JMS interview on scripts and game?

[Harrdy]

For *some* games there are even "re-programming" efforts. Eg the superb "Star Control 2" in the form of "The Ur-Quan Masters" ( http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ ) (they got a version of the source and programmed it anew. They *plan* to build into it more story, but there was no update since March...).

SummVM ( http://www.scummvm.org/ ) will run most Lucas Arts Adventures (all but the newest), but you need the original discs for the data files (or you need to "aquire" them, which ist most of the time not so legal). Here is a list of games supported (from their Homepage): Adventure Soft's "Simon the Sorcerer" 1 and 2; Revolution's "Beneath A Steel Sky", "Broken Sword 1" and "Broken Sword 2"; "Flight of the Amazon Queen"; Wyrmkeep's "Inherit the Earth"; Coktel Vision's "Gobliiins" and games based on LucasArts' SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) system. SCUMM is used for many games, including "Monkey Island", "Day of the Tentacle", "Sam and Max" and more.

I am sure there are more projects of that kind, but these two are the only ones I am aware of...

PeAcE

P.S.:Star Control (II) for ever!!!

[cornholio1980]

If you can answer in english and not 'gamer', that would be extra appreciated.

Well, Radhil filled you in already on the most important aspects. It really depends on a) how fast a machine she has (but I'd like to point out that my PC is soon 2 years old and has no problem whatsoever with dosbox) and b) how old the game she wants to play is. The later that specific Dos-Game came out, the more resources it needs, the faster the machine has to be in order for the game to be played properly.

Furthermore, notice that while a lot of old games are compatible with dosbox by now, there are still some which are only marginally supported. For a complete list of compatible games and their precise status please visit the Dosbox-Website.

(I further think the world missed out by never playing Tex Murphy, but hey).

The Tex Murphy-series was indeed great. The first (and until now ONLY, if you ask me) really good 3d-adventures, with a nice setting and a good sense of humor. And there really were some unique tasks and puzzles to solve. Definitely some of my favorite adventures games, no doubt.

And I think that's enough OT for now. If we want to discuss that further, someone probably REALLY should start a thread in the OT-area of the forums...

[Milkman]

wolf3d was great, but doom was multiplayer.

I enjoyed phantasmagoria (sp?). First game that made me jump in my chair.

As for old games, those slowdown programs do work most of the time, but i keep some old boxes around for fun.

[Radhil]

Techie: If her processor is up to snuff then the emulation slowdowns won't be too bad, and yeah, she just has to install the dosbox emulation and get it set up. The ScummVM isn't so much emulation as it is porting so that'll be fine no matter what kind of hardware she has.

English: She got one really really good machine? Yeah. ScummVM will run on anything. DosBox requires a bit of power.

Off-Topic: I <3 Grim Fandango.

Further Off-Topic: I've been told I missed out on a whole lot by never playing the Gabriel Knight games (I further think the world missed out by never playing Tex Murphy, but hey). I could EBay for 'em, but if anyone knows where I might track that series down in retail....

[Jan]

*smiles very nice* Yes, this is off topic... can I write off topic, dear nice admin? 8-)

You kinda did already, y'know?

Carry on, folks. If you actually have lots of gaming discussion saved up, though, you can always start a thread in 'off-topic'.

Question from a non-gamer: My sister is a gamer and has a major string of computers linked up so she can play 'old' games. Is this "ScummVM and Dosbox" something I should tell her about so she can play them on her spiffy brand new computer without the old ones?

If you can answer in english and not 'gamer', that would be extra appreciated.

Jan

[Harrdy]

*smiles very nice* Yes, this is off topic... can I write off topic, dear nice admin? 8-)

Yes, praise ScummVM, you can even play with Linux 8o)

And I really liked Grim Fandango, it was one of the very few 3D-Adventures where the "wow, we can do 3D"-factor didn't eat away fun... but some of the minigames... oh, the minigames *frustrated murmur*

*looking up info about Grim Fandango* WHAT? It was from 1998??? Damn, I've gotten old...

PeAcE

[cornholio1980]

I HATE First Person Shooters.. I want my adventures back *remembers the good old times* Yes, that where the times of my life...

Now we start to go REALLY off topic, but I hope the moderators will tolerate this little sidenote:

While it is indeed true that the future of the adventure genre looked grim after Monkey Island 4, in recent years there have been some excellent adventure titles again, like Runaway, Black Mirror, The Moment of Silence, and many others. So... as long as smaller publishers concentrate on this smaller market and still get their profits from it, we will still get 2-3 good ones a year.

Furthermore, thanks to ScummVM and Dosbox, those good old adventures can be played even on up-to-date computers.

[Harrdy]

*shocked to the core* That is as if you told me "what is Ultima" or "what is Sim City"... or "what is Maniac Mansion". It is no less than the stepping stone of a new generation of games, the "First Person Shooters". (well, you could argue that Castle Wolfenstein was the first, but compared to Doom it just sucked (IMHO)). But then again, if you are not into Computer Games I guess it is ok not to know 8o)

By the way, as a personal remark: I HATE First Person Shooters.. I want my adventures back *remembers the good old times* Yes, that where the times of my life...

PeAcE

[The Puzzled Pak'Ma'Ra]

... What's Doom?

[Harrdy]

too dark can't see anything

There is a thing in the options called "gamma"... I guess it is not cheating to adapt your picture to your monitor 8o)

And I always cheated... it was much more fun being able to kill without getting killed... I was younger then *g*

PeAcE

[DeMonk]

so I wonder if it might be the colors that are more important than the exact bird?

Jan

And I thought there were only shades of grey...

[Jan]

You know, I have to admit that I never really gave the symbols themselves much thought. I'd always been stuck on the words. For what it's worth, in the script JMS specifies "...a raven or crow..." for Ivanova and "..a white bird, a dove or similar..." for Garibaldi so I wonder if it might be the colors that are more important than the exact bird?

Jan

[DeMonk]

Hazarding a guess?

Anyone hazarding a guess on my previous post?

[DeMonk]

Real meaning of the dream in season 2

In the interview, JMS mentions his notes on the real meaning of Sheridan's prophetic dream in season two. I'm dying to know.
I've been trying to understand the symbolism in it.
Ivanova has a raven on her shoulder: symbol for ill-omen and solitude (that seems to fit her somewhat: she would have been killed if not for Marcus)
Garibaldi a dove: peace (This one eludes me: in the end he does achieve exactly that... but getting to know Joe he meant more!

Is this only my European interpretation and maybe these symbols have different meanings for Americans?

[Ranger1]

Actualy no,i played the first level and gave the game to a friend, too dark can't see anything.

Didn't like that game at all.