Prerelease:Hired Guns

This page details prerelease information and/or media for Hired Guns.

Hired Guns had a notoriously lengthy development period, missing several deadlines to the point where this became a running joke in Amiga Power magazine's next month section. Development started around October 1990 (according to the released development files), with the game releasing around November 1993 in the end. Magazine coverage shows several very different looking early builds of the game.

Development Timeline

1990

October

• Development of the game begins. At this stage the game is known simply as "3DGame", a codename in use throughout the development environment files until the end of the project.

1991

September

• First previewed in Amiga Power issue 5, page 67. Briefly mentioned as part of a feature on DMA Design and referred to as 'Hired Gun' (note singular). First screenshot of the game.

1992

April

• Follow up preview in Amiga Power issue 12, page 60. Referred to as 'Hired Guns' now, and the article estimates the game will be released for Christmas that year. Different version of same screenshot as above.

June

• A two page preview in issue 28, pages 32 and 33 of the French magazine Joystick. Based on seemingly the exact same pack of screenshots as was sent to Amiga Power (and published in their August issue), but with more images shown, and the images printed in a blurrier quality than AP. The article has a lot about the original plotline for the game, and one of the only articles to note the game at this point was set in "a sci-fi world with the scent of an old mystical world", i.e. alluding to the traditional fantasy genre influence on the game.

August

• A more substantial preview of the game also in Amiga Power, specifically issue 16, page 22. Several screenshots of clearly different build as used in the Joystick article above, but in better quality.

October

• Yet another small follow up preview in Amiga Power. Reprints the same screenshot as the August preview only tiny (and very dark!), and reiterates the game will be out for Christmas 1992.

1993

March

• Demo disk version 37.14 included with issue 44 of Amiga Format magazine. Note the demo code was completed in January that year. This has a large amount of cut content, including non-functional melee weapons and an abandoned Psionics statistic. Scrolling text claims the game will be released in March 1993.
• Also previewed in CU Amiga and Amiga Action magazines this month. Both articles are based on the demo disk and include pictures showing as much. Both also mention the original plot of having to save hostages.

August

• Final work on retail build 39.25 build complete.
• Work on unreleased 39.26 OCS version starts, and business case for AGA/CD32 version written

September

• A substantial preview in Amiga Force issue 9, page 10 and 11. This seems identical to the finished game, and a screenshot shows the syringe item is already a green anti-toxin item at this stage and has replaced the demos stat boosting syringe item as in the final game. The text of the preview still states the objective of the game is to rescue hostages.

October

• Reviewed in Amiga Force issue 10 on pages 10-12. Extensive screenshots show the custom characters created for the magazine for this special preview build, which means they also didn't review the complete game... This build was from July 1993 according to the development files. The preview also clarifies that since the article in the previous month's magazine, the plot has now been changed from rescuing hostages to the final game's theme of exterminating the genetically engineered organisms.
• Previewed in Amiga Format issue 51 on page 62. This also features a screenshot of the character select screen from their customised version, including their character portraits which are missing from the released development files for the game. This build was also from July 1993, according to the development files.

November

• Game released and reviewed by most major Amiga games magazines.
• Work on unreleased 39.26 OCS version completed
• Increased work focus on AGA/CD32 version begins

1994

January

• Work on the AGA/CD32 version is abandoned and this version of the game is never officially released.

2000

October

• Scott Johnston writes a guest review of the game Bloodwych for the Amiga Games Database website, in which he confirms the rumoured existence of the AGA/CD32 version of Hired Guns and talks for the first time about some of its features.

Early Images

Amiga Power Issue 5 and 12 previews

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  Scan from Amiga Power issue 5

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  Scan from Amiga Power issue 12

The same screenshot is used in both issues, in larger size but masked in issue 5, and complete but unfortunately tiny size in issue 12. This image shows the earliest known build of the game. Clearly visible is the familiar "wooden" graphical tileset, known to be the first created due to its filename, and an unknown female character. From the pictures it looks like you could shoot anywhere on screen using the gun sight (like say, Operation Wolf), rather than only in a fixed position forwards as in the final game. It also shows bar charts for "Damage", "Oxygen" and what looks like "Fitness". Interestingly the inventory shown here features the same graphics for the Tungston Bore Handgun and M-73 Autogun as still in use in the final game (what appears to be ammunition is different, however). The tabs of the interface for each player also features five tabs here, rather than only four in the final game. However, the fifth tab does not seem to be the "Rest" tab as in the images of the next preview, and it's not clear what it says.

Amiga Power Issue 16 preview

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  Scan from Amiga Power issue 16

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  Scan from Amiga Power issue 16

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  Scan from Amiga Power issue 16

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  Scan from Amiga Power issue 16

This is a later build of the game, which seems to match up with the one described in the AboutGameSystem.txt file from the development files, specifically as it clearly has the same cut fifth "Rest" tab visible that would let a character rest to regain health. The images once again feature the "wooden" tile set, but also the futuristic tileset and the final Giger-esque set, meaning it's likely all the level tileset graphics were finished by this point in development. There are also visible differences - the wooden tileset has an actual literal wooden door rather than the final game's pnuematic/metal doors. At this point the game has clearly pivoted heavily in a sci-fi direction yet it still has significant Fantasy overtones, which would continue even to the demo build with e.g. its stone wall buttons. The compass graphics are also different and slightly less futuristic than those used in the final game.

A Rahl enemy is visible in one screenshot, seemingly identical to that of the final game.

The D.T.S map is called "VDU" in the screenshots and features some differing tile graphics to the final game(e.g. the pushable blocks) Only two characters are shown, oddly both are scantily clad females. These seem to simply be placeholders, one is a woman in a highly revealing green bikini and trenchcoat (which looks suspiciously like Desverger's), the other is dressed in a leather bodice and thigh high boots. The character stats for the bikini character shows she is called Rachel and is from the Android character race (how original!) with all stats at 100. There is also a "weapon skill" stat and a "level" stat that are not present in the final game. In the distance of one screenshot appears to be the same female redhead character as seen in the earliest screenshots of the game.

Characters with very low health have a "WARNING" message superimposed over the top left of their view window that's not present in the final game or the demo. The pick up icon for a psi amp is shown in two of the pictures. However, one of them is the green type seen in final game, but the other is red in colour. Possibly this is what is being referenced in the source code for the game where there are comments for "green" and "red" item containers. The border of the pick up icon is also grey in this version rather than red as in the demo and final game.

Joystick Issue 28 Preview

This seems to be the exact same build and press pack of the game as described in the Amiga Power article above. This time there are more pictures printed, including an annotated breakdown of the in-game GUI, explicitly mentioning the cut Rest tab. The skull/moon face graphic included in the released development files is inexplicably included without comment in this article. Of the other new pictures, there are two location images that survived to the final game as static screens, an early picture of the map without annotations, and a new picture of in-game. This shows another early/placeholder character called "Arnold" who is an UPBI Agent, and an early version of the inventory screen with no item names or other details, and what are clearly the same graphics as in the final game for the Oxy 6 Flamer, Small Arms 6 Silent-Auto and the Smith & Wesson 29 (although the shading on the grip looks different to the final game on this). There's also a glimpse of the skeleton enemy, which seems to be the same as the final game.

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  Scan from Joystick issue 28

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  Scan from Joystick issue 28

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  Scan from Joystick issue 28

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  Scan from Joystick issue 28

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  Scan from Joystick issue 28

Magazine special editions

Amiga Format

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  Character Select screen from Amiga Format issue 51

Amiga Force

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  Custom characters from Amiga Force issue 10

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  Character select images from Amiga Force issue 10