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inscrutable horse posted:This was the first voice-acted game I ever played, and Hakim's "Good day" is still burned into my mind. I can't read those words without hearing his voice
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Nov 5, 2017 23:04
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Prop Wash posted:Most of it doesn't even need to be spoilered. The evil vizier has a genie, and this genie has already shown up a few times being a real rear end in a top hat, and now he's tried to get Alex to off himself by jumping into the water. He didn't just push Alex off the bridge (or hit him with Shazam Magic or whatever), which could mean one of a few things: either he doesn't really want to kill Alex or he can't directly kill Alex. He's not even openly hostile, as evidenced by him just chilling out while you chat with Ali. It's a complex, interesting relationship and I don't know, maybe we'll see him again and figure out what his deal is eventually! This is the one King's Quest I never played, but it could also be that he doesn't want a direct confrontation with Alexander, known wizard and triple dragon slayer? We know that Graham and all his family members can die from a stiff breeze, but all Goldeneye knows is that one time Alexander got mad at a big magic spider so he turned into an eagle and threw it into the loving ocean. It's pretty logical for the vizier to want to keep an eye on the guy whose family has now traveled to a new land and murdered the local sorcerer five consecutive times, maybe lay some traps that contain plausible deniability, but not to do anything overt enough to make himself #6. Or maybe the genie himself just doesn't want none.
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Nov 5, 2017 23:54
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Genocyber posted:Goons getting anal retentive about spoilers. Nothing to see here, folks. Marked spoilers. So in other words, extra anal retentive.  On the subject of the game, I really like the Genie. He's a cool dude. mauman fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Nov 6, 2017 |
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Nov 6, 2017 00:44
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Xander77 posted:Alexander pulls out his magic map.
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Nov 6, 2017 17:31
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 Apologies for cutting the update short last time. Let's get right back to it. We can't do anything with this boy, so let's just ignore him. After about 30 seconds of pointedly not paying attention to him, he sulks and disappears in a puff of logic.  : All right, be that way! Don't come in the water! You'll be sorry!  : That's strange. The young boy in the water just disappeared. Oh, well. Perhaps he just dove under the water. : I just watched him disappear in a cloud of smoke.: Yep. Must have dove right under. door on the boat  : Yeah? Whaddaya want? I don't know why they make you click the speech bubble on the ferryman, Hassan, here. I guess you'd think it would be implied. Also you have to be super precise here, and it's really easy to click the speech bubble on Alexander by mistake. : Alexander promises himself that he will not go home until he has determined what Cassima's feelings are for him, and if she needs his help.You might see that message a couple times before you get it right. I don't miss the text parser in general, but it's a lot easier to type >talk to ferryman than try to click on the tiny white blob that makes up his stupid outfit. : Excuse me. My name is Alexander. The owner of the book shop in the village told me you might be able to help me. I hear you used to run this ferry for the islands. I'd like to talk to you, if you have a moment.: Ya say old Ali sent ya? I can't see why. The ferry's not running, ya know.: I understand. I'd just like to talk to you about the islands if you don't mind.: Well, I guess it'd be all right--if Ali sent ya. Don't just stand there. Come on inside. King's Quest VI - The Ferryman : What is it ya wanted to talk about, young man?Hassan here has a bunch of conversation topics about the islands and the political climate. So let's get going. Assume each one is preceded by... : I'm a visitor to these islands. I'd like to learn what I can about the area.: So ya said outside. What is it ya want to know?: Well, for one thing, why has the island's only ferry been dry-docked?: Hmph. It just ain't safe to sail these days, what with the islands feuding and all. Vizier Alhazred ordered the ferry closed 'til things settle down. Me, I don't think she'll ever see water again. *sigh*: But why are the islands feuding?: Ya got me. Something about stolen property or some such thing. 'Tis a real shame. Things used to be so friendly.: Then this unrest is recent.: A few years is all, but it's been long enough.: Perhaps if the ferry were repaired?: This old thing? This ferry's been out of water so long, she's no longer even seaworthy. Her boards have dry rot. She'd fall apart at the first taste of seawater!: But there must be some way to get off this island!: There's only one other way to travel that I know of--a magic map. The owner of the Pawn Shoppe can tell ya more about that than I can, Alexander.This was the important conversation. This triggers the event flags that let us talk to Hakim about the magic map and get off the island. Everything after this is purely worldbuilding and background. So if you want to skip past it, then just scroll down until you stop seeing Hassan's face. : Tell me more about the ferry.: I remember when I used to ferry Queen Allaria and Princess Cassima themselves! There was no thought of danger back then. They used to go visiting to care for the needy and to keep up the friendly relations between the islands.: I remember their last trip. Things had started getting nasty by then, and when they came back aboard I gathered that the queen and the princess had been received a bit coldly. Princess Cassima was such a pretty thing, and she was terribly upset. 'But, who could be spreading these lies?' she asked the queen. But the queen had no answer.: What do you do now that the ferry no longer operates?: Me? I'm out of a job--the job my ancestors have held for generations. I'm the only one trained to avoid the reef and the rocks, but that knowledge does me no good now.: Is there no other boat on the island? One that might be more seaworthy?: Boats don't last long on these shoals, as ya may have found out if ya got here by ship. Ya can be quite sure that this ole ferry is, or was, the only craft on the island.: Tell me more about Princess Cassima.: Ah! Such a beautiful child! And so pure of heart! Why, a contrary thought has never crossed her mind. Her mother was the same. The king and queen, they served the islands, not the other way around. Always thinking 'bout the people. *sigh* They are sorely missed.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: Let's see. The Isle of Wonder's a lovely spot. A bit crazy, mind. Ya gotta have a good sense of humor to enjoy a tour there.: Somethin' for ya to keep in mind if ya ever wind up goin' there yerself... it's a very literal island.: I'm sorry, but what?: You'll... understand if ya ever go there, Alexander.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: The Isle of the Beast is pretty, but unfortunately ya can't get very far onto the island.: Word is there used to be a castle deep in the forest. But ain't nobody ever seen it. Most who go lookin' for it never come back. And the few who do tell tales of the trees shifting around.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: The inhabitants of the Isle of the Sacred Mountain are the most gorgeous creatures ya'll ever see. If ya ever get to see them, that is.: I met one once. He had his nose so high up in the air he'd have drowned in a rainstorm.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: The Castle of the Crown sure is a beauty. She's the finest palace ever built, I'll warrant.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: Some say that the Land of the Green Isles is near the edge of the world, and that the deadly currents are a result of a magnetism that sucks life from this world to the next. Of course, that's just silly talk...: The island's currents keep us pretty isolated. I can only recall three visitors in my lifetime. When I was a boy a wanderer came, Alhazred himself arrived many years ago, and now you. We have almost no contact with the outside world, but we're content with our little kingdom. At least, we always were in the past.: This wanderer... was his name perhaps Derek?: Now that you mention it, yeah. Why?: He's a friend of my family.: That so? Small world we live in.That's all that the ferryman has to say. So if you skipped all the worldbuilding talk, then stop scrolling here. thing on the table: I see you have a rabbit's foot. Has it brought you much luck?: Hrmph! As ya can see, my luck's been out for some time now, despite that old charm. Why don't ya take it with ya? Perhaps giving the darn thing away will bring me good fortune at last!: Perhaps it will at that. Thank you.: Well, I think I'll be going now. Thanks for allowing me into your home.: Posh! Not at all. It breaks the boredom, if ya know what I mean. *sigh*  : The rabbit's foot has long, soft fur.: The long fur of the rabbit's foot is soft to the touch.I'm going to skip using the talk command on items unless there's something funny from doing so. Otherwise it's just a generic "That object has nothing to say." line. Anyway, let's hurry back to town. There's still a few things we need to do before this update can close out.  First off, we need to stop in Ali's books. Another flag triggered when we talked to Hassan, one that I didn't realize happened this early until fairly recently.   : Good day again! How may I help you?King's Quest VI - Jollo Now that the old man in the black cloak is gone, I feel more comfortable asking about the magic book on the countertop. : How much for that book on the counter, merchant?: It is a fine book, is it not? I obtained it from the estate of the one and only magician this kingdom has ever had. Poofed himself into an aardvark in the end, or so I heard.: I never found the spells all that useful myself, but then I lead a boring life. I tell you what--if you can find another rare book, something a bit more marketable, I might be willing to exchange the spell book for it.I know it's not, but I like to think that this is the ultimate end of the rear end in a top hat Enchanter from KQ1 and KQ2... that he moved to (or was originally from) the Land of the Green Isles and turned himself into an aardvark by accident. Anyway, this is something we'll need to file in the back of our mind for later in the game. We technically don't need it at all if we're going for the short ending route. All the spells inside only serve to help us on the path to the true ending. But we'll cover that much later in the game when we eventually get it. For now, let's talk to this fellow with the whimsical theme music.  : Good day, sir. Is there anything you can tell me about the Land of the Green Isles?: I'm sorry, but I've no time for idle conversation. I'm too worried about the princess.: Excuse me again, sir. You mentioned the princess...: I told you I'm not interested in talking to strangers!Let's introduce ourselves. Maybe this guy subscribes to the "strangers are only friends you haven't met yet" theory.   : Determined to learn more about the strange man's relationship with the princess, Alexander shows the man his insignia ring and formally introduces himself. : I'm sorry to insist, but my name is Alexander of Daventry and...: I appreciate the offer of the ring, Alexander, but I'm afraid I'm already spoken...: Daventry? Where have I heard of Daventry? Flying flitmice! You must be Prince Alexander! Cassima told me about you when she arrived home! How came you here?: Why, by a ship, now wrecked upon the sand! But--you know Cassima? She truly spoke of me?: Yes, yes. I saw her briefly when she first returned home. She mentioned a prince to me, Prince Alexander of Daventry. I'm afraid that was before she was told about her parents' deaths.: You see, she arrived home a few weeks too late. The king and queen thought they'd never see her again. It is said they died of heartbreak. I'm afraid she's blamed herself.: What a terrible homecoming! If we had only known...: *sniff* Terrible indeed, poor thing. Everyone in the kingdom seems to despair with her these days. The streets are silent.: Where is she now?: The princess is sequestered in mourning. It's a rather dated tradition, and not required, but the vizier says she insisted out of respect.: I see. You've yet to say who you are, and how you know the princess.: I? Oh, pardon me! My name is Jollo. I am clown to the royal court and have been since the marriage of Cassima's parents, King Caliphim and Queen Allaria. Ah, those were happy days! The pair of them were so full of joy and life! So in love!: And Cassima's birth... It would be hard to explain how long they had waited, how they had hoped for a child. She was such a charming little thing, smart as a whip, kind and sweet. She means everything to this kingdom, Alexander, and to me. I am so terribly worried about her.: About her grief over her parents, you mean?: Well, the truth is, I do not trust the vizier, nor his plans for Cassima. I'm still living at the Castle of the Crown as court clown, HIS clown, but it is more to keep my ear to the ground than out of loyalty.: I wish I knew what the princess thinks these days. *sigh* If only I could find Sing Sing, Cassima's pet nightingale, I might be able to send the princess a message. As it is, I must wait for the end of her seclusion.: Now, I'm afraid I must hurry back to the castle. I'll try to return to the book shop again later.: Thank you for speaking with me, Jollo. I hope we meet again soon.  Due to what I suspect are engine limitations, Alexander can't move while Jollo is on the screen. It happens every time that we're on a screen with him walking around.  Here, we're following him around to see what he's doing. Mostly for some optional dialogue.    : Good day, Jollo.: Greetings, my fine-furred friends! back to town And that was Jollo. He'll show up again much later in the game. For now, I believe we had something to discuss with Hakim.  I see the creepy old man has moved to this shop instead. Let's ignore him and instead abuse Hakim's hospitality by taking a free mint from the candy jar on his countertop. mint : The small green mint looks very tasty.: The mint might melt if Alexander held it too tightly.  : Excuse me, merchant, but the ferryman mentioned that you might have a magic map of the Land of the Green Isles.: Why, as a matter of fact, I do! I keep it under the counter. It has been gathering dust so long, I nearly forgot about it.: It was quite a few years ago, you see. The estate of a wealthy wizard fell into my hands when he died. It was useless magical junk mostly--which reminds me, I've still got some things of his in the back that I need to dump out. Anyway, the magic map was the one true treasure in the lot. The wizard was quite old and feeble and had enchanted the map to aid in traveling.: It is said that one need only desire to be on an island depicted on the map to find oneself there. It is a very valuable map, as you can imagine. Unfortunately, no one is interested in traveling these days. It is far too dangerous with the current state of the kingdom.: What would you take for the map?: I would normally want something magic in return, but since I am hardly overrun with prospective buyers, I would be willing to take anything of equal value in exchange.Now that we've met Jollo, we don't have basically anything left to do with our ring for the rest of the game. Nothing time sensitive, at least. It's easily the most valuable thing we own, so hopefully it'll be enough.  : Would you be willing to take my family ring in exchange for the magic map?: Daventry... are you a king, then?: No, that's my father, King Graham. I'm just Alexander.: Well, Prince Alex, she is a beautiful ring. Are you sure you can part with such a unique family heirloom?: The ring does mean a lot to me. I didn't always have a family, you know. Still, it IS only gold. There are more important things at stake now.: Then you now own a magic map, Prince Alex. I will keep your ring out of sight for a few days. If you find anything else of great value in your travels, you can return for your ring. I would hate to see it melted down for the gold.: And a warning about the map; it will only operate when you are out in the open and within sight of the sea. The limitation has something to do with the teleport spell ingredients. You might try the beach.: That makes sense. I still sometimes think about a teleport stone I once made...: That's nice, Prince Alex. Perhaps you would like to go and try your map now? : Suddenly, the old man in the concealing cloak sneaks past Alexander and, with a sneaky dart of his hand, steals a mint from the candy jar. The old man stuffs the mint into his mouth and wobbles unsteadily out of the pawn shop.  King's Quest VI - Shamir Shamazel  : Master! *hic* I followed Prince Alexander as you *hic* wished. From the pawn shop owner he just obstained... uh... just reprieved *hic*... He just got a magic map.  : You fool! You've been eating those mints again! I ordered you to stop that! : Yes, *hic* Master...: Now what is this about a magic map?: With the map, Prince Alexander can travel anywhere as bickly *hic* uh... quickly as I can.: What? I thought I took care of the only means of travel! By my scimitar, I can't have him stirring things up now! Get a hold of yourself and listen carefully, Shamir! Go to the other islands and tell them...If you never never went to the castle, there's an entirely different conversation here. : Master! I was 'obsermving' *hic* in the village as you wished, and I saw a manger... no, a danger... no, a STRANGER there! He says *hic* he's Prince Blamentander of Smaventry.: You fool! You've been eating those mints again! I ordered you to stop that!: Yes, *hic* Master...: Now WHO did this stranger say he was?: Prince Salamander of Pagentry, I *hic* think.: You idiot! Are you trying to tell me that Prince Alexander of Daventry is here?! Confound it! That's the young man Cassima met at Mordack's castle! The timing could not be worse. Tell me, what is he doing?: He was in the pawn shop buying a magic *hic* smap.: Magic smap? What is this magic smap?: With the smap he can travel to the other islands, Master.: That's a MAP, you dolt! Drat it all, I thought I took care of the only means of travel! By my scimitar, I can't have him stirring things up! Not now! Get a hold of yourself and listen carefully, Shamir! Go to the other islands and tell them...I'm not going to show every alternate dialogue scene, but that one was pretty funny. Shamir being blind drunk from mints is great.  And we're back here now. Presumably Alexander and Hakim stared at each other while Shamir ran home to Abdul.  : The magic map is made of thin leather, and has life-like drawings of the islands on its uneven surface.: Alexander remembers what the pawn shop owner said about only being able to use the map "out in the open" and "within sight of the sea." He correctly surmises that the map will not work here.: Though it possesses some magical capabilities, the map cannot talk. outside The peddler has moved on now that we have the map. He'll be gone for the vast majority of the game, and will only show up again toward the very end when we're ready to commit to an ending path. crossroads King's Quest VI - Song of the Nightingale **Recommended Listening** We're just passing through here, but now that we've befriended Jollo and got the magic map, this area has some background music. There's also the sound of a bird singing. If you look carefully, you can also see a little bird hanging out on top of a branch of the old oak. bird: A nightingale perches on a high branch of the tree. She sings the most beautiful song Alexander has ever heard. bird: Hello, nightingale! What a lovely tune you sing!: The nightingale only looks at Alexander suspiciously and continues to sing.She'll hang out here for the rest of the game. There are some optional points related to her, but otherwise she just gives this screen some nice music. Anyway, on to the beach! beach : Alexander pulls out his magic map. This is a good point to end this update on. NEXT TIME: we're going to the place you all voted for in that informal poll. Isle of the Sacred Mountain won with 9 votes. Second place was the Isle of Wonder with 5 votes. Finally, Isle of the Beast trailed with 3 votes. So that's the order we'll be visiting them in. List of Points +2 - Entered the ferry cabin +1 - Rabbit's foot +2 - Asked about spellbook +4 - Talked to Jollo +1 - Took mint +5 - Bought magic map +1 - Used magic map Total 28/231
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Nov 7, 2017 01:08
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I think we've passed all the things this could spoil now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6so9A3v5caU
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Nov 7, 2017 01:24
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So my dumb question, is there a reason it's the "Land of the Green Isles" and not "Sea of the Green Isles"?
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Nov 7, 2017 03:21
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syzpid posted:So my dumb question, is there a reason it's the "Land of the Green Isles" and not "Sea of the Green Isles"? : It’s because it’s a map of the Green Isles, obviously! If you want to get to the Sea of the Green Isles so badly, then walk down to the beach and keep going!
TheObserver fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Nov 7, 2017 |
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Nov 7, 2017 04:27
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DoubleNegative posted:
Cannot unhear.
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Nov 7, 2017 06:55
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DoubleNegative posted:
If only you had known what, Alexander? You met Cassima for a few minutes and then Crispin magicked her home, probably in less time than you spent saying hello to her. I guess it's the polite thing to say but it's kinda pointless to when these events happened long before you even knew this girl existed
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Nov 7, 2017 07:00
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Why do the guard dogs say "Good day!" to Jollo as though this is the first time he's passed by today? They must have seen him leave the castle which would mean they surely wished him a good day. If anything, you'd think they would ask how his trip to the village was. Nitpicking, I know, but it just seems weird to me...
Eshettar fucked around with this message at 11:06 on Nov 7, 2017 |
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Nov 7, 2017 11:01
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Eshettar posted:Why do the guard dogs say "Good day!" to Jollo as though this is the first time he's passed by today? They must have seen him leave the castle which would mean they surely wished him a good day. If anything, you'd think they would ask how his trip to the village was. Nitpicking, I know, but it just seems weird to me... Shift change while he was out, perhaps? As will become evident, guard dogs in this kingdom are barely distinguishable from each other.
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Nov 7, 2017 13:04
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As a security guard, I can safely say that "Have a good day" or any variation thereof is a safe, generic way of acknowledging someone who may not want to stop and chat. Assuming that Jollo can freely come and go from the castle, it's basically a shorthand way of saying "You can enter/You are free to pass".
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Nov 7, 2017 14:14
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Eshettar posted:Why do the guard dogs say "Good day!" to Jollo as though this is the first time he's passed by today? They must have seen him leave the castle which would mean they surely wished him a good day. If anything, you'd think they would ask how his trip to the village was. Nitpicking, I know, but it just seems weird to me... They're basically just saying hello. It doesn't need analysis.
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Nov 7, 2017 18:48
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Yeah, fair enough. I guess I was overthinking it.
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Nov 7, 2017 19:09
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Aces High posted:If only you had known what, Alexander? You met Cassima for a few minutes and then Crispin magicked her home, probably in less time than you spent saying hello to her. I guess it's the polite thing to say but it's kinda pointless to when these events happened long before you even knew this girl existed He's spent a LOT of time sitting in his castle thinking about her and writing in his DaventryJournal. So obviously this means he's a qualified expert!  nah I mean really it's expressing sympathy for someone else's pain, not that he literally wishes he had ESP and could tell her "btw your parents are dead, sorry" before Crispin magic teleported everyone
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Nov 7, 2017 19:43
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Ugh, I definitely prefer Jollo's other portrait.
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Nov 7, 2017 19:46
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Robindaybird posted:Ugh, I definitely prefer Jollo's other portrait.  Jollo's other portrait was so refreshing, a clown who just looked like an average guy with a slightly goofy outfit is all. A performer, but not a caricature. A thoughtful friend, who even I could like when I normally loathe all clowns.
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Nov 7, 2017 21:31
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What's the wanderer Derek joke?
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Nov 7, 2017 23:25
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Discendo Vox posted:What's the wanderer Derek joke? http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/Derek_Karlavaegen This guy is the author of the King's Quest Compendium, and has chronicled all the adventures of the Royal Family. He also lives in Manannan's house after it was left abandoned. He's also the author of the Guidebook to the Land of the Green Isles, which is needed for the copy protection in this game. ETA: Spoilers, obviously, under that link.
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Nov 7, 2017 23:34
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Because KQ6 is so large, I'm recording it in sections. Tonight I just did a huge chunk of the game and found a section that... well, take a look. Bad memories, man. Bad, bad memories.
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Nov 8, 2017 02:03
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I dunno, you can actually see the entire screen's worth of cave in KQ6. It's not that bad.
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Nov 8, 2017 03:47
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Would you prefer Alexander's lantern not even being strong enough to light the ground like a different lantern we've already seen?
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Nov 8, 2017 04:55
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DoubleNegative posted:
Hah. At least you can point to it and say "and finally, Sierra learned" though. Adventure game nyctophobia, the most dangerous of Sierra game curses!
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Nov 8, 2017 18:49
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Robindaybird posted:Ugh, I definitely prefer Jollo's other portrait. Bifauxnen posted:
I think when I first played 6 it was the DOS version with the voices in since I was using one of the collections and got really surprised when thing went to the windows version. Jollo's face looks way to swollen.
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Nov 10, 2017 06:16
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I looked up the DOS version of Jollo's portrait. God drat what a difference. Why did they change his artwork? His old art fit in with everyone else, but now he looks like a fun house mirror reflection.
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Nov 10, 2017 12:46
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Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest VI. You all voted for it, so here it is. big island on top: Alexander feels a strange pulling sensation. When you click on a map, you get to see a semi topographical view before you're taken there. The Isle of the Sacred Mountain is big enough that you can probably see it from any part of the Land of the Green Isles.   King's Quest VI can most easily be divided into halves at this island. Everything in the first half is to prepare you for the puzzles found up on the summit of this large mountain posing as an island. This is also where the game's copy protection resides. I have the answers handy, so I could  For now let's just look around the base of the sheer cliffs. Three things should have caught your eye here. Two are the items on either side of Alexander, while the third is the obvious writing behind him. flower: Alexander picks the flower and is startled by its hideously strong, skunk-like odor. For a moment, he can smell nothing else. feather: Alexander takes the feather. cliff writing: There appears to be something etched into the face of the cliff. Alexander decides to get closer. This is the aforementioned copy protection. Or, rather, it's the first of five sequential pieces of copy protection. The answers are all found in the game's manual, which doubles as a travel guide. I don't have it handy at the moment, but there are pages and pages of lore and worldbuilding in its pages. Honestly, I've never read any of it and I doubt I ever will. I've spent enough time in my life learning about the lore and the history of fake worlds.   The Isle of Wonder, like the Isle of the Sacred Mountain, is functionally a single screen for now. We can see paths off to the north, and there's another off to the east, but trying to leave by either triggers what I like to call the first of the "exam" puzzles. If you want to further break down King's Quest VI from the two halves I mentioned earlier, several of these puzzles nicely create discrete sections of the game. This is similar to the five major acts of King's Quest V: Desert, Forest/Serenia, Mountain, Beach, and finally Castle. The first exam puzzle happens here on this screen. I call it an "exam", because it require items from all over the explorable game world to solve a series of puzzles in quick succession. Passing the test opens more of the game for exploration, while failure just kills you outright. It's a more refined version of what they were trying with King's Quest V and the 600,000 dead man walking scenarios created by not having specific items. Anyway, we're still exploring for now. Here's the last screenshot again just as a reminder. Hassan mentioned in the last update that the Isle of Wonder is a very literal place, and that you need a good sense of humor. Well, that looks like a bunch of oysters... lying in beds. Get it? There's also a pink squiggle floating in the ocean. Let's see what that's all about. pink thing: A string of letters floats in the water. The letters spell out "Where are you going...?" Alexander's heard of alphabet soup, but this is ridiculous!I've always wanted to own a sentence. Let's grab it. sentence This is the edge of how far out Alexander can safely wade. The sentence is basically within arm's reach. But if you click on it again... sentence: Alexander wades deeper into the sea to get the strange object in the water. We've seen this song and dance before. Let's just rewind. oyster: One of the oysters is sitting up in bed and doesn't look very happy. He seems to be the only one who can't sleep. : In the oyster's mouth, Alexander can see a glint of white.Looks like someone has a pearl! Maybe we can help him with that. oyster: Why aren't you asleep like the other oysters? : I'm SO weary, but I can't sleep. I have a terrible ache in my mouth.: What's wrong with your mouth?: No offense, but it hurts too much to talk. oyster: Why don't you let me see if I can help?: No way! No one's looking in MY mouth! I HATE dentists.While we could fix his problem now, let's hold off for the time being. We're not done exploring yet.  After a little bit, the sentence finally drifts to shore. So we can finally grab that. sentence: Alexander picks up the object floating in the water. It appears to be a string of letters. They say "Where are you going...?" Alexander decides to keep the odd sentence, even though it is incomplete."Where are you going" is a complete sentence to everyone but pedants and 9th grade grammar teachers. I also realize that was a redundant statement. Let's just move on.  : Alexander is carrying an unusually large, black feather.: The feather feels very stiff and coarse. : Colors of flame burst from the center of the incredibly stinky flower and drip onto its petals. The flower's appearance is as flamboyant as its smell!: Alexander contemplates touching the flower, but doesn't want to get the flower's stench on his hands. : Alexander is carrying, oddly enough, a sentence. It says, "Where are you going...?": Alexander already has a pretty good grasp on his words.: The sentence seems to only have one thing to say, "Where are you going...?"In case you didn't catch that, the sentence says "Where are you going...?" Did you know that? I didn't. If only there were a way for the game to communicate that the sentence that says "Where are you going...?" in fact said "Where are you going...?" I guess we were just meant to intuit it somehow.  Off to the Isle of the Beast.  Nothing on the beach, but this is a really pretty island. north That lamp looks like something that the peddler would want. Unfortunately, we have a bubbly steamy pond between us and it. pond: A pond lies across the path. The water boils as if over some magical flame. pond : OUCH! THat water is HOT!I bet we can intimidate the pond. pond: Listen here, pond! I wish to pass!: The pond, rather hotheadedly, refuses to respond.I think that put it in its place. across pond: Alexander decides to brave the boiling pond. : And soon realizes a deep sympathy for soup vegetables as he learns the true meaning of "being in a stew."  We can't do anything on the Isle of the Beast yet. So let's round out our tour of the Land of the Green Isles by returning to the Isle of the Crown.  We're going to finish preparing for the exam puzzle on the Isle of Wonder. So to that end, we need to get some poo poo from the pawn shop.  I believe you can also trigger this happening by leaving and returning to the village after buying the magic map. I've always done it like this, though... returning to the village later. Anyway, that was a not so subtle hint to dig through the pot. pot : Alexander sorts through the odds and ends that the pawn shop owner dumped into the pot. Magic exploding gum wrappers... A shattered crystal ball... A cracked wand... A fake thumb... Hmmm... Near the bottom, Alexander finds a little glass bottle labeled "ink." It appears to be empty, but Alexander decides to take it anyway. You never know when a small bottle will come in handy. : Alexander's carrying a little ink bottle. It appears to be empty.: Alexander shakes the bottle and imagines he hears a faint swishing sound, but decides he is mistaken.The bottle looks empty, though.  Let's investigate further. : Alexander decides to empty the ink bottle. Doing this in King's Quest V would probably result in a DMW. Still, having a bottle of invisible ink is good to know. Hopefully Alexander doesn't wind up looking like Eddie Valiant later with a giant ink blot on his chest. : Alexander examines the small bottle and determines that the invisible ink is, indeed, invisible.Next we're going to need one of those items from the pawn shop. If you think about the nature of many of the items we've been picking up recently, you can make an educated guess about what we're going to need. This puzzle still isn't great, though. There's a pretty good chance that you'll have to go and trigger the exam puzzle and fail it before you realize what's going on. The exam has a theme, you see. pawn shop : Good day, Prince Alexander!We've got a copper coin, and this is the closest thing to a shop in town. So let's see what Hakim'll give us for it.  : I have this copper coin. Is it of any value to you at all? : Most interesting. I've never seen a Daventry coin before, but it is copper genuine enough. I might even find a buyer who is interested in foreign currency. The items on the front counter are the only things in the store that I can let go for the price of one copper. You may make your choice from there.: Alexander looks at the items on the counter to make his selection. Here's a refresher of what the four items are. I mentioned a few updates back that we'll be using all four throughout the course of the game, but right now we're interested in the mechanical nightingale. bird: That mechanical nightingale looks intriguing. I believe I'll take it.: Very well. Your coin is well spent. Remember, this is a pawn shop. I am always willing to take back my own goods in trade.: I'll remember. Thank you. : The mechanical nightingale is made of tin painted dreary shades of brown to match the coloring of a real nightingale. A small key emerges from its back.: The mechanical nightingale's hard tin body doesn't feel anything like a real bird's soft feathers. to the crossroadsLet's test out our new purchase. You may remember that after we spoke to Jollo, that a nightingale appeared here on this screen. Maybe she'll appreciate a tin counterpart. real nightingale: Alexander winds the mechanical nightingale and places it on the ground. : The mechanical nightingale sings a sweet, tinny tune. The real nightingale in the tree cocks her head and listens intently. The real nightingale flies to a lower branch and looks at Alexander curiously as if she were deciding that this human might not be so bad.Two-out-of-three real nightingales can't tell the difference! We also know that our mechanical bird works as advertised. Excellent. beachLet's end this update right where we started it. NEXT TIME: The first exam puzzle List of Points +1 - Skunkflower +1 - Black feather +1 - Taking a sentence +1 - Bottle of ink +2 - Bought a nightingale +4 - Befriended a real nightingale Total 38/231 Register of Deaths Drowning because Alexander can't bend at the waist Add Alexander to a rolling boil DoubleNegative fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Nov 11, 2017 |
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Nov 11, 2017 01:40
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So I gather the 'exam' puzzle requires certain items, but unlike earlier games, it's not a DMW scenario because after you die, you can then go get whatever you're missing? Seems like a big improvement. Also, your register of deaths for this update is missing boiling yourself like a lobster.
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Nov 11, 2017 03:38
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Double "stew" pun there. Meh. The only way KQVI is inferior is the frequency of hilarious deaths and associated puns.
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Nov 11, 2017 04:17
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VI is definitely friendly about giving you the opportunity to see a puzzle before you need to solve it. You don't even have to die at the Isle of Wonder entrance exam (I love that metaphor) to see what you need to do and go find the appropriate items, although I was annoyed that one item I tried turned out not to work when it seemed like it should. Likewise, rather than expect you to intuit that the bottle contains invisible ink and use it as such in the moment, you can find out directly, and the description changes accordingly once you know it. There are other items like that in the game that let you see what effect they have without penalty. No brass bottles of angry genies here.
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Nov 11, 2017 04:18
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MagusofStars posted:Also, your register of deaths for this update is missing boiling yourself like a lobster. Whoops! Good catch. I added that in. Also, some self promotion... https://lparchive.org/Kings-Quest-III/ was added to the archive last night. 
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Nov 11, 2017 05:00
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Catching up on the thread, this made me wonder.  Shrinking his forehead a lot and his chin slightly definitely help, but it still looks weird. Might be the hair, might be his very thick neck, might be his face sliding a bit too far to the right (or just appearing that way because the shape of his hair makes his head look too big from the left). That bulk of hair behind his ear should be up higher to make it all look more head-shaped, maybe? Not a great portrait. DOS has better colors, too.
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Nov 11, 2017 06:22
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DoubleNegative posted:"Where are you going" is a complete sentence to everyone but pedants and 9th grade grammar teachers. 
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Nov 11, 2017 06:38
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Tiggum posted:I've actually finished this game, and this is the one thing in it that really makes me angry. "Where are you going?" is a full sentence and the word that eventually gets added to "complete" it makes it worse, by turning it into a sentence that no one would actually say. How loving difficult could it possibly have been to come up with an actual incomplete sentence that genuinely needed an additional word? The answer to your question is a complex grammatical issue and a reference to something that won't be appearing for a few more updates, so you might want to bring your question up again then if it hasn't been answered. But see also Boxjam's Doodle on the subject.
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Nov 11, 2017 15:02
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MagusofStars posted:So I gather the 'exam' puzzle requires certain items, but unlike earlier games, it's not a DMW scenario because after you die, you can then go get whatever you're missing? Seems like a big improvement. You can just use the magic map and haul rear end out of there if you realise you don’t have an item you need.
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Nov 11, 2017 15:42
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Tiggum posted:I've actually finished this game, and this is the one thing in it that really makes me angry. "Where are you going?" is a full sentence and the word that eventually gets added to "complete" it makes it worse, by turning it into a sentence that no one would actually say. How loving difficult could it possibly have been to come up with an actual incomplete sentence that genuinely needed an additional word? Haven't played in too long to actually remember what happens with the sentence fragment, but I wonder if there's an age/dialect issue involved? I recall one of the pieces of sheet music I had from my mother when I was young was for a song "Do you know where you're going to?". Was that a more common phrasing in a time period where it might have stuck in the mind of a sierra dev?
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Nov 11, 2017 17:57
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No, it's just useless pedantry from prescriptivists.
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Nov 12, 2017 01:22
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Anime Reference posted:No, it's just useless pedantry from prescriptivists. It's all nonsense up with which I will not put.
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Nov 12, 2017 07:47
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sfwarlock posted:It's all nonsense up with which I will not put. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4XCZfkGF8k
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Nov 12, 2017 07:59
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I totally knew what that was a link to before clicking on it. Wish you could buy a robot bird for a penny in my town...
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Nov 12, 2017 10:19
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