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DREAMM 2.1b7 is now up https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/beta/ It's been a couple of weeks and I've been on vacation (and recovering from COVID), but I'm back and have some fixes for you. * Fixed Linux case-sensitivity issue with Escape from Monkey Island saves * Fixed crash when fielding an unexpected exception * Fixed crash on failure to lock game texture * Added stubs for the full set of Win98 kernel32/user32/gdi32 APIs * Fixed occasional lost key up messages in Windows, which resulted in "sticky" keys * Fixed handling of assert in Infernal Machine so it shows up and exits gracefully * Added option to load game directly at startup in Infernal Machine * Fixed difficulty configuring in Loom FM Towns version * Added new 3D rasterizers reported via telemetry * Improved error reporting for crashes and added reporting for unexpected exceptions * Minor UI refinements

I wouldn't think it was that cynical. I think it's reasonable to assume the conversation started with "How on earth do we make a movie about an 80-year-old Indiana Jones?" Having the prologue set in an era much closer to that of the original films is a natural choice from a storytelling perspective, linking the new elements to familiar ones. It lets them tell a story set in 1969 that still feels connected to the Indiana Jones we know. I think they would have written it largely the same way even if they had decided to go with a lookalike/impersonator for 1940s Indy, though I'm sure the tech emboldened them. And yeah, I'd probably refer to the prologue as de-aged Indy sequence too, mostly because that's how everyone else talks about it, but also because that tech feels so new and potentially jarring. Whether it works for you or not, it's interesting to discuss how the technique was used. I think they did a pretty good job not calling too much attention to the effect, filming the character more or less exactly as they would have otherwise. And I wonder if a generation from now when all of the movies are "old," whether new viewers will hone in on the de-aging specifically or if they'll look right past it. No real spoilers, but musing on the themes:

You make a good point, @Gins. I think the reason for people to discuss the de-aged Ford instead of the younger Indy is because that, and the AI they used to pull it off, is a hot-topic at the moment. Plus, since it’s conception it has mainly been used to show off bells and whistles instead of adding to a story. Then there’s the fact that casting a younger actor for a teen version of a character has been done countless times, and is (maybe therefore) easier to swallow for an audience. The fact that this steers away from the uncanny valley effect (because we as an audience all see and know it’s a different actor) makes it easier to divulge in the suspension of disbelief, whereas with de-aging, it looks almost real but not quite, so we subconciously go looking for mistakes as to prove we’re being tricked. I was sceptical at first, because the feel of the Indy films, to me, relies very much on practical effects and the grit that comes with filming that way. A CGI de-aged Ford to me sounded like everything it shouldn’t be. However, I stand corrected. In the light of the story ánd the fact that this is the last Indy movie, I think the prologue scenes work very well. They not only set up the McGuffin and the bad guy, but also show us how far Indy (and we as an audience) have come since the character’s heydays. The de-aging is far from perfect, but I think It’ll become less distracting with multiple views.

DREAMM 2.1b8 is out now (yes, already!) https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/beta Quick-turnaround release to address a crash-on-start issue in Indy Desktop and provide some more context when reporting errors during game startup/shutdown.