I just visited the DigitalLeisure site and they are releasing a new version of Dragon's Lair on Oct 3rd for PC.

Anyone hear of this or see it yet? (Besides the screenshots that are shown?)

They claim it to be arcade perfect and run on Mpeg1 video...

Here is a bit from the website...

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This is the premier of a true arcade version with accurate and original arcade features, never before included, as well as the spectacular video quality achieved through the use of MPEG 1 video, these are available now on CD-ROM. These features include: the original scoring scheme, arcade circuitry control through software dip switches, multiple levels of difficulty and total scene authentication. Also included are numerous extras such as the “watch” feature, which enables owners to relax and enjoy the vibrant animation.
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Sounds like they are using DAPHNE!

Should be interesting... I may have to fork out the bucks and try it out since I dont have a laserdisc and player yet.. (or dvdrom for that matter)

I wonder how good it is and how it compares to running it on Daphne!!!!

I also wonder.. if the DigitalLeisure doesnt do a good job w/the game play.. I wonder if we will be able to use the video with Daphne! How cool would that be?

Looks like the re-release of SA and DL2 is not to far behind ....

... "Remember and enjoy it in its original arcade playable version on CD-ROM available in your favorite gaming store on October 3, 2001. Digital Leisure is also fully authenticating the other games in this loved series, Space Ace and Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp... watch for these titles from Digital Leisure this fall" ...

I feel like I'm falling into the 'George Lucas' syndrome again.

They can keep releasing Star Wars in different formats every year, and I'll keep buying every version that comes out.. As they get a little better and better every time...

Looks like the same thing is happening w/Digital Leisure stuff.

How many different versions of Dragon's Lair can I possibly own...?

The sad thing is that I know I will buy every new version that comes out...

I'm a sucker.

Heh, Daphne's the best thing that ever happened to my Digital Leisure addiction! Now I have to track down the Space Ace DVD-ROM and hope a converter gets written (Already have the DLII DVD).

Anyone know any places that have the DVD-ROM (not "normal" DVD) version of Space Ace?

Dragons Lair, Dragons Lair II and Space Ace are available at these sites:

http://www.digitalleisure.com
http://www.800.com/


MaddMaxx2000

Something's fishy...

I've been doing a little nosing around on the Digital Leisure site...

Off the main page, they have a link for the new CD-ROM version that is coming out.. you can even download cool screenshots in TIFF format....

But.. after a little more searching...
If you go to the DVD-ROM section of the website (for Dragons Lair) you can download the exact same screens in TIFF format.. after looking at them.. they are the same screens... what is DLeisure trying to pull here? I'm sure the mpeg video screens are not as good as the DVDROM versions...

Maybe I should email them and find out why they post the same screenshots for both versions...

Yes, those are the same screens. Digital Leisure has been using the same screenshots for all of their games for years.

That is the most sad thing I've ever heard.

How can they do that to us?

I wonder if it will be hard to find this new CD-Rom version in the stores.. They will probably charge an arm and a leg for it off thier web site.

AND... I hope for the sake of god, that incase they do screw up the game play that the video is able to be converted for Daphne useage!!!
----------------------------------

I stopped by Electronics Botique today.
$14.99 for the new Dragon's Lair.

Not bad... even if it stinks for some reason, $15 wont break me. Maybe we'll be able to use the video w/Daphne atleast.(?)

But.. EB wont have it till the end of the month. They told me release was pushed back... I don't know if this is true or not.

I emailed Digital Leisure and asked about the release date, if they plan to post a 'sample' of the video footage and if they are going to post some acutal screen shots instead of copies of other versions. (as discussed previously) Hopefully they get back to me...

After all, I would not be suprised if they DID use Daphne. The GNU General Public License allows selling and commercial distribution!

Yes but the GPL also requires that any derivative of a GPL'd package also be released under the GPL which means full source code must be released among other things. That would mean people could easily modify the executable to bypass any copy protection that was added.

Got the latest CD-ROM copy of Dragon's Lair today...

There are lots of pros and cons, I'll post more about it tomorrow night.. I've played around with it sooo much tonight that I need to get some sleep... Later

I hope this is okay to post this here.
Not really Daphne Related, but it is Dragon's Lair releated..
If it doesnt belong here, let me know.

Dragon’s Lair PC CD-ROM (Digital Leisure - Released Oct. 2001)
Review

Part 1 of 4 (Broken down to: Graphics, Gameplay, Options, Sound & Overall)

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GRAPHICS –
The new Dragon’s Lair CD-ROM now plays the video using the MPEG1 format. The previous CD-ROM version used AVI video. When the AVI was stretched any larger than the default window, major “pixelization” occurred in the animation. While DVD-ROM video used more of a MPEG2 compression, MPEG1 is probably as close as you can get w/out a DVD-ROM.

BUT... (And there is ALWAYS a ‘but’..) It seems as Digital Leisure may have recorded in a ‘Lesser Quality’ MPEG1 format. In fullscreen mode, there is still much pixelization going on when things are moving on the screen. Don’t get me wrong, it is MUCH better than the AVI format, but still doesn’t compare with what a DVD can output. The video does run smooth, though. I havn’t noticed any choppiness, even when running the video off of my 24x Mitsumi CD-ROM.

An interesting bit of information is that the game can install all the video to your HardDrive in under 200MB. I know when I record higher-quality MPEG videos, I can easily pass the 200MB drive without problems. (For that length of video)
A depressing fact about the quality of the MPEG video that was used is the fact that over half the CD contains interviews and demo videos for other games. Why couldn’t Digital Leisure record the video in a higher format and actually fill up the CD with better video images?

Now, your video card may play a slight factor in how well the full-screen images look.
On my old(er) PC, (AMD 400 w/128mb Ram & 16 MB 3dfx video card) the video looked a little pixelated (as stated above) in full screen. On my newer PC, (AMD 800 w/256mb Ram & 32 Pine TNT video) the video card kind of ‘blurrs’ the screen for some videogames. When in full screen here, the picture looks a little fuzzy, but the ‘pixelization’ doesn’t seem as bad, since the picture is kind of blurred or blended together. I was pleased when I saw this on my fast PC. (Which is mounted in my arcade cabinet, by the way) It looks pretty impressive in full-screen mode on my Arcade Machine.

Missing Scenes- Digital Leisure is getting closer with every release to include all the scenes from the original LaserDisc game. All the video is here in this version, including the drawbridge scene which can be played while in PC Mode instead of Arcade Mode. The only thing I have noticed that they are missing are the still frames saying to “Insert Coins”. The game doesn’t emulate or even simulate coins being put into the machine. You end up getting the generic: “Press any key to continue” screen after dying, and simply by pressing the Sword button, you can start the game. So, we are still missing some images from the arcade version. Still not 100%. But atleast we don’t have to go through the dreaded drawbridge screen when starting the game.

I will talk about the “Scoreboard” feature in a later posting about the OPTIONS for the game.

Also, I’ll try grabbing a screen shot and will post it on my website. (It may not be a full-screen shot, but I’ll grab the largest a full-screen ‘window’)

-----------------------------

I still would LOVE to see the graphics quality of a LaserDisc which has been converted...
(So I could compare the two)
Can anyone post a small 5 second ‘cropped’ clip from thier MPEG converted video?
Maybe like the opening castle scene with dirk running through the gate?
(Or would this be highly illegal??? – Dont answer this, I have a feeling I know what you will say!

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smashtvguy,

Interesting, thanks for posting your impressions, and I look forward to the rest!

I'm not surprised that the video is so small. If they used the standard VCD spec for their MPEG, 200 MB is about right for 20 minutes of video.

Using a higher bitrate would make it perform poorly on slower machines, and could cause problems with whatever MPEG player is installed.

So all things considered it was probably a smart move on their part.

Seems like they have finally redeemed themselves and produced the 'home version' of DL that they should have made years ago...

The 'enthusiasts' will no doubt want to use Daphne with the DVD-ROM video, or video captured from an original laserdisc. But for the rest of the folks out there, it seems like a good deal...

I have purchased the DL, DL2 and Space Ace DVD-ROMS and have used the updated loader and dvd2daph v2 with DL and SA and have noticed that certain scenes are skipped after a death scene. Example SA when approaching ship if I die trying to make it past bot and getting pummeled in dirt it will than goto the scene of running and gettin in it. Wasnt shure if this was normal but wanted to adress it along with score issue.

I am running with intel 3 1 gightz with 1 gig pc133 mem with gf2 on win xp with proper updated drivers.

Thanks those for making this possible
and hehe to Matt on the mpeg4 debate 4 is an updated interactive platform which requires more data correct me. lol

Dabbles with dvd for fun

eProxy,

This has been addressed before, but here it is again:

When Space Ace is played in "Cadet" mode, it skips forward each time you die. When played in "Captain" and "Ace" modes, it goes back to the beginning of the scene when you die. This is the normal behavior of the original arcade game.

When you start the game, you'll hear a beeping sounds for several seconds before it begins. This is the time when the game expects you to select your skill level (Cadet, Captain, or Ace). If no skill level is selected, then it will default to Cadet.

To select the skill level use the following keystrokes:

/ Cadet
* Captain
- Ace

What you're seeing is correct for cadet and captain modes.

Dragon’s Lair PC CD-ROM (Digital Leisure - Released Oct. 2001)
Review

Part 2 of 4 (Broken down to: Graphics, Gameplay, Options, Sound & Overall)

------------------
GAMEPLAY –

The biggest problems in earlier releases of Dragon’s Lair for home game systems,are numerous:
Either there are missing scenes,
have extra scenes added,
have extra moves added,
moves deleted from gameplay,
the timing is off for the moves,
scenes don’t appear in the right order,
scenes appear too many times during gameplay,
there is no ‘beep’ sound for correct or incorrect moves,
sometimes correct moves can still be entered after a wrong move is put in.. etc.. etc…

There are probably more issues, but I’ll stop there.

I don’t have too much to say in this section of the review, except that Digital Leisure has finally corrected EVERY SINGLE ONE of these issues with the game play in this new CD-ROM version.
Not only are you getting Arcade-accurate response from the game, they also have a setting in the options, (Which I’ll talk about more later) where you can toggle from ‘Arcade Mode’ to ‘Home Mode’. This will let you play the drawbridge scene, and after Dirk enters the castle, the crumbling room appears. The rest of the scenes then appear to follow the Arcade layout.

As the difficulty in the options screen are increased, the moves required also change. (Which follow the different Dip-Switch settings on the arcade machine. Moves are more ‘tightened up’ and need to be entered with a little more timing as well when the difficulty is increased.
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Additions to the GRAPHICS review.. I just wanted to state that if Digital Leisure is planning to release other laser games, I hope they plan to increase the playing quality of the video. (Even if it is more demanding on the PC)
I can’t imagine playing MadDog2 with a light gun and such pixelated video. There are literally 14 other demo videos on this cd and many of them are gun-shooters. I hope they get this cleaned up for those releases…

Another Interesting piece of Info about the MPEG that this version of Dragon's Lair uses...

I just loaded the beginning demo into my Dazzle video capute software and found out that the video is recorded at only 352x240 with a video bitrate of 1,015,200.

Didn't I read somewhere that Daphne likes to have the MPEG recorded at 640x480?

I record things at 352x240, but use a bitrate of 3,000,000. Looks much nicer. But larger files!! The intro to Survivor Africa which runs 60 Seconds is a 23-24 MB file by itself.. I wish DL was recorded at atleast this quality...

Dragons Lair Review Part III

Dragon’s Lair PC CD-ROM (Digital Leisure - Released Oct. 2001)
Review

Part 3 of 4 (Broken down to: Graphics, Gameplay, Options, Sound & Overall)

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OPTIONS –

The new Dragon’s Lair CD-ROM has a bunch of options that help to keep everything as arcade-perfect as it can.

The first and most noticable (to me) was the ability to configure your controls to work with the joystick or any key on the keyboard. Default settings are the 4 cursor keys on the keyboard along with the spacebar as the sword button. The sword button also starts gameplay when the demo is running.
When changing a key, a layout of a keyboard is given to you, and you simply point-and-click to what you want the new command to be. This may not seem very exciting to you, but I have my copy of Dragon’s Lair runing in an arcade machine where the Joystick panel is actually made up of a hodge-podge of keyboard keys. So being able to customize the controls is a must!!! Good job Digital Leisure!

Other options include the abiltiy to toggle between the ‘easy’ and ‘hard’ move sets for the game. (Which adds more moves, and ‘tightens’ up moves- which means you have to be much more accurate when entering moves.) The arcade version has dip-switches on the inside of the cabinet to allow these settings to be changed.

On the same note, you can toggle the option on or off to have the machine switch into ‘hard’ mode after 5 scenes have been completed in a row. There is another button for 7 scenes in a row to be completed before ‘hard’ mode is active.

You can also toggle on or off the ‘beep’ sound that the game generates with everytime the joystick/sword is pressed. There is a small flaw in the beep sound, but I’ll talk about that in the SOUND review which is coming up.... Otherwise, it is great to hear that beep every time the joystick and sword buttons are pressed. That was one feature that many of the older ‘home’ copies of Dragon’s Lair was missing.

Another option that is interesting, but I probably will never use is the ability to toggle between the earlier Home versions, and the Arcade version. (In the Home version, the Drawbridge scene is played and the crumbling room comes right after. Otherwise I think the rest plays out the same as the arcade in this version) I’m not sure about other scenes... Like after Dirk kills the Electric Knight.. If the extra animation is played or not... Someday I’ll play through the entire Home version to see if it’s there, but I like to stick with the arcade-accurate version as much as possible.

You can program a key to toggle between Windowed-mode and Full-Screen. This is pretty neat in that you don’t have to pause the game to go thru menus to increase to full screen. One button press, and you are there.

The game can be paused by hitting the P key (or any key of your choice) this is pretty neat incase you need to take the dog out for a quick potty break.


You can also program another key on the keyboard to toggle through the scoring modes.
Different modes include: Scoring turned off, Score shows at the top of the window, or a simulated display of the scoring panel from the arcade game to appear on the screen. (The last version is not available in Full-Screen mode obviously)

The Simulated display looks cool, but is not positional on your screen. It always has to be sitting on the TOP BORDER of your gameplay window. It shows the digitial score panel, speakers, and marquee from the video game.
To fit it all on your screen, your video window needs to be pretty small. It would be nice if you could drag-and-drop the score panel to put it on the side of your video window also. But it is sweet to have, none the less.

There are about 14 other game demos available (recorded in MPEG) from the drop-down menus in Dragon’s Lair (Like MadDog2, Who shot Johnny Rock, Space Ace, Dragon’s Lair II, etc....) and also a 5 part news-report and interviews about Dragon’s Lair and it’s creators (from the era of when the arcade game was new)

One more nice thing that Digital Leisure has done (and this probably should have been added in the ‘graphics’ review...) is that during the Intro Demo that plays, you dont see any type of ‘Digital Leisure’ logos being shown. There is one short ‘copyright’ screen that comes up right when you start the program, but after that, it is Dragon’s Lair all the way. The demo just plays over and over.. just like the arcade game. (Minus the ‘Insert Coins’ screens)

Here are a couple of snapshots of DL running in my 'Arcade Machine'...

Besides needing a larger screen, doesnt look too bad...

http://webpages.charter.net/cablehaven/ ... shots.html

Dragon’s Lair PC CD-ROM (Digital Leisure - Released Oct. 2001)
Review

Part 4 of 4 (Broken down to: Graphics, Gameplay, Options, Sound & Overall)

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SOUND & OVERALL –

SOUND-
The sound is average, nothing big to speak of. Just a couple notes about the sound..

- The beeping when tapping on the joystick or using the sword button is nice. On older/slower PCs (Im not sure how slow – this happens on my AMD 400) you may get an ‘echo’ beep after you put a move in. The sound echos for every ‘beep’ that the game makes. On my AMD 800MHz pc, the sound of the beeps does not echo.

- In the room with the tilting floor, the sound is amplified here for some reason. Not a lot, but it is noticable.

-When you hit a button to start, you hear the sound that the arcade game makes when a coin insert is detected.


OVERALL -

I am very pleased with this CD-ROM release. Although the average game player would probably not want to go out and spend another $15.00 on the same game that has been released time and time again, any hard-core arcade Dragon’s Lair fanatic will find this to be the best version (most accurate) out on the market.

The only thing that had disturbed me a bit was the fact of the low-quality video that was used for the game – although it was much better than previous cd-rom versions. Half the CD was demo videos, where a higher recording rate could have been used for gameplay which would of filled up the CD a bit more, and also looked better on the screen. I have contacted Digital Leisure to congratulate them on the release and had asked about my video concerns. I guess the rest of the laserdisc games that are going to be released are slated to be of the same quality. Hopefully I can convince them that they can still fit the game on a single CD and use even better video bitrates. I’m sure they will crank out DVD-ROMS that play the same way, but have superior video... And if they do.. MAYBE i’ll consider buying a DVD-ROM. But till then this is by far the best arcade-accurate version of Dragon’s Lair I’ve seen yet.

Good job, Digital Leisure! (4 1/2 stars out of 5)