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(re: re: re: Why not convert linefeeds into
on the fly?) It seems to happen in the E-Mail notifications now and then, too. Some posts appear as they should be, some have no line breaks in the E-Mail yet on the site they are displayed correctly.(re: re: re: Leave plot/storyline/puzzles unaltered in a remake, otherwise it’s an entirely different game) I found the AGDI reinterpretation of King’s Quest II very enjoyable. The obviously tremendous care and hard work that went into the game, as well as an ever present sense of respect for and lots of often very funny cross references to the original games should make it an enjoyable experience for every Sierra fan. For me, the game added to the enjoyment of the original, it didn’t take away from or even destroy it.
I love the original King’s Quest II; it was one of the first adventure games I’d ever played on a hercules amber m/c monitor back in the late eighties when I could hardly read German (Yeah, you taught me how to read – English, too – but that’s a different story ;o) I remember how the PC Beeper Greensleaves music in the intro made for a fantastic (as in “fantasy”) atmosphere and how frightening that old hag Hagatha was. However, when I started playing the AGDI remake I had played the original often enough to know all hidden treasure locations, all the dangers, all the hidden jokes (I still love the Space Quest ad and was amused by the way AGDI adapted this). It was one of the first adventure games I’d ever played on a hercules amber m/c monitor back in the late eighties when I could hardly read German (Yeah, you taught me how to read – English, too – but that’s a different story ;o)
So when I found that this game could be relived – and with a wildly expanded story that is much more eccentric and audaciously complex than the original – I was overjoyed! Playing this little gem of a fan game (there’s a LOT of fan adventures out there, but few are THAT good) that so wonderfully combines the old and the new takes you in a well known world – and fills it with so many new things to explore and to experience that while all seems very familiar, it’s really a completely new game – and that should appeal especially to fans of the original who should know it by heart by now.
Admittedly, I don’t care overly much for originality as long as I find something overally enjoyable. Although KQII RTS *is* original in many aspects it lends a lot from other games but I still see that in the hommage light. Some story elements reminded me a lot of QFG4 – which was great, because I loved QFG4! I was also intrigued by the way the “Black Cloak Society” was woven into the story (kind of a conspiracy theory that developed on a KQ fan forum. It’s all about all the evil wizards in KQ games wearing black cloaks, which is of course a symbol for dark magic – in the perception of the theory’s followers, however, this uniform indicates a secret conspiracy – don’t ask me how uniforms go along with secret conspiracies, however – I still like the idea :o)
Bottom line: in my opinion this game is up to par with the games produced and commercially distributed by good old Sierra in the early nineties (some ten years ago but aren’t we all hopelessly nostalgic anyway? ;o)
It gives you the chance to explore Kolyma in 256 colors and a whole new challenge on its own at the same time.
And last but not least: You’ll always be able to go back and play the original KQII RTT which unalteredly remains the enjoyable classic adventure game it has always been. You might add to it by trying out someone else’s reinterpreation or keep it in fond memory, just as you wish. I would suggest to do the former (widening your horizon on that which you hold dear can’t be wrong, can it?), but anyone should pursue happiness as they see fit.(re: re: Why not convert linefeeds into
on the fly?) I’ve been using IE6 SP1 for awhile, although I use FireFox also. Haven’t tried FireFox with the board yet though. OK, this line should be a new paragraph. We’ll see how it shows up. EDIT: My bad, it’s working now, I thought it wasn’t for some reason earlier. Sorry ’bout that Ken.(re: Why not convert linefeeds into
on the fly?) I do!Hmmm…… What browser are you using? Are you using the advanced editor, or the standard one?
It has been a while since I looked at that code. I’ll try it this afternoon.
-Ken W
(re: re: Leave plot/storyline/puzzles unaltered in a remake, otherwise it’s an entirely different game) Dixie, did you play Tierra’s KQ2 game?
No, I haven’t played it and had no desire to when I found that the game content was not KQ2. I don’t know, call me “old-fashioned” or “original” or whatever.
I felt the same way you did when I heard what they were doing. I thought it was an awful idea and it went against what they seemed to want to do — preserving the games. Then I played it, and found they really had preserved the game. The bare bones story is still there.
OK, perhaps I might try it out, for curiosity.
They just embellished it and made it into the type of game that KQ2 could have been, had the technology been available when it was made.
What does that mean? You can have a fantastic game, regardless of the technology of the time. Technology does not a great game make, but technology can and does extend an already great game. Again, I LIKED the orginal KQ2, in other words I don’t agree with Tierra’s modern summation of it. It wasn’t the technology that prevented anything, they claimed the game design itself was subpar, nothing to do with any technology. I’ve played my share of garbage games created with the most modern technology and I’ve played my share of great classics created in the 16 color, pre-sound card era. Game design is the meat of the game, not technology.
If you’ve played Tierra’s KQ2 and still feel this way that’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinion. But if you haven’t played it I urge you to try it out (it’s free, why not?) Personally, I’m glad I got over my initial stubborn “How dare they?!” reaction and played it, because not only is it an amazing game, it’s also an amazing tribute.
Exactly. As I said before, I may try it out, but unlike you, I AM stubborn on this kind of thing. Again, if the main game content is changed, it becomes a different game, IMO. As I said in the initial post, that wouldn’t mean that the Tierra game is bad, but that it should be regarded as their own original game, not what KQ2 should of been, would of been, or whatever else. They don’t speak for me when they talk bad about the original KQ2 because I liked it in 1985 when I first played it.
(re: re: re: QFG5 on XP?)
I was able to fix this problem by lowering the hardware acceleration in the Audio properties of your PC….
(re: re: The Fun Seeker’s Guide) Josh,
I doubt this was ever released in a box. After all the only form of documentation about it that I have found (which is an excerpt from the readme.txt file on the Space Quest Collection CD I got it from; I’ve posted the excerpt in this thread; you probably didn’t read it) says it was some kind of a joke by one Doug Oldfield who was on the programming teams for Space Quest 3 and 4. This is something that I doubt would have sold just one copy. It’s nice to look at, but nothing to spend money on. To assume it ever having been released in a box makes me smile – no offense there. But boxes cost money (the whole production process does) and I doubt that anyone (even Ken, even with nice boxes bearing the Sierra logo) could have sold a lot of copies of FSG…
My guess is that it wasn’t ever released before being included in the Space Quest Collection. I suppose the team whose job was to assemble the content for the CD and get the whole thing running somehow stumbled upon the Fun Seeker’s Guide that was on some hard disk or tape along with the Space Quest stuff they were really looking for. Since they found it funny and it was loosely connected to Space Quest (because Oldfield had done it) and there was some space left on the CD anyway, they threw it in. Just guessing, though.
Simon
(re: re: re: Leave plot/storyline/puzzles unaltered in a remake, otherwise it’s an entirely different game) I haven’t commented on this topic, only because I’m still sidetracked. I’m on a boat in the middle of nowhere — with a rotten internet connection.
Actually — I really don’t have much of an opinion. I doubt that anyone will get sued. But, I also doubt that a fan game can ever make money, and there is a side of me that is still capitalistic. I have trouble taking anything seriously that doesn’t have as a goal to make money. My problem with fan games is that they take LOTS of work, but the ultimate marketability of the product is handicapped — so, either the game never finishes, or, when it is done, its ultimate distribution is limited (by the fact it can’t attract a first-tier publisher).
In short — I have no problem with fan games — but, I would prefer to see people that work hard and do great things receive compensation that reflects the value of their efforts. This isn’t possible with a fan game.
-Ken W
(re: The Fun Seeker’s Guide)
Does anyone here have the box that the Fun Seeker’s Guide came in? I’ve never seen the box cover for this software, and I’ve always been curious about it.
If you have it, would you scan it and upload it here? That would be great!
Talk to you later!
JDHJANUS
Josh(re: Sierra is gone) Pretty exciting to hear that Roberta is indeed working on a book.
Reshuffled the “Sierra is gone” topic into the existing “Vivendi cuts workforce” thread.
Brandon Klassen ~ SierraGamers.com Admin Team ~
(re: Sierra Game Remakes) Alright, let me try to wrap this up. The reason Ken or Roberta don’t comment much about AGDI is because I assume they want to avoid making direct statements regarding fan projects because of the obvious legal implications, not because this is beneath them.
In the context of speaking about AGDI, Just Adventure asked Roberta Williams in an interview, “How has the “fan game” situation affected you personally? Are you opposed to fans creating games based upon commercial series? How do you feel about potential copyright violations these games pose?”
Roberta answered: “I suppose if I were Sierra I would not be happy, as Sierra owns the copyrights to these games; I don’t. This is a question which should be posed to the people at Sierra. I don’t receive royalties anymore from King’s Quest as Sierra doesn’t really go out of its way to sell it. Therefore, these sort of “fan” games aren’t affecting me as far as my pocketbook goes. In fact, it could be said that by “fans” producing these games that they are, in a way, keeping them alive. I kind of feel that, if Sierra isn’t going to do it, then somebody should! I just hope they do a good job and portray these games in a good light so that people who have never experienced them will understand what they were all about. You never know, these “fan” games could be keeping the plate “warm” if I ever return with another game!”
I strongly feel that if Roberta were to contribute to this discussion, she would say that in fact AGDI’s games are protraying her original games “in a good light.” Having said that, as this is obviously something we all feel strong about, and hearing nothing from Ken or Roberta on this debate, I suggest to end this thread, since everyone has pretty much had a chance to make their points and we don’t want to get to the point where anyone’s feelings get hurt with harsh words.
(re: Phantasmagoria music and trailers)
Sure, go ahead and upload those in this thread. I remember the “puzzle” trailer for Phant 2 with all the volume lighting effects… and the multiple trailers for Phant 1 which just captivated me, especially the flying under the bridge scene.
(re: re: Leave plot/storyline/puzzles unaltered in a remake, otherwise it’s an entirely different game)
Nicely said Emily, somehow I find it very silly when people criticize and judge something they haven’t even tried, very unfair methinks.
Although J.Wooten has vowed to stay out of this discussion I will allow myself a comment on his writing.
Somehow when I read your posts J.Wooten I keep getting the feeling you are angry somehow, using sarcasm via “” and claiming how AGDInteractive is insulting Ken Williams, although somehow it seems the only person insulted here is you yourself. How can you use such harsh words for a group that is obviously a great fan of Sierra and Ken and Roberta Williams? If I didn’t know better ot would have only read your posts I would think that their site sports words beggining with F,S,B etc. in regards to Sierra, Ken and Roberta.
Have you thought that perhaps you yourself are insulting Ken? So easily you claim other people are insulting him, when you put words in Ken’s mouth he has never said, is that how you show respect to Ken and Roberta? By saying things are below him? But I might be mistaken, perhaps you do know all about him and your words are sold gold in that respect (shame on me for being sarcastic).
However I still believe if Ken felt insulted in any way he would answer, he would say if anything bothered him. He has answered multitude of questions he had no obligation to, to bring us information and insight into things we might have otherwise never discovered, and yet you say this thread is below him, harsh words.
But it seems there is no insult in any way, thankfully.Shame on me for writing such a post, all I can say in my apology is read Emily’s post again, as it is very useful and much more informative and skip mine in the second reading.
(re: re: re: help for LSL 6)
Have you checked Al Lowe’s trouble shooting page?
http://www.allowe.com/Larry/troubleshooting.htm#Larry6
I don’t know if your problem is there, but it’s worth a look.
(re: help for LSL 6)
Don’t know if this will work or not, but try playing outside of VDMS just to get through the part where you’re having the crash. If you do get past that point, save your game, quit, then reload the game from within VDMS.
I had to do this in GK2 to get through a few hairy spots.
-emily
(re: re: Sierra is gone) Roberta is definitely working on a book, but if she knows what it will be about, she isn’t telling me.
She is very disciplined. For the last month she has been reading dozens of books that are in genres similar to where she is thinking (no – I can’t/won’t say what she is reading). She likes to read all the key works in a category before she starts to write.
-Ken W
(re: Sierra is gone)
Wait – a book by Roberta? Wow! Could you go into some details or is it too early?
Regardless, I’ll be the first in line when it reaches the bookstores 🙂(re: Where to find Gabriel Knight?)
http://www.gametz.com is an awesome game trading website. Unfortunately they recently made people pay to use it but it’s well worth it if you’re a big gamer (especially if you’re looking for old games!). You can still search for games if you don’t subscribe. If you don’t have any games to trade, you can buy them or sell or your old games too. That’s where I got most of my Sierra game colleciton.
(re: Leave plot/storyline/puzzles unaltered in a remake, otherwise it’s an entirely different game)
Dixie, did you play Tierra’s KQ2 game? I felt the same way you did when I heard what they were doing. I thought it was an awful idea and it went against what they seemed to want to do — preserving the games. Then I played it, and found they really had preserved the game. The bare bones story is still there. They just embellished it and made it into the type of game that KQ2 could have been, had the technology been available when it was made.
If you’ve played Tierra’s KQ2 and still feel this way that’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinion. But if you haven’t played it I urge you to try it out (it’s free, why not?) Personally, I’m glad I got over my initial stubborn “How dare they?!” reaction and played it, because not only is it an amazing game, it’s also an amazing tribute.
As to the “bashing” comment — no one’s bashing people who don’t like Tierra. Saying “I like what Tierra’s doing” is entirely different from putting someone down for not liking them. Like or dislike whatever you want, but expect that others are going to have different opinions.
> If you feel this Tierra group has an legitimacy, you may want to encourage them to reword their marketing material.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with their marketing material, personally.
The quote above about the illogical puzzles was taken out of context. Here’s the full quote:
“King’s Quest II was the sequel to the original King’s Quest game designed by Roberta Williams. Many people regard this to be the game most in need of an upgrade. Several people were discontented with this sequel, believing the puzzles were illogical and the storyline was too sparse. Additionally, the graphics, which were impressive for its time, are now painfully outdated, and several computers cannot even run the game with sound anymore! To make things even worse, this classic is no longer available in stores.”
They are not bashing the game. They’re stating why they bothered to embellish it in the first place. Listening to the wishes of the fans… hey, what a concept! Sounds kind of like how Sierra was run in the old days.
-emily
(re: re: Leave plot/storyline/puzzles unaltered in a remake, otherwise it’s an entirely different game)
This will be my last post on the subject. I don’t care what Tierra does or whose product they “remake”. I definitely have a problem with someone advertising a product, on this site, that purports to “improve” a legendary game that many here hold dear to their hearts and then insult the original designer, a legend in the industry, by making insulting comments about the original work. It’s simply a matter of ethics and respect for intellectual property rights.
True to the earlier quote, Ken doesn’t have to comment on this discussion or the people “improving” his products. It’s miles beneath him. But contrary to whatever you read into this site, it is still Ken William’s site. A certain amount of respect for him and Roberta is expected from the visitors, and those of us that treasure the memories Sierra provided us shouldn’t tolerate insults.
If you feel this Tierra group has an legitimacy, you may want to encourage them to reword their marketing material.
(re: Leave plot/storyline/puzzles unaltered in a remake, otherwise it’s an entirely different game) My view on the Tierra remakes is (sorry about the length): If its fine for people who remake movies and t.v. shows to change things (e.g. Planet of the Apes, Starsky and Hutch) or people who turn books into movies to have creative differences e.g Harry Potter movies, the superb Lord of the Rings movies – then it IS most definitely, perfectly fine for computer games to be remade with artistic differences and changes. Tierra’s games have done a superb job of putting adventure games back in the spotlight of the computing press………how can that be a bad thing? I’m sure if you ask the original designers about the Tierra remakes, they would be flattered not angry about being copied. I wouldn’t call the Tierra remakes “riding on the coattails” either, as they have put in thousands of hours of work, unpaid, and have produced some stunning stuff in those games. 99% of remakes are done by different people than those who wrote the original games – it is their ‘enterpretation’ of the game. Based on your very flawed arguments, the Quest for Glory 1 and Police Quest 1 remakes that Sierra themselves did were ‘riding on the coattails’ of the original designers, because they made notable changes to a couple of parts of the remakes. And finally a couple of points for previous posters: Maybe you should tell Nintendo to contact their lawyers, as 20 of their games are being remade and advertised at the official remakes web site – http://www.remakes.org – including 5 different Mario games. Myamoto must feel terribly insulted. The comment about posting disrespectful opinions on one of the Williams websites is not entirely correct – the website URL is actually “Sierra Gamers”…………….so I think that means Ken wanted Sierra Gamer’s to post their opinions on this board. I’d rather read someones critique and reasoning about the Sierra games than all those endless boring posts of people saying “Your games taught me how to read” and “I am your biggest fan”. The front page of this website actually says something along the lines of “this site is mine and yours” and “I want you to challenge each other”. In the end, I reckon we should leave it up to people to have different tastes and opinions – don’t yell at someone because they like something.
(Leave plot/storyline/puzzles unaltered in a remake, otherwise it’s an entirely different game) I agree with J. Wooten. I continually see, more often than not, on this forum folks bashing people who don’t like, for whatever reason, Tierra’s remakes and the critics are certainly entitled to their opinions the same as the Tierra worshipers are entitled to theirs. And, as far as I’ve read on this forum over the last year, there’s certainly no shortage of Tierra fans. Personally, I don’t mind a genuine remake of a classic game as long as they keep the original plot and storyline intact and simply update the graphics/sounds/animation. I’ve heard Tierra did just that with King’s Quest I, although I’ve not played it myself. However, their so-called “remake” of King’s Quest II is no such thing. It should have been called something else entirely rather than simply changing the subtitle from Romancing the Throne to Romancing the Stones and keeping the main title. If you’re going to alter the storyline/plot/puzzles, then it becomes a completely different game IMO, not a “remake” at all. No problem with that, just name it originally and don’t call it a “remake” of somebody else’s previous work. I, for one, did like the original KQ2 and would indeed like a remake to take advantage of newer machines, but not an altered game and calling it a “remake.”
(re: re: re: re: Re:)
The quote was lifted directly from their site in regards to the original KQ2:
“…the puzzles were illogical and the storyline was too sparse.”
You tell me who is being disrespectful to who. I would love to see someone “reinvent” Super Mario Brothers anonymously, claim the original was “illogical” on their site, then go to Nintendo.com and advertise it on their boards. It’s quite simple – Nintendo would rightfully sue them and they would get booed out of the message boards for disrespecting Shigeru Miyamoto.
If you want to create your own adventure game, by all means under the sun do it. Just market it as your own game and don’t try to ride Roberta’s coattails.
