Hardest Space Quest

[vonsterdmonster]

Great to be here.

 

Sorry it's been so long.

 

I see a lot of familiar names so its really good to know that you guys, and gals, stuck with the ole space janitor of the stars.

 

Seems like a good time to be a SQ fan though. Those Andromedans back at it, even if not quite what I'd want ideally, is a really good thing. More than a clunky old fan could ask for in truth. I'm looking forward to SpaceVenture, and I hope it's great.

 

May the Janitor Gods hand off to the Plumbing Gods and give some good ole spacequestish fun.

 

Vonster D Monster

[ArmyGuyDan]

EGA version of SQ1

[Capn_Ascii]

I have to wonder if some sequence on the Deep Ship was meant to precede Polysorbate VX because I can't imagine anyone could have thought giving so many characters no introduction whatsoever was a good idea .

Then you're obviously not a writer. Many writers can and do think that such a story setup is a good idea; so many, in fact, that there's a specific name for it: In Medias Res.

 

The entire point of this storytelling maneuver is to *skip* things like character introductions and get right to the meat of the story. Sometimes things are illuminated in flashbacks later on; other times (like in SQ6) you're simply expected to accept that the lead-up happened 'offscreen'.

 

There are a number of reasons to do something like this, but in SQ6's case, the reason is obvious - to escape the corner than SQ5 wrote the series into. As Josh has said before, SQ6 needed Roger to be put back in his old role as Average Joe-slash-janitor-slash-hapless semi-bumbling space hero. SQ5 was an interesting diversion into new territory, but keeping Roger as a captain created problems with maintaining the 'feel' of SQ for future games - it's hard to take Roger seriously as a comedically-downtrodden Everyman and universal chew toy if he's commanding his own starship and being hailed as a galactic hero. If you'll recall, SQ2 did the same thing - Roger's hero-ness from SQ1 is revoked by the time of SQ2 to allow him to return to his slated role.

 

Now, you *could* spend all of SQ6 with 'Roger being busted back down to janitor' as the driving plot of the game...but then it becomes more of a drama-based story. Instead, the SQ6 writers decided to do a bit of a time skip - we leave SQ5 on a high note, then come in to SQ6 to find that while we've been waiting between sequels, Roger's lot in life hasn't really improved the way we thought it would. Boom, comedy gold. ;) Again, SQ2 did the same thing - the only difference is that in SQ6, there are other characters around after the skip that he presumably met during it.

 

The real question is...do we, the players, really *need* to be formally introduced to these new characters? As a writer, I say...no, we do not. You (the audience) don't necessarily need to 'meet' a character at the same time the main character does. In some cases, you don't even need to know the specifics of how they came about at all. The idea is that you're supposed to *infer* such details - pick them up as you go. You don't always need an Introdump or an Establishing Character Moment to spell out everything a character is up front - sometimes it's more interesting to learn about them a little at a time, by observing their behavior in the provided framework of the story.

 

Does Stellar have any sort of proper origin? Nope - she just shows up in SQ6 unannounced, yet Roger behaves as if she's a close personal friend. Do I need to know the details of their first meeting or their history to *accept* that she really is Roger's close personal friend? Nope - their interactions with each other and his behavior towards her solidify their relationship in and of themselves. Kielbasa is clearly the irritated boss who barely tolerates Roger's presence; Sydney is obviously the Data-esque, straight-laced Robot Buddy that the somewhat work-shirking Roger tends to take minor advantage of, and so forth.

 

Personally, I had no problem accepting these characters' presence - especially since they were filling roles that, prior to SQ5, had been completely empty to begin with. SQ5 got good to us with its risky 'supporting cast' strategy - for SQ6 to carry on that daring theme without being tied down by SQ5's plot, we had to be asked to accept that we're not always privy to everything that goes on in Roger's life. Besides, the way I see it, it makes some degree of sense - as a serviceman who's been bouncing between posts for most of the series, it's logical for Roger's supporting cast to change without warning. We just have to learn to deal with it. ;)

 

 

 

 

...wait, weren't we talking about something before I started ranting? Oh, yeah, hard SQ games. :P Unlike most SQ players, I had no problems with the various arcade sequences and stuff like the Skate-O-Rama (barring timer glitches). In my case, the biggest problems were those of the pixel-hunting variety - not being able to find important things that need to be interacted with. The biggest puzzle I ever got hung up on was the hookah hose from SQ6, but not for the reasons most people give - my problem was that I couldn't find the right hotspot to connect the hose to the pipes behind the bar (specifically, the spot you have to click to break the pipe open). I spent months not being able to figure out what to do there, until I eventually realized that, hey, this weird new Internet thing that's just showed up might have the answer! I found the SQ6 walkthrough that Jess rushed through the game to write ;) on his relatively new site, and thus did I first discover the SQ fan community. :D

 

Side note: Personally, I had no problems finding the glass shard in SQ1 - mostly because I played the VGA remake long before I got my hands on a copy of the EGA version. The remake has the shard clearly visible and obvious in the sand next to the pod. Just another reason the remake is superior to the original. :P

 

*is beaten soundly by Frans*

[Troels Pleimert]

Who are we kidding. We all know the Skate-o-Rama will forever be the hardest sequence in the Space Quest series -- we're still getting requests for help on that one, and I'm actually getting e-mails/tweets from people who said my SQ Historian video on S-o-R helped them beat the game! -- so why don't we just all resignedly agree that SQ4 is, for all intents and purposes and broken timers, the hardest game in the series? ;)

[Dat Engineer]

so why don't we just all resignedly agree that SQ4 is, for all intents and purposes and broken timers, the hardest game in the series? ;)

 

I'll tell you why we don't agree - because it was never intended to be that hard. ;) If you play SQ4 on a normal computer, Skate-o-Rama is just another action/arcade sequence. On the other hand, SQ2 is unforgivably hard the whole way through.

[Troels Pleimert]

I'll tell you why we don't agree - because it was never intended to be that hard. ;) If you play SQ4 on a normal computer, Skate-o-Rama is just another action/arcade sequence. On the other hand, SQ2 is unforgivably hard the whole way through.

 

Ah, if we go by intention, then, and not the one that turned out to be the majority cause of frustration ...

 

I'd say, by design, the Goliath maze in SQ5 was pretty brutal.

 

The Datacorder in SQ6 was the first logic puzzle in any SQ game, so a lot of players had problems with that.

 

Oh, and the squid monster in SQ2. Seriously, does that guy have a pattern, or does he just show up randomly?

[MusicallyInspired]

In the mines? I've never ever run into that thing. Ever. I always follow the same path, though. I think he's only in certain dead ends.

[Troels Pleimert]

Sometimes when I screw up and double back, there he is, snuggling up to me and making me crap my pants. I think maybe he shows up randomly whenever you switch directions? Or are there some spots where he always is?

[MusicallyInspired]

I recall happening upon a large map of the mines, fully illuminated, from the in-game graphics. They showed various locations of dead ends where you end up with the squid. Not sure if I still have it around. It could be both.

[Troels Pleimert]

Mmm. "End up with the squid." Sounds romantic. Almost.

[Frede]

Reminds me of a CSI episode I once watched. One I do not particularly want to watch again, squids being a bit of a turn-off for me.

[Troels Pleimert]

Reminds me of a CSI episode I once watched. One I do not particularly want to watch again, squids being a bit of a turn-off for me.

 

Then by no means should you search YouTube for "dancing squid"! Bon appetite!

[Collector]

Then by no means should you search YouTube for "dancing squid"! Bon appetite!

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Frede]

Oh, it's that creepy Japanese dish. Yeah, I like sushi, but here, I'd be content with a hamburger...

 

EDIT: Actually, if you combine it with Ken Allen's Spider Droid theme, it's kinda funny.

[Troels Pleimert]

EDIT: Actually, if you combine it with Ken Allen's Spider Droid theme, it's kinda funny.

 

Thanks for the lol. ;)

 

Also, the "Taking the exam" theme from SQ5 works pretty good, too.

 

Edit: ... especially when the reference to the Psycho shower scene pops up. (Those high-pitched string stabs.) :D

[SteveHNo96]

Did anyone ever get this death to work on any version that was a talkie? Even legendary death guru MrWhitman on YouTube couldn't get it to work. Also, I picked SQ4 because I loved the game but got frustrated with it quickly.

 

 

 

Leave the arcade and head right to the escalators. Walk down and right. Hide inside Radio Shock/Hz. So Good after reaching it. Then leave and walk left to Monolith Burger. Edit

 

A waiting Sequel Policeman zaps Roger, who flops over and dies.

It's not over 'till the fat lady Orat spits... EEE-UCK! Well, I guess it's over. All over. All over everything!

 

[Troels Pleimert]

If you meet a Sequel Policeman on the moving walkway, it means the timer ran out. Or you strayed and tried to exit the mall. I'm not sure if any of these deaths are different than the standard "zap zap, you're dead" deaths?

[Torchiest]

Dredging up an old thread, but I have to say SQ2 was the hardest, just because of the huge number of ways you can get stuck without the items you need and no way to go back and get them.  I just replayed it today, and I STILL ended up at the bottom of the platform without the keycard. :wacko:

[pcj]

I STILL ended up at the bottom of the platform without the keycard. :wacko:

You just kill (or distract) the guard to get that using a rock from the screen before...it's not really a dead end state.

[Torchiest]

Amusingly, I just found that out about an hour after posting that while browsing around this site.  All these years I thought there was only one solution to that problem.

[Troels Pleimert]

As far as I remember, there's actually THREE solutions to that puzzle.

 

1) Rock, but no jockstrap.

 

Where you have the rock, but not the jockstrap. I think you can "shout" at the guard, which makes him come down the elevator, and then you can throw the rock in his face. Or maybe that doesn't work, so I think you just hide next to the elevator, and when he steps out to investigate, you just run into the elevator going up. It's been so damn long since I've done anything except the 3rd option. ;)

 

 

2) Rock and jockstrap, but bad aim.

 

Where you have the rock and the jockstrap and you just fire the rock at something (or miss the guard), which again makes him come down the elevator. I think, again, you just hide next to the elevator and run in when the guard comes out to investigate, because you can only carry one rock.

 

 

3) Rock, jockstrap and perfect aim.

 

My favorite -- and, apparently, The Two Guys' favorite, too. You wait for the guard to stand still on his patrol on the catwalk, and then you "shoot rock with jockstrap at guard". WHAMMO! Guard falls to the ground, dead! We like a bit of carnage, yes.

 

[Torchiest]

Yeah, I went back using the debug teleport and was able to get past him using your solution 1 and no items at all.  It was a pretty earthshattering moment for me lol. But there's still the gem situation, which I think can create an impossible dead end. Oh and the very last part of the game is UGH so stressful.

[Troels Pleimert]

Yeah, I went back using the debug teleport and was able to get past him using your solution 1 and no items at all.  It was a pretty earthshattering moment for me lol.

Thanks for checking that out -- I couldn't remember if that actually was an option, or if my long-term substance abuse-riddled brain had just made it up.

 

But there's still the gem situation, which I think can create an impossible dead end.

Yeah, you're pretty much screwed without the gem. Well, not pretty much. You are screwed. ;)

 

Oh and the very last part of the game is UGH so stressful.

You mean this guy? :D

 

 

Come on, everyone loves the MarrowMatic.

[JimmyTwoBucks]

You mean this guy? :D

 

 

Come on, everyone loves the MarrowMatic.

 

Aargrghhh, get it away from me, get it away from me!!

[Torchiest]

Man, SQ2 definitely wins the award for most deadly hall-roaming threats.