the ending is screwed up though - once you hit the elevator L2 button, you get teleported into the room with clickable screen instead of getting the demo complete screen. too bad, was kind of hoping it would work well enough to make it an official download.

unless we have a way of editing it and making it better - either preventing the button from working or having it print a "end of the demo" message. do we? never really explored all the SS1 stuff that's been around.

Is the overall goal to resurrect this particular download, or to get hands on a shareware version of SS1?

If it's about the shareware versions, I have both (with and without audio logs - as well as the original HD-release without audio logs), which I could pack up.
If it's about to resurrect this download, I haven't had a look with InkyBlackness at the handling of the elevator in the demo yet. Either the jump to the end screen is somehow hardcoded, or the elevator panel is a reskinned button that executes an end-game action. I'll have a look in the evening today.

I'm quite sure it's the latter, though the functionality is somehow coded into the shareware exe, it seems (which is not used with the SHLINK version).

and yeah, the general idea is to take the (best available) shareware version, and make it available in an easy to play/modernized form. if you have some newer/better version, please make it available - this one has logs and music, but is limited to 320*200 resolution unless SHLINKed, for example (checked via dosbox).

I've had a look at my HD-demo version. First of all, I needed to patch the editor, which, at the moment, has some hardcoded assumptions. These will be removed in the next release. Right now it crashes trying to open the demo level.

The elevator panel is still an elevator panel - even properly set up, referencing the panel of the non-existent level 2. So, this has me believe it is a dedicated build of the engine.
Although the "big" resources (such as not needed level textures) are not present, all the small stuff off the full game is there: log texts, trap texts - even the cyberspace level is fully utilized although you can't enter all sections in the demo.

Here are two demo versions I have:
* CD Demo: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B74wu_2eEeTxOXBSeDVKTVZlTWM
* HD Demo: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B74wu_2eEeTxQkVueFFpbDlMQ1k

I seem to have lost the original archive of the HD Demo, so the directories of that have recent timestamps. Yet all the files have pristine timestamps from 1994 and 1995 (the good years )
Still, those timestamps can be faked, and I haven't analysed any potential bloatware in there. You people are far better and more experienced at refurbishing such packages 

the cd demo looks identical to the demo unn_atropos shared, the hd demo looks older. requires exactly the same amount of butchery as the first demo, and the ending bugs out in the same way.

lets wait for that editor update - and hope someone knows how to actually map the end game to that elevator button.