Loom

Loom
First release	1990
Also known as
Developed by	Lucasfilm Games
Published by	Lucasfilm Games, Disney
Distributed by	(unknown)
Platforms	Amiga, Amiga CDTV, Atari ST, DOS FM Towns, Macintosh, PC-Engine/Turbografx CD
Resolution	320x200, 16 colors (original) or 256 colors (later versions)
Engine	SCUMM
Support	Since ScummVM 0.2.0
Available for Purchase	Yes

Loom was the fourth game to use the SCUMM scripting language. The game follows Bobbin Threadbare as he learns how to use his magical powers through his distaff and as he eventually saves the world from the Lord of Chaos, who was unraveling the Loom (the source of power for the members of the weaver's guild).

Game Variants

The DOS CD version of this was a "talkie version" presented in 256 colors, however unlike most talkie games the speech came from CDDA tracks on the CD. Due to limitations in lip-syncing at the time, the DOS CD version did not include the scenes where the characters were presented in close-up shots. The FM Towns CD version was also presented in 256 colors, however it was not a talkie. As a result, the close-up shots were present in the FM Towns versions.

The DOS floppy EGA version contained only 16 colors.

Installation

Required data files

For more information on how ScummVM uses game data files, see the user documentation.

Amiga, Atari ST, FM-TOWNS, PC EGA, PC Demo

• *.LFL

PC CD

• DISK01.LEC
• *.LFL
• Steam and GOG.com versions also have a CDDA.SOU file that is needed for speech.

Macintosh

• Loom™
• *.LFL

Note: The ™ can be omitted from the file name

TurboGrafx/PC Engine

• *.LFL
• *pce.cdbios (Japanese version only)
• *How to dump the CD

Audio tracks

For more information about how to use the FM-Towns and PC CD audio tracks with ScummVM, see the user documentation.

As of ScummVM 2.6.0, it's also possible to replace the music in the floppy versions with extracted audio tracks. These can be taken from any recording of Tchaikovsky's ''Swan Lake'', though depending on which one you use you may have to do some editing to get to the relevant parts. George "The Fat Man" Sanger used the Seiji Ozawa recording, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as tempo reference, so that one will be used as one of the examples here along with its track names. Track times, where given, are approximations based on the Ozawa recording.

Track	Purpose	FM Towns	TurboGrafx-16	Seiji Ozawa	Track Name	Comment
1	Overture	1 or 9	14	17, CD 1	Act II: No. 10 Scène: Moderato	It's also possible to use Act II: No. 14 Scène: Moderato, since they're pretty much identical.
2	Intro	2 or 10	15	5, CD 1	Act I: No. 4 Pas de trois, I Intrada: Allegro
3	Clerics	3 or 11	16	6, CD 1	Act I: No. 4 Pas de trois, II Andante sostenuto
4	Blacksmiths	4 or 12	17	8, CD 1	Act I: No. 4 Pas de trois, IV Moderato
5	Shepherds / Caves	5 or 13	18	14, CD 1	Act I: No. 6 Pas d'action: Andantino quasi moderato - Allegro	0:00 - 2:25. This is presumably the Andantino quasi moderato part.
6	Dragon (abduction)	5 or 13	18	14, CD 1	Act I: No. 6 Pas d'action: Andantino quasi moderato - Allegro	2:25 - 2:50. This is presumably the Allegro part. No. 7 Sujet, which is part of the same track, isn't used in the game at all.
7	Glassmakers	6 or 14	19	23, CD 1	Act II: No. 13 Danse des cyganes, IV Allegro moderato
8	Weavers (Elders and End Credits)	7 or 15	20	20, CD 2	Act IV: No. 26 Danse des petits cygnes: Moderato
9	Final Confrontation	8 or 16	21	22, CD 2	Act IV: No. 28 Scène finale: Andante - Allegro agitato breve. Moderato e maestoso - Moderato	1:01 and onwards. At least to 2:50 to match the floppy version (this is presumably the Allegro agitato breve part), or all of the rest of the track to match FM Towns. The game is unlikely to play all of it either way.
10	Lightning Strikes	1 or 9	14	17, CD 1	Act II: No. 10 Scène: Moderato	1:48 - 1:58
11	Tearing the Pattern	8 or 16	21	22, CD 2	Act IV: No. 28 Scène finale: Andante - Allegro agitato breve. Moderato e maestoso - Moderato	2:42 - 2:50

If you want to be able to switch between original and recorded music, you can put the recorded music in a separate folder and set the game's Extra path to point to it. That way you can use the same game entry (and therefore the same savegames) for both, allowing you to compare them to make sure you got the correct music.

The Overture is only used by the EGA version, when using Roland MT-32 sound. It should be timed so that music reaches a crescendo as the screen changes to eventually show the Lucasfilm and Loom logotypes, but since not every recording is the same the timing can be adjusted in the Engine tab for the game.

Tracks 10 and 11 are short musical stings that can be a bit tricky to extract cleanly. If you don't want to go to the trouble, don't worry about it. The game will play the original music if an audio track is missing.

Default controls

To change these controls, use the Keymaps tab in the global or game-specific settings. For more information, see the user documentation

Hotkey	Description
Ctrl + 0-9	Loads saved game
Alt + 0-9	Saves game
Crtl + Alt + d	Starts the debugger
Crtl + f	Toggles fast mode on/off
Crtl + g	Toggles really REALLY fast mode on/off
Crtl + t	Switches between 'Speech only', 'Speech and Subtitles' and 'Subtitles only'
Tilde ~	Shows/hides the debugging console
[ and ]	Changes music volume down/up
- and +	Changes text speed slower/faster
F5	Displays the save/load window
Alt + F5	Displays the original save/load window, if the game has one.
Space	Pauses
Period .	Skips current line of text in some games
Enter	Simulates left mouse button click
Tab	Simulates right mouse button click

External links

• Wikipedia article on Loom
• MobyGames entry for Loom
• Screenshots