Topic: King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella Retold

[SansSouci]

It's working fine for me over here. Just be sure you're using the daily build of ScummVM (link on their download page). The game isn't recognised (yet) but you can just click "Add Anyway". Works like a charm! (And the easiest way for me on my Macbook)

Hello Hobbes,

Thank you very much for the tip. You are right. I had downloaded latest git source, compiled it and it recognizes KQ4Retold out of box

[DrSlash]

King's Quest IV Retold 1.0.3 is out!

This should be the final patch for the time being. Same as before, it mostly contains minor fixes and quality-of-life improvements. The biggest changes of this patch concern night scenes: a number of unfinished night backgrounds from the original game have been reworked, the script responsible for spawning animals at night now behaves more consistently with the original game, and there is now a new ambient track for night woods.

Complete changelog (may contain minor spoilers if you haven't played the game yet):

Changelog: ShowHide

[ + ] Added an alternative hotkey for toggling between Walk and the last cursor mode
[ + ] Mouse in now automatically switched to Walk mode after digging to prevent the player from breaking the shovel by accident
[ + ] Added a text pop-up for trying to interact with the fake wall after looking at the portrait but before examining the wall
[ + ] Added mouseover hints for stable gates
[ + ] Added nighttime water animations for Genesta's island
[ + ] Added nighttime graphics for the ogres' house
[ + ] Added a new ambient track that plays in the forest at night
[ + ] Added a music track that plays when Rosella gets caught by the troll
[ + ] Seagulls can now appear on the screen with the fisherman's shack
[ + ] Improved goon pathfinding when using diagonal movement hotkeys
[ + ] Rosella now always faces the board before picking it up
[ - ] Fixed a bug where Rosella would get stuck on the eastern stairs in Lolotte's castle
[ - ] Fixed a bug that would sometimes prevent the player from combining inventory items
[ - ] Fixed a bug where the hen would not appear in Lolotte's storage room
[ - ] Fixed a bug where Rosella would fall upwards after trying to pick the bow from the opposite side of the pool
[ - ] Fixed a bug where the troll would appear even if the game is already over (e.g. if the player extinguishes the lantern immediately after entering a new screen)
[ - ] Fixed a bug where the message warning the player about Lolotte's goons would permanently stay on the screen
[ - ] Fixed a graphical bug where Rosella would move backwards while on the stairs
[ - ] Fixed a typo in the text pop-up for examining the locket
[ - ] Slightly tweaked several backdrops (waterfall, south of the waterfall, organ room, western stairs in Lolotte castle, Lolotte's throne room)
[ - ] Made major updates to all nighttime and some daytime backdrops for Genesta's island
[ - ] Tweaked walkable area and walk-behind masks for the northeastern and southeastern sections of Genesta's island
[ - ] Tweaked walkable area, walk-behind, and hotspot masks for Cupid's pool
[ - ] Increased the size of several hotspots (crypt ladder, Lolotte in bed, Genesta in bed)
[ - ] Updated the ambient track used in the swamp
[ - ] Fall sounds no longer get cut off on room transitions
[ - ] Certain decorative birds and fish no longer appear at night
[ - ] Rosella can no longer die from exposure at night
[ - ] Slightly increased the maximum distance from which Cupid can be startled

I don't know when (or if) a MacOS port of this patch will be ready, however, from what I understand, Mac users can still play the latest patch under ScummVM. The Mac port is out!

[DrSlash]

Hey everyone! Just a quick update: King's Quest IV Retold 1.0.3 is now available for MacOS! As usual, all download links can be found on the game's AGS database page. Once again, huge thanks to edenwaith for his help with the port!

[ToeKnee]

Oooooh, happy dance.
I can't wait to re-try this. Loved all of the KQ series and first played this one just over 30 years ago!!! - the week it was released
Great job. re-living my younger days is so nice!

[Nowhere Girl]

Thanks a lot for the update. It's beautiful, although I must admit that I found the swan pond a little disappointing (should have expected that the flowers will look brown at night...). But particularly th facade of Genesta's palace looks amazing.
Will you be updating the message in the bottle?

[DrSlash]

Oooooh, happy dance.
I can't wait to re-try this. Loved all of the KQ series and first played this one just over 30 years ago!!! - the week it was released
Great job. re-living my younger days is so nice!

Thanks a lot for the update. It's beautiful, although I must admit that I found the swan pond a little disappointing (should have expected that the flowers will look brown at night...). But particularly th facade of Genesta's palace looks amazing.

Thanks, both of you!

Will you be updating the message in the bottle?

Yes, I still have it on my to-do list, but right now there are more important matters that I need to focus on. Updating the message requires some time (as I would need to play some of the games I haven't played yet, select the games to be included in the message, get a thumbs up from their authors, and write the messages), but it is pretty high on my list, so there is a good chance that I will do it for the next patch whenever/if it comes out.

[DrSlash]

There had been several reports that MediaFire links don't work for some people, so I've added mirror links to the game's AGS database page. Huge thanks to Steven Alexander (aka Blackthorne) of Infamous Quests for providing hosting space for the mirrors!

[Bombermans]

I am SO, SO HAPPY about this. At least I can play this game without the constant fear and dread of dead ends *¬* And as english is not my native language, the parser thingie won't be a major obstacle for me anymore. Thank you, THANK YOU for this game! I have been waiting something like this for years <3 <3 <3 ;_;

[Frodo]

Not played much of it yet, but I have to say, it looks amazing!   

I've always been a huge fan of the King's Quest games, and this point & click version is such a treat. 
And all the background sounds - the waves, the seagulls, the unicorn neighing, the waterfall - it's all such a delight. 

Thankyou DrSlash.   

[almeath]

I know this thread has not been active for a while, but I wanted to thank DrSlash for the excellent work in producing this enhanced version of my favorite childhood PC game. 

Some years back I followed some instructions on the Vogons forum on how to 'hack' the sounds from the Amiga release into the PC version. It did work, but this version goes far and beyond and essentially perfects the original release, as long as one is not so traditional that you prefer the old text parser.

If DrSlash is still monitoring this thread, I just have one quick question. When I play the original PC release, the MT-32 tracks tend to blend seamlessly when looped, but in some places in this enhanced version (i.e. the dwarfs' cottage) there is a brief gap of 1-2 seconds between the looped tracks. It is a very minor issue, but I was wondering if this occurs because of a technical limitation in the AGS engine (i.e. as the MT-32 is being emulated) or whether it is something that could potentially be addressed in a later bug fix release?

[DrSlash]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! It really makes my day whenever I hear from people who enjoyed this project!

When I play the original PC release, the MT-32 tracks tend to blend seamlessly when looped, but in some places in this enhanced version (i.e. the dwarfs' cottage) there is a brief gap of 1-2 seconds between the looped tracks. It is a very minor issue, but I was wondering if this occurs because of a technical limitation in the AGS engine (i.e. as the MT-32 is being emulated) or whether it is something that could potentially be addressed in a later bug fix release?

Yeah, it's an unfortunate limitation of using .mp3/.ogg music as opposed to midi. While there are workarounds that would allow for better looping (i.e. cutting the audio falloff at the end of each file, blending it with the beginning of the corresponding track, and then having the game switch between two versions of the track — one with no falloff and one with the falloff inserted at the beginning — depending on whether it's the first time the track is being played or if it's being repeated), but that would be beyond the current scope of the project.

That being said, implementing better music looping is definitely not a bad idea and would absolutely benefit the project. Another major audio-related improvement I had in mind was remastering the soundtrack with the use of modern instrument libraries (while allowing players to switch back to the original MT-32 soundtrack via game options, of course). If someone more experienced in audio editing and mastering than myself were to take on these two tasks, I'd gladly welcome the help and add their version of the soundtrack to the game.

[Mandle]

Loving the game so far... I'm at about 75 points and delightfully stuck. I refuse to look at hints because this feeling takes me back to pre-internet adventure game days, as does the game itself.

Time travel! Whheeeeeeeeeee!!!

[ArthurWalden]

I realize no one has posted on this topic in months, but I'm concerned I may have found a bug with the game.

When playing with the time limit enabled, the game immediately switches to night as soon as the clock reaches 12 pm. There is no afternoon time at all. Since this effectively only allows one hour real time to get through the daytime part of the game, I am concerned that it may be near impossible to complete the game with the time limit enabled.

[DrSlash]

Currently looking into this issue. Could be a programming oversight that went unnoticed for over a year because of how few people play with the deadends enabled. If I manage to replicate this bug, I'll be sure to fix it as soon as I can.

[DrSlash]

King's Quest IV Retold 1.0.4 is out!

Fixed the bug reported by ArthurWalden as well as a few other minor issues that I've been meaning to correct.

Complete changelog (may contain minor spoilers if you haven't played the game yet):

Changelog: ShowHide

[ + ] The unicorn can now be seen roaming the meadows once it is released
[ + ] Picking up the frog now automatically sets it as the active inventory item to avoid confusing the player
[ - ] Fixed a bug where the game would switch to nighttime at noon if the dead ends are enabled
[ - ] Fixed a graphical bug where Rosella could sometimes pick up the frog and the ball without walking up to them first
[ - ] Fixed a bug where the peacock could sometimes walk on water
[ - ] Fixed a minor graphical bug where Rosella's sprite would not update after falling off the stairs
[ - ] Fixed a bug where the song played when summoning the dolphin would sometimes prevent other music tracks from playing
[ - ] Fixed a typo in the text pop-up for examining the chest of drawers in the Manor bedroom
[ - ] Fixed misaligned text boxes in one of Lolotte's cutscenes
[ - ] Fixed incorrect text box positions in one of Edgar's cutscenes
[ - ] Tweaked the walkable area masks for the organ room and the upper part of the Manor stairs
[ - ] Tweaked the walk-behind mask for Lolotte's dining room
[ - ] Increased the size of the trigger zone for going north from the eastern cemetery
[ - ] The troll now takes more time to appear when chasing Rosella from a different screen
[ - ] The unicorn's initial location is now determined after starting a new game rather than immediately after the game is launched
[ - ] Adjusted the timing of the intro cutscene
[ - ] Updated the fonts used in the credits

[ArthurWalden]

Hi. Thank you for patching the game.

Now that I've completed the game twice with dead ends both enabled and disabled, I'd like to give some feedback and I have a few questions:

1) Although most dead ends and time limits were indeed disabled, there are a couple of borderline cases I though I should mention:

     a) The shark is still a hazard with dead ends disabled, and while you can swim away if you're very near shore, if the shark attacks while you're in the middle of the sea, it is unlikely you can escape. Now, it does seem that Autosave offers a way around this, as there appears to be a new autosave with each ocean screen. Still, there may not be enough warning for a new player who doesn't necessarily know to expect the shark.

     b) The overall day/night cycle time limits are disabled (if that option is chosen); however, there are some other shorter time limits that may still be issues for some. I'm not talking about obvious threats like the ogre or the troll, as the ability to escape from those is usually feasible (though getting stuck in a corner in both cases could be an issue). I'm talking more about becoming exhausted by swimming in the ocean and, particularly, running out of breathable air in the whale's mouth:

           i) In regards to swimming, while you do receive one warning, if you got lost at sea (fairly easy to do if you don't swim straight out to Genesta's island) you probably couldn't get back to shore in time. Even Autosave may not work here, as it appears to use a new autosave slot for each ocean screen you enter.

          ii) The whale mouth is particularly insidious as you get very little warning of the danger at all. In fact, the first time I played just now with dead ends disabled I somehow seemed to run out of time too quickly in the whale and had to restore to a location before getting swallowed. If this time limit will remain, more warning for a new player is important.

2) On the other hand, it is impossible to see several death scenes if you disable time limits (specifically, getting killed by the zombies, and, of course, running out of time altogether). I know not everyone cares, but players may want to be informed of that.

3) One thing that might be particularly concerning to new players is that the introductory statement, if you choose to disable dead ends, doesn't in any way explain that there are still many ways to die in the game. This could come as a particular shock to a player mainly used to adventure games with a "mortality failsafe" policy (i.e. it is not possible to die in that game, essentially the policy classically associated with most Lucasarts adventure games). I'm not saying that I myself only want to play adventure games with "mortality failsafe." (I actually enjoy both kinds.) It's just that there are some players who expect it.

4) Aside from my feedback, I had a couple of questions:

      a) Did you deliberately remove any possibility of Lolottte's goons waking up? I never saw it happen even when dead ends were enabled.

      b) I was just wondering if you were planning on placing the random Sierra game plugs in that message in a bottle eventually. I really enjoyed that part of the original game.

Thanks again for all the work you put into the game and letting me enjoy it again.

[DrSlash]

Hi, ArthurWalden, thanks for the extensive feedback! I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.

a) The shark is still a hazard with dead ends disabled, and while you can swim away if you're very near shore, if the shark attacks while you're in the middle of the sea, it is unlikely you can escape. Now, it does seem that Autosave offers a way around this, as there appears to be a new autosave with each ocean screen. Still, there may not be enough warning for a new player who doesn't necessarily know to expect the shark.

No, the game only creates a new autosave once you enter the ocean, so this shouldn't be a problem. If there were any additional autosaves created while you explored the ocean, those are generic timed autosaves made at 15-minute increments and have nothing to do with the ocean. These won't overwrite your original save file created when first entering the ocean unless you spend at least 45 minutes in the water without leaving or dying.

b) The overall day/night cycle time limits are disabled (if that option is chosen); however, there are some other shorter time limits that may still be issues for some. I'm not talking about obvious threats like the ogre or the troll, as the ability to escape from those is usually feasible (though getting stuck in a corner in both cases could be an issue). I'm talking more about becoming exhausted by swimming in the ocean and, particularly, running out of breathable air in the whale's mouth

Once again, these dead ends should all be completely avoidable with autosaves.

2) On the other hand, it is impossible to see several death scenes if you disable time limits (specifically, getting killed by the zombies, and, of course, running out of time altogether). I know not everyone cares, but players may want to be informed of that.

Yeah, those scenes are unfortunate casualties of removing the dead ends. However, I don't consider this to be too big of a problem, since even the original game has an instance of an unachievable death (death by the mummy).

3) One thing that might be particularly concerning to new players is that the introductory statement, if you choose to disable dead ends, doesn't in any way explain that there are still many ways to die in the game. This could come as a particular shock to a player mainly used to adventure games with a "mortality failsafe" policy (i.e. it is not possible to die in that game, essentially the policy classically associated with most Lucasarts adventure games). I'm not saying that I myself only want to play adventure games with "mortality failsafe." (I actually enjoy both kinds.) It's just that there are some players who expect it.

It's a Sierra game, so the vast majority of players, with very few exceptions, should expect the game to have deaths. I may expand the text explaining the dead ends removal feature at the start of the game to include information on still being able to die even with the dead ends disabled, but frankly speaking, that text window is wordy enough as it is.

a) Did you deliberately remove any possibility of Lolottte's goons waking up? I never saw it happen even when dead ends were enabled.

Very odd. They absolutely should be able to wake up and catch you. Are you sure you were standing close enough to them?

b) I was just wondering if you were planning on placing the random Sierra game plugs in that message in a bottle eventually. I really enjoyed that part of the original game.

Including plugs for 30-year-old games seemed somewhat redundant, so I ultimately opted for their removal. I do agree that the current message in the bottle is rather uninspired, but that's what happens when you write things at 4 a.m. on the night before the release.  I did originally consider putting a link to Patreon or some other donation page on there, but decided not to to avoid potential legal trouble with Activision Blizzard. I may change the text in the future — there have already been suggestions to change it to plugs for modern adventure games, and while it's a sound idea, I can't say I love it considering that these will also eventually become redundant once the advertised games come out. I'd prefer the message to be a bit more timeless.

[ArthurWalden]

Regarding Lolotte's goons: They did wake up when I got close to them in your version. What I'm remembering from the original game is that some of the goons could wake up randomly, regardless of where you were on the screen. Yes, this did pretty much mean you had to save regularly when moving around Lolotte's castle and restore a lot. I believe Sierra's hint book refers to this.

I wouldn't really blame you if you removed the random wakings, as (like with the troll cave) they could be frustrating. I just wanted to know if you did so deliberately.

[DrSlash]

Ah, I see. I believe in the original game there was a chance that a goon will be waiting for you at the door when you exit the kitchen screen. If that's what you mean, I decided not to include it in Retold since it's more of an annoyance than an actual game mechanic.