Did they remove the buggy steam collection? It doesn't seem to be showing up in the search list, when I was looking to see if there was a preorder for the new series.

Yes, it seems that they removed the collection from Steam.

Now the important question is will the new King's Quest be available on GOG.

As a side note the pre-order price looks rather expensive compared to other recent episodic games.

According to some of the previews, it is said that the first episode alone is equivalent to the size of the entire Grim Fandango game. Plus multiple routes, and puzzle solutions.

Plus the full collection is 20% off the complete price if you bought all five separately and nets you a 6th 'playable Epilogue' chapter of some sort.

I asked on Twitter and got this response:

I was expecting something similar in length than an average Telltale episode. But if that episode length is true then new King's Quest will be even longer game than Dreamfall Chapters and I can understand the price. Hopefully they will change their minds, because I prefer the GOG versions. However I'm not allergic to Steam, so I will get it from there if it's going to be the only version.

http://www.onlysp.com/kings-quest-recapturing-the-magic-and-charm-of-the-original-game-interview/

In this interview they are suggesting that they split it up, because it would be a really long game, and each chapter tells five complete stories in themselves. Though there is a overarching story that threads through all them.

He seems to suggest each chapter is the size and scope of a full sized adventure game.

Are they going to remove the 'classic' versions from GOG?

Will they no longer be sold on GOG?

Will those who have the collection keep them in their library?

If you purchase them, they will stay in your library. I don't know if they will quit being sold on GOG or not.

Steam sold different collection than GOG and Steam collection had version of King's Quest VII which didn't work in 64bit systems.

New King's Quest game would have also increased interest towards that collection and I believe that it was removed, because apparently they had no plans to update the collection to work properly with the modern systems.

However if also the GOG collection will be pulled for some reason, it won't be removed from your library.

This is pure PR-speak horseshit.

First of all, the quote was from someone who was "guesstimating" that the script (as in the spoken dialog) was similar in length to the script of Grim Fandango. Secondly, that says nothing of the game's actual length, scope, level of interactivity, or puzzle depth. It's PR-speak trying to get the gullible fans to think that this game will be something other than the typical episodic 2-hour play-time of "modern adventure games." If this game comes anywhere close to meeting (let alone surpassing) the length, scope, intelligence, and depth of a game like Grim Fandango, then I will happily chow down on my nasty sweaty hat.

It was just a previewer, who stated it (yes it would have to be a 'estimation'). I don't count 'reviewers' as PR. Unless they are paid, 'gamersgate' style (money not necessarily 'sex').

The game developers haven't stated anything on the size, themselves.. Other than the above article claiming that each game might be the size of a full-sized adventure game.

Of course if each was the size of KQ1 (with the same approximate number of puzzles/inventory items, etc), it would still be a 'small game', by today's standards, but still fit into 'full-size game' claim.

Hell, it could be the size of Wizard and the Princess (which had maybe 20-40 puzzles tops), and still be claimed to be a 'complete' game.

http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/Puzzle_statistics

The Script for the first chapter alone (A Knight to Remember) is 640 pages long. This allows for multiple branching paths, the easter eggs, narration, multiple descriptions for trying to attempt to combine or misuse items (much in the same way there was extra narration in KQ6 for misusing items in the inventory), and dialogue trees.

In comparison Wizard and the Princess/Adventure in Serenia has about 13 pages of script, KQ1AGI has about 58 pages of script, KQ1SCI has about 95 pages of script, KQ2 had about 49 pages of script, KQ3 has about 85 pages of script, KQ4AGI has about 106 pages of script, KQ4SCI has about 108 pages of script, KQ5 has about 80 pages of script, KQ6 has about 285 pages of script, KQ7 has about 105 pages of script, and KQ8 has about 75 pages of script.

Grim Fandango has about 41 pages of script.

Of course this just means there is a lot of script, it doesn't really tell us how many puzzles there will be.

Ah, too bad, I was kind of expecting a GOG King's Quest sale to accompany the release of the new installment. Or, even better, something like "buy/pre-order the new King's Quest now and get the classic titles as a bonus"... ;)
That would've been an insta-buy for me!

By the way,
are the GOG releases known to run stable under Win 7 64-bit, let alone 8?
I remember installing a retail re-release (XP / Vista era) of KQ 7 a few years ago, and it was crash-tastic on Win 7.

Thank you.

Cheers

I don't have GOG version of King's Quest 7 + 8 (I have both on CD), but I believe that GOG version uses DOS version of KQ7 (with DOSBox) instead of the Windows version (which doesn't work in 64bit systems).

Mask of Eternity has always been bit problematic with modern systems, but at least GOG lists it as Windows 7 compatible on their store page.

Well, I'd argue that the first chapter of KQ9 is a fairly meaty experience. There are up to 52 items (maybe more) to get, and up to up to 48 or so you can get in a single play through (now at least 4-6 of that total items could be counted as minor, as they only influence the story a little, but don't get used in important puzzles, but still get a 'puzzle ding' for doing it/collecting them). I wouldn't quite call them collectables though as you will still use them or lose them in the course of the game's story. There is one exception that does become a collectable, and one item you won't see if you take a certain paths.

If only counting the item puzzles alone, the game is roughly the same size as KQ1-5, which all had about 30-40 item puzzles each. KQ1 only has about 22-23 puzzles in a complete playthrough (optimum solutions, depending on version), and Wizard and the Princess about 22 puzzles.

This isn't getting into other puzzle types tile/jumping/board-game like puzzles (a type of puzzle introduced in KQ6, at least 3 versions, one being in the middle of a chase scene), the quick-time events (weakest type of puzzle), some action oriented puzzles, and conversation puzzle types, and action 'choice' puzzles (to do something or not to do something, or choose between three choices)..

Minor spoilers to follow...

Once you figure in replayability there are at least three paths to take, and these do offer some interesting plot twists at points, .it becomes a pretty chunky first chapter. Now, as for a story, its not the most 'epic' in scope. It's no 'Graham saves the world' kind of thing. It's more or less Graham's trial to become the 'best knight', so he can become 'king'. That is basically the role of the tournament, and why most of the characters have entered it as well (that whoever is chosen as the knight In that tournament will likely become the next king). Because Graham becomes the winning knight, it apparently does improve things in Daventry for a time. But ya with replayability it almost reaches the scope of KQ6.

But 'scope and depth' are relative. I'd say its scope and depth exceeds that of say KQ1 and 2, and possibly 3 (which had fairly bright and whimsical atmosphere considering the topics it covered), but no where near the depth of KQ4 or KQ5 story wise.

But ya, its a rather large game, for a first chapter. It's nothing like the chapters of KQ7, as it mostly stands alone as a story. Lambonius might have to eat his hat on this one... At least for the first chapter. No telling how long or short later chapters will be.

Mask of Eternity has always been problematic. Fixed that for you... It had its problems on the systems it was released for. It worked slightly better on systems that came out after it. But the problems that happen on modern systems are pretty much the same problems that happened on the systems it was released on.