Looking for a very rare test demo version of the game TheSting\DerClou!2 (2001)

[DerClouFan]

Hi all! I'm looking for a very specific pre-release alpha-beta demo of the game DerClou! 2 (The Sting) 2001 by the Austrian company NEO Software. This version had very limited availability among the gaming community in Europe and possibly the USA BEFORE the game's main release. This version was in English, and is notable for the fact that instead of 2 buildings, a third one was available for robbery, depicted on the screen - in the form of an oriental palace (it is believed that it was a jewelry store). The origin of this version was not known at the time of receipt; one of the players in Europe told me about it, and in some detail (I myself was not interested in this game at that time). After the official release of the game in the spring of 2001, demo versions from all over the world no longer contained this building; it was removed, although the foundation remained. This “palace” was not in the full version either. The channels by which this version of the game got from Austria before it went on sale is still a mystery, there is no information about it, but it’s possible that someone also accidentally received it or at least remembers/can guess its origin. The building is firmly etched in his memory because when loading the theft planning mode in it, the game often crashed. This building was also on the European packaging of this game, which is how we now know for sure about its existence. Thank you in advance.

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[DerClouFan]

Hi all! I have a little more relevant information. I was talking to someone who had previously worked in the games industry for a short time. He thought a little and surfed the Internet. As a result, he suggested that such a demo (promo) version could have been sent to English-speaking countries in 2000 as part of some collection, for example, “101 demo versions of PC games,” “Best 100 demo versions of 2000,” and so on. Such things were done when the Internet was not yet well developed, and the developers wanted to recruit fans in advance - for example, in England or Ireland, or the USA. This explains why this demo was in English and not German. He sent me a link to a similar topic on Reddit. There I learned about the existence of similar collections from Future Publishing, but, unfortunately, they began to be published only in 2002. But perhaps there are other similar collections? I found very little on archive.org, unfortunately. Maybe someone has similar CDs in private collections, or friends who are collectors can take a look? I'll leave the Reddit link here.

[TOMT] 101 Game Demo disk included in a Magazine in the early 2000s in Ireland & U.K. : r/tipofmytongue (reddit.com)

https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/i31kia/tomt_101_game_demo_disk_included_in_a_magazine_in

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/i31kia/tomt_101_game_demo_disk_included_in_a_magazine_in/

https://imgbly.com/ib/G2uyaL7K4u

https://imgbly.com/ib/KwAPHic3dU

P.S. This building is now known. It was a Jewelry Store. This is indicated by the names of several surviving textures and models in the game resources.

 

[Alm]

I don't know the legitimacy of these websites, but is it either of these?

The Sting! GAME DEMO ENG - download

Demo version of The Sting! , a(n) action game, ENG, for PCs and laptops with Windows systems. Free and legal download. Enjoy! File Size: 41.9 MB

www.gamepressure.com

The Sting! Demo Download

Download The Sting! Demo - Play the role of a thief and plan your heists down to the last detail, in order to gain notoriety and respect

games.softpedia.com

These were the only 2 links that came up on a Google search.

 

[DerClouFan]

I don't know the legitimacy of these websites, but is it either of these?

The Sting! GAME DEMO ENG - download

Demo version of The Sting! , a(n) action game, ENG, for PCs and laptops with Windows systems. Free and legal download. Enjoy! File Size: 41.9 MB

www.gamepressure.com

The Sting! Demo Download

Download The Sting! Demo - Play the role of a thief and plan your heists down to the last detail, in order to gain notoriety and respect

games.softpedia.com

These were the only 2 links that came up on a Google search.

Thanks for your response. But it seems to me that I have already looked through all the available files in the public domain (including those from the links that you sent). I had no success. That is, this version is either in some CD collection, does not contain an open title, or is in private hands, but is not uploaded to the Internet If, of course, it has been preserved for more than 20 years.

 

[Frindis]

@DerClouFan You could try to message Hannes Seifert - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/hannesseifert. He was a co-founder of NEO. I found this clip of him talking about the game you mentioned:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DkwZKLrsC0

Here is the magazine edition the video was included in: https://ia601502.us.archive.org/12/items/PCJoker19912001Archiv/2000/2000-01/PC Joker - 2000-01_text.pdf

 

[DerClouFan]

@DerClouFan You could try to message Hannes Seifert - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/hannesseifert. He was a co-founder of NEO. I found this clip of him talking about the game you mentioned:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DkwZKLrsC0

Here is the magazine edition the video was included in: https://ia601502.us.archive.org/12/items/PCJoker19912001Archiv/2000/2000-01/PC Joker - 2000-01_text.pdf

Thank you! Yes, I know this video. My friend and I wrote several times to Hannes Seifert on Facebook and Twitter -X (from which he seems to have recently deleted), and even a paper letter - he did not respond. Recently we tried to write on LinkedIn, but in order to write a direct message, it turns out that you need to register a premium account (and this is also not a guarantee if he has not closed personal messages). We are still thinking about what to do about it. One of the fans wrote a message on his wall asking him to contact him, but also did not receive a response in a week.
There is a feeling that he does not have a strong desire to contact us on this issue - either he is too busy (he is now a director at Riot Games), or he does not want to remember this old project. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain why he has been ignoring messages from 2-3 people on various platforms for six months now (we wrote more than once).

 

[Frindis]

@DerClouFan Have you tried contacting people on eBay? I went through a couple of the game demos there, but it is hard to see the titles on most CDs since they come in a big bundle. Maybe some selling demo discs from 2000 could go through their discs to see if they have that demo version. Throwing in the mail to editors@pcgamer.com, maybe someone there has some insight about this elusive demo or has a tip on more ways to get a hold of it.

 

[DerClouFan]

@DerClouFan Have you tried contacting people on eBay? I went through a couple of the game demos there, but it is hard to see the titles on most CDs since they come in a big bundle. Maybe some selling demo discs from the year 2000 could go through their discs to see if they have that demo version. Since they sell a lot of CDs they might even have some more insight as to where you could find that version. Throwing in the mail to editors@pcgamer.com, maybe someone there has some insight about this elusive demo or has a tip on more ways to get a hold of it.

Could you write me an example of a phrase for the ebay search engine that you used to find demo collections? I found only one of these through Reddit (I wrote about this above in the post - 100 PC Games demo), but it began to be published in 2002, and there could only be demo versions after the official release. I also checked several similar collections on arhive.org.
One person yesterday voiced to me another assumption about the origin of the game. Initially, the American company THQ planned to be the publisher, but in December 2000 JoWood suddenly became the publisher. There is no doubt that, at the request of the publisher, the developer (Neo Production), during 2000, could send the future publisher THQ some promotional versions (alpha? beta?) for evaluation. Therefore, the demo version had an English translation, and the mission with the Jewelry Store did not work (it was simply not completed at that time, probably) - it was not yet intended for the general public. Perhaps THQ decided to somehow attract the attention of gamers in advance and create a fan base before the official release, and published this version on the disk of some gaming magazine or collection of demos in 2000?

 

[Frindis]

Could you write me an example of a phrase for the ebay search engine that you used to find demo collections?

I'm not sure how much help it would be, since I did not search for demo collections, but instead searched for demos for PCs around 2000 - https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...orm=PC&rt=nc&Release%20Year=2000&_dcat=139973. There are a few that have a rather large varied collection so perhaps that could be of help.

 

[DerClouFan]

@DerClouFan Have you tried contacting people on eBay? I went through a couple of the game demos there, but it is hard to see the titles on most CDs since they come in a big bundle. Maybe some selling demo discs from 2000 could go through their discs to see if they have that demo version. Throwing in the mail to editors@pcgamer.com, maybe someone there has some insight about this elusive demo or has a tip on more ways to get a hold of it.

Thank you very much) Maybe they will give us some advice or the right direction to search)

 

[DerClouFan]

@DerClouFan Have you tried contacting people on eBay? I went through a couple of the game demos there, but it is hard to see the titles on most CDs since they come in a big bundle. Maybe some selling demo discs from 2000 could go through their discs to see if they have that demo version. Throwing in the mail to editors@pcgamer.com, maybe someone there has some insight about this elusive demo or has a tip on more ways to get a hold of it.

Hello! I take it that no new information could be found?

 

[Frindis]

@DerClouFan Unfortunately not. The only other thing I can think of is to see if you can find a discord channel or a way to contact the folks doing the https://wiki.retro-exo.com/index.php/EXOWin3x. They are preserving and cataloging thousands of games, so there could be a chance that they have some knowledge. At least, I would think that this might be something they would be interested in pursuing.

 

[Brian Boru]

preserving and cataloging thousands of games

I think Archive.org—The Wayback Machine—may be doing that too.

 

[Frindis]

I think Archive.org—The Wayback Machine—may be doing that too.

Yeah, a lot of nice retro games to play there The eXO has also been helping Archive.org preserve games and has a couple of catalogs at the site. I believe the difference is that eXo goes a bit more in-depth when it comes to configurations like what type of graphics and sound you can choose from, which differ at times from platforms like for example GoG that do not necessarily have the same depth. This might not be that much of a problem for people who just want to plug and play old retro games through DosBox/SCUMM, but more for people who want to have the best quality possible through a little bit of tinkering.

 

[Pifanjr]

I think Archive.org—The Wayback Machine—may be doing that too.

I checked Archive.org out of curiosity and while they do have The Sting, I didn't see the specific demo version.

 

[DerClouFan]

@DerClouFan Unfortunately not. The only other thing I can think of is to see if you can find a discord channel or a way to contact the folks doing the https://wiki.retro-exo.com/index.php/EXOWin3x. They are preserving and cataloging thousands of games, so there could be a chance that they have some knowledge. At least, I would think that this might be something they would be interested in pursuing.

Thanks, I'll try it, although I doubt it will help much. I have stopped active searches for now, because no results have been obtained in more than six months. But I thank everyone who responded.
I also have a small request. If someone has the desire and opportunity, you can write a letter to Roskstar Games too. In 2006, Rockstar Vienna (formerly Neo Software) closed, but it is possible that some materials on The Sting were preserved and were transferred to another branch for storage. Me and a few of my friends from Germany wrote to Rockstar Games 3 or 4 times asking for some data or early alpha versions of the game, but did not receive any response. Perhaps if there are more such letters, employees will decide to consider them more carefully, and there will be a greater chance that they will respond. Or maybe someone lives in the same city with the Rockstar regional office or his friends/relatives work or worked in this company, and can clarify this information directly
Thanks again everyone for your help!

 

[Alm]

Another shot in the dark, but I've found this archive of US PC Gamer demo disks:

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

I haven't found The Sting 2 yet, but it might be worth a look.

This Reddit thread shows which issues are missing from the collection:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/t7c56b/pcgamer_demo_disc_archive

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/t7c56b/pcgamer_demo_disc_archive/

 

[Pifanjr]

I found this image of a demo disc that includes Sting!, but while someone has uploaded some of these demo discs, I couldn't find the one with Sting! on it.

I also found demo discs of PCGamer, but none of them had Sting! on them.

Someone did claim the "101 PC Games" magazine had a demo disc with Sting! on it, but I can't find a list of which issue contains which games. I did find two of the discs on archive.org though, so you could check those:

101 PC Games Volume 1 (Future Publishing) (OPG011002) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

101 PC Games Volume 1 (Future Publishing) DVD-ROM (2002).

archive.org

101 PC Games Volume 2 (Future Publishing) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

101 PC Games Volume 2 from Future Publishing.

archive.org

 

[Alm]

I found this image of a demo disc that includes Sting!, but while someone has uploaded some of these demo discs, I couldn't find the one with Sting! on it.

I also found demo discs of PCGamer, but none of them had Sting! on them.

Someone did claim the "101 PC Games" magazine had a demo disc with Sting! on it, but I can't find a list of which issue contains which games. I did find two of the discs on archive.org though, so you could check those:

101 PC Games Volume 1 (Future Publishing) (OPG011002) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

101 PC Games Volume 1 (Future Publishing) DVD-ROM (2002).

archive.org

101 PC Games Volume 2 (Future Publishing) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

101 PC Games Volume 2 from Future Publishing.

archive.org

If you go to the collections listed in those links and search for sting, you get a lot of results including Romanian demo discs.

I looked at the image with the level you are after, it looks like it's specifically the Oranzz Soft edition of the game (if you reverse image search on Google it comes from Moby Games) but I'm yet to locate that as a file.

 

[Pifanjr]

I found this demo disc from a Lithuanian game magazine that claims to have Der Clou!2 on it:

Game.EXE CD 2001-06 : Game.EXE : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

CD coverdisc from Lithuanian magazine Game.EXE 06/2001.Žaidimai:Z: Steel SoldierKeep the Balance!Beach Head 2000BSE BomberAkimbo: Kung-Fu HeroDer...

archive.org

I also found this cd that claims to have a patch for Der Clou!2, which is interesting since as far as I'm aware the game had only released at the beginning of the month this CD was released in:

PC Games Hardware 07/2001 : PC Games Hardware : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

GHWA 0107Black&White-ToolsLimeWire 15Detonator 12Videos:Baldur's Gate 2Hidden & Dangerous 2ADD-ONS:Black&White-SpecialDie besten Tools für...

archive.org

 

[Pifanjr]

Here is a German CD that claims to have an exclusive demo, released two months before the game was released:

PC Action 05/2001 Heft CD 1 & 2 : Computec Media : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Die Heft CDs der PC Action - Ausgabe 05/2001. Die Produktion des PC Action Magazins wurde 2013 eingestellt - besonders interessant bei den CDs aus den 2000ern...

archive.org

And another from a month before release:

https://archive.org/details/go-0601

 

[Alm]

This is where I got Oranzz Soft edition from:

Cover art or packaging material from The Sting! (2001) - MobyGames

Back Cover

www.mobygames.com

 

[DerClouFan]

Yes, thanks everyone. All the disks that you attached above in various messages were also found by me within six months and checked. All discs that date back to 2001 and later already contain a “stripped-down” version of two missions (Gas Station and Hotel, but not the Jeweler). From what little information I have, the demo I'm looking for dates back to late 1999-2000 (one user played it in April 2000, but received it by mail from someone on a gaming forum that hasn't existed for a long time, and he does not know what kind of person it was). Although, perhaps she still appeared somewhere at the beginning of 2001.
Another interesting fact is that on the website https://www.sockscap64.com/games/game/the-sting/ the release date in Australia is set as JANUARY 2001! At the same time, the main game files in all demo versions of 2001 (German, English) date back to March-April, or even June, i.e. some changes were made there at this time. Perhaps this is some kind of error on the site, and the release was not in January 2001, but in 2002? Otherwise, they should have provided some sort of demo for the Australian gaming community upon release, but I haven't heard anything about an "Aussie special edition" or anything like that...

Australia hosted at ImgBB

Image Australia hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

I still associate the appearance of this English version with THQ being the first official publisher before December 2000. Perhaps Neo was sent this version to some exhibition or closed test, but somehow it still found its way into the gaming community for a very short time - through rare official collections/discs, or maybe not? This explains the localization of this demo into English in 2000, as well as the fact that when starting the mission with the Jeweler, a crash occurred when the character moved. It was probably just not completed at that time.

P.S. Regarding Oranzz Soft - an image of this building (inside and outside) was printed on many full versions of games, it was even in an article in early 2001, which reported on the postponement of the game's release. However, neither the publisher nor the developer cared anymore about the fact that the level of the game, which adorned many CD covers and articles on it, they removed...

 

[Alm]

P.S. Regarding Oranzz Soft - an image of this building (inside and outside) was printed on many full versions of games, it was even in an article in early 2001, which reported on the postponement of the game's release. However, neither the publisher nor the developer cared anymore about the fact that the level of the game, which adorned many CD covers and articles on it, they removed...

That’s a shame. I found the oranzz soft version for sale on French Amazon.

 

[DerClouFan]

That’s a shame. I found the oranzz soft version for sale on French Amazon.

Yes. I still don't know why they did it. The game has a huge number of closed buildings with no access for the player. If they didn't have time to finish the mission, they could have just left it as an architectural element. But they chose to erase it completely Although some of the textures and models that belonged to this building remained inside the game resources.
They announced the interior of the Jewelry Store back in late 1999.

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imgbly.com