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[1], 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 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 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 onward. At least to 2:50 to match the floppy version (this is 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 MIDI (preferably 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, and has been timed to work well with the Ozawa version. If you're using a different recording, you can adjust the timing by 20 seconds in each direction by using the slider in the Engine tab of the game's settings.
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. Or you may want to include more music than the original. E.g. track 10 seems to sync up pretty nicely with the cutscene if you include all the rest of the track, instead of just the ten seconds.
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 |
TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine non-bugs
While the support for this version isn't quite perfect, there are a number of things that may look like bugs but which actually aren't. The following have been verified by running the original game in an emulator. Most of them are music-related, and in those cases the names used to refer to them come from the printed manual and built-in Sound Test:
- The letters under the distaff are sometimes drawn with what looks like an incorrect font.
- Shepherd's Theme 2, which is used when the dragon carries you away, is identical to the Hetchel Vs Chaos Theme. Other versions play an up-tempo version of the Shepherds music instead.
- When exploring the dragon caves, the game will play the unused Overture music instead of Shepherds Theme 1.
- The Blacksmith's Theme begins playing while you're still on the plateau outside their guild.
- The game plays Cygna's Theme at and near the Shore of Wonders.
- The game plays Shepherd's Theme 1 and Glassmaker's Theme when you revisit their respective guilds near the end.
In general, the game is much more inclined to play music again after it ends or has been interrupted than the floppy versions are.