Sierra games on Win 3.1 / 3.11 ?

[gortmertl0]

Finally got around to getting Win 3.1 working for DOSBox (with sound(!)), so I am looking for a little guidance/advice:

For quite some time, I've had the DOS "Quest" games already installed (King's, Quest For & Space) as well as the Larry games, Freddy Pharkas, and a few others.  However, there may be a few perks/upgrades for the Windows 3.1/3.11 editions that are missing from the DOS versions.

Seeing as how I never played Sierra games on the Windows 3.1/3.11 platform back in the day, I'm not certain if I'm missing out on anything.

Aside from King's Quest 6, which Sierra games should I install specifically for Windows 3.1/3.11?

Thanks!

[jharris01]

Try some of the late ones like Urban Runner and Phantasmagoria.

[MusicallyInspired]

The only other game other than KQ6 (which has the hi-res dialogue portraits) that you might find interesting for Win3.x is KQ5 which has a slightly altered soundtrack engineered for GM (the DOS version is not). I've heard mention of other games that have alternate tracks for Windows versions but I don't think any of the actual themes are different. It's generally considered that the Windows versions of Sierra games are vastly inferior to the DOS original versions and in some cases are also more bug-prone.

In my opinion, KQ6 is the only one worth having in Win3.x, with maybe KQ5 around as well for the slightly altered soundtrack with GM support. There's also the fact that the Win3.x versions have the ugly title bar at the top of the screen and ruin the aspect ratio of the graphics for 320x200 games.

[jharris01]

Actually not all games were 320x200. Some games optionally offered a hi-res mode.

There's also the fact that the Win3.x versions have the ugly title bar at the top of the screen and ruin the aspect ratio of the graphics for 320x200 games.

[MusicallyInspired]

I was referring only to 320x200 games.

[BlueMax]

What games offered hi-res at ALL?  KQ6 gave you high-res talking heads over a low-res game, but anything else was Win95 native to be better.

The GameArts games were DOS only for their special EGA 640x200 (?) mode.

[jharris01]

I know. I was just making a correction is all.

I was referring only to 320x200 games.

[gortmertl0]

It's as I suspected.  Since I don't have a nice sound card (Adlib/Roland/etc), there's no really need to install any other Sierra game in Win 3.x other than KQ6 (for the character portraits).

Many thanks to everyone who contributed here, especially you, MI.  I knew you'd be able to speak from experience...

[endre1952]

I had thought everybody lurking here had an MT-32 in their possession! Oh well, there nice emulation for most everything, expect for the MT-32 (and its compatible brothers).

As I recall, AdLib support in Sierra games under Win 3.1 was inferior to DOS versions and I think the same goes for General Midi support as well

[MusicallyInspired]

Many thanks to everyone who contributed here, especially you, MI.  I knew you'd be able to speak from experience...

No problem. Glad to help.

As I recall, AdLib support in Sierra games under Win 3.1 was inferior to DOS versions and I think the same goes for General Midi support as well

Correct. Win3.x uses its own drivers (by whatever the card manufacturer was) for music instead of the game's own drivers and so the Adlib sounds are not the same. Being that the soundtracks were written with the game drivers and not the Win3.x drivers it would sound better in DOS.

As far as General MIDI goes, though, that depends. If you have a wavetable sound card or an external General MIDI hardware device it'll sound the same whether you play in DOS or Windows. But it all depends on what General MIDI device you have selected in Win3.x.

[gortmertl0]

I had thought everybody lurking here had an MT-32 in their possession! Oh well, there nice emulation for most everything, expect for the MT-32 (and its compatible brothers).

Yes, even though I was a big fan of music from the Sierra games, a nice sound card (Adlib/Roland/etc) was the one thing I never bought back in the day...

That's why I was so happy to discover Quest Studios and Sierra Music Central years ago: to hear how Sierra games would have sounded had I had one of those cards (of course, with the understanding that everyone who records such music often puts their own little flourishes in as well).