lots of Quest for Glory 1 VGA questions

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Maxor127
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lots of Quest for Glory 1 VGA questions

Post by Maxor127 »

There's a nagging issue with Quest for Glory 1 VGA for DOS that has always bugged me. And I was wondering if it was possible for ScummVM to somehow fix it? If you look at the stats screen at night, it shows purple pixels.

Image

The Mac version doesn't have this issue. The nighttime overlay also doesn't affect the Mac icons so they stay brightly colored at night, which I'm wondering if that's better.

Image

The Mac version has its own issues though. Some of the character portraits seem to be lower quality. The sheriff at the very beginning is one that comes to mind.

I reported other Mac version problems with ScummVM in another thread, where it skips some cutscenes and some audio issues.
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sev
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Post by sev »

What about reading the Forum Rules before posting? Particularly Rules #3a and #7?


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Post by Maxor127 »

3a) I don't think this post qualifies as a bug. It's a visual abnormality that is inherent in the original, so ScummVM is emulating it correctly. I don't know if it's in ScummVM's scope to correct ugly graphic issues if they're true to the original.

7) I didn't cross post. Two separate posts about two separate issues. This post deals with graphics that I've established don't count as a bug. The other post is about actual problems I'm having with ScummVM. And I posted that in Help & Support, where I thought it belonged.
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Post by envisaged0ne »

You should have stated, originally, that this was a original bug with the software, and not a bug with scummVM. All you said was that this was an on going problem. And no, ScummVM isn't going to re-write the game to fix the annoyance for you. The only time they will change the original code is to make it work on modern windows, but they keep it as close to the original as possible.

As for cross-posting, yes they weren't exactly the same, but they were both about the same game, that you could have (should have) kept it all in the same thread, rather than creating 2 separate ones. Keep in mind, sev is a moderator, so you might want to stay on his good side :idea:
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Post by OmerMor »

envisaged0ne wrote:ScummVM isn't going to re-write the game to fix the annoyance for you. The only time they will change the original code is to make it work on modern windows, but they keep it as close to the original as possible.
That's not true.
ScummVM have fixed many existing bugs and annoyances in the original interpreters / game scripts.
This bug seem like a good candidate for such a fix.

Maxor123: you'd probably want to file a bug report for this, even though it's only a graphics glitch. I might take a look at this myself if the engine devs won't.
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envisaged0ne
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Post by envisaged0ne »

Ok, maybe I should let a Dev speak, but why would this be a good candidate because the color isn't to his liking? For all you know, the color was intentionally done this way. I don't want to speak for the dev's, but I highly doubt this would be on the top of there list to change. Esp since more people than not, don't like things being changed & can start a rant. And yes, I have seen plenty of them in the forums..esp when changes were made to the SCI games
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Post by eriktorbjorn »

envisaged0ne wrote:Ok, maybe I should let a Dev speak, but why would this be a good candidate because the color isn't to his liking? For all you know, the color was intentionally done this way.
My copy of Quest For Glory I for DOS (from the Quest For Glory Anthology collection) doesn't have this glitch. It shows highlighted text as red in both DOSBox and in ScummVM. Are there several different versions of the game? The VERSION file for this one says "2.000".
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Post by envisaged0ne »

If you look at your stats at night, then the text is purple instead of red. This is the normal behavior of the game, but the OP thinks it looks ugly & wants it changed in ScummVM. It's not a bug, as this is how the original game showed it.
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Post by eriktorbjorn »

envisaged0ne wrote:If you look at your stats at night, then the text is purple instead of red. This is the normal behavior of the game, but the OP thinks it looks ugly & wants it changed in ScummVM. It's not a bug, as this is how the original game showed it.
Ah, I missed the "at night" bit. I only tried when creating a new character. Sorry about that.
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Post by OmerMor »

envisaged0ne wrote:why would this be a good candidate because the color isn't to his liking? For all you know, the color was intentionally done this way. I don't want to speak for the dev's, but I highly doubt this would be on the top of there list to change.
I suspect there's a problem with the palette. The scattered purple pixels look to me like an oversight rather than subjectively ugly.
The fact that the Macintosh version does not exhibit this strengthen his point.
I guess observing the relevant script/palette differences in both versions should help in determining if this was intentional.
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Post by scoriae »

envisaged0ne wrote:If you look at your stats at night, then the text is purple instead of red. This is the normal behavior of the game, but the OP thinks it looks ugly & wants it changed in ScummVM. It's not a bug, as this is how the original game showed it.
Your so quick to shoot him down, and you aren't even taking the time to read his message properly. He wasn't complaining about the purple numbers. He was talking about the random scattered purple dots on the background.

Glad to know we have a new scummvm forums police officer though. You are the latest in a long line of people who have had the position.
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envisaged0ne
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Post by envisaged0ne »

A) Still the same argument. This ISN'T a bug in scummvm. This is how the original game was. So it's not something the dev's need to fix

B) I specifically stated that I wasn't going to speak for the dev's, but that I doubt they'd fix something that is behaving as the original game did.

C) As I also stated, people don't like changes being made to the games. There have been rants when changes were made that changed the original behavior of the game. Perfect example was when dithering was disabled in SCI games. There was such a huge uproar, that the devs finally made it an option to turn on or off. I personally like the dithering removed, but I get why people were upset when it was forced in, without any way to change it. What the OP is upset about is a small annoyance, and I'd bet most fans of these Sierra games wouldn't want things changed. They prefer things to be authentic. And, again, my opinion comes from seeing how people reacted when changes were made before
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Post by scoriae »

Here is an entire list of bugs inherent to the original Discworld games with have workarounds and/or fixes implemented in ScummVM:
http://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php/Tinsel/Bugs
And no, ScummVM isn't going to re-write the game to fix the annoyance for you. The only time they will change the original code is to make it work on modern windows, but they keep it as close to the original as possible.
Which not only presumes incorrectly, but also does appear to speak for the team.
but why would this be a good candidate because the color isn't to his liking? For all you know, the color was intentionally done this way.
Ridiculous. It is obviously a graphical glitch. Acting as though a scattering of miscolored pixels was intentional is ... well, I can't think of a nice way to put it. But it's a pretty silly statement to make.

I'd suggest dropping the attitude when people point out things like this. It doesn't do anyone any good, and it really doesn't help when your so consistently incorrect in your arguments.
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Post by envisaged0ne »

LOL! Ok, so I'm incorrect? Let's see what the dev's do about it. If they decide to fix this "bug", that was inherent in the original game, then I'll say "wow, I guess I was wrong". And you're the one copping the attitude right now. Once I explained to eriktorbjorn that this was in the original game, there seemed to be no more interested talk about it from the dev(s).

I do wish you luck in your mission to get the original "bug" fixed. It's apparently bothering you a lot
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Post by OmerMor »

I am pretty much convinced the OP and scoriae are correct, and this is a graphical glitch.
The evidence as I see it:
1) The scattered dots are only discolored during the night, when the background palette changes.
2) It looks ugly.
3) The most convincing evidence: it was fixed in the Mac version.

I still suggest to open a bug so the discussion can be moved over there (where the actual devs read and react to it). And I volunteer to take a look if no other dev picks this up.
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