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Ok, before I can even get to explaining the thing I made: What is The Ur-Quan Masters? Back in 1992 an awesome game called Star Control II was released for the PC. It's a mix of space exploration, diplomacy, RPG, and a fun one-on-one top-down space combat action game, with a 50s/60s pulp sci-fi aesthetic and some really great writing. I played it years after it originally came out, and I thought it was spectacular. A bit after the PC release, there was a release of the game on the 3DO console. This one had some changes from the PC version, including that it was fully voiced. In August 2002, the creators of Star Control II, Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III, released the source code of the 3DO version as open-source. However, while the code is open-source, the name 'Star Control II' is trademarked to the publisher, and so the open source project to re-create Star Control II for modern systems was named 'The Ur-Quan Masters'. So what did you make? The Ur-Quan Masters is an awesome release of an awesome game but it has one major problem inherent in the 3DO source material: there are some differences between the voiced lines in the 3DO version and the original PC script - and those differences include the omission of information required to complete some of the game's (non-optional) questlines. In other words, the 3DO version actually broke the game's plot progression. The only way to finish it was to find certain places through blind exploration... and the starmap is BIG. Since The Ur-Quan Masters (and all its derivatives) were based on the 3DO code, they all inherited this same problem. I decided to do something about it. I made 3 mods - each for one of 3 different alien races (the Melnorme, the Mycon and the Syreen) to re-add the missing content. For the Mycon I just imitated the voice and effects for the few lines that needed adding. For the Melnorme I did a full re-dub of all their lines. For the Syreen I collaborated with a voice actress to re-dub the lines. Now all three are released and you can finally, finally play the game from start to finish, fully voiced, without the need for a walkthrough. Here are some videos of the mods: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWt2wj7pFU8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12CxK3KG0t0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2oQDA31zsc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2jBCErfG3s You can read more about them here: https://www.warpstormstudios.com/uqmmod How do I play this spectacular retro game? The best way to play the game is via the awesome Megamod release by Serosis. It offers the latest version of The Ur-Quan Masters and the installer includes options to integrating a huge number of mods, including a full HD mod as well as my fixes. You can get it here: http://megamod.serosis.net/Releases And in case I didn't mention it ealier, it's completely free.
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Mar 18, 2018 23:20
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 15:45 |
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I can attest to Star Control 2 being a goddamn awesome game that more people should play, since the 2d ship to ship combat with weird gravity mechanics holds up really well, and the plot is super solid and complex for such an old game. I think going so far as to mod in the missing pieces is nice, but the games way of pointing you places and actually doing stuff can be so obtuse it's just more rewarding and fun to just use a guide in the first place.
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Mar 18, 2018 23:50
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Onehandclapping posted:... the games way of pointing you places and actually doing stuff can be so obtuse it's just more rewarding and fun to just use a guide in the first place. I actually disagree with you there. When I played the PC version, I just made an note of any place that was mentioned by an alien on my 'go here' list, together with a note of what I could expect to find. I would then make it a point to go there. Invariably that would open more leads. That way I completed the entire game and all the sidequests without ever touching a walkthrough and without running out of time. I was never lost and never without a 'next place' to go check out. I felt it was incredibly elegant how it directed you to all the required places without holding your hand - the only thing that's a bit unfamiliar to more modern audiences is that there's no in-game journal to keep track of this stuff, you do acutally have to jot it down somewhere. There are games that are so obtuse that they can't be completed without a guide, but this isn't one of them. Really the only requirement is to exhaust the dialogue trees and write down all mentioned locations and anything that sounds interesting/helpful. Soul Reaver fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Mar 19, 2018 |
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Mar 19, 2018 00:19
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what information was removed? edit: sc2 without a guide on the first playthrough probably lead to galactic annihilation 99% of the time but it was definitely doable on your second try without a guide
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Mar 19, 2018 01:57
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Verviticus posted:what information was removed? personally i feel that there should have been a way to blunder into a Kzer-Za ending where they go and enslave anyone they or the Kohr-Ah missed
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Mar 19, 2018 02:06
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Star Control 2 and things related to it are good so I give this thread five out of five stars.
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Mar 19, 2018 02:18
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Do you have Brad Wardell's permission to make this thread?
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Mar 19, 2018 02:19
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Verviticus posted:what information was removed? There's actually quite a bit of stuff: Melnorme: The Melnorme 'Metachron' dialogue (second video) is completely missing in the 3DO version. This is the one and only dialogue that tells you about the time limit on the game, which is pretty bad not to know about on your first playthrough. They also mention that you can use Hyperwave 'Casters in Hyperspace to call them. They dont mention this in the 3DO version. Mycon The Mycon don't tell you where their homeworld is in the 3DO version. You have to know this in order to complete a required quest line to get a required item. This information is extra important becuase the Mycon have TWO worlds in their sphere of influence that start off having infinite ships on it, and if you go to one you may not realize that you're not actually at their homeworld. The PC version explicitly had dialogue at that world to make that clear. The 3DO version excised it. Syreen Relating to the same plotline as the above, the Syreen don't tell you the location of Syra - which is super silly since they have no reason to keep such information from you, and other than that they talk about it extensively. Syra is one of only three planets that contains an item that you need to finish the game. It's the only one of those three planets that ever gets specifically mentioned in the PC version - in the 3DO version nobody mentions any of them. The only other way to find any of them is randomly exploring (hostile) Mycon space, and since there's not much in the way of dialogue directing you that way, you won't necessarily know to go there or do that.
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Mar 19, 2018 03:05
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I checked the youtubes to see the voice work you added and it was better than I expected (I expected Skyrim NPC project amateur hour) which is a nice surprise. Also all the dialogue reminded me how good this game is and how you should all play it. Yes you.
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Mar 19, 2018 03:34
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Onehandclapping posted:I can attest to Star Control 2 being a goddamn awesome game that more people should play, since the 2d ship to ship combat with weird gravity mechanics holds up really well, and the plot is super solid and complex for such an old game. The Pkunk will almost always point you in the right direction. Their frequent attempts to migrate even force you to visit them, giving you an opportunity to ask what the cosmic energies have to say about your next move. Note to this mod: I did have to consult a guide to find the Mycon and Syreen homeworlds. I was wondering how I missed that information in the game.
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Mar 19, 2018 03:42
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SC2 is one of my favorite games of all time with gameplay that has never been emulated since, so good on you for bringing a bit of attention to what seems to be a bit of a forgotten classic. Hopefully the new one steam ends up good, but I'm sure not holding out any hope for that.
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Mar 19, 2018 03:42
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I appreciate the effort you put into this OP but I gotta admit I'm laughing pretty hard at what sounds like a Melnorme with an Aussie accent.
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Mar 19, 2018 04:06
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Internet Kraken posted:I appreciate the effort you put into this OP but I gotta admit I'm laughing pretty hard at what sounds like a Melnorme with an Aussie accent. I'm from New Zealand!  Why aren't you laughing at the Syreen with the American accent?  Plus if it makes you laugh, all the better.
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Mar 19, 2018 05:00
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Holy cow, I had no idea those holes were in the UQM release. Whoops! This is a hell of a service, thank you!Soul Reaver posted:I actually disagree with you there. My friends and I managed to beat it without a guide, but then buying all of the Melnorme's info was very illuminating. The worst thing, beyond tracking down all of the Rainbow Worlds, was finding a specific system in a constellation that (paraphrased) 'looked like a snake had swallowed an elephantine bulk'. Even with the copy protection starmap, that took us a while.
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Mar 19, 2018 05:56
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Bieeanshee posted:Holy cow, I had no idea those holes were in the UQM release. Whoops! This is a hell of a service, thank you! Yep, that location is one of the most obscure things to try and find. But you don't actually have to have the starmap and can get more specific info two other ways: The Thraddash will direct you to this specific location if you make friends with them and tell them to do whatever you would do (but then you miss out on the fun of having them rhyme or act like the three stooges). Also if you threaten Fwiffo enough he'll direct you there, saying it's where Spathiwa is located. But what kind of monster would threaten poor, harmless Fwiffo?
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Mar 19, 2018 06:25
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 15:45 |
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This is super cool. I've always been partial to the voice acting, since I first played this game on the 3DO, so it's crazy nostalgic to hear that stuff. I didn't even realize I was missing out on any pertinent info, I just thought the game was that obscure. This is a great way to give people the best of both worlds.
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Mar 19, 2018 12:03
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