History

King's Bounty.

This document attempts to maintain and preserve all the crucial data about the original "King's Bounty" computer game, released in 1989 by New World Computing.

I have used several sources to get the initial information, but have double-checked everything I could by hand. Turned out, there are many errors and missions almost everywhere. I've tried to fix those (everybody can edit Wikipedia and mobygames), and that is WiP.

Licensing.

Interestingly, all versions were copyrighted by New World Computing, even ones published under 3DO. In 2007 the license/trademark was bought by 1C to market their new RPG (which is a whole new game, not touched by this doc). See [InspiredGames].

Digital Preservation.

It is now impossible to buy the game. Not even from GoG. Some abandonware sites have the DOS/95 versions. ROM sites have the MegaDrive/Genesis version.

Commodore64/AppleII/Amiga versions are harder to find, but are out there, altho in cracked form.

The Mac OS version can be obtained from Macintosh Garden.

PC98 version can be obtained from archive.org

Versions.

Jon (Van Caneghem), Mark (Caldwell), and the rest of New World Computing would spend their spare time playing board games. It was part of the development process and helped us with the design of new games. The team would work for several days straight on the next major software release, and in a downtime, we'd play.

One of our favorite games was Ogre. An old AD&D derivative originally from the dark mists of the seventies, but an outstanding strategy game nonetheless. We loved it. John decided it would be a great basis for a new computer game.

Thus began the genesis of King's Bounty. We worked for several months on the game design, re-working interface and strategic flow issues through lunchtimes. Early on, we used graph paper and lead figurines to represent the hordes. It was the stuff of imagination and pure creativity.

-- Vince De Quattro

Apple II (1989)

c839a306af824a42d285b9332be8e389  "King's Bounty - Disk A.dsk"  143,360
3973cb08cd29a6a6af1b5643ec26c664  "King's Bounty - Disk B.dsk"  143,360
c3407176ef5d47b4c394b21147f3a599  kings_bounty_1.nib            232,960
2eeba455fd3e9d3eabead1a1a6a2e4d7  kings_bounty_2.dsk            143,360

First version of the game. The title screen actually shows King Maximus and his scepter being stolen!

Commodore 64 (1990)

13d04304109bad2e64441daeab9a9817  kbounty1.d64  174,848  (Unverified Disk Image)
b8ebe57f8164559fc46ca126823c22b9  kbounty2.d64  174,848  (Unverified Disk Image)

Same version as the Apple II one.

Colorspace:
Tilesize: 48x32

Original DOS version (1990)

Thanks to the fact FAT filesystems are pretty compatible with modern PCs, DOS games and software is commonly distributed with the files extracted, and not on disk/floppy images.

8b415c8e920bfce24affdd281bf55a78  kb.exe  79,839   DOS exe (compressed)
def1c7f5b1c6ed719a24b4a6371bb451  416.cc  340,983  CGA & EGA Graphics
36a360da4d53325b89ae7b30656e7a78  256.cc  281,551  MCGA/VGA Graphics

Most widely known version. The interface is made of stone and gold, and the title screen features a high-resolution, jewel-encrusted, golden Scepter.

The following graphic modes are supported (toggled by command-line switch, for example "C:\KB.EXE E"):

C - CGA - 4 colors, has a toggable palette (with 8 palettes); Mode 4h; 
E - EGA - 16 colors; Mode 0d; (kept in 416.CC file)
V - MCGA/VGA - 256 colors (171 spotted on title screen); Mode 13h; (kept in 256.CC file)
H - Hercules - 4 colors, unknown
T - Tandy 1000 - 16 colors, unknown

Tilesize: 48 x 34

• [DOS_CopyProtection]

Re-released DOS version (1995)

691a88edbf0a2a1244dd1239ed4421f0  KB.EXE  113,718  DOS exe (uncompressed!)
ce80764504c428e0943c189abb1f7fb9  416.CC  340,961  CGA & EGA Graphics
65c94c9c9deaf1684e327a7c8012f898  256.CC  281,550  MCGA/VGA Graphics
f7cac7dbac888bfbbba123b9dd32d4f1  KB.PIF  967      Windows Shortcut (ignorable)

This version was first included with "Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest" DOS/Windows95 hybrid release, and then, in "Heroes of Might and Magic Compendium" and "Heroes of Might and Magic Millennium Edition" anthologies.

New copyright now states 1990-1995 (opposed to 1990 in the original), the executable is uncompressed, and the copy protection is removed (thank you NWC).

This is the most authoritative and verifiable version of King's Bounty for DOS (as it could be found on 3 different CDs).

Amiga (1990)

90e78a2013518f6254fcca2679e5b26c  "King's Bounty.adf"  901,120 (Disk Image)

Great new graphics that match DOS version very closely, but are much more detailed. The interface now looks like it's made of wood and gold (instead of stone and gold). Title screen shows reworked, blue Scepter of Order.

For the first time ever, mouse is supported. You can now click on the right-hand interface and control your hero.

(Fun fact: unlike DOS version, 'H' button is used for help, altho it says 'C' in the help itself)

The "weekly budget report" now takes full screen, and contains full breakdown on all income and expense sources.

Sega MegaDrive/Genesis (1991)

1bb8e1e5d41bbeff2e452935bddd9883  "King's Bounty (UE) [!].gen"  524,288  (ROM)

Uses same enhanced graphic set as the Amiga version, altho with some color alterations. The title screen shows re-worked, blue Scepter of Order.

Added real-time overworld and non-default army stacks. Characters move by pixels, and not by tiles.

• [MD_Manual] - a manual for this version has been recovered.

Mac OS (1991)

This version resembles the Amiga version. The interface uses the combination of ornamental background and native Mac OS widgets.

The graphics are completely new and are available in Black & White and Color variations. Mouse is obviously supported.

Tilesize: 72x52

• download from Macintosh Garden
• [MAC_CopyProtection]

Re-release for Mac OS (199?)

Similarly to how it was done for Windows/DOS Heroes, a version of the game is included with "Heroes of Might and Magic" for Mac CD.

The copy protection is not removed from this version, which suggests (but remains unconfirmed) it wasn't altered from it's original release.

A reference card with all the words for copy-protection is provided in the box (that's sweet, NWC!).

PC-98 (1994)

Same set of graphics as FM Towns version. "Star Craft" port for Japanese computers (see FM Towns below).

3694b37377bcb6e510ef2709b8434024  [PC98][す][スタークラフト] キングスバウンティ [D88].zip 2489044

Which should contain 3 disk images:

45f6e35dd8c58fa77a4324656043d878  _1.D88 1281968
c055c5268d1901d80bbb547d83a71390  _2.D88 1281968
2df38f12b3f4b1e70ed8c6650be0e86a  _3.D88 1281968

FM Towns (1994)

Yet another completely new set of graphics (and sounds, and music) was produced for this version. The resolution was 640 x 480, with several new screens and UI elements.

There is mouse control, but it doesn't follow the Amiga / MacOS scheme, as the UI is largely different.

The game is largely in Japanese, with no international/English release.

The game was distributed on a CD-ROM, which could be easily read by any modern PC, as no weird filesystems were used.

Windows 9X (rumored)

Fun fact: There are rumors about a native Windows version of King's Bounty, which is allegedly included with the "Compendium" and "Millennium" anthologies. For example, Wikipedia once said: "The anthology versions also provide a native executable for Windows, though not fully supported in Windows NT-based operating systems."

Truth is, those discs only contain the 1995 DOS version described above.

Bottom line: Those rumors are lies! There is no such version! Don't waste your time looking for it.

Playstation 2 (2004)

609e96e228065f926a42888e7324d9c8  "SLUS-20158 v1.02.bin"  539,602,896
b6553f774a1054107e788a61ccc6e08a  "SLUS-20158 v1.02.cue"           82

A complete remake called "Heroes of Might and Magic: A Quest for DragonBone Staff" was made for PS2, featuring modern 3D graphics. Despite some minor changes in the text, the game-play remained untouched. The overworld is real-time, and foes wander on their own, similar to MegaDrive/Genesis version.

Those are "3D graphics" and are out of the scope of this document.

• [QFDBS_Comparison] - comparison guide with screenshots (just for fun).

Appendix

All versions in one table.

       YEAR    PLATFORM                       GRAPHICS     INPUT
C64    1990    Commodore 64*                  Gen-I        K
AII    1990    Apple II*                      Gen-I        K
DOS    1990    DOS                            Gen-II       K
DOS    1995    DOS                            Gen-II       K
MAC    1991    Macintosh (Mac OS Classic)*    Gen-III      K, M
MAC    199?    Macintosh (Mac OS Classic)*    Gen-III      K, M
AMI    1991    Amiga*                         Gen-IV       K, M
MD     1991    Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive   Gen-IV       JOY1
PC98   1994    PC-98                          Gen-V        K, M?
FMT    1994    FM Towns*                      Gen-V        K, M
QFDBS  2004    Playstation 2                  Gen-3D       JOY2

* original disk images/roms were not recovered yet