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Messages - Charles

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1
That's really interesting to see how much attention they put into this one game...

Not just making it completely in two different engines, but making two sets of backgrounds for each engine.

Did any other games get this special treatment, or was King's Quest special because it was their flagship series?

2
Well, if I was aiming to fix it in Windows 3.1 and had full control (which honestly I couldn't give a care about), I'd just hide the title bar, like they ultimately did with the SCI2/SCI32 versions. Hide the title bar and resize frame. Then you've just got game window at 640x480.

3
Yes, I noticed that. Only when you select the "Enable high resolution graphics" option.

And I didn't mean to imply nobody had known this before. Only that I just learned it (or relearned it... I'm sure I knew it at one point).

I wonder what it would take to remaster this in SCI to use the correct aspect ratio and the high-res graphics.  Probably need to use a custom build of ScummVM, as this doesn't look like the kind of modification that usually falls under their mandates.

4
So I've been playing around with the Windows 3.1 versions of Sierra games, and I've discovered (re-discovered?) something that's really bugging the perfectionist in me.

Basically the "enhanced" CD version of King's Quest 6 has conflicting aspect ratios all throughout.

It's fairly widely recognized today that the 320x200 DOS games were designed to use rectangular pixels on CRT screens, rather than square pixels. These rectangular pixels were taller by 20% (or had a pixel ratio of 5:4 aka 1.2:1)  This resulted in the games being displayed at a 4:3 aspect ratio... effectively equivalent to 320x240 in square pixels.

When Sierra first ported their games to Windows, it was clearly a learning experience and they made some compromises. In KQ5 (their first windows game), it would only run if your screen resolution was set to 640x480x256 (no higher, no lower). And when it ran, presumably in order to accommodate the windows title bar, instead of stretching the game to fit 640x480, it was only stretched to fit 640x440.  A full 40 pixels shorter (or ~9% shorter), resulting in a slightly squashed game.


Because the game was maximized, the sides of the window were off screen, allowing the full 640 width, but the height has 19 pixels for the title bar, 440 pixels for the game, and an additional 21 black pixels at the bottom.  (Interestingly, despite not allowing it to run in higher resolutions (like 800x600), you can still restore the game to a moveable window.)

The rest of the games in the SCI1 and SCI1.1 era made steps to correct the issue, while still staying fully compatible with 640x480 screens.  They introduced a Small Window and Large Window mode. That includes SQ4, LSL6-lores, Pepper's Adventures in Time, Freddy Pharkas, EcoQuest1 CD, EcoQuest2, Laura Bow 2, etc.



The Large Window mode worked just like KQ5, stretching the game to only 640x440 (or ~9% shorter height that intended).

Small Window mode shrank the game down to 320x240, displaying it at the proper aspect ratio.


It wasn't until the SCI2/SCI32 era that they started to show their Windows versions of games at the full 640x480 resolution and correct 4:3 aspect ratio. QFG4, Gabriel Knight 1, LSL6-Hires, LSL7, KQ7, Police Quest 4 etc. Often times they even removed the title bar completely.

So this Windows 3.1 compromise wouldn't be a problem, except for the enhanced graphics for the Windows version only of KQ6 CD. As with all the other SCI1/SCI1.1 releases, it has a Large Window and a Small Window mode, and like the others, the Small Window is the correct aspect ratio, and the Large Window is 9% squished.

BUT, they updated the icon bar, the talking portraits, the inventory icons, and a couple of assorted other graphics for the Large Window mode only, and they didn't adjust the aspect ratio to match... in fact, based on the size of the icon bar, it looks like they based the new hi-res icons on the incorrect 320x200 aspect ratio of the original DOS icons. I've created a gif that switches between the windows hires version and the same one with the icon bar from the DOS version applied, without any aspect ratio correction. They're nearly identical.



So yeah, that's disappointing that there's pretty much no definitive version of KQ6... you can either have the correct aspect ratio and low-res graphics, or you can have a squished version with better quality (but also differently squished) graphics.

5
AGI Development Tools / Re: WinAGI Version 3.0.0-alpha8.0
« on: December 18, 2024, 09:01:51 AM »
It's exciting to see you switch to C# from such a mature VB6 project.

I know from personal experience it's a steep learning curve, but C#'s a great choice from a personal development perspective -- I did VB.net myself years ago, and while I'm proficient in C# it doesn't come as naturally to me as VB syntax does... unfortunately C# is preferred in most circles.

Anyway, I know you'll get to a point where it becomes second-nature, and you'll wonder how you ever survived in VB6 for so long.

6
SCI Syntax Help / Re: Adding a fourth loop to talker portraits?
« on: December 12, 2024, 04:14:59 PM »


There we go!  I imaging at the time, they considered it an extension of the standard Size ability of windows.

7
SCI Syntax Help / Re: Adding a fourth loop to talker portraits?
« on: December 12, 2024, 09:29:09 AM »
Quote
(by right-clicking on the title bar or application icon, maybe?)
I'm sorry but that does not make any sense.

I mean the window title bar. Running the game in a window in Win3.1.

8
SCI Syntax Help / Re: Adding a fourth loop to talker portraits?
« on: December 12, 2024, 08:55:46 AM »
Even worse: the Windows portraits weren't views.

Oh, that's really interesting... what were they? Because it's been a long while, but I seem to recall that in Win3.1 you could choose between the high-res version and the low-res version on the fly (by right-clicking on the title bar or application icon, maybe?), and it would change the character portraits to match the version you selected... I always preferred the low-res versions because the high-res ones always looked too red to me. But it would still keep the lip syncing regardless of the ones you picked.

9
SCI Development Tools / Re: [KQ5CD] Issue when compiling script
« on: December 02, 2024, 05:10:23 PM »
It's not my intention to be assigning blame or calling anybody right or wrong. I'm just trying to make sure we're talking the same thing, to be able to better help you troubleshoot.

The decompiler is not perfect. By definition if it's returning any source code when you decompile, it has decompiled successfully. However, successful =/= correct. I believe it is decompiling successfully, but that the decompiled code is not correct.

Are you able to post your full decompiled source for room 200?  Is room 200 the only code being changed that is causing problems?  Like every other script is the original KQ5CD, but adding in your recompiled 200.scr as a patch file is breaking things?

10
SCI Development Tools / Re: [KQ5CD] Issue when compiling script
« on: December 02, 2024, 02:30:56 PM »
Note there is a difference between "decompiles successfully" and "decompiles correctly."

In this case it's not throwing an error when decompiling, so it is decompiling successfully, but it fully appears that the decompiled code is not an accurate representation of the original bytecode, I.e. not decompiling correctly.

11
SCI Development Tools / Re: [KQ5CD] Issue when compiling script
« on: December 01, 2024, 05:49:22 PM »
I?m not suggesting you should init the variables that way; I was only giving that as an example that it makes no difference to the compiler.

Can you describe in more detail how the game freezes?

12
SCI Development Tools / Re: [KQ5CD] Issue when compiling script
« on: December 01, 2024, 05:08:32 PM »
I think the variables changing is a red herring.

There's no bounds-checking for arrays in SCI.  In either example, you could replace references to local1 with [local0 1] and it'd work just the same.

Here, the 2nd decompile is just taking the 1st two variables of each 9 variable array and declaring them as individual variables... but that doesn't really change anything.

If the game is breaking when you re-compile, then I would assume despite it looking correct, it's not actually decompiling correctly the first time. Try comparing your decompile with sluicebox's https://github.com/sluicebox/sci-scripts/blob/main/kq5-cd-dos-1.000.052/src/witchRegion.sc or Eric's https://github.com/EricOakford/SCI-Decompilation-Archive/blob/master/kq5cd/src/witchRegion.sc.

I've personally seen incorrect decompiling when there are nested arrays, so it could be that but who knows.

13
It's a shame Steam positions Magna Cum Laude as the 4th in the series.... I guess they figure it's too confusing for new-comers if there's just not a 4th game.  I'm also kinda surprised they didn't include it's sequel Box Office Bust.  I never played it, but I assume it's as bad as Manga Cum Laude.

I'm curious to try Wet Dreams Dry Twice... I've only briefly played Wet Dreams Don't Dry, and it felt to me like a bit of a re-imagining of the original LSL1, but without the slavish adherence to it that LSL-Reloaded had (also not included in this compilation).  Which I think makes it the 5th version that game?

All that to say, I'm curious to see how Wet Dreams Dry Twice holds up.  I don't know too much about the studio that made it but from the art style it feels like the same studio that made Deponia, and that series was fun.

14
Hey, quick PSA, Fanatical Games is currently selling the Steam version of Leisure Suit Larry The Complete Cum-pilation for 99% off, as a Black Friday sale. Nine full games for less than $2.  No idea how long the sale is for.

https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/leisure-suit-larry-the-complete-cum-pilation

You get 1 steam key that includes Leisure Suit Larry 1-7, Magna Cum Laude, Wet Dreams Don't Dry, and Wet Dreams Dry Twice.

I just bought it myself, as I didn't have them in my steam collection yet (just Gog and original floppies).

15
SCI Syntax Help / Re: SCI0: Varibles and changestates
« on: November 26, 2024, 10:17:46 AM »
QFG1 EGA uses a StringEquals function in script 802.
Code: [Select]
;;; Sierra Script 1.0 - (do not remove this comment)
(script# INPUTCOMP) ;INPUTCOMP = 802
(include system.sh) (include sci2.sh) (include game.sh)
(use _User)

(public
ToLower 0
StringEquals 1
EventEqualsString 2
)

(procedure (ToLower param1)
(return
(if (or (< param1 65) (> param1 90))
(return param1)
else
(return (+ (- param1 65) 97))
)
)
)

(procedure (StringEquals param1 param2 &tmp temp0 temp1 temp2 temp3)
(= temp1 (StrLen param2))
(= temp0 (- (= temp0 (StrLen param1)) temp1))
(while (>= temp0 0)
(= temp3 0)
(= temp2 temp0)
(while (< temp3 temp1)
(if
(!=
(ToLower (StrAt param2 temp3))
(ToLower (StrAt param1 temp2))
)
(break)
)
(++ temp3)
(++ temp2)
)
(if (== temp3 temp1) (return (+ temp3 1)))
(-- temp0)
)
(return FALSE)
)

(procedure (EventEqualsString event param2 &tmp i userInputLineAddr)
(if
(and
(User canInput?)
(not (event claimed?))
(== (event type?) keyDown)
(or
(== (event message?) (User echo?))
(and
(<= 32 (event message?))
(<= (event message?) 127)
)
)
)
(event claimed: TRUE)
(if (User getInput: event)
(= userInputLineAddr (User inputLineAddr?))
(= i 1)
(while (< i argc)
(if
(StringEquals userInputLineAddr [param2 (- i 1)])
(return i)
)
(++ i)
)
(event type: speechEvent)
(event claimed: FALSE)
(Parse userInputLineAddr event)
(User said: event)
)
)
(return FALSE)
)


an example of it being used is in script 29.
Code: [Select]
(if
(or
(StringEquals (User inputLineAddr?) {purple})
(StringEquals (User inputLineAddr?) {pink})
)
(askQuestions changeState: 0)
else
(WrongAnswer)
)

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