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So way back in the day, my Tandy 1000SX (or Tandy 1000 SUX, as I used to say!) didn't even have an internal hard drive; didn't even have a high density 5.25" drive! (Can't remember if the 3.5" was low density too!)

Anyway - got a USB 3.5" so I have been importing those disks to my external drive. Some of the more unique ones that I don't have installed on my computer (from collections that later came out on CD), I installed on my external from these floppies.

One such game - King's Quest V - 16 color. Made, specifically for the Tandy.

Check out the glorious game...

I managed to snag a copy of the EGA version, too. Initially by mistake, but am now glad I stumbled into it. The SHP KQ5 installer supports it.

Collector wrote:I managed to snag a copy of the EGA version, too. Initially by mistake, but am now glad I stumbled into it. The SHP KQ5 installer supports it.

It's pretty rough on the eyes! Seems like the SCI and even AGI games feel a little cleaner than this. But, like you, glad I had a copy - and now able to successfully run it from my external drive too!

(Not that I need bad graphics, and Cedric talking... not even sure if Cedric talks in the 16 Color version? I didn't bother getting that far when I got it installed to see if he did!)

Clearly I forgot I owned the 16 color version when I had my Tandy.

Probably because (back then) when I played Sierra games, it was with my (then) best friend, Shawn. And we typically played at his house (or should I say, in his father's computer room) - who, back then had a top of the line computer. So I probably played KQ5 mostly 256 color version - while I had the crummy 16 color version at home for my Tandy.

Shawn and I used to go 50/50 on buying Sierra games, and just go back and forth on who would have it what week/month. Until later, when games got more complex (like KQ5) and my computer couldn't handle it so I'd have to buy my own copy that would run on my system.

Digging through my Sierra boxes has brought back a lot of memories.

The EGA is SCI1. It is the same as the 256 color floppy version, so no speech. Unlike the earlier EGA games this is the same graphics as normal 256 color, but rendered down to 16 colors instead of the graphics of earlier games developed specifically. You know how good EGA can look, think of TCB. There were a few other VGA games that Sierra released a reduced 16 color version before they developed an EGA driver that could dither the colors.

SCI games:

• Castle of Dr Brain EGA
• Conquests of the Longbow EGA
• Hoyle Official Book of Games Volume 3 EGA
• King's Quest 5 EGA
• Leisure Suit Larry 5 EGA
• Mixed-up Fairy Tales EGA
• Police Quest 3 EGA
• Space Quest 1 SCI EGA
• Space Quest 4 EGA

Non-SCI Games:

• Gobliiins EGA
• Heart of China EGA
• Red Baron EGA
• Rise of the Dragon EGA
• Willy Beamish EGA

Huh, just did a search and I didn't realize there was a true-blue (literally, there's a lot of blue lol) EGA 16-colour version of Gobliiins. It's not very pretty, though, as it doesn't use dithering at all. Yuck. I have a 32-colour version or something. Maybe it's 64 colours I'm not sure. Will have to track down this EGA version somewhere, though...

I also still suspect a possible Eco Quest I EGA version out there somewhere...maybe not, though, if it hasn't been found by now. A key would be to find the box of an original release and see if it has one of those sendaway form cards for the EGA disks like the other SCI1 games did. Eco Quest was one of those games (possibly the only one?) that had an SCI1 and SCI1.1 disk release as well as an SCI1.1 CD release. They may just not have bothered with an EGA SCI1 version and just shipped the SCI1.1 with a dithered driver instead. I've long wanted this question to be answered so I can be at peace lol.

Well, well. Just looked in my EQ1 5.25" box and found this. Damn, now I have another one that I need to track down.

aHAH! This is pretty much veritable proof AT LAST that ECO1EGA exists somewhere!! Unless they put those in all the game boxes but Eco1 just never had an EGA version...it's strange that nobody has found a copy. I wonder if some ex-Sierra employees would know if it existed for sure.

EDIT: Ah, I also see that the Disk version I have of Gobliiins 1 has a variable 16-colour palette and a fixed 16-colour palette version integrated, but ScummVM will only play with the variable palette. Too bad.

Just run it in DOSBox.

Ah yes, KQ5... which I would always remember because of this guy.



That bird has to be one of the most useless characters ever. He is the Jar Jar of the KQ universe. He annoyed the $&@^ out of me.

[Graham falls off a cliff]

Cedric: Oh! Look out, Graham!

Me: Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Maybe Graham died so much because he wanted to get away from that annoying owl.