ScummVM 0.13.0 Delivers New Adventure Games

KingofGnG writes "The classics, by definition, never go out of fashion, let alone if they are the graphic adventures of past decades. The preferred tool of true adventurers is ScummVM, software that works as an interpreter between data files of such adventures and modern operating systems. 6 months after the release of version 0.12.0, developers have now delivered a new main release of the virtual machine, which includes novelties both for the interface and supported games."

Ahhh, 7th Guest

[FlyveHest]

Man, first game I ever owned on CD, real video, amazing graphics.

What a great addition to a great piece of software, and, goodbye weekend :)

SCI

[Anonymous Coward]

ScummVM has really come a long way and it's cool that they keep adding more game support but I would really like to see an implementation of SCI0/1/2/3 for Sierra adventure games like Space Quest III, Space Quest IV and Leisure Suit Larry 6. Apparently it's not high on their "to do" list, but it should be considering Sierra made such a large impact on adventure gaming in general.

I was very happy about the previous release adding support for the Kyrandia games. Hopefully we'll see SCI support soon.

Re:

[0xygen]

There is always DOSBox - but I know what you mean.
It would be nice to have them in ScummVM, as it runs a lot of places where DOSBox does not run as well.

I would love to have LSL on my PSP at a decent speed!

Re:SCI

[DrMcCoy]

ScummVM has recently merged with FreeSCI, so this is going to happen eventually. Right now, there's still a lot of clean-up and restructuring going on, general development will continue then.

Of course, help is always appreciated, so if /you/ perhaps would like to provide said help, there's for example #scummvm on FreeNode.

Re:

[Per Wigren]

SCI-support not high on their "to do" list?

Pardon me, I present to you new evidence! [scummvm.org]

Re:

[Hatta]

What I'd like to see are some tools to help people develop their own adventure games for ScummVM. As it is, most new adventure games are written with AGS, which is not free, and no up to date version is available on Linux.

Re:

[DrMcCoy]

As in beer, but not as in speech. :P

Re:

[Drinking Bleach]

His only reason for that, as spelled out in the FAQ [adventureg...udio.co.uk], seems to be that he once had someone cheat him in an earlier free software project he had and now he's afraid of ever doing it again.

Pretty lame. It's akin to getting burned by a match and then never wanting to be near a campfire.

Re:

[sowth]

That's interesting, because I've been burned by people who don't release the source code and put something "funny" in the executable. Okay, maybe not me so much as various friends and acquaintances. I get to clean up the mess.

The thing he is saying about people putting their name on his work, how will only releasing binaries protect him? Someone could just as easily repackage his binaries as their own and sell them.

Re:

[zennyboy]

"So, how much does it cost? Nothing. That's right, AGS is free, and you can even create commercial games with it (subject to license terms)."

Re:

[Hatta]

Ok, where can I get the source so I can compile it for the platform of my choice? No source, no freedom.

Re:

[shbazjinkens]

There are a significant amount of Sierra and LucasArts style new-release games coming from hobbyists using Adventure Game Studio [adventureg...udio.co.uk]. There are only a couple of re-makes of classics, but if you just appreciate adventure games in general give it a try. Windows only? I remember someone there talking about Linux games a while back but don't know what the support is like for that.

Re:

[DrMcCoy]

There is an outdated and AFAIK currently unmaintained (another chance for someone with some free time to step in and help out) Linux port of AGS.

As for the games, some work on Linux, as long as they don't use any external DLLs (obviously). Unfortunately, there are many who do (popular DLLs being SFX for raindrops and flashlights, last I checked).

Re:

[TheRaven64]

I'll second the suggestion of DOSBox. I re-played a load of the old Sierra games in DOSBox a couple of years ago. It worked really well, even on a PowerPC Mac.

It is pitch black.

[Alsee]

You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

-

Re:

[kvezach]

No, that's IF. For that, you're going to need Gargoyle [ccxvii.net] or Frotz [sourceforge.net].

Re:

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

...if this predicament seems particularly cruel... [youtube.com]

New Adventure Games? With ScummVM?

[iYk6]

ScummVM has not written or delivered any "new adventure games". These are old games that ScummVM has recently added support for.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

New to scummvm. Us non-autistic people appreciate this thing called "context".

Re:

[bandini]

Welcome to Slashdot. The context of this thread is: you're too lazy to type 'scummvm' into Google.

That's all good but...

[Ksempac]

Every time i see headlines like "ScummVM add new games" or something similar, i'm disappointed. It only adds support for theses games.
You still need to have an old working version of the game or find it in the grey realm of abandonware.
I wish companies would release theses old games for free (so that they can join "Flight of the Amazon Queen" or "Beneath a Steel Sky"), or sell them all as a single compilation.
But it doesn't seem to be going that way. Instead companies now offer each of their hit as overpriced DLC (1200 MS Points for R-Type 1&2 ?! WTF ??). The sad thing is that people seem to be stupid enough to buy them... :/

Re:

[montyzooooma]

http://abandonia.com/en/game/Adventure [abandonia.com]
Though I suppose that technically comes under the heading of grey realms of abandonware. At least it's a well known site.

Re:

[csartanis]

I picked up a copy of Day of the Tentacle for $2 at my company's book drive!

Re:

[vux984]

er... seriously? Your upset that companies have finally found a way to profitably re-release classic titles? Titles that would still comfortably be under copy right even if copyright terms were sane?

Re:

[TheRaven64]

Sane copyright would be 14 years, and I'm being generous here; most studies conducted over the past few years have suggested even shorter terms, including one conducted by MIT and one commissioned by the British government (and then promptly ignored). With 14-year copyright, pretty much all DOS games would now be in the public domain.

Re:

[Ksempac]

I m very happy they are re-releasing hit games. But they are clearly overpriced. A 2 years-old PC game ends up in the bargain bin for 10 dollars/euros.
So how do you justify the fact that a 10 years old game is worth 15 dollars/euros ?
On the other hand, Sega did a very sensible thing with the Sega Megadrive Collection with 20 hit games in one pack for a reasonable price
However, it worries me when i see Pikmin (a Gamecube game) re-released as a Wii Game for no reason (Wiimote add nothing to this game). I

Re:

[vux984]

So how do you justify the fact that a 10 years old game is worth 15 dollars/euros ?

Why would you think I should have to justify the price?

Fight Club is a 10 year old movie.
To the River was 'Book of the Year' 10 years ago.
Supernatural by Santana was release 10 years ago (Grammy in 2000).

These are all for sale at prices in the same range as DLC. Why should the video game be some arbitrary price that "pleases you". And if we're going to go and start justifying prices, why is Fight Club cheaper than a book?

If

Re:

[Ksempac]

I was waiting for the argument saying that movie are still expensive 10 years later. The main difference is the evolution of the medium.
Video Game is a new industry, which is getting bigger every year. Moreover the technology behind it is booming. 10 years old games looks like crap by today's standards (even though they are still very good). 10 years old games were done by smallers teams (credits get longer and longer...i just saw the endless credits of Gears of war 2 last month).
On the other hand, movi

Re:

[vux984]

[....] That's why i think the price of games should decrease faster than the price for movies.

The price of games did decrease faster. A new movie on DVD 10 years ago was what? $16 or so. Today the same title is ~$10. A new game, 10 years ago... $40-50, today most are released as Downloadable content for between 5 and 15.

Re:

[Synic]

Beneath a Steel Sky was given away for free for a month on Good Old Games (gog.com). :)

Re:

[Ksempac]

Beneath a Steel Sky is a freeware since 2003. That's why it is the only game (with "Flight of the Amazon Queen") the ScummVM crew can distribute with their engine.

So, it isn't hard for GoG to "offer" it...

Re:

[DrMcCoy]

Actually, there are 2 other freeware'd adventure games running in ScummVM: "Lure of the Temptress" and "Drascula: The Vampire Strikes Back".

Thanks!

[bhunachchicken]

ScummVM is excellent, I have to say. I remember a number of years ago I was in a independent game store in London and, there on the shelf, I spotted a copy of The Dig... for £2. £2!! Wow.

It was a DOS game and being a Linux user, I felt a little bit dismayed that I wouldn't be able to play it, unless I booted into Windows or wrestled with DOS Box. My brother then pointed out that it was supported by ScummVM, so I thought, what the hell, it's only £2... So I bought it, give it a go and it worked like a charm. First try too. No issues at all.

So, thanks to the ScummVM team, who without I would not have been able to play The Dig, Beneath a Steel Sky, and Flight of the Amazon Queen. All legally too!

Re:

[GMFTatsujin]

My SO has been tearing her way through my collection of adventure games recently. It took her about 5 days to complete The Longest Journey (oh, irony), so I introduced her to my LucasArts collection.

We found that ScummVM is awesome for playing those games in, even the ones that you can manage to run natively in XP. The launching interface is nice, you don't have to keep the CDs on the drive (so, back in the vault they go!), and the options to upgrade graphics for larger displays are very much appreciated.

Anti-Aliasing of Graphics

[troll8901]

Agree. ScummVM has anti-aliasing built right in, so the old VGA (320x200, 256 colors) games actually look better in ScummVM. My favorite anti-alias filter is HQ3x.

I've been playing Monkey Island 1 on it. The words actually look nice.

There's also support for Roland MT-32 sound card, if you have MT32_CONTROL.ROM and MT32_PCM.ROM. Not all old LucasArts support the MT-32, though. See also this message [slashdot.org] on old games music.

You fight like a dairy farmer!

Re:

[X0563511]

That's not anti-aliasing, that's a scaling filter.

Bit different, but the end result (jaggies go away) is still there.

Re:

[GMFTatsujin]

Ur-Quan Masters, the Star Control II remake, uses similar graphics upgrading. It looks incredibly good (though during the ship-to-ship fights, things get a bit strange at odd angles). And it's still one of the best adventure+arcade style exploration games out there!

http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ [sourceforge.net]

Re:

[troll8901]

Ah, the audio delivery of Yehat's rant:
"We ... Were ... NOT ... Defeated !! Never, Never, in a thousand years ..."

Supremely impressive.

Re:

[StikyPad]

<3

just to clarify

[poot_rootbeer]

By 'new adventure games', they mean 'games that were released 15 years ago'. HTH.

Grim Fandango

[Tragek]

All I want for christmas is the Residual (http://www.scummvm.org/subprojects.php) engine to get full time development status so that I can finally finish Grim Fandango.

Re:

[DrMcCoy]

Well, just to be clear: The thing with residual is not some abstract status, but a lack of interested devs with enough free time.

Anybody here who qualifies for that is free to check in #scummvm on FreeNode and offer their help. :P

Re:

[TheRaven64]

Totally agree. I borrowed a copy of Grim Fandango a couple of years ago to see what all of the fuss was about. It was the last time I booted my ThinkPad into Windows. Even running it under XP was difficult (it needed a patch, some compatibility-mode tweaking, and crashed periodically. If there's one thing Microsoft does well, I'm told, it's backwards compatibility...). If I could run it in ScummVM I'd be tempted to grab a copy from eBay and play it again. Superb game.

Could have a place in the office?

[whereiswaldo]

Has anyone here ever considered using an adventure game as a software tool in the office? I was thinking something around workflow management.

Basically, people, departments and documents could be depicted in the game. Decisions you make would have a bearing on reality and could trigger actions such as an email notification being sent, etc.

A decision requiring multiple parties could be materialized as you gathering all the people together to defeat a boss that depends on all your skills.

Of if you need an override to make a decision that person with that capability could wear a wizard outfit.

Could be a lot of fun. Anyone have thoughts on this?

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

This has already been done.

They called it Microsoft Bob.

Re:Could have a place in the office?

[CannonballHead]

Let's see... office + "defeat a boss." Sounds good. ;)

Re:

[tepples]

Has anyone here ever considered using an adventure game as a software tool in the office?

You mean like how IBM and Northrop Grumman hold meetings in Second Life?

Re:

[TheRaven64]

Jeff Raskin had some thoughts on this. He likened a bad user interface to a computer game - an apt analogy that still has me cringe whenever I'm in an HCI seminar and the speaker proudly announces that 'it's just like a game'. Adventure games are the perfect example of how not to design a user interface. They intentionally make things difficult, requiring you to walk around a lot and solve puzzles. An adventure game with a good (business) user interface would tell you all of the story, only require inpu

Re:

[WillAdams]

Hasn't everyone seen ``Doom as a tool for system administration''?

http://www.cs.unm.edu/~dlchao/flake/doom/ [unm.edu]

William

Insult Swordfighting

[troll8901]

You fight like a dairy farmer!