Space Quest and Quest For Glory games in WinXP

[PsychoGoatee]

Hey, I'm trying to get all the QFG and SQ games working in Windows XP. I've read a bunch of topics on various forums, and I'm still having some issues.

I got the script code patches (http://www.geocities.com/belzorash/) for the games and installed them. I got VDMSound 2.0.4/ (http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdmsound/), which doesn't seem to have a configuration window I can find. Previous versions did I recall, on this one all I see is "Run with VDMS" when right clicking on files. Anybody know how to configure this? Anyway...

Quest for Glory 1 vga, QFG2, and QFG3 seem to run fine with only VDMS. However, Quest for Glory 4 has sluggish sound that skips.

Its probably because QFG4 needs the cd in, and its reading the sound off of the cd. Is there a patch out there to copy all the sound files to your game folder, and not need the cd? There's a patch like this for Legacy of Kain, and SkummVM lets you do it for LucasArts adventure games.

Space Quest games, now these have some big problems. Space Quest 2, 3, and luckily 5 all work fine however.

SpaceQuest1 vga, patched version, all that happens when I run it is a black sceen with a mouse pointer I can move. This happens when I run scidhuv.exe, sq1vga.bat, or sierra.bat in VDMS. I assume the first one is the game executable. Any idea how to get this to run?

SpaceQuest4, I can get the installed, patched Dos version to run. The problem though, is no cd sound plays at all. The Windows version, with the full directory ripped from the cd, does work with sound however. The drawback is that the window is small, and desktop needs to be 256 colors. Plus I recall the Dos version being the better one. Any tips getting it working?

Space Quest 6 won't run at all. Dos version, windows version, they both crash instantly, with or without VDMsound, or the patch. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance. Also, are any slowdown programs recommended? I don't seem to need them, but if they're neccessary I'd use them.


Oh yeah, and I hear a new Space Quest collection is being released to work on Windows XP/2000, is this true?

[Kurufinwe]

Yes, it is possible to run those games without the CD. This should also fix your problems with SQ4. See my post there, esp. Appendix B (the whole guide is made for DOSBox, not VDMS, but the thing to copy the whole game to your hard drive works the same).

I'm not sure about the rest, though. I prefer DOSBox to VDMS (and can run all the QfG and SQ games using the former). fov is our resident VDMS apologist, so just try and bug her, I'm sure she'll be happy to solve all your remaining problems. ;)

Oh yeah, and I hear a new Space Quest collection is being released to work on Windows XP/2000, is this true?
That's a good question... (There's been one news report at Gamespot recently, but it was kinda vague, and it was unclear who their source was. Keep your fingers crossed.)

[fov]

Welcome to the forum. :)

I got the script code patches (http://www.geocities.com/belzorash/) for the games and installed them. I got VDMSound 2.0.4/ (http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdmsound/), which doesn't seem to have a configuration window I can find. Previous versions did I recall, on this one all I see is "Run with VDMS" when right clicking on files. Anybody know how to configure this? Anyway...

I've only ever used VDMSound this way (right-clicking and selecting Run with VDMS) so if there's any way to configure it, I don't know how. Sorry. :frown:

Quest for Glory 1 vga, QFG2, and QFG3 seem to run fine with only VDMS. However, Quest for Glory 4 has sluggish sound that skips.

Its probably because QFG4 needs the cd in, and its reading the sound off of the cd. Is there a patch out there to copy all the sound files to your game folder, and not need the cd? There's a patch like this for Legacy of Kain, and SkummVM lets you do it for LucasArts adventure games.

In the game directory, look in the sierra.ini or resource.win file (use Notepad to open these) and you'll see where the audio is being accessed from. It'll most likely be pointing at the CD, but maybe you could copy the sound files from the CD to your computer, and then edit the line in the .ini or .win file to point to those files, instead of to the CD.

SpaceQuest1 vga, patched version, all that happens when I run it is a black sceen with a mouse pointer I can move. This happens when I run scidhuv.exe, sq1vga.bat, or sierra.bat in VDMS. I assume the first one is the game executable. Any idea how to get this to run?

Have you tried DosBox?

SpaceQuest4, I can get the installed, patched Dos version to run. The problem though, is no cd sound plays at all. The Windows version, with the full directory ripped from the cd, does work with sound however. The drawback is that the window is small, and desktop needs to be 256 colors. Plus I recall the Dos version being the better one. Any tips getting it working?

For the Dos version, have you tried changing the audio settings (double-click install.exe in the game directory). Try different ones, and you may find one that works. Are you getting any kind of error message when you run the game? If you see something about the game being unable to initialize sound, you need to use the GoSierra (http://66.49.226.244/utilities/GOSiERRAv3.zip) patch... unzip the file into your game directory and run it, and you should be all set.

For the Windows version, you can't make the window bigger, but you can turn your resolution down to 640x480 to make it full screen. Compatibility mode lets you do this but sometimes it doesn't work with Sierra games. If not, you can change your resolution manually:

-Right-click desktop
-Select Properties
-Go to Settings tab
-Click Advanced
-Go to Adapter tab
-Click List All Modes
-Select 256 colors and 640x480 resolution from the list

When you want to set it back to your standard resolution, you can just use the slider bar on the Settings tab.

Space Quest 6 won't run at all. Dos version, windows version, they both crash instantly, with or without VDMsound, or the patch. Any ideas?

Again, try DosBox. Also you could check out SpaceQuest.net (http://www.spacequest.net/) and see if they have any information that will help.

Thanks in advance. Also, are any slowdown programs recommended? I don't seem to need them, but if they're neccessary I'd use them.

DosBox allows you to slow down a game, without the need of another slowdown program. Otherwise, I suggest Turbo or MoSlo.

Oh yeah, and I hear a new Space Quest collection is being released to work on Windows XP/2000, is this true?

Hasn't been confirmed by Vivendi, so as of right now AG is still treating it as a rumor. I'm trying to get more concrete information.

[PsychoGoatee]

Thanks for the advice. I did find another post about copying the "recource.aud" file from the QG4 cd and changing the .cfg file. The file is 500mb and every time it fails around 80% saying "cyclical redundancy error" or something like that. Of course, the cd is pretty old. I'll see what I can do about SQ4 though.

As for Dosbox, I recently tried it but have but don't know how it works. I got the D-Fend frontend and that makes it work, of course I still can't get those games to work. Any settings that should be messed with for these games?

[fov]

Thanks for the advice. I did find another post about copying the "recource.aud" file from the QG4 cd and changing the .cfg file. The file is 500mb and every time it fails around 80% saying "cyclical redundancy error" or something like that. Of course, the cd is pretty old. I'll see what I can do about SQ4 though.

I think that error means the file is corrupt, which means you're going to have trouble running the game anyway. (Could be that this is the source of the audio problem...)

I don't use DosBox all that much, so someone else can probably give you better instructions for that than I can. ;)

[Kurufinwe]

You know, the two of us are really starting to sound like those Guybrush and Lechuck puppets in MI4... :crazy:

Anyway, PsychoGoatee, provided you follow the instructions in the post I've linked to, DOSBox should work fine to run Sierra games with the default settings. I don't use D-Fend (I find it scarier and more complicated than just editing the config file by hand), but I can have a look at it if necessary. But basically, it should work. If it doesn't, then report the problem, giving the exact error message (if any), and saying exactly how you set up DOSBox and the game, and what you did. And then we'll try and see what can be done. :)

And, yes, I'm afraid you QFG4 CD is dead. If you're really desperate, you might try toothpaste (http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/77), it sometimes works (though usually finishes the CD off).

[fov]

You know, the two of us are really starting to sound like those Guybrush and Lechuck puppets in MI4... :crazy:

Haven't played it... are they anything like the hecklers (http://www.monkeyouttanowhere.com/movies/graphics/2005/2005_06_24muppets.jpg) from the Muppet Show? :D

[Kurufinwe]

I don't think we've actually descended that low... yet. ;) Normally, I'd just tell you to play the game and see for yourself, but with MI4 I really don't have the heart to do it.

[PsychoGoatee]

The only reason D-fend is useful is it lets you "mount" a drive in the menu, and start a game with a shortcut to the executable. Of course it isn't getting any of those Space Quest games to work... Quest for Glory IV is fine with VDMsound, just some skippy dialogue, not a big deal.

So if doing it directly in Dosbox is the only way, I could use some advice. Typing mount D "D:\Dos Games" works, so I can get to the games. Then I type cd:\SQ1VGA, then I type sierra which I assume is the right thing to type. It then says "echo off", loads the black screen with the pointer.

Of course, I'm supposed to change the config file in notepad right? Could you paste the text for that config that'd be optimal for running old Sierra vga games? And any other advice would be appreciated. Thanks folks.

Also, I notice you need to mount the drive every time you enter dosbox. Is there something I can edit in the config file to automatically do this mount every time?

One more question, heh, I notice the .dll files in the Dosbox folder. Are these files optimal, or are there better ones out there? On some kinds of emulators, the default ones aren't as good as fan made ones.

[avatar_58]

Unfortunately dosbox optimal configs change with one's system.....there are no 'right' ones. :(

If you want to stop skipping dialogue, you could make an ISO image of the CD and mount it using dosbox. Or if you don't mind config-hacking, why not try this guide I created:

http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=9788&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Tell me how that helps.

What are your system specs anyway (cpu speed?) I suggest you run dosbox with a dynamic core, that way you can get higher cycles. I run older sierra games at 9000 cycles for best speed/timing. For CD based games you might need to add a bit more to stop any skipping. I have QG4 running at 10000 cycles for perfect speech + speed.

However I have a fast CPU, so this might not be helpful.

[Kurufinwe]

Well, obviouly you are able to lauch the game, which is good. Now, it is surprising that it gets stuck when doing that. It might be a problem when configuring the game. When you launch the SQ1 install, what device do you select (for audio and music)? The first thing you could try is to select "no audio card" and "no music card", and see if the game works that way.

If it's the case, then it must be a problem with the way your sound devices are configured in DOSBox. The default config should work fine, normally, but you can try checking that things are set correctly. In the [sblaster] section of dosbox.conf (or the equivalent part of D-fend), choose sb1 as your type of card, and the usual settings (base=220, irq=7, dma=1)), and then, in the game's install program, choose SoundBlaster as your music and audio card.

Now, if it is not a sound-related problem, it is going to be trickier (and, for the moment, I have no idea).

[PsychoGoatee]

Hmm well first, could you help me get Space Quest 1 vga running? Since this doesn't use a cd, it should be the easiest of the 3 I'm having trouble with (SQ1,4,& 6). I have the Space Quest collection, 2 discs, making iso files would be more complex than configuring the cd-rom to work in dosbox right?

Here are my specs:

Pentium 4 2.00ghz, 512mb of ram, Windows XP. ATI Radeon 9600 AGP video card. Under sound devices I see "Avance AC'97 audio" and "Legacy Audio Drivers". 48x CDrw. So, can I configure Dosbox to recognise this stuff?

edit:

Kurufinwe, I don't see a "no sound" option in the install.exe, it just list a bunch of sound options, not sure how to turn off sound. Actually to be specific, there's only a "music" sound option for some reason. Also, is there a line you can add in the config to mount the drive every time?

[Kurufinwe]

Kurufinwe, I don't see a "no sound" option in the install.exe, it just list a bunch of sound options, not sure how to turn off sound. Also, is there a line you can add in the config to mount the drive every time?
I don't have the game on my computer at the moment, so I was just guessing, I'm afraid. I thought all Sierra games had an option to disable music, but obviously not this one. Well, you can at least disable audio/speech (supposing there actually is audio/speech in SQ1, which I'm not sure of). And, for music, just choose AdLib and see what happens.

And, in dosbox.conf, there is a section (at the end) called [autoexec], which contains commands which will be executed at startup. This is where you can put things such as "mount ...", "cd sq1vga", etc. instead of typing them everytime.

[PsychoGoatee]

Thanks for the info, I was just looking at this Faq (http://www.questformoreglory.com/help/dosbox.html) when you posted.

Now, SQ1 doesn't have a sound config in the install for some reason, just "Graphics, Music, Joystick, Mouse, and Memory". Of course, I think the problem is my DosBox configuration in general, since I haven't changed anything except adding the line "mount d "D:\DOS Games\". Not really sure what to change.

[Kurufinwe]

What have you selected in "music" in the SQ1 install?

[PsychoGoatee]

I've tried Sound Blaster Card and currently Sound Blaster/Adlib card (or compatibles), neither makes the game run. I'm thinking, would the sound be what makes the screen black aside from the cursor?

Also, other games do work fine in dosbox, like Quest For Glory 3. That works with either VDMsound or dosbox, the Space Quest games don't work in either for some reason.

Edit: by the way, Dosbox says its running at cpu cycles: 3000, frameskip: 0. Are there recommended settings for these for these games? Also, is there a line in the config to do this?

[Kurufinwe]

Well, if you're using AdLib as the music device, I can't see how it could prevent the game from running. Even if it were not properly set up within DOSBox, it should run (though without music).

You might try running the game using scidhuv.exe instead of sierra.bat, but I can't see how it could change anything.

Oh, wait a minute. Could the game have somehow been set up to work from the CD? You might want to make sure you have everything on your hard drive, esp. a file called RESOURCE.000 (5-6 Mb big, probably, or maybe several files called RESOURCE.000, RESOURCE.001, etc.). But that's sorta far-fetched too...

[PsychoGoatee]

I've got all those files, the directory is 5.7mb, I also don't remember SQ1 having a play-from-cd option. I also tried every sound setting available, same results every time. Dos install from the compilation cd, with NewRisingSun's patch.

[Kurufinwe]

Then I'm out of ideas. :frown: I'll try giving it more thought.

[PsychoGoatee]

Hey, I just got SQ1vga working! I just reinstalled it from the cd, added the patch, sound is on "Sound Blaster/Adlib card (or compatibles)" like before, but it works now. It even works in VDMsound, though the sound is garbled, while it sounds good in Dosbox.

So, can you point me to any DosBos faqs? This is the fist game I've used with it instead of VDMS. A couple quick questions: how do I make it in fullscreen automatically? How do I exit? I read F9 key exits, but it doesn't for me. Also, how do you tweek the speed the game runs at in Dosbox? Thanks for the advice.

[Kurufinwe]

So it was a corrupted file... OK. :)

Regarding DOSBox, you might find some good guides here (http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewforum.php?f=39). The DOSBox wiki (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php) also contains a wealth of information. The readme that comes with DOSBox also contains a lot on info, but I must admit it's not really user friendly (the 'running resource-demanding games' item included in it might be of use to you, though).

For most config problems, you should have a look at the appropriate page (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php?page=dosbox.conf) of the DOSBox wiki. You'll see, for instance, that there's an option to start DOSBox in fullscreen (in the [sdl] section).

I think CTRL-F9 quits, though you'll have to check the readme. I personnally just type 'exit' at the prompt, which works just as well and is easier to remember.

As I said, for speed tweaking, see the readme. You'll have to play with options in the [sdl] (for hardware scaling), [render] (frameskip makes things faster; scalers make the graphics prettier but cost speed), and [cpu] (core=dynamic is much faster, but supposedly less stable, though I have yet to meet problems with it) sections of dosbox.conf.

Hope this helps! :)

[PsychoGoatee]

Nice, so I changed the config to start in fullscreen, raised memory from 16 to 32, changed cpu to dynamic, and raised cycles from 3000 to 6000. Things seem to be quite smooth, and the sound is much better than VDMS. One question though, I'm guessing different games run better with different cyce speeds, like some at 4000 or some at 7000, are there any guides for that info?

What do you personally have it set to when you play Quest for Glory or Space Quest games?

Oh by the way, for my cd drive (E:) I added the line "mount e e:\". Do I need to add anything to specify that its the cd drive, and are there any cd drive options? I didnt notice any in the config.

[avatar_58]

Cycles depend on your CPU speed. On sierra games I wouldn't go much higer than 9000 before they start having timer problems. QFG needs tweaking to get combat/timing to work properly.

[Kurufinwe]

I'm very bad with the cycles thing. I just use what's worked for the previous game, and change it if I find it doesn't work. I've played some Sierra games with as low as 3500 and as high as 12000, and never really had much trouble (using Newrisingsun's patches, of course).

Oh by the way, for my cd drive (E:) I added the line "mount e e:\". Do I need to add anything to specify that its the cd drive, and are there any cd drive options? I didnt notice any in the config.
You should use mount e e:\ -t cdrom -usecd #, where # is the id of the CD drive you're using (0 is your first CD/DVD drive, 1 is the second, etc. This only matters for CD-audio tracks, as in 7th Guest of Lost in Time).

[avatar_58]

Newrisingsun's patches aren't needed in dosbox. If you run the games under 9000 cycles (or more for qfg) the games will not have any timer problems. I prefer to play without any third party patches, so I know. ;)

[PsychoGoatee]

Alot of these bugs were present back when the games were first released though. Several of the bugs Quest For Glory 4's patch fix stopped me from completing the game in dos on my 486, back in the day.

Plus NewRisingSun's patches are intended for use in Dosbox.

[avatar_58]

Plus NewRisingSun's patches are intended for use in Dosbox.

Be that as it may, I've never had any real issues with sierra games besides the timer problems. When run at lower cycles, the games are as perfect as they were back in the day. Least they are for me, I've never had need for a third party patch.