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(re: re: Documentations – the solution) I hate those kind of people too… it occured once that we found half of our QFG website (
Link: http://www.geocities.com/qfgs(http://www.geocities.com/qfgs)
) copied (including pictures and walkthroughs..) into some new fansite… we yelled at him totally..(re: Documentations – the solution)
Too bad they took nearly all the Space Quest manuals from my website. I hate this kind of people.
(re: re: Swamp Bug in qfg4)
Another thing that helps with the bugs in this game is to turn the detail lever all the way down.
(re: Swamp Bug in qfg4) There are several methods of getting past this bug. Please refer to this website:
Link: http://www.geocities.com/qfgs(http://www.geocities.com/qfgs)
, go to QFG4 => Game Information => Miscellaneous.(re: re: re: re: re: Swapping and the Weezer Idea) Perhaps I was misunderstood…I merely pointed out HOTU as the best site I’ve yet seen to explain the IP problem vs out of print classic games and the fans who miss them. As an author working towards getting published myself, I can see both sides of the issue: I wouldn’t want others to profit off my hard work without seeing a bit of the profit myself. But, if I’m not willing to make new work about my IP, there should still be some way to get my old stuff–keeping it from being out of print.
Admitedly, there is a world of difference between publishing novels and software (including the very obvious fact of there isn’t really a comprable problem in printed literature like technology changing at incredible speeds).
Morgan(re: re: re: re: Swapping and the Weezer Idea) Home of the Underdogs also try to specialise in games that didn’t do so well though maybe they don’t stick to that rule (there’s quite a few available that certainly did well in the UK when released).
Although many companies care about their IP, it’s fair to say that many also turn a blind eye to this illegal activity. As long as sites like HOTU don’t go near any current title, which would have a direct affect on sales, they let the practise continue. Sierra on the other hand are seemingly managed by people who are over-paranoid about ‘their’ back catalogue. This is quite funny really ’cause the type of title people would actually be able (and indeed want) to download from HOTU probably wouldn’t include ANY that were developed post the Ken Williams era. (The funny bit: they are paranoid about the Intellectual Property that they paid for, not what they had created themselves). On the other hand you do have to see their point. The IP belongs to someone and that someone has a right to it being made available in how they see fit – even if it means it’s placed in a time capsule and buried…
Games companies would do well to look at Revolution (developer of the Broken Sword series). They are actually helping the classic gaming community not resisting it. They *gave* the source code (of Beneath a Steel Sky and Broken Sword) to the developers of SCUMMVM (an emulator that executes Lucasarts SCUMM based games – although it now, rather obviously, does more than that!) and even some technical assistance when needed. They then took the unprecendented step of releasing the full CD game (of BASS) as freeware. Although it is unlikely they could/will release Broken Sword as freeware (it’s still for sale in Europe under the Sold Out range label), SCUMMVM should have support for it in the next release – again with help from Revolution.
Sierra could do a huge amount for the classic gaming community by developing a decent AGI and SCI interpreter all in one package that works great on NT based operating systems (2K, XP). Then setup a website with games available for download for a few dollars ($5 for example) and let the cash trickle feed in. As long as they could break even on the cost of developing the interpreters, this would do wonders for their game’s fanbase. I bet some of the original developers (still employed or not) could ‘easily’ do it should Sierra feel like being in the mood to allow them to do it 🙂(re: re: Bracing for the Hurricane) Well, I made it through thankfully with no damage or major issues, but we lost power here Thursday morning and just got it back today (Saturday) in my area. “Isabel” hit us hard and fast and left a mess in it’s wake. Still lots of people out here without power, water or phones. Hardly any gas stations open, so with the few that are open, lines start a few blocks away. Hopefully we can get back to normal life here soon. Got tired of sleeping by candle light and eating cold canned foods.
(re: re: re: Swapping and the Weezer Idea)
Home of the Underdogs is doing what should be done. They distribute old unsold games….and give the companies the option of removing their products. If they don’t care, then the game is fine. They have been very good in keeping away from sierra games and big companies.
(re: re: re: Swamp Bug in qfg4) For Mo’Slo and other slow down utilities —
Link: http://www.sierraplanet.com/mainsite/slowdown.html(http://www.sierraplanet.com/mainsite/slowdown.html) (re: Swapping and the Weezer Idea) Yep, that sounds right. Somehow, though technically Sierra Entertainment could be considered “fan based” it’s more in the line of fans buy the programs, and then more derivative stuff is mass-produced, but don’t ever think of distributing their old stuff–ever!
Vivendi Universal has, where they’ve known about such swapping and trading in the open, leveled court orders against the people responsible. For more info about it from a source that has dealt with that exact problem, check out (if you haven’t already)
Link: http://www.the-underdogs.org/(http://www.the-underdogs.org/) As I recall, they have an explanation of the mechanics of it all.
Morgan
(re: Swapping and the Weezer Idea) All the Weezer stuff is legal. People (as far as I can tell) aren’t interested in swapping the albums. Weezer has released tons of demo recordings on their website in the past. Those and live shows are mostly what gets traded. They definately don’t care about the demos, there has never been a problem with the live shows. The only gray area is b-sides (from overseas). Technically these shouldn’t be traded, but I don’t think they care about it since actually purchsing an import single (especially older ones) can be difficult.
They’re a pretty fan based band. The reason all the demos got released online was so fans could vote for which songs to put on their fourth album (Maladroit). Groovy.(re: Swamp Bug in qfg4) The best thing to get first, is moslo. Then you must kill the chernovy from afar if you can. This helps a great deal. What character type are you? Usually I am a hybrid character of all of them so I have every skill. That can help alot. If you walk up to them you risk crashing.
The mage should use flamedart, the theif knives/ricks, the fighter….well hope it doesn’t lock up when you touch them.
When you use moslo, turn the speed down in the game as well.(re: Old Sierra Games System Requirements)
If quest for glory 4 is invloved, I’d suggest going for a 486 100mhz for sure. If it’s slower than that….you may comprimise performance. Every other game should work well on a computer of that speed! 🙂
(Old Sierra Games System Requirements)
Go for a 486, 66 or 100. You don’t want slower than 66 for the newer games, but not faster than 100 for the older ones. Frans has a Space Quest gaming computer guide on spacequest.net. There’s another thread here about this sort of thing too. I suppose someone could document all the games and their technical specs, but I think most would agree that a faster 486 is what you want.
(re: Swapping/Buying/Finding) I know how you feel about the sharing of these games….that it is unfair that they are not sold yet are illegal to trade. We all feel that way. That’s what abandonware is for….hopefully one day sierra games will be “true” abandonware and free to all. Seeing as the games are slowly falling off of sierra’s website…I don’t know how they feel about the classics.
They are on the net though…some people risk the punishment for what they believe in. I know of one such site where almost every old sierra game is on….
(re: Swapping/Buying/Finding and the Weezer Idea) An interesting idea, though, depening on the size of files and such, it might be prohibitive in the bandwith required.
Also, I’m interested in knowing what the legal status of the Weezer site is? Is this something endorsed by Weezer, or is this a fan type thing only? I ask because the ugly spectre of copywrite infringment could raise it’s head. Sierra (and therefor, Vivendi) may or may not take a dim view of that sort of thing. True, no one would really be profiting from that sort of exchange, and the products in question are ones that are out (mostly) of print and aren’t commercially available, but that action may still violate intellectual property rights.
Morgan
(re: MIxed up Mother Goose (SCI) Windows XP) I have tried dosbox and gosierra (latest version)
I still get the audio hardware not found message
I have the 3nd version of the game. The first was AGI EGA game, second was SCI VGA and 3rd deluxe.
This is on CD.
It has both Windows and Dos versions.
The Windows version gives memory errors and the compatibility feature in XP does nothingThanks
(re: MIxed up Mother Goose (SCI) Windows XP) Which version of the game do you have, the enhanced or the later deluxe version? Are you running a DOS or Windows version? If DOS, try DOSBox.
Link: http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1(http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1) (re: Swapping/Buying/Finding) About Paul’s abandonware post (affecting trading online)… I totally forgot that no Sierra (or LucasArts) games are available to download. That’s crappy, either make them available or let other people make them available. Heck, if I could download the games from Sierra I’d pay $10 a game.
(My memories as well) I believe it was the summer of 94 or 95, (whichever came after my 7th year in public school,) and I had just finished my frankenstien project. I had saved my dad around a thousand dollars by building our new computer piece by piece buying the parts from computer shows. The process took about six months, and on the way I learned amazing things. First, if you work on the computer at school in the computer lab without too much teacher supervision during your study hall and teacher asisstant hour and you wire a power supply backwards, a cloud of smoke appears and everyone gets to go outside for twenty minutes. Another was that dropping a hard drive tends to end it’s life (adios, two hundred dollars, i.e. three weeks wages at 7 mile fair.) Further it’s all worth it when the first game you buy is The Quest for Glory. I loved it so much I bought the sequel which had come out some years earlier. I couldn’t figure out for the longest time why the graphics were so much better on the first game in the series. I have since figured it out. I soon after bought wages of war while waiting for shadows of darkness per the decieving end credits of QFG2. During the day I was a computer geek nobody really cared for, but at night I came alive in these games. I saved an ungrateful prince, a grateful princess, a strange court jester, met the most whimsical and loveable wizard of all time, killed trolls, rode on a saurus, stopped a war, saved a land from more strange ooze, chased away an ogress only to make her a pie, and I didn’t even get a lousy t-shirt. But I do have the happiest nights of my young adult life to thank sierra, ken and roberta, and of course Lori and Corey (by the way Corey, there’s not an e in your name even if 9 out of 10 grammer school teachers agree with you) for. Love and gratitude and of course thank you.
-Cornell Weber
Milwaukee, WI(re: Swapping/Buying/Finding) This really is not on the legal side. Old game lovers (like myself) have been doing this for years. Try
Link: http://www.abandonware-forums.org(http://www.abandonware-forums.org)
… they can help if the game is no longer sold. I myself am on there under the name “avatar_58”.Sierra games, however, are not shared as they are very protective of their games.
(re: MIxed up Mother Goose (SCI) Windows XP)
Link: http://www.qumran.org/ftp/net/gfd/dos/mdos/gosierra.zip(http://www.qumran.org/ftp/net/gfd/dos/mdos/gosierra.zip) Use this utility in the games directory. It has instructions, but you literally just need to drag the sound blaster driver onto the program and it is done automatically. This works for all sierra games that say- “Audio Hardware not detected!”
(re: Swapping/Buying/Finding) Just an idea, but for example: Weezer fans have something set up where if you’re looking for a particular recording (Weezer have released TONS of songs on their website), you go to this page, pick a screen name off the list, IM the person, and they’ll send you the song. The only names on the list are the people who choose to be there & are willing to share their time/music.
What about something similar about Sierra gamers? I have some stuff, but there’s a lot I’d like to get & I’m certainly not about to pay over $100 for some LSL games. 🙂
