neube: If you had the Steam version, there is a possibility to have both versions running side-by-side or to play either one. Basically, the only limitation is that you cannot play both at the very same time since only one .exe of the same game can be used at a time.
I was actually the first one to get the pre-Slayer version back and wrote a Steam guide for that - steamcommunity[dot]com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=952426137
I contacted ArrowHead Games and WB and ArrowHead Games contacted the WB in my name as well and it's OK as long as you don't break ToS or EULA (which you would by e.g. editing saves for parity AFTER forking into two versions).
You are my hero.
That's not hyperbole either. I've been raging about the Gauntlet changes for years.