DISCWORLD GAME FAQ - V1.45
--------------------------
Introduction
------------
*WARNING.. This may contain some spoilers (but hopefully not too many) *
This FAQ is (c) Chris McMullen (1995)... it can be stored on bulletin
boards, FTP sites, and so on, freely. It can be stored and distributed
by shareware libraries, providing that only a nominal charge is
made for the disk.. not for the faq itself. It is not to be
distributed on CD ROM's without my permission, and Magazines can
print it /distribute it if they write/phone/email me for permission,
and give me (at least a little) credit in the publication. This also applies
to big quotes and that. I can be flexible on this, but the basic jist is,
that any money making publication/organisation has to ask my permission
and give me a mention.
This is v1.45 of the Discworld Faq, and contains info on the current
and upcoming Discworld Games. feel free to mail me with any corrections,
suggestions, greetings, flames at :
[email protected]
New Stuff for this faq:
Not much extra added, just changed a few sections round and added the
list of Psygnosis contact numbers.
I've also added a section on the web page, which contains the faq, as well
as screenshots, and the like.. visit it to find out what.. see later in
the faq for the address.
Oh yeah.. here's a standard disclaimer.. this isn't an official faq
or anything. the views expressed within are mine. etc. this isn't
linked with Teeny, Perfect 10 or Psygnosis / Sony Interactive, although if
I was offered a big wad of cash or something...
(N)=New sections.
(M)=Modified sections
CONTENTS:
1.. GAME BACKGROUND/SCENARIO/PRODUCTION
1.1 What is Discworld?
1.2 How many Discworld games are there?
1.3 Which characters/locations are in the game?
1.4 What book is it based on?
1.5 When is it set?
1.6 Scenario.
1.7 What Pterry did / DW Development.
1.8 Perfect Entertainment.
2. TECHNICAL DETAILS.
2.1 What machine/specs do I need to run it?
2.2 What is the difference between the various versions?
2.3 How many different versions are there? Where can I get a demo?
2.4 Reported Bugs/Problems..
2.5 Where can I get a patch/what does it fix?
2.6 Discworld and Windows 95
2.7 Discworld version 2: The Directors Cut
2.8 Discworld on the Apple Mac and Playstation
2.9 Technical Support and Troubleshooting, inc Psygnosis Contact Numbers.
3. I'M STUCK / Where to get the Hint File...
4. (M)THE COLOUR OF MAGIC.
5. (M)THE DISCWORLD MUD.
6. (M)COMING ATTRACTIONS
6.1 Other Discworld Games
6.2 Discworld on other formats
6.3 Discworld 2: Missing, presumed...
7. CREDITS and FEEDBACK
7.1 Where can I get the faq?
(N)7.2 The Discworld Game Page.
7.3 Credits.
1. GAME BACKROUND/SCENARIO.
---------------------------
1.1 What is Discworld?
----------------------
Seeing as there are bound to be some people who don't what Discworld is,
I'm going to give a brief overview of the whole thing. Basically, the
Discworld is the setting for a large number of very funny fantasy books
(I mean, lets face it.. Tolkien was ok at writing fantasy books, but
they were all boringly straight-faced), all written by Terry Pratchett.
The Discworld books manage to be both funny and interesting to read, and
Pterry manages to give a ribbing to just about everything in his path.
The Discworld is the setting for all the Discworld books, and is,
quite simply, a large flat Disc of land, which is supported on four
elephants. These elephants, in turn stand on the back of Great A'Tuin,
a huge star turtle (sex and destination unknown). Because of the Discworld's
shape, there is no North, South, East and West. Instead, there is Hubward:
towards the centre of the Disc, Rimward: Towards the edge of the Disc,
Turnwise, in the direction the Disc turns, and Widdershins, in the opposite
direction. There are a large number of settlements and cities on the Disc,
and it's population contains a wide number of races.. Humans, Trolls, Dwarfs
(beards compulsory), as you might find on any normal fantasy world. Except
that Discworld is by no means normal.
The central character to many a Discworld book (and to both the games)
is Rincewind, a student (relatively speaking) at Unseen University, where
wizards learn to be wizards.. usually. He is also accompanied by The Luggage,
a somewhat unpredictable mobile trunk, with a large number of feet, and
quite a vicious bite. now.. let the (mis)adventure begin.
1.2 How many Discworld games are there?
---------------------------------------
There are actually two home games, the first being a text adventure
'The Colour of Magic' available for the Spectrum( forgive me while I get all
nostalgic ).. I have just managed to obtain a copy, and am currently in the
middle of playing it (stand up, get beer, say hi, say hello, talk to
Twoflower, start hitting keyboard). There are more details later on in the
faq.
The second game, is simply called 'Discworld', released recently by
Psygnosis / Sony Interactive, and Teeny Weeny Games, produced by
Perfect 10 productions, which is a point and click adventure, available on PC
and Mac +
PC CDROM. It was originally to be called Discworld: The Trouble with
Dragons, but eventually became just 'Discworld'.
There are, apparently more Discworld games planned however.. For the meantime
, this FAQ will concentrate on the 'Discworld' game.
There is, however, a third option open to Discworld fans.. the Discworld
MUD. This, for anyone who may not know, is a multi user game, set on the
Discworld, will many of the characters you will recognise. However, the
game actually allows you to create your own character, and meet,
greet and maim other DW inhabitants.. and other players.. it has a basic
text interface, like most muds, but the atmos is still quite good when you
know that there are typically unpredictable players around. There's a
separate section on this later on.
1.3 Which characters/locations are in the Discworld game?
---------------------------------------------------------
Ankh-Morpork features heavily in the game. So, many of the people/locations
will be familiar to anyone who has read even a single Discworld book. The
locations include the Broken/Mended Drum , the Alchemist's /Alchemist's
Alley, The Patricians' Palace, the City Gate (complete with Nobby, Carrot,
and Vimes) Unseen University, of course, the Palace, the Shades, the Edge
of the Disc, and a number of others. People who have read the books will
be right at home. And if you haven't read any (why not?), you'll soon
catch up.
There are a large number of characters , so here's a list of the
ones I recognize from the Discworld Books, with at least one book they have
been in.. not nessecarily the only ones, or the first ones.
Rincewind (Color of Magic, Light Fantastic, Eric, and so on)
The Luggage (Color of Magic, and always with Rincewind)
Nobby (Guards! Guards!)
Carrot (Guards! Guards!)
Vimes (Guards! Guards!)
The Patrician (Men at Arms)
Detritus (Men at Arms)
Death (Mort, Pyramids, almost every single book)
CMOT Dibbler (Moving Pictures)
Nanny Ogg (Wyrd Sisters)
Lady Ramkin (Guards! Guards!)
Arch Chancellor Ridicully (Reaper Man)
The Bursar (Men at Arms)
Mr Silverfish (Men at Arms)
Gaspode (Moving Pictures)
Windle Poons (Reaper Man)
The Librarian (Guards! Guards!)
1.4 What book is it based on?
-----------------------------
The game appears to have a similar storyline, very similar in fact,
to 'Guards! Guards!'. Without giving too much away about the book or the
game (anyone who has read the book will know what I mean), they both have
a number of things in common:
The basic 'dragon summoned up by slightly disturbed hidden order' bit.
The use of L-Space.
The members of the order.. almost identical in character and occupation to
the book, but with different names.
The way in which the dragon is disposed of.. I'm not saying too much on
this one..
1.5 When is it set?
-------------------
Difficult one, this. Clickies are invented just as the game starts, and get
really big by the end of the game, before Moving Pictures, evidently. And
Ridcully is Arch Chancellor at UU, anyway, the scenario.
1.6 The Scenario..
------------------
As I've mentioned, the plot is very similar to that in 'Guards! Guards!' ,
which has already been 'field tested' you could say. Without spoiling it for
anyone who might not have finished Act 1, or not played the game, or read the
book ,a Dragon is terrorizing and toasting Ankh-Morpork and it's up to
Rincewind to sort it out. There are a few twists and turns,
and the gags and the whole atmosphere managed to hold my interest.
Look for a more extensive and objective review in the next faq..
1.7 What Pterry did / DW Development..
----------------------------------
still a bit brief.. I'm trying to get some more info on the whole DW1
project..
Terry P. took much convincing that his Discworld could be sucessfully
reproduced as a game. rightly so.. I can name a plethora of games that
rode on their license, and turned out to be complete duffers. But, after
plying him with Banana Daquiris (probably), and showing him a demo of
the proposed game, he was sufficently convinced, and allowed the game
to go ahead. TWG consulted him (it was probably in the contract) at every
point in the game.. everything had to have his say so before it could go
into the game. He also had a lot of ideas to put in.. the care taken
shows through in the final game.
Quite a few changes were nessecary. For example, there was
no less than 3 Rincewinds, before the final 'look' was agreed on. I've
got scanned pics of these, so I'll put them on the web page. For now,
I'll have to describe them:
The first Rincewind was a slightly Santa-Clausy Rincewind, with a long
white beard, and decorated robe. IMO, it makes him look like a 'proper'
qualified wizard.. which, as we all know, Rincewind is not.
The second Rincewind looked more like the Rincewind in the final game,
with a red and yellow cloak, and a long beard. Slightly more appealing
than the previous one.. but (sound of P10 artists arming up..) looks just a
little how I'd imagine Foul Ole Ron to be.
The third Rincewind is IMO, dead on. as a lot of you will have seen in the
full game. He has a short beard, decent robe, and a very pointy hat..
the kind of Rincewind I imagined when reading the books.. well done people. :)
(put those pointy sticks away)
The art is very good, with all the backgrounds being drawn by hand, then
scanned in for the game..
Terry was consulted over the script as well. he was a little wary about
letting anyone right too much original DW stuff.. the plot takes elements
from a few of the books. He was sent material all through the development
process, and played the game.. I doubt if he'd have let it go out if it was
at all below par..
1.8 Perfect Entertainment.
--------------------------
Perfect Entertainment were previously two co-operating companies,
Teeny Weeny Games, and Perfect 10, but have now merged to become
one company, Perfect Entertainment. They've narrowly managed
following the trend of slapping 'interactive' at the end of a company
name. We want to be 'entertained', not force fed some half baked
'interactive movie'. Ahem. Anyway, I'm trying to get a list of
programmers and past credits, but the company was also responsible
for the rather good (IMO) Primal Rage (tear, rip, rend, etc)..
more blatant plugs next faq.
2 TECHNICAL DETAILS
-------------------
2.1 What machine/specs do I need to run it?
-------------------------------------------
To run the PC-CDROM version, you need 4MB of memory, with at least 2700K
of Extended Memory. Base Memory is not seem important, as Discworld uses the
DOS4GW dos extender.. which treats all memory as one block. You also need,
of course, a Single Speed or upwards CD-ROM drive. Plus, a VGA card and
display. A mouse is not essential but recommended if you want to pick out
objects without the cursor sliding around like an elephant on an ice-rink.
Some sort of sound card is recommended.. you won't be able to hear the
sound/speech without it.
Discworld supports:
Gravis Ultrasound,
Soundblaster,
Soundblaster Pro,
Soundblaster 16, plus any clones,
Adlib,
Roland,
and Soundblaster AWE32 (If anyone would care to send me an AWE32 or a
G.U.S so I can test them. :) Aw, go on.... )
Discworld PC-CDROM also used just around 1.6 meg of hard disk space. The
requirements for the PC-Floppy version are almost identical, except that
the PC-Floppy does not need a CD-ROM drive(obviously), and takes up more
disk space. Quite a lot of Disk space... nearly 50 meg in total, so
make sure you can get enough space together.
The Apple Mac version requires a Mac with System 7.0 upwards, 4.3 Meg of
memory, and a 68000 processor, although it prefers (prefers?) a 68030
or 68040 processor. It is also recommended you have Sound Manager, version
3.0 upwards. And a CD drive.. it's CD only, folks.
2.2 What's the difference between the various versions?
-------------------------------------------------------
The CD versions have full speech for all the characters (most of the time
-see bugs), which is generally of a very high standard. The characters talk
exactly how I would imagine them to from the books (but imagination is the
whole point of the books anyway) The voiceovers are done by:
Eric Idle -Ex-Python.. Splitting Heirs, etc.. (Rincewind)
Tony Robinson -Excellent Actor/Comedy Actor.. credits include BlackAdder,
Maid Marian, and the voices for a number of Pratchett
audio tapes. (A number of characters)
Jon Pertwee -Best remembered for Dr Who, and a number of other productions,
(Several Characters)
Kate Robbins -Character/voice actress... Spitting Image
(Many Characters)
Rob Brydon -Character/voice actor.. Spitting Image again.. a man of many
voices.. all of them completely different
(All the other characters)
Apart from the voiceovers, there appears to be only one difference.. although
this is yet to be confirmed. The difference is, that whilst the Discworld CD
version has full sound effects, the Discworld Floppy version seems to only
have music. This seems somewhat puzzling, obviously cuts would have to have
been made to fit it on a reasonable number of disks. In fact, I've confirmed
this.. the HD version has music, but no sound effects, sadly...
The CD-ROM access is suprisingly fast on a double speed..
faster than many HD-based games I have seen. Transferring it to HD is
reported to produce only a minor speed difference (why can't all CD-Rom games
be this fast?)
2.3 How many different PC versions are there? Where can I get a demo?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
There are, in total 4 versions of the full game, and also 2 demos..
I'm checking if there's a Mac demo, which seems likely.
1: The PC floppy version, currently with no patch available.
This is currently the only floppy version available. There is, however,
a floppy patch on the way. More details on this as they come.
2: The PC CD Version 1.
This is the version PC CD owners are most likely to have. It contains
all the bugs mentioned in section 2.4. There is a patch available for this
version, but it still remains buggy. This is the version retailers stock.
3: The PC CD Version 2. Discworld: The Directors Cut.
This is a completely fixed version of the Discworld version 1.. with
virtually every bug removed. It is not, unfortunately, available from
retailers, and can only be obtained in exchange for the PC CD version 1.
4: The Apple Mac version:
This is more or less the Mac version of the Directors cut, with the
extra graphics, and bug fixes of the PC CD version 2.. it's currently
available in the UK, and various european retailers, but at the time
of writing, not in the U.S. This is currently only available on CD.
There are also 2 demo versions. Version 1, the older version is a small
demo centred around the problem of getting the fishmongers belt. It
has no sound, and is available from a number of sites.. I'll put a list
in the next faq. it's a kind of work in progress demo.
The second version is a CD demo, containing the part of the first Act
set inside the Unseen University, and has all the speech to match.
it is also almost bugless.. this is available on a number of PC mag CD
coverdisks.. including the June 1995 Issue of PC Format.
2.4 What's this about bugs? Reported Bugs/Problems
--------------------------------------------------
Ah. Yes.. a problem. Although the first version of game doesn't seem at all
unstable ,there are a large number of annoying bugs. None of these appear to
render the game un-completable in anyway, but they can be really irritating.
PC-Zone, a UK magazine managed to review the game in early December.. when
the game was still being coded.. finished products only, PCZ.. like PC-FORMAT..
Anyway.. I'm meant to be objective about this. So, I have a list
of reported bugs and problems, all witnessed at first hand, along with any
comment/solutions. These bugs are mostly shared by the PC Floppy version,
but there have been reports of the game crashing just before the identity
of the monks are revealed.
Bugs/Problems
-------------
(A few of these might contain spoilers)
The bugs can be divided into three sections, Graphical Glitches, Sound Bugs,
and Miscelaneous problems. Which is exactly what I have done. Most of these
bugs have also been reported by various people on ALT.FAN.PRATCHETT (usenet),
so it is not an isolated problem.
Graphical Glitches:
The majority of these center around mysteriously dissapearing or flashing
sprites. As I have mentioned, these do not stop you finishing the game,
but hardly contribute to the atmosphere, and give it a slightly less than
polished finish. A few examples are:
The disappearing beggar in the street in Act 2.
The scared guy in Act 2 who teleports from seat to seat.
The walkthroughable door in the Inn.
The Witch in Act 2 who flips back to her position in Act 1 when you click
on the custard book (try it), and manages to both in the town square,
and the palace later in act 2..
Wierd one this: In the psychatrickerists/Clickies acting agency,
you are called up when the milkmaid has signed her ottograph. The
receptionists clothes change back to what she was wearing in acts 1 and 2
and the milkmaid disappears into thin air.
The Dunnyman's miraculous gold tooth which hangs in the air and wiggles
when he has long gone (when you give him a doughnut).
There are a number of similar glitches which turn up regularly.
Sound Bugs:
These are very noticable throughout the game. The most common is speech being
repeated, or replaced by subtitles. I turned the subtitles one once, and
noticed that the speech repeating bug seemed to be related to the timing
being off.
Other occurences include:
The volume controls don't work..
The clicking in speech experienced by most users, regardless of sound
card make..
Talking to the guards in act 2: Their speech is often replaced by the
bizarre ?________?.. not exactly revealing to say the least.
Trying to put the money pouch in the luggage. I can live with 'I can't do
that', but it is kind of wierd that it is said in one of Rob Brydon's yokel
voices rather than Eric Idle's voice. A similar occurence is trying to wake
the librarian in the past in Act 2.
Talking to the Dunnyman in Act 2. Rincewind finishes the conversation with
Carrots voice, no less!
Miscel problems.
These are various problems, seemingly unrelated to the other to categories.
This includes:
The one bug that seems to make the game crash, turning the subtitles on.
This seems to randomly crash the game, particularly when done at the
beginning of the game.
Some sequences seem to repeatable. For example. the method of getting
the chimney sweeps gold item can be repeated again and again (I'm saying
nothing more.. I don't want to spoil it for anyone)
One problem that seems to have cropped up as well, is the fact that some
people go upstairs into the Psychatrickerists on Act 2, and come down
empty handed, leaving out the intermediate sequence. I have managed to
duplicate this by saving my game while sitting down in the Psychiatrickerists
,so I suggest you do not save whilst in there. An alternative solution is
to simply get up before you are called, leave the Psychiatrickerists,
then return. The problem will be ok as long as you don't re-save.
I only have the CD version, so I can't verify if the graphic glitches occur
on the floppy version.. perhaps someone could give me some feedback on this..
The above bugs may seem pretty damning, but I all honesty, I tried not to let
them spoil my enjoyment of the game. Discworld is still a game definitely
worth getting. It just seems a shame the bugs got through.
2.5 Where can I get a patch/what does it fix?
---------------------------------------------
A patch has been released for Discworld CD version 1. floppy owners are
still left patchless for the meantime, it would seem. However, there is a
floppy patch coming soon.
The file is: disc104n.zip
and it is available at the following sites:
ftp://Lspace.cp.tn.tudelft.nl/pub/pratchett/games/discworld and
ftp://ftp.britain.eu.net/pub/misc/pratchett/games/discworld in Europe,
ftp://theory.lcs.mit.edu/pub/pratchett/games/discworld in America
ftp://death.socs.uts.edu.au/Mirror/Pratchett/games/discworld in Australia.
To use it, unzip it into a temporary directory, and run the batch file.
What does it fix? :
Not a lot of the bugs, really. It does fix the clicking noise that
accompanied the speech in the unpatched version, and I have not had
the game crash on me since installing it.. the game seems to cope with
switcing between subtitles and no-subtitles quite easily. It also
fixes the volume controls, which now actually do control the volume
of sound, music and speech.
It doesn't seem to fix any of the other graphical or sound glitches
however, but it is a shame. However, the one downer about the patch, is
that it seems to replace the excellent Sound Blaster/FM music with some
rather average MIDI music, that doesn't sound as good. The patch seems to
replace the standard drivers with an entirely new set of drivers. I am
currently experimenting with the drivers to see if I can get FM music from
the patch by swapping drivers.. although I have neglected to keep a copy
of the original v1.0 Discworld executable. can anyone help me with this?
2.6 Discworld and Windows 95
----------------------------
Ah, all was going well, till Bill Gates parked his cart in the PC market.
So while he and IBM are trying to outstare each other, you're left trying
to run Discworld on Windows 95. And are you having any success? Perhaps.
Windows 95 harbours a certain animosity towards Dos games. How much success
you have seems to depend greatly on whether Win 95 likes your hardware
configuration. Some people have reported that Discworld ran perfectly
on the aformentioned operating system, while others have had a few problems.
These problems range from Discworld refusing to run, to running without
music or sounds. There appears to be no easy way round it, and while I'm
sure I could suggest ticking the various checkboxes for each application,
not too many people are technically minded to know what each does. The
help system doesn't help all that much, either. If all goes well, Discworld
will run, maybe grudgingly. Otherwise, you may have to switch to Dos mode,
and try again. Discworld was written for Dos specifically, and as such, may
turn up a few problems. However, do not despair. For there is hope for
in the shape of the (currently embryonic) Discworld 2. See section 6 for
details.
And now, for a slightly cynical view of Windows 95, we present 'a day
in the life of Ankh Morpork 95', starring the average user, and Cut
Me Own Throat Dibbler as C.M.O.T 95, the voice of your friendly O.S.
User: Morning, 95. I've just got this rather good game, called Discworld,
based on the incredibly succesful series of books by Terry Pratchett,
produced by the hard working boys and girls at Perfect Entertainment.
It really is worth buying, and a valuable addition to any games
collection. (Turns to camera and smiles. Teeth glint)
95 : That was a bit of an obvious plug, weren't it?
User: Erm.. sorry about that. Anyway, as I was saying, I'd like to run
this game, and..
95 : See, you've caught me at a bad time, guv'nor... I'm pretty busy at
the moment...
User: Busy? Doing what?
95 : Doing what? He asks? Listen mate? There's hundreds of things a
busy O.S like me has to do, and don't you forget it!
User: Like what?
95 : Like what? Like what? Well, erm.. what was the question again?
User: Look, all I want you to do is run this game. I've not got anything
else running on you, surely as a so called 'multitasking'
operating system, you can do that..
95 : Yeah, all right, all right, I'll have a look, but you owe me
a favour for this one, ok? Stick it in the CD drive and we'll
have a look.
User: *sigh* All right.. here you go.. and hurry things up..
95 : Now lets see... oh dear.. *tut tut tut*.. oh deary me...
User: Yes? What is it?
95 : This is a Dos game, innit?
User: Yes.. and?
95 : Well, you see, it dun't take advantage of the ins and out of
your average multitasking OS... I can't guarantee that this'll
work?
User: Won't work? You cost me 70 quid and an extra 4 meg of memory!
95 : Ok, look, I'll tell you what, I can run with this without sound
or music, okay.. and I'm cutting me own throat...
User: No sound? No music? That's no good to me? What kind of OS are you?
95 : Course, if this was specifically Win 95 programmed... tell you what,
I can do you a nice game of Hover.. texture mapped, bit of driving..
User: Look, I want Discworld!
95 : Suit yourself, then...
User: Gaaaaaa!
You get the picture. And so OS/2 Warp owners don't feel left out, here's
a specifically OS2 compatible version.
User: I'd like to run this game, Discworld..
OS2 *thunk... falls into coma*
* The writer would like to point out that he is sure that Windows 95 would
run perfectly on a Pentium with 16 meg of memory. He, however, has a
486DX40, and until some kind person sends him a Pentium, he will retain this
view. And he's not bitter at all. No, really. Really.
Hmm.. I appear to have strayed from the point.. back onto track with..
2.7 Discworld Version 2: The Directors Cut
------------------------------------------
This is Discworld as it should have been originally.. it fixes virtually
all the bugs, graphical and sound glitches in the original version. It also
contains a number of new graphical bits, and cut-scenes, such as added
animation, and also a host of new sounds. The chances are, at the time
of writing this faq, you will have the old version.. the new version is
well worth getting.. it is virtually flawless. it can be obtained by
mailing or phoning Psygnosis / Sony Interactive.. It's not available from
normal retailers,
so to get it, you'll have to contact Psygnosis / Sony Interactive after buying
Version 1.
2.8 The Apple Mac version..
---------------------------
Mac Discworld:
Discworld is also available for the Apple Mac, on CD only. It is, in
effect, virtually identical to Version 2 of Discworld for the PC-CD.
It will run on most Macs, but has some problem with high end Macs..
a lot of people have had trouble getting it to run on a Power mac, so keep
that receipt.
Playstation Discworld:
This version was pretty inevitable, seeing that Sony have Psygnosis in
their pockets, and a top conversion it is indeed. It has been released
in most countries (let me know if I'm wrong on this), and is virtually
bug free, having had the final glitches squeezed out of it during the
conversion. The only problem is, that to save a game, you will need
a memory card. You could, in theory play it all the way through without
saving, I suppose, but a memory card is a pretty essential purchase for
any PS owner.. and not just for Discworld.
2.9 Technical Support + Trouble Shooting
-----------------------------------------
Psygnosis / Sony Interactive can be reached for Technical Support on
[email protected], and specifically for Discworld on
[email protected] in the United Kingdom. They can also be reached in
America on:
[email protected]
They should be able to answer a number of questions / problems you may have..
but here's a few of the commonest problems I've come across.. many can be
applied to games in general, but some cover specifics of the Discworld Game..
pretty basic for now, but I'll have more suggestions in the next faq. Some
software or hardware configurations can cause problems. for example,
IBM's Blue Lightning was notorious for having sound problems with a number
of games. Doom included.. if you can, try and test the game on a friend's
computer, and make a note of their setup. I think the PC has to be the only
machine that manages to be compatible and incompatible at the same time.. (?)
These, so far, relate to the PC versions.. I'm working on putting in Mac
technical support, but I only have a PC to hand.. there is one notable
problem with the Mac version, however, and that is that certain high
level Macs seem to have a problem running the game. that's progress, eh? :)
This seems to be most common in Macs produced since the game's first release.
If you're still having problems, or don't know how to do certain things
mentioned here, please contact Psygnosis / Sony Interactive tech support, or
me, but
*DISCLAIMER* again.. if you screw up your computer doing these things, it's
not my fault. although you'd usually have to remove the case to do that..
and always remember to put your hand on an earthed piece of metal.. the power
supply, etc.. to discharge static. and if you open the case.. make
sure the PCs turned off first.. anyway..
Q: I've got Windows 95 installed, and...
A: Stop! Stop right there... while Windows 95 claims to do everything
you want it to do, running Dos games (of which Discworld is one),
makes it a little temperamental. Try looking at section 2.7, for
more info.
Q: The game or install routine locks up whenever I start the game..
A: This could be a number of things. If you've managed to install the
game properly, and it still locks up, you can try the following steps..
1. Check that the install routine identified your soundcard correctly.
eg, that if you have an SB16, you have configured the program for
an SB16, or the configuration that your card emulates. Also, check
that the install routine has assigned the correct IRQs and DMA values..
Default values for a card are usually IRQ 5 or 7, DMA 1, and A220.
You could also try changing the IRQ and DMA values on the card..
read the manual supplied with your card for details on how to do this..
but don't try anything unless you're absolutely sure..
2. The Dos Extender, Dos4GW that this program uses, is known to have a
few problems with certain memory managers, QEMM, Memmax, etc, so
try removing these from your autoexec.bat and config.sys files..
add a REM in front of any line containing those words.. also,
EMM386.EXE can cause problems occasionally.. if all else fails,
create a basic setup with just himem.sys installed, and your CD drivers
if nessecary..
If the install program locks up before it lets you pick a soundcard,
it's more likely to be conflicting device drivers. If it locks up while
detecting a soundcard, try both of the above anyway..
Q: The game hangs ..
A:As mentioned in step 1 above, re-run the install routine, and make sure
you've picked the right soundcard.. and try changing the IRQ, and DMA,
both in the program, and on your sound card.
Again, try removing all unnessecary drivers, as in step 2, then try
running the program again.
Plus, if you're using the CD version, make sure you're running the latest
version of your CD drivers..
There is also a bug that some people have come across, in the Floppy
version, although it only seems to crop up on some machines. In this case,
the game locks up in act 2, at the Monks summoning. as well as
performing steps 1 + 2, you can reload the game, and try again. If this
fails, and the game consistently crashes, which seems to happen in some
cases, save your saved game, and get a friend, Psygnosis / Sony Interactive
tech support,
or me, to play past the summoning, and resave the game, then give it back
to you.
Q: There is no sound at all..
A: Try performing steps 1 + 2.. that is, changing the IRQ, and re-installing,
plus removing unnessecary drivers. Also, make sure your card is plugged
in properly, and the speakers are connected. Within the game itself, try
pressing F1, and changing the volume sliders.
Q: Sound is of poor quality/crackling.
If the sound quality is poor, then you can try changing the settings, a la
step 1, or moving your sound card away from the CPU inside the machine.
In V1.00 of the CD and Floppy versions, however, there is a bug which makes
the sound break up. There is a patch available for this.. currently only
a CD patch, with a Floppy patch due soon, but you can use the CD patch to
extract the new drivers and copy them into your floppy directory..
There is also a new CD available.. from Psygnosis / Sony Interactive, or it may
be in your
local store.. contact Psygnosis / Sony Interactive for details.. they'll
replace it free
of charge.
Q: There is a problem with.... GENERAL BUGS.
Yep.. there are a few glitches in V1.00.. nothing that should make the game
unplayable, but you can check the buglist above to find out what they are..
If you have any other problems, you can contact Psygnosis / Sony Interactive,
or email me.. I'll try to help as soon as I can, but I'm not employed or paid
by Psygnosis at all, and I can't reply 24 hours a day.
You can also contact Psygnosis at a number of Offices around the world. I
only have the address of one US site, though. I'm also trying to dig out
the email address, if any , of these sites. I'm not sure if all of these
locations man a helpline, so if you have problems, let me know. If you're
trying to get hold of the Director's Cut, remember to ring to check
that these offices can help.
Anyway.. here they are. The phone/fax numbers are the numbers you dial
from within the country.. don't forget to add the appropriate national
dialling code if you're calling from outside the country/continent.
UK OFFICES:
--
PSYGNOSIS CHESTER,
1st Floor, Suite D,
Chester Business Park,
Chester,
CH4 9QT
Tel: 01244 674567
Fax: 01244 683863
--
PSYGNOSIS LIVERPOOL,
Napier Court,
Wavertree Technology Park,
Liverpool,
L13 1EH
Tel: 0151 282 3000
Fax: 0151 282 3003
--
PSYGNOSIS LONDON,
Waverly House,
10-12 Noel St,
London,
W1V 4NE
Tel: 0171 439 2906
Fax: 0171 439 2904
--
PSYGNOSIS SOUTH WEST,
Bonds Mill,
Stone House,
Glocs.
Gl10 3RG
Tel: 01453 821 864
Fax: 01453 821 112
--
OFFICE IN GERMANY:
PSYGNOSIS GERMANY,
Euro House,
Lyoner Street 26,
60528 Frankfurt,
GERMANY.
Tel: 00 49 69 66 54 31 35
Fax: ?
--
OFFICE IN FRANCE:
PSYGNOSIS FRANCE,
131 Avenue de Wagram,
75017,
PARIS
Tel: 00 331 44 40 64 44
Fax: 00 331 44 40 66 66
--
OFFICE IN AUSTRALIA:
c/o Sony Music Entertainment (Australia) Pty Ltd,
15 Waltham Street,
Artarmon,
NSW 2064
tel / fax - (02) 439 5197
mobile - 015 490634
--
OFFICE IN THE US:
PSYGNOSIS LTD (US Office),
675 Massachusetts Avenue,
Cambridge,
MA 02139,
USA
Tel: 617 497 7794
--
And there you go. Should make things a little easier than dialling the
other side of the world.
3. I'M STUCK!
-------------
I know that there's already a walkthrough floating about, but a lot of
people have asked for specific hints, not spoilers. What I have done with
this hint file is to go through most of the common problems in the game,
ACTS I-IV, 3 times, first providing general hints, nudging the player in the
right direction, then the second time, I have provided more direct hints,
then finally, solutions to the problems. And in some cases, appalling puns.
You have been warned. You can also find hints on alt.fan.pterry,
sorry, alt.fan.pratchett , and sometimes comp.sys.ibm.games.adventure
but these sometimes tend to be spoilers rather than hints.
The hint file has been moved, and is now being stored at the same site
as the faq.
Mail me if you have any specific problems, or ones that you would like to
see included in this text file. I can also help with a few other adventures
, Kyrandia 3, LBA/Relentless, Companions of Xanth, Alone in the Dark 1, 2,
and 3, Gabriel Knight, Full Throttle, Bioforge, and a few others..I'm also
working on hint files, much like the one in section 3, for a number of
games, with one for Full Throttle in the works.
Chris McMullen
[email protected]
4. The Colour of Magic
----------------------
The Colour of Magic was originally programmed for the Spectrum (and maybe
the C64.. I'm looking into this) by Delta 4, for Pirhana software. It is
a text based adventure game, with a few scattered graphics, and is based
solely on the Colour of Magic book. It follows the adventures of Rincewind
and Twoflower through the discworld, and sticks to the plot very closely..
so a knowledge of the book could help a lot. If you have never played a text
adventure before, however, you could be in for a difficult time. As a game,
it isn't particularly difficult in terms of puzzles, but trying to find the
words to perform an action isn't easy. To talk to Twoflower, I tried.
SAY HELLO TO TWOFLOWER
SPEAK TO TWOFLOWER
WELCOME TWOFLOWER
EXAMINE TWOFLOWER
TALK TO TWOFLOWER
SAY HELLO TWOFLOWER
BUGGER OFF TWOFLOWER
HIT TWOFLOWER
SWEAR
I think you get the idea. I eventually got the right word, but it took a
while.. as things stand. I've got quite a bit further, and the game
does follow the plot of the book pretty closely, right down to the bar
fights.. worth checking out if you can get the snapshot, but don't expect
it to keep you entertained for long. or to come back to it... unlike
to the Discworld TWG/P10 game.
You can get the snapshot and solution from the Pratchett archives, in
the pub/pratchett/games directory, from the same sites as the faq. However,
it would seem that you need an emulator with the capabality to save a position
to tape or some other medium. The game, on loading parts 2-4, asks for a
previously saved game. Perhaps some kind soul with such a setup could play
the game, and save a snapshot shortly after loading from parts 2-4.
5. Discworld MUD
----------------
More details as I progress, or someone tells me they don't want this in
the faq.. :)
The Discworld MUD is a Multi-User-Dungeon game, set on the Discworld..
that much you will have guessed. It can be reached by telnetting to:
discworld.master.net.au 4242
I'll give credit to the admins as soon as I find out who they are.. (good
job there..). The Mud contains many of the locations and characters from
the book, behaving in a very recognisable way, as part of the Discworld.
You can get a character straight away, but you are requested not to use
a character from the book, which is a good idea IMO.. it helps populate
the world in an original way.. rather than filling it up with recognized
characters. So be original. (thats original, not plagaristic, Merkins..)
Another good point is how, upon typing WHO, your name is displayed with a
rating, reflecting your actions. Whilst I was on, there were also another
5 players around.. presumably up to something conspiratorial, but then again,
I did log on at a quiet time..
Well, the site I logged on at has now become a 'creation' site. In other
words, the only people likely to be hanging around are creators, testing,
and modifying programs, which may eventually make their way to the other
site, for the players to tackle. The new site is, as mentioned above
discworld.master.net.au 4242
and is, as the extension suggest, situated in Australia. It's still worth
checking out, but be prepared, depending where in the world you are,
for some lag. The lag in the UK is particularly nasty, being almost at
the other end of the world (yes I *know* the world doesn't have ends, it's
an expression. Don't be pedantic.) It seems to vary, depending upon
how many people are on, but when I logged on, I had to wait a little,
on one occasion up to 5 minutes for my turn to be processed. Crashes aren't
that frequent, which makes a change, so log on as a guest, check out the
lag, then see how you feel about it. It's worth persevering. My character
is currently classed as 'evil'. Hm.. that's progress for you.
I'm still having a hell of a time getting on without a bag of lag. The main
site is in Oz, so you might have more luck than me. It's still worth getting
into.
6. FORTHCOMING ATTRACTIONS
--------------------------
6.1 Other Discworld Games
-------------------------
Psygnosis / Sony Interactive/TWG games have got the license to produce more
Discworld games,
with Pterry to ok things. and second Discworld game is indeed planned..
the script has already been written.. see 6.3 for more info.
Discworld the Game is programmed using a system called TINSEL, a
custom language, and means that games can be compiled on a PC, and ported
over to various systems, with not too much fuss, and is being transferred to
other formats.. see below. If Discworld 2 is a success, and it'd be difficult
for it not to be, perhaps DW2 will similarly grace other formats.
6.2 Discworld on other formats
------------------------------
Discworld the game is being developed for two other formats, and although
I haven't seen these versions, they should easily be as good as the PC
version. So far, these formats are..
The Apple Mac... already out.. if it's not at your local store.. just hang
on..
The CD-I.. long way off. but at least CD-I owners will be getting something
with depth.
A Saturn version is planned as well, but a long way off. Not that I'm
suggesting it would be at Sony's advantage to hold it off from the
Saturn for any length of time *ahem*.
6.3 Discworld 2: Missing, Presumed ...
--------------------------------------
There is most definitely going to be a Discworld 2. The script has been
completed, with Pterry's approval. The basic engine will be similar, with
the possiblity of Super VGA graphics, but I shouldn't think it'll push
the minimum machine spec up too much. The plot has been decided, and the
script has been completed, with Pterry's approval. To find out the whole
story, you'll have to wait till the game comes out, but the faq will
contain a few snippets of info about the plot. However, at this stage,
all I can tell you without having my legs broken is that..
'A certain inept but well known wizard manages to dispose of an equally well
known public servant, and has to take on the duties of the aformentioned
public servant till he/she/it? can be found..'
(c) Semi-Mangled/Doctored Quotes inc. Apologies to Perfect 10.
I think you can work out the rest. bit of a dead giveaway really.
Perfect 10 aim to have DiscWorld 2 ready by March 1996. on at least 3 CD's..
Anyone remember the middle ages, when we had to put up with games spread
across dozens of floppies? No more! Now we can have games spread across..
erm.. dozens of CDs. 3 CDs is pretty good. 5 CDs is the record so far,
and if the game is split up into different acts, or the basic locations
are duplicated on each CD, there shouldn't be too much swapping.
Some more info. Discworld is going to be available for a number of OS's.
The PC version will come first, although I would imagine the Mac version
would follow eventually. The PC version will definitely available in
two formats, a Windows 95 version, and a Dos version, both in SuperVGA.
An OS/2 specific version is a possibility, but otherwise, the Dos
version will be OS/2 tested.
Wonder if I can reserve a copy 7 months in advance? :)
7. CREDITS and FEEDBACK
-----------------------
7.1 Where can I get the faq?
----------------------------
Well, it should be available via FTP at the following sites..
ftp://Lspace.cp.tn.tudelft.nl/pub/pratchett/faqs/discworld-game-faq and
ftp://ftp.britain.eu.net/pub/misc/pratchett/faqs/discworld-game-faq in Europe,
ftp://theory.lcs.mit.edu/pub/pratchett/faqs/discworld-game-faq in America
ftp://death.socs.uts.edu.au/Mirror/Pratchett/faqs/discworld-game-faq in
Australia.
It is available via WWW from the Games Domain, and the Happy Puppy Games
page. which are.
Happy Puppy:
http://happypuppy.com/games/faqcht/discwcht.txt
Games Domain:
http://wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/pub/djh/faqs/discworld.faq
7.2 The Discworld Game Page
---------------------------
There's also now a Discworld Game Page , with screenshots, and an HTMLed
hint file, new info, and lots of stuff. It's still under construction,
as is practically every Web Page on the net.. you can find it at:
http://lspace.cp.tn.tudelft.nl/games/discworld/page.htm
And please let me know what you think of the page... (unless it's really
really foul, in which case don't bother).
7.3 Credits.
------------
Terry Pratchett, for obvious reasons..
Psygnosis (oops.. I mean Sony Interactive), Teeny Weeny Games, Perfect 10
and co, for producing a top game, which thankfully didn't go for a stroll
down crappy way , like many other licenses.. guess the material helped, but
it could have been a duffer.. good work..
David Johnston, and Gregg (that's 3 G's) Barnett, for programming the game,
and a particular thanks to David for helping with certain points in the faq..
Malwen, for sending me the Z80 Snapshot of the Colour of Magic..
much appreciated.. I sense hours of headbanging frustration ahead.. :)
The numerous people who mailed me with minor corrections, mainly to tell
me about the 'Guards! Guards!' book. and ideas for amendments..
All of Alt.fan.pratchett... I'm not sure quite why...
And finally, a big negative credit to Frontier: First Encounters, which
quite frankly is a big skid mark on the software industry (allegedly).
I mean, this has to be the only game I've ever seen with a help file that
reads. 'A generic memory help file. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to
have written this, so I haven't.' Wow.. that's playtesting and preparation
for you.
FEEDBACK: Let me know what you think of the FAQ, and mail me if you have any
comments, criticism, ideas .etc..
I can be reached at :
[email protected], for help, info or general chat
I can also offer help with a few other games.. see the end of the hint
file for details..
Chris McMullen
[email protected]
