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

["Tempest" <tempest@atariprotos.com>]

Thanks for the response, it's great to hear for the original poster (12
years later too!).

I'd love it if you could post those files, since both of mine are the
Prodos 8 versions.  Are you saying the music actually got worse?  Wow,
that's really odd.  Are the updated versions hard drive installable?
That's the real reason I'd like to get my hands on them.

I'm surprised Bill bothered to update them since the IIgs version
probably wasn't a big seller (although I remember staring at it with
envy when I got my IIe versions back in the day).  Were these updated
versions actually released or just leaked to BBS's?

I've heard that the IIgs version of Bard's Tale III was mostly done but
still had some important gameplay left to be implimented (so it doesn't
sound like it was playable).  This is a shame, because I'd love to have
all 3 games on my IIgs.  Although I'd settle for a 3.5" disk version of
BT3 if someone has it (the IIe version of 3.5" disks), since I don't
have 5.25" drives hooked up to my IIgs ATM.

Once again, thanks for the response. It's nice to finally put this
mystery to bed.


Mitchell Spector wrote:
> "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