Instead of just receiving 10 CAPs for correctly guessing the PISSED rating I will dish out to a game, from now on winners will receive 10 CAPs plus the next game on the list that is available to gift on any of the major distribution platforms (such as GOG and Steam). So, whoever is the first to correctly predict the PISSED rating I will give to Zak McKracken will get 10 CAPs plus the Quest for Glory collection from GOG (unless someone can find a giftable copy of Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess or Codename: ICEMAN). If that same person happens to be the closest predictor for any other games prior to me reaching Hero's Quest, they will receive an increasing number of CAPs and the game prize will go to the next closest predictor. Taking this further, whoever predicts the PISSED rating of Hero's Quest will get 10 CAPs plus a copy of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade from Steam, and so on.
Quest for Glory 1 to 5 for free! - I think I might even make a prediction myself! ;)
While Lars-Erik has not suggested he wants anything in return for this incredible offer, I'll be giving him 20 CAPs for every game he gifts. We've agreed that this sponsorship will run until I reach the end of 1989, and we'll take a view at that stage as to how we proceed from there. Please join me in thanking Lars-Erik!
Alfred n the Fettuc was among the more health conscious drinkers
Andy Panthro joined in with one of the better named beers out there. Hell Beck!
My personal favourite entry was Canageek's laboratory ethonol. I assume you didn't drink that!
My attempt at Finnish translation tells me Ilmari enjoyed a nice glass of "essence of cow"
Lars-Erik displayed true class with a lovely drop of Italian red wine
Ever the professional, MacDuff drank only water while tracking down Jessie Bains
Tk surprised me with Tuatara brew from New Zealand
Zenic Reverie joined in the celebration, but went for a sports drink due to being a bit under the weather
I'll have to think about how we celebrate the next milestone, which I think will be held at the 250,000 view mark. In the meantime, it's time to move on to Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders!
Wow, that's incredibly generous Lars-Erik.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're doing Zak Mckraken next? That's excellent! You know what i remember more than anything else about that game? The awesome music. That and the whole puzzle sequence on the airplane... oh but you'll get to that :)
Lars-Erik, that's awesome!
DeleteThree cheers for Lars-Erik!!!
ReplyDeleteHurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Lars-Erik!
DeleteGreat stuff Lars-Erik! If you guess the answer, do you have to buy yourself a game?
ReplyDeleteAnd well done for everyone who toasted The Adventure Gamer (Like many things, I was going to do a photo, but didn't get around to it until too late)
You'll have to have an account on GoG or Steam. When you purchase the game, you have the option to buy it as a gift. On checkout, you enter the username of the receiver, and they get a notice that they received a gift.
DeleteUmm, I think he meant that if Lars-Erik is the closest guesser, does he have to buy himself a game.
DeleteMan I'll have to really consider my score guess for Zak now .. Hmm..
I better step up my guessing accuracy TBD, got to get more excuses to fill up my game library. :p
DeleteFantastic, Lars-Erik! Mighty generous of you!
ReplyDeleteI'll also add to the thanks for Lars-Erik's generosity!
ReplyDeleteAlso, this is where the beer I'm drinking is from, if anyone wants to try any of their range: http://www.geltsdalebrewery.com/
Jack Orlando is for sale on GOG this weekend. The reviews don't make it seem essential, but it's on the gamelist.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/jack_orlando_a_cinematic_adventure_dc
Wow! I look forward to every guess!
ReplyDeleteAwesomesauce. Sorry I haven't been talking as much recently, but I love all the stuff that's been happening here. This blog's really going to the next level (and, no, I don't think that qualifies as a pun, as Adventure Games don't even have levels).
ReplyDeleteFor anyone wanting to play through Zak McKraken, it doesn't appear to be on sale anywhere, so I'd recommend searching for Abandonia (unless Trickster is okay with me providing a link).
ReplyDelete(disclaimer: other abandonware/oldgames websites do exist, but Abandonia is my favourite, and they don't allow downloads for games that are on sale).
I think all Lucasfilm games are ESA protected, so they are not available at Abandonia for downloading. But it should be easy to find other sites that have it..
DeleteThat said, if anyone wants a much improved gaming session, the FM Towns version supports 256 color graphics and includes music (the original PC version only supports PC beeper and 16 colors). The FM Towns version can be played in Windows with ScummVM without any challenges.
Ah, forgot it was Lucasarts. Damn. Might give the FM Towns version a try then.
DeleteHad a little go at Zak McKracken... and well, I guess I should save my opinions for when Trickster gets to it. Haven't resorted to a walkthrough yet, but I get a feeling I might have to.
DeleteMuahaha, who says you can't buy CAPs? I'm coming for you Canageek!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, Tricksters dedication to adventure gaming and his efforts to build a community around them is an inspiration. Hopefully this'll help newcomers to experience classic adventures, and maybe some of the old guard get to relive the early days. Maybe more people will join Trickster for playthroughs as well, who knows? If one person discovers thhe beauty of adventure gaming throughthis, it'll be worth it.
Congrats to Lars-Erik. Very generous. I'm one of the people who didn't get around to posting a pic, so congrats to those that did!
ReplyDeleteLars-Erik you beautiful, beautiful man. Another reason I love the community here.
ReplyDeleteTrickster you're surprised by my New Zealand beer? Please explain, I'm curious.
I certainly didn't mean it in a derogatory way! :)
DeleteOnly that I don't actually know where you're from Tk. I wasn't aware of any readers from my neighbouring country and I didn't expect to find a kiwi beer randomly selected by someone in the northern hemisphere, which is where the major proportion of readers are from.
Are you from New Zealand?
Don't worry I didn't think you were being derogatory. I was more interested in your surprise than anything, considering that Canageek had posted ethonol!
DeleteYes I'm from New Zealand, or if you want it stereotypically 'Yeah bro, kiwi as!'
Alright, I'm having trouble finding a copy of Zak McKracken that isn't the enhanced version. Does anyone know where I can find the original? CAPs for assistance!
ReplyDeleteIf I can't find it then I'll have to do what I did for Maniac Mansion (play through the enhanced version but deduct points in the final rating).
I'd happily pay for the game, but I don't believe it's commercially available anywhere either. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I found it! :)
DeleteAccording to the game title screen, the enhanced version was also released in 1988. So wouldn't it be ok according your rules to play that version? I think the enhanced version was also the most common version during the time they were released..
ReplyDeleteThe FM towns version with 256 colors was released 1990.
I just checked the original version as well. The graphics are actually quite bad in the original, so you just need to play the enhanced version for maximum entertainment value. I think the game deserves it :)
ReplyDeleteI just did a bit of a search and found some places claiming the enhanced version came out in 1988 and others which claim 1989.
ReplyDeleteI'd trust the game title screen for release date over other sources.
Even if the enhanced edition was considered 1989, instead of calling it the last game in 1988, you could call it the first game in 1989 and play the enhanced version.
Both title screens say 1988. The FM Towns one says 1990, so that one is definitely out. I'm starting to agree with you TBD that playing and judging the enhanced version as a 1988 release would not be unfair.
DeleteDoes anyone disagree with this? I have both versions so can play both if necessary, although I'm pretty sure it's only the graphics that differ.
I'd like to give another vote for playing the V2 enhanced version. To me it seems like the definitive PC version. The V1 is actually a port from the C64 which was quite outdated by 88/89. Also when porting it they couldn't assign a unique color for the skin tones which makes them blend into some of the backgrounds making it look worse than the C64.
ReplyDeleteConsidering Trickster played the SCI and not AGI version of KQ4, I think it's only fair to go with the V2 of Zak. I was always impressed at how great they made it look with only EGA and 16 colors on screen. Of course I have to tip my hat to the original C64 version as well. To think they fit this entire game on one double sided 5 1/4" floppy is truly amazing.
I concur, V2 is the definitive way Zak was meant to be experienced on the PC at the time. Whether it came out in 88 or was only worked on/completed then and released in 89, the two are so close together that when I got my hands on Zak as soon as I knew about this awesome new Lucas Arts game that had come out.. it was V2 that I had, I'd almost consider it a pre-internet way of patching the game with proper graphical optimization than an actual remake like the later FM Towns version. That said.. I'll be playing the FM Towns version.. simply because I never have before and I'm not I don't have to follow the rules. :P
DeleteAttention Trickster and anyone else who will be playing Zak.
ReplyDeleteI just discovered a nasty bug with ScummVM 1.5 that makes it so you can't complete the game. Melissa and Leslie can't access anything inside the Shuttlebug. They just say "I can't reach that"
I tried replaying up to that point and loading saves from 6 months ago only to have the same problem.
I went back to ScummVM 1.4.1 and loaded my old save, and everything works fine. The only problem is that saves from 1.5 don't work with 1.4.1 so you will have to start over.
Here is a link to old ScummVM versions:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/scummvm/files/scummvm/
I'll be doing another playthrough with 1.4.1 just to make sure everything works.
Quick update. I tried Zak v1 and it also has the bug with ScummVM 1.5, however the FM Towns version works fine.
DeleteSo you're saying FM Towns version + ScummVM 1.5 is OK?
DeleteI think so. I played the FM Towns version in ScummVM 1.5 until the point where I could play with Melissa and Leslie to see if they could use things in the shuttlebus, and it was fine. I didn't play beyond that, so I don't know about the rest of the game. It's probably ok.
DeleteThe only information I could find about this bug was on sourceforge:
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=3543335&group_id=37116&atid=418820
Trickster if you are reading this, I feel confident that you should use ScummVM 1.4.1 since I finished it with that version about 6 months ago and everything worked great.