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(re: Release Dates)
Quest for Glory I was originally published as “Hero’s Quest: So you Want to be a Hero”.
(re: re: Phantasmagoria 2) You may need some hints to get through the game. The electronic wiring board was an impossible puzzle – I couldn’t have done it without a walkthrough at hand.
It’s a LOT different from Phant 1 – but that was traditional horror. Phant 2 is cool in its own way, albeit off the wall. It sure throws you for a lot of loops! š Not to say anymore – don’t want to spoil the ending! š Jane Jensen is brilliant!(re: re: Ken Williams Q&A)
If not ebay, try other auction sites like Amazon. Also, browse around in software stores – you’ll be amazed what they’ll have lying around in the bargain bin.
(re: re: Shadow of Darkness) Another thing you can do in addition to MoSlo is opening every software package you own! This is how I was able to get through the QG4 swamp bug on my old Pentium 1 machine. I haven’t tried it on my Pentium III Dell, I should add, but if I were to try it today, I’d open Word, Publisher, Explorer, etc. – everything I could think of, and then run the game under Moslo. Moslo may be updated to handle the latest fastest machines as well. Don’t give up – there are a lot of people out there who have worked on this problem.
Also the end of the game requires you to set detail at minimum and speed at maximum. Otherwise you go all over the final screen and cannot end the game. Just before you go up into the heart, change those settings.
(re: Computer Sound) The first sierra game I ever played was King Quest 1 on my brand new tandy 1000 ( an ibm roughly compatible).
This machine was 128 K of ram with only one floppy drive, but it had a special sound chip and graphics much better than the standard IBM PC at the time. And the only game I knew was exploiting this was King Quest 1, I was hooked. Boy, at the time did I wish I could be working one day doing one of these cool games… I guess, it changed my life, and 20 years latter I ended up doing a career in computer graphics.
Thanks,
Jean Blouin(re: re: KQ6 Opening Movie) no no, i’m SURE that’s how it went! i’m talking about the mac version (on floppies). i have never seen the PC floppy version.
i was just playing the mac version at my parents’ last week. i wish i’d paid closer attention! i can’t find anything to support me on the web at the moment, but i’ll look around… i’m sure i didn’t make this up!
my KQ6 CD comes with TOON.AVI which is 29.5 MB. it starts off “Long ago, in the castle of a kingdom called Daventry…” then shows Alex sitting with his head resting on his hand, then Valanice comes up and they start talking. (her: please try to think about something else; him: i’ll try, mother.) then the “obsession” music plays and the scene pans down… in the version i remember, the line about Prince Alex being a man obsessed comes instead of the little conversation. Then (on the PC CD I have), Alex and Valanice talk again after he looks in the mirror (but you only see one of them at a time.)
I’m not sure if this is the original CD or a rerelease, but the copyright is 1992-1993. The date on the .avi is 5/7/1993. i haven’t bothered installing it, but it could be that the version that installs with the game (maybe with the DOS version?) is bigger…
-emily(re: KQ6 Opening Movie) LOL, I don’t think you have it quite right. There was mysterious interesting music, but I don’t remember text that said anything like “a man obsessed.” I guess you’ll have to check yours!
Actually, the conversation with Valanice comes AFTER he looks into the mirror. It’s in the floppy version too, though the camera is more static. One version switched between the two people, and one version showed both on screen at once – I forget which was which. But I remember liking the floppy version here better. As for the bit with the pirates, I believe that was CD only as you say.
Regardless, this intro definitely stands out as one of the highlights of Sierra intros. The whole movie-feel and 3D animation and length make it better than any others. I liked KQ7 intro, *especially* the last line of the song (“I’ll find that magic land / A land beyond dreams” – gave me shivers), but it’s still not as good as KQ6. -…fond sigh…- Yup, KQ6 is definitely the best game Sierra ever made.(re: re: KQ6 Opening Movie)
> But, the floppy version hasĀ one of those beautiful camera panning shots thatĀ is a few secondsĀ longer in the floppy version than in the CD version – and those few seconds are more than worth it, it’s too bad they were cut out on the CD.
I think you hit the nail on the head. I hadn’t realized that panning shot was missing from the longer version, but now that you mention it, I think you’re right.
What I loved about the “short” movie was how it started — something along the lines of “Long ago, in the kingdom of Daventry… Prince Alexander was a man obsessed.” Then the music went into an almost psycho-theme (no, psycho isn’t what I’m thinking of… but i’m pretty sure there’s a classic horror theme similar to the few bars that play as the camera pans down on Alex, who’s sitting on the steps of the throne room).
Then Alex notices something in the mirror and gets up for a closer look. No conversation with Valanice. (Can you tell I used to watch that thing over and over and over?!)
I guess I just didn’t feel the conversation with Valanie and the shipmates added anything… but maybe if I’d seen the longer version first I’d feel that something was missing from the shorter one.
-emily
(re: The Black Cauldron – my Sierra story) That’s almost the exact same thing that happened to me!!! Same exact story! And yes it came out on my birthday as well! Aug 4th or 5th??
Nice story, welcome home.
Rygar(re: KQ6 Opening Movie) Yeah, 50 megs does seem big. Maybe that was before Sierra compressed it to AVI?
Yeah, the floppy version doesn’t have voices… but on the PC floppy version, it does have Alex’s conversation with Valanice. That’s very interesting! But, the floppy version has one of those beautiful camera panning shots that is a few seconds longer in the floppy version than in the CD version – and those few seconds are more than worth it, it’s too bad they were cut out on the CD. All in all, I almost prefer the floppy version as well – because it doesn’t have quite as many compression artifacts as you get with the AVI version. I’d go crazy to see the original rendered version. I don’t suppose you have a video tape copy or something Ken?
Anyway, I remember now that I have a demo for the floppy version with just the intro, so it’s pretty small. At the least, I could upload that here when I get home tonight.(re: Shadow of Darkness)
Both Torin’s Passage and GK2 require patches to play. These can still be downloaded from Sierra’s FTP site (i don’t know the exact address, but you can search on google for “Torin’s Passage patch” and you’ll find links to it.)
-emily
(re: re: Ken Williams Q&A)
As others have said, ebay is your best bet. I have found some oldies in thrift shops (most recently, The Castle of Dr. Brain, with box and all documentation, for $1!) but it’s hit or miss, and I don’t know if it’s the same where you live.
-emily
(re: KQ6 Opening Movie)
I have the original CD at home. I’ll check the size of that movie for you. I first played the mac version of the game (on 9 floppies!) and it has a shorter intro movie than the “expanded” one on the Windows multimedia CD. If I remember correctly, the entire mac installation (game, movie, and “halfdome” logo movie) was 25 MB.
It’s funny… I actually like the shorter movie better. It’s probably because I watched it so many times as a kid, now when I see the long one it doesn’t mesh with how I remember the movie being. The one on the mac version didn’t include Alexander’s conversation with Valanice and the boat ride’s a little shorter (you don’t see any of Alex’s “mates” on the boat). The mac movie didn’t have voices, either… I guess the voices could really up the size of the movie (but 50 megs still seems high).
-emily
(re: KQ6 Opening Movie) I’m sure someone could upload it… I could… if Ken would allow it. I think it’s about 18 megs? AVI version that is, as found on King’s Quest Collection CD. Very beautiful opening sequence isn’t it! I could convert it to MPG, I could retain the same quality but make it much smaller I think.
This brings up a question I have. Was there ever a 50 meg version? I know it was always touted as “50 meg introduction!” But I never saw a 50 meg version of it. Does anyone have the ORIGINAL KQ6 CD and could check if it has the 50 meg version? I think I checked all other versions except I don’t have that one (by the way it’s interesting to see the differences between different versions!)(re: Comments on Sierra products list)
I see the 2 Shivers titles are missing. Where were they developed?
Nathan
(re: re: Ken Williams Q&A) Hi Frank,
Wow, it must be terrible to lose all those classics… You know, I too live in the Netherlands, and maybe I could help you out by sending you some replacement copies? I know this is illegal, but it’s better than nothing, and Sierra doesn’t sell their games anymore anyway.
Ebay is indeed a good place to buy orignal oldies, and there also is a similar Dutch auction site you may want to check out;Link: http://www.marktplaats.nl(http://www.marktplaats.nl)
Link: (http://www.marktplaats.nl)
(re: re: Shadow of Darkness)
Hi
Hmm, the bugs. I also agree that Sierra made the best games ever made, but the later ones did have a lot of bugs. My computer wouldn’t even play Phantasmagoria 2 or Mask of Eternity, and could only get through the begining of Torin’s Passage and Gabriel Knight 2.
(re: re: Ken Williams Q&A) ‘Sierra’ don’t even sell anything remotely modern (Collecter’s Editions and the like) so your going to be dissappointed I’d guess. eBay is a potential solution but be prepared to pay big bucks for some titles š I’m sure there are a few locations on the web you could find some of this but it’s not the same as having the stuff as it was intended!
Best of luck!(The Black Cauldron – my Sierra story) Hi,
Actually, the Disney movie is based on the first and second books in Lloyd Alexander’s excellent “Prydain” series. The series consists of five books.
To tell you the truth, TBC is actually the first Sierra game I ever played (and completed). I remember how back in those days (I was about 9 then, maybe 8, still with a black and white screen) it was absolutely amazing to finally reach the ending! I simply loved the game! I remember that there were several ways to do all sorts of things. For instance, you could get into the castle by climbing up a wall with stones falling over you, or hide inside a cart, if I recall correctly, and there also was this hidden passage somewhere.
It was simply an amazing game, and so rich, too! I loved playing it. In fact, I played it again in colour when I bought a colour screen, and I also played it once more just recently.
I have to say that no “quest” game has given me as much joy as completing TBC. I remember telling myself: “Wow! So that’s what happens when you finish a game”. And since then, I valued game-endings a lot. I was simply overtaken with Gurgi, Eilonwy, Flumm and Taran walking hand in hand.
At the time of playing the game, I had no idea it was based on a Disney movie. One day I went to the library, and saw this book opened on a table. It was based on the Disney film, with several pictures of it. I picked it up and read it there and then. That same day I took the book “The Black Cauldron” from the library (the real one). I had read it, and was quite disappointed, as it wasn’t “like the movie”.
When “The Black Cauldron” came out on Video for the first time (on my birthday, no less), I felt that I simply had to buy it. So I did. I had called it “my favourite Disney film” before I even watched it.
Today I have the five Prydain books on my reading list. Unfortunately they constantly get knocked down by other books (I have an ever growing reading list), but they’re there.
This is the impact Sierra had on me. Al Lowe and Ken Williams – thanks for a truly great game, that for me changed the gaming experience entrirely, and had a profound effect on my life.(re: re: Other) Chris–
Don’t know about the other game, but The Black Cauldron is based on a movie based on a book. The Black Cauldron is (if I recall correctly) the third book in a series of five by an author named Lloyd Alexander. Although it’s a story in itself, The Black Cauldron is also a part of an ongoing story. As I recall, they’re somewhere in the realm of young adult books and should still be in print. Though I only read TBC, myself, I also seem to recall that one of the later books is titled “Taran Wanderer,” but I don’t know which of the characters from TBC are actually in it besides Taran. Hope that helps.
Morgan(re: This is a test) This is my second test – to see if notification of new postings is working.
-Ken W(re: QG4 bugs) To get past the sliding down bug, go to the options menu in the game, put speed all the way up, and detail all the way down. Walk down the edge taking very small steps, by continuously clicking the walk cursor closely in front of your character.
(re: QG4 bugs) I used VDMSound to play all my old Sierra Games. From QFG1 (text version) up to the modern games. I also got some help from Sierra. Here is what they told me:
Try Running the program in either win9x or win2000 emulation.
To do this, locate the actual file executable. (For example, for counter-strike: c:\sierra\counter-strike\cstrike.exe is the executable.) Once located:
– Right-click on it & select properties
– Select the COMPATABILITY Tab
– Put the check in “Run this program in compatibility mode for”
– From the pull down menu, select windows 98
– Click APPLY
– Click OK
– Try running the program now .
This really helped me in playing QFG4, QFG5, and Phantasmagoria. Anyway I hope it works out for ya.
