Learn About WC2 Demo Differences in the WCPedia

I added a WCpedia page for the Wing Commander II Demo with all kinds of neat history:

Wing Commander II Demo is a rolling demo of Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi. It features an early version of part of the game's introduction showing Prince Thrakhath's audience with the Emperor. It was the first Origin product to include recorded speech. The demo was created by Origin Systems to demonstrate the game at Winter CES 1991 (January 10 to 13 1991) and was released to the public via BBS afterwards. At the time it was published Wing Commander II was scheduled for a Summer 1991 releasee. It ultimately shipped in September, making the eight months between the demo and the final product the longest such stretch in Wing Commander history. The demo is not known to have received a physical commercial release.

Differences

• The 3space engine section uses a version closer to the original Wing Commander. It uses Wing Commander's palette and several other assets (including the Dralthi and Star Post ships).
• Prince Thrakhath's Bloodfang model is a distinct version created for the demo and it looks significantly different from the final version used in Wing Commander II. The sprites can be imported into the original Wing Commander but it does not include assets like a VDU graphic.
• The scene is set at the "Imperial Palace", a Star Post, instead of at K'Tithrak Mang. K'Tithrak Mang is not mentioned in the dialogue.
• The scene includes a longer introduction in which Thrakhath flies to the Imperial Palace and walks past rows of Imperial Guardsmen.
• There is a 'talking head' view of an Imperial Guardsman announcing Thrakhath's arrival which does not appear in the final game.
• The medium and closeup backgrounds for Prince Thrakhath and the Emperor are different from the versions used in the game. Both pieces are digitized from paintings by Daniel Bourbonnais.
• The dialogue between Thrakhath is different although it retains the same general structure and many of the same ideas. It does not mention K'Tithrak Mang or the rebellion on Ghorah Khar.
• The voice acting is performed by different people. Prince Thrakhath and the Emperor are played by developers Philip Brogden and Siobhan Beeman in the demo and writer G.P. Austin and actor Edwin Neal in the finished game. The Imperial Guard, played in the demo by Martin Galway, does not speak in the final game and is only referenced but not seen.