Thrik

Has nobody picked this up then?!

Yeah it’s an interesting one. The archivist in me thinks that fixed versions of games should be versions of games, and not a pseudo version that sort of arises from the emulator/tool massaging the implementation. For example there are numerous editions of Monkey Island 1 & 2 that were released for various platforms with many small variations. Should the tool be smushing those variations into one definitive version, or letting the differences stand — like a missing prop description, or minor dialogue fixes? If so, then what about bugs? Different versions of classic games have different bugs because of how patches didn’t exist back then. Should the tool also smush those fixes together? I think for casual players or those seeking the ‘best’ experience then it does make sense to do the above. However, few casual players are going to be using ancient versions of games and trying to run them on modern systems — they’ll just pick up the Special Editions. It’s going to be enthusiasts playing these old versions, for whom I feel the tool’s primary job is to preserve the original game exactly as it was, and if there is any ‘fixing’ that is done very transparently in a toggleable way. Otherwise, what if you do want to play SOMI with its bugs intact — whether it be for the experience, or to check something (i.e. research)? With that said, I think the ship has sailed as far as ScummVM being a serious archival tool goes. It seems the only real avenue for that is using something like DOSBox, or another way of simulating the original runtime conditions, so that there is no interpretation or decision making happening. BTW this wall of text isn’t meant to savage your contribution Thunderpeel. It is more a general concern I have about the scope and direction of ScummVM, which is admirably volunteer-run but also constitutes the only official way of playing a lot of games, and the primary way people play them unofficially.

Perhaps yet another time Archive.org is our saviour: https://archive.org/details/Win95OSR2

Has anyone played around with virtual machines? As I understand it Dosbox-x can basically reproduce a simulated 90s-era Windows environment, meaning that as far as the game’s concerned it’s on ‘home turf’. Whether or not it is that simple I don’t know, but it seems like it’d be the most reliable way of getting as authentic an experience as possible short of literally setting up an ancient computer. Of course you’d lose any ‘special’ options like upscaling tricks, but that could be fine…

That would be crazy if it didn’t support Rift. Hope you can confirm!

Very quickly — I checked several hours after that post and they were already gone. A very hot commodity it seems!

To be fair, that was De Niro himself being de-aged, so the issue was that he moved like an old chap despite supposedly being younger. In this case, it sounds like a younger model is being used with a replaced face, probably using deep fake whiz-bang tech that’s all the rage now.

Nothing new obviously but I do just love the detail of doll Guybrush wearing the MI1 outfit.

You might have a Rolls Royce Phantom, but do you have a PS5? I thought not.

I’m a bit sad it’s not launching with a proper PS5 version, as I was lucky enough to get one but there’s a shortage of stuff to give it a run for its money. I understand that the Xbox Series X is getting a new-gen version, which makes sense given Double Fine’s new ownership. I hope it doesn’t take long for that cut to make its way to the PS5.

Adventureland is just such a good place for Indy too. I’d love to see more of it there.

I might be oversimplifying but I feel like it’s best to just take each film based on its own merits rather than having all kinds of festering presumptions. Disney has been involved with plenty of actually very good movies, but also ones that are by-the-numbers disappointments. It’s probably more pertinent who specifically is involved with the production. Disney is a monster company, but these films are still ultimately made by human beings hopefully trying their best to make a good flick. I also don’t think it can be emphasised enough that to my knowledge Disney wasn’t involved at all with Crystal Skull, and… well. As a random aside, I just want to mention that Disneyland Paris has had an awesome Indiana Jones ride since the mid-90s. I was wondering how that happened given it was long before Disney obtained Indiana. Turns out it was a LucasFilm/Disney collaboration.

Great work. I’ve never seen CMI art with enough fidelity to appreciate all those fine organic details.

A shocking oversight! Time to press some fresh records.