Domain: frostbytei.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to frostbytei.com.
Comments · 7
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Relive those NES Memories.... in style
I dont know about you guys, but all you need is a 1 Gb "backup / homebrew" memory card (such as Flash 2 Advance Ultra) and a Game Boy Micro and *cough* backed up copies of oh say EVERY SINGLE NINTENDO GAME EVER MADE (which you of course have, just collecting dust, right?)
Let me make this crystal clear:
YOU COULD PUT EVERY SINGLE NES GAME EVER MADE ON A SINGLE GBA CARTRIDGE AND PUT SAID CARTRIDGE INTO A GAMEBOY MICRO.
Reflect on this for a moment - I would assume you guys would appreciate this far more than most.
How?
Slap 128 megs of games (256 if you get the 2 Gb version - thats nearly 1,000 NES games), load up PocketNES http://www.gameboy-advance.net/emulated/nes_roms_o n_gba.htm and go to town on an original NES controller sized micro NES with built in color screen, auto saving and toggleable turbo buttons built in (GBA has 2 shoulder buttons, why not use them for something :))
Of course you could also just buy (or build) an USB NES Controller and emulate them yourself (to prevent damage to the original games, i'm sure). Not as portable though, and saving and restoring the state is tougher (gotta use keys).
For extra kicks and giggles, anybody remember the old AGI Sierra games? (Think Leisure Suit Larry 1, Space Quest 1,2, Police Quest, Kings Quest Series, etc).
Some programming genius made a AGI --> GameBoy converter, called GBAGI. http://www.bripro.com/gbagi/index.php
Throw all of those on there too if you like, and even check out GREAT Fan made games that are arguably even better than the original SQ's - Space Quest 0: Replicated http://wiw.org/~jess/replicated.html and Space Quest: The Lost Chapter http://www.frostbytei.com/space/
Man these things have come a long way in just 20 years. I look forward to what the next 20 will bring - and it had better not be a Xbox 360 the size of a standard xbox controller or I am going to be PISSED. -
Re:"Anonymous Game Developers"
Other Sierra adventure game projects on the net include reverse-engineered versions of old Sierra engines such as AGI and SCI, editors for both engines such as AGI Studio and SCI Studio, and fan-made games such as AGI Quest I and Space Quest: The Lost Chapter.
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Erg, those were the days.
Hmmm, its not very often a slashdot story makes you feel like turning your monitor resolution down to 800x600....
And thats a fact I'm very glad of.
Incidentaly, people might like to check out The Lost Chapter for more fan-made adventures in the SQ universe. -
Yet another SQ game: Lost Chapter (In SQ2/3 style)Wow, lookit all the links! I had no idea so many people had created so many SQ games! I'll add this one that was released in 2001, "Space Quest - The Lost Chapter" (Hope he can handle it).
It's meant to fit in between SQ2 and SQ3, and has the interface totally down. I've played it about 1/4 the way through since last week, and so far my only complaints are the spelling errors every dozen messages, the (very) wordy cut scenes, and the way some exits to other screens are totally hidden. (Don't even get me started on the squid). There are hints and walkthroughs available though, and is very welcome to those who miss the text-interface games that made Sierra so popular.
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Answers to Questions about TierraI've known about this project for some time; I know Tom at Quest Studios, the person who is working with the "Anonymous Game Developers" at Tierra to produce the music for their remakes. Let me try to address some of the questions that people have asked.
1) Only the King's Quest I VGA remake has been posted; the team is currently working on three other projects, a King's Quest II-based project (more on that in a minute), a Quest for Glory II project, and a secret project. There are no plans to remake any other games at this time, just a lot of ideas floating around and only a few people doing all of the work.
2) Why King's Quest I? The team originally produced the VGA remake to hone their skills and spur interest in another (now-discontinued) project they called "Royal Quest I". KQ1VGA and RQ1 are not the same project, and never were. However, the original 3 AGDs (Anonymous Game Developers) had a disagreement over the path that Royal Quest I was going to take (the spoof was not going to be quite as "family-oriented" as the real King's Quest series) and Royal Quest I was cancelled. Another answer to the question is: King's Quest I may not be the best adventure game made, but it was one of the first of its kind on many platforms (from the Apple II through to the PCjr); it's historically significant, well known and remembered.
3) The KQ1 VGA remake has been available for download since last fall. Around the end of August/start of September, a speech pack was posted for the game, featuring dialog from Josh Mandel, the original voice of King Graham. The AGDs have also received help from sources they will not name to break the format of the Quest for Glory save-character file, so they can import QfG1 characters, and write out QfG2 characters for use in QfG3.
4) The above having been said, the current Sierra company has so not really said anything against the project. Even so, the AGDs continue to remain Anonymous, just in case. Strictly unofficially, Sierra seems uninterested in pursuing fan projects based on their games, but will of course still send out the typical legal boilerplate saying "No" if you bother to ask them if you can make a project using their intellectual property. Unfortunately, this approach suggests that it is only a matter of time before some of these fan projects become "too popular", in which case Sierra may HAVE to stop the projects in order to protect their rights, if they care about them. So far, this has not yet happened.
5) The games only run under Windows. I do not know of any plans for ports to other platforms, sorry.
6) The project is not related to the Hero6 project, nor is it related to the Space Quest: The Lost Chapter project (another good fan project in which Josh Mandel has gotten involved!).
7) A bit more history on King's Quest: The SCI remake of King's Quest I made by Sierra in 1990 was still 16 colors (EGA) and used a completely text-based parser interface, just like the original AGI version. The Tierra remake is in full 256 color VGA. Much of the artwork is recycled from the Sierra EGA SCI version, but you will find new artwork in various places, and a cleaned up score from Tom and of course the voice pack featuring Josh Mandel as Graham. The remake uses the icon interface introduced by Sierra in later games, and applies it to the classic game. No more frustration mistyping "push witch"; click the hand icon, click the witch. The only time you need to type is to answer the Gnome's question, where there is no time limit, or to name your saved game. (BTW - The other official Sierra remakes were Mixed-Up Mother Goose, Space Quest I, Quest for Glory I (aka "Hero's Quest", Leisure Suit Larry I, and Police Quest I. Yes, all of these were redone in VGA, with icon interfaces. Only the King's Quest I remake was in kept EGA with a parser interface.)
8) The King's Quest II project is NOT a remake. Officially, the project is called "KQ2+" and features new locations and an expanded plot, and an all-new soundtrack (by Tom, of course). The project is nearing completion and the AGDs expect to release it later this year. You can find two samples of the new KQ2 soundtrack on Tom's site on the "What's New" page. OK, that's everything I can tell you about it!
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Re:A sad fairwell...
Have you ever played Space Quest - the lost chapter? I'm sure there are other fan created games in the devestation left after the sierra shutdowns...
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Space Quest the lost chapter was released recently
i think its agi not sci, but noteworthy nonetheless that a fan made a professional looking sequal of the same graphical quality (using the same engine no less!) purdy nifty, still have to play it a bit more.
A shame about sierra...ken williams can rot in hell.
oh yeah, the link: http://frostbytei.com/space/
and for those who like html click here and if your really bored click here.