SHP Forums

I have encountered some bugs not mentioned at the Sierra Help site and I don't know how to get further. I'm playing the DOS version through DOSBox/D-Fend Reloaded.
1. I can't watch the full intro - some little error message appears and if I try to press anything, the game window shuts itself.
2. The game crashes at the funeral - more precisely, during the third "screen" of Roger reading the eulogy (if it has any influence - I usually dislike talkie games, so I play with text only). I can't even read any message, something appears and the window quickly shuts by itself.
Will my saves work if I try playing it through Scumm VM instead? The game should work; if I remember right, it's a late version of SCI engine...

ScummVM only supports up to SCI1.1 and don't expect that to change anytime soon. Just use the installer from here.

Do you mean the Sierra Help installer? But will I afterwards still be able to play the game in D-Fend Reloaded?
Really, cursed be my cousin for having introduced me to this program. It sparked my screenshot-collecting mania and, to be honest, I probably wouldn't have tried SQ6 if I had no opportunity to save those sceneries...

Try the installer. If you still have trouble, run the diagnostic and attach the generated log in this thread.

I'd like to ask again. I've been checking for solutions again and I tried running the game (the funeral save) with a different setting - I "told" D-Fend Reloaded not to close the DOSBox window after the game crashes. This allowed me to see that indeed the "robots" bug is the culprit. Definitely there seems to be an error here - the "resource" file didn't have the "robots=" line at all. I tried editing it in the Notebook program, I added "robots=Users\Ewa\Gry\Space Quest 6\robots" (gry - "games" in Polish), later "robots=Users\Ewa\Gry\Space Quest 6\robots\410.rbt", but the program still says it can't locate the file. Could you please tell me what exactly should be written in that line?
Could it have any influence that I'm using Windows-era standards in naming folders, with space bar etc. allowed, while the game uses DOS standards and maybe can't understand the space is part of the folder's name? Or, to make it easier to understand: should I rename the folder "Space_Quest_6"?

I don't support D-Fend Reloaded, but remember that any paths in the RESOURCE.CFG have to be based on what is mounted as your drives in the DOS 8.3 naming convention, not the actual path in Windows. My installer will address all that is required.

I've not heard of D-fend or whatever - but if screenies (screenshots) are your thing - DOSBox does it (and Collector's installer uses DOSBox). Is there something D-Fender or whatever does extra with the screen shots? Like actually save them in your actual resolution vs the actual dos resolution?

D-Fend Reloaded is just a frontend for DOSBox. It just uses DOSBox's built-in capture. It is a rehash of the outdated original D-Fend frontend. What I don't like about it is that it litters itself all over the registry rather just saving its settings in an XML in the user's AppData folder the way modern best practices dictate. There is a portable version that may have a lot lighter footprint, but have not explored it. This is why I usually recommend DOSBox Game Launcher, or DBGL, for anyone wanting a front end. It does not touch the registry at all. But then, I usually only recommend a frontend for those that need one and only for games that I have made no replacement installer. I just don't like gumming up the system.

Collector wrote:D-Fend Reloaded is just a frontend for DOSBox. It just uses DOSBox's built-in capture. It is a rehash of the outdated original D-Fend frontend. What I don't like about it is that it litters itself all over the registry rather just saving its settings in an XML in the user's AppData folder the way modern best practices dictate. There is a portable version that may have a lot lighter footprint, but have not explored it. This is why I usually recommend DOSBox Game Launcher, or DBGL, for anyone wanting a front end. It does not touch the registry at all. But then, I usually only recommend a frontend for those that need one and only for games that I have made no replacement installer. I just don't like gumming up the system.

I guess I am not seeing the benefit to a game with a front end? Why not just use DOSBox? What am I missing?

No benefit to the games themselves. They are of use for those that are unsure of how setup games in DOSBox. Some like them as a catalog system if they have a number of games. DBGL and possibly D-Fend Reloaded can interface with MobyGames to retrieve box shots. My installers will add the games to the Windows game explorer, so a catalog system, game launcher from a frontend has no real advantage. But then there are the games for which I do not have installers.

Tawmis wrote: I guess I am not seeing the benefit to a game with a front end? Why not just use DOSBox? What am I missing?

As I understand it, it's best to think of a front end like D-Fend Reloaded as simply a GUI for DOSBox. It's not necessary, but for some people it can make using it a lot easier.

D-Fend needs DOSBox to do anything. It just does all the magical underlying config and autoexec command stuff that most people don't understand anymore. Turns DOSBox into ScummVM's interface, basically.

If you have to recommend a frontend I would go with DOSBox Game Launcher (DBGL) instead. D-Fend Reloaded stomps all over the Registry like an un-housebroken dog leaving it little bombs everywhere. Plus DBGL is cross platform.