GOG Sierra Bundles

[BagginsKQ]

Either that or the earlier SCI version of KQ4 which has alternate backgrounds (not as detailed, more like the AGI ones) and green GUI buttons. V1.000.111, to be exact.

That one is cool too. While some of the artwork looks unfinished, it has some places that look better. Some of the stuff is certainly directly inspired by the appearance of the AGI version. The night and day cycles look way better. Apparently it was installed on an extra disk? So they had artwork for both night and day, rather than just cycling colors?

Still it doesn't have the the cool AGI easter eggs! The pirate easter egg, or the beam me up easter egg! Also the break dancing easter egg?

[Lambonius]

Yeah, Gold Rush is another contender. PQ1 has a tighter narrative though, in my opinion. Gold Rush plays a bit more like "prospecting simulator" and isn't so narrative driven. That doesn't really contribute to its difficulty, though, but is one reason why I prefer PQ1.

Also, Gold Rush receives an immediate grade deduction because of the inclusion of its completely random and unpreventable "get-sick-and-die" deaths.

[MusicallyInspired]

Not exactly. In V1.000.111 they had completely alternate backgrounds for night and day. In the later version (I don't recall the exact number), they take advantage of the alternate background colour palettes that the SCI engine can cycle through (there are 4). So they switch to the night-time palette and then draw a unique night sky background made for each screen on top of the original background.

Interesting idea, actually. Despite how convoluted that sounds, it actually does save space because the backgrounds are created and saved as vector drawing "states" and not pixel-by-pixel like a regular bitmap. So instead of having large night-time alternates, they have smaller versions with the night sky only (half the size of the original background or less usually). I'm not sure how much more heap space that takes up during runtime, though. Must not be much, it runs fine.

[JuntMonkey]

KQ3 is easy?

Is ScummVM for Sierra games not good?

[MusicallyInspired]

It's ok. Not the best for the authentic experience sometimes.

[Blackthorne519]

For AGI games, I liked NAGI.


Bt

[BagginsKQ]

KQ3 is easy?

The required manual for KQ3 is practically a shopping list of every item needed in the game. Each of these items are pretty much lieing around to pick up with little trouble, other than you are on a 'timer' between wizard's visits. Each spell makes up perhaps over 90% of the games "puzzles". You are told what each spell does, and the conditions of how and where those spells will work.

Beyond that several of the puzzles solved with spells are "optional".

[Chyron8472]

Originally Posted by MusicallyInspired

It's ok. Not the best for the authentic experience sometimes.

People say the same thing about the SCUMM games, themselves, for which ScummVM was originally made.

So, besides the save and load screens, what difference does it make to the gameplay?

EDIT: ScummVM has a checkbox now that enables you to "Use original Save/Load screens".

So again, I ask: what difference does it make?

[MusicallyInspired]

My gripe was not with the save/load screens at all. The difference is that because the engine is reverse engineered it doesn't always play the same way as the original DOS interpreter. All SCI1.1 games, for instance, have super fast animations sometimes because they're based on CPU cycles instead of real seconds. This can be compensated for in DOSBox by lowering CPU cycles, but is not yet fixed in ScummVM. It's just too jarring for me and feels like I'm playing them on a Pentium or faster computer, which pulls me right back to trying to get them to work properly on my older systems (which were too fast). It's not the authentic experience it should be. This is not a problem with SCI1.0 games, however, as those animations run great.

But some things (probably too nerdy for the average Joe) simply do not work in ScummVM. Like the dithered 640x400 EGA driver for SCI1.1 games, Tandy 3-voice support, PC Speaker support, and, my biggest gripe, the fact that you MUST play the game with digital sound effects with no option to switch to the Adlib/MIDI sound effects at will. Even though the option is there for some games, it does not work. Put simply, ScummVM's support of SCI games is not perfect and, as it happens, not yet up to my personal specifications.

What I do like about ScummVM is that you can play the Windows version of KQ6 with all the high-res artwork, but also with the DOS coloured cursors instead of the smaller Win 3.1 black and white cursors. That kind of versatility appeals to me about ScummVM as a whole, but it's got to iron out a few things first before I'll defer to it exclusively.

AGI is ok, but I'm just not a fan of the Sarien engine at all. Just in its aesthetic and approach (which was to simulate the Amiga interface). So it's not entirely authentic either. I do think it has better Tandy emulation than ScummVM, though. What I don't like about NAGI is that you cannot fix the aspect ratio for rectangular pixels, whereas in both ScummVM and DOSBox you can.

[exo]

At least PQ1 and Goldrush didn't have a bloody Eagle's feather that you required, and it was totally random when that bloody eagle decided to fly by. I waited over an hour.... 3 separate trips down that mountain...

I hate you eagles feather. almost as much as I hate the golden bridle.

[Blackthorne519]

Oh yeah. Fuck that fucking gold bridle. Seriously.


Bt

[exo]

Now that I think about it, KQ in general has a problem with bridles. I mean, who was the first person to figure out you could throw a bridle on the bloody snake in KQ2?

Cedric isn't having any of this saving snakes and turning them into horses crap. He will be the first one to tell you that snake is poisonous.

[BagginsKQ]

I must be lucky, the eagle drops the feather 90% of the time for me, the first time I step down the mountain!

Now that I think about it, KQ in general has a problem with bridles. I mean, who was the first person to figure out you could throw a bridle on the bloody snake in KQ2?

Ya, very obscure solution... Requiring knowledge of equally obscure series of mythological references... Someone would have to know snakes associations with Medusa, and then put two and two together that Pegasus was in some legends born from the neck of Medusa... Then have to know the story of Belerephon and the magic bridle and flight on Pegasus...

The series of incredible leaps of logic (six degrees of seperation/myth association) are obscure that the novelized version of the game just says forget it, and Graham is explained to have gone for his sword and accidently tosses the bridle onto the snake! It does explain the associations in the back of the first and second editions though.

[exo]

HAHAH, I love the idea of a guy going to pull a sword and instead grabbing a bridle accidentally... and then going so far as to say, 'Ah... fuck it... I'll just throw it at him".

How does the novelized version of the story explain the fact that Graham is carrying around a second hand shops worth of items at all time? Goatse is not an acceptable answer.

[BagginsKQ]

The Hintbooks by Sierra, says they keep the stuff in the same place Superman does! Whatever that means.

The novels actually mundanely mention that he has knapsack or pack of some kind.

As for the bridle in the novel, its more like he had the bridle stuck around the sword, and as he pulls it out, it flies of the sword and lands on the snake, LOL. Complete accident! Satire at the expensive of such a convoluted puzzle.

Of course, he had forgotten about the bridle he stupidly had draped over the sword's hilt. It is through mistakes just as that that dynasties change. But not this time.

With one swift motion King Graham made to grab the hilt and swing the blade through the air, so to slice the head from the serpent's body. His hand grabbed the bridle's silver bit instead, and still thinking he held a sword, he flicked it through the air. Graham's hand opened in its surprise, and in result, he threw the bridle at the snake by mistake. But instead of the serpent slaying our monarch with its own quick kiss, the bridle magically transformed the serpent into a winged horse. Silver white the horse was, the reigns of the leather bridle now about its neck.

This also mirrors the solution to a puzzle in described in the novel for the first game, where he draws his sword to slay the dragon (because that's what heroic knights do), and decides use the bucket of water to distract the dragon but accidently throws the water into the dragon's mouth! The embarrased dragon leaves, before he has a chance to defeat it.

[exo]

Is there a novelization of kq4? if so, does she show up on the island, look at the ground, see nothing, and then decide to wander over to the boat and glance at the ground again?

Also, how many times does she fall down the whales tongue before she gets sick of it and just takes a crap right in his mouth. Believe it or not, at age 10, when i couldn't get up that tongue I got so tried of it that i typed, 'Take crap on whale's tongue'. That should have been an alternate solution.

[BagginsKQ]

I'd have to check the KQ Companion again, but if I recall
correctly since it's more from Rosella's perspective, she spots something glistening in the shadows and goes to investigate the boat.

Then again that's kinda how it works in the game as well, if you tell the game to look at the boat.

From the game transcript; "You see a glint coming from inside the boat.", "You see a glint coming from one of the wrecked boats on the beach."

However, this clue may only be in the SCI version and not in the AGI version! Making the puzzle much harder in the AGI version. But I'd have to check to confirm this.

As for the tongue, it mentions her discovering it was too slippery on one side, and that she could only get handhold by working her way left. It talks about her trying to struggle very slowly inch by inch being careful where she put her hands, and trying not to get tripped up in her dress, since she knew if she slipped at that height, she wouldn't get a second chance.

[BagginsKQ]

http://www.gog.com/news/introducing_...6a143b5016901f

King's Quest, and other sierra games now sold as bundles combining the various sets.

The King's Quest Bundle comes together for $20.97 (30% off of the full price of all 3 bought separately)

Not bad for a collection that has King's Quest 1-8.

Now they just need to add the KQ1SCI (and hopefully someday KQ4 AGI).

[Jennifer]

Nice. I already grabbed them during the end of the world sale (the only Sierra game I'm still lacking from GOG.com is SWAT 3), but it's nice they have packs for other games, and that they let you pick up games at a discount even if you already own some in the pack (I'll probably pick up the two Tex Murphy games that I haven't bought yet).

[BagginsKQ]

LSL collection updated to now include LSL6 SVGA.

LSL7 now sold separately.