Someone should make a QFG4 remake

[quietcorn]

Here's an idea. It was easy enough for people to make mock-QFG1 games right? And Tierra (or whatever they call themselves these days ) is making a QFG2 remake?

Someone should organize a project to re-make QFG4. That way we could actually play it on our new-fangled "pentium" computers. That... would be sweet as all get out. Maybe have some new additions to the game here and there just to make it extra interesting, like say... somthing to do with all the random treasure you pick up.

Anyway, just a thought.
-Evan

[Striker]

I don't know... it would be kind of extremely difficult to remake QFGIV and do it better than before without serious legal complications.  There was a lot done right there.  Replacing the top notch voice acting would be one of them, since you couldn't use the audio from the original.

As for playing QFGIV on your new-fangled Pentium... try using DOSBox.

[pyro]

Why couldn't you use the audio from the original you could require the CD to be in the drive for it, I guess there'd still be the legal issues tho.

[lazygamer]

Dosbox is really looking good these days for some games. However it is very unoptimized, it will make your P4 run like a 486, because a 486 is as fast as a P4 can make Dosbox run!

If it doesn't work as desired, try some of these SCI timer fixes. Time fixes

Only has QFG4CD version though.


Other useful sierra compatibility stuff

Over here you can grab several fixed SCI display drivers that are susposed to outright eliminate timer issues(and give you proper speed animations to boot!).

[p]

I was able to win QG4CD, full voice, no bugs (even had flaming sword animations!) on my pentium 4, no problems.  (Okay I used dosbox).

Remake would be extremely simple with exclusion of the voices.   One could port it to AGS in about a month.  Then to make small little additions here and there:  well I would just make the thing open source and let people contribute little additions, and then if their additions did the game justice, compile it in with the others and release it in the next build.

 

[p]

...oh, but if sierra's legal department still had a heart beat, you could find yourself in some deep trouble.  Then again, Tierra (or whatever they call themselves these days  ) is remaking QG2, which is almost as bad and they seem to be getting away with it.

[Striker]

Sierra's dead, but Vivendi's legal dept. is still alive and kicking.

[lazygamer]

Lol why is Tierra getting away with QFG2? Maybe Vivendi knows about it, and they feel it isn't a big enough deal?

[p]

maybe I'm a little out of it, but Vivendi acquired the rights to sierra's old games?

[lazygamer]

Well I assume they did, but I don't know for sure.

[Striker]

You really don't know with Legal Departments... they might suddenly just decide one day that it's best to start cracking down on fangames.  If I remember correctly, something like that happened to the Lucas Arts fangame community.

So, you really never know when they'll try to drop the hammer.

And yeah, I'm almost positive Vivendi owns the rights to everything that Sierra owned the rights to, since they owned Sierra before they decided to shut it down.

[Erpy]

maybe I'm a little out of it, but Vivendi acquired the rights to sierra's old games?

They've actually had them ever since they bought Sierra. Since they owned Sierra, they owned their intellectual property. In fact, I don't think Sierra's had their own legal department for years. I recall some legal hassle with unauthorized online services with Blizzard's Starcraft series a while back and it was VU who was tending to it, not Blizzard itself. I doubt Sierra was a different case.

Remake would be extremely simple with exclusion of the voices. One could port it to AGS in about a month. Then to make small little additions here and there: well I would just make the thing open source and let people contribute little additions, and then if their additions did the game justice, compile it in with the others and release it in the next build.

First of all, I'm rather unfamiliar with the exact structure of the SCI language, so feel free to use this against me if you wish, but I believe the SCI language differs in some aspects from the way AGS-games are coded. (SCI is object orientated, for a start) Assuming you had full access to the original code, it'd probably chafe about 2 or 3 months off the entire process. It's more likely that you'd simply end up recoding all scenes in the game from scratch, only using the info from the game as a references as far as skill requirements for certain tasks are involved. Direct porting doesn't sound like a realistic option to me.

I estimate recoding the game in AGS would take you somewhere between 10 and 14 months, assuming you'd spend about 5 hours a day on average on it. Due to NewRisingSun's Timer patches, nobody in the right mind would waste his time on that sort of undertaking, however, as his fixes already eliminate the choke points where Pentium machines cripple gameplay.

[p]

10-14 months?  are you mad?    Maybe one month is pushing it, but I guess that depends on how many hours you put in a day.

Let's look at the process:  

1- collect images of backgrounds and sprites (screen capture/rip).  3-5 days.
2- bring in backgrounds into ags.  1 day
3- tie backgrounds together and add clipping + boundrys.  2 days
4- create menu system/interface. 1 day
5- script "look" actions on each screen.  5 days??
6- bring in sprite with walk/run/sneak. 1 day
7- bring in character sheet. 1-2 days
8- script game logic/puzzles.  5-10 days
9- script time engine (puzzles available after x days, day to night, etc).  3 days
10- Inventory.  1 day
11- NPC + dialogue.  8 days.
12- bring in all sprites
13- Fight sequences ? (can ags do this? if so, heavy script involved)
...

Okay, so there would be sticky parts, but you could definately get the bulk done in a month (minus the fight sequences).   AGS is as easy as breathing man.  Everything is done for you, you just got to script it all together.  Maybe it would take a complete beginner 10-14 months, but trust me, if you knew ags, and you knew a thing or two about building games, a month is not that far off.

I programmed a town scene to QG4 in a week, and that was 95% coding in C++, and the other 5% screen capturing and modifing the sprites to work.  (I got a demo for proof if you want it ).

 

[Louisiana Night]

AGDInteractive isn't so hard to remember, is it?

Personally, I think if someone made a QfGIV remake, that it should be AGDI(or someone that was able to work together with them). One of the best things about the QfG series, was importing game characters, and if different groups made them, they wouldn't be able to include the feature(unless the groups were willing to work together).

P.S. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[Jafar]

Bah! Who needs a remake when you have the mighty DOSBox on your side?