The Beast Within

The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery
First release	1993
Also known as	Gabriel Knight 2
Developed by	Sierra
Published by	Sierra
Distributed by	Sierra
Platforms	DOS, Windows, Mac
Resolution	640x480, 256 colors
Engine	SCI
Support	Since ScummVM 2.0.0
Available for Purchase	Yes

The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery was the second game in the Gabriel Knight series. Unlike the first game, this game is a FMV (full motion video) game. Gabriel and his assistant Grace Nakimura travel to Germany where Gabriel has inherited a castle and the title of Schattenjäger (Shadow Hunter). The two investigate a case where a young girl was murdered, and the towns people believe she was killed by a werewolf.

Installation

Required data files

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

WARNING: Unlike other games, SCI games have significant variation in the naming of required files.

They also can load supplementary files by resource maps, so it is recommended to keep all files in the game data directory from the CD.

Unless otherwise specified, do NOT remove any file from the directory, even if it does not appear on the following list, since this will likely cause weird bugs.

Copy all files from each disk or CD to the game directory. Some games need additional work:

Games with multiple CDs

• Directories that exist on multiple discs (e.g. ROBOT and VMD directories) must be merged together, not replaced.
• Rename the RESOURCE.SFX from each CD to RESSFX.00<cdnumber>, and the RESOURCE.AUD from each CD to RESAUD.00<cdnumber>, to match the corresponding RESSCI.00<cdnumber> file that exists on each CD.
• It should be safe to replace any other files from later CDs that were copied already from earlier CDs, except in Phantasmagoria 1

Subtitle Patches

Fans have created patches which add English or Spanish subtitles to English versions of the game. The Spanish patch includes localized graphics of documents and signs. Both patches are compatible with ScummVM as of version 2.1.1. There is also a French subtitle patch by a different group which is reported to be compatible.

Each subtitle patch is distributed as a Windows installer. Do not run this program. Instead use 7-Zip to extract the patch files directly from the installer, which is named GK2Subtitles.exe or GK2SpanishSubtitles.exe. Alternatively, you can use any program capable of extracting files from a Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS) installer.

Install Instructions

Warning: Subtitle patches overwrite original game files. Do not apply one to your only copy or you will be unable to remove it.

1. Locate your GK2 game directory and note if it contains a PATCHES directory.
2. Download the English or Spanish subtitle patch from http://www.sierrahelp.com/Games/GabrielKnight/GK2Help.html
3. Extract the installer from the zip file.
4. Use 7-Zip to open the installer and locate the directory named SUBPATCH or SPSUB. This directory will contain over 1,000 files.
5. Extract all the files within SUBPATCH or SPSUB to your game directory. If your game directory has a PATCHES directory then extract to PATCHES instead. Overwrite any existing files with the same name.

Recap: Use 7-Zip to extract all the installer files from SUBPATCH or SPSUB to your game directory, unless your game directory has a PATCHES directory, in which case extract them there.

Known Limitations

Saved games created before applying the subtitle patch will not be compatible afterwards.

On systems with slower media such as SD cards, the large number of patch files can cause a significant delay when starting the game. [Bug #11353]

External links

• Wikipedia article on The Beast Within
• MobyGames article on The Beast Within
• Screenshots (Gabriel Knight Series)