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(re: re: KQ4 AGI)
I’m ‘sure’ it’s completable – AFAIK reading the various info available, KQIV was released in both AGI and SCI versions as Sierra considered that not all their customers would have the necessary requirements to run the new SCI engine. However, it was withdrawn soon after release and so it could be considered quite rare.
(re: re: re: Ken Williams Q&A) I’ve been a long time campainer for SCUMMVM. It’s a cool piece of software 🙂
When they started out, they started from scratch and wrote the SCUMM interpreter from trial and error. Consequently, it has taken years to get where they are with supporting Lucasarts games.
Now, just about EVERYONE who uses it (SCUMMVM) would love Sierra adventures to run inside the environment. IMO, this isn’t going to happen without one thing – source code. The SCUMMVM team have had huge support of late from a couple of companies – Revolution gave them source (and support) for Beneath a Steel Sky and Broken Sword 1 & 2 and John Passfield recently gave them the source code to Flight of the Amazon Queen. This latest title is being worked on at the moment and will probably be available for the next major release. I’ve been in conversation with the project leader over future games (a subject they are *very* dismissive over) and it’s clear that the SCUMMVM team has neither the time or energy to start from scratch supporting any other games. It’d be a huge task as there were a considerable number of Sierra games released! However, if they did have the source code and had people on the development team willing to live and breath a game for several months then ‘it’ would eventually happen.
There are a couple of other interpreters available: The most prominent AGI intepreter out there is NAGI – it supports pretty much all you’d want to support! However, SCI is the main issue – FreeSCI is good but doesn’t support SCI1 which drives at least one game with most issues under a modern OS (Gabriel Knight 1).
Here’s to the future, should there be one 😉(re: KQ4 AGI) I have KQ4 AGI. Interesting game to play, though I never really bothered to finish it, if that’s even possible.
(re: Sierra Video Catalog)
I have a couple of ad videos… for Larry 2 and KQ4 .Here you go
KQ4 Promotional on-line Video
LSL2 Promo(re: re: re: Ken Williams Q&A) There are new interpreters for Sierra’s games, such as Sarien and NAGI for the old AGI games and FreeSCI for the SCI games. Unfortunately, FreeSCI is not nearly as developed as ScummVM. It has some sound issues and only has SCI0 (EGA) support. Rudimentary support for SCI1 (VGA) game is being developed in Glutton, an experimental branch of FreeSCI.
DOSBox is a solution for many Sierra DOS games.(re: re: Ken Williams Q&A) Brian Provinciano is developing SCI Studio,
Link: http://www.bripro.com/scistudio/index.php(http://www.bripro.com/scistudio/index.php)
. The new version, when it is released, will not only be able to create new SCI games, but also open, edit and decomplile ALL versions of SCI games. SCI Studio 4 is supposedly mostly finished, but needs to have extensive documentation written for it yet. The current version, 3.0.1.29 can work with EGA SCI games.(re: Programming in Sierra games) Both issues stem from the same thing, the speed of modern computers. The SoundBlaster driver problem arises from when the driver first polls the hardware, a modern machine responds so fast that it is as if the driver received no reply at all, hence the “Unable to initialize your audio hardware” error message (This is easily fixed by the GOSIERRA patch or one of the updated drivers from Sierra’s FTP.) The timing problems come from using the CPU’s clock as a timer function in their code. This causes the infamous errors such as those in QfG 4.
As far as LucasArts games go, There are many problems there as well. For those games we are fortunate to have ScummVM, which solves many of those issues (though not all.) It is too bad that FreeSCI is not as far in development as ScummVM is, though this is understandable as SCI is A LOT more complicated and versatile than Scumm is.(re: re: Ken Williams Q&A) This is what ScummVM does, you copy the data files to your hard drive, and tell ScummVM where it is, and it will run based on that. Maybe you can make a SierraVM for AGI/SCI games 🙂
Keith Weatherby II(re: Programming in Sierra games) For me, it was the other way around, and i’m more of a LucasArts fan than Sierra ( Shame on me 😉
Keith(re: re: Excited about LSL:MCL) Hey everyone!
Link: http://www.leisuresuitlarry.com(http://www.leisuresuitlarry.com)
is back up!!! They made a big section for the Ultimate Pleasure Pack!! Maybe they will bring it back!! See you guys!(re: re: Ken Williams Q&A) hello mr. williams. im sure this question has been asked many times before, but i was wondering if it was even legal to re-code the old sci and ags interpreters. i would love to remake these engines using directx so that all of us that own the old games would finally be able to enjoy them on xp and so forth. now i know that there are people out there that have backwards engineered sci, and have made some new versions, but they are very bug ridden. does sierra own the rights to these engines, or just the games and characters created with them. i have no idea how copyrights work, so im sure this probably isnt legally possible. was there ever any official printed documentation of the interpreters? that would be wonderfull! but again, im sure not legal to distibute. as a developer, i am totally against giving software away for free, but i dont see the harm in updating engines and distributing just those files. that way people that own the game can just install the original game, and then copy the new engine files over top the old ones. if they used there copies of the original games for the data and resource files, i dont see what the problem would be, but then again i dont know the copyright laws. isnt that kind of what patch files do? again, i hope not to offend, i do not mean that i am for giving the games away for free, just updated engine code. any information would be greatly appreciated. im sorry if this is asked all the time. also, thanks for the many years of fun! thanks for your time.
I don’t know the legal issues on re-building the AGI or SCI interpretor. I would be totally shocked if Sierra were to ever sue someone for doing so. AGI and SCI are just interpretors, that we ourselves “copied” at the time. It’s not like we invented object programming. We just built our own implementation of it. How could Sierra claim ownership of an interpretor? Perhaps a particular implementation, but you aren’t talking about using their implementation.
Anyway, that’s my opinion – but since I’m not a lawyer – it may not mean much of anything…
Personally, I have no documentation whatsoever from AGI or SCI. I don’t even think I have any old source code for either the interpretors or the games. If I ever find any, I’ll think about posting it here – but I’m fairly positive I don’t have any.
There was a VERY interesting post on this website today. One of the original fathers of AGI and SCI, Chris Iden, left a message for me. He is working with a bunch of other ex-Sierra developers on building games – from our old building in Oakhurst. I will be worth watching what he does. His team is VERY strong. You may be able to write him about the details of SCI and AGI. I’m not sure what all he remembers. It was a LONG time ago.
-Ken W(re: Programming in Sierra games) “not programmed too well….”
You have to define “well” in the scope of the context under which the games were developed. Basically a person or team will make a decision based on everything they have to hand at the time. Using an internal CPU clock tick (or whatever the actual issue is) for some timing might well have been the best option that they came up with at the time?!
I would comment on the Sierra installers…. The installer developers seem to make the whole process rather clunky. Take GK1…. original, installs OK on Win2K as does later Sierra Originals release…. now, try the same with the GK Mysteries collectors edition. It doesn’t work very well at all! More recently, HL1 had a massive bug in the installer where if you changed the default installation directory, when later uninstalled it wiped out all directories recursively from the root of where it was installed (IIRC).
The fact that LucasArts adventures don’t suffer the same problems could simply mean their engine didn’t work in that way or they came up with a different solution to a similar problem… However, I had lots of trouble with DOTT sounds (both floppy and CD releases had issues!). Without the likes of SCUMMVM, I’d imagine it’d be just as difficult running their games on a modern system.(re: Excited about LSL:MCL) I am also very excited about this game and I’m at this point confident that it will, at least, be a good game – maybe even a great one.
I am especially excited about Sierra opening up and listening to the fans. We have been ignored for many years now, but it seems like that is slowly starting to change now.
Yes, this game will be different than the earlier games and yes, people waiting for a point and click adventure game will be disappointed, but it can still be a great game. Let’s just keep an open mind.(re: Pictures of my sons…) Here’s the pictures of our kids you requested (and, us):
DJ is the one standing – he’s presently a cook at a restaurant in Santa Monica — and, Chris is sitting on the rocks by Roberta. He’s a software developer (for cell phone games) at a company (Dwango) here in Seattle.
DJ doesn’t have a website, but Chris does:
Link: http://www.aahz.com(http://www.aahz.com)
– as you will see, Chris is highly focused on all things Japanese…
-Ken W(SQ4 Amiga) I just played though the Amiga version of SQ4, and I noticed a difference from the PC version. In the bar on Kerona when you talk to the guys in black/white they say something like “look at me, I’m mister I’m in 32 colors”. I don’t remember the exact phrase, but it goes something like that. Has anyone else noticed this or perhaps other differences in Amiga versions of Sierra games?
(Programming in Sierra games) Is it just me, or does anyone else also think that the old Sierra games aren’t programmed too well 🙂
All my Lucasarts games really don’t have any sound or speed issues, but a lot of old Sierra classics have both speed and sound issues.
PS!!!!! This is not meant as a complaint, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about lately. I *really* love the old Sierra games more than any other games out there, and I always have (since I was 8, I’m currently 22).(re: re: Excited about LSL:MCL)
One thing I do like is that they have set one or two designers which have control over development. Which is just like they used to do a long time ago. In other words, there is one guy from sierra (yes he’s from sierra) who tells the Hi Voltage software people what to do. He even goes on the LSL forums and asks for suggestions and feedback. Maybe Sierra is finally learning that the old ways worked well….
(re: Shadow of Darkness) It’s funny; I didn’t have any real problems with QFG4 when I played it. Of course, I played the original floppy version back when it came out – it was the first game I played with a soundcard, actually. So I suspect the speed thing wasn’t an issue.
I wonder if there’s anybody with an intimate enough knowledge of the QFG4 code to write a new patch for it?(re: re: Login in required) Might I suggest a checkbox where a person can request not to be contacted by e-mail? I’m sure that just about everybody here would NOT consider the announcement of a new project from anybody related to the Old Sierra to be spam, but it doesn’t hurt to be safe.
(re: re: re: re: Sierra 25-year anniversary – next year?) [NOTE: After writing this, I realized that it might not be a great idea to post it in the Ken Williams Q&A section, as it is a bit lengthy and I am not, as a matter of fact, Ken Williams. But the mealymouthed quote from Vivendi referenced in the message above rather set me off, and I now see that there’s no other place to put this; this is the context for it.]
Vivendi is very much the heart of the New Sierra. Excellent metaphor. Keeps the blood (or income, if you prefer) flowing, continually, repetitively, mindlessly acting to keep the body alive.
Unfortunately, they decided to jettison their brains some time ago. Brains don’t sell, and it does take quite a bit of blood to keep the brain functioning, doesn’t it?
How about this: nobody celebrates Sierra’s 25th birthday, because that would be vaguely morbid. It would be like lovingly draping confetti over a patient in a permanent coma, then slipping the little party hat onto his head. The thoughtfulness is there, I’m sure, but it would be better to celebrate the things the patient accomplished when alive and well.
Instead, we can celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Mystery House. When the 25th anniversary of KQI’s release comes, we can celebrate that, too. We can celebrate the anniversaries of our own favorite Sierra games, too, by replaying them – they’re as alive as they ever were if you’re playing them..
Does this sound a bit too much like one of those sententious speeches where mourners are told, generally by somebody who hasn’t actually lost a loved one, to “be happy with all the good times you had?” I hope not, because we also have a future. Good times to come.
We can celebrate the prospects of Sierra fan projects. We can celebrate the efforts towards a series of Quest for Glory novels, and buy copies of them when they’re good and ready. We can celebrate that people still keep discovering the classic games even today.
About a month ago, I showed a friend of mine an adventure game, and she was enthralled by the idea of games where you DIDN’T shoot everything in sight, but didn’t wander through a sterile, characterless environment either. Games that told a story.
In one sense, Sierra’s 25th anniversary is coming up. However, for one of my peers, Sierra was just born a few months ago.
Celebrate that.
John W. Wells(re: re: Game Design Methodologies) Thanks for posting those documents. It’s great to see some of the thoughts that went into making a few of the Sierra adventures.
If I say anything more than that, I may begin to gush profusely. As I’m sure everybody involved has heard the “I worshipped the Sierra designers! They were an inspiration to me!” bit, I’ll just skip that part. Let me see what I can pull out of the documents themselves.
In looking over the analysis of interface, I’m struck by one thing in particular. For most of the document, Roberta Williams does not focus on how a revamped Sierra interface will function. Instead, she considers what has already been tried, and looks over the way a player might be expected to perceive some feature of the interface. She doesn’t just contemplate the obvious question of how precisely the player should dictate the protagonist’s actions; she also examines the subtleties. How do we focus on different parts of the screen? How does seeing or not seeing the inventory affect the player’s thoughts? It is only after making some conclusions on these matters that she decides how she can improve upon her earlier work.
It’s like a how-to guide for developing player empathy, that elusive defining quality of the greatest adventure game designers.
I think that looking over more of these documents would be quite enlightening, especially for prospective game designers like Mr. Weatherby.
P. S.: I worshipped the Sierra designers! They were an inspiration to me!(re: copy protection?)
Wow. When I lost my copy protection to SQ4 some years back I had to pay to get a new Space Piston in the mail. Not that it wasn’t worth it… that was one of the best Sierra “feelies” ever, I think.
(re: Excited about LSL:MCL)
I am definitely excited about this. This is probably some of the best news I have heard in awhile. I am looking forward to Jane Jenson’s new game too. I think the guys making the new Larry game seem to be earnest about making the new game an exciting experience for old timers and new gamers. The fact that they are negotiating with Al makes it even better.
