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The Return of Zork On ScummVM

Posted by Soulskill on from the revenge-of-the-grue dept.

KingofGnG writes "While waiting for the opening of Legends of Zork's game world, old and new adventurers can pick up the daily build of ScummVM, which, starting from March 7, added support for the MADE engine. The engine has been used by Activision to create four point-and-click adventure games from the '90s, among which is the venerable Return to Zork."

45 comments

  1. Everyone now! by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 3, Funny

    Who'er you?!

    Don' matter!

    Want some rhy?!

    'Course ya do!!!

    --

    "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    1. Re:Everyone now! by djconrad · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Here's to us! Who's like us? Damn Few. And they're all dead.

    2. Re:Everyone now! by 222 · · Score: 1

      Holy jesus. I came here to make this same post, and you beat me to it. I didn't think anyone else remembers getting drunk (or pouring it out!) at this point in the game.

    3. Re:Everyone now! by hal2814 · · Score: 1

      Damn fat redneck sitting on the entrance to Zork...

      Can't count how many times I tried different things before I realized I could just dump the rye on the plant. That "Course ya do!" still haunts me.

    4. Re:Everyone now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here's to us.

      Who's like us?

      Damn few.

      And they're all dead!

    5. Re:Everyone now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.zazzle.com/want_some_rye_tshirt-235569347981980762

    6. Re:Everyone now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Want some rhy?!

      It's "rye", not "rhy", as in rye whiskey.

      HTH. HAND.

    7. Re:Everyone now! by Trogre · · Score: 1

      Oh yes!

      Here's to us!

      Who's like us?

      Damn few...

      and they're aaaall deard

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    8. Re:Everyone now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OMG! That was the first thing that came to my mind when I read the headline!

      Good to know there are people as old as I am who still remember this game.

  2. continuity by djconrad · · Score: 1

    They can stick the dwarfish sword up their asses. Real glowing swords are elvish!

  3. Why not link to the real ScummVM site? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    There's neither a link in the summary nor on the actual blog post to the ScummVM website at http://scummvm.org

    I get the feelings someone just wants to get their blog slashvertised here.

    1. Re:Why not link to the real ScummVM site? by KingofGnG · · Score: 1

      Oh well, my bad, I usually do link to ScummVM.org. This time I've forgotten. Anyway there is the link to the original ScummVM.org announcement for RtZ addition....

  4. Error in title by joeflies · · Score: 2, Informative

    The game is called "Return to Zork". There is no "The" in the front.

    1. Re:Error in title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also its 'Return to Zork' not 'Return OF Zork'...

    2. Re:Error in title by EvilIdler · · Score: 1

      There should also be a link to the project in question, not just this blogger's site :)

  5. Re:Obama Policies Will Bankrupt USA Tsarkon Report by fractoid · · Score: 3, Funny

    You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  6. It's a classic by s1lverl0rd · · Score: 0

    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

    1. Re:It's a classic by Rei · · Score: 1

      Indeed.

      --
      I guess I just let my urge to spawn soldiers for Satan's dark army get the better of me.
  7. This game was arbitrarily difficult by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and impossible to complete without a cheat guide.

  8. Runs fine on DOSBox too by metzomagic · · Score: 3, Informative

    While it's nice to have this one working on ScummVM, it's been running fine on DOSBox for years now (since DOSBox v0.60 or so).

    MetzO'Magic

    1. Re:Runs fine on DOSBox too by geirnord · · Score: 1

      Yes, but SCUMM also runs on my cute little Smartphone...which means I can now play Return to Zork wherever I bring my phone :-)

    2. Re:Runs fine on DOSBox too by GF678 · · Score: 1

      "Running fine" is largely dependent on what settings you've used. It's a lot easier to configure ScummVM to work at its best than it is DOSBox, particularly when it comes to the sound working perfectly without any breakups.

    3. Re:Runs fine on DOSBox too by metzomagic · · Score: 1

      Admittedly, if a game will run in both ScummVM and DOSBox, the sound is usually a lot better in ScummVM.

      But since 0.70, DOSBox automatically figures out the optimal cycles= setting to run a particular game at, so no need to fiddle with this parameter manually like you used to.

      Regards,
      MetzO'Magic

  9. NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! by 16384 · · Score: 2, Funny
    I though that clip had disappeared from my mind. It didn't. Thank you very much for reminding me...

    BTW: Bananaphone!, Badger Badger Badger!

  10. Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ask me about LOOM!

  11. Venerable? by Snowspinner · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Return to Zork is hardly a venerable game. It was a rather poor adventure game for the era, with at least one extremely counter-intuitive puzzle, as well as a error you can make very early in the game that renders it unbeatable, and gives you no clue that you've made an error when you make the mistake.

    Zork: Grand Inquisitor, the third of Activision's 90s Zork games, was the lone one of that set that can be fairly called Venerable.

    --
    Philip Sandifer's academic website
    1. Re:Venerable? by Joe+U · · Score: 1

      Bonding plant, horrible trap. That should never have been written into a Zork game.

    2. Re:Venerable? by Legion_SB · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's "venerable" because, despite its flaws, it's extremely memorable. I remember so much from that game, and I can't even remember what I played yesterday. There are a half-dozen scenes from that game permanently burned into my brain.

      And because of that, I am totally going to fire the game up in ScummVM, suffer through some warts, but enjoy the heck out playing out the scenes that I've been remembering for years.

      --
      'a';DROP TABLE users; SELECT * FROM DATA WHERE name LIKE '%'... if you're reading this, it didn't work.
    3. Re:Venerable? by Snowspinner · · Score: 1

      Fair enough. But if you cut the Bonding plant instead of digging it up, well, don't say I didn't warn you. :)

      --
      Philip Sandifer's academic website
  12. Let's see.... by mark-t · · Score: 1

    This is from memory, so I may be off a bit...

    south. east. open window. enter. west. get lamp and sword. east. up. light lamp. get all. douse lamp. down. west. move rug. open trapdoor. down. light lamp. east. attack troll with sword. again. again. again. get axe.

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  13. On CD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think I still have Return of Zork on a CD around here somewhere with the manual. Haven't played it in years.

  14. Don't! by Voyager529 · · Score: 1

    If you get an e-mail involving a troll raising his sword, DO NOT attack it with the nasty knife! You'll have a bunch of government secrets downloaded into your head, then a hot chiq will come and pretend to be your girlfriend...

  15. Want some rye? by kindbud · · Score: 1

    'Course you do!

    --
    Edith Keeler Must Die
    1. Re:Want some rye? by Tetsujin · · Score: 1

      'Course you do!

      Here's to us! Ain't many like us, and most of them are dead!

      --
      Bow-ties are cool.
  16. Zork interface on top of MMO already exists by angrymilkman · · Score: 1

    We recently implemented a zork interface on top of Second Life so Visually impaired can access it using a screenreader. See http://textsl.org/

    --
    ...what matters is what you like, not what you are like...
    1. Re:Zork interface on top of MMO already exists by MrNiceguy_KS · · Score: 2, Funny

      It is broad daylight. You are likely to be attacked by flying penises.

      --
      Redundancy is good And also good.
  17. Alternate solutions by coxymla · · Score: 1
    Speaking of RTZ, did anyone manage to finish the game after having burn the Dizzyland tickets?

    The manual tantalisingly hints that it is possible but I've never managed to find out how.

    While we're on the subject of the fiendish and sometimes arbitrary puzzles, don't forget about the instant deaths from taking the innocuous "ROad to the South" or trying to cross a bridge which the player can't see has only one half. (Why doesn't the character notice that the bridge ends halfway across the river and just stop crossing it??) Oh, and if you rent a hotel room and go to sleep in it of course you get eaten by a grue. :)

  18. Trying to recall an old game... by Punchinello · · Score: 1

    A text adventure with very basic graphics... you started out in prison and had to escape by getting some cheese and catching a mouse, etc. I recall that you had to send away for a pilots license that you later picked up at the warden's house in his mailbox. Anyone recall this game?

    --

    Remember... ZG9uJ3QgZm9yZ2V0IHRvIGRyaW5rIHlvdXIgb3ZhbHRpbmU=

    1. Re:Trying to recall an old game... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A text adventure with very basic graphics... you started out in prison and had to escape by getting some cheese and catching a mouse, etc. I recall that you had to send away for a pilots license that you later picked up at the warden's house in his mailbox. Anyone recall this game?

      Sounds like "Escape from Rungistan"