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ScummVM 0.13.0 Delivers New Adventure Games

Posted by Soulskill on from the ever-expanding-selection dept.

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

69 comments

  1. Ahhh, 7th Guest by FlyveHest · · Score: 2, Interesting

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

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

  2. SCI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

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

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

    1. Re:SCI by 0xygen · · Score: 2, Informative

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

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

    2. Re:SCI by DrMcCoy · · Score: 5, Informative

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

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

    3. Re:SCI by Per+Wigren · · Score: 2, Informative

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

      Pardon me, I present to you new evidence!

      --
      My other account has a 3-digit UID.
    4. Re:SCI by Hatta · · Score: 2, Interesting

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

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    5. Re:SCI by shbazjinkens · · Score: 1

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

    6. Re:SCI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AGS is free.

    7. Re:SCI by DrMcCoy · · Score: 1

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

    8. Re:SCI by DrMcCoy · · Score: 1

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

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

    9. Re:SCI by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

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

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    10. Re:SCI by zennyboy · · Score: 1

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

    11. Re:SCI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh I have played some of the AGS made games as well as others. Some AGS games that I liked in particular were the Trilby games (ie. 5 Days A Stranger, 7 Days a Skeptic, 6 Days A Sacrifice), Emily Enough, King's Quest Remake, King's Quest III Remake and Quest for Glory II Remake. One of my favourite free, non-AGS adventures games is Out of Order.

      When it comes to adventure games, there probably aren't many that I wouldn't enjoy. Space Quest games, Leisure Suit Larry games, King's Quest games, Laura Bow games, Kyrandia games, Broken Sword games, Monkey Island games, Maniac Mansion games, TLJ games, Syberia games...you name it and I have probably completed it. Any new (to me) adventure is welcome whether it's commercial, free, professional or amateur.

    12. Re:SCI by Hatta · · Score: 1

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

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    13. Re:SCI by Drinking+Bleach · · Score: 1

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

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

    14. Re:SCI by sowth · · Score: 1

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

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

  3. 7th Guest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ah, I remember when first 486DX in town was shown in store behind glass, it featured 7th Guest demo. People gathered there just to watch "true tv-video on computer"...

    1. Re:7th Guest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF? The Pentium was out by the time 7th Guest was released.

  4. It is pitch black. by Alsee · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

    -

    --
    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
    1. Re:It is pitch black. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      - light torch

    2. Re:It is pitch black. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >FROTZ GRUE
      There's a flash of light nearby, and you glimpse a horrible, multi-fanged creature, a look of sheer terror on its face. It charges away, gurgling in agony, tearing at its glowing fur.

    3. Re:It is pitch black. by kvezach · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, that's IF. For that, you're going to need Gargoyle or Frotz.

    4. Re:It is pitch black. by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 1

      ...if this predicament seems particularly cruel...

      --
      May the Maths Be with you!
    5. Re:It is pitch black. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You fight like a dairy farmer.

    6. Re:It is pitch black. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How appropriate. You fight like a cow.

    7. Re:It is pitch black. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I got these scars on my face during a mighty battle!

    8. Re:It is pitch black. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hope now you've learned to stop picking your nose.

  5. New Adventure Games? With ScummVM? by iYk6 · · Score: 1

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

    1. Re:New Adventure Games? With ScummVM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

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

    2. Re:New Adventure Games? With ScummVM? by bandini · · Score: 3, Funny

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

      --
      Give people tools that guarantee their right to work with independent efficiency. - Ivan Illich
  6. That's all good but... by Ksempac · · Score: 2, Interesting

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

    1. Re:That's all good but... by montyzooooma · · Score: 2, Informative

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

    2. Re:That's all good but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For what it's worth, eBay's another good way to go; I've done it several times now.

      Also, I think you may be pleased when they add support for Discworld.

    3. Re:That's all good but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no grey about it. Most software labelled as "abandonware" is still protected under copyright and is therefore illegal to distribute.

    4. Re:That's all good but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they're not going to sell it then they might as well give it away. You can't buy titles like that anywhere but from Ebayers who don't know they're worth any real money.

    5. Re:That's all good but... by vux984 · · Score: 2, Interesting

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

    6. Re:That's all good but... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Insightful

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

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    7. Re:That's all good but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      www.gog.com

      They sell quite a bundle of old adventure game without DRM. I'm currently playing through Simon the Sorcerer 1 and 2 again. Ace.

    8. Re:That's all good but... by csartanis · · Score: 1

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

    9. Re:That's all good but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gray here refers to the morality of the act. As for legality, lots of stupid things are illegal nowadays, there's no point trying to keep in the lines anymore. All you have to do in the U.S. to be breaking a law now is back up your DVDs (and I mean back up literally, not as a euphemism).

    10. Re:That's all good but... by Ksempac · · Score: 1

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

    11. Re:That's all good but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The way i think of it is that the line is not so much a line any more, just fractured blobs of paint on the ground that has been worn away over the years.

      Sadly, there are only a few of these "lines" left that haven't been repainted.

    12. Re:That's all good but... by Synic · · Score: 1

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

    13. Re:That's all good but... by Ksempac · · Score: 1

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

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

    14. Re:That's all good but... by vux984 · · Score: 1

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

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

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

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

      If you don't think its worth $15 don't buy it. Obviously a lot of people think its worth that much and are buying it. I'm sure I don't have to explain how a market sets prices.

      I'll grant that copyright is an artificial distortion of the market, and there is a lot of stuff in copyright that should be out now, but games from the last couple generations of consoles? Get real. The owners should be able to charge what they want for them. I'm all for copyright reform, but even I think 10 years is too short.

      However, it worries me when i see Pikmin (a Gamecube game) re-released as a Wii Game for no reason

      It was released because it was a good game that a LOT of people have never played. Even though the Wii plays GC games, most Wii owners do not have a GC controller and memory card, so a Wii port of significant GC games will get those games into more peoples hands. If you played it on the GC, and nothing has been added... don't buy it.

      I fear that game companies will sell us again all of their games with each new console

      How is that any different than reselling us DVDs as blurays, or VHS as DVDs, or cassettes as CDs? You don't have to buy them. Some people who didn't get them last time want them, some people want the convenience of the newer versions. Yes, eventually they should be public domain, and yes I think its wrong for a company to milk the same games for 100+ years. But 10+? I'm ok with 10+.

    15. Re:That's all good but... by Ksempac · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I was waiting for the argument saying that movie are still expensive 10 years later. The main difference is the evolution of the medium.
      Video Game is a new industry, which is getting bigger every year. Moreover the technology behind it is booming. 10 years old games looks like crap by today's standards (even though they are still very good). 10 years old games were done by smallers teams (credits get longer and longer...i just saw the endless credits of Gears of war 2 last month).
      On the other hand, movie still have a lot to tell but technology and budgets doesn't evolve as fast as the ones for video games (except maybe for the ones using a lot of special effects). So a 10 years old movie doesn't seem as old as a 10 years old video game (The "Tekken" series is a great example for that). But still, very old movies tends to have lower prices.
      That's why i think the price of games should decrease faster than the price for movies.
      Last thing that maybe wasn't clear from my earlier posts : I'm all in favor of copyrights law and i believe that companies should make money from their older games. But I still think their pricing scheme for retro-gaming are often (but not always, see above my mention of the Sega pack) ridiculous.

    16. Re:That's all good but... by DrMcCoy · · Score: 1

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

    17. Re:That's all good but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The age of a game should not determine its worth. Personally I think most of the best games ever made are 10 or more years old.

      If you don't want to pay for a game because it's old, then pay for it because it's a good game.

    18. Re:That's all good but... by vux984 · · Score: 1

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

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

  7. Thanks! by bhunachchicken · · Score: 5, Interesting

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

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

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

    --
    THE HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS - CC Licensed Sci-Fi Novel
    1. Re:Thanks! by GMFTatsujin · · Score: 2, Interesting

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

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

      ScummVM developers, we 3 you!

    2. Re:Thanks! by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      <3

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  8. just to clarify by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 1

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

  9. Grim Fandango by Tragek · · Score: 1

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

    1. Re:Grim Fandango by DrMcCoy · · Score: 2, Informative

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

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

    2. Re:Grim Fandango by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

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

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  10. Could have a place in the office? by whereiswaldo · · Score: 2, Funny

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

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

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

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

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

    1. Re:Could have a place in the office? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      This has already been done.

      They called it Microsoft Bob.

    2. Re:Could have a place in the office? by CannonballHead · · Score: 3, Funny

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

    3. Re:Could have a place in the office? by tepples · · Score: 1

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

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

    4. Re:Could have a place in the office? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Jeff Raskin had some thoughts on this. He likened a bad user interface to a computer game - an apt analogy that still has me cringe whenever I'm in an HCI seminar and the speaker proudly announces that 'it's just like a game'. Adventure games are the perfect example of how not to design a user interface. They intentionally make things difficult, requiring you to walk around a lot and solve puzzles. An adventure game with a good (business) user interface would tell you all of the story, only require input at key points that affected the narrative, and be over in about half an hour. The things that make adventure games fun are exactly the same things that make the terrible as a model for designing human-computer interaction.

      By the way, I'd thoroughly recommend The Human Interface. Jef had some strange ideas and was far too focussed on text, but most of what he said makes a lot of sense.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    5. Re:Could have a place in the office? by WillAdams · · Score: 1

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

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

      William

      --
      Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
    6. Re:Could have a place in the office? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      An IWW simulator? Captain Wobbly and the Wildcat Strike?

        As the IWW say "Fire your boss! He'd fire you!"

  11. Anti-Aliasing of Graphics by troll8901 · · Score: 1

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

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

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

    You fight like a dairy farmer!

    1. Re:Anti-Aliasing of Graphics by X0563511 · · Score: 1

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

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

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    2. Re:Anti-Aliasing of Graphics by GMFTatsujin · · Score: 1

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

      http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

    3. Re:Anti-Aliasing of Graphics by troll8901 · · Score: 1

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

      Supremely impressive.

  12. Insult Swordfighting by troll8901 · · Score: 1

    You fight like a dairy farmer!

    1. Re:Insult Swordfighting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How appropriate, you fight like a cow!