Question regarding disk/tape version

[Brian the Fist]

Does anybody of you know if there are differences between the disk and the tape version of Bard's Tale I? Have been asked this question by an unregistred user via E-mail. Although I think that both versions are identical I just wanted to double-check with some of you.

[jrodman]

As you, or your asker, likely already found this is discussed over on lemon64 forums here: http://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 19c8ee3ed8

Probably the most useful info is here, from Mayhem:

Okay... I have both tape and disc versions... here are my observations!

The disc version is definitely the better of the two versions overall. That isn't saying however that the tape version doesn't have any advantages. There is nothing gameplay wise missing from the tape version. What has been cut back are some of the creature graphics, all of the animation and a few sounds. All of the gameplay elements, weapons, items, puzzles etc seem to be still intact.

Actually not having the animation speeds up battles because you then don't have to wait for the computer to load it from disc each time a battle starts! I think you can speed up the text on the tape version, will have to go back and check.

The tape version is fairly well structured, just a question of noting tape counter numbers for each level to load in. Once you have loaded the level, then no further access is required until you leave that level. Fine until you start teleporting around of course :-D

Some additional info on item duping follows (achievable readily in both versions).

[Brian the Fist]

Thanks!

[Twoflower]

Uhm, definitly necroposting here, but needs to be said:

* Differences between the tape and the diskversion are huge.

The tapeversion is compiled at a much later date, aimed at the euro-market (which can be proven by the localized german and french versions) by a team with access to the sourcecode. I might even be so bold to claim that it was made at the same time (or after) Bard's Tale III.

In the tape-version, a lot of graphics and animations have been cut and code has been restructured to use recycled snippets. All events that are loaded in the disk-version are shortened and crammed into memory in the tape version. For Interplay to fit what they did on tape is nothing short of a miraculous feat.