Dungeon Master Forum

Hellooo

Not posted for a long while but I have a question. How many different box designs were there for Dungeon Master? I have three different boxes for the Amiga version of Dungeon Master:

The first version I got was picked up from a car boot sale in England. This was the Psygnosis re-release version with the large black solid box. Inside was the manual and the disk.

The second version I bought from eBay a year later. It was the original purple (flimsy) box version from 1988. This was one of my best ever eBay buys as it was (amazingly) unsquashed and it came with the original disk which worked, the manual in mint condition, the keyboard reference card (perfect condition) and it even still had the FTL sticker. What is even more amazing is that it managed to survive the plane journey from the USA where the seller lived. I paid $26 which I think is quite a bargain. What would you guys have paid??

Anyway getting to the point. More recently I bought a version of Dungeon Master which I'd never seen before. It came with the original disk just like the purple box version and the manual and reference card all the same as the original version. However, instead of the flimsy purple box, it was contained within a solid white box of a similar size to the purple-boxed version. It is very sturdy unlike the original box and just has the Dungeon Master logo printed on the box front. It almost seems as though it's just an inner-box from which an outer-box would have been present with the usual painting on the front by David Darrow. I didn't know there was a version like this. Has anyone else come across this box-type before? I've not dared trying to fit it inside the purple box version so I'm not sure if they're related. Anyone know more about this?

Also I wonder why the Dungeon Master Encyclopedia doesn't have scans of the different Dungeon Master box designs.

Steve

Also I cannot give you any answers to your questions I am interested in these Boxes.

Also I wonder why the Dungeon Master Encyclopedia doesn't have scans of the different Dungeon Master box designs

Can you do some scans and post them here or send then to the Encyclopedia ?

THOM

Sorry, I won't be able to do any scans as I've recently moved house. All my stuff is still in storage waiting to be transported to my new premises (which I'm still hunting around for). I'd be happy to scan them once I've got them back.

Steve

Steve-B wrote:Anyway getting to the point. More recently I bought a version of Dungeon Master which I'd never seen before. It came with the original disk just like the purple box version and the manual and reference card all the same as the original version. However, instead of the flimsy purple box, it was contained within a solid white box of a similar size to the purple-boxed version. It is very sturdy unlike the original box and just has the Dungeon Master logo printed on the box front. It almost seems as though it's just an inner-box from which an outer-box would have been present with the usual painting on the front by David Darrow. I didn't know there was a version like this. Has anyone else come across this box-type before? I've not dared trying to fit it inside the purple box version so I'm not sure if they're related. Anyone know more about this?

I like to think I'm pretty much the authority on this, since I've been collecting every version of the games for the last few years. But you have me stumped! I have never heard of this version. The only one I have that's white is a version that came with the Ami-Ram expansion for the Amiga.

The reason this image isn't on the encyclopedea is that I suspect no-one else has ever heard of it... nice one, you found out something new about DM!

Hi Gambit

I was hoping you'd respond to this thread as I know you're a DM obsessive!

Well what can I say? Wow! I'm pretty gobsmacked. I've actually managed to find a rare copy of DM. I'm delighted if a little shocked!

Well I think I'm gonna have to throw a bit more research at this one. It's a while now since I bought it but I'll see if I can track down the seller and ask him about it.

I do have a little bit of information to go on, thankfully. There may be a few clues about the boxes origin contained in the following evidence. The game (incredibly) came with it's original reciept! Yep. It was bought on the 26th of January 1990 in Birmingham, England from a company called Software Express. I've looked at softwareexpress.co.uk but this is a different company.

It was paid for by credit card by a Mr N. Harvey. The reciept is actually a recent discovery by me. It was hidden under a protective foam mat which the disk and manual sat on. Subsequently the receipt has remained in it's original condition and hasn't faded at all. His signature looks as though it could have been written yesterday!

Ok, now the interesting bit! The reciept contained within the DM box isn't actually for Dungeon Master the game but something else. The product name written on the receipt is: AMIGA HARD.
Well my immediate reaction was that this was the reciept for an Amiga Harddrive. The price however was only £75.00 which would have been incredibly cheap for a hardrive in those halcyon days. :p

I can't think what else it could have been. £75.00 is certainly a wee bit too expensive for a copy of Dungeon Master.

Gambit, you mentioned the Ami-RAM expansion and you might be right about this. Maybe AMIGA HARD just stands for Amiga Hardware and it actually was the Ami-RAM expansion that he bought. If the Ami-RAM expansion was £75.00 then that is mystery solved!

I wonder how many of these rare 'white-rabbits' are floating around. Could you take a picture of your white box and upload it somewhere and I'll confirm if it's the same as mine.

Interesting Stuff!

UPDATE: Oops. The price on the receipt is actually £79.95 and the date (while not that important) was also wrong. It was purchased on the 23rd of January 1990.