Space Quest VI Play Through.

[Tawmis]

My SQ5 Commentary is uploading - so I got SQ6 ready.

I think after SQ (I've done all of KQ, except MoE {on purpose}, all of LSL {except LSL4}, and now will be completing Space Quest, after SQVI). I think I am going to do Police Quest next (four games in that).

So I will have the main "Quest" series games that are EASY to do.

I've been saving Quest for Glory, because of the multiple classes. So I think I'll do QFG, and do Fighter.

Do some other games, come back and do QFG as a Thief. Do some other games.

Come back to QFG and complete the Magic User run.

Anyway - next up though, is SQ6.

[Tawmis]

Phew.

Just finished Space Quest VI. Another one that took 8 hours to beat.

Noticed this was written by Scott Murphy. While V was written by Mark Crowe.

And now I wonder if the whole thing with Beatrice was pretty much ignored in VI, as a slight against Mark.

Because really, there's no other reason that Stellar couldn't have been Beatrice in this game.

And...

Clearly, Crowe & Murphy work much better together than apart.

Although, I had fond memories of SQVI when it first came out.

I do believe this is probably my least favorite of the series for a number of reasons... which I will try to remember in the commentary.

[goatmeal]

Noticed this was written by Scott Murphy. While V was written by Mark Crowe.

And now I wonder if the whole thing with Beatrice was pretty much ignored in VI, as a slight against Mark.

Because really, there's no other reason that Stellar couldn't have been Beatrice in this game.

Isn't SQ6 pretty much Josh Mandel's baby (as the acknowledged "Third Guy From Andromeda"), with Scott Murphy only being brought in after Josh left due to problems with Sierra at the time? It sounds like Scott was there to clean up the game and just get the darned thing shipped out.

And, as I mentioned in the SQ5 Play Through thread, the "problem" (well, one of them) with time travel stories (depending on the established rules) was that any future SQ games were now written/boxed into a corner as result of the SQ4 storyline with Beatrice being Roger Jr's mother.

I would assume that feeling obligated to include Beatrice at that point was a limiting prospect, both creatively as well as in relation to the game series progression overall. I guess Josh wasn't interested in telling the Roger *hearts* Beatrice story just yet...

After all, why shouldn't Roger have more wacky galactic adventures before finally re-uniting with Ambassador Wankmeister?

[Collector]

Yep. Josh's game.

[Tawmis]

Isn't SQ6 pretty much Josh Mandel's baby (as the acknowledged "Third Guy From Andromeda"), with Scott Murphy only being brought in after Josh left due to problems with Sierra at the time? It sounds like Scott was there to clean up the game and just get the darned thing shipped out.
And, as I mentioned in the SQ5 Play Through thread, the "problem" (well, one of them) with time travel stories (depending on the established rules) was that any future SQ games were now written/boxed into a corner as result of the SQ4 storyline with Beatrice being Roger Jr's mother.
I would assume that feeling obligated to include Beatrice at that point was a limiting prospect, both creatively as well as in relation to the game series progression overall. I guess Josh wasn't interested in telling the Roger *hearts* Beatrice story just yet...
After all, why shouldn't Roger have more wacky galactic adventures before finally re-uniting with Ambassador Wankmeister?

Yeah, but the thing is - Stellar is pretty much who Roger ends up "Hearting" after she clearly indicates she's interested in him.

I just feel like this whole thing with Stellar was... unnecessary, and would have worked just as easily, and continued the Space Quest continuity better, if it was Beatrice.

[Tawmis]

Non Commentary SQ6 play through - watch if you're bored or want to see me struggle for over 7 hours......

[Tawmis]

And Commentary version -

As always with video sped up.

[Rath Darkblade]

... Really, there's no other reason that Stellar couldn't have been Beatrice in this game.

No wonder I was confused by SQ5 ... I played SQ6 before beating SQ5! *d'oh*

Although, I had fond memories of SQVI when it first came out.

Yes, I liked SQ6 too. It was less punishing. It was so easy to die in SQ4 and SQ5.

I do believe this is probably my least favorite of the series for a number of reasons... which I will try to remember in the commentary.

Oh, why? Do tell.

I've been saving Quest for Glory, because of the multiple classes. So I think I'll do QFG, and do Fighter.

Do some other games, come back and do QFG as a Thief. Do some other games.

Come back to QFG and complete the Magic User run.

Anyway - next up though, is SQ6.

If you do play QfG as a fighter, try to become a Paladin. It makes the game easier (and playing it as a "straight fighter" is also boring, because you don't have any class-specific quests - unlike the thief and wizard classes. The only thing a fighter gets points for doing is killing monsters, which is boring).

The Thief playthru also gets easier if you add a magic spell or two.

Just a couple of observations from a QfG veteran!

[Tawmis]

No wonder I was confused by SQ5 ... I played SQ6 before beating SQ5! *d'oh*

That would cause some confusion.

Although, I had fond memories of SQVI when it first came out.

Yes, I liked SQ6 too. It was less punishing. It was so easy to die in SQ4 and SQ5.

Well. The scene below the bar, I'd argue with you about. I think I died like 10 times.

I do believe this is probably my least favorite of the series for a number of reasons... which I will try to remember in the commentary.

Oh, why? Do tell.

I ... discuss it.... in the play through.
But I didn't like how some of it was well done 3D, but Roger was drawn horribly in comparison.
So many things are needlessly repetitive - like when Roger is in the brain and he jumps - you have to click the jump three times.
And throwing the rocks at the nanonites. Putting the M&M's into the stomach.
There's so many things you need to do multiple times.
And it didn't feel funny.
At all.
Zero funny.
Some of the puzzles were also not fun. And required several different things to make happen (like for the guy at the bottom of the bar).
So if you messed up, you do it over.
There was just so much that... like Roger... fell flat.

[Rath Darkblade]

Although, I had fond memories of SQVI when it first came out.

Yes, I liked SQ6 too. It was less punishing. It was so easy to die in SQ4 and SQ5.

Well. The scene below the bar, I'd argue with you about. I think I died like 10 times.

Wait a sec ... ooohhhh. Yes, the scene with the Terminator thingummy. Yes, that wasn't fun.

I do believe this is probably my least favorite of the series for a number of reasons... which I will try to remember in the commentary.

Oh, why? Do tell.

I ... discuss it.... in the play through.
But I didn't like how some of it was well done 3D, but Roger was drawn horribly in comparison.
So many things are needlessly repetitive - like when Roger is in the brain and he jumps - you have to click the jump three times.
And throwing the rocks at the nanonites. Putting the M&M's into the stomach.
There's so many things you need to do multiple times.
And it didn't feel funny.
At all.
Zero funny.
Some of the puzzles were also not fun. And required several different things to make happen (like for the guy at the bottom of the bar).
So if you messed up, you do it over.
There was just so much that... like Roger... fell flat.

Hmm. On the other hand, I quite liked the Windows 3.1 scenes. The "internet superhighway" scenes also drew a chuckle. Searching for files quickly became a little boring, though thankfully it does't take too long.

[Tawmis]

Wait a sec ... ooohhhh. Yes, the scene with the Terminator thingummy. Yes, that wasn't fun.

Yes.

Hmm. On the other hand, I quite liked the Windows 3.1 scenes. The "internet superhighway" scenes also drew a chuckle. Searching for files quickly became a little boring, though thankfully it does't take too long.

I love the Windows 3.1 bit. I had that for a wallpaper eons ago.

The super highway, I disliked. Was monotonous. Would be better if they did it like LSL3 through the jungle. Where ye click at the destination - and he just appears all over the place, until he just suddenly appears on the other side.

[goatmeal]

While the SuperHighway screens may not be fun to traverse, they are works of art...



...especially when combined! Everything matches up correctly, except for (a.) the road curving off into the distance in the middle of the screen and (b.) some missing parts of the lower guardrail:



I've corrected those areas as best as I could, and edited some of main guardrail in the lower-left quadrant:
[1280×667]



And here it is using the Waifu Deep Convolutional Neural Networks image enhancement program:
Settings: Artwork Style, Highest Noise Reduction, 2x Upscaling
[2560×1334]

[goatmeal]

The one thing that bothered me was still having the virtual wooden plank in your inventory AFTER you leave Cyberspace...

What should have happened was that the virtual wooden plank was allowed to remain in Roger's inventory AS LONG AS he didn't try to look at it or use it. However, once the player DID try to look at it or use it, it should have immediately disappeared from the inventory box with a silly text box message saying something along the lines of "Oops! It wasn't really 'real' and could not exist outside of Cyberspace. We regret the error..."

[Rath Darkblade]

"404 Error: Plank Not Found".

The superhighway scenes reminded me of M. C. Escher. *nods* I wonder if that's what the Two Dudes had in mind when designing it.

[Tawmis]

Oh, it's beautiful.

But annoying and monotonous if you click just slightly off and Roger walks back to where he was (especially near the top upside down, and the far right up and down).

Just thought it would have been better as an animated sequence.