King's Quest IV AGI

[HappehLemons]

How uncommon is this? I ordered King's Quest I off Amazon the other day and the seller put King's Quest IV in the box (Complete with it's 3 3.5 disks and 6 5.25 disks) by accident and not King's Quest I and it looks like it's the 2.0 AGI version. I told the seller and she actually gave me a full refund and let me keep everything. So in the end I paid nothing.. but I was just wondering the rarity status on it?

[Collector]

It's more rare than KQ1, either AGI or SCI. V2 is the one that has the "Beam me" Easter egg and still has the debug mode enabled.

[envisge0ne]

Some people would kill to get a copy of the 2.0 version (not literally I hope)

[HappehLemons]

How's the debug mode accessed? Anything really special about it? I've actually never played KQIV so please don't spoiling anything

[Collector]

Alt+D. Debug can allow you to do things like teleport to different rooms and change variables. It also can let you access an Easter egg that can not be accessed in normal game play. Enter debug mode and press enter until you get to the command prompt and type "pirate" and Enter. King's Quest IV AGI Easter Eggs.

[Rakeesh]

Recently I finished KQIV, but then I got my hands on KQIVAGI, so I decided to replay the game by playing the AGI version too

KQIVAGI represents an oddity in itself since it is the only Sierra game released in two versions (KQI doesn't count since it was a remake). I really wonder what is the story behind this.

Other than that, I have been hearing that the AGI version is very rare: it was withdrawn from the stores since the SCI version was by far more popular, and furthermore it was never included in subsequent collections.

Actually the sceneries are quite similar in both versions, so I am thinking that the game was primarily made in SCI and then the graphics were 'degraded' in 160x200 AGI resolution. Or should we imagine two separate teams simultaneously designing the same graphics and sounds? If so, it would be a great pity if an original AGI production was scrapped like this.

BTW I noticed a couple of small differences between the two versions: when feeding the dwarfs, Rosella doesn't notice that the last dwarf takes two plates (although he is clearly seen by the player). Also, Rosella does not lie down 'seeing stars' when falling from heights. The ocean sparkles, the whale's mouth drops saliva (removed from the SCI version) and the dolphin arrives at the south of the island.

Tell me if you have also noticed any

[Collector]

Don't forget that KQ4 is the first SCI game. The AGI version was co-produced with the SCI for the many customers who's computers did not meet the high hardware requirements of the new SCI engine. Customers that could not run the SCI version were able to send in the SCI version for an AGI replacement. Tawm has mentioned that his copy came with both.

As for the differences, mostly the stories are the same. The AGI has Easter eggs that are not present in the SCI, such as the Pirate and the "Beam me" Easter eggs. There are also differences between the different versions of SCI. MusicallyInspired has posted screenshots that illustrate this, but I don't believe that he has posted them here. If he sees this still has the images, perhaps he will add them to this thread. The SCI Studio Help file has this image that compares graphical differences between the SCI and AGI:

http://sierrahelp.com/SCI/SCIStudio3Hel ... rview.html

[Rakeesh]

Also, I noticed that Rosella's walking is very awkward and ugly. I would suppose that AGI is a demo version of the finished product!

BTW I am having version 2.0 which luckily, is the only one with the easter eggs!

[Rakeesh]

The AGI has Easter eggs that are not present in the SCI, such as the Pirate and the "Beam me" Easter eggs.

I have read about the 'rap' easter egg, which is not mentioned in your list. You type 'rap kq' and Rosella dances in the cell. As I haven't killed Lolotte yet, I haven't verified this.

Oh, the pirate egg doesn't work :S

[envisge0ne]

If you have KQ4 AGI ver 2.0, then the pirate easter egg should work. At the copy protection screen, you hit Alt-D, then type in pirate

[Akril]

KQIVAGI represents an oddity in itself since it is the only Sierra game released in two versions (KQI doesn't count since it was a remake). I really wonder what is the story behind this.

Maybe I'm not understanding you entirely, but several Sierra games have had two or more different versions released. There was an EGA version of KQ5, a VGA version of LSL6, and EGA versions of the SQ1 remake and SQ5 (you can read more about them here).

There are several screenshots depicting the differences between the AGI and SCI versions of KQ4 here, and even more alternate screenshots on this page of the KQ wiki.

(Also, the "rap kq" Easter Egg only works in version 2.0 of KQ4 AGI.)

[Collector]

Maybe I'm not understanding you entirely, but several Sierra games have had two or more different versions released.

The difference is that most of these other versions were later SCI remakes, usually not 1to1, of earlier AGI games, outside of the few EGA SCI games that were released at the same time as the VGA, that were the same save for the EGA pallet. Conquests of the Longbow EGA and VGA for example. As I said in an earlier post, the two were co-produced at the same time. If they had not released both, many would not have had the hardware to play the game. Remember, back then an average PC might have cost in excess of $1500, not counting for inflation.

[Rakeesh]

Some other notes

The magic hen does not walk on the table, it stands still
Night does not fall as soon as you finish your 3 tasks. It falls real-time, when clock shows 9:00
The artifacts you exhume from the graves don't appear in the holes
Betty Cowden's ghost doesn't materialize after you enter the room. It is already there (however she de-materializes when you give her the object)

[Collector]

might be more of a matter of AGI limitations. Some of those things might be harder to do in AGI. SCI gave the designers greater latitude and possibilities.

[Rakeesh]

Finished

Now I guess I should try v. 1.000.111