This page concerns the development of Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers.
The Making of Space Quest IV[]
When we rejoin our favorite protagonist, Roger Wilco-janitor turned space hero-it isn't long before he stumbles his way into the future, courtesy of the Time Rippers. When Roger eventually visits one of his old haunts on the planet Kerona, the difference between past and present is never clearer. We see a three-dimensional Roger Wilco walking around in the flat, one-dimensional town of Ulence Flats from Space Quest I. Ulence Flats contains only 16 colors, contrasting sharply with the 256 colors of Space Quest IV. Indeed, the difference between Roger in Space Quest N's Ulence Flats and Space Quest I's Ulence Flats is so striking, it's almost incredible to believe how much graphic technology has changed. Sierra remains on the leading edge of that technology.
Vectors to Paintings[]
The earliest versions of Space Quest were drawn onscreen by Mark, using Sierra's own graphics tools. Because disk space was so limited, backgrounds were saved as vector images, which contained the instructions for drawing the pictures. When Sierra's art changed to 256 colors along with greater levels of detail, the method changed. Space Quest IV was the only game in the series to use digitally scanned artwork for the background, although Roger is still drawn onscreen using bitmapped images. While Space Quest III was a tremendous visual improvement over the first two games, it still doesn't compare with the realism that makes up the characters and backgrounds of Space Quest IV. In fact, Space Quest IV has to be seen to be believed. Let's go back to the beginning to see exactly what creating Space Quest IV involved, the best place to start being with the script itself. Before any work is begun, Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy rough out a first draft of the story's plot. Along with this rough draft, or outline, are sketches they make of the different scenes, or rooms, that will be involved in acting out the story line. Rooms are constructed of 16 priority bands, much like a horizontal grid, which determine where objects will be placed and where animation will occur. Control lines are added to establish where Roger and other characters can move in the room. For example, priority bands and control lines working together allow Roger to walk through an angular tunnel without passing through its walls. In a scene where Roger blows smoke, these same devices prevent the smoke from passing through walls or going anywhere other than through the passageway where it belongs. Once a room is constructed, the artwork for that sceneusually an acrylic painting on illustration board-is digitally scanned into the computer's memory. The result is beautiful, lifelike backgrounds of depth and detail, unlike those in any previous Space Quest games.
A Character Is Born[]
As for Roger himself, other than closeups, you normally see a character that was created in a box 33 squares high and about 16 to 18 squares wide. Changing the colors of the squares makes Roger appear to move as his shape and direction are modified. The background color, which is always invisible, assumes whatever color is behind it in the scene, which is how Roger is able to walk around or behind a building rather than through it. Roger and other objects in a scene are animated by displaying a series of drawings in rapid succession, the same way the individual cells of a filmstrip are given "life" when the filmstrip is put into rapid motion. And, just as a motion picture requires hundreds of individual film cells in a strip to achieve smooth movement, Roger's ability to move or perform an activity also requires hundreds of pictures drawn in different formations.
Programmers Take Hold[]
Once the plot has been approved and agreed upon, the Sierra crew begins the tedious process of programming the story, which involves writing detailed analyses for every room in the game. The easiest way to approach this tremendous task is to divide the game into different sections and concentrate on one section at a time. For instance, in Space Quest IV, the Planet Estros would be considered one section. The plot outline has been drafted, so next on the list is to map out the scene and then decide what will happen in each room of the map. Rooms are numbered and are always referred to by number. For example, a programming note for the room on the planet Estros in which Roger is carried away by the pterodactyl would look something like this: Estros Buttes Area ROOM: 315 VIEW(S): view.303 - vEgoPteraGrab MUSIC/SFX: sPteradactylCaw sEgoYikes DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS: The first time Roger enters this room (which will be from room 305) he is picked up immediately by the giant Pterodactyl. NewRoom to 297. Subsequent visits should he return to the area will be uneventful. Adjoining rooms are 305 to the north and 310 to the west. Things will be controlled by the buttes region regarding the Sequel Police. Detailed room descriptions such as this one also include where and what music and sound effects should occur. Dialog is included when it occurs, as the following example shows. In this scene, Roger must make his way past the Sequel Police, into the time pod. If the player moves correctly, Roger makes it to the time pod safely. If not-well, see for yourself. Super computer Landing Bay Area ROOM: 530 PIC(S): 530 VIEW(S): view.530 -vSPHQStuff view.017 - vSPoliceNoGun MUSIC/SFX: sPodMaterialize sPodDoor DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS: This is the Time Pod bay. Roger can arrive here either on foot from 535 or materialize in a Time Pod from 531. He could also come from 531 without materializing if he were to get in and back out without traveling anywhere. The first time he walks in from 535 he won't appear immediately. Two time pods are parked here. Before Roger enters a third will materialize. Two Sequel Police will exit the pod and walk to the dispatch terminal upscreen. At this point Roger will enter from the right side. Roger will overhear the Sequel Police making their verbal report to the dispatch terminal. "I have just completed a scan in the Labion sector of Space Quest II. No sign of presence at this time." If Roger walks upscreen he will be spotted and terminated by one of the Sequel Police. Fire upon Roger first delay 2 seconds after end of animation loop. "HALT" "Some people just won't follow instructions." Death message If he walks downscreen he will be able to enter one of the pods undetected. 'Hand' on pod- move him over if necessary. Roger enters pod. Door closes - sPodDoor. NewRoom 531. Although at this point the script is followed as closely as possible, dialog and actions can still be changed if necessary. For instance, the description for this room (530) originally called for two time pods to be parked and a third to materialize. In the final version of the game, only one time pod is parked, and the second one materializes. The complete set of progamming notes for one game can be hundreds of pages.
Mission Accomplished[]
The Sierra staff spends hundreds of hours not only putting the program together, but also playing the game over and over to ensure that everything runs smoothly and all bugs have been cleared. As in Space Quest III, the final touch of the program comes from Space Quest N's fully orchestrated original score. If you've had the forsight to buy a SoundBlaster for your computer, Space Quest N sounds like a movie production. In fact, the entire effect from the opening credits to the end of the game is the closest thing you can get to an actual movie on your computer screen.
Changes and cuts[]
Scott Murphy has stated that SQ4 was originally intended to use a parser interface, but Ken Williams told him to change it to an icon-based interface modeled on that used in King's Quest V.
A very early screenshot seen in a few Sierra catalogs shows that, originally, Roger had a white shirt (with purple sleeves) and gray pants. This would more closely correspond with how he's illustrated in the game manual. In the actual game, his shirt and pants are the same color.
The game originally had a title screen much closer in look to those of Space Quests I-III. This can be seen in a 1990 TV commercial for the game, and also survived in the SQ4 EGA conversion.
Room Removed For Legal Reasons
Parser to Point and Click[]
'Here's a little tidbit about how the parser interface went away and how management worked us. One day when we're literally halfway through SQ4, Mark and I were called into Ken's office. We were asked what we thought about using the (dumbass) point-and-click interface that they were using, in I guess it was King's Quest 5 then, and what we thought about putting it in SQ4. We said we wanted to keep the parser. Ken and Bill Davis asked us to talk about it together and then tell them what we wanted to do the next day. After the meeting, Mark and I agreed without hesitation as we walked out Ken's office door that there was absolutely no way we wanted the point-and-click. The next day when we came in, Bill Davis tracked Mark down and asked him what we'd decided. Mark told him that we'd decided to keep the parser, to which Bill instantly replied something to the effect of, "But you can't do that. Ken has already decided that you have to use the point-and-click!" Apparently they figured they had a fifty percent chance that we would make the decision and wouldn't realize that they'd already made the decision for us. That kind of mentality was another straw on the pile of last ones.'[1]
Below is remnants of the parser from the files.
Vocab.900[]
1 the article 2 a article 3 an article 4 el article 5 la article 6 los article 50 and conjunction 51 or conjunction 52 nor conjunction 54 if conjunction 55 but conjunction 100 it pronoun 101 this pronoun 102 these pronoun 103 that pronoun 104 those pronoun 105 them pronoun 106 themselves pronoun 107 him pronoun 108 himself pronoun 109 her pronoun 110 herself pronoun 111 i, me, myself noun 112 he noun 113 she noun 114 they noun 115 ya, you noun 116 yourself noun 117 we noun 118 us noun 119 ourselves noun 150 until association 151 while association 152 with association 153 without association 154 for association 155 about association 200 to position 201 from position 202 at position 203 on, upon position 204 onto position 205 off position 206 in, inside, into position 207 out, outer, outside position 208 below, beneath, under, underneath position 209 between position 210 across position 211 above, over position 212 through position 213 behind noun, position 214 ahead position 215 back verb, noun, adjective, position 216 front noun, adjective, position 217 around position 218 here position 219 there position 220 everywhere position 221 nowhere position 222 somewhere position 223 forward position 224 backward position 225 toward position 226 by position 229 of position 300 how adverb 301 where adverb 302 when adverb 303 why adverb 304 what, which adverb 305 who adverb 306 soon adverb 307 sooner adverb 308 soonest adverb 309 now adverb 310 late adverb 311 later adverb 312 latest adverb 315 normal adverb 316 abnormal, strange adverb 317 so adverb 318 again adverb 319 always adverb 320 never adverb 321 then adverb 322 up adverb 323 down adverb 324 together adverb 325 please adverb 326 away adverb 327 along adverb 328 overboard adverb 329 not adverb 330 almost adverb 331 affirmative, aye, certainly, ok, roger, sure, y, yea, yeah, yep, yes adverb 332 n, nay, negative, no, nope adverb 333 dunno, maybe, possibly, probably adverb 400 do auxv 401 did auxv 402 does auxv, noun 403 be auxv 404 are, is, wheres, youre auxv 405 am, im auxv 407 was auxv 408 can auxv, noun 409 will auxv, noun 410 would auxv 411 go auxv 412 cease, stop auxv 413 begin, start auxv 414 say auxv 415 says auxv 416 said auxv 417 have auxv 418 has auxv 419 had auxv 420 tell auxv 421 use auxv 422 holler, scream, shout, yell auxv 450 look verb 451 open verb 452 close verb 453 smell verb 454 move verb 455 eat verb 456 get verb 457 climb verb 458 talk verb 500 white noun, adjective 501 black noun, adjective 502 green noun, adjective 503 gold noun, adjective 504 silver noun, adjective 505 orange noun, adjective 506 blue adjective 507 pink adjective 508 purple adjective 509 brown adjective 510 yellow adjective 511 golden adjective 512 red adjective 513 grey adjective 514 gray adjective 1000 quit verb 1001 pause verb 1002 exit, leave verb 1003 restart verb 1004 restore verb 1005 save verb 1006 help verb, noun 1007 give verb 1008 stand verb, noun 1009 pour verb 1010 switch verb, noun 1011 turn verb 1012 flip verb 1013 press, push verb 1014 hide verb 1015 enter verb 1016 lift verb 1017 examine verb 2000 game noun 2001 inventory noun 2002 ego noun 2003 room noun 2004 door noun 2005 babe, female, girl, lady, woman noun 2006 droid noun 2007 death noun 2008 ladder noun 2009 blob, slime noun 2010 sub, submarine noun 2011 hatch noun 2012 bubble noun 2013 mouth noun 2014 dribble, drip noun 2015 eye noun 2016 tongue noun 2017 saliva, spit noun 2018 fin, flipper, fluke noun 2019 beam, laser noun 2020 key noun 2021 pad noun 2022 keypad noun 2023 mall noun 2024 butte noun 2025 manhole noun 2026 sewer noun 2027 burger, hamburger noun 2028 sign noun 2029 hose noun 2030 grabber noun 2031 dummy, manikin, mannequin, mannikin noun 2032 acid noun 2033 jar noun 2034 grate noun 2035 cyborg noun 2036 laptop noun 2037 panel noun 2038 keyboard noun 2039 button noun 2040 gear noun 2041 ship noun 2042 robot noun 2043 eyebrow noun 2044 arm noun 2045 coil noun 2046 wizz noun 2047 mat noun 2048 blotter noun 4000 0, o, zero noun 4001 1, one noun 4002 2, two noun 4003 3, three noun 4004 4, four noun 4005 5, five noun 4006 6, six noun 4007 7, seven noun 4008 8, eight noun 4009 9, nine noun 4010 10, ten noun 4011 11, eleven noun 4012 12, twelve noun 4013 13, thirteen noun 4014 14, forteen, fourteen noun 4015 15, fifteen noun 4016 16, sixteen noun 4017 17, seventeen noun 4018 18, eighteen noun 4019 19, nineteen, ninteen noun 4020 20, twenty noun 4021 30, thirty noun 4022 40, forty noun 4023 50, fifty noun 4024 60, sixty noun 4025 70, seventy noun 4026 80, eighty noun 4027 90, ninety noun 4028 100, hundred noun 4029 1000, thousand noun 4030 1000000, million noun 4093 unknownnumber noun 4094 !*, noword noword 4095 *, any, anyword verb, adverb, auxv, noun, pronoun, adjective, article, position, conjunction
Gallery[]
.gif "LloydSQ4CD(unused).gif (14 KB)")
SQ4CD development[]
Scott Murphy has said that SQ4CD was not authorized version by the Two Guys, that many of the changes were likely added by other developers, as neither Two Guys worked on it, and had moved onto other projects. Stuff like the changes in the Galaxy Galleria (Hz. So Good) were not authorized by the Two Guys, they had nothing to do with the changes.[2]