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LOOM™Would be cool to have the EGA version too(32 posts)(32 posts)
(32 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 23, 2015
I will buy this instantly if the EGA version is added.
Posted March 23, 2015
I would buy 10 copies if EGA version was included.
Posted June 07, 2020
IMHO, the EGA version is the best version and if you play LOOM, you should play the EGA version first.

According to various sources, the VGA as well as the FM Towns version are censored. It may not be much, but it will change the impact of certain scenes. What is censored? In one scene (only one, yes) there is no pool of blood, in fact there is no blood at all. The EGA version has that blood, and it certainly caused an immersive response when I played it... All the other scenes with blood were left untouched.

Also, the FM Towns as well as the VGA versions are missing one audio track from the original EGA version, the Overture, which is a two minute MT-32 MIDI track at the beginning (in the patched EGA version, as the original release accidentally skipped it too).

I played the EGA version with a MIDI soundfont, e.g. configuring fluidsynth to use soundfonts on Linux or - and I never tried that by myself, but it should be possible - in ScummVM directly, or using a Windows software like CoolSoft VirtualMIDISynth (highly recommended for both ScummVM and DOSBox). The Overture is, simply put, stunning!

The VGA CD version is the worst, it removes dynamic music in favour of being fully voiced, but IMHO the dynamic music is much better for a game like LOOM. If they wanted a talkie version, they shouldn't have cut the dynamic music, which they had to due to the limited resources of that time. IMHO they shouldn't have made it at all, because of this compromise.

Additionally, the VGA version (both, floppy and CD) has lots and lots of missing scenes, especially close-ups.

In any case, the EGA version is the only complete version. The FM Towns version comes close. The VGA version is a mess, it souldn't ever be considered to be a complete version.

Some people prefer the EGA version, some the FM Towns version. GOG.com should include both!

Resouces:
Comparison of EGA and FM Towns version: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=378995
Comparison of FM Towns and VGA version: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=802320
Fouther information on the differences: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=802320
Posted November 04, 2021
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Andtha: IMHO, the EGA version is the best version and if you play LOOM, you should play the EGA version first.

According to various sources, the VGA as well as the FM Towns version are censored. It may not be much, but it will change the impact of certain scenes. What is censored? In one scene (only one, yes) there is no pool of blood, in fact there is no blood at all. The EGA version has that blood, and it certainly caused an immersive response when I played it... All the other scenes with blood were left untouched.

Also, the FM Towns as well as the VGA versions are missing one audio track from the original EGA version, the Overture, which is a two minute MT-32 MIDI track at the beginning (in the patched EGA version, as the original release accidentally skipped it too).

I played the EGA version with a MIDI soundfont, e.g. configuring fluidsynth to use soundfonts on Linux or - and I never tried that by myself, but it should be possible - in ScummVM directly, or using a Windows software like CoolSoft VirtualMIDISynth (highly recommended for both ScummVM and DOSBox). The Overture is, simply put, stunning!

The VGA CD version is the worst, it removes dynamic music in favour of being fully voiced, but IMHO the dynamic music is much better for a game like LOOM. If they wanted a talkie version, they shouldn't have cut the dynamic music, which they had to due to the limited resources of that time. IMHO they shouldn't have made it at all, because of this compromise.

Additionally, the VGA version (both, floppy and CD) has lots and lots of missing scenes, especially close-ups.

In any case, the EGA version is the only complete version. The FM Towns version comes close. The VGA version is a mess, it souldn't ever be considered to be a complete version.

Some people prefer the EGA version, some the FM Towns version. GOG.com should include both!

Resouces:
Comparison of EGA and FM Towns version: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=378995
Comparison of FM Towns and VGA version: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=802320
Fouther information on the differences: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=802320
lots of hearsay and good old FUD
<rant>one would think that the readily available plethora of wisdom and info with the advent of the Internet/Web would set things somewhat right... but the thing is people don't change so easily</rant>
let alone you could play say the FM-TOWNS and the VGA talkie versions and judge it yourself - the game is *this* short anyway.
Posted January 12, 2022
As mentioned in another thread, someone - not me - went to the trouble of comparing the text of the EGA and VGA versions:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/123XL6kmSrSF7ntbcFoJY1EVrxmMnCiYTCZ3OQ6k9sQg/edit?usp=sharing

I don't know if "nearly a third of the original dialog" is really missing, as stated in this interview, but a lot of it has been touched in one way or another. While the story remains the same, they're different enough that it really would be really nice to have them both available.

(Of course, the non-DOS versions are interesting too. As far as I know the text is identical to the EGA version, but there are differences in sound and graphics.)
Post edited January 17, 2022 by eriktorbjorn
Posted February 22, 2022
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osm: lots of hearsay and good old FUD
<rant>one would think that the readily available plethora of wisdom and info with the advent of the Internet/Web would set things somewhat right... but the thing is people don't change so easily</rant>
let alone you could play say the FM-TOWNS and the VGA talkie versions and judge it yourself - the game is *this* short anyway.
Well, to me it's not hearsay anymore as I've tried both the VGA and the EGA PC versions, and the most apparent difference is right at the beginning: the overture. It's there in the EGA version, it's missing in the VGA version. Starting to play both versions, I could see some differences (not in dialog, or I don't remember, but in graphics and details). I then quickly decided to go with the EGA version instead, so I didn't finish the VGA version.

So, yes, you can try both the EGA and the VGA PC version. Why don't you? The game is *this* short anyway...

All of this doesn't change the fact that you cannot get the EGA version from GOG, which was the (missed) main point...
Posted February 22, 2022
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Andtha: So, yes, you can try both the EGA and the VGA PC version. Why don't you? The game is *this* short anyway...
your (slight) snarkyness is unfortunately wasted (I like good snarkyness) - I've not only tried I've completed both and even briefly studied the differences... Some good links are floating around here (hint: a trip to webarchive is in order).
And they are quite extensive, yet not enough so to really to want to play it another time (game is overrated IMO) or to casually call which version is defo better.

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Andtha: All of this doesn't change the fact that you cannot get the EGA version from GOG, which was the (missed) main point...
I haven't missed the point - I *dismissed* it as irrelevant. Getting it is at one's fingertips in case one wants it.

PS the above applies to the FM-TOWNS and the DOS Talkie version. No way I'm playing it again in EGA))
Post edited February 22, 2022 by osm
Posted February 23, 2022
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osm: your (slight) snarkyness is unfortunately wasted (I like good snarkyness)
I'm not a native speaker so sometimes comments seem rude when they're not, but I'm happy to have got it right this time ;-)

Thanks for being constructive and not dismissive. (I hope I got that one right. It's meant in a very positive way.)


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osm: I haven't missed the point - I *dismissed* it as irrelevant. Getting it is at one's fingertips in case one wants it.
Yes, this is true. But people who *buy* this game from GOG want to legally get it. At least that's my impression...

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osm: the above applies to the FM-TOWNS and the DOS Talkie version. No way I'm playing it again in EGA))
I've read that the FM-TOWNS version is between the two, better than the VGA DOS version but still modified compared to the original EGA version. I know I've enjoyed the game in the EGA version. I get it that graphics is limited, but IMHO graphics isn't that important in this game anyway. I think the devs got a lot of the things right in this game, and the fun I had playing it was confirmation of that to me, personally. Tastes are different, therefore I get it that people want the choice: while some want better graphics (VGA talkie version), others might prefer music and immersion (original EGA version).

I have yet to (find and) try the FM-TOWNS version. Maybe, if I decide to replay LOOM, I will look for it...

Still, about EGA in general: A lot of the charm of early computer gaming didn't come due to it's graphics... Immersion happend from different techniques than graphical realism. Some modern games get this as well, hence we see many pixeled retro-style games...
Posted February 23, 2022
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osm: your (slight) snarkyness is unfortunately wasted (I like good snarkyness)
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Andtha: I'm not a native speaker so sometimes comments seem rude when they're not, but I'm happy to have got it right this time ;-)

Thanks for being constructive and not dismissive. (I hope I got that one right. It's meant in a very positive way.)
Whichever it was, I said I don't mind.\
Unlike the majority of the facebook generation that's been convinced by its jesus that interacting in teh internets is just the same as real life. Which is absolutely horrible IMO.

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Andtha: Yes, this is true. But people who *buy* this game from GOG want to legally get it. At least that's my impression...
Yawwnn zzzZZZ
GOG is all talk and very little walk - it's a misconception by the casual consumers that GOG has been some savior for Yer Olde Skool Games. They've done naught in the big picture, beyond in most cases acquiring rights packaging and collecting money for some old bytes. "which you couldn't get anywhere before holy GOG came around" - the tune of most consumers and "analytics". Load of tosh.
It's only hyped up by people who can't tell dosbox from scummvm and LInux from Listerine and think if they say torrent in their house FBI gonna crash through their roof.

Thus absolutely no prob "getting it".

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osm: the above applies to the FM-TOWNS and the DOS Talkie version. No way I'm playing it again in EGA))
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Andtha: I've read that the FM-TOWNS version is between the two, better than the VGA DOS version but still modified compared to the original EGA version.
Sigh... No one of them is better and YES ITS ALL MODIFIED - IT'S CALLED SOFTWARE FOR A FRIGGIN REASON. Don't try to make up a Mona Lisa from it - it's just a bunch of bits and pixels. Deal with it.

Again if you want a pretty exhaustive list of diffs between the FM-TOWNS and the Talkie look for links around.
Posted February 23, 2022
Well, there's some truth to it: before GOG came along, it was way harder to legally get some games, and GOG did a great job to get some selected games patched for modern Windows as well. (I remember System Shock 2 was unplayable on Windows XP and newer before GOG made an–yes, already existing, but very unofficial and hacked–patch legal.)

It may be just the perception and maybe it's all not true, but still, I'm grateful.

And, yes, I do consider the original EGA LOOM to be the version, how it was intended to be played. And no, I don't like the VGA version. You can reverse it if you want: it's called software for the same reason, and I can choose that I want to play it how it originally came out. Just like the people who consider the original Star Wars episodes 4 though 6 better than the modified versions that came later. I think we can agree on the fact that it's very hard to get those original movie experiences nowadays, since they aren't available anymore.

And, yes, we can also agree that there are still ways to get the originals, despite the effort of George Lucas to not have them available anymore.

"Torrent". No FBI? Interesting.
Posted January 17, 2023
The talkie version has a lot of lines cut from the game, to save space. It is basically an abridged version of the story.

The EGA version is therefore the superior version of the story.

The EGA version should absolutely be made available as an option.
Posted January 17, 2023
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Stig79: It is basically an abridged version of the story.
No, it's not.

The differences between the versions (Ugly versions vs the FM TOWNS VGA vs the DOS Talkie VGA) are more subtle. The links to comparisons have been published here too.

There wasn't much of a story to begin with to be fair. What really abridged it was the fact that it's been apparently planned a series of a few games, not just one. Now that would explain the obvious lightness on the plot front. Not the cut content from the talkie.
Posted January 18, 2023
The EGA version deserves to be here. It's arguably the prettiest looking, and the most well made overall. I guess the art is a matter of taste, but to me clearly mork elaborate work was done for the original EGA version per scene than in any of the follow ups.

The CD Talkie has the voices going for it, but the dialogue is either chopped up or changed, and it also has those exaggerated hand wavy animations which every character does when they talk, and that I personally cannot stand :D

And, clearly it is possible to acquire rights for its distribution considering LRG got them for their upcoming physical releases. As they did with Monkey Island 1 and 2 versions too! The way this works with LRG, at least the way they explain it, they only acquire the rights for the limited distribution and then they revert back to the original holder.

But it does show that it is possible to do, if GOG and I guess Disney LucasFilms, are convinced to do it.

It's so sad that you can only legally acquire these old gems on eBay and such markets where they go for outrageous amount of money targetting only hardcore collectors. Especially if all you want is to actually play the game, rather than collect it for display / or reselling.
Posted January 18, 2023
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Stig79: It is basically an abridged version of the story.
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osm: No, it's not.

The differences between the versions (Ugly versions vs the FM TOWNS VGA vs the DOS Talkie VGA) are more subtle. The links to comparisons have been published here too.

There wasn't much of a story to begin with to be fair. What really abridged it was the fact that it's been apparently planned a series of a few games, not just one. Now that would explain the obvious lightness on the plot front. Not the cut content from the talkie.
Cutting story content\dialogue that was already there = abridging the story.

Abridged = less.

The EGA version is basically the Director's Cut.

Having the EGA version available as an OPTION for the ones who want to play it, does no harm, does it?
Posted January 21, 2023
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Stig79: Abridged = less.
and water is wet

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Stig79: Cutting story content\dialogue that was already there = abridging the story.
And if it's not the "story content" that's got cut? Rather mostly a couple of circumstantial scenes. Does it still somehow abridges the story?

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Stig79: Having the EGA version available as an OPTION for the ones who want to play it, does no harm, does it?
no one's said otherwise

The game is 1) overrated anyway 2) Objectively short/lightweight whether it's EGA or VGA or whatever 3) surprisingly disappointing on the sound/music front for a game supposedly centered around these production values 4) Want a more quality experience roughly in the same vein? Consider playing The Dig.
Post edited January 21, 2023 by osm
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This is my favourite topic
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LOOM™Would be cool to have the EGA version too(32 posts)(32 posts)
(32 posts)