Rath vs. SpaceVenture (Spoilers Ahead)

[Rath Darkblade]

When you played - the Rooter repair part - did you do the whole thing (with the chips) or skip? That segment used to be so much worse. Same with Rooter in space, after you're pulled over. Got easier later, but that segment is also a pain.

Yes, I repaired Rooter (no skipping) and also did the Rooter in space (no skipping). I also defragmented Ace's memories by hand, without skipping - not sure if I could skip that, but it was certainly a bit of a pain.

I think the only bits I skipped were the Cluck Y'egger bit and the iMum bit at the end.

I did find a few spelling errors here and there. Also, during the - um, baby character? (I forget his name) - he refers to iMum, in two sentences, as "iMom", then "iMum", then "iMom" again. That threw me out a bit.

Having said that, I really enjoyed the signs in the bar and in the convention. ("SKYWYRM" instead of "Skyrim" had me laughing my guts out. Clever. So many references to games, present and past - really well done, and in the same or similar fonts, too. Same with the bar - advertisements for "Imperial Stout", "Keronian Ale", and "Beam Me Up Jim". I don't drink, and even I got those).

I found this review to be quite accurate about some things: https://adventuregamehotspot.com/review/20/spaceventure ... but honestly, I didn't mind the interface or the save system. (But then again, I'm a Sierra veteran).

The reviewer is absolutely correct about the graphics, the sound, and the music. I loved the theme music, and the Taco Nova song; annoying as the latter may have sounded, it was hilariously annoying. (And Officer Quicksilver's "Bad to the Chrome" song was great). Major props to MusicallyInspired for those!

I'm not so sure about the similarities between Space Venture and Space Quest III. I remember some of the similarities that the reviewer mentions (e.g. Arnold-bot vs. Officer Quicksilver, Monolith Burger vs. Taco Nova, Astro Chicken vs. Cluck Y'egger ... and the main plot revolving around the Two Guys' work being hijacked by an evil corporation). But I can't remember Roger Wilco having to repair his ship.

Speaking of which: I really didn't mind the more "boring" and repetitious puzzles here, because they were fairly straightforward (except the iMum one in the end, which could be skipped, and the hydrolator bit on Tattoorakis, which couldn't). I eventually finished the "fixing the hydrolator" puzzle more by dumb luck than anything else.

Speaking of the hydrolator -- what kind of liquid does it dispense, if not water? Obviously something alcoholic, but why? To make Ace fall asleep? Nothing that had been said about the hydrolator, up to the point that Ace drinks from it, leads us to believe that it dispenses alcohol. This bit made no sense to me.

As for Gary Owens, keep in mind, SpaceVenture started in 2012. Gary Owens passed away in 2015. So, they probably had all the lines done and ready for Gary a year or two before he would pass. This is why they didn't do any of the changes I'd recommended later, that I think, would have made the interface easier to understand (a demo start, if you will). Gary Owens was no longer with us to do those lines, had they wanted to add anything.

I imagine in some places, they probably did some audio editing, to make lines match or even add some lines.

Hmm - the review above mentions something about that: Ed Kelly, the actor voicing the narrator, does a very good impersonation of the late Gary Owens from the Space Quest games.

Is that true? I don't mind either way, I'm just curious.