Laser Lords - PC Version Investigation

Of the many titles that Spinnaker Software produced in the late 1980s and early 1990s, none are as unique, bizarre, or well-remembered as the CD-i game Laser Lords.
And its development history is just as fascinating and bizarre.

At first glance, it appears to be a game developed solely for the CD-i; done to boost the console's small software library and make the console more appealing to adventure gamers. But, with increasing access to retro gaming magazines and shovelware BBS .GIF CDs over the past decade, it has become apparent that this plucky little CD-i adventure game was originally a title for the PC named StarTribes: Myth of the Dragonlord...
...And that it changed quite a bit between systems!

So, how did this happen? Read on...

Sections:

A Brief History -- Twice Rediscovered -- Screenshot Analysis -- Title Leftovers In The Final Game

A Brief History

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Twice Rediscovered

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You can read the full article by clicking on this link.

And this is where I step in.

Screenshot Analysis

This section will be dedicated to analyzing the six screenshots associated with Star Tribes, pointing out any changes or similarities between it and Laser Lords.
The original screenshot will be displayed on the left, followed by its equivalent(s) in Laser Lords on the right (if there is an equivalent in the final game, of course).

ARGOS.GIF

One of two images missed in the initial Star Tribes image discovery; it depicts Argos' starting area.
This is the only image to show a complete view of the side-scrolling gameplay sections of Star Tribes, with a HUD on the top of the screenshot and the player character (who we'll call Warrior, like what Starlord Zendo does) present near the initial Beamdown spot.

The design of the starting area is, other than a change in palette, very similar to the final game's rendition. The only tile difference I saw was in the top-right, near the upwards escalator.

There are three characters present in the screenshot; Warrior, an Argosian (who is presumably Nosin), and a third character that appears to be a blue-furred alien wearing a bandolier. This third character does not appear in Laser Lords, not even on another planet. For Warrior and Nosin, their designs were altered; Nosin's sprite was given lighter skin and blonde hair (with the old sprites given to Cynicus), while Warrior traded in his long-sleeved shirt and shoes for a sleeveless shirt and tall boots.

The HUD keeps track of Warrior's current life force (200, in a 4-digit counter), how many Taras he has (200, in a 5-digit counter), and any experience points (5, also in a 4-digit counter). The last of these counters is especially interesting as Laser Lords does not have an EXP system. It's unknown how it would have affected gameplay or the story.

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CRUISE.GIF

A space cruiseship orbiting a planet. According to one of the other Star Tribes screenshots, MOK1.GIF, the spaceship depicted is named Fornax Station, so it can be inferred that the planet is Fornax. In Laser Lords, there is indeed a spaceship/space station orbiting Fornax, though it is actually a huge casino named the Seminum Omegan. This screenshot is very interesting as the ship itself is never viewed from the outside in the final game; in the spaceship cockpit view, only Fornax itself appears.

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KOPTOS.GIF

The player being accosted by (presumably) Hotep, the Koptate of Luxor and the guy that you must kill to access Seb's tomb.

This screenshot appears to be shrunken down from an initial size of 320 x 160 (using ARGOS.GIF as a reference), making it hard to compare background details.
From what I can tell, the background of the area is basically identical to the final game other than some extra detail on the table bust... and the "BRING ON THE BABES !!!" text in the left doorway. This text is present on all of the copies of KOPTOS.GIF I could find on Discmaster, and it was probably present on the original image.

Hotep's clay model was changed between StarTribes and Laser Lords, giving him a goatee and making his left eyebrow raised. It may also be a work-in-progress given the lack of colors (compare it to, say, MOK1.GIF), though it's hard to tell.
He also doesn't say the dialogue below him in Laser Lords.

There appears to be a green-clad figure behind Hotep's portrait (look on the right side of his neck), probably Warrior. However, most of it is obscured by the aforementioned portrait.

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LUXOR1.GIF

The other image missed in the initial discovery. It depicts a lady enjoying the garden within Luxor's town, Amentet.

The woman may be Petra, the Chosen of Sysis, though it's hard to tell. Her sprites were replaced with new ones, and the old sprites do not appear anywhere in Laser Lords.

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MOK1.GIF

A character named Mok1 greets Warrior as he arrives at Fornax Station.
This character does appear in the final game; he's the Creeg pilot that the player often sees while traveling between planets. However, he doesn't actually greet Warrior when he arrives at Fornax.

Of note is that there are multiple characters with the first name Mok in Fornax (Mok Jape, Mok Ton, and Mok Ti), and they all look similar to this guy.

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RAIDER.GIF

A top-down, front, and side view of a ship used by an "android raider"; one of thousands working for Sarpedon, the game's big bad. This specific ship design does not appear in Laser Lords.

What's more interesting is the mention of Thorax, former Star Force commander and current Sarpedon crony, being involved in the construction and usage of these android raiders. This implies he had a larger role in-game, or at least had his presence made to be more obvious. In the final game, he's only mentioned by two NPCs (Ravanna Vanna in Fornax and Leneh/Gongor in Argos) before physically appearing in Ravanna and being spared/redeemed by Warrior. Interestingly, he does mention that he destroyed a hundred Star Force ships since his resurrection in his dialogue; these androids would explain how he did it.

Title Leftovers In The Final Game

There are still a few references to the original title for Laser Lords in the final game's data: