Frede

Troels implied the former, but I'd like to play a Space Quest game again, so I propose we do that...

That should work for me.

I'm sure we can persuade Andres and P.C. to show up along with Chris and I. It'd be great to have Marty in there as well - I'll see if I can get ahold of him. And I would love it if Sam joined; there's lots of pre-production stuff to talk about. Also, if we've only got four hours, you're going to have to skip the intro.

I'm in. Not that I think you'll be surprised by that!

Saturday should also be fine for me.

That's probably gonna be a bit too late for me, given that our desktop is in our bedroom and my girlfriend likes to be able to get some sleep off-camera ;) And while I'd just head into the living room instead, my the webcam in my laptop doesn't really work anymore due to driver issues...

In one word: yes.

Hmm, I'd prefer one single Hangout, but I sure wouldn't mind starting with the SQ one. It's been a while. I can attend both days, usual time. Maybe a tiny bit later if we do it on the 9th.

Given that the Space Quest Historian is finally in possession of a computer that works, are we going to have another crack at the "Other Sierra classics"-Hangout anytime soon?

I have absolutely no idea why Activision hasn't taken notice after we released the game. It hasn't been as well-publicised as SQ2VGA, but it's not as if it's a complete secret either. We deliberately did our best to fly under the radar when The Silver Lining was C&D'ed, and that seems to have worked. But it's not as if we've taken care to keep the game under wraps since then. On the contrary - we've spammed it to death! Chris Ushko has speculated that not having a number helped, though. There's no way anyone is going to mistake VSB or SQInc for an official installment. And we've tried to avoid directly using the name "Space Quest" where possible. But I think the best way to piss on Activision is to not give a damn. Especially considering how SQ7 was mauled when the team tried to be nice.

Eh, you weren't rambling. And I know more than a bit about rambling! I was a thrill to see your passion for this project on display like this. I think most of still cling on to the faint hope that something playable may one day see the light of day, Activision be damned. But yeah, it's a faint hope, but your project was somehow always there and its cancellation is still bitter, even if your disclosures of this wealth of material are awesome. At this point, hoping it'll somehow be released is something that seems to happen unwittingly. That's rambling. And tell you what... should you one day wish to piss on Activision's army of lawyers, you know where to ask for help ;)

Haha, yes... I'm sure that market is the raison d'etre of retro game developers ;)

Even more sorry ;) Nah, I mean no offence. For a variety of reasons, SQ4.5 has kinda become "The Game That Must Not Be Named" among a few of us. But obviously, opinions are just opinions. Glad you enjoyed it and found it worth the hassle! :)

It's odd that there are so many members who believe that it doesn't change anything whether a game is freeware or commercial, and thus they're against splitting up the awards. I think quite a few of us agree SQInc was snubbed merely because Resonance is commercial. And it's not just one fluke. I still wonder how the hell Gemini Rue could snatch up Best Background Art ahead of VSB. I'm not getting a big head here, but in that thread, the AGS forum members are talking about the "objective quality" of game components. Do they not realise that Marty's background art could be argued to be objectively better because that of Gemini Rue largely looks like it does to cater to nostalgia? 'Least that's my verdict. If you can come up with any reason for making a 320x200 pixel art game that doesn't include the word "nostalgia", I'd like to hear it.

I'm very sorry to hear that.

Considering it's SQ4.5, this is oddly appropriate :P

You're all going to hate this, but... So happy 30th, Frans!

I agree with pcj and Collector. I find it counterproductive to the indie-spirit that the AGS community seems to be supporting commercial games merely because they are commercial. That may not be the intent, but in my view, that's how it's come to appear. Something else about this troubles me. I'm generally not a huge fan of games that aspire to overly retro, but I can understand why people find them appealing, and I can deal with the competition on a non-commercial basis. However, I think it's becoming hugely problematic that Chris' monstrously impressive 2012 CG animation is squashed completely by a game that - I assume - screams "1993" on nearly all counts. When looking over the results of an award ceremony such as this, indie adventure game developers may go elsewhere with their designs, or choose to downgrade them to something that Sierra and LucasArts could have released in the 1990's. I may be reading too much into this. But, to me, it seems that while the adventure genre isn't "dead" anymore, it is in danger of becoming terribly stale. Again. No longer because of the huge game companies, but because of a large number of the creative amateurs.

Can't be there, I'm afraid, but I'm definitely rooting for Chris, IA and you and Jess :)

They'll be fine! If you avoid the zombie all costs, that is...

You generally shouldn't be in doubt about the sound effects once you've heard the digital ones. However, an easy one is that with digital sound effects, the intro has Roger Wilco landing on the SQ12 Xenon streets with a loud "thud"-kinda sound. If I remember correctly, there's no sound there when you're only using AdLib. If there is, it's bound to sound more metallic and tinny than its digital counterpart. If you have a RESOURCE.AUD with that size, it's the CD version. No question about it. I'm not sure why you're not hearing voices. You could try ScummVM, if only to see if it works within that?

Replied to your post as well. Cool idea, this :)

I couldn't care less about the "Olzen" and "Ferde" monikers, but James Mulvale may resent being called Jason...

I have all the Quest-collections I own installed, so I'm also game. I've asked Troels on Twitter, so let's see what happens. EDIT: Troels doesn't have time this weekend, so I suppose we play the waiting game a bit longer :)

Any news on potential special guests? LordKaT is an obvious contender. Scott also tends to be game, and Ken (Allen, not Williams) expressed his interest in doing another one. Anyone got any connections? I reckon the subject is still going to be non-"Space Quest" Sierra adventures. My WiFi works fine now, so I'm game. And if you're in doubt, the answer is no: Hoyle does not count as an adventure.