Re: Two Versions of Bard's Tale I&II for the IIgs?

[Mitchell Spector <mitch2gs@hotmail.com>]

"Tempest" <tempest@atariprotos.com> wrote:

>I was searching the newsgroup archives when I ran across this post:
>
>      There are two version of Bard's Tale for the GS. A ProDOS 8
>version written in 1987 (v1.0), and a slightly enhanced version (v2.1) 
>written around 1991-92. The later supports GS/OS, MIDIsynth music 
>and is hardrive installable. It's also worth mentioning there are two 
>GS-specific ports of Bard's Tale II, and possibily Bard's Tale III, though 
>I'm uncertain if it was ever released. Bard's Tale I and II can be bought 
>through BRCC, at least until the end of this year...

    I thought that text looked familar, I posted it 12 years ago. :)

>Is this true?  I've only ever seen a ProDOS 8 version of Bard's Tale
>(I'm not sure what version of BT2 I have).

    Yes, they exist. Bill Heineman updated both Bard's Tale I and II
back in the early 90's. I checked my disk collection and I still have 
both 3.5 disks, presumably intact. 

    Personally I preferred the original versions. The musical scores
redone through MIDIsynth sounded pretty weak compared to the
originals. On the other hand, it did allow you to load and save
games without having to return to the guild and may have also
had on-screen mapping.

    There was also a GS/OS update for Tass Times in Tone Town
released, which I've still yet to get ahold of. If anyone out there 
has it, _please_ contact me. Incidentally, Bard's Tale III was never
released, although it may have been partially completed.

>If so, is there a place I can grab it from?  I'd like to install it on my HD 
>and save some load times.

    If you can't find it, I'll archive the original two disks and send 
them over. Again though, you'll probably be disappointed by 
the music if you've played the originals from 1987 and 1988.

Mitchell Spector