Improving the games...

General chat related to ScummVM, adventure gaming, and so on.

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JohnnyWalker2001
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Improving the games...

Post by JohnnyWalker2001 »

I recall a thread here showing someone's efforts at running a HQ filter over the Broken Sword movies and making them look tons better. They were having some problems encoding them for use within the game, but I can't find that thread now...?

I think it's great that ScummVM might give us the opportunity to be able to into the games more and improve/alter them. The Monkey Island Speech Project was one such example (although I think they may have stopped now because the MI:SE is due out imminently).

I also recall a thread on BASS where HQ voice recordings of the dialogue had been found and released by Revolution. Was anything made of them, or was there too much stuff missing?

Would it be possible for ScummVM to allow users to write their own "patches" that people could download and use if they wanted to? It might be an interesting area for ScummVM to expand into? (For example fixing bugs, restoring lost dialogue, etc.)

Keep up the great work!
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criezy
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Re: Improving the games...

Post by criezy »

JohnnyWalker2001 wrote:I recall a thread here showing someone's efforts at running a HQ filter over the Broken Sword movies and making them look tons better. They were having some problems encoding them for use within the game, but I can't find that thread now...?
This might be the thread you were looking for: http://forums.scummvm.org/viewtopic.php?t=4096
JohnnyWalker2001 wrote:Would it be possible for ScummVM to allow users to write their own "patches" that people could download and use if they wanted to? It might be an interesting area for ScummVM to expand into? (For example fixing bugs, restoring lost dialogue, etc.)
Since this is an open source project, anybody can take the source code, modify it and compile its own version of ScummVM (and there is even a patch tracker so that anybody can propose patches to the team).
But maybe you were thinking of distributing binary patches that do not require the users to recompile ScummVM? Given the number of platforms supported by ScummVM this would be very difficult to achieve since you would need a binary patch for each platform.
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JohnnyWalker2001
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Post by JohnnyWalker2001 »

Aha! That's the link, thanks!

Yeah, your probably right, it would be very difficult. I wasn't thinking of a binary patch, though, more of a patch written in SCUMM or something. If you added it to your "patches" folder, it would take precedence over the SCUMM code in the game.

That way it (might) be cross-platform?

I'm sure there's bugs that could be fixed (the "It's always 10 O'Clock" thing in the CD version of MI strikes me as a bug, for example).

Maybe there could even be a way of replacing resources, like for example, updating the background art in MI2 with something like this:

(Thanks to Laserschwert)
Image
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MeddlingMonk
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Post by MeddlingMonk »

JohnnyWalker2001 wrote:I'm sure there's bugs that could be fixed (the "It's always 10 O'Clock" thing in the CD version of MI strikes me as a bug, for example).
It's not a bug. I played the floppy version back when it was new (and I've got the data files of it in ScummVM) and it's always 10 there as well. In any case, how many 'bugs' do you know of that have supporting in-game dialog? And get referenced to in a sequel (EMI)?

There are bugs, however, in the CD version. There are two that I can recall. One is in the cannibal village when Guybrush gives the wimpy idol to the canibals: Lemonhead's reaction to the idol is severely truncated. The second is toward the end: when LeChuck shoves the grog machine it doesn't move any.

It'd be nice is there was a way to combine the graphical inventory and expanded music of the CD version with the better behavior of the floppy version. Maybe there is and I just don't know it.
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Laserschwert
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Post by Laserschwert »

Well, replacing the resources via a patch is definitely possible (that's just what the LucasArts Patches are doing), although I doubt that you can replace the graphics with something at a different resolution. You'd have to change a LOT of code, as screen coordinates (measured in pixels) wouldn't be correct anymore.
OmerMor
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Post by OmerMor »

Man - those concept art scans are awesome.
Where do you get them from?
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bobdevis
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Post by bobdevis »

JohnnyWalker2001 wrote:Maybe there could even be a way of replacing resources, like for example, updating the background art in MI2 with something like this:
The example you show is pretty much exactly what the 2xHQ and 3xHQ filter in ScummVM do.
You may get a bit better picture for less computer horsepower if the renderer doesn't have to do smoothing on the fly and the smoothing is predone ..... BUT you run into big problems then.
Who is going to distribute the pre-smoothed image pack with what rights? If you upload one scene it is fair use but if you offer a complete pack it is copyright infringement for sure.
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MeddlingMonk
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Post by MeddlingMonk »

OmerMor wrote:Man - those concept art scans are awesome.
Where do you get them from?
They're not concept art. (I assume you're referring to the Monkey Island SE thread, and not the filtered image above.) They are the actual background artwork that was scanned (at low resolution) for MI2. A while back, when LEC had it's 20th anniversary (I think), LucasArts put out a good amount of artwork--concept art and otherwise--from many games. I don't believe they're still available on the LEC website but I imagine they are through the wayback machine...if anyone can remember exactly when this was.
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Laserschwert
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Post by Laserschwert »

The Scumm Bar has them.
JohnnyW
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Post by JohnnyW »

MeddlingMonk wrote:
JohnnyWalker2001 wrote:I'm sure there's bugs that could be fixed (the "It's always 10 O'Clock" thing in the CD version of MI strikes me as a bug, for example).
It's not a bug. I played the floppy version back when it was new (and I've got the data files of it in ScummVM) and it's always 10 there as well. In any case, how many 'bugs' do you know of that have supporting in-game dialog? And get referenced to in a sequel (EMI)?.
No, you completely misunderstand me. It's always 10 O'clock on Melee. That's not the bug. The bug is that Guybrush goes through his lines of dialogue about the clock without leaving the room he's in. It was introduced in the VGA version, it seems. It works as intended on the floppy and Amiga versions.
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LogicDeLuxe
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Post by LogicDeLuxe »

JohnnyW wrote:No, you completely misunderstand me. It's always 10 O'clock on Melee. That's not the bug. The bug is that Guybrush goes through his lines of dialogue about the clock without leaving the room he's in. It was introduced in the VGA version, it seems. It works as intended on the floppy and Amiga versions.
That is one of the many bugs fixed in the Ultimate Talkie Edition. ;)
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envisaged0ne
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Post by envisaged0ne »

You responded to someone's post over 7 years later...wow
JohnnyW
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Post by JohnnyW »

LogicDeLuxe wrote:That is one of the many bugs fixed in the Ultimate Talkie Edition. ;)
Is there a complete list of the bugs that you fixed?

Edit: Looks like there's stuff in the ReadMe that's broken down. Well done on the project!
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