sutherla@qtp.ufl.edu (Scott Sutherland) (07/31/90)
Several years ago I played King's Quest (I) on my brother's IBM. Then I saw it on an Amiga and was very disappointed that the graphics were a straight port from the IBM version, not taking advantage of the superior Amiga graphics. I did not buy it. I have noticed that the number of Sierra titles has grown significantly over the last few years, with several "volumes" in the Space Quest, King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Hero's Quest, etc. available and most of them quickly released as Amiga versions. Now, I was comparing the list price of the Amiga version of King's Quest 4 for the C64, IBM, Atari, and Amiga versions. I noticed that the Amiga version was over $10 higher than the others (C64 was the least expensive). The store employee (Babbages) told me that this was because the Amiga version was newer and because of the additional programming needed to take advantage of the Amiga's graphics. Later he admitted that he has never seen an Amiga or KQ IV on it, so I find his info dubious, to say the least. I like my graphics-oriented computer games to have nice graphics, especially on the Amiga (e.g. Faery Tale Adventure). So my question is this. Has Sierra now begun to reprogram the graphics in the Amiga versions of their games to use the Amiga graphics power??? I cannot justify paying $50 for KQ IV just to find out that I could pay $39 for the IBM version, play it at work, and have the SAME graphics. Any info from Sierra game players would be appreciated. Also, if you know of any problems with the Sierra games and the A3000 (either with the 68030 or with version 2.0 of the operating system) please let me know so I do not waste my $$. Thanks, Scott Sutherland sutherla@qtp.ufl.edu
dfrancis@tronsbox.xei.com (Dennis Francis Heffernan) (07/31/90)
RE Amiga versions of Sierra games Well, from what I've heard, Space Quest II and Leisure-Suit Larry III are supposed to have "enhanced Amiga graphics", whatever that means. I've got Manhunter I, and it's got EGA graphics and IBM beeps for sound. (Plus it's a rotten game.) I am NOT buying any more Sierra games until I *see* them running and can see that they actually did bother to upgrade the graphics and sound. Dennis Francis Heffernan | "Remember the words of your teacher, dfrancis@tronsbox | your master: Evil moves fast, but ...uunet!tronsbox!dfrancis | Good moves faster!" Original text (c) 1990 | --Partners in Kryme, T-U-R-T-L-E Power!
elaine@hpmtlx.HP.COM ($Elaine_May) (08/02/90)
I bought Space Quest III for my Amiga and thoroughly enjoyed it. Graphics and sound were quite good. The humor had me laughing out loud. I played it for a couple of weeks straight until I solved it. I've also got King's Quest I and Manhunter NY. Graphics and sound in those games are lame. If you want to buy SQIII, let me know. Original docs/disks/box plus a hint book. Say $20 -- I'll pay shipping.
ifarqhar@mqccsunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar) (08/05/90)
In article <22930004@hpmtlx.HP.COM> elaine@hpmtlx.HP.COM ($Elaine_May) writes: >I've also got King's Quest I and Manhunter NY. Graphics and sound in those >games are lame. I just bought LSL III, solved it over a weekend, and then composed a really critical letter to Sierra-On Line pointing out that I owned an Amiga computer, expected the programs I buy to realise this fact. I do not expect EGA graphics that are so poorly programmed that Larry often takes ages to flicker his way across a screen, nor do I expect sound that would make a VCS programmer blush. I urge all other Amiga owners (and Mac owners, and ST owners etc) to do the same when they find a game like this: tell the company as firmly as possible that their games did not meet your standards of presentation, and that you purchased an Amiga (or PC, or Mac): not a PC clone. I await their answer, but I do not really expect one. -- Ian Farquhar Phone : 61 2 805-7420 Office of Computing Services Fax : 61 2 805-7433 Macquarie University NSW 2109 Also : 61 2 805-7205 Australia EMail : ifarqhar@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz.au
mcuddy@rutabaga.Rational.COM (Mike Cuddy) (08/07/90)
ifarqhar@mqccsunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar) writes: >In article <22930004@hpmtlx.HP.COM> elaine@hpmtlx.HP.COM ($Elaine_May) writes: >>I've also got King's Quest I and Manhunter NY. Graphics and sound in those >>games are lame. >I just bought LSL III, solved it over a weekend, and then composed a >really critical letter to Sierra-On Line pointing out that I owned an >Amiga computer, expected the programs I buy to realise this fact. I do >not expect EGA graphics that are so poorly programmed that Larry often >takes ages to flicker his way across a screen, nor do I expect sound >that would make a VCS programmer blush. Gee, I just solved LSL III, and on my amiga, the music is fine; now. (let me explain...) When I first got LSL3, I had 1meg, 2floppies and a Hard drive. If I played off of the floppies, it ran just fine (except the music was terrible) If I played off of the Hard drive, it guru'ed. I called sierra (they were _Very_ helpful--some of the best customer service I've ever seen for a game company; they even called me back a coupla weeks after they had solved my problem to make sure that I hadn't had any other problems--oops, I digress) Sierra told me that it was probably memory; the hard disk drivers take up a good deal of memory (esp. if you have more than one partition -- mine had 3) and so the game (when run off the floppy) tried to be nice and let you play (with shitty sound) when I got more memory (and reformatted my HD to have 1 partition) it's sound improved alot (about 10 different instruments -- and the music is pretty addictive too ;-) >I urge all other Amiga owners (and Mac owners, and ST owners etc) to do As far as graphics are concerned, admittedly, they are not quite up to par with say, psygnosis game, but they are designed for a lowest common denomiator. (part of) the reason they are so slow changing screens (i expect) is that the graphics are 'object' based (vs. bitmap based) so each screen is 'drawn' while you're not looking; this saves alot of disk space. as far as movin larry around, I don't know what there excuse is, but all of the sierra games are pretty pokey with thier characters (watch the animation slow down when there is something going on -- like the fountain) Oh, well; just the ramblings of an old unix hack turned amiga hack.. >I await their answer, but I do not really expect one. You will probably get one (unless you sent them a real nastygram, in which case you deserve what you get--or don't get ;-) --Mike Cuddy "...He's a UNIX hack and he's okay, he works all night and he sleeps all day..." Ps: watch for the amiga version of 'hextris' comming soon with full amiga'ized graphics and sound; gee I hope spectrum holobyte will let me distribute it!
ifarqhar@mqccsunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar) (08/08/90)
In article <mcuddy.649981991@rutabaga> mcuddy@rutabaga.Rational.COM (Mike Cuddy) writes: > >As far as graphics are concerned, admittedly, they are not quite up to >par with say, psygnosis game, but they are designed for a lowest common >denomiator. (part of) the reason they are so slow changing screens >(i expect) is that the graphics are 'object' based (vs. bitmap based) so >each screen is 'drawn' while you're not looking; this saves alot of disk >space. as far as movin larry around, I don't know what there excuse is, >but all of the sierra games are pretty pokey with thier characters (watch >the animation slow down when there is something going on -- like the fountain) I find it highly unlikely that these were object oriented: they are just bitmaps being clipped against other bitmaps in a very inefficient fashion. Object oriented graphics are utilised to produce resolution independent images - LSL's are operating at much lower than the graphic mode's. Besides, it probably would not save disk space at all. Just sit down and work out the data for the Larry character, and you will soon see what I mean. If you read Sierra's blurb, you rather develop the impression that the company thinks very highly of its game programming skills. This view is also strengthenned by the (stunningly corny) conclusion of LSL III. This self-advertised view did not square with the garbage on the screen. Put simply I said this: a) The graphics are poor, even on EGA. I bought an Amiga to use it as an Amiga: not a slow PC clone. The actual artwork itself was also of poor quality, with some of the close-ups (eg. Patti sitting at the piano) being anatomically warped! b) Portability across platforms may be fine, but you program for the top (which folks, I am sad to say, is the Atari Lynx), and work downwards. If your PC versions does not look as good as the Amiga version, then that simply reflects the abilities of the hardware. c) The question system is juvenile and too american-oriented. How should I know what US TV show had the first flushing toilet? Why should I care? -- Ian Farquhar Phone : 61 2 805-7420 Office of Computing Services Fax : 61 2 805-7433 Macquarie University NSW 2109 Also : 61 2 805-7205 Australia EMail : ifarqhar@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz.au
stoller@cbmcel.UUCP (Martin S. Stoller) (08/09/90)
In article <377@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz> ifarqhar@mqccsunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar) writes: DELETED STUFF> >b) Portability across platforms may be fine, but you program for the > top (which folks, I am sad to say, is the Atari Lynx), and work > downwards. If your PC versions does not look as good as the > Amiga version, then that simply reflects the abilities of the > hardware. > >Ian Farquhar Phone : 61 2 805-7420 >Office of Computing Services Fax : 61 2 805-7433 >Macquarie University NSW 2109 Also : 61 2 805-7205 >Australia EMail : ifarqhar@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz.au And amazingly, the Lynx was designed by the same guys that designed the AMIGA!!! Also there is a rumor about the LYNX, that one needs an AMIGA to PROGRAM the dang thing!!!(Don't know if this is true, but I kind of believe it!!!) I agree with the rest of what Ian says, though I've never played a Sierra Game, just seen several in store windows... -- Regards, Martin S. Stoller /\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\===================================\ / UUCP: [{(uunet|pyramid|rutgers)!cbmvax}!cbmehq]!cbmsub!cbmcel!stoller \ \ "We maverick maniacal Programmers must be machiavellistically marvelous" \ / ...DEAMOND RING... \ \ "My RELIGION is 'C'; and my GOD is AMIGA..." .M.S.S. \ \============================================\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\