All the different versions of the PC port

[1xWertzui]

I went down a deep rabbit hole regaring the old PC port of Gex 3D.

For one, was curious if there are any other localized dubs of the game (apart from the US and UK ones).

There is also the deal with the videocard/GPU/API specific releases.

Long story short, I have checked out every copy of the game that I could find on Internet download sites and archive.org.

From that, I can mostly confirm that there are 3 distinct versions of the PC port:
-one that works with the Direct3D API, and features Dana Gould's voice (in the USA, distributed by Midway)
-one that's for 3DFX, and features Dana Gould's voice (in the USA, distributed by Midway)
-one that's for 3DFX, and features Leslie Philips' voice (all troughout Europe, Distributed by Ubisoft)
(There is no European Direct3D version?)

There is no region locking on PC like on consoles, regional differences are in the voices.
Sadly, it seems that European countries didn't recieve localized dubs (like for example Abe's Exoddus did), we're all just stuck with the dull Leslie Philips voice from the UK.

I am still hoping to get hold of a physical copy of the old PC version some day. I have not seen it show up on local listings, and I don't want to embark on importing yet. The N64 port is ubiquitous, and I have bought the PS1 disc already.

[1xWertzui]

Might aswell add a little dictionary here.

API - Application Programming Interface. The purpose of a 3D graphics API is twofold. For one, abstraction - instead of having to know/program any specific videocard/Graphics Processing Unit directly, the API stands inbetween as the encompassing platform to develop for. For two, instead of going trough the operating system's rigorous pathways of doing things (let's say, putting graphics onto the screen), the APIs offer a more direct and efficient way to talk to the hardware.
In the mid '90s, two events necessiated the appearance of these APIs:
-the move from archaic MS-DOS (which just let the programs take over the computer to do whatever) to the more organized Windows (95)
-the rise of 3D games, and thus 3D accelerator graphics cards becoming a necessity.

Direct3D - a component of the Microsoft DirectX API package, the one that's responsible for 3D rendering. It's the de-facto standard in gaming up to this day. But the drawback is that it's tied to the Microsoft/Windows ecosystem.
Before DirectX, GPU/videocard manufacturers came up with their own propietary APIs, most of them didn't really catch on.

3DFX - Used to be a company, the first one to successfully bring 3D acceleration GPUs to the consumer PC market. Voodoo was their line of GPU chipset, and Glide was their propietary API/driver for the Voodoo. They didn't build the videocards themselves, they outsourced that to other manufacturers (like Quantum 3D). 3DFX was very popular in the late 90s, then it died and their technology became discontiued and obsolete. Mind you, 3DFX/Glide games still need DirectX for other stuff like sound, inputs, network multiplayer.

There are also OpenGL and Vulkan as alternative 3D APIs, but they are not relevant here.

[TwitchisMental]

I went down a deep rabbit hole regaring the old PC port of Gex 3D.

For one, was curious if there are any other localized dubs of the game (apart from the US and UK ones).

There is also the deal with the videocard/GPU/API specific releases.

Long story short, I have checked out every copy of the game that I could find on Internet download sites and archive.org.

From that, I can mostly confirm that there are 3 distinct versions of the PC port:
-one that works with the Direct3D API, and features Dana Gould's voice (in the USA, distributed by Midway)
-one that's for 3DFX, and features Dana Gould's voice (in the USA, distributed by Midway)
-one that's for 3DFX, and features Leslie Philips' voice (all troughout Europe, Distributed by Ubisoft)
(There is no European Direct3D version?)

There is no region locking on PC like on consoles, regional differences are in the voices.
Sadly, it seems that European countries didn't recieve localized dubs (like for example Abe's Exoddus did), we're all just stuck with the dull Leslie Philips voice from the UK.

I am still hoping to get hold of a physical copy of the old PC version some day. I have not seen it show up on local listings, and I don't want to embark on importing yet. The N64 port is ubiquitous, and I have bought the PS1 disc already.

Thank you for sharing this information .

[1xWertzui]

There is a lot more text I have written, but the character limit of the text boxes prevent me to post the full comparison. Ah well, it's mostly banal things like file dates/names/sizes.

[Retrofuge]

It would be cool to have this game on GOG that being said. Let's hope it would be easier to access one day: https://www.gog.com/dreamlist/game/gex-enter-the-gecko

[TwitchisMental]

It would be cool to have this game on GOG that being said. Let's hope it would be easier to access one day: https://www.gog.com/dreamlist/game/gex-enter-the-gecko

Crossing fingers

[Ravenfreak]

We're at 2.022 votes now which is awesome!  Hopefully soon we'll see Gex Enter the Gecko on GOG soon!

[Retrofuge]

We're at 2.022 votes now which is awesome!  Hopefully soon we'll see Gex Enter the Gecko on GOG soon!

It would be cool to have this game on GOG that being said. Let's hope it would be easier to access one day: https://www.gog.com/dreamlist/game/gex-enter-the-gecko

Crossing fingers

Seeing it even get pass 2000 and actually still climbing is baffling. Gex 3D might actually get on to GOG soon. The community is really showing it's here to stay. I never expected this much momentum even 5 years ago.  It's really becoming that fanbase which actually able to make things happen.