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A look at the King’s Quest series

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I’ve now finished KQ4, I appreciate the bigger plot, better puzzles, woman protagonist but this game had a lot more frustrating parts than the first 3. I’m not exactly sure how it would be possible to climb that tongue without a guide, and the dead ends were a lot more present.
Also, Rosella being disgusted (fainting at the weeding and all) by ugly and green Edgar and suddenly hesitant to leave for home because Edgar turned into a “hunk” is just messed up values. Wink

A question for KQ5 if anyone knows, gog and steam version are the talkie versions, is there a way to add the subtitles or change it completely to non-talkie?
The voices are not very good…

     
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wilco - 25 August 2014 11:19 AM

A question for KQ5 if anyone knows, gog and steam version are the talkie versions, is there a way to add the subtitles or change it completely to non-talkie?
The voices are not very good…

Don’t take my word for it but I seem to remember that if you turn the voices down to zero in the in-game settings, subtitles appear. You could try that.

     
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Oscar - 25 August 2014 11:27 AM

Don’t take my word for it but I seem to remember that if you turn the voices down to zero in the in-game settings, subtitles appear. You could try that.

Thanks, tried it but doesn’t seem to work, and what is strange is that messing up with the volume doesn’t change the voices, only the music and sounds.

     
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The KQ5 CD talkie version (which would be the one on Steam & GoG) has no option to turn off voices.  Being one of the first fully voiced CD games, that’s just how they put it together.  You also have no options for adjusting music quality—you only have the digitized tracks, which arguably aren’t the best version of the soundtrack.  I’d recommend looking online for a download of the floppy disk version—you’ll need dosbox or ScummVM to get it running, but you’ll have a lot more freedom with sound options.  Also, no voices.  It’s the same in every other way.

That said, the voice version does give the “full” experience, so if you’re looking to judge it on the entirety of its merits, for good and bad, the voices would be part of it.  Smile

     
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Thanks Lambonius, guess that’s it. I wish gog released both versions like they did with Broken Sword, but probably not their call.

     
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Lambonius - 25 August 2014 12:29 PM

You also have no options for adjusting music quality—you only have the digitized tracks, which arguably aren’t the best version of the soundtrack.

Is this true? I don’t have the GOG version of the game, but I do have the retail CD-ROM version of the game and there isn’t digitized music in that, except for a couple brief instances: the Weeping Willow’s song and the Ant March. Those two instances have very low-fi digital music because they included singing. (They’re basically part of the vocal track.)

The rest of the soundtrack is MIDI synth music, such as Adlib/SoundBlaster (which is what I would assume is GOG’s default) or MT-32 (if you set up MUNT or use a real MT-32). I could be wrong about GOG’s version, though, and it’s possible Adlib/SoundBlaster music isn’t the default. Did GOG make a digital recording of the soundtrack playing through some MIDI device and re-code their version to use that instead of the MIDI files?

If not, and I’m right about GOG using Adlib/SoundBlaster music by default, then wilco, you can set up MUNT for KQ5 music the same as you did for KQ4, using steps 4 and 5 of that YouTube guide. In DosBox, set the midiconfig parameter to MT-32 Synth Emulator. Then go to the KQ5 folder and run install.exe to access the game’s settings: leave the speech setting on Soundblaster, but change music to MT-32.  If it’s working right, music should sound like this.

Lambonius - 25 August 2014 12:29 PM

That said, the voice version does give the “full” experience, so if you’re looking to judge it on the entirety of its merits, for good and bad, the voices would be part of it.  Smile

If it makes you feel any better, wilco, I agree with Lambonius. The floppy version of KQ5 is technically the original version, so there’s a case to be made for playing it with no voices. But the CD-ROM version of KQ5 was, I believe, the first CD-ROM adventure game with full voices. So even when the acting is uneven, it’s historically of interest. Plus there’s a bit of an Internet meme about the ridiculous way that Cedric the Owl says “Watch out, Graham! A poisonous snake!” that you’ll soon be able to appreciate(?) with voices…

Or we just like hearing about your suffering. Smile

     
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Caliburn - 25 August 2014 01:39 PM

I don’t have the GOG version of the game, but I do have the retail CD-ROM version of the game and there isn’t digitized music in that, except for a couple brief instances: the Weeping Willow’s song and the Ant March.

It looks like I forgot at least a couple instances. In KQ5 CD-ROM (presumably unlike the floppy), the Sierra fanfare and intro movie apparently also use low-fi digital music, which was recorded from the output of an MT-32. This was probably meant to give a good first impression of the music for players who had a sound card like SoundBlaster but no MT-32 of their own.

That means the best place to check and see if the game sounds like it’s using the right MIDI device for the rest of the music is probably inside the town, a couple screens down from the wizard’s house where you start the game. The music there is MIDI, so you can hear if it sounds like MUNT/MT-32 is supposed to, and determine if the game is set up correctly.

     
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You are absolutely right, the gog setup uses the Adlib/Sound Blaster and despite the initial fanfare being the same in both sound system (but with a weird distortion not present in that youtube video), when I set up Mute and turn on Roland MT32 the music gets a lot better in-game, specially in town.

Caliburn - 25 August 2014 01:39 PM

If it makes you feel any better, wilco, I agree with Lambonius. The floppy version of KQ5 is technically the original version, so there’s a case to be made for playing it with no voices. But the CD-ROM version of KQ5 was, I believe, the first CD-ROM adventure game with full voices. So even when the acting is uneven, it’s historically of interest. Plus there’s a bit of an Internet meme about the ridiculous way that Cedric the Owl says “Watch out, Graham! A poisonous snake!” that you’ll soon be able to appreciate(?) with voices…

Or we just like hearing about your suffering. Smile

Was not not expecting the poisonous snake stuff to be already in the second screen!
Nice to know where memes are born. Nightmare inducing voice.


Also got a pie already… strange that I don’t lose points when I eat it.

 

     
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wilco - 25 August 2014 03:12 PM

Also got a pie already… strange that I don’t lose points when I eat it.

DON’T EAT THAT PIE!!!

Seriously. Go back to an earlier save if you already ate it and kept playing. You’ll hit a dead end later.

 

     
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fov - 25 August 2014 04:47 PM
wilco - 25 August 2014 03:12 PM

Also got a pie already… strange that I don’t lose points when I eat it.

DON’T EAT THAT PIE!!!

Seriously. Go back to an earlier save if you already ate it and kept playing. You’ll hit a dead end later.

Smile Thanks for the warning! but I did read about the pie conundrum in the other thread and reloaded a previous game, I was just trying out because in previous Kings Quest when you do something you are not supposed to you lose points - Example: in KQ4 if you eat the magic fruit- the game lets you but the score goes down.

     
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Pretty sure you can still finish KQ4 if you eat the fruit though.  Graham just dies at the end instead of being cured.  Smile

     
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Smile, just went to see that bad ending, it does end like that with Graham dying in bed. Rosella should’ve taken the crown like the ending of KQ1 where Graham immediately takes it and sits on the throne with Edward still lying there…
Moral dilemma in early KQ Grin

     
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Ok, I have not given up on playing the series (just took a break to play other stuff) but I got back to the fifth game and I’m finding it to be the first one borderline unplayable.
After some frustration to find my way through de desert and the enchanted the forest I was finally starting to make some progress, only to find out about a cat and mouse scene that only happens once in the game and you have to throw a boot??? that shows up somewhere in the desert?

This game seems to be an obligatory reference on how not to design a game.

Edit: I do like the plot connection to KQ3 and the random Disney-style singing that sometimes shows up.

     
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KQ5 has a lot of annoying stuff in it. And it also has even more annoying maze at the end part of the game than the desert is, as the desert at least is fairly quick to navigate after you’ve mapped it down.

I really like the graphics of KQ5, it’s a good looking game, but as a whole I can’t really say I like it as much as I do of KQ4, which I my personal favourie of the series. I don’t dislike KQ5 though, but if I’d be reviewing it without my rose tinted glasses, I would have no other option but to destroy it, as it has some of the worst game design Roberta managed to pull out on her career.

     
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This explains why I used a walkthrough from the start for KQV… Crazy

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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