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SCUMM/Game Enhancements

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Revision as of 05:04, 15 June 2022 by Eriktorbjorn (talk | contribs) (Changed lists to tables. This is in preparation for adding another column indicating when the workaround was made optional.)

Introduction

ScummVM adds a number of little enhancements/workarounds to several SCUMM games, sometimes based on the behavior in other versions of the same game. Since some have expressed the desire to restore the original behavior, some games now have a Enable game-specific enhancements setting.

Note that disabling this option will still not necessarily make the game behave exactly like the original. Sometimes ScummVM's implementation of a feature always differed slightly from the original, sometimes workarounds are for game-breaking bugs, some workarounds are already optional, and some just aren't covered by the setting yet. That said, here is a list of the enhancements that it currently covers.

Maniac Mansion

Added Version Description
2.6.0 NES Fix Wendy's music not being properly stopped. Her music could suddenly resume even though her CD player was turned off.
2.6.0 V1, V2 Fix a sudden and complete freeze of the cutscene where Purple Tentacle is bullying Sandy in the lab (French version only).

Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

Added Version Description
2.6.0 FM Towns Fix animation glitch that causes the bird in Lima to disappear.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

"Macintosh" refers to the old 16-color version. "VGA" also includes the later Macintosh port, but not the FM Towns version.

Added Version Description
2.5.0 Macintosh All text is drawn using the font's defined character spacing. The original would sometimes add an extra pixel.
2.5.0 Macintosh Palette effects are emulated in black-and-white mode, and not just in color mode. This is visible in several scenes, perhaps most noticeably the lightning around Castle Brunwald.
2.6.0 VGA Fix some unusual cyan and magenta horizontal lines when Indy meets Elsa in Berlin. (This was already fixed in the FM Towns version, and ScummVM uses a similar fix.)
2.7.0 FM Towns Fix the color of the Nazis' uniforms while exploring the corridors of Castle Brunwald. They're green in the rest of the game, but the FM Towns version still had the EGA grey palette override in this part of the game. (The VGA version fixed this.)

Loom

"Macintosh" refers to the old 16-color version. "VGA talkie" also includes the later Macintosh port, but not the FM Towns version.

Added Version Description
0.5.0 VGA talkie Restore a missing line from the shepherds when trying to use the stealth draft on them.
0.8.0 VGA talkie Chaos no longer introduces herself as "Choas".
2.5.0 Macintosh Palette effects are emulated in black-and-white mode, and not just in color mode. This is visible in the scene where the dragon finds Rusty asleep.
2.6.0 EGA, Amiga, Atari ST Don't allow Bobbin to simply walk through the locked cell door when clicking just below it. This was fixed in later versions of the game, though not always in the same way. ScummVM imitates the behavior of the VGA talkie version.
2.6.0 EGA, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari ST If you use the Reflection draft on Rusty before examining him for the first time, show a close-up on him wearing Bobbin's cloak. This bug was fixed in later versions
2.6.0 All except VGA talkie Trying to leave the plateau before encountering Rusty's ghost no longer causes the ghost to teleport.
2.6.0 VGA talkie Fix the timing when Bishop Mandible uses the distaff so that it lights up four times, just like in other versions.
2.6.0 VGA talkie Correct the subtitle color (from white to green) on one line in the scene where you first overhear Bishop Mandible.
2.6.0 VGA talkie After you exit the caves you can go back by clicking on the cave opening, just like in the other versions. (It was still possible to go back, but you had to click on a thin sliver below the cave opening.)

The Secret of Monkey Island

"Enhanced" refers to the 256-color version with icons for inventory. Most obviously the VGA CD version, but sometimes also the Macintosh, SEGA and FM Towns versions.

Added Version Description
2.5.0 Enhanced Add the animated cigar smoke present in earlier versions to the captain Smirk close-up. In the VGA floppy version (I don't have the EGA version) the smoke was apparently only shown when playing the game from hard disk, not when playing it from the floppes. For whatever reason, the CD version only kept the latter behavior.
2.5.0 Enhanced Only change the description of the Mêlée Island clock tower between visits to the room, like in earlier versions. Not every time the clock is examined.
2.5.0 Enhanced Restore a few lines of Lemonhead dialog to the scene where he examines the small idol. These lines were present in earlier versions. This affects the English, German, Italian, and Spanish versions. The game is also available in French, but no version has been located with the old lines intact.
2.6.0 EGA, VGA Fix incorrect character on the copy protection screen of the French floppy versions.
2.6.0 Enhanced Don't stop the background sound when showing the close-up of captain Smirk. This imitates the behavior of the Special Edition.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge

Added Version Description
2.5.0 Macintosh When there is no Mac-specific music (most notably towards the end of the game), play the Roland MT-32 music instead. The Macintosh instruments are a sufficient subset for this to work well. (This almost certainly pre-dates 2.5.0, but this is where it was expanded to work even if it thought it was using an AdLib music driver.)
2.5.0 All Guybrush will speak when getting the map from Rapp Scallion. The game always printed the text, but since there is no delay between the messages you would only see the last one. The setting introduces a delay between them.
2.6.0 Amiga Fix Guybrush being drawn with the wrong colors when using the stick on the dog outside the governor's mansion.
2.7.0 All Fix Captain Dread's head animation when Guybrush tries giving him an object and then immediately talks to him.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

Added Version Description
2.1.0 Talkie Fix a distorted speech sample when Indy gets caught in the submarine. This enhancement is always enabled, since the original produces some aggressive noise. (The FM Towns and some Macintosh talkie releases work around this by reusing a different line, instead.).
2.5.0 All When skipping the intro, the window in Indy's office will be broken and Mr. Smith's coat will be on the desk, as if you had watched the whole thing.

Day of the Tentacle

Added Version Description
1.0.0 Talkie Fix occasional bug where Bernard would use Laverne's voice when interacting with the chewing gum on the floor.
2.6.0 All Fix some small graphical glitches with Bernard's Chron-O-John during the intro. The lid was slightly misaligned, and sometimes drawn mirrored.

Sam & Max Hit the Road

Added Version Description
0.5.0 All Adjust the position of the green goop inside the tank in the Hall of Oddities. It was off by one pixel, allowing a few pixels of objects behind to be seen without having their color changed.
0.7.0 All The "Loading Sounds...Please Wait" screen when starting the game is skipped.
2.6.0 All Fix some intro animation speed issues in the German and Italian talkie versions, and adjust the timing of some intro subtitles to sync up better with the voices for all known versions.
2.6.0 All When Bruno leaves Bumpusville, make sure he is properly erased from the screen. In the original, his heel gets stuck in the door.