doesn't copy the \AUD1 folder from the CD).

 

Having this, I couldn't resist going a little further. It wasn't hard to change a few strings with my hex editor, to make the default suggested folder C:\C&C again instead of C:\C&Cdemo, and making its settings write to CONQUER.INI instead of DEMOVER.INI.

I went even further than just making a DOS C&C that installs on XP though. In combination with the Covert Ops hack I mentioned in the other thread, I got myself 2 DOS C&C ISOs that not only work on XP, but also completely contain the Covert Ops, including music and videos. And they're both smaller than 600 mb. I never realized that the CO media would fully fit on the original game CDs :)

And unlike the original installer, it now installs from any CD drive. That was extra hacking on my part though... the installer seems to be full of checks that basically say "if current drive letter is not the same as the first detected CDROM drive letter, act as configuration tool instead of installer." I removed all of these checks. The program which is copied to hard disk as configuration tool is the one in the INSTALL/ folder anyway, so they don't reuse the actual installer exe for that.

I also added a little hack to remove the code that prevented people from launching _setup.exe directly. Apparently, it just needed the parameter "-QUESHU" to make it run.

The DOS version of the game itself is still only able to use the first detected CDROM on the system though. But I can't fix that, short of using the -cd parameter. It's one of the things they fixed in C&C95, anyway.

 

The demo itself is uploaded here:

westwood.cncsector.net/cc1/previews/demobig/ [edit: dead link, use the iso] (to play, use DOSBox.)

This is not an ISO though. Just the demo, in about the same format the original demo was distributed in (2 packs, the demo and its media). The _setup.exe in that demo is the 100% unmodified version of the same one I've been rambling about in the wall of text above though :)

 

On a related note, Rich, if you read this, could you get me the _setup.exe from your 1.22 install? I want to see if it's different...

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Why can't EA just hand you the source code? :banghead:

:badpc:

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Why can't EA just hand you the source code? :banghead:

:badpc:

That is a very good idea!!

 

Edited by godly-cheese

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dunno... hacking is more fun :P

 

[edit]

 

Oh by the way... in this demo you got FLAME TANKS in the first Nod mission... so much fun :D

The missions themselves (and full overview pics of them) can be found in my newly reorganized Map pictures folder:

http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cncstuff/mappics/

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I find those pictures interesting. The triggers are especially useful to see so you know where you can sneak up on the computer. But dissecting and demystifying these things to the lowest building blocks can also take away some of the fun.

 

Anyway, I was thinking about something. I recall you saying that you didn't want to implement higher resolutions since the game would crash on certain small maps. Isn't it possible to edit these maps and "simply" putting immovable terrain on the edges of the maps, thus preventing the crash?

They did something similar for Fallout 1/2 when someone made a high resolution patch. The community enlarged the maps and added buildings and art on the new space. You still couldn't get to the new stuff, it was simply decorating the edges.

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The problem with that is that the people who play in low res suddenly have a bunch of useless extra terrain there for no reason. Also, blocking access to stuff in TD isn't really easy. There's no standard invisible impassable object available for that purpose.

Not to mention, the maximum a C&C map CAN be is only 1488x1488, so 1600x1200 type resolutions are already implausible.

Besides that, there's also a bug where savegames, by saving the scroll state of the sidebar, somehow also save its X position, which means savegames are messed up when loaded in a resolution with a different screen width than they were saved in. I already separated hi-res savegames to be under completely different filenames; I'd have to give them a new filename for EVERY resolution I add. So no thanks.

So, please read through this part of the patch manual before asking more questions:
http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cnc95upd/cc95p106/patch106b_r2_en.html#notes_hires

List of a bunch of bugs encountered during the development of my patch, which includes screenshots of the savegame sidebar problem:
http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cnc95upd/cc95p106/bugs/

 

For any more discussions about my patch, please click my signature to go to the correct thread. This one's about the 6-mission DOS demo :P

...which I finally uploaded the ISO of, btw :)

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/file/tls2evseplzec65/C%26C+DOS+Demo+CD.rar (144.98 MiB; unpacked ISO is 208 MiB)

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Why can't EA just hand you the source code? :banghead:

:badpc:

 

if the likes of Nyerguds and myself got the source code, it would of course make patching and expanding these games so much easier, but with reverse engineering comes the fun of working the game out, learning new things and the reward of all your hard work.

 

I like the reverse engineering side, would think so after the amount of years i have put into C&C games.

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Interesting find, Nyerguds :)

 

I seem to remember when I initally set up my 'custom' install of C&C, I had to use the demo's setup proggie... can't remember why, but the one included on the regular C&C CD didn't work properly. My memory fades, but I could be thinking of the SETUP.MIX file though... can't really remember.

 

Either way, the final result was something that I could always run setup at a later time strictly from my hard drive to reconfigure the sound device.

 

 

On a related note, Rich, if you read this, could you get me the _setup.exe from your 1.22 install? I want to see if it's different...

 

Will do. Shoot me an email to [email protected] and I'll reply with an attached ZIP :)

 

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Well, this installer works fine as DOS C&C installer, without any workarounds besides putting the contents of the AUD1 folder in the INSTALL folder (and changing some strings in the exe, as I mentioned) :)

 

I wrote a full guide for instaling DOS C&C on XP ages ago, and it uses the demo, yes...

http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cncstuff/cc1_dos_xp.html

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Well, this installer works fine as DOS C&C installer, without any workarounds besides putting the contents of the AUD1 folder in the INSTALL folder (and changing some strings in the exe, as I mentioned) :)

 

I wrote a full guide for instaling DOS C&C on XP ages ago, and it uses the demo, yes...

http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cncstuff/cc1_dos_xp.html

 

in first nod mission, i only see a light tank, i only see a flame tank in the second mission!.

 

also, will be good if someone get screenshot of MAC versions of C&C...

 

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You didn't play it, you just looked at the maps. They get reinforced. Also, you quoted the wrong post.

As for the mac version, not much to say, it looks 100% identical to C&C95.

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Seeing as this is based on v1.22... yep. There isn't anything prerelease about this demo.

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Did the put the complete soundtrack on the demo CD? (I just can't be bothered to download > 140 megs of stuff that's absolutely identical to the full version) I suppose that the videos are the complete intro, and all the videos (briefings, intro/outro action cutscenes) for the respective missions, right?

 

BTW, have you noticed that in the official demo, the briefing text for the demo missions is truncated because the [briefing] section is put right in the end of the INI files? In the updated CD demo, they fixed this for all but the second GDI mission (SCG10EA, that is) by adding an extra blank line after the [briefing] section. The Nod missions don't have this problem, because only SCB08EA uses a different briefing, and its [briefing] section is located close to the beginning of the INI file; the two other missions read their briefing texts from MISSION.INI.

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Huh, never noticed the briefing text was messed up. Didn't really look at the Restate window when playing through em.

 

The demo contains these music tracks:

  • March To Doom
  • C&C Thang
  • In The Line Of Fire
  • Radio
  • Demolition
  • Act On Instinct

It contains a surprisingly big amount of action cutscenes though... I doubt all of those are really all used.

Videos included:

  • general:
    LOGO, INTRO2, CC2TEASE, TRAILER (yes, the RA1 one)
  • Briefing:
    GDI1, GDI6, GDI10, NOD1, NOD5, NOD8
  • Others:
    TIBERFX, TBRINFO2, STEALTH, SETHPRE, SAMSITE, SABOTAGE, NODLOSE, NODFLEES, NITEJUMP, LANDING, INSITES, GDILOSE, GAMEOVER, FLAG, DESSWEEP, DESKILL, DESFLEES, CONSYARD, BCANYON

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Thanks for the info. I also noticed that when you run the demo without the videos, there will be a black screen in the beginning of each mission, and you have to click the mouse or press Esc to start the mission, whereas both in the downloadable demo and in the full version, the game runs fine without the video, going straight to the game screen. (It's kinda natural for the demo in that the video and soundtracks were an optional download though)

 

[Edit] It occurred to me that the black screen I was referring to is actually a result of greater mission loading times, and is not related to the absence of the video files in the demo.

Edited by MrFlibble

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Say, Nyerguds. Aren't those 3 GDI and 3 Nod missions in the demo coming from the full version or was it those extra mission maps?

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All demo missions are just slightly modified full version missions. For GDI, it's missions 1, 10 and 6, and for Nod, missions 1, 5 and 8.

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BTW, Nyer, what was the original way of distribution of the demo CD? Was it bundled with other games or inside game compilations, or maybe added as a bonus with certain hardware items?

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Don't ask me, I bought it off ebay. But I received it as sealed CD jewel case. So it doesn't seem to be part of something else.

I wrote a full guide for instaling DOS C&C on XP ages ago, and it uses the demo, yes...

http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cncstuff/cc1_dos_xp.html

btw, Rich, if you see this... the C&C2SW site recently put online again, so maybe this version of the DOS C&C installation guide rings a bell ;)

http://cnc2sw.ppmsite.com/?page=dos_xp

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If you set the demo to Gravis Ultrasound with GUS emulation properly enabled in DOSBox, infantry screams stutter noticeably. I suppose that this is for the same reason that the DOS version's infantry scream/yell sounds end in loud clicks in C&C95 (if you use the DOS sound files with C&C95, that is). With SB sound, this does not happen in the demo. Also, if you convert all demo/DOS sound effect files to WAV with XCC Mixer, the result will be recognized by XCC Mixer as WAV files except for the yell files, which will be tagged as "unknown".

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yeah, xcc doesn't recognize lower-quality wav files.

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Could it be that Westwood considered making a stand-alone downloadable Nod demo at some point? The demo instructions screens for each side in the CD demo say something along the lines of "There are two playable sides in the full game". Although this could appear on the Nod screen as a result of simple copy-paste from the GDI screen and an oversight, but what if two separate demo versions were planned and then they got combined into a single CD release with more extras. Just a thought though :)

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