FaNaTiC

I loved the direction of Elaine in RtMI. One of my favorite lines in the entire game is when you run into her on the street of Mêlée - if you select the line "I was hoping you'd be in this story" she responds "aw, I was hoping you'd be in mine." This absolutely sold it for me. In the story Guybrush is telling - Elaine is a cameo, but from her perspective he's the cameo. They're both glad to see each other - but then they're off to having their own great adventures. She's having her own type of fun. Sure she's curing scurvy, but she's also travelling to the other islands, learning to re-build a ship, having coffee with old friends. Somehow her adventures all felt...lighthearted particularly compared to many of the other games. While she's been shown to be capable, many of the other games have her "doing her own thing" - only to be interrupted by LeChuck / Guybrush. [SMI - kidnapped; LCR - party interrupted?; CMI - invaded, turned to gold, kidnapped; EMI - deal with an election (that she doesn't really even want to win?); ToMI - poxed]. It was nice this time that she wasn't actually interrupted by them. Sure she did go help Guybrush, but it didn't stop her from doing her own activities - and Guybrush even helped with her scurvy prevention crusade. I also think the fact that they're older and more established in RtMI helped them feel more solid as a couple who have found their footings together.

I totally agree that the LeChuck crew is the most well-rounded of the new characters overall. I really loved Flambé. Loved his design and voice and was totally in when I first saw him rolling his eyes as LeChuck yelled at the crew. I love the idea that he's this sort of slacker that somehow LeChuck still puts up with. I also really wanted more from Widey Bones. I liked the idea of her and saw a lot of potential, but then she really just faded out quickly. Ditto with Locke Smith. I was waiting for some deeper connection with her mother and the keys and Widey. I was especially shocked when I played the "casual" mode in my second playthrough at how limited the Locke Smith section was.

Sure, but spokes model "Stu" (supporting actor in 'SPEARE!') even gets a full name - Stu Boyle.

I always assumed "Skully" was the pirate who's head got knocked off in the beginning cutscene with LeChuck. You know, the "Aw, how romantic...Ship Ahoy!" guy. Looking at the full credits though, I find it interesting that he got a name, but Minnie Goodsoup and Charles De Goulash are just "Ghost Bride" and "Ghost Groom".

It's funny you bring up the jewel case vs the sleeve. I recently was going through some items and found that I have somehow acquired two CD copies of DOTT - one with the jewel case and one with the sleeve. I don't know when I got a second version or how, because I originally had bought only the triangle box - and yes, the flimsiness in the photo above seems comparable in quality to mine.

Sorry, my previous post probably wasn't clear. Season1 always was only released on Windows (and I also still have my copy of that too), I'm just hoping that if the other two get made they don't forget about the Mac version too.

I'm really excited for this! And I paid full-price because I hope it's successful enough to convince them to do the other seasons as well. I had actually just (like a week before the announcement) re-purchased all 3 seasons from Steam since I discovered that I can't get Season 2 to run - because I had it direct from TTG (and it's not a DRM-free version). Then discovered that I can't get the Steam version to work on my current computer - because I'm running Catalina (and I can't downgrade for other reasons), and I can't run it on my old computer - because the OSX is too old and doesn't support the Steam client. So this kind of came at exactly the right time and is pushing me to actually finally set-up all of the various systems I need in order to run the things I want to. If there is a potential for Season 2 & 3 in the future...I would hope to see the Mac versions also being available as remasters.

I thought this was great! I especially enjoyed his discussion about Sam and Max: Freelance Police - which I admittedly didn't know too much about. Also, I didn't realize that so much of it was done at time of cancellation. Wild. Also, Mike showed up in the chat before he appears on screen (29:45). I really liked the wording of his response to a question about the commercialism theme of EMI and what drove that decision. I'm betting some people missed it because they skipped forward so, see below:

Agree - really surprised this is the choice from EMI. That game had a lot of branding opportunities, but this is what they went with? I can come up with a bunch of 3D things: The monkey head stein? Or a Starbuckaneers cup? Something from Planet Threepwood maybe? The Dainty Lady? A bucking manatee? A gubernatorial seal? A mini Mega Monkey or Statue Lechuck? Heck, if it had to be something on paper - I would rather have the painting of the Harbour Mistress. Love your idea for the navigation recipe!

@ATMachine This was my initial thought too - but I can't seem to find a photo of it online to confirm. The only ones I can seem to even track down are two from this fan solution site where it does look like it says "Badass" not "Bronze". Seems like a weird thing to change if incorrect. My PC is in storage at the moment, so I'm not able to boot up the old game to confirm though, so happy to have someone provide the actuals!

I've just completed it! Overall, this was a really fun game. I found it to be funny and charming. I loved the tabloid stories and inspiration. I grew up hearing a lot of these sort of stories so it all felt really familiar to me - in the best way possible. Also there was a lot of the dialogue that wound up making me smile. If I were to offer someone playing for the first time some advice: - Use the READ function on everything - some things may surprise you. - Save often, especially so that you can: - Try multiple different solutions or find little jokes. I especially enjoyed using the GIVE option a lot. A few other specific thoughts: Difficulty I didn't actually find it too difficult, I think I was making it more difficult in my head by second guessing myself along the way. I managed to make it without a walkthrough, and with only the one hint above - which was really just me hoping that I didn't need to do a bunch of backwards logic if I didn't need to. While I understand that this is a bit different for a Lucas game because you can die ... I thought they did really try to make it difficult to die. And there seemed to be enough hints in the game itself to push you towards drawing the conclusions you needed to solve the puzzles. The only point that I thought could have used a little more of a push was something to indicate a bit more of an expected procedural outline. I got stuck above because I thought I was missing something that didn't exist. When I just went ahead and did the stuff I knew I would need to eventually - it all ended up falling into place in more or less the right order. I'm not sure if this is a flaw in the game, or whether it says something more about game design then or game design now (and our audience expectations). Mazes Well, you were all correct that these are here solely to pad play time. But I don't really see the point at all. I didn't find them to be actual mazes. Typically, if I clicked through 4 or 5 screens in most areas, I would wind up at my destination. I found this really strange. I was expecting it to be more like Sierra games of the era, where the maps had to be correct so you could find multiple locations and return to them again without dying along the way. Instead these felt very much just like completely useless padding. Money I've been reading the Mojo articles on it and see that many people weren't fans of the cash system - but I didn't think it was that bad. If you need money, there is the Lotto which you can win - at least up to three times. This should be enough money to last you, especially if you're making use of saved games. I have a feeling many people would face issues of getting stuck without cash for the other player characters, but there are some work-arounds if you're willing to do a little give-and-take. Multiple Paths I could tell there were multiple solutions to puzzles, but was slightly disappointed that some of the things never played a bigger role. I also feel like I had some inventory items that I never really needed - which just made me feel like I wish I'd known what they could have been used for? Missing Components I think the thing I missed the most is a "Talk to" feature, or more of an opportunity for any of the characters to interact with each other. I wanted to hear more about the motivations of different characters and their backgrounds. That being said, I did like that there were some characters that felt like they had more of a backstory than many characters I've seen in recent media. I saw somewhere that someone didn't feel like they got a sense of who Zak was - but I sure did. I have a voice in my head for him. I felt I knew his motivations. His mom's answering machine messages also helped me to fill in a few gaps. I also liked how each of the female characters seemed to have their own unique interests and special abilities. They did feel a bit limited, but I liked the inclusion of reasons why characters weren't interchangeable. A note on timing: I know it will look like I spent a full month on this, but I played only some evenings and some weekend days throughout the month. I didn't time my play-through, but this should not be used as an indicator of how long the game is.

For reference for others: just tried to re-install mine on this Mac running on Catalina (10.15.6) - once I open the installer it just has a big cross-out through the application and an error that the dev needs to update the app to work with this version of OS. Somewhere I've got my other one running on....something old. I can give it a try tonight.

Perfect! Thanks OzzieMonkey. Guess I have some more exploring to do...

Alright - I give. It's been about a week on this one thing and I need a hint - but I'm worried about looking up anything because I don't want any actual details. If anyone either knows Zak well - or doesn't mind looking up the answer for me and letting me know if I'm on the right track ... I would be eternally grateful. Spoiler, just because I've done this to myself: I did a test run of a couple of maze areas and found my way in / out without much issue .... and without actually making a map. So far, I have learned that my pen/paper map-making skills are incredibly rusty. But, my absurd logic seems still in tact - so I guess I have that going for me.

Nice! That shirt is really fun! I definitely feel you on having lost things in various moves. Most of my favourite swag is gone after moving 7 times in 10 years. Looking forward to seeing those sketches! I tried to look back and see if there was an old thread and all I saw was one where people mentioned these things...I can do another scan later and link it here. I didn't want to add this to the actual LEC collection thread - since I feel like a bunch of the stuff people might have are unofficial items. Also, maybe someone can refresh my memory...did Mojo ever have a store?

In my quest for something specific (an image of the official MI sweatshirt mentioned here ), I accidentally stumbled upon this monstrosity and you are the only folks I know that will understand how much I don't like it. Here's the image for those who don't want to view the link: I'm definitely not a fan of whatever this is. So instead - Let's take the opportunity to see ACTUAL cool Mojo-related merch. Post your pics or links. P.S. @Jake did you actually get one of those official sweatshirts? Can we see a pic if you still have it?

Good to know! I'm familiar with "Save Early, Save Often" (I came up with Sierra and LucasArts side-by-side), and I expected it to have some dead-ends but I'll keep more on top of it now that you both say that. Also, thanks for the heads-up about mazes. I will make sure to have a lot of pencil/paper at the ready too. I'm looking forward to doing this "the old fashioned way". Bit of an attempt to jumpstart that part of my brain towards creative problem-solving.

I've decided to finally play through Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. This will be my first time ever playing. I'm feeling a bit rusty at adventuring and honestly don't know much about the game. I'm mostly just hoping I can do it without a walk-through - even if it will take me a long time. Just wondered if there were any specific tips or things I need to know before this endeavour? But please no spoilers! [Or use the spoiler tag, I'll happily read them after I finish.] And yes, I know there's a review and feature on Mojo about it - I haven't read them and I'm not going to until I finish. I want to be genuinely surprised. I've always gotten the impression that Zak is not really well-liked. Or like it's the weird cousin who shows up at the family reunion. Am I wrong?

I think the VR market is ever expanding, especially as more systems are released and prices decrease for the hardware. A friend who has an HTC Vive had over 200 games for it last time I saw him (sometime last summer). And I know the PSVR received a lot of praise at one point. But I find it really interesting that within this thread there's already 4 of us that won't be playing this release because it's VR. I don't know about you lot but for me it's more of a medical reason rather than access to a system. While this may alienate some die-hard fans (like us), it might open up the series to a new audience. With fewer VR options maybe more people will try the S+M release just to get another game for their system?

OK, now having watched the extended trailer a few times... Some general thoughts: It seems you'll be playing as a 3rd party joining the Freelance Police as a cadet recruit. So, not controlling them, but interacting with them. I think this lends itself well to S+M with their regular breaking of the 4th wall and the (sometimes?) unpredictable nature of how they might interpret your action requests (I'm thinking back to HtR with the dialogue being symbols rather than word-for-word line reads). Plus, why would anyone want to only play as either Sam or Max when you can get to see their buddy-cop interactions. I'm curious about whether it's going to be a full-length game or rather more of a mini? Many of the VR games I'm familiar with are more like shorter experiences. Curious - and maybe it's just my memory - but it sounds like they did get the same voice actor for Sam but Max sounds...different? Thoughts?

Yikes, poorly written copy, but interesting idea. I feel like there's always been a desire in S&M for the VR experience. Sadly, I'm not able to play VR so I guess this one won't be for me. Also, found the trailer: https://www.ign.com/videos/sam-and-max-gamescom-reveal-teaser

THANK YOU! This literally happened to me last night. I was too exhausted to look into a work around. Incredible timing.

It's how I received it as a child. I didn't realize until MUCH later in life that they didn't all come like that!

Great collection! Especially love seeing that MM box. I was thinking about this the other day. I know most of my boxes are gone, but I think my DOTT triangle box might still be in my parents' basement.

There's an automatic trigger of the newspapers: One always appears when speaking with Dr. Fred in the lab: Bernard: "We HAVE to do something!" Fred: "What do you suggest College boy?... " Bernard: "How about catching Purple Tentacle?" Fred: "He's long gone, probably taking over the world as we speak. " <Newspaper appears> Fred: "Soon we'll all be speaking - well, English I guess." I assumed this was written directly into that part of the dialogue. I have hit and miss luck with the others, I've been playing with to see if they trigger, but this time they seemed not to work at all. So I thought they might be the trigger but only after a certain amount of progress and/or the passage of time. I regularly seemed to have been able to trigger a newspaper when speaking with Green Tentacle in his room, but only after having the following conversation about Purple: Bernard: What do you suppose purple's up to now? Green responds something about how Purple wants to take over the world. So I figure he's up to something devious. Bernard: (Three Options : cryogenic experiments on lab animals, designing a miniaturization ray, pushing old ladies down the stairs) Green: I wouldn't doubt it but I was thinking more along the lines of Politics! Bernard: Wanna help me save the world? Green: I'm afraid to leave the room, in fact I don't think I can move from this spot. Purple scares the daylights out of me. I also have previously triggered a newspaper after speaking with Dead Cousin Ted in the front yard: Bernard: "Purple Tentacle's probably taking over the planet by now." EDIT: Just tried the Green conversation again, it worked when I reversed the order and ended the conversation immediately after Green indicated POLITICS. Then left room and newspaper came up.