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To arms, my noble Saxon knights!

Defender of the Crown, a 1986 turn-based strategy classic, originally launched on the Commodore Amiga, is available in all it's pixelated glory on GOG.com, for $5.99!

We are happy to announce a new partnership with Cinemaware that will bring plenty of mouth-watering classics in their best available incarnations. Starting with Defender of the Crown, more classic titles from Cinemaware will release on GOG.com with both PC and emulated Commodore Amiga versions. Yes, the graphically superior, awesome, beautiful and shiny Amiga versions!

Today's release is a wonderful gem straight from the 80s. Back in the day, Defender of the Crown set a new standard for graphical presentation and innovative, fresh gameplay. As the leader of an initially sparse pack of Saxon knights, building up your army and influence as you proceed, you'll have to stick it to the Normans in an effort to gain control of the war-torn medieval England. Your strategic prowess as well as your sword fighting skills will be severely tested. This turn-based strategy classic will have you saving damsels in distress with your blade, jousting with fearsome knights, and besieging Norman castles - all the while reveling in the Amiga quality sound and beautiful graphics.

Defeat those pesky Normans and unite England in Defender of the Crown, for $5.99 on GOG.com.
Post edited September 09, 2014 by JudasIscariot
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Cinemaware: However, keep in mind we are making it clear we are providing the original games through emulation, and in no way claiming we made improvements to them (which is not the goal of these emulated releases, and not possible either). Accurate emulation is a difficult process and something we will keep improving over time, especially with the support of our fans. Your review makes it seem we promised improvements/changes to the game's experience, which we didn't deliver, and expecting such a release to have modern features or control schemes is something we have never led our fans to believe.
No, my review in no way indicates that modern features or control schemes were expected in the games themselves, and they weren't. My review mentions some very specific issues with the release, some of which are completely outside your control (e.g. the PC speaker music is horrible), and some of which are very much within your control (e.g. ridiculously high mouse sensitivity with no way of changing it). The fact that an issue is outside your control does not magically make the issue go away. A review is meant as information for potential buyers, and they need to know what issues exist, not who to blame for those issues.

The fact that you included the soundtrack as an extra, apparently without anyone ever listening to it to see if it actually sounded like it does in the game, makes it seem like you only did it to sell more copies, and didn't actually care whether the people who paid for those copies got what they were led to expect that they'd get. I'm not saying this is the case, but it makes it seem like this is the case.

When you sell a product, you will be judged by the quality of that product. We are not your friends, we are customers. We don't know how many man hours you put into making your product, we can only see the end result. And in this case, the end result isn't very good, I'm afraid.
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Daliz: Both DOS- and Amiga-versions are included. While Dosbox is not an issue in Linux, the Amiga version is, which is why GOG didn't release it for Linux. The Cinemaware-made emulator and the game are all bundled together in a Windows executable, so there's no .adf files to use with an emulator. And then there's the whole kickstart ROM licensing issue too, when using emulators like UAE.
I see. I've never heard of Cinemaware before. I guess GOG couldn't make it work with UAE or couldn't get needed licenses for those ROMs.
Nice emulation of the Amiga but I think people should have the option of the Amiga .asf disk images if they prefer to emulate or have to if they are using a non Windows OS. I was surprised that there were no disk files and that the game was an embedded .exe file unlike the DOS version. I will still purchase games like this but would like to have the option.
Wow. WOW.

I love it when GOG releases a game that is: 1) Really good. 2) Really old.

Hooking up with Cinemaware to release emulated Amiga classics... I never thought I'd see the day. This is a huge coup for GOG. Well done.
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Wishbone: No, my review in no way indicates that modern features or control schemes were expected in the games themselves, and they weren't. My review mentions some very specific issues with the release, some of which are completely outside your control (e.g. the PC speaker music is horrible)
Am I a terrible person for loving the pc speaker music? :)

doo doo doo doooo, DOOO DOO DOO DOOO
Thank you so much everyone at GOG.
A most wonderful deal.
And such a rich, enjoyable back catalogue to choose from
Thank you again
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Wishbone: When you sell a product, you will be judged by the quality of that product. We are not your friends, we are customers. We don't know how many man hours you put into making your product, we can only see the end result.
Nice. It's good to see some cold hard reality stated clearly on GOG every once in a while. As Ludwig von Mises says of customers in Human Action:

"They are merciless bosses, full of whims and fancies, changeable and unpredictable. For them nothing counts other than their own satisfaction. They do not care a whit for past merit and vested interests. If something is offered to them that they like better or that is cheaper, they desert their old purveyors. In their capacity as buyers and consumers they are hard-hearted and callous, without consideration for other people."

People like to pretend that it is otherwise, but on the whole it is not and producers who fool themselves with such fancy have a tendency of ending up out of business.

BTW, the bolded part of the following statement is fiction:

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Cinemaware: However, keep in mind we are making it clear we are providing the original games through emulation, and in no way claiming we made improvements to them (which is not the goal of these emulated releases, and not possible either).
There are multiple improvements that can be made via emulators, if you know what you're doing. (E.g., fixing/minimizing irregular frame rates and audio updates despite them existing in the original is one of the things that is entirely possible when you have control of the emulator as Cinemaware does in this case.) That's not to say anything about the effort required or whether or not it makes economic sense to do so, but "not possible" is simply not true. (If pressed I would argue, though, that fixing such rate issues - as long as the host CPU has sufficient horsepower - is actually not very difficult.)

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htown1980: Am I a terrible person for loving the pc speaker music? :)
Absolutely not. Square waves are a good first-order approximation of that most divine instrument, the clarinet. And who doesn't love clarinets? (To anyone who raises their hand -- PAGAN!)
Post edited September 10, 2014 by TheJadedOne
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Wishbone: No, my review in no way indicates that modern features or control schemes were expected in the games themselves, and they weren't. My review mentions some very specific issues with the release, some of which are completely outside your control (e.g. the PC speaker music is horrible), and some of which are very much within your control (e.g. ridiculously high mouse sensitivity with no way of changing it). The fact that an issue is outside your control does not magically make the issue go away. A review is meant as information for potential buyers, and they need to know what issues exist, not who to blame for those issues.

The fact that you included the soundtrack as an extra, apparently without anyone ever listening to it to see if it actually sounded like it does in the game, makes it seem like you only did it to sell more copies, and didn't actually care whether the people who paid for those copies got what they were led to expect that they'd get. I'm not saying this is the case, but it makes it seem like this is the case.

When you sell a product, you will be judged by the quality of that product. We are not your friends, we are customers. We don't know how many man hours you put into making your product, we can only see the end result. And in this case, the end result isn't very good, I'm afraid.
I've noticed on several occasions in the past that you strike a decent balance between tact, objectivity, and candor in discussions like this.

I still appreciate seeing a pub/dev rep here at the GOG forum interacting with other members, but it's important to keep it real too.
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BadDecissions: <snip>
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Nesoo: This is one of the reasons why I wish it would say if the person actually owns the game on GOG or not. There's even one basically complaining that GOG is engaging in questionable business practices by showing images from the Amiga version, because those don't reflect the product being purchased! m-/ (<-- facepalm emoticon)

But yeah, pinch of salt with reviews (and star ratings) in general.
Good to know it.
Never gave much thought to the review system here.
I understand that people can review a game even not owning it (here at GOG, at least) since said person could have played a long time ago, before it was on GOG. But it would really be nice to show if the person reviewing owns it here or not. So we could have a better idea if the person is reviewing the GOG version (for old games) or is just remembering the good old days (which tends to bring the fond memories). Maybe could there be a functionality in which one could see all reviews, or just the reviews from people who own it. Like a system where you can see all reviews, just the positive, just the negative... (There's other place with games where there's this system, I'm sure you know it.)
Showing images from the old versions seems bad to me. I understand that maybe they just got the old promotional images to use, but since they're selling a "new" product they should have made pictures that really show the product. I mean, could it be that they had to use the old pictures for legal reasons? I don't know.
high rated
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Nesoo: This is one of the reasons why I wish it would say if the person actually owns the game on GOG or not. There's even one basically complaining that GOG is engaging in questionable business practices by showing images from the Amiga version, because those don't reflect the product being purchased! m-/ (<-- facepalm emoticon)

But yeah, pinch of salt with reviews (and star ratings) in general.
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capile2: Showing images from the old versions seems bad to me. I understand that maybe they just got the old promotional images to use, but since they're selling a "new" product they should have made pictures that really show the product. I mean, could it be that they had to use the old pictures for legal reasons? I don't know.
These images are from the GOG-Version! The Package includes the Amiga- and DOS-Version. And this Screenshots are from the emulated Amiga-Version. I think he did not recognize this fact.
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capile2: Showing images from the old versions seems bad to me. I understand that maybe they just got the old promotional images to use, but since they're selling a "new" product they should have made pictures that really show the product. I mean, could it be that they had to use the old pictures for legal reasons? I don't know.
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Cinemaware: These images are from the GOG-Version! The Package includes the Amiga- and DOS-Version. And this Screenshots are from the emulated Amiga-Version. I think he did not recognize this fact.
Oh, thanks for making it clear.
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Wishbone: Initial impressions:

Amiga emulation
- Slow and choppy, especially sound-wise.
- There does not appear to be any way to change any settings.
- Mouse sensitivity is uncomfortably high.

Soundtrack
- The soundtrack is from the Amiga version.
- It was converted to MP3 by a deaf monkey with no sense of rythm. It plays much too slowly.

DOS version
- Runs windowed initially, but can be made fullscreen with alt+enter.
- The sound is painful to listen to (but that is probably 100% accurate).

Overall
- Two versions of a true classic made awful by incompetent developers.
- Seems like a quick cash-grab, not a labour of love.
- Would not recommend.
I agree with everything you say (except for the dos sound thing, but that's because I am a loser), but I don't understand this comment "Two versions of a true classic made awful by incompetent developers".

I don't understand why you say the versions have been made awful by incompetent developers. To me, the games haven't changed at all since they were released, they recreated the "classic" versions in all their "glory".

Sure there are issues with them, sound, graphics, slow-down, but those issues have always been there. That is the game. I don't understand in what way you believe the developers have made the games awful. Whilst I love Defender of the Crown, I think it is just a classic game that is, by modern standards, awful.

Edit: some terrible spelling and grammar
Post edited September 10, 2014 by htown1980
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htown1980: I agree with everything you say (except for the sound thing, but that's because I am a loser), but I don't understand this comment "Two versions of a true classic made awful by incompetent developers".

I don't understand why you say the versions have been made awful by incompetent developers. To me, the games haven't changed at all since they were released, they recreating the "classic" versios in all their "glory".

Sure there are issues with them, sound, graphics, slow-down, but those issues have always been there. That is the game. I don't understand in what way you believe the developers have made the games awful. Whilst I love Defender of the Crown, I think it is just a classic game that is, by modern standards, awful.
I'm on the fence. I'm awaiting the response from Wishbone. :) I played this game a bunch on C64 back in the day.

What are your thoughts about the mouse sensitivity and the MP3 soundtrack?
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JohnnyDollar: I'm on the fence. I'm awaiting the response from Wishbone. :) I played this game a bunch on C64 back in the day.

What are your thoughts about the mouse sensitivity and the MP3 soundtrack?
Some tracks on the Soundtrack (Only in the MP3-Soundtrack) are running slower. We are working on an update.
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htown1980: I agree with everything you say (except for the sound thing, but that's because I am a loser), but I don't understand this comment "Two versions of a true classic made awful by incompetent developers".

I don't understand why you say the versions have been made awful by incompetent developers. To me, the games haven't changed at all since they were released, they recreating the "classic" versios in all their "glory".

Sure there are issues with them, sound, graphics, slow-down, but those issues have always been there. That is the game. I don't understand in what way you believe the developers have made the games awful. Whilst I love Defender of the Crown, I think it is just a classic game that is, by modern standards, awful.
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JohnnyDollar: I'm on the fence. I'm awaiting the response from Wishbone. :) I played this game a bunch on C64 back in the day.

What are your thoughts about the mouse sensitivity and the MP3 soundtrack?
The soundtrack has some slowness and quality issues, but I haven't really listened to it all that much. I can't imagine I would ever want to listen to a soundtrack from a game from 1986. The music just isn't that good.

The mouse sensitivity thing is a bit of an issue, not game breaking, but a bit annoying. I personally prefer the dos version though (I struggle with sword fighting in the amiga version), so you should probably speak to someone who has played it a bit more of the amiga version than me.

Personally, I would recommend that anyone who isn't buying this for nostalgia reasons, wait for a sale.