Often, when a video game relied on a licensed character or movie, the results often were terrible. It is as if so much of the budget was taken up by the licensing fees that there was nothing left over to make a good game or hire good programmers. Most games based off movies are garbage on the NES, no one particularly enjoys having to play through Total Recall, Predator or Hudson Hawk. Many of those games were released by LJN or Acclaim, but picking on them is rather like picking the low hanging fruit.
Instead, I am going to focus on games from developers or publishers with a proven record of good games. My criteria for this blog entry is that the license has to come from another type of media, whether a film, a TV series, a cartoon, a toy line, a comic book or a novel
Konami :
Monster in My Pocket
This is a decent game, but when dealing with Konami, decent just doesn't cut it. While you have two characters you can play as, they aren't really all that different. This side scroller does not have any substantial flaws, but there is nothing especially memorable about it.
Star Trek 25th Anniversary
When I play this game, I get the feeling like it so wants to be the PC game of the same name. This is not surprising because Interplay was responsible for both. The NES game takes some elements of the classic PC adventure game like having crew members on the away team with different strengths and each officer on the bridge having his or her own position. However, the top down exploration stages with constantly respawning hidden enemies and maze-like environments does not feel very Star Trek 25th-Anniversary like to me.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Where do I begin? TMNT may have sold well but only because the Turtles craze was just beginning to establish itself. This game does have a certain Konami polish to the graphics and music, but the game is way too unfair. Enemies constantly respawn, there is laughable recovery time after being hit, the turtles have a huge hit area and except for Donatello their weapons do pathetic damage to their enemies. There are tricky jumps and the play control is a tad too loose. Flicker is all over the place.
The next two TMNT games for the NES are much better than this. I always get the feeling that with this first game, Konami really did not "get" the Turtles. While most of the elements that had been established by 1987 were there, the resulting game did not feel like an adaptation of the cartoon series, which was the catalyst and the focus of the phenomenon for the next several years. The moody music and outlandish enemy designs feel like they came more from the original comic than the cartoon.
I understand that the developers had little to work with, only elements from the comic book and season one of the animated cartoon were available as reference materials. However, the arcade game of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was also released in 1989 and does not feature any material beyond season one, yet that game was able to capture the spirit of the franchise admirably. Looks like Konami gave the NES game to the "B Team".
Top Gun I & II
Most NES flying games are not especially memorable, and these are no exception. One of the main problems are the endless hordes of indistinguishable enemies. The NES simply did not have the horsepower for anything more than rail-shooters, so these games don't offer you any real freedom. The first game has some of the most annoying landing sequences ever found in a video game and you cannot seem to turn fast enough to attack enemies. The second game overcompensates by having too sensitive controls and enemies that fly by too fast to hit.
Sunsoft :
Fester's Quest
While Sunsoft appeared to adapt the overhead view of Blaster Master for this game, that was about the only smart thing they did with the title. The Addams' Family is little seen and the Addams Family Mansion is reached only far into the game. The enemies constantly respawn and your gun and whip do little damage. A turbo controller is required to really play. Instead of losing gun or whip power when you get like Blaster Master, you lose it by touching gun and whip downgrades, which become more common as you power them up and are surprisingly easy to touch. Fester moves slowly, and if he gets hit by the flies, his movement rate gets far worse until he finds some shocks. You have a tiny lifebar and the bosses take a long time to beat. You find bosses in these buildings with featureless 3-D Mazes, something I always hated on the NES. There is almost nothing of the quirky macabre humor which the Addams Family was known for.
Platoon
This was a port of a Commodore 64 game, and while its not as bad as the port of Myth to Conan, the original game just isn't that good. The game is essentially a collection of mini-games, and usually in 8-bit land the sum is not the greater of its parts when it comes to different gameplay styles being combined in a cartridge. The first stage is a maze of finding objects, but most of the time you are simply trying to avoid dead ends. You are easy to hit, there are hard to see traps and bullets, and enemies can be unavoidable. The music is appropriately moody, but the backgrounds just appear to be shades of brown. The second stage is something like a 3-D maze, but at least it has something like a map. I never bothered to get past the second stage.
Capcom :
Disney's Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
As with Platoon, noted above, this is another collection of mini-games. The platforming in the Haunted Mansion is passable, but Space Mountain feels like Dragon's Lair with the "press the right button at the right time mechanic."
TaleSpin
Capcom made six games based off Disney TV franchises, and five of them (Ducktales 1 & 2, Chip 'N Dale 1 & 2, Darkwing Duck) were great. This one, while a decent game, is not great. Its a shump and has a certain amount of distinctiveness in that there are horizontal and vertical scrolling portions in the same level and that you can fly forwards and backwards. However, the chief issue is that the scale is wrong, the characters and enemies are too small to be really distinctive. Also, your character moves too slowly and his default gun is hard to aim diagonally, does little damage and upgrades are not plentiful.
Pony Canon/FCI :
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons : Heroes of the Lance
Pony Canon/FCI could usually be counted on for reliable, if not spectacular ports of PC games, but this one is where they utterly failed to release a playable game. Heroes of the Lance is based off the Dragonlance Saga series of novels and AD&D campaign setting from TSR The object of the game is to take a party of eight heroes into a dungeon to recover a magic item. It was released first for PCs and then got a NES port. Whatever virtues the underlying game had, and they seem pretty sparse, were totally lost in translation.
This game has virtually no redeeming features. The in-game graphics suffer from being too small in relation to the background. The status menu takes up half the screen. The character sprites have so little detail and the backgrounds are just drab gray and black. The music is the same monotonous piece that seems to play throughout the game. There are only three types of enemies when you first start, a fighter, a dwarf and a lizard-creature. The latter two are both unfair, the dwarf attacks lower than you normally do, making him hard to hit. The lizard creature shoots projectiles at chest height and impossible to dodge. By the time you close in to melee with him, one of your characters may be dead. The control scheme and hit detection must have been devised in Hell, the very act of attacking is a chore. When you close into attack range, you can hold down the B button to attack, but it rarely registers a hit on a monster regardless of how close you are. Your characters move and attack so slowly. You can run by holding down a directional. Jumping across chasms is pretty much accomplished by luck.
This game has battery backed memory for saving games, but considering how awful this game is, it is a waste. There were far many better games more deserving of a battery save than this piece of garbage.
Kemco :
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle
This originally was a Roger Rabbit game when it first appeared on the Famicom Disk System, but Kemco only held the license in Japan so it did a graphics makeover using Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes characters when it was released. This game is very monotonous, with the same music playing over and over and very few environment changes. Weirdly, most of the enemies are differently colored Sylvesters with occasional appearances of Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck and Wile E. Coyote. However, in the original game, the Sylvesters were the Weasels, of which there were four in the movie. You cannot really stop yourself going in and out of doors and down an incline or scroll the screen to see what is just outside your view, leading to many cheap deaths.
The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout
This game is more ambitious than Kemco's previous offering, but its far easier than you would expect.
Superman
Superman never had a great reputation for spawning great video games, and this one is almost as bad as the N64 title. Super-deformed characters and pastel graphics remind me of the Atari 2600 title, which was no classic. The music is nothing you will be humming in the shower either. Superman in this game can use several powers, but for only a very limited number of times unless you find a way to replenish each special power bar. He default attack is a punch, but the punch has no animation that tells the player the range of the attack. How close do you have to be to an enemy? It is hard to say. Of course, the enemies you first encounter shoot at you, and as either Clark Kent or Superman you are quite vulnerable to bullets. You jump almost to the top of the screen as either Clark or Superman. It does not take too much punishment to kill Superman, enemies can damage you even by touching and when they die they will often release an item that will reduce your life. The game gives you virtually no guidance on what you need to do.
Data East :
Captain America and the Avengers
As far as superhero games go on the NES, this may be the best of the bunch that is not part of the Batman franchise. You can play as Captain America or Hawkeye, but the two are not really that different. Captain America has a more limited range than Hawkeye shield comes flying back and he jump higher, but otherwise there is little else to distinguish the two. The main issue is that the play control is stiff. Graphics are okay, but the music is bland. Compared to X-Men, Silver Surfer and Spider-Man, this is probably the high water mark for Marvel Comics-based NES games, but that is damning with faint praise.
Taito :
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Weirdly, both Taito and Ubisoft released games based off the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They could not be more completely different. Ubisoft's version was atrocious and looks like a port from the ZX Spectrum. However, Ubisoft doesn't have a reputation for NES classics, Taito does, but not judging by this game. The graphics are small and hard to distinghuish. The game is very monochromatic with brown and gray hues throughout. Trying to digitize real life photographic images never works on the NES, the palette color restrictions make it almost impossible to do well. The music, after a passable rendition of John Williams' music from the film, but otherwise it is pretty nondescript.
The gameplay reminds me of the PC game Bruce Lee, where you run back and forth trying to avoid bad guys, but having to fight them if you cannot. In fact, the Cross of Coronado level requires you to beat a certain number of them before you can acquire the cross. Fighting bad guys is just a button mash and many of them take lots of hits and inflict lots of hits on you. There are also overhead racing sequences like Spy Hunter and a timed puzzle with the move the blocks with one empty block. You are quickly given choices of what you can do, but in order to complete the game, you have to beat all stages.
Rare :
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Rare is known for some good NES games, although all its games during this period were published by third parties. Unfortunately, Roger Rabbit's official NES game is no better than what was done with Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle. Roger Rabbit is an adventure game where you collect items to overcome obstacles and there are lots of items to collect. The most important objects are the four pieces of Marvin Acme's Will, scattered across four areas of Los Angeles. Most items unfortunately only have a limited number of uses and replacements are hard to come by. That is because almost all the items in the game are completely randomized when you start a new game. You can go around the four areas of the game world and talk to people, but most are unhelpful. You have to protect Roger, who is otherwise useless, from the Weasels.
Some items allow you bypass obstacles, rattles get you past rattlesnakes, a rose lets you talk to Jessica Rabbit, and TNT and a Detonator lets you break the barrier to the Toontown tunnel. Others like the gun and exploding cigars, are more useful as weapons. You shouldn't go into caves without a flashlight, rattles and spring boots. You can find and ride Benny the Cab, which is far faster than walking across L.A. If you encounter weasels, you have a limited amount of time to select the punchline to a joke or they capture Roger and you lose a life. You also lose a life if you get run over, fall into a pit or get bumped too many times and lose your sense of humor.
The graphics and music for the game is pretty appropriate. Unfortunately, you will have a hard time from keeping from bumping into things like cats and dogs. They can bump you while you are searching drawers and desks for items or talking to people and you cannot move to avoid them while you search or talk Also, defeating Judge Doom at the end of the game will have you throwing your controller at the screen.
Mostly, this game is about constant searching, everywhere, for everything. There is little sense of progression, just doing the same thing over and over and over again. It takes seemingly forever to search desks and cabinets, and the game has lots and lots of them. The people can sometimes tell you if the building has items in it. The maps reuse the same tiles over and over, making it easy to get lost. The items are mostly randomized, which may have worked in Atari's Adventure when there were only six, but not when you need to collect almost two dozen. Finally, the game gives you three lives and two continues, but when you lose those continues, you have to start over from the beginning. The game has a 22 digit password, but as a final kick in the teeth, you have ONLY 45 SECONDS to write it down.
Showing posts with label SCUMM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SCUMM. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
SCUMM Console Ports - Turbo Duo Loom vs. Sega CD Monkey Island
LucasArts was established by computer game programmers, but by 1990 they were becoming increasingly involved into consoles. Having the Star Wars and Indiana Jones licenses practically demanded home console games using the licenses. Except for the port of Maniac Mansion for the NES, LucasArts produced or licensed nothing of note until the SNES.
LucasArts was interested in porting its highly acclaimed adventure games series, using the SCUMM engine, to consoles. Their adventure games were relatively large by cartridge standards, but the new CD-ROM add-ons for the Sega Genesis and Turbo Grafx 16 could easily contain their adventure games and allow for 16-bit CD Audio. LucasArts commissioned a port of Loom for the Turbo Duo and a port of The Secret of Monkey Island for the Sega CD.
Loom
Loom for the Turbo systems was intended to run on a Turbo Duo or its equivalent : a Turbo Grafx 16 with the TurboGrafx CD and a Super System Card. It will also run on the Japanese equivalents.
The Turbo port is graphically in between the 16 color floppy and the other (mostly) 256-color CD-ROM versions. If I had to give a hierarchy of ports based solely on the graphics, it would go something like this :
Loom IBM PC 16-color floppy
What is odd is the graphics used on Turbo Loom. Both the FM-Towns and the IBM PC have full 256-color graphics above the distaff. Turbo Loom uses a mixture of backgrounds (including portraits) from the 16 and 256 color IBM PC releases.
Consider the sources of the closeups :
Bobbin Threadbare - 16 Color
Hetchel - 256 Color
Elder Atropos - 256 Color
Hetchel as Cynget - 16 Color
Master Goodmold - 256 Color
Fleece Firmflanks - 16 Color
The Dragon - 16 Color
Rusty Nailbender - 256 Color
Master Stoke - 16 Color
Dragon finds Rusty - 256 Color
Bishop Mandible - 16 Color
Cobb - 256 Color
Rusty as a Ghost - 256 Color
Lady Cygna Threadbare - 16 Color
Chaos - 256 Color
Generally, most of Loom island is taken from the 16-color version, with notable exceptions of the Dock, the Loom Sanctuary and Lady Cygna's gravestone closeup. Crystalguard is entirely 16-color. The beach, the Shepherd's forest and meadow are taken from the 256 color version, except for the interior of Fleece's hut. The exterior of the Dragon's volcano and its lair are 256 color, as is the Forge and the plain surrounding it. Bishop Mandible's cathedral and the Outside is 16-color except for the very end of the game.
The characters are always 256 color, as are most of the animated objects. The distaff portion of the screen is 16 color regardless of version (although the FM-Towns version has a distaff that does not use the EGA palette).
Why did LucasArts take roughly 50/50 from each version when the Turbo Duo was capable of almost 256 colors (but only a 512 color palette)? Storage was not an issue with a CD game. One theory is that the remaining 256 color graphics were not available in time for the Turbo port, so LucasArts had to make do with whatever 256 color art was available at the time. I am not satisfied with this theory because the FM Towns 256 color version, done in-house by LucasArts, was ready by April, 1991. The PC CD version was ready by June of 1992. The Japanese PC Engine Duo version was released in September of 1992 and the US Turbo Duo version followed in December. I can see no reason why all the 256 color artwork would not have been available for the Turbo port.
An alternative view is the 256 color graphics that they did not use either did not look very good once the color depth had been reduced or they did not look good on a composite monitor. No NEC console, whether Japanese or US, supported better than composite video at the time Loom was being ported. What may have looked good through an RGB monitor on the development hardware may have looked like crap on composite.
In instances where the 16 color graphics are being used, the Turbo through a composite monitor looks scarcely better than a Tandy 1000 outputting the 16 color IBM PC floppy graphics to a composite monitor. I recently made a post extolling the underrated virtues of composite video on the SNES and Genesis, but this game was designed on a PC and looks best through a lossless analog connection. In other words, it looks best on an RGB modded Turbo Duo. Unfortunately, no NEC console in the TurboGrafx line, not even the SuperGrafx, has native RGB support.
On the PC and other versions, the main graphics window uses 320x136 pixels. The Turbo uses 338x136, but the cursor is limited to the right-most 320 pixels. Virtually all this horizontal resolution can amazingly be squeezed into the viewable screen of a CRT. If a screen is non-scrolling, then there will be a noticeable black border on the left side of the screen. The same is also true of the leftmost side of a scrolling screen. Vertically, the game does not appear to use any of the vertical space above the main graphics window, but the cursor will descend to line 240 and perhaps line 242, which is the absolute vertical limit of 240p.
Even though the PC Engine did have a mouse available for it, Loom does not support it. However, it does have some neat options. It can change the text speed, it can turn the sound effect and music, or just the music, off, and also has a sound test that allows you to listen to any of the CD audio tracks. The Overture (from Swan Lake) is not otherwise heard in the game. It also has an option to limit the animation to improve speed, but Loom is not an animation-heavy game (The Secret of Monkey Island is much more animated), so this option would not often be useful.
The saving system is non-intuitive. Loom will save a game to the backup RAM of the CD unit. However, it really only saves a checkpoint, the first being when after you reach the beach leading to the Shepherd's forest and Crystalguard. So if you save prior to leaving Loom Island, you will load back to the very beginning before you acquire your distaff. You can lose a lot of progress this way because the save points seem quite spread out. Button I skips cutscenes, perhaps for this reason.
The Secret of Monkey Island for the Sega CD is based on the IBM PC CD-ROM version, reducing the on-screen number of colors from 256 colors to a maximum of 64 colors, similar to the Amiga. The actual game's hierarchy is less complicated :
LucasArts was interested in porting its highly acclaimed adventure games series, using the SCUMM engine, to consoles. Their adventure games were relatively large by cartridge standards, but the new CD-ROM add-ons for the Sega Genesis and Turbo Grafx 16 could easily contain their adventure games and allow for 16-bit CD Audio. LucasArts commissioned a port of Loom for the Turbo Duo and a port of The Secret of Monkey Island for the Sega CD.
Loom
 |
| Loom - Turbo Super CD Title Screen |
The Turbo port is graphically in between the 16 color floppy and the other (mostly) 256-color CD-ROM versions. If I had to give a hierarchy of ports based solely on the graphics, it would go something like this :
Loom IBM PC 16-color floppy
- Atari ST 16-color floppy
- Amiga 16-color floppy
- Macintosh 16-color floppy
Loom 256-color FM-Towns CD
Loom 256-color IBM PC CD
Loom 16/256-color Turbo CD
The Turbo CD and FM-Towns CD have similar CD-Audio tracks, which are used for music. The first set of FM-Towns arrangements (first nine audio tracks) are used for the Turbo CD music. Musically, this may be the best version, as the FM-Towns also uses second set of music tracks. The second set sounds more like a synthesizer than the first set and in my opinion is inferior. Unfortunately, the FM-Towns version plays the first set, then the second set and keeps repeating the second set.
 |
| Loom Turbo Super CD 16 Color Original Background |
Consider the sources of the closeups :
Bobbin Threadbare - 16 Color
Hetchel - 256 Color
Elder Atropos - 256 Color
Hetchel as Cynget - 16 Color
Master Goodmold - 256 Color
Fleece Firmflanks - 16 Color
The Dragon - 16 Color
Rusty Nailbender - 256 Color
Master Stoke - 16 Color
Dragon finds Rusty - 256 Color
Bishop Mandible - 16 Color
Cobb - 256 Color
Rusty as a Ghost - 256 Color
Lady Cygna Threadbare - 16 Color
Chaos - 256 Color
Generally, most of Loom island is taken from the 16-color version, with notable exceptions of the Dock, the Loom Sanctuary and Lady Cygna's gravestone closeup. Crystalguard is entirely 16-color. The beach, the Shepherd's forest and meadow are taken from the 256 color version, except for the interior of Fleece's hut. The exterior of the Dragon's volcano and its lair are 256 color, as is the Forge and the plain surrounding it. Bishop Mandible's cathedral and the Outside is 16-color except for the very end of the game.
 |
| Loom Turbo CD - 256 Color Original Background |
Why did LucasArts take roughly 50/50 from each version when the Turbo Duo was capable of almost 256 colors (but only a 512 color palette)? Storage was not an issue with a CD game. One theory is that the remaining 256 color graphics were not available in time for the Turbo port, so LucasArts had to make do with whatever 256 color art was available at the time. I am not satisfied with this theory because the FM Towns 256 color version, done in-house by LucasArts, was ready by April, 1991. The PC CD version was ready by June of 1992. The Japanese PC Engine Duo version was released in September of 1992 and the US Turbo Duo version followed in December. I can see no reason why all the 256 color artwork would not have been available for the Turbo port.
An alternative view is the 256 color graphics that they did not use either did not look very good once the color depth had been reduced or they did not look good on a composite monitor. No NEC console, whether Japanese or US, supported better than composite video at the time Loom was being ported. What may have looked good through an RGB monitor on the development hardware may have looked like crap on composite.
In instances where the 16 color graphics are being used, the Turbo through a composite monitor looks scarcely better than a Tandy 1000 outputting the 16 color IBM PC floppy graphics to a composite monitor. I recently made a post extolling the underrated virtues of composite video on the SNES and Genesis, but this game was designed on a PC and looks best through a lossless analog connection. In other words, it looks best on an RGB modded Turbo Duo. Unfortunately, no NEC console in the TurboGrafx line, not even the SuperGrafx, has native RGB support.
On the PC and other versions, the main graphics window uses 320x136 pixels. The Turbo uses 338x136, but the cursor is limited to the right-most 320 pixels. Virtually all this horizontal resolution can amazingly be squeezed into the viewable screen of a CRT. If a screen is non-scrolling, then there will be a noticeable black border on the left side of the screen. The same is also true of the leftmost side of a scrolling screen. Vertically, the game does not appear to use any of the vertical space above the main graphics window, but the cursor will descend to line 240 and perhaps line 242, which is the absolute vertical limit of 240p.
Even though the PC Engine did have a mouse available for it, Loom does not support it. However, it does have some neat options. It can change the text speed, it can turn the sound effect and music, or just the music, off, and also has a sound test that allows you to listen to any of the CD audio tracks. The Overture (from Swan Lake) is not otherwise heard in the game. It also has an option to limit the animation to improve speed, but Loom is not an animation-heavy game (The Secret of Monkey Island is much more animated), so this option would not often be useful.
The saving system is non-intuitive. Loom will save a game to the backup RAM of the CD unit. However, it really only saves a checkpoint, the first being when after you reach the beach leading to the Shepherd's forest and Crystalguard. So if you save prior to leaving Loom Island, you will load back to the very beginning before you acquire your distaff. You can lose a lot of progress this way because the save points seem quite spread out. Button I skips cutscenes, perhaps for this reason.
The Secret of Monkey Island
 |
| The Secret of Monkey Island Sega CD |
The Secret of Monkey Island 16-color floppy
- Atari ST 16-color floppy
The Secret of Monkey Island 256-color floppy
- Amiga 32-color floppy
The Secret of Monkey Island 256-color IBM PC CD-ROM
- FM-Towns 256-color CD-ROM (uses 16-color inventory icons, Japanese and English available)
- Sega CD 64-color CD-ROM
- Macintosh 256-color CD-ROM (has graphical filtering option)
The Sega CD does not use the save RAM inside the CD unit, instead it gives a 4-digit passcode to restore a game. It is rather amazing that LucasArts could fit all the information needed to restore a game in essentially four bytes. This passcodes will only restore your game if you have made a substantial achievement like completing one of the three trials. Your inventory may not be exactly as you had left it, nor may your character be where you left him and the dialogue options may be reset (which is terrible for the sword fighting trial), but you will not get stuck because you don't have an object you need. You may have to acquire some items again unfortunately. Button C is used to skip dialogue, and this was probably implemented for this reason.
Interestingly, this port has support for the Sega Mega Mouse peripheral, making it function much more closely to the computer versions. This is not mentioned in the US manual or on the US box, but there is a symbol for it on the Japanese box. The mouse support is present on both the Japanese and US versions of the game. The game was not released in Europe.
The gameplay itself is not too bad, but it will slow down if there is a lot of animation on the screen. Scrolling is also jerky when there is a lot of animation on the screen. When you are selecting dialogue, the cursor disappears, even if you are using a mouse. The only option of is to change the text speed. The dialogue options are sometimes redone for this version to decrease the number of dialogue choices that use a second line.
The graphics are dark, especially the backgrounds on Melee Island. The backgrounds are those used from the Amiga version, 256-colors reduced to 32-colors, but the Sega color palette appears much darker than the Amiga palette. I guess LucasArts believed that people would simply turn the brightness of their TV up if they felt the screen was too dark. On the other hand, the character, object and inventory graphics have been converted from the 256 colors of the PC CD version. The CD audio is more or less identical to the PC CD version and plays the music as it does in the PC CD version. One positive thing to note is that the Genesis Model 1 and 2 always support RGB output, so the graphics can look pretty nice.
The load times are rather annoying. There are load times for every time you enter into a new screen, begin dialogue, acquire an item and other characters move on the screen. Much of this is due to the limited RAM available for the Sega CD. The average 1992 PC would have had 4-8MB of RAM while the Sega Genesis and CD combined have 832KB.
So, Which is Better?
This is a hard decision, because I cannot honestly recommend either port. Both have klunky saving and loading, and both have graphical issues. The Secret of Monkey Island is too dark (but can be improved with RGB), Loom is too inconsistent. Audio-wise, both are excellent. There are noticeable slowdowns early in SoMI and lots of CD load times. It is the load times that kill the Sega CD port. Loom is a much simpler game and was better suited to the 8/16-bit consoles of the 4th Generation.
 |
| The Secret of Monkey Island Sega CD SCUMM Bar |
The gameplay itself is not too bad, but it will slow down if there is a lot of animation on the screen. Scrolling is also jerky when there is a lot of animation on the screen. When you are selecting dialogue, the cursor disappears, even if you are using a mouse. The only option of is to change the text speed. The dialogue options are sometimes redone for this version to decrease the number of dialogue choices that use a second line.
 |
| The Secret of Monkey Island Sega CD Portrait |
The load times are rather annoying. There are load times for every time you enter into a new screen, begin dialogue, acquire an item and other characters move on the screen. Much of this is due to the limited RAM available for the Sega CD. The average 1992 PC would have had 4-8MB of RAM while the Sega Genesis and CD combined have 832KB.
So, Which is Better?
This is a hard decision, because I cannot honestly recommend either port. Both have klunky saving and loading, and both have graphical issues. The Secret of Monkey Island is too dark (but can be improved with RGB), Loom is too inconsistent. Audio-wise, both are excellent. There are noticeable slowdowns early in SoMI and lots of CD load times. It is the load times that kill the Sega CD port. Loom is a much simpler game and was better suited to the 8/16-bit consoles of the 4th Generation.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Cajoling Sierra and LucasArts Games to Play Tandy Sound on a Non-Tandy System
Sierra's AGI engine games, which formed the bulk of their mid 80s PC offerings, supported Tandy graphics and sound. LucasArts' early SCUMM engine games also supported Tandy graphics and sound. As far as sound went, the Tandy 3-voice chip was the only alternative to the PC Speaker. However, Tandy sound chips were almost exclusively found in Tandy 1000s and PCjrs. They were not generally available in PCs and never available to the general public as a sound card.
The main reason why no one put the 3-voice TI SN76496 sound chip inside their PCs was because it utilized the same address space (C0-C7) as the 2nd DMA controller in the IBM PC AT and clones. The blame for this was on IBM, which had designed both the PCjr. and AT. Although the 2nd DMA controller was not really important until the mid 90s, PC clones that wanted to manufacture AT compatibles had to include it. While this was not the only reason why the sound chip was not generally available, it was a daunting hurdle when every game that used it had to write directly to the registers located at the contested I/O location(s).
Games cannot detect the Tandy sound chip because it can be written to but not read. They can detect a Tandy 1000 or an IBM PCjr. by reading identifier bytes in the BIOS area of these machines. For the PCjr. it is FD at F000:FFFE and 21 for the Tandy 1000s at FC00:0000. When the programmers have their programs search for these bytes, then they know that Tandy or PCjr. graphics and sound are present in the machine. However, Tandy allowed its machines, starting with the SX, to use other graphics cards, complicating matters.
Graphics cards can be detected by software. A MDA adapter can be identified by reading from a status port at 3BA and a CGA by a status port at 3DA. Hercules cards can be detected by some unused (by IBM) bits in the status port. An EGA, MCGA or VGA can be detected via BIOS extensions and readable registers, particularly at 3C0-3CF. MGCA can additionally be assumed if the system returns the ID byte for an IBM PS/2 Model 25 or 30, FA at F000:FFFE
Distinguishing CGA from Tandy video is tricky because Tandy video (almost) perfectly emulates the latter from a hardware perspective. There are generally two ways a programmer can distinguish CGA from Tandy video. First, Tandys use IRQ5 for vertical retrace, CGAs do not. However, often this functionality is disabled because hard drive adapters also tend to use IRQ5 in 8-bit slots. The other way is through the amount of video memory available. Tandy video can use 32KB while CGA video only uses 16KB, so if a program writes a value to a memory location in the lower 16KB and a different value to the memory location exactly 16KB above the first memory location written, if the first memory location is the same as the second memory location, you have a CGA, and if the locations are different, you have Tandy. This only works for CGA cards with access only to 16KB of RAM.
Despite these issues, an ISA card is being developed that will put Tandy sound on a non-Tandy PC. If it is completed, you will be able to run virtually any DOS game that allows you to specify the audio in an install or setup program of via the command line. Some games are a bit difficult when asked to do this, and here are instructions on how to coerce some games to work in this (for now) hypothetical scenario.
Sierra's Adventure Game Interpreter
Games affected :
King's Quest I, II, III, Space Quest I, II, Mixed Up Mother Goose, Police Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, The Black Cauldron, Donald Duck's Playground
Solution :
Any of these games released with an AGI Interpreter version of 2.917 or later can support Tandy sound with an EGA or VGA adapter present. The latest interpreters are also required to avoid having graphical garbage be left on the screen from animation due to some self-modifying code in the graphics card drivers the game uses in earlier interpreters. You will need the command line argument -t if you are not running the game on a Tandy 1000. This tells the executable to use Tandy graphics and sound, but the program conducts checks for an EGA or VGA adapter and will use them if present. It will still give you Tandy sound.
However, if you have a version of the game that uses an AGI Interpreter below 2.917, you will need to copy over the interpreter files from another game with that interpreter. Here are the interpreter files :
AGI or SIERRA.EXE
AGIDATA.OVL
CGA_GRAF.OVL
EGA_GRAF.OVL
HGC_FONT
HGC_GRAF.OVL
HGC_OBJS.OVL
IBM_OBJS.OVL
JR_GRAF.OVL
SIERRA.COM or KQ[1].COM, KQ2.COM, KQ3.COM, LL[LSL1].COM, PQ[1].COM, SQ[1].COM, SQ2.COM, BC.COM
VG_GRAF.OVL
The real executable is the AGI file, the .COM file is a loader which implemented the key disk copy protection. (The .COM file is also necessary to set up these games to work correctly on the PCjr., otherwise it is not needed). To keep people from using these files interchangeably, Sierra included the initials of the game in the encrypted AGI file. If that name does not match the game files, then the program will refuse to run. You will need a cracked .COM file and a program called AGI Decryptor to decrypt the AGI file into an executable AGI.EXE. Then you must hex edit the AGI.EXE file to change the name of the game. Then it will run.
Games using AGI Interpreters with 3.xx work without any intervention required.
This will not work with any booter game, as Tandy video is the best video adapter they support, without major hacking.
LucasArts SCUMM
Games Affected :
Maniac Mansion (both non-Enhanced and Enhanced), Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders (both non-Enhanced and Enhanced), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade : The Adventure Game (both 16-color and 256-color versions).
Solution :
These games autodetect Tandy 1000s and will use Tandy graphics and sound. If they are not being run in a Tandy 1000, they will use PC Speaker sound. They support an EGA or VGA card in a Tandy 1000. With a little bit of hex editing, you can force the executable to always use Tandy sound (but nothing else). The instructions can be found here : http://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=31657#p260253
It is not impossible that the executable may be compressed because it was necessary to fit it on the floppy disks. In that case, you will need an EXE unpacker like UNP or LZEXE before you can hex edit the files.
Indy 3 will always use Adlib sound if an Adlib or Sound Blaster is in the system, even in a Tandy 1000. If you use the above method, you will need to remove the sound card to hear Tandy music. It will never autodetect a Game Blaster, which is supported in the 256-color versions and 16-color version 3.14.
While typically DOSBox's Tandy mode obviates the need for these patches, in the non-Enhanced versions of Maniac and Zak, you will be able to enjoy the crisper text of the EGA and VGA modes with this patch.
Notes :
Neither series of games will show the correct graphics with a CGA or Hercules card when these methods to force Tandy sound are used.
The main reason why no one put the 3-voice TI SN76496 sound chip inside their PCs was because it utilized the same address space (C0-C7) as the 2nd DMA controller in the IBM PC AT and clones. The blame for this was on IBM, which had designed both the PCjr. and AT. Although the 2nd DMA controller was not really important until the mid 90s, PC clones that wanted to manufacture AT compatibles had to include it. While this was not the only reason why the sound chip was not generally available, it was a daunting hurdle when every game that used it had to write directly to the registers located at the contested I/O location(s).
Games cannot detect the Tandy sound chip because it can be written to but not read. They can detect a Tandy 1000 or an IBM PCjr. by reading identifier bytes in the BIOS area of these machines. For the PCjr. it is FD at F000:FFFE and 21 for the Tandy 1000s at FC00:0000. When the programmers have their programs search for these bytes, then they know that Tandy or PCjr. graphics and sound are present in the machine. However, Tandy allowed its machines, starting with the SX, to use other graphics cards, complicating matters.
Graphics cards can be detected by software. A MDA adapter can be identified by reading from a status port at 3BA and a CGA by a status port at 3DA. Hercules cards can be detected by some unused (by IBM) bits in the status port. An EGA, MCGA or VGA can be detected via BIOS extensions and readable registers, particularly at 3C0-3CF. MGCA can additionally be assumed if the system returns the ID byte for an IBM PS/2 Model 25 or 30, FA at F000:FFFE
Distinguishing CGA from Tandy video is tricky because Tandy video (almost) perfectly emulates the latter from a hardware perspective. There are generally two ways a programmer can distinguish CGA from Tandy video. First, Tandys use IRQ5 for vertical retrace, CGAs do not. However, often this functionality is disabled because hard drive adapters also tend to use IRQ5 in 8-bit slots. The other way is through the amount of video memory available. Tandy video can use 32KB while CGA video only uses 16KB, so if a program writes a value to a memory location in the lower 16KB and a different value to the memory location exactly 16KB above the first memory location written, if the first memory location is the same as the second memory location, you have a CGA, and if the locations are different, you have Tandy. This only works for CGA cards with access only to 16KB of RAM.
Despite these issues, an ISA card is being developed that will put Tandy sound on a non-Tandy PC. If it is completed, you will be able to run virtually any DOS game that allows you to specify the audio in an install or setup program of via the command line. Some games are a bit difficult when asked to do this, and here are instructions on how to coerce some games to work in this (for now) hypothetical scenario.
Sierra's Adventure Game Interpreter
Games affected :
King's Quest I, II, III, Space Quest I, II, Mixed Up Mother Goose, Police Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, The Black Cauldron, Donald Duck's Playground
Solution :
Any of these games released with an AGI Interpreter version of 2.917 or later can support Tandy sound with an EGA or VGA adapter present. The latest interpreters are also required to avoid having graphical garbage be left on the screen from animation due to some self-modifying code in the graphics card drivers the game uses in earlier interpreters. You will need the command line argument -t if you are not running the game on a Tandy 1000. This tells the executable to use Tandy graphics and sound, but the program conducts checks for an EGA or VGA adapter and will use them if present. It will still give you Tandy sound.
However, if you have a version of the game that uses an AGI Interpreter below 2.917, you will need to copy over the interpreter files from another game with that interpreter. Here are the interpreter files :
AGI or SIERRA.EXE
AGIDATA.OVL
CGA_GRAF.OVL
EGA_GRAF.OVL
HGC_FONT
HGC_GRAF.OVL
HGC_OBJS.OVL
IBM_OBJS.OVL
JR_GRAF.OVL
SIERRA.COM or KQ[1].COM, KQ2.COM, KQ3.COM, LL[LSL1].COM, PQ[1].COM, SQ[1].COM, SQ2.COM, BC.COM
VG_GRAF.OVL
The real executable is the AGI file, the .COM file is a loader which implemented the key disk copy protection. (The .COM file is also necessary to set up these games to work correctly on the PCjr., otherwise it is not needed). To keep people from using these files interchangeably, Sierra included the initials of the game in the encrypted AGI file. If that name does not match the game files, then the program will refuse to run. You will need a cracked .COM file and a program called AGI Decryptor to decrypt the AGI file into an executable AGI.EXE. Then you must hex edit the AGI.EXE file to change the name of the game. Then it will run.
Games using AGI Interpreters with 3.xx work without any intervention required.
This will not work with any booter game, as Tandy video is the best video adapter they support, without major hacking.
LucasArts SCUMM
Games Affected :
Maniac Mansion (both non-Enhanced and Enhanced), Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders (both non-Enhanced and Enhanced), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade : The Adventure Game (both 16-color and 256-color versions).
Solution :
These games autodetect Tandy 1000s and will use Tandy graphics and sound. If they are not being run in a Tandy 1000, they will use PC Speaker sound. They support an EGA or VGA card in a Tandy 1000. With a little bit of hex editing, you can force the executable to always use Tandy sound (but nothing else). The instructions can be found here : http://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=31657#p260253
It is not impossible that the executable may be compressed because it was necessary to fit it on the floppy disks. In that case, you will need an EXE unpacker like UNP or LZEXE before you can hex edit the files.
Indy 3 will always use Adlib sound if an Adlib or Sound Blaster is in the system, even in a Tandy 1000. If you use the above method, you will need to remove the sound card to hear Tandy music. It will never autodetect a Game Blaster, which is supported in the 256-color versions and 16-color version 3.14.
While typically DOSBox's Tandy mode obviates the need for these patches, in the non-Enhanced versions of Maniac and Zak, you will be able to enjoy the crisper text of the EGA and VGA modes with this patch.
Notes :
Neither series of games will show the correct graphics with a CGA or Hercules card when these methods to force Tandy sound are used.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Ron Gilbert, Maniac Mansion and Modern Computer Adventure Game
Ron Gilbert may not have a huge number of adventure games (not for children) to his credit, but his influence in adventure gaming far surpasses the number of games on which he was credited as designer. He has two bona-fide classics to his name, 1987's Maniac Mansion and 1990's The Secret of Monkey Island, and I would also include Monkey Island 2 : LeChuck's Revenge as a classic. In this post, I want to talk a little bit about why his first game, Maniac Mansion, is a classic, both from a design perspective and and a thematic perspective.
In Sierra's games, Death is your ever present companion. He lurks on most screens, ready to frustrate the player who forgot to save within the last five minutes. In Gilbert's Maniac Mansion, death is possible but its more of an accomplishment to kill one of your characters. How to figure out another way to kill a character is really akin to solving a puzzle. And the ways in which you can die are reasonable and make sense in the context of the game. If you let the reactor go uncooled for too long, there will be a meltdown. If you show Weird Ed his dead hamster (which can only be killed by certain kids), he will kill you. Since you have three kids, you may still be able to beat the game if one dies. In both King's Quest V and Leisure Suit Larry, there are screens that if you enter them, you are guaranteed to die due to a monster or there is a monster there every time ready to kill you.
Another terrible design issue is the use of obstacles that you have to climb or cross very carefully. Stairs in the King's Quest series are serious obstacles, especially in II and IV. The rock path from Mannanan's house in III is particularly evil. The whale's tongue in IV is no fun, but the Waterfall Cave must have been designed by the development team after an all-night office party. Not only is there a random monster, who follows you from screen to screen, the cave is dark and the lantern sheds little light. Finally, there is a pit you have to cross, and you can easily die trying to find the edge. Nothing like that exists in any LucasArts game. In fact, Maniac Mansion includes pathfinding and indirect control of the character by cursor, something that would be ubiquitous in the 1990s.
In Sierra's games, Death is your ever present companion. He lurks on most screens, ready to frustrate the player who forgot to save within the last five minutes. In Gilbert's Maniac Mansion, death is possible but its more of an accomplishment to kill one of your characters. How to figure out another way to kill a character is really akin to solving a puzzle. And the ways in which you can die are reasonable and make sense in the context of the game. If you let the reactor go uncooled for too long, there will be a meltdown. If you show Weird Ed his dead hamster (which can only be killed by certain kids), he will kill you. Since you have three kids, you may still be able to beat the game if one dies. In both King's Quest V and Leisure Suit Larry, there are screens that if you enter them, you are guaranteed to die due to a monster or there is a monster there every time ready to kill you.
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| The worst you can typically expect in Maniac Mansion |
Another lazy design issue in other adventure games is putting the game in an unwinnable state. Typically this is because the player forgot to pick up an item or do something at a timed event and now can no longer do it. This is a poor way to extend the gameplay and increase the challenge because it is so unfair. It is difficult to get Maniac Mansion in an unwinnable state unless you are truly careless. Leisure Suit Larry 2 is particularly cruel in this regard, in more than one part of the game if you fail to do everything you need to do before a time limit, you will lose the game.
A third, truly lazy design choice in adventure games is the use of maze-like environments. These were amusing when Zork was king, but Sierra was using them to obnoxious effect twice in King's Quest V. Maniac Mansion has no mazes and no generic or featureless screens. Each screen has at least some visual interest, and most contain either an item or is part of a puzzle. In the later Monkey Island games, the maze-like environments were just another puzzle to be solved.
Even so, Gilbert encouraged exploration of the mansion at the player's leisure. Although the game may seem to have a limited time, this is not the case. No matter how long you take, the meteor will not possess Sandy. Only during the end game does a timer countdown. In the ICOM simulations like Shadowgate and The Uninvited, there always was some limiting factor in the game like the number of torches available or that you will be possessed.
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| I'm not sure how accurate that map is, but that is the rough number of rooms in the game. |
Random monsters are no fun. Sierra used them not only to kill but also to cause an unwinnable game state. If the Dwarf steals one of the three treasures in King's Quest, you cannot win the game. In Maniac Mansion, the "monsters" have fixed schedules and locations, and at worst they inconvenience you.
The scheduling and cutscenes in the game help to show that this game is a living, breathing world. In most other games of the time, the game simply reacts to what the player does. Here cutscenes propel the story forward. The various actors in the Mansion have clearly defined characteristics, Weird Ed is a commando, Nurse Edna is kinky, Green Tentacle is a wanna-be musician, etc. The large sprites used for the characters help give each kid and character a unique look. The heads are big enough to allow for the graphics engine to show them talking, which helps with the immersion.
The scheduling and cutscenes in the game help to show that this game is a living, breathing world. In most other games of the time, the game simply reacts to what the player does. Here cutscenes propel the story forward. The various actors in the Mansion have clearly defined characteristics, Weird Ed is a commando, Nurse Edna is kinky, Green Tentacle is a wanna-be musician, etc. The large sprites used for the characters help give each kid and character a unique look. The heads are big enough to allow for the graphics engine to show them talking, which helps with the immersion.
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| If this was a Sierra game, the Green Tentacle would have killed you here. |
Gilbert believed the text parser interface to be truly archaic for graphic adventure games. He despised trying to play "try to guess what the designer wants you to type". While Maniac Mansion was not the first game to use an icon-based interface, it firmly put paid to the notion that adventure games would be too easy without the text parser. Although the icons are words, not graphics, nonetheless they serve the same function.
The graphics in the original Maniac Mansion are in a low, 160x200, resolution. To avoid any need to "guess" what an item is, Maniac Mansion had a "What Is" command that if the pointer hovered over the object, the game would tell you what it is. In fact, using the What Is command allowed you to identify all the "hot spots" in the room. Early Sierra games had no generic "look" command, but eventually their AGI games would generally tell you what was important in the room. The later 16-color SCI games allowed a right click on the mouse to function as a "look at" on the object clicked on.
The graphics in the original Maniac Mansion are in a low, 160x200, resolution. To avoid any need to "guess" what an item is, Maniac Mansion had a "What Is" command that if the pointer hovered over the object, the game would tell you what it is. In fact, using the What Is command allowed you to identify all the "hot spots" in the room. Early Sierra games had no generic "look" command, but eventually their AGI games would generally tell you what was important in the room. The later 16-color SCI games allowed a right click on the mouse to function as a "look at" on the object clicked on.
Maniac Mansion was one of the first adventure games intended to be replayable. The different combinations of kids allowed the game to be won in more than one way. There are also multiple endings, and each combination can access some of the endings. This helped make up for the relative smallness of the game world.
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| Choices, choices... |
Maniac Mansion is a "funny game". Funny games are memorable. Really humorous characters tend to be more memorable over the long run than bland or serious characters. A goofy 8-bit mansion is more likely to be iconic than a "realistic" 8-bit castle and more memorable. Games that aren't mean to be taken truly seriously tend to hold up better than a lot the portentous, supposedly-meaninfgul crap of the 1990s and 2000s. It is also easier to be funny than dramatic on less capable machines.
Gilbert deserves credit for developing Maniac Mansion for the Commodore 64. The final game shipped on one double sided diskette (340KB) and could be run within the 64KB of RAM of that system. By contrast, Sierra's AGI games in 1987 took up at least two disks (360KB) and required twice the RAM on an Apple IIe/IIc and four times the RAM on a PC (they didn't run on a Commodore 64). To be fair, the ports of Maniac Mansion to those systems required the same amount of RAM on the Apple IIe/IIc and PC. The opening music was unusually good for a US Commodore 64 game, something lost in the Apple & PC versions (except on a Tandy 1000).
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Lucasfilm Games & LucasArts Technical Qualities
This article discusses the hardware support for every Lucasfilm Games/LucasArts title released on a floppy disk for the IBM PC and compatibles for DOS. This article does not cover games not developed by LucasArts (Indy Action Adventures, Pipe Dream, Night Shift, Masterblazer) or versions of these games for other systems (C64, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, FM-Towns), CD-ROM versions, collections or games for Windows (Indy's Desktop Adventures). It also identifies any different versions and gives information about them where known. Non-English versions are not covered.
Options in bold are, at least in my opinion, the ideal graphics and sound hardware to run the game on. Unless otherwise noted, all games support keyboard, mouse and joystick. All games in this article can be run from a hard drive and do not have disk-based copy protection.
Maniac Mansion
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 256KB
Media - 1 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 04/13/1988
Copy Protection - Nuke'm Alarms Codebook
Initially distributed by Activision, uses a box with no border, unlike every Lucas product thereafter. First Lucas game for the IBM PC and DOS (PHM Pegasus and Strike Fleet have later file dates) Supports CGA composite color, but poorly. Tandy 3-Voice is the ideal for music and sound effects, but EGA graphics are superior to Tandy graphics because the text looks nicer. (Tandy uses a true 160x200 mode, requiring a blockier font, while all other graphics adapters except Hercules use a 320x200 mode with double-wide pixels for the graphics area). Can be found without copy-protection in Day of the Tentacle, but Tandy support is broken in that version (text is garbled). Comes with large poster with hints for puzzles in the game. Can write the current configuration, including video mode and input (joystick or mouse) to a file called PREFS.
PHM Pegasus
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 256KB
Media - 1 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 05/15/1988
Copy Protection - Manual
Distributed by Electronic Arts. Early release came on 5.25" floppy, later release included both types of media. Unusually, EGA is more colorful than Tandy. Tandy 3-Voice only seems to be used for the title music. CGA is supported in color and Black & White, the latter intended for laptops. No mouse support.
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 256KB
Media - 2 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 07/19/1988; 07/25/1988
Copy Protection - Zap 'Em II Exit Visa Security Codes Codebook
Probably the first product fully distributed by Lucas. Supports CGA composite color, but poorly. Was on the market for only a few months, then replaced by the Enhanced edition. Tandy 3-Voice is the ideal for music and sound effects, but EGA graphics are superior to Tandy graphics because the text looks nicer. (Tandy uses a true 160x200 mode, requiring a blockier font, while all other graphics adapters except Hercules use a 320x200 mode with double-wide pixels for the graphics area). Comes with The National Inquisitor with hints for the puzzles in the game. Can write the current configuration, including video mode and input (joystick or mouse) to a file called PREFS.
Battlehawks 1942
Video Support - CGA, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 2 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 10/06/1988
Copy Protection - Manual
First game to use Lucas' flight simulator engine, which would be continuously improved until the Star Wars sims. Copy protection is removed in the Air Combat Classics Collection.
Strike Fleet
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 1 x 5.25" DD
File Date - 11/30/1988
Copy Protection - Manual?
No mouse support. Last game to be released by another company. Unknown if released on 3.5" disk.
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders "Enhanced"
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 3 x 5.25" DD & 2 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 12/30/1988; 09/21/1992
Copy Protection - Zap 'Em II Exit Visa Security Codes Codebook
Uses proper 320x200 graphics for all modes. First game to be developed for the IBM PC. Music and sound effects are identical with low resolution version. As far as I can tell, Lucas never used the words "Enhanced" to refer to this version. I believe that they silently replaced the older version with this version. Copy protection removed in the Classic Adventures Collection with a 09/21/1992 install date (even though the codes are in the manual).
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade : The Graphics Adventure
Video Support - CGA, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Creative C/MS*
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 6 x 5.25" DD or 3 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 07/09/1989 (v1.0); 08/14/1989 (v1.3); 11/07/1989 (v1.4)
Copy Protection - Translation Table with Red Filter
* - Version 1.4 only
First game to not include both types of disks (5.25" 360KB and 3.5" 720KB) in the box, requiring the user to use an offer to switch their game disks. First use of a red filter for copy protection. A decent scan of the pages will allow the underlying text to be read with a filter (looking at a screen) or by color manipulation in Photoshop. Not immediately removed from the company store when the 256-color version was released. Comes with a Grail Diary with clues to various puzzles in the game and is essential to beating the game. Versions 1.0, 1.3 and 1.4 exist. Mouse & Adlib support is autodetected for this game, LOOM and later games using the SCUMM engine.
Maniac Mansion "Enhanced"
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 2 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 08/03/1989; 10/31/1989; 09/21/1992
Copy Protection - Nuke'm Alarms Codebook with Red Filter
Apparently the maroon pages of the original Codebook were not sufficient to deter photocopying, so Lucas used a red filter in this version. Uses proper 320x200 graphics for all modes. Music and sound effects are improved compared with low resolution version. I believe that they silently replaced the older version with this version. Copy protection is not removed in the Classic Adventures Collection (at least the version with the install files end with 09/21/1992). Last game to support Hercules.
Their Finest Hour : The Battle of Britain
Video Support - CGA, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib
Minimum RAM - 512KB
Media - 4 x 5.25" DD or 2 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 10/02/1989
Copy Protection - Radio Frequency Cipher Wheel Codewheel
Expansions : Their Finest Missions Volume One
First Lucas game with a Codewheel, would not be the last. Copy protection is removed in the Air Combat Classics Collection. First Lucas game to provide true support for VGA (more than the 16 CGA colors are used), although graphics were originally drawn for EGA.
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Creative C/MS, Roland MT-32*
Minimum RAM - 512KB
Media - 6 x 5.25" DD or 3 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 03/07/1990 (v1.0/Int. 3.5.57); 03/15/1990 (v1.1/Int. 3.5.37) 09/21/1992 (v1.1/Int. 3.5.40)
Copy Protection - Book of Patterns with Red Filter
* - Patch disk required
Uniquely came with a stereo Cassette featuring a nearly 30-minute audio drama telling the backstory. Only 16-color game not to have an upgraded floppy version released. Copy protection removed in the Classic Adventures Collection. Users originally had to pay $10 and send in a card to receive the MT-32 patch, but it is available on LucasArts' support site. Last game to use a red filter for copy protection. Versions 1.0 and 1.1 exist. CD version dated 06/09/92, has 256-color graphics, full voice-acting with simplified script, almost no portraits, CD audio music and sound effects. FM-Towns CD uses floppy text, 256-color portraits and CD audio music (two different versions for each piece) but no voice acting. First game to use the /? command line argument to list the arguments the game accepts. LucasArts Classic Collection version with copy protection eliminated reports v1.1/Int. 3.5.40.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade : The Graphics Adventure "256-Color VGA"
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Creative C/MS
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 4 x 3.5" HD or 4 x 5.25" HD or 3 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 05/03/1990 (v.2.0/Int. 3.0.18); 08/30/1990 (v2.0/Int. v3.0.20) 08/06/1992; 09/21/1992 (v2.0/Int. 3.0.22)
Copy Protection - None
There is no translation table screen in this version, so no copy protection. Unlike 16-color version, any copy of this version will support the C/MS Game Blaster. Included in the Classic Adventures Collection. First game to come on high density floppies, but LucasArts apparently only offered a "full" version on 5.25"HD disks. Upgrade, budget or slash releases may come on 1.44MB 3.5" disks. If there are four 3.5" HD disks, then the game can be run off floppies. If there are only three disks, then it must be decompressed to a hard drive. FM-Towns CD uses CD audio music. LucasArts Classic Collection version with copy protection eliminated reports v2.0/Int. 3.0.22.
The Secret of Monkey Island
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Creative C/MS, Roland MT-32*
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 8 x 5.25" DD or 4 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 09/01/1990 (v1.0/Int. v.4.0.62)
Copy Protection - Dial-A-Pirate Codewheel
* - Patch disk required, cost $10 back in the day. Not immediately removed from the company store when the 256-color version was released. Last game to support CGA and HGC. Roland is not always ideal, since you lose the sound effects of the Adlib and other sound drivers.
The Secret of Monkey Island "256-Color VGA"
Video Support - EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib , Creative C/MS, Roland MT-32
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 8 x 3.5" DD or 7 x 3.5" DD (v1.1) or 4 x 5.25" HD.or 3 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 12/03/1990; 02/04/1992 (v1.0/Int. v.5.0.16); 02/15/1991 (v1.1/Int. v.5.0.16), (v1.1/Int. v.5.0.15); 09/21/1992 (v1.0/Int. v.5.0.19)
Copy Protection - Dial-A-Pirate Codewheel
CD version dated 06/10/92, "stump joke" removed, CD audio music added and interface changed from text to icons and fewer verbs. Copy protection removed in the Classic Adventures Collection, which reports v1.0/Int. v.5.0.19. Versions 1.0 and 1.1? exist. Later budget releases may come on 1.44MB floppies. Last game to support C/MS.
Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe
Video Support - TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Sound Blaster
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 768KB for Tandy, 1MB EMS Recommended
Media - 8 x 5.25" DD or 4 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 09/01/1990
Copy Protection - Codewheel
Expansions : P-38 Lightning Tour Of Duty
Do 335 Pfeil Tour Of Duty
P-80 Shooting Star Tour Of Duty
He 162 Volksjager Tour Of Duty
Expansions will bring 1.0 and 1.02 to 2.0 and 2.1. 2.1 is the version that third-party missions use. 2.2 comes on the CD. First game with "true" VGA graphics and last to support Tandy graphics and sound.
Monkey Island 2 - LeChuck's Revenge
Video Support - EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Adlib, Sound Blaster, Roland MT-32
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 6 x 5.25" HD or 5 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 11/21/1991 (v1.0/Int. v.5.2.02)
Copy Protection - Mix-n-Mojo Codewheel
Copy protection, Easy Mode & the 16-color EGA support (appears in B&W) removed in the Monkey Island Madness CD. KIXX released this game with the copy protection removed (probably to eliminate the expensive codewheel), but without damage otherwise. Last game to use a codewheel. Last to use Lucasfilm Games and first to use LucasArts company name. I believe the opening title music was originally composed for Adlib and the in-game music for Roland.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Video Support - EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Adlib, Sound Blaster, Roland MT-32
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 6 x 5.25" HD or 5 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 05/21/1992 (v1.0/Int. v.5.2.20)
Copy Protection - Manual
CD version is dated 05/17/93 and adds voice acting. Last game to support EGA.
Star Wars : X-Wing
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - Adlib, Sound Blaster, Creative Sound Blaster Pro, Roland MT-32, General MIDI
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 896KB EMS Recommended
Media - 6 x 5.25" HD or 5 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 02/16/1993 (v1.0)
Copy Protection - Manual
Expansions : Imperial Pursuit Tour of Duty
B-Wing Tour of Duty
No music or sound effects without EMS. Limited Edition release came with a book, The Farlander Papers, but is otherwise identical to the standard version. Supports the hat switch of a CH Flightstick Pro. Last game to be offered publicly by LucasArts on 5.25" disks.
Maniac Mansion - Day of the Tentacle
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - Adlib, Sound Blaster, Roland MT-32*, General MIDI
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 2MB EMS Recommended
Media - 6 x 3.5" HD or 8 x 5.25" HD
File Date - 06/02/1993 (v1.5/Int. v.6.4.2)
Copy Protection - Manual
* - Patch disk required
Released simultaneously with CD version. Floppy has speech in intro and end, CD has speech (same actors) throughout. CD version came in a unique triangular box or regular box. LucasArts has a patch to add Roland MT-32 and General MIDI support to the floppy disk version. This patch was originally sent from the company on floppy disk. It adds the files GMIDI.IMS, ROLAND.IMS and TENTACLE.002. If your copy has those files, you can play the game with MIDI devices. If not, then presumably you have a virgin install and the game will not start with those options selected, despite what the configuration menu may allow. The 5.25" version may have been available by special order or was released for non-U.S. markets only.
Sam 'N Max Hit the Road
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - Adlib, Sound Blaster, Roland MT-32, General MIDI
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 2MB EMS Recommended
Media - 6 x 3.5" HD + 1 x 3.5" DD or 8 x 5.25" HD
File Date - 11/02/1993 (v1.0/Int. v.6.5.0)
Copy Protection - Crimestompers' Coloring Book : How to Play Sam & Max Hit the Road Manual
CD version dated 03/24/94 (CDv1.11), includes 4 CD audio tracks. Floppy has speech in intro and end, CD has speech (same actors) throughout. The 5.25" version may have been available by special order or was released for non-U.S. markets only.
Star Wars : TIE Fighter
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - Adlib, Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Sound Blaster 16, Sound Blaster AWE32, Pro Audio Spectrum, Pro Audio Spectrum 16, Roland MT-32, General MIDI
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 2MB EMS Recommended, 900KB Required
Media - 6 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 06/22/1994 (v1.0)
Copy Protection - Manual
Expansions : Defender of the Empire
Last floppy disk game developed by LucasArts. Came with short story The Stele Chronicles.
Options in bold are, at least in my opinion, the ideal graphics and sound hardware to run the game on. Unless otherwise noted, all games support keyboard, mouse and joystick. All games in this article can be run from a hard drive and do not have disk-based copy protection.
Maniac Mansion
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 256KB
Media - 1 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 04/13/1988
Copy Protection - Nuke'm Alarms Codebook
Initially distributed by Activision, uses a box with no border, unlike every Lucas product thereafter. First Lucas game for the IBM PC and DOS (PHM Pegasus and Strike Fleet have later file dates) Supports CGA composite color, but poorly. Tandy 3-Voice is the ideal for music and sound effects, but EGA graphics are superior to Tandy graphics because the text looks nicer. (Tandy uses a true 160x200 mode, requiring a blockier font, while all other graphics adapters except Hercules use a 320x200 mode with double-wide pixels for the graphics area). Can be found without copy-protection in Day of the Tentacle, but Tandy support is broken in that version (text is garbled). Comes with large poster with hints for puzzles in the game. Can write the current configuration, including video mode and input (joystick or mouse) to a file called PREFS.
PHM Pegasus
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 256KB
Media - 1 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 05/15/1988
Copy Protection - Manual
Distributed by Electronic Arts. Early release came on 5.25" floppy, later release included both types of media. Unusually, EGA is more colorful than Tandy. Tandy 3-Voice only seems to be used for the title music. CGA is supported in color and Black & White, the latter intended for laptops. No mouse support.
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 256KB
Media - 2 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 07/19/1988; 07/25/1988
Copy Protection - Zap 'Em II Exit Visa Security Codes Codebook
Probably the first product fully distributed by Lucas. Supports CGA composite color, but poorly. Was on the market for only a few months, then replaced by the Enhanced edition. Tandy 3-Voice is the ideal for music and sound effects, but EGA graphics are superior to Tandy graphics because the text looks nicer. (Tandy uses a true 160x200 mode, requiring a blockier font, while all other graphics adapters except Hercules use a 320x200 mode with double-wide pixels for the graphics area). Comes with The National Inquisitor with hints for the puzzles in the game. Can write the current configuration, including video mode and input (joystick or mouse) to a file called PREFS.
Video Support - CGA, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 2 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 10/06/1988
Copy Protection - Manual
First game to use Lucas' flight simulator engine, which would be continuously improved until the Star Wars sims. Copy protection is removed in the Air Combat Classics Collection.
Strike Fleet
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 1 x 5.25" DD
File Date - 11/30/1988
Copy Protection - Manual?
No mouse support. Last game to be released by another company. Unknown if released on 3.5" disk.
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders "Enhanced"
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 3 x 5.25" DD & 2 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 12/30/1988; 09/21/1992
Copy Protection - Zap 'Em II Exit Visa Security Codes Codebook
Uses proper 320x200 graphics for all modes. First game to be developed for the IBM PC. Music and sound effects are identical with low resolution version. As far as I can tell, Lucas never used the words "Enhanced" to refer to this version. I believe that they silently replaced the older version with this version. Copy protection removed in the Classic Adventures Collection with a 09/21/1992 install date (even though the codes are in the manual).
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade : The Graphics Adventure
Video Support - CGA, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Creative C/MS*
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 6 x 5.25" DD or 3 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 07/09/1989 (v1.0); 08/14/1989 (v1.3); 11/07/1989 (v1.4)
Copy Protection - Translation Table with Red Filter
* - Version 1.4 only
First game to not include both types of disks (5.25" 360KB and 3.5" 720KB) in the box, requiring the user to use an offer to switch their game disks. First use of a red filter for copy protection. A decent scan of the pages will allow the underlying text to be read with a filter (looking at a screen) or by color manipulation in Photoshop. Not immediately removed from the company store when the 256-color version was released. Comes with a Grail Diary with clues to various puzzles in the game and is essential to beating the game. Versions 1.0, 1.3 and 1.4 exist. Mouse & Adlib support is autodetected for this game, LOOM and later games using the SCUMM engine.
Maniac Mansion "Enhanced"
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice
Minimum RAM - 384KB
Media - 2 x 5.25" DD & 1 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 08/03/1989; 10/31/1989; 09/21/1992
Copy Protection - Nuke'm Alarms Codebook with Red Filter
Apparently the maroon pages of the original Codebook were not sufficient to deter photocopying, so Lucas used a red filter in this version. Uses proper 320x200 graphics for all modes. Music and sound effects are improved compared with low resolution version. I believe that they silently replaced the older version with this version. Copy protection is not removed in the Classic Adventures Collection (at least the version with the install files end with 09/21/1992). Last game to support Hercules.
Their Finest Hour : The Battle of Britain
Video Support - CGA, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib
Minimum RAM - 512KB
Media - 4 x 5.25" DD or 2 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 10/02/1989
Copy Protection - Radio Frequency Cipher Wheel Codewheel
Expansions : Their Finest Missions Volume One
First Lucas game with a Codewheel, would not be the last. Copy protection is removed in the Air Combat Classics Collection. First Lucas game to provide true support for VGA (more than the 16 CGA colors are used), although graphics were originally drawn for EGA.
Loom
Video Support - CGA, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGASound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Creative C/MS, Roland MT-32*
Minimum RAM - 512KB
Media - 6 x 5.25" DD or 3 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 03/07/1990 (v1.0/Int. 3.5.57); 03/15/1990 (v1.1/Int. 3.5.37) 09/21/1992 (v1.1/Int. 3.5.40)
Copy Protection - Book of Patterns with Red Filter
* - Patch disk required
Uniquely came with a stereo Cassette featuring a nearly 30-minute audio drama telling the backstory. Only 16-color game not to have an upgraded floppy version released. Copy protection removed in the Classic Adventures Collection. Users originally had to pay $10 and send in a card to receive the MT-32 patch, but it is available on LucasArts' support site. Last game to use a red filter for copy protection. Versions 1.0 and 1.1 exist. CD version dated 06/09/92, has 256-color graphics, full voice-acting with simplified script, almost no portraits, CD audio music and sound effects. FM-Towns CD uses floppy text, 256-color portraits and CD audio music (two different versions for each piece) but no voice acting. First game to use the /? command line argument to list the arguments the game accepts. LucasArts Classic Collection version with copy protection eliminated reports v1.1/Int. 3.5.40.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade : The Graphics Adventure "256-Color VGA"
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Creative C/MS
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 4 x 3.5" HD or 4 x 5.25" HD or 3 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 05/03/1990 (v.2.0/Int. 3.0.18); 08/30/1990 (v2.0/Int. v3.0.20) 08/06/1992; 09/21/1992 (v2.0/Int. 3.0.22)
Copy Protection - None
There is no translation table screen in this version, so no copy protection. Unlike 16-color version, any copy of this version will support the C/MS Game Blaster. Included in the Classic Adventures Collection. First game to come on high density floppies, but LucasArts apparently only offered a "full" version on 5.25"HD disks. Upgrade, budget or slash releases may come on 1.44MB 3.5" disks. If there are four 3.5" HD disks, then the game can be run off floppies. If there are only three disks, then it must be decompressed to a hard drive. FM-Towns CD uses CD audio music. LucasArts Classic Collection version with copy protection eliminated reports v2.0/Int. 3.0.22.
The Secret of Monkey Island
Video Support - CGA, HGC, TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Creative C/MS, Roland MT-32*
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 8 x 5.25" DD or 4 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 09/01/1990 (v1.0/Int. v.4.0.62)
Copy Protection - Dial-A-Pirate Codewheel
* - Patch disk required, cost $10 back in the day. Not immediately removed from the company store when the 256-color version was released. Last game to support CGA and HGC. Roland is not always ideal, since you lose the sound effects of the Adlib and other sound drivers.
The Secret of Monkey Island "256-Color VGA"
Video Support - EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib , Creative C/MS, Roland MT-32
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 8 x 3.5" DD or 7 x 3.5" DD (v1.1) or 4 x 5.25" HD.or 3 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 12/03/1990; 02/04/1992 (v1.0/Int. v.5.0.16); 02/15/1991 (v1.1/Int. v.5.0.16), (v1.1/Int. v.5.0.15); 09/21/1992 (v1.0/Int. v.5.0.19)
Copy Protection - Dial-A-Pirate Codewheel
CD version dated 06/10/92, "stump joke" removed, CD audio music added and interface changed from text to icons and fewer verbs. Copy protection removed in the Classic Adventures Collection, which reports v1.0/Int. v.5.0.19. Versions 1.0 and 1.1? exist. Later budget releases may come on 1.44MB floppies. Last game to support C/MS.
Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe
Video Support - TGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-Voice, Adlib, Sound Blaster
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 768KB for Tandy, 1MB EMS Recommended
Media - 8 x 5.25" DD or 4 x 3.5" DD
File Date - 09/01/1990
Copy Protection - Codewheel
Expansions : P-38 Lightning Tour Of Duty
Do 335 Pfeil Tour Of Duty
P-80 Shooting Star Tour Of Duty
He 162 Volksjager Tour Of Duty
Expansions will bring 1.0 and 1.02 to 2.0 and 2.1. 2.1 is the version that third-party missions use. 2.2 comes on the CD. First game with "true" VGA graphics and last to support Tandy graphics and sound.
Monkey Island 2 - LeChuck's Revenge
Video Support - EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Adlib, Sound Blaster, Roland MT-32
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 6 x 5.25" HD or 5 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 11/21/1991 (v1.0/Int. v.5.2.02)
Copy Protection - Mix-n-Mojo Codewheel
Copy protection, Easy Mode & the 16-color EGA support (appears in B&W) removed in the Monkey Island Madness CD. KIXX released this game with the copy protection removed (probably to eliminate the expensive codewheel), but without damage otherwise. Last game to use a codewheel. Last to use Lucasfilm Games and first to use LucasArts company name. I believe the opening title music was originally composed for Adlib and the in-game music for Roland.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Video Support - EGA, MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - PC Speaker, Adlib, Sound Blaster, Roland MT-32
Minimum RAM - 640KB
Media - 6 x 5.25" HD or 5 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 05/21/1992 (v1.0/Int. v.5.2.20)
Copy Protection - Manual
CD version is dated 05/17/93 and adds voice acting. Last game to support EGA.
Star Wars : X-Wing
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - Adlib, Sound Blaster, Creative Sound Blaster Pro, Roland MT-32, General MIDI
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 896KB EMS Recommended
Media - 6 x 5.25" HD or 5 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 02/16/1993 (v1.0)
Copy Protection - Manual
Expansions : Imperial Pursuit Tour of Duty
B-Wing Tour of Duty
No music or sound effects without EMS. Limited Edition release came with a book, The Farlander Papers, but is otherwise identical to the standard version. Supports the hat switch of a CH Flightstick Pro. Last game to be offered publicly by LucasArts on 5.25" disks.
Maniac Mansion - Day of the Tentacle
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - Adlib, Sound Blaster, Roland MT-32*, General MIDI
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 2MB EMS Recommended
Media - 6 x 3.5" HD or 8 x 5.25" HD
File Date - 06/02/1993 (v1.5/Int. v.6.4.2)
Copy Protection - Manual
* - Patch disk required
Released simultaneously with CD version. Floppy has speech in intro and end, CD has speech (same actors) throughout. CD version came in a unique triangular box or regular box. LucasArts has a patch to add Roland MT-32 and General MIDI support to the floppy disk version. This patch was originally sent from the company on floppy disk. It adds the files GMIDI.IMS, ROLAND.IMS and TENTACLE.002. If your copy has those files, you can play the game with MIDI devices. If not, then presumably you have a virgin install and the game will not start with those options selected, despite what the configuration menu may allow. The 5.25" version may have been available by special order or was released for non-U.S. markets only.
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - Adlib, Sound Blaster, Roland MT-32, General MIDI
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 2MB EMS Recommended
Media - 6 x 3.5" HD + 1 x 3.5" DD or 8 x 5.25" HD
File Date - 11/02/1993 (v1.0/Int. v.6.5.0)
Copy Protection - Crimestompers' Coloring Book : How to Play Sam & Max Hit the Road Manual
CD version dated 03/24/94 (CDv1.11), includes 4 CD audio tracks. Floppy has speech in intro and end, CD has speech (same actors) throughout. The 5.25" version may have been available by special order or was released for non-U.S. markets only.
Star Wars : TIE Fighter
Video Support - MCGA, VGA
Sound Support - Adlib, Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Sound Blaster 16, Sound Blaster AWE32, Pro Audio Spectrum, Pro Audio Spectrum 16, Roland MT-32, General MIDI
Minimum RAM - 640KB, 2MB EMS Recommended, 900KB Required
Media - 6 x 3.5" HD
File Date - 06/22/1994 (v1.0)
Copy Protection - Manual
Expansions : Defender of the Empire
Last floppy disk game developed by LucasArts. Came with short story The Stele Chronicles.
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