I'm hoping to collate all the differences between the 1994 (Original Release) and 1998 versions in one place here in this thread as there's a lot of confusion (myself included!) as to what has changed between these two releases.

The changes -

The 1998 version here on GOG was a re-release put together for the X-Wing Collector Series - bundled along with an updated X-Wing and trial version of X-Wing vs TIE Fighter. Both games were updated to use the new 3d engine that was developed for X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, featuring texture mapping and 3d accelerated graphics. This version was a Windows XP release, with no DOS support.

The interactive "iMUSE" (Interactive MUsic Streaming Engine) that featured in the original release, providing the player with an adaptive soundtrack that would react to current gameplay events was dropped in favour of "Red Book" (ie - CD) audio from the Star Wars trilogy soundtrack. (This was a major disappointment to many fans including myself. A lot of the atmosphere and character that made these games so gripping was lost with this particular change, IMHO).

Significant voice over work is also provided in the 1998 version that was not included in the original (floppy disk) version.

Much of the 2d menus were "remastered" in higher resolution and detail.

It's also worth noting that the original 1994 version includes the addition expansion packs "Defender of the Empire" (which adds 3 new battles / tours of duty), but not the "Enemies of the Empire" campaign (which completes the story arc that runs through much of the game), which is only available through GOG in the 1998 version.

(See the attached image for a couple of screenshot comparisons of the two versions),
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Now it's worth noting that there was a CD release of TIE Fighter in 1995 that is essentially a "half way" blend of the two versions currently on GOG. This version did not feature the X-Wing vs TIE Fighter 3d engine, but did provide improved rendering of the original engine, doubling the supported resolution to 640x480. This version was also made to support Windows XP. This was the first time the final expansion pack "Enemies of the Empire" was released and that the complete story was available in one package. This version also retains the iMUSE MIDI soundtrack. Personally, this version is the one I would prefer to see on GOG. I would consider it to be the definitive version of TIE Fighter.

While I'd love to see a combination of the 3d engine from the 1998 X-Wing Collector Series version and the use of the iMUSE engine, that never came to be, unfortunately. Unfortunately, if you feel that you don't want to loose the original soundtrack for the game and therefore choose to play the 1994 original release, you won't be able to complete full story as Tours of Duty 11-13 (22 missions total) were not included.

[Post edited to include updated information. Thanks guys]

So the 1994 version still has the imuse soundtrack, right? That was a dealbreaker for me in past releases. Booo, redbook CD audio. Boo.

Yea, this made it a pretty tough choice for me too, no music on the concourse was also very jarring. It's terrible that they decided to downgrade one of the best parts of the game for the "special" edition re-release, I wish there was a way to have both.

The In-game engine is different, too. The 98 version uses the XvT engine as well as the assets. The most noticeable difference there is that the hitboxes are much tighter.

Does the 98 edition have the 2nd Expansion?

Check out the first post in this thread if you want a taste of the 94 versions music. More fitting to the game in every way and this from someone who loves Williamses Star Wars music

http://www.gog.com/forum/star_wars_tie_fighter_special_edition/my_orchestral_tie_fighter_soundtrack/post1

For some reason there's a difference in keyboard throttle controls.

In the 94 version you can hold down + or - to adjust your speed. Quick, convenient, and awesome.

In the 98 version you have to tap each button to move your speed a few % points at a time. It's so obnoxious, and makes it impossible to play for me. The throttle on my stick works great, but unless there's some way to customize the buttons on my joystick it's way too inconvenient to move my hand between throttle and keyboard. So that's not an option.

Anyone else notice this? Is this a bug with me or is this working as intended?

It works the same for me, but I use the throttle on my joystick so it doesn't bother me.

I found this link with an extensive comparison (including screenshots): tempestkappa.isdchallenge.org/tf_versions.htm

Short version, TIE-95 (1998) has
- not even the slightest hint of new game content,
- lower joystick precision,
- either ruined or replaced the original brilliant game music,
- decreased sound quality,
- ruined each and every cutscene by squeezing it into a wrong aspect ratio,
- a handful of new 2D screens, of which even the good looking ones don't blend in with the rest of the game at all,
- two craft models replaced by crappier versions,
- textures.

Original post updated. Thanks for the info, guys. If any of that first post is incorrect - let me know...

You say that the 1994 version doesn't include the 'Enemies of the Empire' expansion, but the 1998 version does. Does the 1998 version also include the 'Defenders of the Empire' expansion, or is that only included with the 1994 version?

Adding to that it's important to mention that only the in-flight music has been replaced with (at least CD-quality) redbook audio tracks. The cutscenes and menus were treated even worse, using only low-bitrate WAV-audio in the '98 versions. Especially the menus in TIE Fighter suffer from this, because they too offered some fantastically seamless iMUSE-transitions between the different screens.

TIE1998 includes both addons.

if you want to play the floppy version for whatever reason, you can still play enemies of the empire by copying some files from tie98 to tie94

http://www.gog.com/forum/star_wars_tie_fighter_special_edition/tie_fighter_94_floppy_enemies_of_the_empire

Have not tried tie 98 yet but X wing 98 has a different CMD than I expected. No shield % status. I seem to remember that being on the 94 version I originally played. I could be wrong.

you are :-)

none of the two games shows shield in % in any version

Man. Those sure we're real nice additions to the tie and xvt games then.