INN - LSCIDump

[CTxCB]

I extracted resources from INN  (ImagiNation Network), and most of them I don't need or care about. But my whole aim with this was extracting the music so I could convert them into MIDI Files and learn to play some of them. I've already tried some of the Sound.*** files in Soundbox, which I think was something could you add to SCIStudio and the temperamental SCIStudio VGA (4 / 3.+), but it won't play them because they're not SCI0 Format. What do you suggest?

[Kawa]

Try opening them in SV.EXE or SCI Companion?

It happens that SV can export to MID.

[CTxCB]

Try opening them in SV.EXE or SCI Companion?

It happens that SV can export to MID.

Well, I tried SV.EXE with the INN Files, and them unpacked (E.g: Sound.***), but it didn't work, gave errors that it couldn't detect the SCI Version, since TSN / INN use LSCI (Large-Scale SCI) for networking and such on the scale needed. SCI Companion (the latest version by troflip, not the 2007-ish version on his website) gave the same kind of error, loaded the INN Files, but everything was unreadable or unplayable, and the unpacked files just wouldn't be read after loading (error loading).

[Kawa]

Then I guess I'm out of suggestions.

[MusicallyInspired]

Which version of SCI Viewer are you using? The latest one doesn't have a version number and can open AGI games, FYI.

[Collector]

He is trying to extract LSCI resources, which seems to be a variant of SCI with modem support for TSN/INN. The Sierra Viewer does not see most of its resources.

[MusicallyInspired]

I know it's LSCI. I didn't know that it specifically wasn't supported by SV. I was suggesting he use the latest version just in case it might work if he had an older version (which doesn't open everything the latest version can). I've never tried opening LSCI with anything before.

Though, I do remember Brian saying when he released Studio VGA that it would open some LSCI games. I guess that's false.

[CTxCB]

Which version of SCI Viewer are you using? The latest one doesn't have a version number and can open AGI games, FYI.

I'm using the version which is on the SCIProgramming Website. The error I get when trying to load a LSCI Game is "No resources found in C:\Games\INN\LL. If the path is correct, you may want to play with version detection options ('Settings' -> 'Version info')".

I know it's LSCI. I didn't know that it specifically wasn't supported by SV. I was suggesting he use the latest version just in case it might work if he had an older version (which doesn't open everything the latest version can). I've never tried opening LSCI with anything before.

Though, I do remember Brian saying when he released Studio VGA that it would open some LSCI games. I guess that's false.

SCI Studio VGA can open INN's Resources. The problem here is that SCI Studio VGA relies on Soundbox (http://www.rarefied.org/sci/soundbox.html) to play music /sounds from SCI Games (It has to be in the plugins folder). The error I get when trying to load the music / sounds from INN in Soundbox is "Not an SCI0 sound resource" if exported via SCI Studio VGA, or LSCIDump. So, to put simply, SCI Studio VGA relies on an external program, and that program only supports SCI0 Sound Resources. I'd guess that the version of LSCI in INN v2.4 (the last version AT&T / Sierra created before it's sale to AOL) is probably based upon either SCI v1.1 or SCI v2.0, as I have no idea whether they were creating versions of LSCI to match that of improved SCI Engine versions that were released, or were keeping with an already working version of LSCI.

[troflip]

If I had the game, I could try and see why SCI Companion doesn't like it. SCI Companion supports SCI1.1 sound resources, and should have overall wider coverage than SCI Studio VGA.

[CTxCB]

If I had the game, I could try and see why SCI Companion doesn't like it. SCI Companion supports SCI1.1 sound resources, and should have overall wider coverage than SCI Studio VGA.

When I tried SCI Companion, all the views are grey (no images), all the backgrounds are white (no images), the scripts cannot be opened, all the texts are blank, all the sounds and the rest get a decompression failed error. There is a version of ImagiNation Network on Abandonia which is clean with no installer needed (It's below the manual, I think). Usually I'm against "abandonware" and try to avoid using it at all cost... But this is sort of a special case, since the game was technically free, you were paying for the subscription to use the software, rather than for the software itself. That's how they could give free trials and such.

[troflip]

I'm amazed SCI Studio VGA actually opens these, haha.

Well, it looks like the resource map format and package file format are SCI0. But it's using a compression method that is unknown (. It's probably one of the known compression schemes, but I guess just using a different number. Looks like it should be a decompression that already exists in SCI Companion, so I can route it to that. Seems to be other issue though...

[CTxCB]

I'm amazed SCI Studio VGA actually opens these, haha.

Well, it looks like the resource map format and package file format are SCI0. But it's using a compression method that is unknown (. It's probably one of the known compression schemes, but I guess just using a different number. Looks like it should be a decompression that already exists in SCI Companion, so I can route it to that. Seems to be other issue though...

Yeah, it does open them. Maybe could look at LSCIDump (http://sourceforge.net/projects/lsci-toolkit/files/lsci-toolkit/LSCIdump/), in the src folder of LSCIDump.zip there's quite a lot of code. Maybe you could find out how it decompresses LSCI Resources and see if it's different to how SCI Companion does it. Really, I'd love to be able to load INN in SCI, even if it's just reading and not writing, I'd love to be able to learn to play the music from the game.

[troflip]

Well I have it opening views, pics and text resources now. At least, some of them. About half of them seem to be corrupt (SCI Studio VGA doesn't show these). The resource map format must be slightly different or something... many of the resources don't point to anything valid. Including all the sound resources, which is why SCI Studio VGA doesn't show any (at least with SCI0-SCI1.1 it lists the sound resources it finds).

Does LSCIDump let you extract resources? Does it find any sound resources?

(incidentally, it's not accidental that SCI STudio VGA opens these files, it appears to have explicit support for "LSCI (On-Line SCI)")

[CTxCB]

Well I have it opening views, pics and text resources now. At least, some of them. About half of them seem to be corrupt (SCI Studio VGA doesn't show these). The resource map format must be slightly different or something... many of the resources don't point to anything valid. Including all the sound resources, which is why SCI Studio VGA doesn't show any (at least with SCI0-SCI1.1 it lists the sound resources it finds).

Does LSCIDump let you extract resources? Does it find any sound resources?

Yes, it extracts lots of sound resources. Each folder has extracts it's own resources. For example, in command prompt, with the INN files in a folder called INN with the LSCIDump Files, I'd do "lscidump.exe INN\CC\RESOURCE.001" and "lscidump.exe INN\CC\RESOURCE.002".

[Collector]

Omer has most of the variants of TSN/INN on his Google drive unless he has removed them.