Thorondor Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 Just to verify, you haven't seen them, right? That is correct, Sir. Googling in the PT version doesnt' yield any satisfactory results at the moment either... :: "Come on in, the water's deadly!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted November 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 Supposedly the postman delivered something to my parents place by mistake the other day. Not sure what it is as I purchased way too much stuff off eBay in the last month to keep track of it all. It may be an Italian game magazine featuring an article on the Amiga UFO. Next time I go home I'll let you guys know.Cool, just as I suspected, it was the Italian game magazine! I think the name of the magazine is just "K", though it has "Guida al divertimento elettronico" underneath it. It's the May 1994 edition and cost 5500 Lira. (This works out to $3.45 1994 USD or ~ $5.00 current USD). The dimensions of this mag is huge: 9 x 12 inches. This should just fit within my scanner so I'm hoping to get some scans of it up soon. The cover is all X-COM - containing the Avenger, Firestorm, the Geoscape globe and the infamous red Muton. Inside, the X-COM article starts on page 32 and ends on page 37 (6 pages total). Pages 34-35 have a stitched together terror site map (huge 50x50 tiles) in progress. Nice. The mag is in near perfect condition and only has some minor fading/rubbing on the front cover and some very minor discoloration on the back (probably transferred from another mag sitting underneath it). I don't think I could find a better copy of this if I looked 10 years so it's a great find and historically significant as well. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted November 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 And I finally found (and purchased) a copy of the European "Russian" version of Apocalypse. I knew this existed from Mouse Nightshirt, but haven't seen it up for sale. Not sure of its condition as it's from a French seller, but it looks pretty good. Got a box in the mail today and knew it must be this because everything else I purchased recently is accounted for. Due to some mishandling by the USPS the shipping box was crushed on one end. Before the mailman could make a run for it, I made him wait while I inspected the contents to make sure there was no damage. Luckily for him, there wasn't any. Anyhow, upon closer inspection it isn't the "Russian" version. The seller misrepresented the item by copying the pic off the wikipedia apocalypse page and using that in the item listing. So I still need this version (Mouse, if you are reading this and at home send me a pm so we can discuss the details). So on one hand I'm a little peeved at this. On the other hand though, it is a proper French version of Apocalypse which I didn't have. I'll try to get the scans of this up before the week is out. Edit: I had a little time tonight so I scanned the French version of Apoc and stuck it up at the Apoc Game Versions page. I didn't scan the front box cover yet as it's currently being flattened out from being squashed (not the fault of the post office). Looks identical to the German one but it has a sticker on it saying it should be distributed through Electronic Arts. It's interesting that the code on the UK disc is MP191 207 D01R, while the French is MP291..., the German is MP391... and the Italian is MP591... So what version is MP491? My guess is that it's the Russian one I mentioned above. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 It's mostly identical to the UK version, though naturally lacking the "In association with SCI-FI Channel" thingy on the box front. However, featuring a "Guide du D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted November 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 And now I'm the proud owner of an Interceptor sticker. It's pretty big at 12cm in diameter and I got it for a steal at only 1 Euro. I also purchased an Enemy Unknown manual... not so much for the manual itself but for what came along with it: a "cloth map". I have no idea what this is and the seller didn't include a picture either. After contacting him, it sounded like it was released by the developer or publisher, but still not a straight answer. Rather than let this slide I decided I'd bite just in case. At 4 GBP, it wasn't too much. Will let you know of the details when they are in my possession. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted November 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 I also purchased an Enemy Unknown manual... not so much for the manual itself but for what came along with it: a "cloth map". I have no idea what this is and the seller didn't include a picture either. After contacting him, it sounded like it was released by the developer or publisher, but still not a straight answer. Rather than let this slide I decided I'd bite just in case. At 4 GBP, it wasn't too much. Will let you know of the details when they are in my possession. Turns out this is an Ultima IX cloth map. See pic #15 on this page under the appropriate heading of "Cloth Maps". (Took me a good hour to sleuth down that link and verify what it is). Not all that rare, but might be to Ultima collectors. Certainly isn't X-COM related though. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted November 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Just added a scan of the fairly large (13x13 cm or 5x5 inches) Interceptor sticker I purchased to our Promotional Items page. Enjoy! - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKF Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Finally eBay'd myself a copy of the UFO OSG for roughly 7.34 pounds (+GBP2.00 s/h). Not bad considering the original price sticker on it is GBP15.99! In very good condition considering it looks like it has seen much use. This thing is practically a textbook you could run university/college classes on. They really don't make games today that come with material this heavy any more. It's quite interesting to see how much stuff we got right today (without the aid of the book) and how different some of the opinions were back 1994. - NKF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted November 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 This thing is practically a textbook you could run university/college classes on. They really don't make games today that come with material this heavy any more. It's quite interesting to see how much stuff we got right today (without the aid of the book) and how different some of the opinions were back 1994.Knowing what the game files say is responsible for our current understanding of EU. The OSG is a good place to start, but it has it's faults - especially in the stat department. Beginner mistakes, which is why I'm sometimes overly critical of the effort. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 Scans of the Collector's Edition contents are now up on the Game Compilations page. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 Very nice, Zombie! That "AllianCE" advert is especially interesting... :: Might they be hinting at an Alliance [C]ollector's [E]dition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Just coincidence I'm afraid. That font makes it look like CE was intentional though. I should mention that the Advertisement Flyer is more than just a front and a back. It's actually 3 double sided pages (6 pages total). The Alliance Advert is contained smack dab in the center of it. I figured it was interesting enough to scan and include. I also didn't include the Alliance poster in the CE scans. I still need to get a digital camera to get pics of the larger items (the poster is HUGE at 3x2 feet). Hopefully I can get some more scans up tonight or tomorrow. I have some scans ready to go but I'm still deciding if I need to split the game compilations page into two: one for boxed, another for loose or jewel cased compilations. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Well, I went ahead and created another page for my X-COM Collection named "Magazine Compilations" (found here) and populated it with some of the material. I have no idea if I set the permissions for this page up properly so please let me know if you can see it. Just a few notes about the page: The compilations are arranged in order of magazine release date and game.For some compilations I only have the media (discs) shown. This is because a sleeve wasn't originally supplied with the release by the magazine -or- it didn't come with my copy. I need to do more research on them in order to determine what (if anything) is missing.The word "Vollversion" on some of the games is German for "Full Version" (surprise). This is usually a German release with English instructions on disc. Go figure.I didn't include a scan of the Tour de Force disc because the only copy I have is still in the plastic cellophane shrinkwrap and I'm unwilling to open it up to satisfy my curiosity. Unofficial demos are included on the page at the beginning of each game.At some point in time I might put some of my insights as a comment underneath each compilation describing what version of the game is included, the release date and any other important info. But I'm happy just to have it up on the site for now. I still have a few more discs which need to be scanned and added. I'll try to get that done today yet, but I make no promises. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I still have a few more discs which need to be scanned and added. I'll try to get that done today yet, but I make no promises. I could only find 3 more discs so I added them all to the page. I think that's it for this page for the time being - I'm fresh out of demo discs. Ten versions is a great start for a page though. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 I finished adding scans of the Ultimate Strategy Archives (both English and French) to the Game Compilations page today. Slow but sure, that page is starting to fill up. I also added two scans of a MicroProse Bumper Sticker to the Promotional Items page as a teaser for things to come. Yes, it's an official bumper sticker with the MicroProse logo on it. Slaughter mentioned he would like to see it on the bumper of the next Mars or Moon rover, and I tend to agree! Well, If I had one to spare that is. Speaking of such, I always wanted see a bumper sticker on a car which reads: "My Other Car Is A UFO". - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 Things definitely shape up when you go into scan-mode, Zombie. Having browsed I've noticed some minor slips:- On the Magazine Complilations page: Ken & Brian's Favorite Demos only has been left with only a thumbnail by all appearances...- On the Game Compilations page: similarly, UFO/Syndicate Telstar Doubles (UK&French)- And on your latest post: the link to the Promotional Items points to the Game Compilations... :: "(...) Slaughter mentioned he would like to see it on the bumper of the next Mars or Moon rover (...)"You mean you didn't know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 Having browsed I've noticed some minor slips:- On the Magazine Complilations page: Ken & Brian's Favorite Demos only has been left with only a thumbnail by all appearances...- On the Game Compilations page: similarly, UFO/Syndicate Telstar Doubles (UK&French)Not sure what the problem was there. My only guess was that the ampersand (&) in the file names was messing things up, so I renamed the files and readded them to the page. Appears to be functional again. This CMS is a little crazy when it comes to special characters so that may have something to do with it as well. - And on your latest post: the link to the Promotional Items points to the Game Compilations...I still had the browser page open this morning from where I grabbed the URL and the page contents were the promotional items, but the URL was game compilations. Crazy stuff. (I fixed the link in my previous post). Like I said, this CMS has a mind of it's own sometimes. One of Murphy's Laws reads: "Under the most rigorously controlled conditions of pressure, temperature, volume, humidity, and other variables the organism will do as it damn well pleases." You mean you didn't know? Smart guys, those NASA scientists. Couldn't find a rear shot of the lander Thorondor? That's where bumper stickers traditionally go so the guy tailgating you can read something. Not that there is gridlock (or any traffic) on Mars for that matter. I can imagine the rover turning it's cameras around to look at it's backside and saying "Does this [MicroProse Sticker] make my bum look big"? - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 Ampersands are generally reserved in most URL's as parameters passed to scripts so it'll likely have been thinking the image was supposed to be served as a script, though it really should have stripped them out after uploading ideally. As a general rule (that I don't always follow myself) image names for the web should be stripped of punctuation and all spaces replaced with hyphens and, if you're really picky like me sometimes, all lowercase so it looks neat in the address bar in your browser. As I say though, I tend to ignore tose general rules on occasion - such as when I just want a page up and finished already Back on topic - so that's where Microprose got to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 Well, I figured that if my computer allowed me to save an image with an ampersand in the file name, then it should be fine to upload (same with any other character). So which idiot decided to reserve the ampersand in web language to be used for variable passing? And why isn't a filename considered off-limits to scripts? Seems like a major oversight in w3 rules. Unknown Terror scans are up at the game compilations page. I'm hesitant to link to the page as I've been burned one too many times. By now you guys should know where to look anyway. Edit: The X-COM Collection as well as Enforcer/Edge Of Chaos scans are up now too. All I have left is the Telstar Doubles and Mega3Pak. Nearly done with that page folks! I'm up to 140+ scans for this page alone. Yipes. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 The English and Italian Mega3Pak scans are now up at the Game Compilations page (I think I got this link correct). All I have left to do is the two Telstar Doubles versions, a couple side box scans and, at a later date, photos of the Ultimate Strategy Archives big box. I also have a compilation at home yet and another one is on its way. It's never ending I tell ya. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 All the Telstar German scans are up now. I also made some progress on the Telstar English+French version. All that is left is to take some scans of the Syndicate Reference Cards (2 of them), the UFO Tech Supplement, the French Epilepsy warning and the side box. Will endeavor to finish the game compilations page off tomorrow (well, as far as I can get anyway). Surprised I haven't got anything in the mail yet, I have 3 versions en route and I'm hoping they all reach me before I go home for Christmas. Two of them should make it as one is from a seller in Michigan while another is from Texas. The third is coming from Germany though so it'll be close. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Wow, another marathon scanning session this evening and now all the versions on the game compilations page should be complete. Yea! Apologies for the condition of the Collector's Edition side box scans: I purchased my complete copy for really cheap but it was squashed quite a bit. A necessary evil when the price is right. I also had a little trouble stitching together the side box scans in general so that's the reason why some may look less than perfect. One final note: I didn't always take scans of both the long and the short sides of the box. It depended on if the side was interesting enough to include with the technical specs/UPC code side. Want both no matter what? Sorry, my prerogative. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you look at it), I just found a box between the doors to my place and inside was the 3 CD Game Pack "Games of Steel" compilation containing Mech Warrior 3, Mech Warrior 3 Expansion Pack - Pirates Moon and X-COM Enforcer. The box is huge (much bigger than the Ultimate Strategy Archives English version box even), so I'll need to take photos of it instead of scanning. I'll try to scan the innards and add them tomorrow sometime. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Aren't you an eager beaver... What do you call that - a double double-post? You've certainly been busy with the X-Com Scanning Olympics and it shows. :: And, speaking of huge boxes, Zombie, do you think there's still any chance you can lay your hands on one of these ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Aren't you an eager beaver... What do you call that - a double double-post? You've certainly been busy with the X-Com Scanning Olympics and it shows. Mmmm, quadruple posting. Spamming at it's best. And, speaking of huge boxes, Zombie, do you think there's still any chance you can lay your hands on one of these ? Well, I've talked to Koloth a few times and mentioned that if he should ever decide on getting rid of his stuff, to please contact me first. Me wants that box too and I think he's the only person who has it. Well, I took scans of the 3 CD Pack last night, so all I'll need to do is add them into the site page today sometime. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted December 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 I could only find 3 more discs so I added them all to the page. I think that's it for this page for the time being - I'm fresh out of demo discs. Ten versions is a great start for a page though. I purchased a near-mint version of Computer Gaming World's 200th Issue CD a few days ago and now those scans are up at the Magazine Compilations page. This copy wasn't cheap by any means, and I have never seen it listed before in a few years of looking so it's probably worth it. It's one of the later compilations as it came out in 2001, and it contains a full copy of UFO EU for windows (aka "Gold"). Suh-weet! I still need to add the scans of the 3 CD Pack to the game compilations page. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow. - Zombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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