Buying Arcanum. Difference between releases?

I've heard a lot about this game in the past and after having it on standby for quite some time (among several other games) I've finally decided to buy it and give it a go.

Amazon is listing 3 different releases: Sierra (2001), Empire (2003) and Vivendi (2009).
Can anyone tell me what's the difference between releases, possibly in terms of contents (eg, printed game manual? pretty hard card box?).


In fact, I'm also trying to buy other ancient gems that I never played, for example VtM series or PS:T. So if anyone can shed some light on difference between releases or where I may buy a new copy of these old gems (preferably in Europe because of taxes), that would be sweet.

Thanks

I was not sure if this post should go into "General Discussion" or "Arcanum Discussion", but technically it's still about differences in Arcanum releases.

 

Ask, and ye shall receieve.

http://www.gog.com/en/frontpage/

 

Buy all three?

 

Do you get the actual manual with it? I still have mine. They don't make manuals like that anymore. 189 pages! Plus a recipe...

 

The problem with GOG it's that it's all virtual. I was looking for the pretty physical box with printed manual, etc.

I could do that, but it wouldn't feel right depriving other future buyers of a game with so many few copies floating around.

That's what I'm looking for.

 

I bought mine pretty late, it was the Vivendi release. Came with a cardbox, manual, 2 CDs. I think it also had some very minor extra, like the two characters on front (the tech dwarf and the mage) printed on cards. Also the German release did not include a map (as usual :x )

 

For the people with the international/american versions, did the game also came with a map and a reference card?

 

The Polish version I possess consists of a DVD box, two CDs and the manual. In a pdf file. How cheap is that.

 

That's too bad, it means you miss out on all the pictures in the manual.

 

Luckily, I actually have all of those pictures and other good stuff.

While the English manual we have in our Downloads section indeed consists exclusively of text, the Polish one that was added to my game seems to be an full electronic version of the paper one - it has 190 pages + 6 pages for notes, paper-imitating background, decorative fonts and is loaded with screenshots and concept arts.

Still, I would prefer a paper one, for both aesthetic and practical reasons.

Some other fancy items like a map or the cards Grindstone82 mentioned would be more than welcome as well.

 

Hmm, I never got any map when I bought mine from a store many years ago.

I do indeed enjoy an actual physical manual. They're all too rare these days. The Arcanum one is nice and thick.

 

This message made me believe there was a map in the original "big box" international release.
But now Langolier message is making me think I just disregarded an Occam's razor.
Can anyone confirm the existence of a map?

 

Personally I only suspect the existence of a physical map because of a .pdf available at replacementdocs.com that looks like the scan of an actual map. German versions of RPGs are regularly delivered with a missing map, all the Black Isle games come to mind for example.

 

:drools:

 

Just look at that! It looks as if you bought it today.
How much do you want for it? :] j/k

 

Now that is Arcanum.

 

It's not taken by me. Maybe I shouldn't be so lazy and post link to source page of that picture:

http://www.nma-fallout.com/forum/viewto ... c01bccefca

btw, I saw this version (PC Gamer Editor Choice) on eBay. So look over there...

EDIT: You know, you could also print that map by yourself it won't be so hard... Also if you are interested, here is link to world map image in high (original) resolution and quality: http://arcanum.game-alive.com/forums/vi ... f=23&t=102

 

I'm envious too. I bought mine at Walmart years ago but there was no map included. I don't think I even have the box anymore... but I just might. I'll have to go through my closet later.

 

Wasn't the map for preorder only?