Sounds from the original King's Quest

[Great Hierophant]

I think that the composite video quality may be giving those screenshots the "blurriness" to hide the text artifacts better.  Your screenshots are like outputting the video through a native S-Video connection.  It is easier to read black against white (black against green is a good combination as well) than color against color on a composite monitor.

[NewRisingSUn]

Your screenshots are like outputting the video through a native S-Video connection.

No, I'm simulating a composite monitor with composite input alright. With S-Video, you wouldn't get any artifacts at all (maybe a just little color bleeding).

[SirGraham]

*sigh*

Haha Thank you for your copy. Did uploading it really take that much effort? In any case, your copy doesn't have the problem, so at least your effort wasn't for nothing! I'm really curious why my copies have this problem, after all, they were taken from completely different sources...

What's the best way to transfer the image you sent me to a floppy? I never used an IMA image, only IMG images. WinImage obviously can't do it, so I used Demonlord's IMG2DSK, which worked perfectly for all my other (IMG) images, but didn't work so good in this case - the image was transferred all right, but the floppy didn't boot every time I tried. In the times it didn't boot, the weirdest thing happened - my computer read the floppy, and then started loading Windows while still reading the floppy! This is extremely weird, because, as you know, if a floppy that can't be booted is in drive A, the computer will ask to replace it and press any key, etc., and not load Windows! Unfortunately, I couldn't find a pattern of when the floppy boots correctly and when it's not. I guess I need a different utility for the transferring.
By the way, what does the NOCPC in the file's name mean (KQ1NOCPC.IMA)?

I guess I'll just put it on a web page, so that interested programmers can download and incorporate it without needing to contact me.

Yeah, it's a good idea as long as the programmers know about it. Qbix may be interested in putting it in DOSBox.

Maybe I should ask Servo again...

Well, if you don't want to talk to him on the forums, his e-mail listed on mobygames is still active.

Yeah, yeah. As you can see, I'm basically done; it looks right on most games.

What about the road in Serenia? You said you don't know if it's supposed to be green, like in your emulation, or brown, like in MESS.

By the way, where did your explanation of the Scroll Lock thing disappeared? Did you edit it out for some reason?

[NewRisingSUn]

I'm really curious why my copies have this problem, after all, they were taken from completely different sources...

The track that contains the data is also the track that contains the copy-protected sector.

I never used an IMA image, only IMG images.

It doesn't matter if you call them IMA or IMG, the data is the same.

WinImage obviously can't do it,

WinImage is useless for self-booting games, as they don't have a BIOS Parameter Block in the Boot Sector which WinImage expects. WinImage can not read the original PC-DOS 1.1 system disk, either.

What's the best way to transfer the image you sent me to a floppy?

Use writdisk kq1nocpc.ima.

By the way, what does the NOCPC in the file's name mean (KQ1NOCPC.IMA)?

No Copy Protection.

By the way, where did your explanation of the Scroll Lock thing disappeared? Did you edit it out for some reason?

It was incorrect.

[SirGraham]

I'm really curious why my copies have this problem, after all, they were taken from completely different sources...

The track that contains the data is also the track that contains the copy-protected sector.

That makes sense... so was your copy cracked in a different method?

Use "writdisk kq1nocpc.ima".

Thanks, it worked.
In an earlier post in this thread, you wrote this about writdisk and the same kq1 image:

Write the image to disk by putting any formatted disk (yes, even a 3.5" 1.44M) into drive A and typing "write kq1pc.ima". The disk should then be bootable. Make sure you're doing the writing procedure under pure DOS --- Windows becomes real finicky when reading OR writing self-booting games that don't have a "proper" boot sector.

I used writdisk to write the KQ1 image that you sent me in WinXP's "cmd" command prompt, and it seemed to work. So what did you mean in that post?
By the way, does writdisk have parameters? For example, if you want to write to drive B: ?

No Copy Protection.

Oh, I see. I usually use "cracked" in the file name. Do you also have a non-cracked image of KQ1? I thought such an image was impossible to extract.

By the way, where did your explanation of the Scroll Lock thing disappeared? Did you edit it out for some reason?

It was incorrect.

It was? That's a shame, it was a logical explanation So, what's the real explanation as to why Serenia and Ulysses use Scroll Lock instead of Enter?

[NewRisingSUn]

I used writdisk to write the KQ1 image that you sent me in WinXP's "cmd" command prompt, and it seemed to work. So what did you mean in that post?

Windows sometimes behaves erratically when writing directly to a drive using Int 13. If it did work for you, good for you.

By the way, does writdisk have parameters?

No.

I usually use "cracked" in the file name.

That's warez-lingo; I hate that.

Do you also have a non-cracked image of KQ1? I thought such an image was impossible to extract.

The IBM floppy controller can read almost every kind of copy protection --- it just can't write every kind of copy protection. You might need a more involved file format than the raw .IMA/.IMG/.DSK/whatever-you-want-to-call-it format; depending on the complexity of the copy protection, you need TeleDisk or Disk2FDI's format to properly store the copy-protected disk as an image file.

So, what's the real explanation as to why Serenia and Ulysses use Scroll Lock instead of Enter?

I guess they just liked that behavior.

[Fancia]

It was? That's a shame, it was a logical explanation So, what's the real explanation as to why Serenia and Ulysses use Scroll Lock instead of Enter?

Well, Scroll Lock has to be good for *something.*

[SirGraham]

Windows sometimes behaves erratically when writing directly to a drive using Int 13. If it did work for you, good for you.

Good for me indeed! I transferred dozens of booter images to floppies under WinXP's and Win9x's command prompts, and the floppies were always written successfully, that's why I found it odd that you'd say that.

you need TeleDisk or Disk2FDI's format to properly store the copy-protected disk as an image file.

Well, there's no real reason to go to all that trouble for that.

So, what's the real explanation as to why Serenia and Ulysses use Scroll Lock instead of Enter?

I guess they just liked that behavior.

I liked the first explanation better  :wink:


I just realized something: the composite mode used in Serenia and Ulysses is even more important to emulate than the "regular" composite mode used by later games, because these earlier games are the only ones whose composite mode looks better than any other mode they support.
The DOS AGI games look better with normal EGA graphics than they do in composite mode, and the booters look better under Tandy emulation than under composite CGA emulation. At least this is true for Sierra games. Don't you agree?
By the way, how are Serenia and Ulysses supposed to look on Tandy? When machine=tandy in DOSBox CVS, they look the same as always.

Well, Scroll Lock has to be good for *something.*

Yeah, but using Enter would've been even better in this case, so Scroll Lock is not actually good for it. Did you wonder about the use of Scroll Lock in Serenia and Ulysses too?

[NewRisingSUn]

I just realized something: the composite mode used in Serenia and Ulysses is even more important to emulate than the "regular" composite mode used by later games, because these earlier games are the only ones whose composite mode looks better than any other mode they support. (...) Don't you agree?

On PC or overall? Most games which look best in composite on the PC look even better on the C-64. If you limit your view to the PC platform, then yes, see Ultima 2 and 3.

By the way, how are Serenia and Ulysses supposed to look on Tandy? When machine=tandy in DOSBox CVS, they look the same as always.

The Tandy 1000 was released in 1984, three years after Serenia's PC version was published, so how could Serenia possibly have a special mode the the Tandy?

[Great Hierophant]

One question, do the Sega Master System and the Tandy 1000's sound chips operate at the same base frequency?  If not, then music for one chip would have the wrong pitch when played the other machine.

[NewRisingSUn]

One question, do the Sega Master System and the Tandy 1000's sound chips operate at the same base frequency?  If not, then music for one chip would have the wrong pitch when played the other machine.

I don't know. It doesn't matter, either, because the .VGM format has a field for the base frequency in the file header, so that when I create .VGM files of PC games with Tandy sound support, I enter 3579545 into the base frequency field, and it sounds right.

[Great Hierophant]

The Sega Master System uses 3579545 as its base frequency.  If 3579545 is what the Tandy 1000 uses as a base frequency as you imply, then there is no issue.

On another note, If the 640x200 composite mode allows a unique color to be selected from each group of four monochrome bits, then the mode can select 16 colors, presumably unique, on a composite monitor.  By comparison, if the 320x200 composite color mode allows a unique color to be selected from each pair of RGB bits, then the mode can select 4 colors, presumably unique, on a composite monitor.

[NewRisingSUn]

Both composite modes select 16 colors.

[SirGraham]

On PC or overall? Most games which look best in composite on the PC look even better on the C-64.

Yes, I saw the C64 screenshots of Serenia on moby games, they really look better than any composite colors I've seen of these games.

If you limit your view to the PC platform, then yes,

Well, I basically meant regular EGA vs. composite CGA, so yes, I guess I did limit my view to the PC platform. After all, what I wanted is to explain why emulation of this composite mode in DOSBox is more important than the emulation of 640x200 composite mode.

The Tandy 1000 was released in 1984, three years after Serenia's PC version was published, so how could Serenia possibly have a special mode the the Tandy?

Hmm... well, I knew the Apple versions went out in 1981, but I thought that the PC versions went out around the time of KQ1, mainly because of the "init disk" command that works in them and KQ2 but not in KQ1. Also, I thought Sierra entered the PC scene with KQ1 for the PCjr, not before that (because very little of what they did before that actually interests me).
Anyway, there is something weird that happens in my copies of Serenia and Ulysses - if you abort a saving by pressing X (like the game tells you you should), the next time the game needs to load data from the diskette (e.g. when moving to a different screen), you'll get the message: "That is the wrong diskette!! Please insert your game diskette and press <Enter>." Of course, pressing Enter doesn't do any good and you have to reboot. Have you ever encountered this behavior?

By the way, there's a funny thing when you die in KQ2 booter, maybe you'd know what it means - if you try to type something when you're dead, like LOOK for example, the game will respond with the message: "As you are dead, I can only permit you to: Restore Game, Restart Game, or Take Inventory. Sorry." I never figured out what's this "Take Inventory" Thing. I know it's not a bug, cause it also appears in the Apple II version.

[Marten]

Take Inventory - check what you're carrying.  The <TAB> key.

[SirGraham]

Well, yeah, pressing Tab still opens your inventory when you're dead, but the sentence Take Inventory just don't make any sense.

[Laust]

To take inventory - perfectly valid. Look it up in your favourite dictionary. Here's a link to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary (had a popup Opera didn't block, bleh).

You might find these interesting as well:

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