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The Shadow of Yserbius was created in more than one version. There were both online and offline versions of the game.
Early versions of the game had no musical soundtrack and very few audio cues. This offline version 1.0 (pictured to the left) was a standalone version of the game that was offered to players of the online game on TSN (The Sierra Network) who wanted a version that they could play offline.
Please remember that The Shadow of Yserbius was an early Graphical MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) and that TSN was perhaps the very first online gaming service. From the very beginning, TSN gamers played online while they were charged for each and every minute of game play, which usually occurred while connected through an active telephone line by an extremely slow dial-up modem.
Eventually as TSN (The Sierra Network) became INN (ImagiNation Network), an online version was developed that had both music and sound effects. Unfortunately (and for marketing reasons), an offline version of the game with both music and sound was never released to the general public.
Notice that the online version 2.2 credits (pictured to the left) mentions both INN and ImagiNation.
Also, differences in game play exist between the online and offline versions. For instance, players of the offline version were never required to use teamwork to accomplish the goals of their quests.
However, online INN Revival players will discover that teams of players will be required to complete quests when crossing the Endless Void in Level 6 Castle Parapets and when crossing the Keyhole Lava at the center of Level 11 Dwarf Kingdom (unless of course some form of cheating is used).
