Udvarnoky

Wish I could share in the enthusiasm here, but I stand with @milkyway259 in support of the true underdog in this world: Star Wars: Battlefront.

I was never under the impression that the holdup was Lucasfilm's willingness to let Ron work on a Monkey Island game. Ron has repeatedly stated that his condition for making one was outright owning the IP, which strikes me as a virtual impossibility. If his position changed, and it becomes a matter of getting permission from Disney to use the property, then it's a whole other formula of probability.

While it's fortunate that all the LucasArts SCUMM games are available to purchase legally on digital storefronts like Steam and GOG.com, the situation is a bit of a mess in terms of the content of those purchases. There are a couple of conditions at play, none of which are particularly well advertised: - In the case of games that had multiple release versions with content differences (commonly, EGA vs. VGA), usually only the latest is offered. In the case where an additional version is thrown in, it isn't documented. - Depending on when and where the game became digitally available, it either uses a Windows friendly interpreter updated by Aaron Giles, or it comes bundled with ScummVM in place of the interpreter. In come cases, the original interpreter is also thrown in. Again, this is left for you to discover after buying it. - The games that received special editions or remasters are only available that way, albeit with a togglable “classic mode” as a built-in feature. For most people, ScummVM is a more than sufficient way of playing the games on modern machines, and thus, being able to buy the data files covers their needs. For those who insist on playing the games as faithfully as possible, an emulator is the way to go. Generally this means DOSBox, but Aaron Giles has teased an upcoming, SCUMM-specific emulator of his own design called DREAMM. To exercise that option, you’ll need the original executables. Since there’s no rhyme or reason to which digital releases actually include those, and due to the other aforementioned inconsistencies, I thought a breakdown of what you actually get on Steam and GOG would be of some use to people. Here's what I knocked together: Steam Game Version(s) Executable(s) Maniac Mansion The data files for both the original and enhanced versions are included. Bundled with ScummVM. No native executable included. Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders The data files for both the enhanced and FM-Towns versions are included. Bundled with ScummVM. No native executable included. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade The data files for the VGA floppy version are included. Includes both the native executable and the Windows-compatible executable by Aaron Giles. Loom The data files for the VGA CD "Talkie" version are included. Includes the Windows-compatible executable by Aaron Giles. The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition only. Special Edition only. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge Special Edition only. Special Edition only. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis The data files for the CD "Talkie" version are included. Includes both the native executable and the Windows-compatible executable by Aaron Giles. Day of the Tentacle Remastered version only. Remastered version only. Sam & Max Hit the Road The data files for the CD "Talkie" version are included. Bundled with ScummVM. No native executable included. Full Throttle Remastered version only. Remastered version only. The Dig The data files for the only version are included. Includes both the native executable and the Windows-compatible executable by Aaron Giles. The Curse of Monkey Island The data files for the only version are included. Bundled with ScummVM. No native executable included. GOG.com Game Version(s) Executable(s) Maniac Mansion The data files for both the original and enhanced versions are included. Bundled with ScummVM. Native executable included for enhanced version only. Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders The data files for both the enhanced and FM-Towns versions are included. Bundled with ScummVM. No native executable included. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade The data files for the VGA floppy version are included. Bundled with ScummVM. Native executable included in a directory named "_other". Loom The data files for the VGA CD "Talkie" version are included. Bundled with ScummVM. Native executable included in a directory named "_other". The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition only. Special Edition only. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge Special Edition only. Special Edition only. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis The data files for the CD "Talkie" version are included. Bundled with ScummVM. Native executable included in a directory named "other". Day of the Tentacle Remastered version only. Remastered version only. Sam & Max Hit the Road The data files for the CD "Talkie" version are included. Bundled with ScummVM. No native executable included. Full Throttle Remastered version only. Remastered version only. The Dig The data files for the only version are included. Bundled with ScummVM. Native executable included in a directory named "_other". The Curse of Monkey Island The data files for the only version are included. Bundled with ScummVM. No native executable included.

Relevant to this thread: our new interview with Aaron Giles.

As reported on the front page, the game got its GOG release. Special thanks to Skunkape for putting up with the usual brigading pre-adolescents so I could buy my offline installer.

The project's been acknowledged, but only in the vaguest terms. That it was to be based on the trilogy is news to me. Talk about a video game series that can't catch a break.

I want to bring some attention to Jimmy Maher’s superb and ongoing interactive entertainment chronicle at The Digital Antiquarian. Though the articles devoted to LucasArts represent only a selective fraction of his overall exploration of game history, they amount to a superior work of scholarship about our favorite subject, replete with rare photographs and can’t-be-found-anywhere-else anecdotes. I get the sense Maher’s achievement hasn’t been as trumpeted as it should have been, so as a public service here’s the full list of all the LucasArts-relevant pieces he’s published so far: A New Force in Games, Part 1: Fractal Dreamers July 10, 2015 A New Force in Games, Part 2: A Habitat in Cyberspace July 17, 2015 A New Force in Games, Part 3: SCUMM July 24, 2015 The 14 Deadly Sins of Graphic-Adventure Design (or, Why Ron Gilbert Hated Adventure Games) July 31, 2015 Loom (or, how Brian Moriarty Proved That Less is Sometimes More) February 18, 2017 Monkey Island (or, How Ron Gilbert Made an Adventure Game That Didn’t Suck) March 10, 2017 Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (or, Of Movies and Games and Whether the Twain Shall Meet) September 28, 2018 Day of the Tentacle June 7, 2019 Sam and Max Hit the Road June 21, 2019 The Second Coming of Star Wars February 5, 2021 Full Throttle July 2, 2021 The Dig July 23, 2021 Jedi Knight (Plus, Notes on an Expanded Universe) April 5, 2024 The Curse of Monkey Island April 19, 2024

Skunkape has been mum on GOG unfortunately, but I have a hard time believing it won't eventually make it there. In the meantime, the soundtrack is out.

Someone posted an unboxing video:

So people have this thing in their hands, yet LRG still can't confirm what archive builds were included? On a related note, what's Vegas saying on how long it'll take the contents of that USB stick to be uploaded safe and sound to Archive.org? Not that I would condone such a thing, of course.

Remember those great parody trailers that were originally made for the Season 2 episodes? Based on what was done for Season 1 I'm sure Skunkape will be collating all that stuff on their own YouTube channel, but in the meantime:

Remaster of the second season drops December 8th. Check out Skunkape's official announcement with web presence, trailer and screenshots: https://mixnmojo.com/news/Another-year-another-Sam-and-Max-remaster-from-Skunkape

Maybe @Remicould extort motivate the readership on Twitter? "Get Laserschwert the scans he needs...or Mojo will continue hosting Lemonhead's Maniac Mansion review."

Well, at this point I'll be happy just to hear they've got the thing safely in the can. It's been a long, bumpy ride, and I think there's still a substantial amount of shooting to get through. At least Ford's looking good and the locations seem like a welcome return to globe-trotting after an installment of soundstage-trotting.

The recovered detail is staggering, and I appreciate having the options. When placed side by side, the first one is a bit warmed up for my tastes (though still valid and stunning) but the other two are Sophie's Choice for me. I never knew the FM Towns version turned that blueish hue into gray. I am being seduced in multiple directions!

Delayed to Summer 2023.

Pictured below: what none of us will look like at age 79.

With regard to the involvements of Nazis... SPOILERS The evidence points to the storyline taking place in the "present" of 1969, but that there will be a prologue sequence set during WWII. One thought is that Mads Mikkelsen plays an ex-Nazi who could be introduced in that prologue.

I don't have the energy to cover every set leak on the front page, but for people who want to go down that particular rabbit hole: the production is currently in Sicily, and people seem to be photographing the hell out of it. https://www.instagram.com/p/CUusPm6DqgD/

Thanks to both Jake and Laserschwert for joining forces in this contribution to humanity.

I've never heard this complaint about Psychonauts before. Unless we're talking about playing the PC version without a gamepad?

I think they realized they made a tragic mistake in eliminating the Ultimate Insult sketch and are willing to pull out all the stops to atone for it.

Unceremoniously pushed back again, to 2022. I prefer to think @Laserschwertfound a subatomic flaw in the box art and halted productuon by heaving his body into the gears.

Won't say no to that!

I've been re-downloading my LEC purchases from GOG, and I noticed some of the games have the native interpeter stuffed into a directory called "other". So that's pretty cool, even though it appears to be an inconsistent inclusion. Another wrinkle is that some of the earlier Steam releases of the LEC SCUMM catalog (the two Indy games and The Dig) came with the Windows-friendly executables that Aaron Giles made for LucasArts in the 2002ish area. Allegedly he actually updated all the SCUMM games this way, but only Hit the Road and Full Throttle surfaced at the time (as part of a UK compilation box, I believe), then those few others quietly appeared on Steam years later. The majority never saw the light of day, and at some point it seems Lucasfilm just found it easier to bundle ScummVM for all subsequent digital releases. (GOG may also use ScummVM instead of the Giles executable for the aforementioned Steam titles, though that needs fact-checking.) Cataloging exactly what data files and launchers come bundled with the GOG/Steam releases seems like a worthy mission for someone unburdened by my laziness.