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Raptor: Call of the Shadows (DOS)
Raptor: Call of the Shadows |
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Developer:
Cygnus Software
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Debug Mode
Set the environment variable S_HOST to be the string CASTLE in the DOS prompt. The player will be invincible, can use all the game's weapons, and gets a large amount of cash. The player can also skip to other levels two ways:
- Press Escape, then click "No" or press N to go back to the hangar. When leaving the hangar, the player will go to the next level.
- On the level selection screen, press Z, X or Y for Episodes 1, 2 or 3 respectively, followed by any key in the row between Q and O (using an English keyboard). Warping to a level only in the registered version with the shareware version will crash the game.
Unused Music
bos1.mus
Some simple blips that were likely supposed to play after the player finished a regular wave, but before reaching the boss.
bos2.mus
Likely a warning sound for when the player is approaching the boss.
bos3.mus
And finally, an actual tune. This would have most likely been the actual boss music. There's also a boss4 in the game's data, but this ended up being used for the credits screen.
Anti-Piracy
The registered version of Raptor uses a simple anti-piracy method that was in common use at Apogee at the time: The game checks for a FILE_ID.DIZ file (commonly used as an archive description on BBSes) that contains the following:
████▓▒░ ALERT THE SYSOP IMMEDIATELY! ░▒▓████ ████████████████████████████████████████████ THIS FILE IS NOT SHAREWARE -- it is ILLEGAL and forbidden to upload this copyrighted software to bulletin boards. If you see this message on a BBS, please request that the Sysop remove this software IMMEDIATELY!!! █▓▒░ OR CONTACT APOGEE: (214) 278-5655 ░▒▓█ IT IS ILLEGAL TO GET THIS FILE FROM A BBS! ████████████████████████████████████████████ �
This effectively labels pirated copies of the game on BBSes so that SysOps could quickly remove them. While starting up, the game will run a checksum on FILE_ID.DIZ. If it doesn't match up with a hardcoded value, the game will immediately fail to start with the following message:
Critical file FILE_ID.DIZ missing or modified. If you purchased the game from Apogee simply re-install the game from the original disks. You can call Apogee tech support at (214) 278-5655 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST.
To do: Examine the exact details of how the checksum is, well, checked. |
Cleanup > To do
Games > Games by content > Games with debugging functions
Games > Games by content > Games with hidden level selects
Games > Games by content > Games with unused music
Games > Games by developer > Games developed by Mountain King Studios > Games developed by Cygnus Software
Games > Games by platform > DOS games
Games > Games by publisher > Games published by 3D Realms > Games published by Apogee Software
Games > Games by release date > Games released in 1994