Click here to print this
 

Space Quest Collection Series Help

Space Quest Collection Series' original requirements:

MS-DOS 5.0 or Windows 3.0 or greater
386SX minimum
2x CD-ROM
4 MB RAM
3 MB Hard drive space, 15 MB recommended
VGA
Thunderboard Pro Aud Spectrum, ADLib, MT-32/LAPC-1/CM-32L or SoundBlaster Sound Source
Mouse

 

Installation Problems

Like many of the later Sierra games, the Space Quest Collection Series has installation problems with the installer not fuctioning with faster PCs or under Windows XP. The game will install in Windows XP without trouble if you just avoid a couple of things.

Problem - "integer divide by 0" Error:
When installing the games the installer crashes with the error of "integer divide by 0"

Solution:
This is a speed bug of the installer's system test. Skip this system test. You will still be able to install the games.

Problem - Games Install, But Won't Run:
The Windows installer seems to work, but after installing, the games won't run. The Windows installer only partially installs the games, the DOS games need to be fully installed using the DOS installer, which doesn't work under XP.

Solution:
See the Space Quest Collection Series & Windows XP Help entry.

Audio Problems

Audio problems are common in the later Sierra DOS SCI games. There's no single fix for all these games. If there a Windows version you can try it.

Problem - Poor Quality / No Sound (Win9x and XP):
The game has no sound or the music is of poor quality.

Solution 1 (preferred):
Play the game in DOSBox. It also will work with the MT-32 sound module, if you are fortunate to have one.

Solution 2:
Use VDMSound. The game work well with VDMSound. The sound will be as good as your audio hardware, and as with DOSBox, it works with the MT-32 sound module.

Solution 3:
Play the game with FreeSCI, a third party Interpreter for Sierra's early SCI games.

Solution 4 (DOS/Win9x):
Install DOS drivers for your soundcard. Without DOS drivers installed you won't have sound in a DOS window in Windows 9x. If you can't find DOS drivers for your soundcard, there is an alpha (developmental) version of VDMS that you can try.

Problem - Unable to initialize your audio hardware:
On starting the game you get the message:

Unable to initialize your audio hardware

Solution 1 (preferred):
Play the game in DOSBox. By playing your game in DOSBox, you can avoid this and other timer problems. Even the Windows version can be played in DOSBox if you install Windows 3x in it, first.

Back when computers came with a "Turbo" switch (a sort of speed switch,) Sierra's workaround was to turn off the Turbo switch to start the game, after which you could turn the Turbo back on. If you have your cycles in DOSBox set too high, you may still encounter this problem. You can mimic the turbo switch solution by lowering your cycles (Ctl+F11) before starting your game. You may raise the cycles back up after the game starts (Ctl+F12).

Solution 2:
Patch the old audio driver with GOSiERRA or SBSIERRA.

Solution 3:
Use an updated driver,AUDBLAST.DRV (sb16drv.exe).

Solution 4:
Try installing the Windows version

Speed problems

As with many of the Sierra VGA games, some of the games in the Space Quest Collection Series have a few speed bugs. These bugs can also be avoided by playing the game in DOSBox. If you can't or don't want to use DOSBox, you can try using a Slowdown Utility. Also, be sure to also apply the NewRisingSun patches.

Space Quest Collection Series & XP

The Windows installer seems to work, but after installing, the games won't run. The Windows installer only partially installs the games, the DOS games need to be fully installed using the DOS installer, which doesn't work under XP.

Manually copy the SQ1EGA, SQ1VGA, SQ2, SQ3, SQ4, SQ5 game folders to the Sierra folder on your hard drive. SQ1EGA and SQ2 are AGI games and can be played with a new Interpreter, such as Sarien or NAGI or played in DOSBox as is.

The others are VGA games, which once copied, need to be configured using the INSTALL.EXE file in each folder. Choose:

  • SQ1VGA & SQ3 - Sound Blaster / AdLib Card (or compatibles)
  • SQ4 & SQ5 - General MIDI Sound Driver

Apply the relevent patches and play the games in DOSBox.

The DOS version of SQ6 can be installed from DOSBox after mounting a "C:" drive and your CD drive.

  1. SQ6 can also be completely played from the hard drive by copying the ROBOTS and MOVIES folders (the AVIs in the MOVIES folder can be deleted) along with the following files:

RESOURCE.AUD
102.SND
120.SND
217.SND
250.SND
251.SND
280.HEP
280.SCR
280.SND
340.HEP
340.SCR
370.HEP
370.SCR
390.SND
455.HEP
455.SCR
490.HEP
490.SCR
590.MSG
620.HEP
620.SCR
RESOURCE.MAP
RESOURCE.MDT
RESOURCE.SFX

  1. Edit the paths in the RESOURCE.CFG file in Notepad to:

resMap=.\
resAUD=.\
resSFX=.\
patchDir=.\;.\;.\MOVIES
movieDir=.\MOVIES
robot=.\ROBOTS

  1. and edit the SQ6DOS.BAT in Notepad to:

sierra -o .\resource.cfg

  1. Apply the NewRisingSun patch for SQ6 and play in DOSBox with SQ6DOS.BAT.

 

by helping to defray some of the costs of hosting this site. If it has been of help to you, please consider contributing to help keep it online.
Thank you.
pixe
Top

Home | Sierra Game Help | Walkthroughs | Hints, Tips & Spoilers | Utilities | Links | Forums | Search

© 2006 to present The Sierra Help Pages. All rights reserved. All Sierra games, artwork and music © Sierra.