New Vista installer for King's Quest VI

[Collector]

With the discovery that the Windows version of KQ6 runs on Vista 32 without VDMS or the cursor bug, I have made a new installer for King's Quest VI. This version can install the DOS version (Windows 64 users), the VDMS solution for 2k/XP or the plain Windows version for Vista 32. All versions will allow CD-less play. The DOS version can be installed on all versions of Windows, but I have a routine to detect which version of Windows the installer is being run on to install the version needed for that version of Windows.

For testing purposes, I have not yet disabled the installation of the Windows version on 64 bit Windows, even though the game will not run 64 bits. I currently do not have 32 bit Vista installed, so I do not have a way to test the final results. It installs the right version, but of course gives the message that it is not compatible with Win64. Can anyone that has Vista 32 please try this installer and report the results back here? There are no files written to anything but the installation folder, Start Menu and Desktop. The only Registry entry on Vista is for the uninstaller (the 2k/XP version also sets Compatibility flags in the registry) if anyone is worried about that. A future version may also include integration into the Vista Games Explorer.

New Vista installer for King's Quest VI

[Daventry]

Collector,

Thank you for this wonderful installer! King's Quest VI is one of my favorite adventure games, so I'm very happy to be able to replay the Windows version of this classic without much hassle. I have some findings to report that you may find interesting and a few minor questions that I was hoping you could answer:

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System info: I installed the Windows version of KQVI from the Roberta Williams Anthology (disc 2) on a computer running XP. As requested by the setup program, I downloaded and installed VDM sound. No problems here.

Test-run specifics:

-KQVI without movie support runs flawlessly. As expected, the Sierra logo clip and introduction clip do not play. Most importantly, the infamous cursor bug *is NOT* present.
-KQVI with movie support plays the two clips as expected. However the cursor bug *is* present.

-Both versions include the hi-res character portraits unique to the Windows version (just including this detail in case it isn't obvious).
-Both versions require the Windows display settings to be manually adjusted to 640x480 in order to play in full screen. Otherwise the game plays in a small window.

Questions:

1) Do you know why the cursor bug is absent in the non-movie version but present in the movie version? This isn't a big deal since the individual avi clips can be run separately in Windows, but I'm just wondering if this small problem can be fixed somehow.

2) Is there any way to program the game to run in full screen without having to adjust the Windows display settings manually? Once again this isn't much of a problem, I'm just curious.
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Thanks again for this excellent installer. Now I can finally play the Windows version of KQVI w/o the cursor bug.

[Collector]

The EXE that does not support movies comes from a LSL game. It will start in XP without VDMS, but it never had AVI support built in. This was a discovery by David Gherbaz. It is rare find as interpreters from one game are usually not compatible with another game. If Compatibility mode doesn't force it to 640x480, you have to change it outside of the game. You can try MultiRes to make the change on the fly.

[Daventry]

Thanks for your reply Collector. I downloaded MultiRes as you recommended, and it makes booting the game much more convenient.

One last Q: does Vista play the movies and fix the cursor bug? I'm guessing yes, since you mentioned Vista can run the plain Windows version w/o VDM Sound installed. I don't have Vista right now, but I'm curious because I'll be getting a new computer this summer.

Thanks!

[Collector]

Yes, the original EXE works in Vista 32 (16 bit code doesn't work in 64) without VDMS and the cursor view refreshes on change. The installer will detect if it is being run on Vista and install the original EXE with no VDMS.

[Daventry]

Hey Collector, sorry to bother you again, but I came across a problem while playing: the game freezes after the swamp fight scene on the Isle of Wonder. I saw your solution on SierraHelp.com, but I'm not sure how to change the audio settings with the Windows version. Any ideas?

[Collector]

I have not heard of it happening with the Windows version. This elusive error is one that I have never been able to reproduce. I can't explore it if I can't get it to happen. Can you post your save game? You could try to do things in a different order and see if you still get the lockup.

[Daventry]

I'll go help Beast first to see if that fixes things.

I tried to attach the save file ("Kq6sg.w12") but got a message saying that .w12 extensions are not allowed?



UPDATE: helping Beast first does not fix the freeze-up

[Collector]

Zip it.

[Daventry]

Zip file attached.

[Daventry]

Hey Collector, one other thing I've noticed while playing is that the music becomes "tinny-sounding" whenever I accidently click my mouse on the Windows taskbar. I play full-screen (640x480) with the taskbar moved all the way down and try my best not to touch it at all. But still sometimes I unintentionally tap it while trying to move Alexander to the bottom of the screen. Do you know why this happens?

[Collector]

Hey Collector, one other thing I've noticed while playing is that the music becomes "tinny-sounding" whenever I accidently click my mouse on the Windows taskbar. I play full-screen (640x480) with the taskbar moved all the way down and try my best not to touch it at all. But still sometimes I unintentionally tap it while trying to move Alexander to the bottom of the screen. Do you know why this happens?

This can happen when the game's window looses focus. You can right click the taskbar, choose "Properties" and uncheck "Keep the taskbar on top of other windows". This will hide the taskbar behind the game's window.

Here is a save game. I was not able to get the lockup, so I just left the swap after the cut scene and saved the game. Just overwrite your old save game with it.

[Daventry]

Thanks for all your help Collector

[Collector]

No problem.

[Downtown Drunk]

I am running DoxBox with Windows 3.11 and I have run into the same glitch where the game freezes before the swamp fight scene ends on the Isle of Wonder. Any suggestions?