Messages

1

SCI Syntax Help / Re: LB2 Floppy questions are a burden to others

« on: February 15, 2024, 02:14:27 PM »

It's just a TSR that shows a graphical overlay, I believe. Hence the "TSR wanna-be" you cited earlier, as a regular TSR (in scene terms) would exactly do what you describe: patching the memory at runtime to bypass the protection. There were some Sierrra games that were unprotected that way though, like King's Quest 5.

2

The Games and other Sierra Adventure stuff / Re: GAL (KQ1) extractor and decompiler

« on: November 08, 2023, 02:36:14 PM »

I've looked into the pre-AGI formats in the past as well (though not that thorough) and I believe the 0xE0 range was being used in the C64 version of Winnie the Pooh. At least I recall I had to shift the drawing actions to the regular AGIv2 codes in order to match them up to the PC version. The picture format in the PC version on the other hand is close to fully compatible with AGIv2 and I remember using the error message of PICEDIT (thanks!) to figure out the difference. It was only one instruction, I believe, that could be removed without any(?) consequences.

That said, I think the C64 or Apple version would fit better in your timeline, as the PC version seems to be ported from (one of) them and has a copyright date of 1985:

https://www.mobygames.com/game/7274/winnie-the-pooh-in-the-hundred-acre-wood/screenshots/dos/32029/

Mickey's Space Adventure for PC was released even later, with a copyright date of 1986:

https://www.mobygames.com/game/7273/mickeys-space-adventure/screenshots/dos/31261/

[...] the PC version of Dragon's Keep seems rare. Has anyone seen that one anywhere?

It's not clear if it actually exists or was released. The MobyGames link you provided contains a thread which discusses the inclusion of the booter. There's quite some evidence, but it hasn't turned up yet. There are other PC versions of early Sierra titles rumoured to exist as well, some more likely than others.

Interestingly enough, the Northeastern Software advertisement, mentioned in the aforementioned thread, lists Golf Challenge (as mentioned earlier, by Hal Schwab) as being available for IBM too:

https://books.google.com/books?id=IJAhwYh-TZkC&lpg=PA297&ots=v2jFo2Ihih&dq="dragon's+keep"+ibm&pg=PA297&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q="dragon's keep" ibm&f=false

3

The Games and other Sierra Adventure stuff / Re: GAL (KQ1) extractor and decompiler

« on: November 01, 2023, 08:44:37 AM »

Very interesting findings here! Somehow I've seem to have missed that there was a working decompiler for the original KQ1.

Now I didn't check it out yet, but reading the thread: Isn't it just that someone (perhaps Greg) has overwritten the entry containing the verb for ducking/crawling when padding the dictionary with names of the team members? This also could explain some of the copied statements, e.g. "climbing" versus "crawling" (in a well, a rope), which are not synonyms.

4

Mega Tokyo AGI Archive / Re:Leisure Suit Larry graphical glitches...

« on: October 22, 2004, 03:10:59 PM »

BTW, would there be any point in patching the rest of my games this way, or should I stick with "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

Most games are equipped with a proper version. Later versions generally just support more commands for use in the game's script. But that's of no use with games originally using older interpreters, since those commands obviously didn't exist then...

....EGA(?) compliant videocards...

Enhanced Graphics Adapter (16 colours [4 bit])

See also
CGA: Colour Graphics Adapter (4 colours [2 bit])
VGA: I forget the V.... (256 colors [8 bit])
SVGA: Super VGA (?? Thousands [16 Bit])

I'm honored that you specially registered on this board to tell me that. However, I know what EGA stands for. I was just not sure if it was infact EGA compliant, or 'that obscure PCjr video mode' compliant, which AGI seems to use.

5

Mega Tokyo AGI Archive / Re:Leisure Suit Larry graphical glitches...

« on: September 21, 2004, 04:54:03 AM »

This was/is a problem with not fully EGA(?) compliant videocards... Sierra has rereleased all games bundled with a fixed interpreter (v2.917, I think, often accompanied with a QA file stating "1.2 meg fix" or "For MCGA")... Your problem, however, is that both rereleases of LSL and The Black Cauldron, are rarities...

The easiest solution would be patching a v2.917 interpreter, using http://www.agigames.com/scistudio/xtra/agidcrk.zip and then the interpreter will work with any game...

6

Mega Tokyo AGI Archive / Re:AGI & Mac OS

« on: June 24, 2004, 06:28:05 PM »

Hope that helps.  Works on almost game... except I haven't gotten it to work on the fan-made game Enclosure (hello?  Anyone listening out there?)  Sorry, I posted about that a few posts back and haven't gotten any responses...

Although I'm not the main programmer, I believe it's a memory issue... NAGI has an "unlimited" memory buffer, which will solve any memory size induced problem. Sarien apparently does not have this, like the original interpreter, and freezes the game.

To make sure this actually is the problem, try running games like Space Quest 0: Replicated or V - The Graphic Adventure in Sarien. If they also lock up, it most likely is memory related. Unfortunately, there is no solution for this as of yet, apart from playing the games with NAGI on Windows/Linux.

7

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:LSL7 Debug Mode

« on: June 12, 2004, 07:20:50 PM »

And HWM - About your FAQ: You should make the script files included with it because it's not an easy task for the average Joe to extract them from the resource files.
One more thing: Maybe you'd like to make a debug FAQ for Lucas games as well.

Yeah, I have thought about that same thing. But I'm not sure how I should include it, as FAQs are mostly text-only. Perhaps I'll add some links or create a HTML version of it.

I also have a personal debug FAQ regarding Lucasarts games (if you could call it a FAQ, it's like 2kb) and have been thinking of adding it. However, it's not much more than a nicely constructed version of that thread you mention and doesn't offer any useful new info. Anyway, I'll think it over.

8

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:LSL7 Debug Mode

« on: June 12, 2004, 06:18:54 AM »

A bit offtopic, but I'm thinking about releasing my private "Sierra On-Line Debug Mode FAQ" to the public. It covers all AGI games; 7 SCI0, 2 SCI1, 7 SCI11 & a whole bunch of SCI32. I'm still figuring out some games I suspect of having a debug mode and the SCI32 section needs some work, but other than that it's pretty complete. Of course I'll credit the people in the aforementioned thread...

9

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:SQ4 THG Beta

« on: May 01, 2004, 08:13:49 AM »

The version of SQ4 that has the debug code is a beta that was leaked from Sierra about six months before the game was actually released. It was distributed by a cracker group known as The Humble Guys (hence the "THG" in the debug help file that was posted). I know this because I managed to get my hands on the leaked and pirated beta a few months before the game was released in 1991. Unfortunately, I deleted the beta as soon as I had bought a legal copy of the game. The things I remember about the pirated beta were the debug mode and the fact that the game was very buggy and crash-prone.

Exactly... Since it wasn't the final sales release, most people probably deleted it... I'm aware of the whole THG/INC/etc. scene at that time and managed to get some savegames (by INC) of the beta... However, they contain the same version number my version has (1.052)...

10

Mega Tokyo AGI Archive / Re:Complete AGI Fan-Games

« on: March 02, 2004, 08:31:21 AM »

A year ago, I made a list using PDD's AGInfo:

Al Pond I: Al lives forever
Corby's Murder Mystery
Dr. Jummybummy's Space Adventure
Escape from the Salesman
Fuck Quest
Hank's Quest: Victim of Society
Jiggy Jiggy Uh! Uh!
Lasse Holm: The Quest for Revenge
Lefty: Goes on Vacation
Naturette
Naturette II: Daughter of the Moon
Nick's Quest
Residence 44 Quest
Serguei's Destiny
Shifty
Space Quest: The Lost Chapter
Special Delivery
Tex McPhilip I: Quest for the Papacy
Tex McPhilip II: Road to Divinity
The Sorceror's Appraisal
URI Quest
Voodoo Girl: Queen of the Darned

I'm not fully sure right now if all the games are completed (for example, Shifty & Nick's Quest), but I guess back then it made sense...

11

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Eco Quest I - Absence makes the Heart go Yonder

« on: September 19, 2003, 05:15:23 PM »

It's an ad, I'll tell ya...

I think you can see it when you turn on the computer at Adam's house... The KQ5 screen turns up and some message displays, something like "No time to play KQ5 now, Adam!"...

12

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Rare SCI games

« on: July 05, 2003, 08:46:18 AM »

Could it be that previous titles did not sell? Or that some ingame content was tricky for that country. Or that distributors didn't want to sell it? Or or...?

This earlier post says:

Well at the time GK was released, Sierra changed distributor in Spain from Erbe to Coktel Educative, which only translated about 3 or 4 games since...

Regarding this, I think it's mainly a distributor issue... Perhaps as you said; because the previous titles didn't sell that well or something...

Also, I don't know how you exactly discovered what got translated and what didn't, but apart from the lack of information (on the 'net) on it, there's also a lot of (IMHO) faulty information (hello Adventureland!)...

Like the fact I'm still not convinced that Police Quest (SCI11) Spanish exists, since I've seen no real evidence... As far as I know, Police Quest was the last AGI2SCI remake Sierra made (SCI11, instead of SCI1 with other remakes, IIRC) and wasn't translated... Furthermore I *believe* the SCI remakes weren't translated to French and German... Which makes sense, since they didn't bring the cash Sierra expected...

13

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Russian versions of SCI games?!

« on: May 26, 2003, 11:22:00 AM »

They're unofficial translations... The games have altered sprites (such as Ken in Lefty's) and a lot of other things that point to "unofficialness"...

The NEWSCIV you talk about isn't a newer version of the engine, but has an intro attached to it (saying "T & J Soft presents *name of game*, with a couple of photos, etc.) and is packed/encrypted...

14

Mega Tokyo AGI Archive / Re:Subtle "bug" in interpreter

« on: May 15, 2003, 10:11:38 AM »

I didn't know about this bug, but there is a (kinda) similiar 'bug', in both AGI and NAGI... In Space Quest, room/logic 5; When touching the signal line, Roger get lifted up (on purpose). However, when you stop right on the signal line, Roger will be standing somewhere completely else (not really random, it's mostly upper-right/lower-right part of the screen)... It's not hard to reproduce, but it stops working (the bug, not the game) after a couple of tries (at least it seems like it)... But I haven't checked the code, so perhaps it's just some iffy programming...

15

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Resources from Screen Antics?

« on: May 13, 2003, 12:22:46 PM »

But I'm afraid it isn't SCI... It's the Dynamix format and contains BMP's (Dynamix style, not the regular ones) among some other stuff...