The name does not indicate it, but this is a demo only (like most classic games in the archive).
Magic: The Gathering Shandalar (as I knew it back then, to avoid confusion with other Magic-related games) was not only a card-based game, but it had a lighweight 'RPG' element to it, since you started with a minimal deck and had to battle other wizards and go to towns to buy cards, and to dungeons to find rare powerful cards.
The AI was not spectacularly strong, but sufficient for having fun. One thing that's interesting is that it does not follow standard MtG rules: both wizards do not start with 20 hit points each, it's more like ~5-7 in the beginning of the game, and then you earn more life as the game progresses. And the final boss has ludicrous amounts of life. That means some different strategies from the ones championship players are used to, which amounts to more variety and more interesting gameplay. E.g. in the beginning, Lightning bolts are extremely powerful since 2 or 3 may be sufficient to kill an enemy, but the last boss will simply laugh at your fixed-damage spells. In the long run, creatures deal more damage than direct hit spells, so while your Red wizard will quickly zap through enemies, you'll be toast when fighting the last boss.
Overall, an interesting take on this classic card game, and probably one of the reasons I very much enjoyed Card City Nights many years later.
Magic: The Gathering Shandalar (as I knew it back then, to avoid confusion with other Magic-related games) was not only a card-based game, but it had a lighweight 'RPG' element to it, since you started with a minimal deck and had to battle other wizards and go to towns to buy cards, and to dungeons to find rare powerful cards.
The AI was not spectacularly strong, but sufficient for having fun. One thing that's interesting is that it does not follow standard MtG rules: both wizards do not start with 20 hit points each, it's more like ~5-7 in the beginning of the game, and then you earn more life as the game progresses. And the final boss has ludicrous amounts of life. That means some different strategies from the ones championship players are used to, which amounts to more variety and more interesting gameplay. E.g. in the beginning, Lightning bolts are extremely powerful since 2 or 3 may be sufficient to kill an enemy, but the last boss will simply laugh at your fixed-damage spells. In the long run, creatures deal more damage than direct hit spells, so while your Red wizard will quickly zap through enemies, you'll be toast when fighting the last boss.
Overall, an interesting take on this classic card game, and probably one of the reasons I very much enjoyed Card City Nights many years later.
A fan reimplementation of the original MicroProse Magic: The Gathering PC game, updated with community patches and 64bit Windows support.
'In March 2009, after the manalink.de forum had been down for some time, many contributors relocated to the Collectible Card Game Headquarters (CCGHQ) forum at SlightlyMagic.net, where development continues. More than 2,000 cards (the limit imposed by the original program) are now playable, by swapping different groups of cards in and out of the game. A 'Challenge Mode' and various other play modes have also been made possible, along with new artwork. All these changes are optional and involve compromises to the original game, most notably by making multiplayer unstable. The last major challenge involves expanding the Shandalar portion of the game. It is now understood how to do this---it involves expanding arrays using assembly language---but no competent programmer has yet been willing to spend the time.'
From the readme.txt
Magic the Gathering 2009 Edition (Updated March 2010).
A custom installer for Sid Meier's classic
Magic: The Gathering, Duels of the Planeswalkers, Spells of the Ancients
Published by Microprose
Brought to you by Hip63 and the CCGHQ Team at SlightlyMagic.net
BEFORE:
Install Magic: The Gathering, Duels of the Planeswalkers.
Install Spells of the Ancients.
Try getting it to run with compatibility mode, which never reliably worked.
See your wizard move too fast in Shandalar. See missing cards in your deckbuilder.
See invisible text in game dialogues.
Spend hours and hours googling for solutions, and following dead links.
Finally, if you still had the time, motivation, knowledge and hard drive space,
give up and install a virtual machine, then Windows 95 or 98, then DOTP and SOTA all over again.
Be stuck with a limited selection of cards.
TODAY:
All those hassles have been obliterated with:
M A G I C : T H E G A T H E R I N G
' D U E L S O F T H E P L A N E S W A L K E R S '
- - - 2 0 0 9 E D I T I O N - - -
This is an updated installer for MAGIC: THE GATHERING
'Duels of the Planeswalkers/Spells of the Ancients'.
It has been modified to install and play on new operating systems
such as Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
It has been tested with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
It runs in a screen resolution of 1024 x 768.
This version includes Mok's Manalink 2.01 unofficial updates,
Smiling Spectre's Application Compatibility Fix to
correct graphics issues, and hundreds of new cards added by
the Magic The Gathering Community, released as of early March 2009!
The CD-Rom Features:
A professional grade installer that allows the user full control of the installation.
A reworked Autorun Menu featuring an animated splash screen and original CD artwork and sounds.
A new Tutorial Viewer. (Sorry, it's not interactive anymore, but all the info is still there.)
All the original manuals as PDF files. These are available from the program menu and the Tutorial Viewer as well.
The Installer Features:
Installer presentation with slide show and music from the original installer.
All the original registry entries are created by the installer.
The full game is installed already patched with manalink 2.01 plus
all the latest community card packs.
A new Magic the Gathering Launcher Application that allows for starting the
Deck Builder, Magic or Shandalar, and Character Generator directly from the Launcher.
The Manuals can also be viewed from the Launcher.
However, the BIG feature of the new installer is the fact that it automatically installs
Smiling Spectre's ACT Fix WITHOUT having to use the Application Compatibility Toolkit.
And everything still fits on a single CD-Rom disc too!
INSTRUCTIONS
The ISO image can be burned to disc with any CD burning program.
Alternately, you can mount the image in a virtual drive such as DAEMON TOOLS,
Slysoft.com's Virtual Clone Drive, MagicDisk from MagicISO.com, etc.
If the installer doesn't begin, navigate to the CD and run autorun.exe.
After that it is just a simple install process (that will look VERY familiar) ;)
* - Your OS should be installed on your C drive.
* - Do NOT Install to a long folder path!
The Application Fix does not work with long folder paths!
EXAMPLES:
---------
C:Program FilesMagicTG -GOOD!
C:Program FilesMagic the Gathering -BAD! Will have issues
After installing, the Install window will pop up again.
You can install the tutorial viewer at this time.
If you don't want to do that, then close the window.
* - Be sure to update the CardArtNew images. See CardArtNew Instructions.txt.
Launch the game from the Magic TG Launcher shortcut on your desktop or
the shortcut in the Programs menu.
* - The Launcher minimizes to the system tray, and you can have more than one open
at a time, so keep an eye on it.
* - Sometimes when starting or loading a game,
the display may not 'fill the screen' and the game will run
in a window in upper left corner of the screen. To correct
this, simply save, exit, then reload the game and it
should correct the issue.
* - When Starting a new Shandalar Game, it is
RECOMMENDED that you save your character's image before
proceeding, or you may not have a character at all!
To view the Tutorial, run C:Program Files (x86)MagicTGTutorial.exe or
see the shortcut in your Start/All Programs Menu.
CREDITS:
Mok for cracking and updating the game, and keeping it alive.
He proved it could be done even without the source code and with no help.
Without him none of this would be possible.
Bog Wraith, the most experienced DOTP user in the world, for his enthusiasm and support.
He kept the team together and the ball rolling. Go Canucks!
Hip63 for spending COUNTLESS hours making the installer, re-doing the tutorial videos,
integrating the ACT fix, making the installer work on Vista and Windows 7, etc etc.
Smiling Spectre for his invaluable ACT fix.
The guys in the new Manalink 2 forum at
http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=25 for continuing development.
(Go there to get all kinds of new stuff like cards, play modes and graphics.)
And of course the CCGHQ Team at http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum.
EXTRAS:
We have archived all the original game CD's at
http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=898
Come see us!
And most importantly:
Enjoy Every One!
Huggybaby
March 2010
'In March 2009, after the manalink.de forum had been down for some time, many contributors relocated to the Collectible Card Game Headquarters (CCGHQ) forum at SlightlyMagic.net, where development continues. More than 2,000 cards (the limit imposed by the original program) are now playable, by swapping different groups of cards in and out of the game. A 'Challenge Mode' and various other play modes have also been made possible, along with new artwork. All these changes are optional and involve compromises to the original game, most notably by making multiplayer unstable. The last major challenge involves expanding the Shandalar portion of the game. It is now understood how to do this---it involves expanding arrays using assembly language---but no competent programmer has yet been willing to spend the time.'
From the readme.txt
Magic the Gathering 2009 Edition (Updated March 2010).
A custom installer for Sid Meier's classic
Magic: The Gathering, Duels of the Planeswalkers, Spells of the Ancients
Published by Microprose
Brought to you by Hip63 and the CCGHQ Team at SlightlyMagic.net
BEFORE:
Install Magic: The Gathering, Duels of the Planeswalkers.
Install Spells of the Ancients.
Try getting it to run with compatibility mode, which never reliably worked.
See your wizard move too fast in Shandalar. See missing cards in your deckbuilder.
See invisible text in game dialogues.
Spend hours and hours googling for solutions, and following dead links.
Finally, if you still had the time, motivation, knowledge and hard drive space,
give up and install a virtual machine, then Windows 95 or 98, then DOTP and SOTA all over again.
Be stuck with a limited selection of cards.
TODAY:
All those hassles have been obliterated with:
M A G I C : T H E G A T H E R I N G
' D U E L S O F T H E P L A N E S W A L K E R S '
- - - 2 0 0 9 E D I T I O N - - -
This is an updated installer for MAGIC: THE GATHERING
'Duels of the Planeswalkers/Spells of the Ancients'.
It has been modified to install and play on new operating systems
such as Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
It has been tested with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
It runs in a screen resolution of 1024 x 768.
This version includes Mok's Manalink 2.01 unofficial updates,
Smiling Spectre's Application Compatibility Fix to
correct graphics issues, and hundreds of new cards added by
the Magic The Gathering Community, released as of early March 2009!
The CD-Rom Features:
A professional grade installer that allows the user full control of the installation.
A reworked Autorun Menu featuring an animated splash screen and original CD artwork and sounds.
A new Tutorial Viewer. (Sorry, it's not interactive anymore, but all the info is still there.)
All the original manuals as PDF files. These are available from the program menu and the Tutorial Viewer as well.
The Installer Features:
Installer presentation with slide show and music from the original installer.
All the original registry entries are created by the installer.
The full game is installed already patched with manalink 2.01 plus
all the latest community card packs.
A new Magic the Gathering Launcher Application that allows for starting the
Deck Builder, Magic or Shandalar, and Character Generator directly from the Launcher.
The Manuals can also be viewed from the Launcher.
However, the BIG feature of the new installer is the fact that it automatically installs
Smiling Spectre's ACT Fix WITHOUT having to use the Application Compatibility Toolkit.
And everything still fits on a single CD-Rom disc too!
INSTRUCTIONS
The ISO image can be burned to disc with any CD burning program.
Alternately, you can mount the image in a virtual drive such as DAEMON TOOLS,
Slysoft.com's Virtual Clone Drive, MagicDisk from MagicISO.com, etc.
If the installer doesn't begin, navigate to the CD and run autorun.exe.
After that it is just a simple install process (that will look VERY familiar) ;)
* - Your OS should be installed on your C drive.
* - Do NOT Install to a long folder path!
The Application Fix does not work with long folder paths!
EXAMPLES:
---------
C:Program FilesMagicTG -GOOD!
C:Program FilesMagic the Gathering -BAD! Will have issues
After installing, the Install window will pop up again.
You can install the tutorial viewer at this time.
If you don't want to do that, then close the window.
* - Be sure to update the CardArtNew images. See CardArtNew Instructions.txt.
Launch the game from the Magic TG Launcher shortcut on your desktop or
the shortcut in the Programs menu.
* - The Launcher minimizes to the system tray, and you can have more than one open
at a time, so keep an eye on it.
* - Sometimes when starting or loading a game,
the display may not 'fill the screen' and the game will run
in a window in upper left corner of the screen. To correct
this, simply save, exit, then reload the game and it
should correct the issue.
* - When Starting a new Shandalar Game, it is
RECOMMENDED that you save your character's image before
proceeding, or you may not have a character at all!
To view the Tutorial, run C:Program Files (x86)MagicTGTutorial.exe or
see the shortcut in your Start/All Programs Menu.
CREDITS:
Mok for cracking and updating the game, and keeping it alive.
He proved it could be done even without the source code and with no help.
Without him none of this would be possible.
Bog Wraith, the most experienced DOTP user in the world, for his enthusiasm and support.
He kept the team together and the ball rolling. Go Canucks!
Hip63 for spending COUNTLESS hours making the installer, re-doing the tutorial videos,
integrating the ACT fix, making the installer work on Vista and Windows 7, etc etc.
Smiling Spectre for his invaluable ACT fix.
The guys in the new Manalink 2 forum at
http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=25 for continuing development.
(Go there to get all kinds of new stuff like cards, play modes and graphics.)
And of course the CCGHQ Team at http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum.
EXTRAS:
We have archived all the original game CD's at
http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=898
Come see us!
And most importantly:
Enjoy Every One!
Huggybaby
March 2010
Windows 10 Iso
Download the best games on Windows & Mac. A vast selection of titles, DRM-free, with free goodies, customer love, and one fair price for all regions. A surprising amount of people requested this! Here is Magic: The Gathering Shandalar, the RPG Magic game by MicroProse that I talked about on my main channel!