MS-DOS Lemmings - Award Winners: Platinum Edition CD-ROM version

[Prob Lem]

I mentioned this in passing in another thread a little while ago, but I now have to hand a possibly little-known variant of the MS-DOS version of Lemmings - the one from the UK-only compilation pack, Award Winners: Platinum Edition (which was available for both the Commodore Amiga, and MS-DOS). Specifically, the one from the far-less-common CD-ROM version of this compilation. I haven't seen any mentions around of its specific traits, so I figured that I'd write a little bit about it (and about how I came to know it http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/tongue.gif" alt=":P" title="Tongue" class="smiley" />).

Now, this compilation hails from 1995 - a time when x86-based computers were still almost completely irrelevant to the vast majority of people in the UK home market, due to their price, and lacking multi-media ability compared to the still-dominant Commodore Amiga (of course, Commodore's bankruptcy in 1994 changed all that, but in 1995, the Amiga was still on sale - but that's another story!). That's what would seem to make this variant less-well-known than others - you just don't see the MS-DOS version of this compilation around much. When you do, it's usually the floppy disk version - the CD-ROM release is harder to find.

Originally, I had the 1995 pressing of the CD-ROM version of this compilation, which included a combined paper manual for all three of the included games (all compressed down into a chunky square book with a footprint similar to a 3.5" floppy disk), but that's long-gone. I'm writing this because I have now acquired a second-hand copy to replace it, which is ever-so-slightly different - this is a revised late 1996 pressing, which did away with the chunky little manual, which is now included in PDF format on the CD, and instead included a shorter booklet in the same sort of square form-factor that contains a note specific to Lemmings (quoted later), plus code-sheets for the other two games. That aside, the 1996 pressing is identical in content to the 1995 one.

Anyway...

Award Winners: Platinum Edition was a core part of the very generous package of software bundles supplied with the x86-based computers sold in early 1996 by Escom, who had bought the Commodore brand after Commodore's collapse, and kept the Amiga on the market, whilst also sticking Commodore branding on generic x86 boxes running Microsoft Windows 95. This was during the time when x86 boxes began to become relevant to UK home-computer users, and when my family got its first x86 box. It contains Civilisation, Frontier - Elite II, and Lemmings, and it's the latter that's the most interesting of the lot, as far as the MS-DOS version of the compilation goes... And I don't just mean because it's Lemmings - I mean because this version of the game is altered a bit, whilst as far as I know, the other two included games were not (they even retain their copy-protection schemes).

On the version of Lemmings from this compilation, the copy-protection, which I gather the original MS-DOS release had (or so says the multi-format manual supplied with the original Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS releases - I've never witnessed it myself, due to this version being my only exposure to it), is seemingly absent.

It also has a bizarre setup on the CD, with a Lemmings executable in the root of the CD (lemmings.exe), and then a Lemmings directory containing all of the game data and the lemmings.exe and vgalemmi.exe executables. I always ran the game from vgalemmi.exe in that directory back in early 1996 when I first played this release, so I have no idea what the one in the root of the CD does. Some of the literature supplied with the compilation (in the case of the late 1996 pressing, it's in a small booklet, but I think may have been on a separate addendum/errata sheet for the 1995 release) claims that Lemmings cannot be installed to your hard drive - specifically, it says the following;

LEMMINGS - SPECIAL NOTES
Please note that MUSIC is only available using an Ad-Lib sound card. Lemmings cannot be entirely installed to a hard disk and will also need to access the CD for certain files.

This said, I've actually had no issues with copying the Lemmings directory from the CD to my hard drive and running it from DOSBox here. I can only assume that this would have worked the same had I tried this back in the day on Microsoft Windows 95, but there are no Microsoft Windows boxes in my household for me to test this theory.

The last noteworthy thing about the version of Lemmings on Award Winners: Platinum Edition is that it is somewhat hobbled audio-wise; It has only Ad-Lib music, even though I know now that the original MS-DOS release (and other games derived from it) was not sold this way. For years, though, I believed that the MS-DOS version shipped without music, and only had those awful sound-effects that weren't a patch on those of the Amiga original! This makes this one an odd choice for Escom to have included with their computers, since their machines only had SoundBlaster clones fitted, and never Ad-Lib cards. It wasn't until within the last several months that I finally heard the MS-DOS version's music.

I had said in the other thread where I mentioned this version that I did not remember it having the special-graphics levels and that I would try to track it down to confirm this - as stated above, I now have, and can say that I had misremembered this detail. I can only assume that this was due to having played other ports more, combined with the fact that I thought that only the Amiga version had the special-graphics levels, which must have merged together over the years and caused me to forget this detail. A quick playthrough of a good chunk of the Fun difficulty setting a short while ago revealed that A Beast of a Level is indeed present, and this would mean that the others also are as well, no doubt.

I have attached the Award Winners: Platinum Edition version of Lemmings to this post, in the interests of preserving it if it hasn't been already, and in case anyone in-the-know wants to take a look at it.

Also, I have uploaded the PDF version of the manual http://www.mediafire.com/download/plbsvqpkj2f7s7s/awinplat.pdf.zip" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">here. The Lemmings manual (present in English and German) starts on page 422.

I hope that I didn't bore you guys too much with the extensive write-up and history-lesson!

[Tsyu]

The version of Lemmings that you uploaded, by itself, has AdLib sound effects (which also work on Sound Blaster cards and any clones worth their salt, since they're all 100% AdLib compatible) but no music. Instead, it plays audio tracks from the CD, so if your CD has audio tracks, then you need it to be inserted if you want to hear music (which is why it "cannot be entirely installed to a hard disk"). With this considered, it's odd (and completely false) that the game says you need an AdLib card to hear music; and system that can play music CDs should suffice.

There are other releases of DOS Lemmings that are exactly like this. This version even has the extended safe-fall distance that makes various levels easier than they should be.

I also looked at that PDF, and I've got to say, that's one of the worst scans of a manual that I've ever seen! If that's the same PDF that appeared on the CD, and if that CD has no Redbook tracks for Lemmings, then this is truly a shoddy release.

[Prob Lem]

So, this version, though hobbled in this incarnation, is already known, then? Good to know. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/smiley.gif" alt=":)" title="Smiley" class="smiley" />

I assume that this one was used because it can be run straight from the CD-ROM? (I wouldn't imagine that it would be because of the copy-protection being absent, since both Civilisation and Frontier still have theirs.)

The version of Lemmings that you uploaded, by itself, has AdLib sound effects (which also work on Sound Blaster cards and any clones worth their salt, since they're all 100% AdLib compatible) but no music. Instead, it plays audio tracks from the CD, so if your CD has audio tracks, then you need it to be inserted if you want to hear music (which is why it "cannot be entirely installed to a hard disk"). With this considered, it's odd (and completely false) that the game says you need an AdLib card to hear music; and system that can play music CDs should suffice.

This release never had any redbook audio on the CD - neither the 1995 or 1996 pressings do. It's just there, on the disc, with the other games and whatnot. The sound effects do work, of course.

I just noticed that lemmings.exe is some sort of bizarre setup/installer program that doesn't really do anything (it has the same options as vgalemmi.exe has, and even says, if you try to exit it, that the game has not been installed, even though no such option is provided, and giving it the info it wants causes it to simply start the game), and it says "WELCOME TO CD LEMMINGS" at the top. I don't believe I've ever even tried running this ridiculous thing before, as this isn't the slightest bit familiar.

There are other releases of DOS Lemmings that are exactly like this. This version even has the extended safe-fall distance that makes various levels easier than they should be.

I didn't know about this - any examples so I can take a look, please?

I also looked at that PDF, and I've got to say, that's one of the worst scans of a manual that I've ever seen! If that's the same PDF that appeared on the CD, and if that CD has no Redbook tracks for Lemmings, then this is truly a shoddy release.

That's the PDF taken straight from the CD, zipped up, and uploaded, yep! The original chunky manual was not quite as bad, but then, the original glossy multi-format manual isn't fantastic to begin with, in that regard. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/tongue.gif" alt=":P" title="Tongue" class="smiley" />

The bizarre thing is, only 63.2MB of space is used up on the CD - and most of it seems to be that manual, and versions of Civilisation and Frontier in multiple languages. Since the 1995 pressing didn't even have the PDF manual, that version would only have used up ~27.8MB of the disc... Surely they should have been able to include the music? http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/huh.gif" alt="???" title="Huh?" class="smiley" />

[Tsyu]

I assume that this one was used because it can be run straight from the CD-ROM? (I wouldn't imagine that it would be because of the copy-protection being absent, since both Civilisation and Frontier still have theirs.)

There were CD releases with the standard AdLib soundtrack instead of Redbook audio (and those also suffer from the extended safe-fall distance). I doubt that there was any reason that they couldn't have used one of those versions.

There are other releases of DOS Lemmings that are exactly like this. This version even has the extended safe-fall distance that makes various levels easier than they should be.

I didn't know about this - any examples so I can take a look, please?

Yes. With this bug, the lemmings in "We All Fall Down" (all versions) can survive the fall without the digger skill, so you don't need to do anything to complete it (except for maybe increasing the release rate in later versions). Also, in Mayhem 1, the fall from the entrance is not fatal. (http://www.ign.com/faqs/2002/lemmings-walkthroughfaq-369161" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">This walkthrough has more examples--just search for "CD".)

Oh, and if you're curious about what the CD tracks should be, check out this thread.

[ccexplore]

So we are sure that Prob Lem's CD really do not have the CD audio tracks?  Keep in mind that the Redbook CD audio tracks won't show up like normal files (eg. probably not reflected in "space used"), so you won't find them if you try to look for them amongst the other files of the game.  And because the CD would have mixed content (ie. audio tracks plus regular files), Windows likely won't try to "autoplay" the CD like it might with a pure audio CD.  The way to test is to explicitly run a media player or a CD ripper program and see if it is able to detect/play/rip audio tracks on the CD.

Sorry if I sound a little pushy, but of course if it turned out the CD does have the audio tracks, it would be interesting especially to compare and confirm if they are the same ones as from the version on this thread.

To be fair, since these are compilations that include multiple games, it is not necessarily surprising that whoever creates the compilation could've just copied the various game files and never even knew of the existence of CD audio tracks, let alone including them into the compilation's CD image.  There certainly had been plenty of CD-ROM releases (I own one or two myself) of DOS Lemmings that are basically just the old original floppy disk versions on a new medium, with no CD audio tracks and no changes to the safe-fall distance.

[Prob Lem]

There were CD releases with the standard AdLib soundtrack instead of Redbook audio (and those also suffer from the extended safe-fall distance). I doubt that there was any reason that they couldn't have used one of those versions.

We can safely assume they were unaware or just lazy buggers, then? http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/tongue.gif" alt=":P" title="Tongue" class="smiley" />

Yes. With this bug, the lemmings in "We All Fall Down" (all versions) can survive the fall without the digger skill, so you don't need to do anything to complete it (except for maybe increasing the release rate in later versions). Also, in Mayhem 1, the fall from the entrance is not fatal. (http://www.ign.com/faqs/2002/lemmings-walkthroughfaq-369161" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">This walkthrough has more examples--just search for "CD".)

Thanks very much - I'll have a look at that later!

Oh, and if you're curious about what the CD tracks should be, check out this thread.

Thanks muchly. Funnily enough, I already have the MP3s - I just never knew that this version was ever meant to have that soundtrack. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />

So we are sure that Prob Lem's CD really do not have the CD audio tracks?  Keep in mind that the Redbook CD audio tracks won't show up like normal files (eg. probably not reflected in "space used"), so you won't find them if you try to look for them amongst the other files of the game.  And because the CD would have mixed content (ie. audio tracks plus regular files), Windows likely won't try to "autoplay" the CD like it might with a pure audio CD.  The way to test is to explicitly run a media player or a CD ripper program and see if it is able to detect/play/rip audio tracks on the CD.

I am absolutely, 100%, couldn't-be-surer sure. The game plays no music when run through DOSBox, and didn't way back when on the Microsoft Windows 95 box I got the original copy I owned with, either.

As an aside, I should note that I don't use Microsoft Windows, I use Linux (currently Xubuntu, but considering a hop to Mint with Xfce at some point), and am set up such that both the data and redbook parts of a mixed-mode CD automount at the same time and simultaneously show up in the file-manager. I've never encountered a mixed-mode disc where this doesn't occur - is that a possibility at all, even given this setup?

EDIT: I mean, would it possibly occur if the disc had been incorrectly mastered and they'd failed to close the session for the data part? That's something I've never seen, so I just don't know.

Sorry if I sound a little pushy, but of course if it turned out the CD does have the audio tracks, it would be interesting especially to compare and confirm if they are the same ones as from the version on this thread.

Not a problem - you don't sound pushy. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/wink.gif" alt=";)" title="Wink" class="smiley" />

If you'd like me to make a bin/cue rip of the CD, with its lack of redbook, I could do that (it'd take a few minutes at most, once I'm at my main box, since that's the only one I have with an optical drive), but I don't have anywhere where I could upload a file that large... Any suggestions would be welcome!

To be fair, since these are compilations that include multiple games, it is not necessarily surprising that whoever creates the compilation could've just copied the various game files and never even knew of the existence of CD audio tracks, let alone including them into the compilation's CD image.  There certainly had been plenty of CD-ROM releases (I own one or two myself) of DOS Lemmings that are basically just the old original floppy disk versions on a new medium, with no CD audio tracks and no changes to the safe-fall distance.

There's something worth noting here, though - there's also a floppy disk version of this same compilation, which I assume doesn't have this problem. If this guess is correct on my part, then one has to wonder why on Earth they didn't just use that...

I'm not too inclined to find it, though, haha... I mean, I already own the Amiga edition of it (also floppy-based) and this one. That'd make me some sort of Award Winners: Platinum Edition completist nut, I suspect. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/tongue.gif" alt=":P" title="Tongue" class="smiley" />