@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

et_andersson

@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social

Adventure game nerd and sometimes ScummVM developer. (Did I just repeat myself?)

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et_andersson, to random
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

Some time ago, it was announced on the Interactive Fiction Community Forum (intfiction.org) that there would be a lengthy conversation with the author of one of my favorite lighthearted pirate-themed adventure games. Today I learned that it had finally been published.

Yes, I am of course referring to Amy Briggs of Plundered Hearts fame:

https://cdm16903.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16903coll15/id/11/rec/1

(But just in case you thought I meant someone else, @grumpygamer does gets a few mentions along the way.)

mixnmojo, to random
@mixnmojo@idlethumbs.social avatar

From the Archives (09 Aug, 2022): The Poxy Custodianship of Monkey Island — “Assisting Monkey lsland fans in obtaining and running uncompromised versions of the old games can feel like presenting them with an adventure game puzzle. Though fan preservation is invaluable, why in the name of Blackbeard's dandruff should it always come to that?” https://mixnmojo.com/features/sitefeatures/The-Poxy-Custodianship-of-Monkey-Island

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@mixnmojo Unfortunately still just as relevant. And it's not just Monkey Island. 😕

I don't see how it's ok for Lucasfilm/Disney to sell Zak McKracken with a National Inquisitor scan so bad that parts of it are barely readable.

Or Loom with the "audio drama" missing, when the manual specifically tells you to listen to it.

Or what about Maniac Mansion? The "enhanced" version is cracked in a way that actually breaks several puzzles.

If we need a new name for this, I'm nominating "neglectware".

danielalbu, to random
@danielalbu@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar

📅 8 years ago today, @doublefine's remaster of LucasArts' Day of The Tentacle was released!

In my opinion, this remaster is the gold standard for how a quality remaster should be executed!

💾 Day of the Tentacle Remastered was released on March 22nd, 2016!

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@danielalbu @doublefine

The only thing I don't like about it is that it has replaced the original. Even if you can switch between original and remastered mode in it, I think the originals are still worth preserving.

I mean, I've never even seen the copy protection screen. Maybe it's nothing special, but one of my favorite jokes in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade happens only if you fail the copy protection. And that's cut from the only version you can buy now.

mixnmojo, to random
@mixnmojo@idlethumbs.social avatar

News from Mojo: Limited Run Games quietly enacts Loom reparations https://mixnmojo.com/news/Limited-Run-Games-quietly-enacts-Loom-reparations

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@mixnmojo I hear they didn't include the Macintosh version of the game, though? If so, that seems like a strange omission if they managed to unearth just about every other version there is.

I didn't buy it so it makes no difference to me personally. But I had hoped for an influx of ScummVM testers.

Meanwhile, GOG doesn't even include the audio drama even though it's mentioned both in the manual and on the Lucasfilm web site. So there's still plenty to be bitter about.

dosnostalgic, to random
@dosnostalgic@mastodon.social avatar

If you've played a pirated version of Prince of Persia 2, there's a really good chance you've played the pre-release version which is a lot more difficult that subsequent releases (which also have their own issues).

Pressing ALT+V won't display a version number in it, but instead just the title "PRINCE OF PERSIA 2" will appear at the bottom.

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@dosnostalgic Apparently both my copies (one "Collector's Edition" and one "Limited Edition") are v1.1. But I've never gotten around to playing the second game, only the first one. Out of curiosity, in what way is it broken?

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@dosnostalgic By the way, the Macintosh version included on the CDs claims to be version 1.0, but I don't know if the version numbering is the same as for the DOS version.

I think I remember now why I only played the first game, though. The first one starts out gently. The second one... doesn't. 😃

gugames, to random
@gugames@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar

Money doesn't buy happiness. But it buys adventure games, which is basically the same.

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@gugames But what happens when the adventure game you want to buy with your money is no longer for sale? 🤔

mixnmojo, to random
@mixnmojo@idlethumbs.social avatar

News from Mojo: EGA betrayal stains Loom release, assassinates innocence worldwide https://mixnmojo.com/news/EGA-betrayal-stains-Loom-release-assassinates-innocence-worldwide

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@mixnmojo

et_andersson, to random
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

I keep hoping for Disney to release the "All The Games We Got the Rights To When We Acquired Lucasfilm, But We Don't Have A Clue What They Are Because They're Not Star Wars So Please For The Love Of God Help Us Do It Right This Time!" Anthology.

I do realize that it may need a catchier title, but "The Lost Treasures of ..." has already been taken.

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@mms

I know, but at least with the adventure games they're often quite underwhelming:

  • Many historically significant versions are missing.

  • The original EXEs are often missing, so they can only be run with ScummVM. (Which makes it harder for the ScummVM developers.)

  • Documentation is sometimes missing or scanned at ridiculously low quality.

  • The enhanced version of Maniac Mansion is cracked in a way that nerfs several puzzles.

And so on.

et_andersson, to random
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

One of my favorite jokes in Escape From Monkey Island. Even thought my far-from-new computer can now run it emulated in without noticeable difficulties.

(There are other adventure games that don't run so well, so the joke still works and I should probably get a new computer one of these days.)

mixnmojo, to random
@mixnmojo@idlethumbs.social avatar

Blast from the past: You can revisit the stump joke in “The Curse of Monkey Island!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8NPBkYkIlE

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@mixnmojo Too bad that you can't revisit the stump joke in the version of The Secret of Monkey Island that's currently sold [*]. It's been said that the stump joke was confusing players back in the day. Well, I was at least as confused by the reference to it in Monkey Island 2 when I first played it...

[*] I don't count the "Ultimate Talkie" version, since it's not an official release.

scummvm, to random
@scummvm@corteximplant.com avatar

Happy !

Let's collect the Cats of ScummVM, shall we? Starting with Simba, @felsqualle's companion!

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@scummvm @felsqualle

Sigge ans Gizmo investigating the breakfast table.

et_andersson, to random
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Now that is in the public domain, and there are already games springing up around him, I was wondering what a point-and-click adventure would even look like.

Probably not like this, though. Steamboat Willie doesn't have much of a story, and much of what there is involves tormenting helpless animals. Perhaps it would be better suited to a Dragon's Lair type game. 😀

(I should have fixed the verb interface to say "New mouse" instead, but I couldn't be bothered to.)

ramon_wilhelm, to random German
@ramon_wilhelm@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar

Tell me, what are the upcoming adventure games you're looking for in 2024?

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@ramon_wilhelm Old Skies and Rosewater both look interesting. Problem is, I have so many unplayed adventure games in my backlog. It wasn't that long ago that I finally played Maniac Mansion...

et_andersson, to random
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

Today I learned that the Macintosh version of has a "boss key". Apparently it's much better if your boss thinks you're moonlighting for than if he catches you playing a game.

aaronsgiles, to random
@aaronsgiles@corteximplant.com avatar

Went down the insane rathole of the NES Tetris World Championships. Completely mind-blowing how people can play at that level. However, needed a bit of an explainer for some of the terminology, so if you decide to watch I recommend this as an introduction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RaqVGzhQTM

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@aaronsgiles For the briefest of moments, I thought you were saying that you were adding NES emulation to DREAMM.

Then I realized you wrote "rat hole", not "rabbit hole". 😜

atmcashpoint, to gaming
@atmcashpoint@mastodon.social avatar

From French magazine Génération 4 (February 1992): some early screenshots of the first Legend of Kyrandia game, from when it was still imagined as an RPG hybrid in the vein of Sierra's Quest for Glory.
@damianogerli

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@damianogerli @atmcashpoint

I've read that Legend of Kyrandia was at least loosely based on a BBS text game, and that this had the birthstone puzzle as well.

https://muds.fandom.com/wiki/Kyrandia has some information, though most of the external links seem to only live in the Wayback Machine now.

mixnmojo, to random
@mixnmojo@idlethumbs.social avatar

Quote of The Day from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: “In the mountains north of Ankara. Can you translate it?”

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@mixnmojo The source of my favorite joke in the game. Unfortunately it only happens if you fail the copy protection check earlier in the game, so it's a bit like the Monkey Island "stump joke" in that most modern players probably haven't seen it.

scummvm, (edited ) to retrocomputing
@scummvm@corteximplant.com avatar

We know that getting testers for some rare games is quite hard.

But we also know that we have some very skilled collectors among us.

If you have the Macintosh version of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", we'd love if you could try it out with the latest daily versions!

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@scummvm It should perhaps be clarified that by Macintosh version we mean the old, 16 color one. The one you can get on Steam is a later one, based on the 256 color version, and at least in ScummVM it looks like the DOS version.

(Though actually, I just noticed a regression in the 256 color Macintosh version... 🙂 )

Edit: @bosca just fixed the regression.

Screenshot from the 256 color Macintosh version of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

et_andersson, to loom
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

Ok Lucasfilm, at this point I'm starting to think that you're just rubbing it in. People have been asking for that audio drama prologue (not to mention the arguably superior EGA version) to be included with the digital releases of Loom for years now, to no avail. Even though the manual tells you to listen to it!

I mean, it's very on brand for them, but it is still disappointing.

Source: https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/classic-lucasfilm-video-games/

et_andersson, to retrogaming
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

Should I really keep posting images of the Macintosh version of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? Well, maybe just one more to show just how far ScummVM has come in the past few years.

It may never match the original exactly, but I think we will eventually get close enough.

Thanks to @bosca for helping out (a lot!) with wiring up the dialog windows (not shown in these images) to be more than just elaborate mock-ups.

et_andersson, to random
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

From the manual for the 1998 Swedish adventure game "Ronja Rövardotter" (Ronia, the Robber's Daughter). I got my copy of it today, so I obviously haven't played it, but apparently it was developed using the "SCURR© animation and scripting system".

Well, I'm sure that's just a coincidence and not in any way inspired by @grumpygamer or anything he was ever involved with... 😜

scummvm, to random
@scummvm@corteximplant.com avatar

Time for a new episode of Trivia Thursday, isn't it?

Did you know that the first game ScummVM ever supported was "Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge"?

Yep, that's true! Originally, one primary goal of the project was to provide a tool that can run Monkey Island 2 on Linux.

And yeah... you know - sometimes, things escalate quickly. LIKE A LOT!

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@scummvm Of course I knew that. Who could forget this iconic scene from The Secret of Monkey Island? 😜

Stan, from The Secret of Monkey Island, explaining the origin of ScummVM in the exact same words as in the start of this thread: "Time for a new episode of Trivia Thursday, isn't it? Did you know that the first game ScummVM ever supported was "Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge"? Yep, that's true! Originally, one primary goal of the project was to provide a tool that can run Monkey Island 2 on Linux. And yeah... you know - sometimes, things escalate quickly. LIKE A LOT!"

grumpygamer, to random
@grumpygamer@mastodon.gamedev.place avatar

There will be no treats while I, Murray, am here! Only tricks! Oh, wait, Return to Monkey Island is quite a treat, isn't it? Well I forbid you to order it! Bwahahahaha!

et_andersson,
@et_andersson@idlethumbs.social avatar

@grumpygamer

No ordering of Return to Monkey Island during Halloween? Oh dear, it's...

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