Recently a Preproduction build of Merlin's Apprentice emerged and was dumped by Dopply. Since the disc is a single-data track and Dopply dumped with our recommended "easy" dumping method, Redump.org was able to classify the disc as "properly dumped" and included in it's romset .dat.
The Redump entry can be seen here. Among the data, you will notice the "Rings" section. Ring codes are little numbers are letter on the data side of the disc near the hole. Redump retains these as they are integral information, often pertaining to the build version of the game.
We're always looking out for proper dumps of preproduction discs especially as they often have unique build qualities. For learning how to dump single track CD-i discs, see our dumping guide, and visit the Discord for questions.
The IIIrd preservation loan comes from the one, the only... you guessed it, Blazers!
This month, we're preserving a fat batch of sweets ~ enjoy the eye candy below!
What are these?!?
And a binder full of goodies.
This batch has some unfamiliar discs to most if not all of your eyes. I've only begun to poke and prod at the contents, but of immediate note so far is the "Bradley Fighting Vehicle" tank training disc produced for the US Army, BP's corporate game "Making the Grade", and an interesting (and sometimes offensive) Harley Davidson Exit 7 disc (complete with a wet t-shirt contest video). Keep an eye out for an update post on the contents of this preservation batch.
~
With this batch I'll be producing videos for The World of CD-i as a thanks for the gentleman omegalfa stepping up to help out on a special preservation package (more on that to come!).
I love it when retro games are brought to current platforms. It makes life easier - for a couple bucks you can boot up these CD-i titles on PC (most likely all via DOS ports).
This time of year, Steam has deep sales - allowing you to snag some games for as little as $1!
Following up the consumer distributed "Bell Atlantic Info-Active Electronic Directory", a kindly dev named Jefferson Ogata brought to light another rare gem(!) in the Interactive Dreams Facebook group - a Bell Atlantic-branded kiosk demo centered around the Washington DC area - titled "Bell Atlantic InfoTravel: Washington, D.C.".
Take a good look CD-i collectors! You'll never see this one again :)
Much like the Info-Active Electronic Directory, the kiosk disc is a thorough, well-laid-out-flow of information that's a breeze to navigate. InfoTravel's multimedia (videos and voice-over commercials with hip-bouncin' stock music) capture the point-in-time with all it's nostalgia... well see for yourself. Kicking things off with an intro from Bell spokesperson James Earl Jones:
A few neat things in the video:
At 15:05, I spy Kramer hanging up on the wall!
At 15:28, here a disinterested Euro who sounds high on heroin promo Bardo bar!
At 22:40, calling the White House, I got a complaint or two to make!
At 25:30, The Philips Collection art museum.
I lost track of time while browsing through this multimedia disc, in the process recording almost 40mins of video. I'd say that's a good sign of a well-put together product. You'll also see in the video an event-based calendar which is an interesting thought, and presumably would have resulted in regularly-updated discs being sent out.
A few interesting interactions... You may notice this disc has options to:
Make number based selections from a remote.
Initiate a phone call(!).
Print!
The later two functions are the first time I've seen these thoughts demo'd and were a neat addition.
Another shoutout to our hero Jefferson Ogata for making this disc come to light and sharing it with us. Developers are the make-or-break for these obscure items to either be preserved forever, or shut away forever.
Preparing for the almost-inevitable rise of society's multimedia console future, Bell Atlantic released one heck-of-a-good info-directory!
This image is an asshole and won't center for me.
The Charm: A thorough and well put together reference for the areas of Washington DC, Maryland, and some other state I've never been to. The highlights here for me is the "showcase" section - poke around seating sections at the ballpark and follow the multimedia-Metro lines! Searching for names and places - querying ain't half bad!
Watch below as I take a journey testing out the disc's ability to look up important information and services:
The Fail: Not a lot in the way of sound and no motion picture or cartoons to accompany.
