Hi - obviously there are some problems running KQ8, but it appears that there are solutions that work for most people. My question is, have any of you been able to play GOG's version all the way to the end?

There was a problem with GOG's Tex Murphy: Pandora Directive and it was apparent that NOBODY in the forums had actually played GOG's version all the way through (because it was impossible to do so at the time), and that I was one of the few who had played the game long enough to get to the bugs.

Just last night i was able to finish the game.

I had 3 issues that almost prevented me from completing it.

The axe freezeing scene: Installed visualbasic 6 runtime, and used first person view to get around it.

Weapon shop in the underground regions. talking to a pick axe wielding gnome and then running ot the gun shop in the first person view prevented a freeze there.

Weapon shop in the barren region. for this one, nothing worked for me except disabling all shadows. thne it didn't freeze. So it left me wondering if temporarily disabling all shadows could be a workaround for all 3 freezing scenes.
Havent tested it, but its worth a try for those stuck.

Anyways, its a great game. Glad i played through it :)

I tried years ago when it first came out. Just way to buggy to be enjoyable. Sad because the story seemed good and I liked the music.

Weapons shop in the barrens, try walking into the shop backwards.

Actually walking into the shop backwards might also help with the shops in the Gnome Realms too.

Other thinggs to try;
[url=http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/King's_Quest:_Mask_of_Eternity#Technical_Support]http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/King's_Quest:_Mask_of_Eternity#Technical_Support[/url]

Sadly all bugs from back in the day that never got patched. I experienced all of these when the game first came out. All you can do is save early and often.

Apparently these bugs (and also the optical drive bug) have been fixed by Collector at Sierrahelp.com, but they only can be installed onto the CD version of the game... Apparently his patch will also remove all the "level loading' between levels as well....

Unfortunately no way to use it to patch the GOG version.

Hi Baggins,

Looking at the Sierrahelp.com website, I guess you must mean the download under the "New Sierra Game Installers" :
http://sierrahelp.com/Patches-Updates/NewSierraInstallers.html#K
Oh, yes, now I see the name "Collector" in the New Installer Readme.

Using the new installer... short version:
You can get some patched files from the installer file if you just unzip it and copy them into your game directory tree in the corresponding places but try at own risk.

Using the new installer... long version:
You shouldn't run the installer since GOG didn't give us a disk image (like game.gog in other games) but you can partially use it (at own risk) because it turns out that you can treat the downloaded .exe file as a .zip file and unzip it with a utility like 7-zip. Change the extension from .exe to .zip if you have to. Don't unzip it into your game folder! Unzip it to it's own folder and you can explore what's in there. During the unzip, it might ask you if you want to overwrite Options.cs. "Yes" sets it for 3dfx/glide and "No" sets it up for software mode. Choose "No" if unsure, you can redo the unzip later if you want and then choose yes to see the difference. Then there's an error message about SHP.ICO but I ignore that. Inside the unzipped folder, there's a Mask.exe there but I don't recommend using it since it's not set to load new worlds... it can only load a game that is in the same world as the last world played in / loaded. So what good is this? Well, there are some folders with subfolders named "patch". These correspond to game folders and you can copy all those patched files into your game's directory tree and then hope they fix something. I would backup all of your game's original patch files if I was you in case you want to change things back.


Notes:

I've made it to the Barren Lands and I can confirm the 3 places mentioned previously as control-freezing points. I have my own fixes for these that I will post about elsewhere.

It looks like gnome\patch\WEAPNGNM.CS fixes the game freeze in the gnome's weapon shop.

I don't use these patches since it looks like the game works OK for me and I get the sense that the patches should be used with the exe as one package but I may change my mind about this. For now, I prefer my own fixes in the 3 places where I do have problems.

I think that's it for now.
bye now...

--- iondrive ---

OK, here's some links to my fixes for the three problem spots mentioned above:

The ax / windmill / henchman control freeze fix:
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/king_s_quest_series/problem_with_kq8

The weapon shops control freeze fix:
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/king_s_quest_series/kq8_freezing_issues_when_going_inot_buy_weapons_and_armour_both_barren_region_an/page1

I think that's it for now. I may start a thread on general troubleshooting info for this game since it's files are so editable but I've posted the most important things already.
bye now.

--- iondrive ---

I also have listed a few work arounds for the three troublesome areas, plus a few others I came across. See here;

http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/King%27s_Quest_8#Technical_Support

Maybe, some of your work arounds are the same?

But I can guarentee, that these should work with the GOG version (or any version for that matter), I tested them on the GOG version.

I currently use Daemontools to get past the 'optical drive' bug...

Hi Baggins,

I looked around but the only editing solutions like mine are in the updated install .exe that I talked about earlier. I've since finished the game (yay) and had real problems at those three spots. Too bad I can't figure out why those cutscenes freeze when all the other cutscenes don't. What's different about them? Well, there's shopping involved I guess. Anyway let's take the scenes one at a time.

The windmill / axe / henchman freezing scene:
The AX.CS patch in the KQMaskSetup.exe is a little like mine but I believe mine returns control to the user sooner so it has less chance of freezing.

The Gnome Weapon Shop:
same as above but the file is WEAPNGNM.CS

The Weirdling Weapon Shop in the Barren Region:
The controlling file is TW_WEIRD.CS and KQMaskSetup.exe has no patch for it so mine is better by default. That is unless it is fixed in some other way. I can't really test it since I don't have the CD or image.

General troubleshooting strategy:
For those who want to edit their own code, there's a small example here for getting started:
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/king_s_quest_series/kq8_so_close_to_end_but_now_im_crashing

My general strategy was to let the scene play while watching the messages at the top of the screen. Look in the file for a list of things to do and move the commands from the last item to the first item. See my Barren Region weapon shop fix for an example of this. There are 10 things and number 10 contains cutscene-finishing commands. The script stalls and so never reaches item 10 on the list and never returns control to the user. Moving these commands to item 1 makes sure they get executed by putting them at the top of the list. I admit this is not really a fix but a workaround. Maybe someone smarter than me can figure out the real fix.

It would be good if people could test these and post their results under Windows 7 since I've only used XP on this with a geforce 7800GTX card using drivers 162.50. Also I was using DirectX mode at 640x480.

I did finish it recently and did enjoy it although I admit using a walkthrough to speed the process. Had random crashes about once per level not counting the 3 trouble spots and also not counting the last three sun-levels since they're so small.


C' ya

--- iondrive ---

PS: my apologies if anyone thinks I've hijacked this thread. I suppose it should be in it's own Troubleshooting thread.

First off, hi I'm Aroenai from the Sierra Help Forums. I'm the one who figured out all of this way before you after I got frustrated with GOG's lack of support. I'm mentioned in the readme file for Collector's installer.

There's a reason for that, and yours breaks the game script by giving the player back control too early which can make things worse. You should really take a closer look at how sendEvent works in the rest of the game, then you might understand the fix. I left the original condition intact because it still works on occasion.

There are two other scripts in this area which can also hang the game, I've already fixed them in the patches I made for Collector's installer.

Ah, Collector gave me the wrong location then. We weren't sure since we couldn't get the game to crash in the Barren Region where the reports were saying. Furthermore, that fix does not work 100% of the time due to the bug that's causing all of this to happen in the first place.

I've sent Collector a complete workaround for this so he can put it in the next version, including all the camera changes in this scene that get lost using your method.

Again really not a good idea to reorder them like that, I know doing that in one of the gnome shops will break the shopkeeper's animation when he's speaking.


This forum has a tendency to not credit the proper people when they make fixes (many of Collector's were hotlinked directly to the file instead of his page), so that's why we haven't exactly been going out of our way to post them here. Oh well, that just means there are more fixes the people with discs can enjoy... like shorter loading times.

Aroenai thanks for what you have done anyways... It's a shame that GOG has taken some of your stuff without giving credit.

Still wish you would offer a patch from the site for GoG release users though for the disk loading stuff & fix the optical drive error). I'll have to try it at some point (I do have the disc version still), but it'll be a while as I also have a computer with no optical drives (I'm too lazy to find my cd, and also pull out my external DVD drive).

I have GOG's version and have complted 3 times. I do sometimes get the hangups, but I have a trick with those. http://sierrahelp.com/Patches-Updates/Patches-Updates-Games/KingsQuestUpdates.html has patches (saved games) for those hangups

I completed it 1 time without using a savegame from the internet. Great game!
now I figured out how to turn on 3dfx with the help of the gog community.
after getting the axe you must switch to 1st person view and unequip the weapon.
otherwise there are savegames to use. like daventrygrisls wrote!

This is some of the stuff I've and others seem to have encountered trouble spots the most, and ways that seem to work to get past it;

Technical Support

The game can be played on Windows XP in its its native Glide support with the use of a Glide Wrapper (most of these program contain both emulator and emulation components and are thus more than just a "wrapper"). There are still areas that lock up however (usually in cutscenes, see first henchman for example), and require multiple attempts to get past often by lowering the graphics, or turning off certain effects, or switching in and out of first person/third person mode. If this doesn't work you may have to use save games set just after the lock up points.

*The windmill is an area that often locks up during the cutscene of the first henchman appearing. Turning off all extra graphics (no shadows, play in software mode, etc) will raise the chance of getting past the cutscene.
*Note that Dimension of Death is particurarly buggy, especially in first person mode. Make sure to save often, as it can lock up at any moment (especially around the edges of wide open areas).
*The Realm of the Gnomes suffers from lag, first person can alleviate the problem somewhat. However the game is more unstable in first person mode and may crash. The weapon, apothecary and armor shops are another area that may potentially lock up. Try turning off all the extra graphics and changing resolutions if you have a problem.
*The Weirdling Weapon Shop is another particularly buggy area, that locks up after the initial cutscene. Best way to get past it may be attempting to enter the building while walking backwards, or trying to come back after doing other things in the land. If that doesn't work the only other option is using a save game past the spot.