Where To Get It?

[Shattered]

#4202

Many thanks to sorceress who provided me with a link to the download of the Shareware version called “Rise of the Triad: The HUNT Begins”.

Shareware download

Just scroll down to the Rise of the Triad section. I grabbed the 1.3 zip file and installed it through Dosbox. Didn’t have any troubles getting it to work. I put the cpu at “cycles=fixed 15000” and that was running pretty smoothly.

There’s a full version of the game for sale on Steam and GOG. It’s called “Rise of the Triad: The Dark War”.
Steam link

There’s also a more expensive remake of the game simply called “Rise of the Triad” for sale on GOG and Steam that was released in 2013. Don’t confuse the two versions and buy the wrong one on accident. I’ll be curious on your thoughts if you actually play that version and compare it to the original.

[pushblock]

#4210

It’s also worth noting that the shareware version has unique levels that aren’t part of the full game, so it’s an additional thing to compare 🙂

[firefyte]

#4211

I have played the 2013 release for a few hours, it’s nothing like the original.

[Tijn]

#4212

I guess we’ll mainly focus on the original and not so much this 2013 remaster.

Interesting how the shareware version is so unique! Seems like a great way to get the gist of the game without having to pay for the full thing.

[Mike]

#4220

I don’t enjoy the remake but it’s interesting because it’s kind of the precursor to the retro FPS revival that we have today. People who worked on it went on to work on other, better FPS like Dusk.

My understanding is that the production of the game was kind of a mess and it’s a minor miracle that it came out at all. The game has a lot of platform jumping that I don’t enjoy and I don’t think the level design in general is that good, but it has its moments.

[yozy]

#4248

It’s also possible to play on archive.org https://archive.org/details/msdos_Rise_of_the_Triad_-_Dark_War_1994 it’s stream only but well, archive does not really go out of the way to obfuscate the zip download, if you take a peek at the network tab.

[taxalot]

#4249

It’s also included in the 3DRealms Collection that is sold on the 3D Realms website, alongside plenty of other fantastic Apogee games.

[taxalot]

#4250

https://3drealms.com/catalog/3d-realms-arcade-collection_55/ aahh forget it, it’s unavailable now 🙁

I wonder why. Is this because of the issue over the Duke Nukem licensing ?

[Mike]

#4256

Yes, Gearbox owns the rights to Duke Nukem now, which I guess is why the earlier Duke games have been delisted from digital stores?

[dr_st]

#4260

Great idea to start with the shareware. I don’t think I would have patience to play the full game these days.